Wednesday, April 1, 2009
I've been reflecting a lot over the sensations of labor, trying to decide if it was pain I was feeling or not.
I've mulled over the idea of "pressure, not pain" and I think that really is accurate. Labor involves amounts of pressure that we REALLY don't experience on a day to day basis. I mean, goodness, one of the uterus's MAIN jobs is to SQUEEZE your baby out! It's a muscle!
My labor with Heidi was different for whatever reasons. People say every labor is different anyway. Maybe it's my age, time of day, food eaten, music played, things I thought about...who knows! And maybe those reasons really don't matter. I think that labor with Esther was more like this time around. With Esther, because the pressure and intensity was so huge, I wasn't prepared for it. I was expecting a repeat of Heidi's birth. I really like that when labor started this time, I stayed up and found things to busy myself with. At that point it wasn't at all intense enough to require all my attention, but I think I would not have been able to sleep -- just as I wasn't able to sleep with Esther. And with Esther I was frustrated that I couldn't sleep. I really just wanted to sleep. Of course, I had just lain down to go to bed. With Becca I at least had slept two hours. But I think I would have handled things better with Esther if I had stayed awake and tried to find things to do. Oh well, right? She's a healthy two-almost-three-year-old now and she was born safe & sound! That's what really counts!
So anyway...I still find myself holding to the philosophy that labor does not have to hurt. And the biggest part of that is coming to a point where you can step back and avoid the "fear-tension-pain" cycle. Addressing any birthing issues early on and figuring out how to see things in a positive light and discard any concerns makes such a difference. And embracing and accepting the pressure that does accompany laboring. I'm not saying that labor is "enjoyable" the way watching a movie or reading a book is enjoyable. Labor is certainly intense and uncomfortable with a whole myriad of huge sensations, but I think pain is not a word to describe it. I realize that other people will differ in their opinions. Some of you will probably even outright disagree -- and that's okay! We're allowed to. :)
* And if you've noticed that I don't reference my labor with Autumn in any of these comments, that's because she was a 3-week-early-placental-abruption-water-broke-purely-pitocin-induced-threatening-c-section-ending-in-forceps-delivery. Thoughts on her delivery don't really fit what I'm talking about here. I'll save those for another day. Maybe.
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My friend (Abbie) recommends a book called "Pain: The Gift That Nobody Wants." It's written by a surgeon who deals with leprosy, and she said it has a lot of those same messages.
I'm interested in your experience with chiropractic this time around. Did you notice a difference or can you even compare. I've never been able to do a good comparative study because that would be mean to deny it to my wife.
I would love to hear what strategies you use to avoid pain!! Did you have to work through some fear after what sounds like quite an ordeal of a labor with Autumn? How did you overcome that fear? What did you visualize or think about that allowed you to stay soo relaxed?? I'm totally fascinated by this!!
Seriously, I'd love to learn anything else you are willing to share. Its encouraging to hear that you felt intense pressure and not pain. I'm getting closer to my guess date and any insight you have would be totally awesome!!
I'm so glad it was such an awesome experience for you.
For me, the intensity and pressure did start to hurt when I was pushing him out but for other women I've heard that pressure can almost numb the nerves. I had no "ring of fire" with Moira but I did with Joseph. Granted, with Moira my water was bulging out over her head and she was only 6lbs 1oz vs. his 8lbs 10zs (and broken water.) Hmm...
Anyway, I LOVE reading your thoughts on birth. Thank you for sharing them. Sorry for my marathon response. :)
I agree w/ you. I did have pain (induced, yuck), but I relished it b/c i was so excited.
you're amazing!
Sarah Nowland
Fortunately (or unfortunately) for me, I just went in for the cesarean the 2nd time around. HA!