Natural Birth

This is a picture of me immediately following Beck's birth. I'm clearly exhausted and look like I've been run over by a truck, but I also felt elated, and so proud.

I've been thinking alot about labor, as I'm going to be experiencing it again soon, and I come back to this phrase if I start feeling nervous. "Labor is hard work, it hurts, and you can do it" - taken from Birthing from Within.

I've also been reading birth stories to help me mentally prepare for what I hope will be an unmedicated birth. I want to share this quote from "Maxine's Birth Story" at http://www.childbirth.org/, which sums up my attitude pretty well:

"I have heard women who choose a natural birth described as "martyrs", usually with scepticism. The implication is that drug-free means pain-filled, but that really isn’t the case. It is, rather, that we choose forms of pain-relief other than drugs. Knowledge of the process, good positions for labour and delivery, supportive birth partners, hot packs, hot showers, a hot pool, an experienced and empathic midwife. All these decrease the pain and lend a calm and control to the process. By no means am I anti-technology or medicine. Pregnancy and childbirth, however, aren’t a problem to be cured, but a normal part of life. If things go wrong, wheel in the mainstream medicine. If they don’t, then let’s revel in the power of these bodies of ours, so well equipped to see us through this extraordinary process."

I recognize that sometimes problems arise and medical intervention is necessary. I had to be induced with pitocin the first time, and that certainly wasn't in my plan. However, most of the time, medical interventions aren't necessary, and I'm hopeful that we'll have another good experience this time (minus the pitocin!).