While preparing for the arrival of our first baby, we found that reading birth stories online was very helpful & informative. Although we did read several books on childbirth, there was something about reading someone's real life experience that was even more insightful & interesting. So, on the off chance that we could help someone else out, I decided to share our experience.
From the beginning of my pregnancy we had talked about a labor & delivery that was free of medication & interventions. A family friend recommended that we research the Bradley Method for natural childbirth. As I am a habitual procrastinator, we missed the deadline to sign up for Bradley classes & ended up reading the book instead (2 months before his due date at that). The photos in the book are a bit dated (circa 1970), but we found the information to be very helpful.
One of the key points that the book points out is that there are not only physical stages of labor, but emotional ones as well. This method also focuses a lot on relaxation & breathing to get you through labor. Another key message of the book is the idea of husband coached labor.
Our main goals:
-labor at home for as long as humanly possible (apparently many people head to the hospital too early & that is when interventions are more likely to happen)
-avoid epidural & induction if possible
-intermittent fetal monitoring & no IV (so I could get up & move around during labor)
FYI: the rest of this post is very detailed & somewhat graphic, but hey - that's the reality of labor & delivery.
