by Rebecca Bockmann

Created on: March 26, 2008

Having had four children by Cesarean you are probably thinking that opting for the natural process is rather odd. Well, I was having a perfectly natural labour/ birth with my first son when all went wrong and I was forced medically to have a section. My second child was premature hence no choice was available but the quickest option. My other two were advised sections, the doctor felt it was the best option given my past history. Anyway, here is my personal stance.

I went through 26 hours of totally natural labour with my first child and reached the crowning stage where my son got stuck. I was then given the dreaded epidural immediately prior to the doctor making the decision for a section. I remember feeling extremely betrayed and cheated to say the least. I remember feeling the pain of the birthing process, the adrenalin trying desperately to take over and absorb at least some of the pain. Yet strangely, it was at this exact moment that I felt that I was in control. It was my pain, caused by my baby and I was in charge. As soon as I had the epidural and the numb effect began, I felt like a body giving birth. The midwife was telling me to push, yet I couldn't feel anything but pressure. For a short moment, I remember thinking "Am I having this baby, or are they?".
I have attended births where epidurals where part of the birth plan, and when it came to close friends and family, although I tried my best to make it their decision, I urged them to give the natural approach a good go. I prevailed with a very dear friend of mine who had in her first pregnancy opted for the epidural, however, facing her second she decided to try natural. Although I felt every moment of her pain, her tears after birth where that of courage and achievement. She had just experienced a true natural labour and she told me soon after that she had never felt more like a woman than she did when her baby was born. She said to me later " That pain, as bad as it was, was a pain only a woman can feel. No one can top the feeling of successfully going through that pain and giving birth to a child".
Life has become a matter of easy options and alternative choices. There are now so many options available to us that occassionally we forget that though they have the ability to reduce effort, are time savvy, make things easier, they are not always the best options.
It is not just childbirth that has been impacted, it is life itself. Why write a letter, when you can message or email someone (losing the personal touch)? Why go to the bank in person when you can use the internet, or phone ( By the way, Do we still have bank managers?)? It is the same story across the board. For hundreds or years women have been giving birth in fields, cars, houses and hospitals with no intervention. Yes, some have suffered, but if you have a choice consider this article and pose yourself the question " Can I not bear a moderate amount of pain so that I can experience the greatest miracle a woman can ever experience, childbirth?"

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