| I have been asked by a lot of my patients, how can I best prepare for an un-medicated childbirth experience? They want to go natural and not have an epidural or IV medication. Most women understand that childbirth is painful, and that anything that they do that is un-medicated is still going to be painful. But once they have the skills to deal with it, it is not as bad of an experience. The idea behind natural childbirth experience is to learn how to have coping skills to deal with the painful experience, not to eliminate the pain altogether. More and more women want the ability to be able to feel that they have accomplished something challenging. To be able to feel that they are in control of their experience. To be able to not put their baby in any jeopardy from unwanted medications, even though epidurals and IVs medications are safe, some women choose not to use those as options. So, we provide ways for them to cope. Some women have more nerves in their abdomen and pelvic area, and experience more pain, and some less. So, I never tell them, You are a woman, you can do this. Everybody interprets pain differently, and so the goal is to help them get the most out of what they have available. |
