Tractor girl
Enjoys Recycling
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2011
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- 22
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Actually, childbirth does hurt. It hurts a lot. If it didn't hurt so much for you, that is wonderful, and maybe your daughter will have your same response, but only time will tell.
This is my area of expertise, and I have been present for many labors, over many years, and deliveries, as well as brief snippets of others, based on where need was at the time.
I work with women who went totally without any pain medication for three, four or more births, and most now say they were crazy to go without pain relief. Women who had their first two or three without anything, go with an epidural for the last one and say that they made a huge mistake the previous times. Other women really want to go totally without, and that is fine, too. It's just very difficult to say, from the outside, whose baby is a little large for the pelvic outlet, or which baby has their head tilted a little to the side, or back---making for a larger presenting diameter and more difficult descent, etc. When someone asks me if they should have an epidural, I just tell them that it is totally their choice, but to remember that there are no medals given for pain endured during labor. Everyone needs to decide for themselves, how they want to approach this event.
I'm sorry that anyone treats pregnancy as an illness. It isn't. I think that the idea that it needed to be counted as such for insurance or time-off work purposes is probably right.
Totally weird that the FDA wants to do anything with birthing pools. I would think they have their hands full without taking on such nonsense.
As for the breastfeeding issue, breast is best. If you can't breastfeed, then formula is a good option. The formula companies do what they can to make their products as close as possible to breast milk, but it is not the same. So much of the time I am faced with attempting to support breastfeeding with couples who have little-to-no, or totally wrong information regarding nursing a baby. It is so disheartening to hear family members say "there isn't anything in there" or "how can we be sure that anything is coming out?" etc. when a young woman is first attempting to nurse her baby. It really does seem to affect how a new mother approaches caring for her baby, and her feelings of competency and self-worth. I wish people would just listen to what educators have to say, and make an attempt to be supportive instead of trying to be know-it-alls.
::
over::::
This is my area of expertise, and I have been present for many labors, over many years, and deliveries, as well as brief snippets of others, based on where need was at the time.
I work with women who went totally without any pain medication for three, four or more births, and most now say they were crazy to go without pain relief. Women who had their first two or three without anything, go with an epidural for the last one and say that they made a huge mistake the previous times. Other women really want to go totally without, and that is fine, too. It's just very difficult to say, from the outside, whose baby is a little large for the pelvic outlet, or which baby has their head tilted a little to the side, or back---making for a larger presenting diameter and more difficult descent, etc. When someone asks me if they should have an epidural, I just tell them that it is totally their choice, but to remember that there are no medals given for pain endured during labor. Everyone needs to decide for themselves, how they want to approach this event.
I'm sorry that anyone treats pregnancy as an illness. It isn't. I think that the idea that it needed to be counted as such for insurance or time-off work purposes is probably right.
Totally weird that the FDA wants to do anything with birthing pools. I would think they have their hands full without taking on such nonsense.
As for the breastfeeding issue, breast is best. If you can't breastfeed, then formula is a good option. The formula companies do what they can to make their products as close as possible to breast milk, but it is not the same. So much of the time I am faced with attempting to support breastfeeding with couples who have little-to-no, or totally wrong information regarding nursing a baby. It is so disheartening to hear family members say "there isn't anything in there" or "how can we be sure that anything is coming out?" etc. when a young woman is first attempting to nurse her baby. It really does seem to affect how a new mother approaches caring for her baby, and her feelings of competency and self-worth. I wish people would just listen to what educators have to say, and make an attempt to be supportive instead of trying to be know-it-alls.
::
over::::
That said, I did eventually have an epidural after 20 hours of labor with my son, and an epidural with my daughter because I was going to have my tubes tied the moment she was born so the epidural served both purposes.
