NCB

Natural Child Birth. Where do I begin?

First, let me say that how a child is brought into this world is a very personal decision, not to be take lightly. It is also something that should be agreed upon by both parents because, regardless of how it happens, mom will need all the support from dad (or mom #2 as is the case in some situations) that she can get.

For me, this is not something I just woke up one day and decided to do. I was open to it before but was not set on anything specific.

I knew I wanted to be in a hospital. Too many things can go wrong and I want to be in the presence of people who know what they are doing and can make educated decisions about my care and the care of my child if something goes wrong and I, or my husband or support person, am unable to make an informed decision. I know my doctor and the nurses on the unit where I'll be to trust their medical judgement and follow their advice if the unexpected happens.

I also knew that I do not want an epidural. Needles do not bother me. However, a needle going into my spine is not something I am comfortable with. I don't want whichever sleepy, overworked resident who's on-call to determine if I will be able to walk again after all this is over. I'll keep my spine to myself, thank you very much.

I am not a naturalist by any stretch of the imagination. But I want to do this as natural as possible. I figure God made me to do this and He will only give me as much as I can handle. However, I also believe he gave the doctor and nurses the knowledge to judge when things are not moving along the way they should. I am not opposed to meds that will make me more comfortable if that will help move the baby along if they feel things may become dangerous for myself or the baby if they don't. I am open to the suggestions of the medical professionals and whatever they can put in an IV or that I can take by mouth.

My current issue is this: I work with the nurses who will be responsible for my care weekly. Whenever I mention to them that I am planning to do NCB, they tell me I am crazy and that I don't know what I am talking about, or that I will change my mind. I know these people professionally, not personally. They don't know what I am capable of or what my motivations might be. I trust their medical judgement but it bothers me that they are not more supportive of me.

Only one person on the unit has been supportive and she is a lactation consultant. She had 4 completely natural. She said that yeah, it was the worst pain she ever had to deal with but if it was really that bad, she wouldn't have done it 3 more times after the first. She even suggested some classes that I should look into.

I am not saying I am set on this and will do it no matter what. I am open. I am flexible. My doc may tell me it's not a good idea due to the health of myself or my child (I haven't had a diagnostic ultrasound yet and I have medicated high blood pressure) and I am open to what she thinks would be best for us.

It will be a physical feat but it will be a mind game as well. I have told my body to do things it didn't want to before and I emerged a more confident person for it, knowing I could conquer something so grueling.

And if things deteriorate before then, I will probably opt for everything they can do to make this as easy as possible for me.

But if I continue to feel as good as I have felt since the beginning, I feel there is no reason why I couldn't do this.