How to give birth naturally at the hospital

Let’s talk about 5 ideas surrounding birth that can change the way you give birth at the hospital…

Birth is risky and dangerous

This is not true. Birth is normal not a medical condition. Mom should be healthy, have good support, and a skilled birth attendant at the time of her birth to make sure birth can happen safely. Complications in birth can arise, but are less likely to happen when mom is in good physical health and has a positive mental attitude towards birth.

Pain has no purpose

This is the idea that modern women should not have to endure pain in labor because the pain has no value. This is absolutely not true. Pain has a beautiful purpose in labor, and this is supported by research.

The purposes include the fact that Mom can respond to her body in labor with movement, mom and baby experience deeper short-term and long-term bonding, and mom experiences an amnesic effect after birth which allows her to forget the pain of labor. 

When moms choose to artificially numb the sensation of pain in labor they will also diminish the sensation of pleasure! 

If the pain is allowed, then the centers in the brain that sense pain allow the pleasure centers in the brain to be stimulated and to dominate over the pain center. 

If mom chooses to embrace the beautiful pain in labor, then she needs to prepare now. Her pain is directly related to comfort, support, and confidence in birth.

Medication is safe with no negative side effects

The use of drugs in birth has long-term and short-term effects on the establishment of breastfeeding and bonding! In my opinion, this is a negative side effect. Early bonding and breastfeeding is vital in the long-term success of breastfeeding, and breastfeeding provides vital nutrients to baby. 

Epidurals lengthen the time of labor and require mom to stay in bed, which allows less movement and can cause baby to “get stuck” in the pelvis. This could require the use of a vacuum for vaginal birth. Epidurals also drop mom’s blood pressure, which can cause fetal distress and possibly a C-Section birth.

Medical interventions should be applied to all births

This means things like “Stay in bed”, “Don’t eat or drink”, “Artificial rupture of membranes to speed up labor”, etc.

These interventions can significantly disrupt the natural process of labor and lead to a cascade effect.

In my opinion, interventions should be applied after natural measures have been attempted and in situations with true complications.

Electronic fetal monitoring is used on nearly all moms in the hospital setting, but it is not necessary to insure the safety of baby. Unfortunately, EFM has not been proven to effectively determine the health of baby during labor.

There are risks associated with monitoring: increases anxiety concerning baby’s health which often leads to immediate C-Section delivery.

Mom can take the monitor off and get out of bed as she listens to her body. This means that baby is not being monitored continuously. Mom can allow baby to be monitored intermittently throughout labor. This is safe and effective.

C-Section delivery is safe with minimal risks and only done when medically necessary

C-Section delivery is safer than it used to be, but it still has the same risks associated with any major surgery!

Unfortunately, 1 in 3 babies in United States is born by C-Section, and 80% of these are medically unnecessary.

The risks associated with C-Section delivery include hemorrhage, drug reactions, infection for mom and baby, difficulty with breastfeeding, and more.

It is important to understand that this is your pregnancy and birth experience. You can go into birth with a birth plan and give birth naturally. You are the captain of your own ship. 

But you need to understand the interventions that can happen at the hospital and how to adjust yourself and the situation to suit your birth plan.

Are you ready to fully prepare for a natural birth? I have 4 simple steps for you to take. Download my free workbook below to get my 4 Step Process.