[displaced]

personally, I see no need to go through more pain in life than is absolutely necessary.

that being said, I plan on being as drugged up as they'll allow.

[PhDGirl]

Originally Posted by shadha

lol_lol: so all the guys who say no to drugs...

I don't even understand why guys feel that they are qualified to comment against the use of medicine during labor. They will never experience labor, so what the hell are they talking about? The day they can experience labor is the day their opinions will amount to something. Till that magical day comes, they need not to criticize.


shadha-

Yeah seriously - unless they're OB/GYNs

[LEGALEAGLE]

Originally Posted by PhDGirl

Yeah seriously - unless they're OB/GYNs

We feel your pain ladies......sorry frivolous comment...i know i deserve a smack for that just couldn't resist...

[zzze]

asslaamu alaykum

ahhh babiessssssss , there was such cute toddler with curly hair and a moody face..aw.

[raatkirani2005]

Originally Posted by HijabiAblazin

I think the judgment is none of people's business. HOWEVER, Allah created our bodies to give birth, and it is an unfortunate thing in American society (NOT in European societies) that childbirth has been so medicalized that it's anything but normal.

You are totally right about American society medicalizing normal parts of life (especially childbirth, old age, and menopause). Part of the problem I feel has to do with the fact that many American women are not physically fit at all (many are overweight or obese), and that adds complications to pregnancy. In the old days, you'd be lucky if you gained 25 pounds during pregnancy. This resulted in easier deliveries. Nowadays with many women gaining 60 pounds for no reason, it's no surprise to me that there is a greater percentage of complications. One of my friends was pregnant the same time as me. She had a nice figure before (the good old birthing hips and all). I had a boyish figure, and my mom worried at how on earth would I give birth naturally. I ended up delivering normally, unfortunately, she had a c-section. Ironically, her baby was also born much smaller than mine. Minus the five pounds for the baby, and maybe 15 pounds for the extra blood volume, placenta, etc, she had 40 pounds of fat on her that was completely useless and did nothing for her pregnancy.

Some doctors are really good about letting nature take its course. I had both my kids without epidurals. It wasn't easy at all, and I was begging for drugs at the end (but both times, the doctors refused me), but I made that decision based on the fact that I was deathly afraid of being paralyzed from the waist down, that I knew my body and knew that if I felt muscularly weakened, I'd be stuck for hours during the delivery phase. (Anecdotally, I noticed that my friends who had epidurals often times did get stuck during delivery.) The doctors I had were thrilled with my decision (I don't know why--but they treated me like a novelty) and they made it a point to see that I gave birth without intervention. So it is possible if you are truly determind and IF there are no complications (such as breech, fetal distress, etc).

One thing to note is that medical intervention certainly has its place in childbirth though. In the old days, so many women died giving birth. It was pretty much anticipated that you may die giving birth. They say Julius Caesar was born Caesarean (hence the name), but they never tell you that though they cut the baby out, that killed his mother. So, if medical intervention means that you have a mother and baby both alive and happy, then it's worth it. I hate to think how horrible it must be for people to bury their wife and newborn or their mother and baby brother on the day they were expecting to be the happiest in their life.

[sumiyia]

wow... awesome discussion ladies

[Timbit]

Originally Posted by raatkirani2005

You are totally right about American society medicalizing normal parts of life (especially childbirth, old age, and menopause). Part of the problem I feel has to do with the fact that many American women are not physically fit at all (many are overweight or obese), and that adds complications to pregnancy. In the old days, you'd be lucky if you gained 25 pounds during pregnancy. This resulted in easier deliveries. Nowadays with many women gaining 60 pounds for no reason, it's no surprise to me that there is a greater percentage of complications. One of my friends was pregnant the same time as me. She had a nice figure before (the good old birthing hips and all). I had a boyish figure, and my mom worried at how on earth would I give birth naturally. I ended up delivering normally, unfortunately, she had a c-section. Ironically, her baby was also born much smaller than mine. Minus the five pounds for the baby, and maybe 15 pounds for the extra blood volume, placenta, etc, she had 40 pounds of fat on her that was completely useless and did nothing for her pregnancy.

Some doctors are really good about letting nature take its course. I had both my kids without epidurals. It wasn't easy at all, and I was begging for drugs at the end (but both times, the doctors refused me), but I made that decision based on the fact that I was deathly afraid of being paralyzed from the waist down, that I knew my body and knew that if I felt muscularly weakened, I'd be stuck for hours during the delivery phase. (Anecdotally, I noticed that my friends who had epidurals often times did get stuck during delivery.) The doctors I had were thrilled with my decision (I don't know why--but they treated me like a novelty) and they made it a point to see that I gave birth without intervention. So it is possible if you are truly determind and IF there are no complications (such as breech, fetal distress, etc).

One thing to note is that medical intervention certainly has its place in childbirth though. In the old days, so many women died giving birth. It was pretty much anticipated that you may die giving birth. They say Julius Caesar was born Caesarean (hence the name), but they never tell you that though they cut the baby out, that killed his mother. So, if medical intervention means that you have a mother and baby both alive and happy, then it's worth it. I hate to think how horrible it must be for people to bury their wife and newborn or their mother and baby brother on the day they were expecting to be the happiest in their life.

Gaining 60 pounds during pregnancy? Man, I'm never gonna have a kid.
She had 40 extra pounds of fat on her before her pregnancy or gained all that weight during? 'Cause if it was before, then that's not "a nice figure"...