Managed VS natural births

In article ,
"Anne Rogers" wrote:

My second (an unmedicated VBAC) had a 3++ hour pushings stage. Hate to
think how long it would have been if I had an epidural!

malposition? I had a 2+ hr pushing stage with my 2nd and lots of people said
ooh, she was bigger than your first, true, she was almost 3 pounds bigger,
but the issue was she was posterior and stayed that way, she could have been
a 4lber and still taken a while to get out. I did have an epidural, but it
didn't seem to hinder me, I was squatting at times!

Hey, same here. Posterior (I think), epidural, squatting until I was too
tired, and hours of pushing.
--
Sara
accompanied by TK, number two, due in April of 2006

"Anonymama" wrote in message
I wonder if epidurals ever help _avoid_ further interventions?

Yes, ime it did. I was not progressing at all and the epidural helped me to
relax enough for my body to work and help it dilate. It also allowed me to
get some sleep so I could continue with the delivery.
--
Sue (mom to three girls)

Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward wrote:
My hospital provides stats on percentage inductions, percentage
c-sections, etc, but doesn't give percentage non-interventions, so I
don't have a realistic idea of how many of their 'patients' get meds to
assist with the birth.

You could ask the OB's there, what percentage of the deliveries they
attend involve no interventions. In that situation, you can define
what
you mean by "intervention".

Managed and natural are not opposites. It is possible to have a birth
that is both managed and natural. Not likely, apparently, but
possible.

I delivered in a hospital, with no interventions, including no drugs
and
no needles. Some hours later, upon shift change, a new nurse came
into my room to offer me fresh pain relief. I said no thanks (I was in
no real pain). Her expression was priceless: mind boggled. She
looked around as if expecting to find a stash of contraband personal
drugs. Then she looked at my chart. "Oh! Oh...!" she said, "Well,
if you do need any later, just buzz for me. Bye."

I got two statements from the hospital. The first listed hundreds of
dollars worth of minor services and supplies (including a lot of pills)
not given to me. The second statement, received before I got around
to complaining about the first statement, had all of the bogus items
removed.

Anne Rogers wrote:

My second (an unmedicated VBAC) had a 3++ hour pushings stage. Hate to
think how long it would have been if I had an epidural!


malposition? I had a 2+ hr pushing stage with my 2nd and lots of people said
ooh, she was bigger than your first, true, she was almost 3 pounds bigger,
but the issue was she was posterior and stayed that way, she could have been
a 4lber and still taken a while to get out. I did have an epidural, but it
didn't seem to hinder me, I was squatting at times!

I don't think so, but I was so tired after off and on labor for 3 days,
then being up all night (full blown labor kicked in at 4 pm, baby was
born the following morning) that I don't think I pushed very
efficiently. I also think if I had been able to try some more positions,
perhaps I could have found one that was better, but my legs were just
so tired.

It could have been positioning, though.

Mary W.

"Pologirl" wrote in message
oups.com...

Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward wrote:
My hospital provides stats on percentage inductions, percentage
c-sections, etc, but doesn't give percentage non-interventions, so I
don't have a realistic idea of how many of their 'patients' get meds to
assist with the birth.

You could ask the OB's there, what percentage of the deliveries they
attend involve no interventions. In that situation, you can define
what
you mean by "intervention".

Managed and natural are not opposites. It is possible to have a birth
that is both managed and natural. Not likely, apparently, but
possible.

I delivered in a hospital, with no interventions, including no drugs
and
no needles. Some hours later, upon shift change, a new nurse came
into my room to offer me fresh pain relief. I said no thanks (I was in
no real pain). Her expression was priceless: mind boggled. She
looked around as if expecting to find a stash of contraband personal
drugs. Then she looked at my chart. "Oh! Oh...!" she said, "Well,
if you do need any later, just buzz for me. Bye."

My 2nd birth was entirely natural. In hospital with a very nice midwife who
agreed no internals. This was with me going in asking for an epidural... So
it's possible to go into the hospital asking for an epidural, and be
persuaded not to have anything (except TENS) by the hospital staff.
Debbie

Anonymama wrote:
In article ,
Ericka Kammerer wrote:

Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward wrote:
How about this statistic: how many epidural births end up needing
further intervention (augmentation, induction, c-section, forceps, etc)?

Hard to say. Numbers are all over. Epidurals increase
c-section rates in some studies and not in others, but appear
to be especially likely to increase c-section rates if you get
them early in labor or if you're a first timer.

I wonder if epidurals ever help _avoid_ further interventions?

Sometimes it can lower bp enough that, in PE cases where the baby is
still doing well but they're concerned about maternal indicators, you
can get a vaginal delivery instead of a C-section. But I doubt that's
what you meant. :-)

--
C, mama to three year old nursling

That is shocking! Where can I find that figure, I'd like to ask my OB
about it at my next visit!

we don't necessarult put natural births in our stats, although we should. I
am a Labor and Delivery and NICU nurse at a hospital in Kansas, US and we
encourage natural births. We stopped allowing early inductions for doctor's
vacations and "maternal discomfort". I can tell you that since I have been
practicing here I have done more natural, non-medicated, non-interventional
births than ever before.We encourage the use of music, lighting, whirlpool
baths with husbands and siblings and only do intermittent monitoring,
sometimes even soley with a water doppler. I realize that this doesn't give
you statistics, but I think it is very positive. Last night
i delivered a successful VBAC with no augmentation or artificial
intervention. Mostly palpation and emotional one on one support.
Janet

Elfanie wrote:
On Fri, 16 Dec 2005 18:15:12 -0500, Ericka Kammerer
wrote:

C-sections are, what, 27 percent?

unfortunately it's even higher.... 29.1%

Augmentation is, I think, higher than induction, but I'm not sure
of the actual number.

The latest figure I've been able to find is that over 80% of women in
the US will recieve pitocin at some point during labor.

that...is mind boggling.

Out of curiosity, though, what is the breakdown of pitocin use for
inciting birth versus for delivery of the placenta?

I think that administering pitocin to aid in delivery of the placenta
is SOP in many places, but is not used prior to the fourth stage of
labor except for induced births (which I realize are far fewer than
80%).

Caledonia

Anonymama wrote:
In article ,
Ericka Kammerer wrote:


Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward wrote:

How about this statistic: how many epidural births end up needing
further intervention (augmentation, induction, c-section, forceps, etc)?

Hard to say. Numbers are all over. Epidurals increase
c-section rates in some studies and not in others, but appear
to be especially likely to increase c-section rates if you get
them early in labor or if you're a first timer.


I wonder if epidurals ever help _avoid_ further interventions?

Sure they do.

With my first, I had a "walking" epidural at 7 cm. It allowed me about
half an hour to rest, something I hadn't been able to do for two days
(and nights) beforehand. It wasn't a long rest, but it made all the
difference in the world. I was mildly insane by then, after a very
stressful (although medically dandy) labor. For me -- let me say that
again: for me -- the epidural really helped me get my energy up, and to
focus a bit, for the rest of labor and delivery.

Of course, maybe if I hadn't had an epidural I would've delivered on the
first push. We'll never know.

Well, there are usually tradeoffs with interventions,
but sometimes the risks of the intervention are worth the
benefits of the intervention. The key isn't to adamantly
resist all interventions in every situation. It's simply
to know the risks and benefits and weigh them as best you
can in making decisions.

Best wishes,
Ericka