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To anyone who is interested, I will be teaching childbirth classes and giving references to midwifes available in Georgia to help accomplish your goal of having a natural childbirth.
Email me at
GabriellaCook09@gmail.com
If anyone has any ideas to help me win over legislation I am more than willing to listen.
Thank you for your love and support.
There are different options for women to have a satisfying birth. There are midwifes and doctors to assist in childbirth. There are doulas to guide you during your birthing experience. Women need to know their options before opting for the “normal medicated hospital birth” because not all women need a medicated birth. In fact, statistics show that only 10% of pregnant women are high risk and need a hospital birth. It is now recommended for low risk women to seek midwifery care. Sometimes medical intervention is not needed. Sometimes medical intervention is unwanted. Sometimes medical intervention is completely necessary. Women need to speak up if they don’t agree with what their doctors or midwifes are doing. Being informed is the only way a women can do so.
Do you want a doctor or a midwife?
A doctor’s philosophy regarding childbirth is that is a medical event. Doctors deal with high risk pregnancies and are used to the worst possible outcome. A doctor’s appointment will usually last 15-25 minutes. Most doctors won’t think twice about using forceps, a vacuum extractor, giving an episiotomy, or using medication to lessen the pain of childbirth. If you have a hospital birth, you will most likely be on your back to give labor. You will probably be given Pitocin (speeds up labor) through an IV drip and in some hospitals; you won’t see your baby right away. You will be in the hospital 2-3 days after you have given birth. If you feel like you will need medication or feel safer being accompanied by an educated doctor, this choice would be for you.
A midwife’s philosophy regarding childbirth is that it is a natural part of life and believes in a women's ability to give birth on its own. Midwifes deal with low risk pregnancies, which is 90% of pregnant women. A midwifes appointment is at least an hour long. Midwifes think medical intervention is unnecessary. You will be able to move around, try different birthing positions, such as a birthing stool or water-birth. In most cases, you will not be given an IV drip and you will be able to see your baby right after you push him/her out. You will be able to leave the birth center a few hours after you have given birth or you will already be at home! If you feel like you do not need medication and want to try different positions during labor with a loving and supporting midwife, this would be the right choice for you.
Where do you want to give birth?
One of the biggest things that you need to decide is where you would like to have your baby. This place needs to feel safe and comfortable for the mother. A mother can choose to have a hospital birth, a birth center birth, or a home-birth. Doctors attend hospital births, and midwifes attend birth center births and home-births. Some people choose to have a home birth without a midwife, this is known as free-birthing.
If you need to have a hospital birth, I would make sure the room is a labor, delivery and recovery room all in one. This makes it easier and more comfortable for the mother than moving through 3 rooms during labor and childbirth.
A birth center is a place that feels like home. Usually the birthing suites look like luxury bedrooms, they don’t look like hospital rooms. They usually have nice furnishings such as a sofa and love seat. There is usually a shower and a birthing tub in the suite as well.
Some women feel safer at home to have their baby, studies indicate that home-birth is just as safe is hospital birth if the women is low-risk. High risk means that you have gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, less than 36 weeks pregnant, more than 41 weeks pregnant, having multiples, heart disease, kidney disease, lung disease, liver disease and anemia. Strep B is not a high-risk condition; you will just have to have an IV drip or a heparin lock. I would recommend a heparin lock because this does not limit mobility.
Build a labor team.
A women needs all the support she can get during labor, after all they call it labor for a reason. I would recommend using a doula. (labor assistant) Doulas are trained on childbirth and pregnancy; they do not deliver the baby. They educate the mother on childbirth and pregnancy, bring her what she needs during labor and helps dad find suitable positions to help her deal with contractions. A doula does not take place of the father. A doula lets the father do what he does best, love his wife. It is much easier on dad to have another person helping his wife deal with contractions when he is exhausted. If labor goes 25 hours, he can take a shower, a nap or go get a bite to eat without feeling guilty leaving the mother alone. Not only is it easier on mom and dad, having a doula greatly reduces the need for cesarean section and other medical intervention. Your midwife or doctor cannot be with you constantly for 25 hours, they have other clients and most likely a family just as you do. If you are interested in finding a doula, please visit http://www.dona.org
Educate yourself on pain relief and medical technology.
Continuous Electronic Fetal Monitoring (EFM) (which is a belt that is wrapped around the mother’s stomach from the start of labor until the baby is pushed out) is no longer necessary or recommended for low-risk mothers. Instead, a midwife or doctor should use intermittent monitoring (a device used to check the heart rate of baby) periodically. Continuous EFM increases the chance of unneeded cesarean section.
If intravenous fluid is needed, the mother should request a heparin lock. This does the same thing as an IV drip, but does not limit mobility and ability to change position if desired.
Medical pain relief is no substitute for natural pain relief. Epidurals and other medical pain relief does not always work. 10% of the time, epidurals do not work the way they should. Epidurals may decrease the mother’s attachment to the newborn and interfere with breastfeeding. An epidural may also cause baby’s heart rate to change or to have difficulty breathing leading to an oxygen mask on mom. Epidurals also can cause a slight fever in mother and baby resulting in unneeded antibiotics for both mother and child. Mothers should not overuse medical pain relief, the more medical intervention the more likely for a caesarean section and other complications with mom and baby. Medical pain relief can also lead to a longer and tiring labor. If you want some type of pain relief, look for something that does not limit your mobility.
Do what your body tells you.
If you need to be on your hands and knees during labor, get on your hands and knees, if you want to be in water, get in the tub! Listen to your bodies cues during labor. Your body knows how to deliver a baby, your mind just doesn’t think so. Experiment with a birth sling, a birth ball, a birth stool, hanging on your partner or doula. Do not limit yourself to be on your back, a baby comes down, and lying on your back is not going to help the baby come. Let gravity play a role in delivering your baby!
Create a birth plan.
A birth plan is a wonderful way to prepare for labor and childbirth. A birth plan is a letter to your caregivers telling them how you want to have your baby. You need to tell them if you want pain relief and share your requests if things get medically dangerous. There is a formatted birth plan in the book The Birth Partner by Penny Simkin. Here was my birth plan when I had Elizabeth.
Objection: To have a safe and satisfying birth.
IDEALISTICALLY: I want my husband and doula in the room when I deliver. I do not want my mother, mother-in law father, or father-in law in the room when I am contracting or delivering. I will call them in after she is born. Send them to get obscure herbs if they try to come in. I would prefer CPM Valerie to attend the birth. I would like to avoid medical pain relief if at all possible. My goal is to at least labor in the tub, but I would really like to give birth in water. I want to breastfeed right after she is born. I want to give her first bath; I do not want my midwife, husband or doula to. I would like my husband to cut Elizabeth’s umbilical cord, if he is still up for it. If not, my doula is more than welcome. I want my husband to catch Elizabeth if we have her in the tub. I want him to be in there with me. I want to walk around a lot, and I want to use the shower while sitting on my birthing ball. I want to stay at home as much as possible during early labor.
EMERGENCY: Thank you for taking us hospital staff, I would like to let you know that I was trying to have a natural childbirth, although some complication has stifled that. If you have to give me an IV drip, please use a heparin lock if at all possible; do not give me an epidural unless I have a C-section. If I request medical pain relief, do not give it to me unless I have been in labor for over 25 hours. If I am in transition, please don’t give it to me. If I am pushing, don’t give me medical pain relief. Please do not use forceps or a vacuum extractor. I do not want an episiotomy, I repeat I do not want an episiotomy. Do not let my in-laws in. They are welcome in after the birth of Elizabeth. My doula and husband will be present during this childbirth. If I have a c-section I want my husband present.
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Gabriella Cook
Childbirth Educator
Gabbynadine1@gmail.com
Atlanta, GA
