Natural Childbirth

I am now almost 14 weeks along in my pregnancy. These last 2 months have been rough! I am still feeling nauseous and tired. I have occasional good days and I get bursts of energy that I try to take advantage of. Sometimes, though, just the thought of food sends me running.

I have also done a lot of thinking, praying and researching during the last few months. Before I became pregnant, I always just assumed that when it was time to give birth, I would get an epidural and follow the doctor's recommendations without hesitancy. I began to think differently about the issue about a month ago.

My mom and I were staying at a hotel together in November. We were attending the ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International) convention. One night we were laying on the bed in the hotel room talking about a variety of things. It occurred to me that I had never asked my mother about her birth experiences. She has given birth to 5 children! I was surprised to find out that she delivered 4 out of the 5 of us entirely without medication! She was not given a choice when she delivered her first son, my brother Chad. There was some sort of complication and an epidural was administered. She does not recommend receiving the epidural. She didn't like the way it made her feel during or after the delivery. She was much happier with the following pregnancies... she felt awake, alert, energized, unmedicated and overjoyed!

I have heard similar stories from other women as well. I always assumed that delivering a child without medication was unheard of these days... but after some research, I discovered that there are plenty of women successfully having umedicated deliveries! I know that there is always the possibility of complications and sometimes intervention is necessary, but I am feeling very confident about the idea of delivering my baby without medication.

Eric and I have done some searching, and after comparing several birth methods and classes we have decided to learn the Bradley Method of natural childbirth... also called Husband-Coached childbirth. Nationally, Bradley couples have a much higher rate of natural childbirth and a much lower rate of C-section (less than half the national average!)

Please pray that the Lord would give us the strength and health to deliver a healthy baby without medication. Once we start our classes (in March) I will post some updates!