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A Word on the Empowerment of Natural Childbirth

Drugs and Epidurals When?

If An Epidural, Why A Doula?

 


A woman's body is naturally wonderfully made for the physical demands of normal birth.  "When a woman births without drugs, anesthesia or medical interventions she learns that she is strong and powerful.  She learns self-confidence.  She learns to trust herself....  Once she realizes her own strength, she will have a different attitude, for the rest of her life, about pain, illness, disease, fatigue,..." and difficult life situations.

"When a mother births without drugs, anesthesia, or medical interventions she will approach mothering differently.   She will realize that it took hard work to bring this child into the world and it will take hard work to raise this child into an adult...."*  She will be more confident in her abilities to handle any situation.

"Natural birth allows the mother a larger range of options in terms of places to birth, positions for birth, the caregiver attending the birth and how the delivery is conducted.  This allows a woman an internal locus of control (she makes the decisions) versus an external locus of control (caregiver or hospital makes decisions)."*

*Perez, Paulina, The Nurturing Touch at Birth, TX:  Cutting Edge Press, 1997.


When Mom is too exhausted to cope anymore, when contractions are coming strong and regularly for an extended period of time without dilating the cervix, or when pitocin is being used to induce or stimulate labor; drugs or epidural may be the support the body needs to continue birthing.  It is important that Mom and her companions be open to the option of medication when natural means are no longer promoting normal birthing.  The side effects of medical intervention must be considered, but in no way should these options be connected with failure to birth naturally when they are used to promote normal birth.

Pam England, CNM, MA gives excellent information on the use of drugs and epidurals addressing side effects in her book Birthing From Within.  She includes in the section "Unwanted Side Effects Of Drugs and Epidurals" the cascading of epidural use.

"Cascading

An epidural during normal labor

is not benign pain relief.

You are also relieved of

being-in-labor and

of your power and autonomy

(both emotional and physical).

Having an epidural means you are

confined to bed because you are

continuously hooked-up to:

the epidural tubing inserted in your back and

connected to a clicking, beeping machine...

an IV connected to

another beeping machine...

an external fetal monitor strapped to your belly

or an internal one screwed into your baby's scalp

and connected to a machine

spewing a cascade of paper

drawing the attention of those in the room

away from you...

and a catheter

inserted into your bladder

because you've lost all control."*

*England, Pam, CNM, MA, Horowitz, Rob, Ph.D., Birthing From Within, NM:  Partera Press, 1998.


Drugs and epidurals as well as any medical intervention in birth have side effects to consider physically, psychologically, and emotionally.  Decisions to utilize medical intervention when birth has turned from the normal path may require a tremendous amount of support from family members and friends present and in the postpartum, and especially from those in the intimacy of the laboring woman.  Drugs and epidurals do not take all the pain away.  Pain coping will still be a part of birth.  Be aware that once a woman has received an epidural the attention previously given by care providers may decrease leaving her lonely and confused.  She is still in labor and still needs continuous support to birth her baby.  A doula is there to provide reassurance and gentle emotional support throughout labor in any circumstance.

 

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