HELP - Raw moms!

Hi Raw moms,

I'm due in a few weeks with my first baba and I'm am petrified of the whole labor & delivery.
Can anyone of you share your experiences (good and bad) / give tips on how to deal w/ the process.
I'm planning a natural hospital birth. I'm really afraid as I don't have a high threshhold of pain and also have a blood/needle/medical world phobia.
I've had an amazing pregnancy being 811 most of the time and can't wait to meet my little angel, but I'm also having these scary thoughts of not making it through childbirth, having complications, not being able to deal with pain...
Did any of you have epidurals / other pain relievers?

Thanks and love to you all!

Nicky

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Permalink Reply by Nicky on May 4, 2009 at 3:50pm

How important is it to be really fit and muscularly strong for the birth? I don't think I put enough into exercise during the preg and now it's getting harder. I am quite flexible though.

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Permalink Reply by MezzoPiana on May 4, 2009 at 7:41pm

In my opinion, endurance wouldn't go amiss but I certainly wouldn't worry about it or train for it. It's not like you can exercise your womb muscles, and they are the ones doing all the work! On the contrary, the rest of you needs to stay completely relaxed as much as possible. The pushing stage, which can last a good 3 or more hours in a first birth, is the physically taxing part, but even then I don't think you could practice ahead of time!

I'd get plenty of SLEEP as the best way to make sure you have enough energy. I wouldn't start any extra exercising now as such because of the potential to do damage with your sense of balance gone and your ligaments all out of whack, but plenty of walking or cycling will keep your body in "active" mode. Plenty of women in all sorts of bad shape give birth with no problems (myself included - I was quite overweight and unfit every time). So I reckon you'll be fine!

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Permalink Reply by Nicky on May 4, 2009 at 10:08pm

Thanks Katie! I'm feeling a lot less stressed after reading all the responses. I'm also trying to read as much as I can on natural births. My dr is certain that I'll take an epidural and I'm going to do everything that I possibly can not too. He says "why suffer, 80% of all women (at the hospital I'm going to) have them". I'm not getting into natural birthing with the docs. They always seem so surprised at how well my baby's developed with me being so teeny, not taking prenatals, my diet....