So you’ve heard of natural childbirth and are concerned about the pain. Reasonably enough, most women are. The scenes from the movies with a woman yelling “Give me the drugs,” are enough to make any women think labor is not a natural process. On the contrary, women have been giving birth for thousands of years—this is one of the things our bodies are made for. Your body naturally reacts to each phase of pregnancy and birth. There is so much that happens in your body when you decide to have an unmedicated natural childbirth.
You feel everything – the good and the bad. Most women who decide to not have any medication for the first birth said they would do it again – even the pain. The overwhelmingly joyous and empowering emotion that comes from an unmedicated birth makes it all worth it. When women are given the ability to be in charge of their birth, they often feel that they can mentally overcome some of the pain through will-power.
Your body is naturally and chemically responding to birth. Beta-endorphins kick in through the first stage of labor and help manage your pain. Once these endorphins kick in, your brain “creates a [natural] dream-like state, which actually helps manage the tasks of birth.” (1) Even after labor, the “birth high” continues. Without drugs intercepting the natural release of endorphins and hormones, your body is able to experience all the sensations that birth brings.
In most hospitals, there are protocol after protocol that involve drugs and restricted time limits. Without being hooked up to tubes and monitors, you have the freedom to move around as much as you feel you need to. When you allow your body to do its natural job, you and baby are kept away from a ton of unnatural complications.
Natural childbirth is at its core exactly what is says, letting your body naturally do its job through childbirth. If you have questions regarding natural childbirth, give us a call. There are so many other benefits to having an un-medicated birth and we would love to talk to you about all of them.