Labour prep with Val. And lots and lots of drugs.
21st June 2007
Like most new-parents-to-be, Eric and I took a pre-natal class at our local hospital.
(I wrote about it here and here.)
I remember being entranced by the other bellies in the room, all about the same rotundness as mine. And being in complete denial about how the baby was going to come out of me — more specifically, how a watermelon was coming out of an area most definitely not watermelon in size.
I was absolutely, 100% terrified. And my legs were crossed vey tightly.
And not once did I ever entertain the idea of giving birth without drugs. Because I am a wimp with ZERO pain tolerance. But at least I recognize it (which is why I waddled into the birthing suite panting for them. Eric hadn’t even put my bag down yet and I was huffing to the nurses to page Dr. Druggie, and when that needle slid into my back it was like the best
piece of food my lips had ever touched, the best glass of wine except it washed over my whole body like I imagine an orgasm would feel, but not like I know what that’s like because my father reads this site. Hi Dad!).
Even with the knowledge that I’d be numb from the waist down as soon as medically possible, I still greatly benefited from Valerie’s exceptional class. You can only glean so much knowledge from other moms and the scary Internet, so learning about the different labour stages and breathing exercises and contraction positions was excellent.
It took some of the fear away, because it was mostly fear of the unknown.
And even though my drug plan worked out, we all know how unpredictable labour can be, so I’d have been prepared for the worst. And the worst in my books was delivery with no meds.
Val also covered C-section and home deliveries, natural childbirth, recovery, what to bring to the hospital, birth plans and more — it wasn’t the stereotypical hee-hee-whoo stuff from TV.
The Durham Lamaze Association runs all kinds of public and private classes throughout the Region. Check them out at www.durhamlamazeassociation.com. Val and I are still in touch, and she’s a fabulous resource for before and after birth. Reach her at sandv@sympatico.ca or 905-723-7373.
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The idea of a giant needle in the general area of my spine, followed by paralysis-on-purpose freaked me out faaaaaaaaaaaaaaar more than the idea of temporary pain caused by unmedicated labour. But I might have told a different story had either of my labours progressed past the five hours. Then, I might have been screaming, “Bring me my epidural!!!” If my prenatal classes taught me nothing else, it was to never say never.
I had every intention of drugging the crap out of myself, but it didn’t work out that way. Even though my total labour lasted for 12 hours, I progressed too quickly from the point I could have the epidural to the point where it was too late. So I had a drug-free delivery. I survived, but it was definitely very tough. I was passing out between pushes from a combination of pain and exhaustion, only waking up to push. And the pushing went on for 3 hours. That’s a long time to be in mind-numbing, passing out pain.
However, now that I did it without drugs, I think next time I will try to voluntarily go without. But hopefully Dr. Druggie isn’t too far away in case I change my mind.
Jen O. — if it helps at all, the first time around, I pushed for about an hour-and-a-half. The second time, I pushed about five times, and the baby was out. So, it could be a far different, possibly easier, experience. I hope so.
I loved my prenatal class! We still keep in touch with most of the other couples from the class. We are having our third ‘reunoin’ this weekend!
I felt the same way. I was terrified to give birth and the first thing I asked for when I got to the hospital were drugs! I knew if it hurt that much at 4cm I didn’t want to see what 10cm felt like. I had a fantastic delivery, it lasted 7 hours and 1 hour of that was pushing. After getting the epidural I didn’t feel anything other than the pressure to push. Friends were telling me stories of waiting to long to ask for drugs and then it being to late and I didn’t want that to happen to me.
Val was my instructor (my 2nd time around). She is awesome!!
After having been scared, and distressed and feeling like the only way that I would get through labour with my first was to have the epidural,which resulted in more complications, I decided that there had to be a better way. I had taken a class with my first, but with 8 years and a bad experience between the 2 babies I thought that taking a course the second time wouldn’t hurt. I was lucky to have Val.
I heard Val’s voice through most of my labour. I stayed at home as long as possible (well over a full day). My baby was born 45 minutes after arriving to the hospital with no interventions…not even an IV. Val suggested that it was possible to even sleep for burst between pushes, and she was right because I did. I mostly attribute my great experience to Val’s wonderful instruction. Thanks Val! I hope that my daughter has as great of a birth experience as I did.