From the moment you find out you’re pregnant until the day your children leave the home to start their own families, you will be faced with decision after decision. During your pregnancy alone, you’ll have to decide on many different things.
foto: healthbeat.spectrumhealth.org
For example, what will you name your new bundle of joy?
Will you attend childbirth classes or just wing it? Should you give in to your cravings and eat that ice cream and pickle sundae, even though you know deep down that it’s going to gross out everyone around you?
Breastfeeding or formula feeding: which one to choose?
One of the biggest decisions you’ll need to make is whether to go with natural childbirth or one of the other options.
While this is a deeply personal decision, every mother around you will feel the need to weigh in and try to sway you to their side.
There are advantages and disadvantages to natural childbirth, and understanding the facts can help you make the decision that is best for you.
Advantages- Natural childbirth, by definition, does not include the use of medications. No medications mean no chances of side effects for either you or your baby.
- You have more control over the entire birth. Medications can fog your mind, numb your body, and take away some element of your control to varying degrees, depending on the type of drug used.
- It may make the whole birthing process go more smoothly and a little faster. Since you are not medicated or numb, you will be able to feel the natural urges to push at the proper time.
- Natural childbirth may reduce the need for forceps and other instruments. Again, because you are able to naturally help the process along based on your instincts, your doctor or midwife is less likely to need to rely on special instruments to help your baby down the birth canal and out into the world.
- You may be more alert after giving birth. Anesthesia and other medications need time to wear off. You will also need to be monitored after delivery, which may mean spending a few hours away from your newborn.
Disadvantages- It can be very painful. This pretty much goes without saying, but some women find that they cannot handle the pain. Breathing, meditating, and other techniques may help, but you will still feel pain. There is no shame in being unable to tolerate pain, so if you do opt for medication, don’t let anyone make you feel inferior.
- Natural childbirth can be exhausting, especially if you have a long labor. While it can, in some cases, speed up the actual birthing process, labor is dependent on so many other factors and can take longer with natural childbirth.
- In some instances, natural childbirth can cause excessive bleeding. While fatalities are fairly rare in an age of modern medicine, you could still go into shock or suffer other complications.
- Those who opt to have a natural home birth may be at risk for additional complications. If you opt for a home birth, make sure you are using a qualified, trained midwife to oversee the birth.
Whether you decide to opt for a natural birth or prefer to take the medications, just remember, unless you have a condition that requires a c-section or other assisted delivery techniques, the choice is entirely up to you.