Are you thrilled you are having a baby, but terrified of giving birth?
You are not alone! Unfortunately most women go into childbirth full of fear and anxiety. Why? Because of the fear of the unknown. Pregnancy is a time full of unknowns and uncertainties, whether this is your first baby or your tenth. You want to make all the right choices to keep you and baby safe and healthy.
Seeing the countless childbirth programs from TV, cable movies, co-workers, friends and family, our heads are filled with drama and horror stories.
But Imagine instead feeling calm, relaxed and in control on your birthing instead of feeling anxious, tense and pain. How?
You can eliminate your fears and anxiety about giving birth going through quality childbirth classesto help answer questions and help educate you for a better birth experience.
Women who complete quality childbirth classes report: - Less pain during and after birth - Using few or no medications - Requiring fewer interventions - Having smoother, easier births - Experience fewer complications - Rate their birth experience more positively
Childbirth education can help you give birth feeling relaxed, confident and in control, so that your memory of childbirth is a positive one.
Why Choose Natural Childbirth
Natural childbirth is an important goal since most people want to give their babies every possible advantage in life. The kind of pregnancy, labor, and birth our children experience has a profound and lifelong effect on their health, including their mental, emotional, and physical health.
There are many advantages of having a natural childbrith including:
Better for baby - Any drugs that a mother receives during labor do enter the baby's body. The result can be a baby that is less alert at birth. Since a baby has an immature liver, it takes longer for him/her to process these drugs and the effects of any drugs given during labor will last much longer in the baby than they do in the mom. Drugs given during labor and delivery can affect the baby's respiration and heart rate. Some medications given during labor can cause a drop in mother's blood pressure which results in less oxygen to the baby. It is easy to recognize an unmedicated baby because they are alert, pink and cry out.
Better for mom - Without drugs, mom is alert during labor and usually able to move around freely and find a position that is most comfortable to her. She is able to actively aid in the delivery process when it is time to push the baby out more gently and faster. Women have a strong sense of empowerment during labor and accomplishment afterward.
Better for the family - Husbands or partners can feel involved as they work together through labor. When the unmedicated baby is born, he/she will often be alert and make eye contact with mother and father enhancing the initial bonding that occurs between baby and parents.
Better for breastfeeding - Since an unmedicated baby is more alert, it is easier to get the breastfeeding relationship off to a good start. Many natural birth babies begin sucking at the breast even before the placenta has been delivered. Some drugs given during labor can also dry out the baby's mouth which makes initial latching-on more difficult.
Less risk of medical intervention - An unmedicated mother is less likely to need pitocin to speed labor, a vacuum extraction or forceps delivery, or bladder catheterization. Mom is also less likely to have a cesarean section, which is important as current cesarean section rates in the U.S. are over 30%.
Quicker Recovery - Mothers who give birth naturally can usually walk out of the delivery room after their baby has been born.
Long term benefits - We are just beginning to understand some of the long term benefits of natural childbirth. Many studies in primal health have shown that influences in fetal life, the perinatal period, and early infancy can have dramatic effects on our lifelong health. Studies have shown that autism is more likely to occur in children who, during birth, were induced or born by elective or emergency cesarean section. Other studies have shown that babies born to mothers who receive pain medication during their labor have an increased likelihood of abusing drugs during their adolescence and adulthood.
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