Many women choose natural childbirth in order to participate fully in the birth of their baby and to have control over the birthing experience. By choosing natural childbirth, she will be using a minimum of routine interventions during labor and is expecting to be unmedicated throughout the birth.
Natural childbirth means that the birthing mother accepts that she will probably feel pain and discomfort as part of labor and birth. Positive aspects of natural childbirth include no loss of sensation. She will also remain alert during labor and birth.
By choosing natural childbirth, you can move around freely and use whatever positions you find comfortable throughout labor. Many women feel a sense of empowerment or accomplishment after giving birth unmedicated. Even though they had pain, many choose to remain unmedicated for future births.
Most techniques advocated with natural childbirth are non-invasive. Partners and other family members will feel more involved as they help the mother cope and work through her contractions.
Childbirth classes teach techniques to help the mother attain a natural childbirth. These techniques may be practiced before labor begins. By practicing and understanding these techniques, some of the fear and anxiety she may be experiencing is lessened.
Unlike an epidural, these techniques do not remove the pain. They give you means to cope with it. If you still find that you cannot deal with the pain, an epidural or other pain relief can be given in the hospital if you are not too close to delivery.
Getting ready for natural childbirth helps a family prepare for their new baby. First, you develop your birth plan. This is a written plan for you and your caregivers that give them an idea of your wishes during labor and birth.
You can have a natural childbirth without drugs in a hospital, a birthing center or at home. Birthing centers are an option that is family-centered and is a compromise between a hospital and birthing at home. Hospitals are moving towards this design by calling their maternity wards birthing centers, and creating a more home-like environment. Relaxed visitation hours are often employed.
Achieving a natural childbirth can be easier when you use a midwife, a doula or other birth attendant. Midwives are familiar with comfort measures to help you cope with labor pain without resorting to drugs, and can provide a more personalized prenatal care routine than you can get from an obstetrician.
If you have an obstetrician, your labor care will be provided by the hospital nurses. Some nurses have studied natural techniques, but they are only available until their shift is over. You may get assigned a nurse on the next shift whose preferred method of labor management is to repeatedly offer an epidural.
Even if your heart is set on a natural childbirth, it is important to remain flexible. No one can predict how labor will flow, and sometimes interventions are truly needed.
Studies have proven that if a woman has continuous support, they are less likely to need pain medication for labor and delivery than if they are alone or feel unsupported. Partners can learn to do this in childbirth classes, and doulas can be hired to help. Unlike nurses, doulas don’t work by shifts… they are there for the duration of the birth.
By: Carol Stack. Get more information about natural childbirth and other health issues here, including tips about diabetes, asthma treatments and high blood pressure.
smart mama 
May 16, 2008 at 11:48 am
I chose natural childbirth because I wanted to maintain control during my labor and delivery, and I also wanted to listen to my body, so this was the best way for me to have what I desired. I wanted the best beginning for meeting my child- and for me that was without the cloudiness of any medications. It is important that planning for natural childbirth is a preparation, and not just something that starts when labor begins. I plan throughout my whole pregnancy and begin with herbal supplements such as red raspberry leaf around the 6th month that later help during delivery.
Personally speaking, I had some pain relief of Stadol in my first two labors and my third delivery was completely natural. That third delivery was by far my least painful of all- without any medications! I plan to do the same with this next baby!
Steph
May 16, 2008 at 12:57 pm
There are a couple of very important facts that are missing from your article that are vital in deciding to have a natural birth.
There are risks involved in having pain medication during labor- increased chance of cesarian section being one of them. Also, because epidurals slow contractions, they often use Pitocin in addition to the epidural, thus causing stronger contractions. This can often lead to a longer drawn out labor, and again is more apt to end in a c-section or assisted delivery (vaccume, etc.). C-section is major surgery that can interfere with bonding and breastfeeding. Many women don’t think it’s worth taking these chances and would rather prepare themselves with natural pain coping techniques. Here is a great article about the risks in having an epidural and other alternatives: http://www.mothering.com/articles/pregnancy_birth/birth_preparation/epidural.html
Many women choose to birth at home because they know they won’t give in to the pressure that there will be at a hospital to push things along with medications. If one does choose to birth in a hospital and wants a natural birth, it’s important that they find a practitioner and a hospital that not only “lets” them, but is supportive. Here is another article about having a natural birth in a hospital: http://www.mothering.com/articles/pregnancy_birth/birth_preparation/hospital.html
I’m glad you are writing about this, but another big aspect of why many women have a natural birth is because it’s what we think it best for our baby.