Natural Childbirth

Okay, so with Avery's birth I hadn't researched or really even heard too much about natural birthing before his birth, but after I became quite curious and have done a lot of research and watch quite a few documentaries on it and I know that I will absolutely plan for a natural birth with my next child!

Some of the benefits I have come to see are:

Natural Childbirth lets you experience labor as God intended

Natural Childbirth greatly reduces the risks for mother and baby

 Using medications during labor adds risks that are not otherwise present in birth.

Your body has less to recover from with Natural Childbirth

A cesarean is major abdominal surgery and can make it difficult to care for your baby in the first few weeks postpartum. After a vaginal birth with medications your body needs to recover from the birth and clean the medication out of your system. Depending on the timing of your medications, your baby may also need to clear some of the medications out of his system. A natural childbirth gives you both the best chances for a speedy recovery.

Less risk of other interventions

"When asking for an epidural, you may not realize you are going to be stuck in bed with an IV, hooked up to the monitor. Then, because you can't walk you are usually catheterized. Using medications for pain relief requires some interventions, such as the external fetal monitor and an IV. In addition, using medications increases your chances of other interventions such as catheters, use of pitocin, forceps and vacuum extraction. 

an epidural is not proven to be 100% "safe." According to Penny Simkin, physical therapist and Childbirth Educator, the use of epidural anesthesia increases the chance of cesarean section two to three times in first-time mothers. It can slow labor, necessitating the use of pitocin to speed up contractions. This oxytoxic creates unnatural contractions whose intensity more easily creates fetal distress, requiring that the baby be continually monitored with an external or internal monitor (electrodes screwed into the baby's scalp while in utero).
An epidural can cause a drop in maternal blood pressure and a subsequent reduction in blood flow to the uterus increasing the potential for a decrease in fetal heart rate. It can also cause the mother to have a significant fever without having an infection; because maternal fever puts the fetus at risk regardless of the source, the mother may now be treated with antibiotics (as will her baby following birth). The mother is no longer free to eat or drink and must be fed intravenously; she may experience nausea, vomiting, or itching. She can no longer walk or squat and may need to be catheterized in order to urinate. In short, complete control of the labor process has been given over to medical personnel.

In contrast, women who choose to give birth without pain medication use different types of natural pain reliving techniques  to help deal with labor. Deep abdominal breathing, walking, squatting, warm baths and showers, cool compresses, massage, reflexology, acupressure and counter pressure are just few of the comfort measures which helps mom's deal with the pain and be able to focus on the end goal: Our baby!!