10 Unconventional Things about My Pregnancy and Birth Experience

1. Since we practice NFP, we were able to plan for our baby to come in January. I know it doesn't always work out this way, but with the knowledge gained from charting, we could truly plan our baby's birth.

2. Furthermore, since I was taking my temperature for the use of NFP, I never took a pregnancy test. 18-20 post-peak high temperatures is a 99% accurate indicator of pregnancy. I never used a home pregnancy test, and since I did not go to a traditional doctor, there was no lab test either. My very Catholic, NFP-teaching midwife simply looked at my chart and confirmed the due date I set myself.

3. I never had an ultrasound. Having an ultrasound seems to be the norm in pregnancy these days. However, even ACOG - with much of their backwards-thinking - says that ultrasounds are only to be used in medically-indicated situations and should not be used only to determine the sex of the baby. Moreover, there have been few studies on the effects of ultrasound on a baby, which uses high-frequency sound waves to create a picture on the screen. To me, if a procedure is unnecessary and may or may not lead to complications (like miscarriage), why take the risk? I had no indication that anything was wrong, so an ultrasound was unnecessary.

4. My appointments with my midwife often lasted upward of an hour, during which time she would take my blood pressure, weigh me, feel the position of the baby, listen to his heartbeat, and ask me how I was feeling. We spent a good amount of time discussing birth, discussing any questions Josh or I had, and just chatting. It was enjoyable and never rushed.

5. We planned and prepared for a completely natural birth, especially by taking the Bradley Natural Childbirth classes. I highly recommend this. We learned so much about nutrition, exercises, relaxation as a way to reduce pain, and birth itself. Thus, I aimed to eat 80-100 grams of protein per day, recording this information, along with a balanced diet. I did certain simple exercises every day which not only prepared my body for birth but made pregnancy more comfortable. (For instance, I remember going shopping toward the end of pregnancy and seeing another pregnant woman waddling by; I realized then that I almost never waddled, even at my largest point, due to a very simple exercise I did several times a day.) I couldn't have made it through labor without having practiced relaxation; in fact, I think if I had practiced more, as was recommended, labor would have been easier. Finally, knowing the stages of labor and how things naturally progress was very educative. We even had our student workbook with us to reference during labor; Josh could tell by my emotional signposts and contractions where I was in labor and encourage me to keep going forward.

6. I never experienced an invasive procedure - including a pelvic exam or check for dilation - during the entire course of pregnancy and birth. The purpose of a pelvic exam is to determine whether a baby really could come out the natural way; we instead started with the assumption that I could give birth naturally. (No woman should be made to feel that she cannot do this. It is an extremely rare case that a woman cannot fit a baby through her pelvis, for instance.) Checking for dilation may or may not give an accurate picture of where a woman is in labor. And from what I remember from labor, having to lie on my back while someone was trying to do anything at all in my lower region would have been really uncomfortable. Someone who really understands birth should be able to tell by other means where a woman is in labor - her emotional signposts, contractions, level of modesty she exhibits, etc.

7. I gave birth in a bathtub. Water offers both buoyancy and lubrication during birth. I was mostly sitting, with Josh supporting me from behind. I did move to a squatting position at one point - which was how I imagined giving birth since it's the most conducive position - but I was tired and I found it harder to stay in that position. I honestly don't know how women give birth on their backs, but that's your only choice if the lower half of your body has been anesthetized. In fact the lithotomy (on the back) position is the second worst position there is for giving birth since you basically have to work against gravity; being hung from your feet would be the first.

8. Just my husband and midwife were with me during the birth. No one interrupted labor to bother me with questions. No one offered to intervene (drugs? epidural? episiotomy?) when I was most vulnerable to suggestion. No one yelled at me to push.

9. I was never separated from the baby after he was born. My midwife quickly measured his length and weighed him at the foot of the bed where I was lying a couple hours after he was born and handed him right back to me. The baby wasn't taken off somewhere else where he would get drops in his eyes, distorting his sight in his first hours in the world, be pricked in the foot, vaccinated with at least three shots, and circumcised. Such an assault of bodily pain can be a traumatic experience for a baby newly-emerged from the comforts of the womb.

10. I was back at home later the same day. We chose to stay to take a nap and eat breakfast, so we got home about 7.5 hours after he was born, although we could have chosen to leave earlier. No paperwork - just a hug goodbye from my midwife and a promise to come see me at home a couple of days later.

Less than 3 months to go...

It's hard to believe it's mid-late October already. We've been staying pretty busy lately, as always. Last week and this week, I'm teaching classes (Faith and Science, Ecclesiology) for my professor while he's out of town, in addition to working on my online Natural Family Planning classes and working at the church.

We've been going to our Bradley natural childbirth classes for three weeks now. We've learned mostly about exercises and nutrition so far. Josh and I work together everyday to do exercises that strengthen the muscles needed to give birth and to build stamina for such an athletic event. This also includes some relaxation techniques, which is necessary to practice since we tend to tense up our muscles when we feel pain. By practicing these techniques, I can learn to relax in spite of pain, which will prevent further unnecessary pain and allow my body to work as it should during birth. Regarding nutrition, I've been counting my protein intake since pregnant women really need 80-100 grams of protein a day. This is sometimes a daunting task, but I've been able to get to 80g (or close) most days. Having a well-balanced diet and getting enough protein can nearly eliminate problems such as toxemia (pre-eclampsia), premature rupture of membranes (PROM), and hypovolema during pregnancy. It also leads to easier labor and less complications at birth, not to mention a healthier baby with better brain development and fewer infections.

My 28 week appointment with our midwife is tomorrow, so if there's anything to update after that, I'll try to do it this week.

The Bradley Method

For the last three months or so of this pregnancy, Josh and I will attend classes once a week on the Bradley method of natural childbirth. When I mention this to people, many have not heard of it before or say that they took Lamaze classes or some kind of prenatal classes at the hospital. What I like about Bradley is how comprehensive it is. From their website, they put it this way:

Bradley® classes cover it all: nutrition, exercise, being more comfortable during pregnancy, the coach's role, introductory information about labor and birth, advanced techniques for labor and birth, complications, cesarean sections, postpartum care, breastfeeding (we do recommend La Leche League meetings) and caring for your new baby. Our classes cover a few topics that are rarely discussed in other classes like: how to reduce the need for an episiotomy and the likelihood of a tear, how to avoid needing a cesarean, how to make the best of it if a cesarean is necessary, and what the coach should do if the baby is accidentally born in the car.

Sounds great to me! And the coach = Josh, if you were wondering. I told him I could call him "coach" if he wants.

Something else I've read about the Bradley method that makes a lot of sense to me: no one would ever enter a marathon without training for at least three months; why would any woman who really wants to have a natural birth - a labor-intensive activity - not train for just as long? Of course!

Since we're at 19 weeks, we won't be starting the classes right away, so I don't have any personal experience to add right now - except to say that I'm excited to get started. If you'd like more info, please refer to their website. I recommend reading the sections called "Why take Bradley classes?" and "Why 12 classes?"