Are You Considering Natural Childbirth?

From the team at Southern Crescent Women’s HealthCare in Fayetteville, Newnan, and Stockbridge, Georgia, congratulations on your pregnancy! Our group of board-certified providers knows the time leading up to the arrival of your little one is full of excitement, planning, and preparation. 

If you’re considering natural childbirth, it’s important to fully understand the benefits and challenges this kind of labor and delivery brings. Through our comprehensive obstetrical care, we can help you achieve a healthy childbirth without medications. 

All expectant mothers need to keep in mind that even the most well-planned out birthing plans may need to adapt and change during childbirth if your needs or your baby’s health demands it. Yet when possible, natural childbirth, which takes advantage of relaxation techniques to help you navigate labor, is a safe and effective option. Here’s what you need to know.

Understanding natural childbirth

Simply put, natural childbirth is going through labor and delivery without the use of drugs or medications. If you’re not sure what natural childbirth involves, it’s because there are many ways to labor and deliver a baby without pain medicine, including:

• Different types of relaxation techniques
• Deep breathing
• Other breathing techniques
• Using props throughout labor
• Massage
• Hypnosis
• Creating a calm environment
• Aromatherapy
• Moving and positioning strategies
• Heat or cooling therapies
• Emotional support

Some women may also use water, such as baths or showers, to aid in the labor and delivery process.

The benefits natural childbirth brings

Women have engaged in natural childbirth for thousands of years, and this type of labor and delivery offers many wonderful benefits to both you and your baby. Some of these advantages include:

• Faster labor since medications don’t slow it down 
• Increased chance of a vaginal delivery
• Less chance of needing medical interventions (e.g., forceps)
• Ability to change positions and move during labor
• Faster healing since you can get up and move sooner after delivery 
• Deeper sense of control over the birthing experience
• Easier time breastfeeding after delivery since the newborn is more alert
• No medications or drugs in the baby’s system, improving your baby’s health

What’s more? Most women who experience natural childbirth report feeling empowered and connected to their bodies and babies after giving birth. 

The challenges associated with natural childbirth

For women with low-risk pregnancies, natural childbirth is a safe labor and delivery option. However, natural childbirth comes with some challenges. Some of the most common struggles women go through when attempting natural childbirth include:

• Trouble managing pain
• Physical exhaustion and fatigue
• Chance of pelvic trauma from vaginal delivery
• Risk of injury to baby (e.g., displaced or fractured collarbone)

The good news is that for most women, preparing for natural childbirth with your Southern Crescent Women’s HealthCare provider, partner, and support team helps overcome these challenges. 

Discovering what type of childbirth is best for you

The providers at Southern Crescent Women’s HealthCare understand how difficult it can be to decide the right type of childbirth for you and your baby. That’s why our team offers continuous care from the family planning stages through pregnancy and childbirth, including midwifery services. Your health and the health of your unborn child are always our top concern.

The most important thing to remember as you prepare to welcome your little one into the world is that there’s no right or wrong to labor and birth a baby. Whether you go through natural childbirth, have a vaginal delivery with medications, or undergo a cesarean section, a healthy mom and healthy baby are the main goals.

While natural childbirth can be a wonderful and empowering experience, it doesn’t make you a better mother. Nor does having medical help make you a bad mother. Keep in mind that for almost one-third of pregnant women, complications arise during childbirth that make a C-section medically necessary. This never affects your ability to be a mother.

Our team respects your wishes and goals as long as your health or the health of your baby isn’t at risk, including those for a medication-free childbirth. However, our providers discuss the importance of staying open to medical help if needed if your labor doesn’t progress or you or your baby are at risk.

Learn more about natural childbirth and other labor and delivery options by scheduling an appointment online or over the phone at Southern Crescent Women’s HealthCare in Fayetteville, Newnan, and Stockbridge, Georgia.