The Case for Natural Childbirth You expect me to give birth with no drugs? Are you crazy? Yes, that's usually the first response many women have when the idea of natural childbirth is mentioned.
People - many times those who have never even experienced it - are quick to go into great detail about the amount and intensity of the pain.
The comedian Carol Burnett once compared the pain to "taking your lower lip and forcing it over your head.
" Humorous, yes.
But accurate? Believe it or not, it really isn't.
If that were the case, the human race would have become extinct a long time ago.
Allow Your Body To Do What It Was Made To Do Childbirth is a natural part of being a woman.
Your body was designed to handle this special, miraculous event.
The length to which your body adapts is nothing less than miraculous.
Fundamentally, the choice of childbirth without drugs and relying on your body's physiological responses to it, is choosing to trust your body.
Choosing between natural childbirth and a medicated birth does not mean you're choosing between a painful and a pain-free approach.
Your body, when left on its own, has ways to either dull the pain or lessen your perception of it.
This allows you to experience this miracle not only once, but embrace it several times throughout your life, if you choose.
Perhaps the biggest reason women select natural birth is because they're well aware their babies will be exposed to the same drugs they receive.
They live through an entire pregnancy avoiding everything from coffee and alcohol, to pain meds and cold medicine.
The thought of introducing opioids and synthetic hormones to their baby makes no sense.
Starting labor artificially, augmenting labor, and introducing pain medications all increase a mother's chances for having an unplanned Cesarean birth.
But Cesarean births contain inherent risks for subsequent pregnancies.
Among the risks is the potential of an ectopic pregnancy, placenta previa, and even miscarriage due to the scar tissue created by the procedure.
If that weren't enough, babies delivered through c-section are at three times the risk of those born naturally for respiratory problems.
What's Your Reason for Natural Birth? In the final analysis, each woman decides based on her own individual reasons to give birth without drugs.
Experiencing this process naturally, they'll soon discover an indescribable feeling of being bonded to their newborn.
Of course, some women say they choose this method because they like the challenge, citing the feeling of satisfaction and pride in the accomplishment.
Other women appreciate the fact that during the entire procedure they are, without a doubt, in control of their own bodies and are not introducing unnecessary risks to their baby's health and safety.
If you've considered this option for any length of time, you probably have reasons of your own.
Perhaps you're only now beginning to explore the option.
Either way, you're sure to be making a mental list of the advantages in your own mind.
Get educated beyond the standard hospital childbirth class.
Read, ask questions.
Learn all of your options.
If you don't know your options, you surely won't have any.
So, do your research.
Then, you'll surely make the right choice for you and your baby.