WHAT IS A NORMAL BIRTH?
A Vaginal Birth, A birth that has been allowed to progress as God has intended it to...
Birth today in this country, the medical community is so out of control with how they handle birth. The labor and delivery area of the hospital brings in from 40 to 60% of the hospital's income. (that is an average-each hospital may be slightly different, slightly lower or higher than the 40-60 average percentile)
When money if involved with anything, people will be greedy, and when they are greedy, they will often lie, and cause harm and anguish to others. Well, there it is. Money. “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Matthew 6:24
Many doctors are believers, but do they really believe and practice HIS word in truth and fullness? I do not mean that they should be perfect, no, we as humans will make mistakes, and we need to remember doctors are human... I am speaking of really- really living and acting like we are believers. I know many doctors, all who report they are believers, attend church, yet how they act in real life, well let me just say what HIS word says: Mathew 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven
I am saying, those who feel it is ok to ignore what HIS word says, and just attend church because it is the thing to do, looks good to your patients, family and friends, well the LORD has spoken...How you treat others speaks volumes in more ways than audible words...
The LORD YHWH is watching..
If we would all live that way, remembering that HE watches us, we might live different...we might treat others different.
Ok, now back to Normal Birth. Lets talk about your uterus.
Your uterus is a very strong muscle. At the bottom of the uterus is the cervix. It is part of the uterus, but we will talk of it as if it is separate. Think of the cervix as a shape of a donut, with the center closed up. The cervix (this word means neck in Latin) is very powerful. It is a band of muscles.
The Cervix is closed during your pregnancy. It also has a mucus plug inside of it. The purpose of this is to reduce the chance of infection. Once labor begins, you begin to dilate (the cervix opens up, this is measured in centimeters) and effacement begins (softening and shortening of the cervix) It goes from feeling firm like the tip of your nose to soft like your lips.
As you dilate this mucus plug comes out. Sometimes it comes out in a glob, and other times it comes out a little at a time. You can be dilated 1-2 centimeters for a week or two before you go into labor. That means you may have to wear a panty liner due to the mucus discharge. It will look like 'snot', I know that sounds gross, but that is what it will look like. The mucus will be clear to white in color, and as true labor begins may become blood tinged. The blood can be pinkish to red (recent bleeding) to brown (older blood) but it should NOT be pure blood. No bleeding, just blood tinged. If you ever have unusual bleeding you need to see your care giver IMMEDIATELY!
If the mucus becomes bloody mucus this could mean that you are further dilated than what you think so call your midwife right away!
The practice contractions (called braxton hicks) will help you dilate. If you were going to run a marathon race, your would practice for months ahead of time, well your body is doing that for labor. Labor is like a marathon!
During labor your uterus will contract causing your cervix to dilate and efface (called ripening and effacement). Hormones called prostaglandins cause this to happen.
There are 3 stages of labor. The first stage is from the beginning of labor until you are completely dilated. The second stage of labor is when you begin to push. The third stage of labor is from the birth of your baby until the placenta is birthed. During the first stage, you have three phases.
In phase one, also known as early phase, you will dilate from 0-3 centimeters. Your contractions will be about 5 to 30 minutes apart. They will last from 15 seconds to 45 seconds.
During the second phase, also known as active phase, (in the first stage of labor), you will have contractions lasting from 30 seconds to one minute or sometimes a little more. They will be from 3 minutes to 10 minutes apart.
During the third phase of labor, in the first stage, your contractions will be lasting 1 to 3 minutes and will be from 2 minutes to 8 minutes apart. This final phase is known as transition phase. It is the hardest part of the first stage of labor.
Some of the Hormones you produce: Prostaglandins work to soften and thin the cervix. Oxytocin causes the uterus to contract . Once you are 10 centimeters dilated, you are done with transition. This is when you may start pushing. Many women describe the pushing part as "it feels better to push". I know for me personally, the transition was always the hardest part, the part that I thought-I am not able to finish this. But since it is the shortest part, it is over before you know it, and then your pushing and soon-your holding your little precious baby!
Sometimes you might have what is known as a 'resting phase' after you are completely dilated. I had this with one of my babies delivery, and my nurses wanted me to push right away. I did not want to, so I did not. This gives you time to rest. Resting is ok to do at this point.
The medical community usually does not want you to rest here. They may say things like "don't waste your contractions, or it will just take you longer then'.
Well, It is NOT wasting your contractions to wait, it is allowing you to rest.
So it will take longer, it allows the baby to move down into the birth canal slowly which reduces stress for you and baby.
When you push slowly, (not doing purple face pushing,) as what is often done in hospitals, it is safer for baby. I don't allow you to do purple face pushing. I want you to do slow exhale pushing or 'grunty' pushing. This way you are breathing during the contraction and not just holding your breath for the contraction. If you are holding your breath, so is your baby.
The third stage of labor is from the birth of your baby until the placenta is birthed. This can take from a few minutes to a half an hour-or more.
Nursing helps you to get the placenta to detach, so we will put the baby to breast right away. I do not pull on the placenta, I do not pull it off the uterine wall. I believe the process that God has designed for the placenta to detach is the best way to proceed. (there are a few very rare cases where a placenta does not detach, and those will often be taken care of by a physician)
Remember that God has a perfect design, and my job is to support you in your decisions, to work with you in those decisions, even if they are ones that the medical community would not agree with. My job is to work with you and your family.
Normal Birth? What is that in America? Does it still exist?
Yes it does, hire a midwife.
