Natural Pregnancy Project

If you are birthing in a hospital setting chances are dramatically increased that you can end up with a Cesarean Section. Here are some things you can do to prevent a Cesarean and Avoid a repeat Cesarean.

• Avoid the first medical intervention
• Prepare yourself by reading as much as you can about natural childbirth before your birth day
• Exercise throughout your pregnancy
• Learn about possible medical interventions and their consequences
• Remember women have been giving birth naturally for centuries
• Take one contraction at a time
• Do whatever YOU need to do to get through your labor ~ go with it instead of fight against it
• Remember that VBAC is very safe
• Deal with fears, both conscious and unconscious, before your birth day
• Practice visualization techniques BEFORE your birth day
• Remember to lean on the people attending your birth
• Learn different positions to help with birth and pain ahead of time
• Tune into your inner strength when labor gets tough
• Remain clear about your needs and rights
• Have a labor coach that is willing to stand up for your birth plan
• Remember you can create the kind of birth environment YOU want
• Think about the baby with each contraction
• Take childbirth classes to help you prepare
• Eat healthy, nutritious foods throughout pregnancy
• Create a birth plan, and be prepared to stick to it
• Have a doula attend your birth
• Learn how to manage stress before giving birth (and practice the techniques you learned)
• Choose a caregiver with a low cesarean rate
• Join a VBAC support group
• Stay out of the bed as much as possible during labor
• Clear past birth experiences from your mind
• Understand your beliefs about yourself and your birth will determine the course of labor
• Identify the beliefs and attitudes you bring with you to your birth
• Develop positive attitudes toward giving birth naturally
• Use massage during labor
• Think about how lucky your baby is going to be to be born naturally
• Think about how much quicker you will heal and better you will feel after giving birth
• Use as little energy as possible during each contraction
• Tune into your body during labor
• Choose a doctor who believes in natural childbirth as much as you do

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I have a couple great things for you today if you are want to know how to induce labor. If you are inducing labor because you are past your “due date” and don’t want to be chemically induced these will help you out tremendously!!

The first of which is a great video I found today that shows a woman inducing labor by pressing on certain specific pressure points.  The video clearly illustrates when, where and how to use these pressure points to induce labor.  (I wish I had seen this video when I was overdue!!)

The second thing I have for you today to learn how to induce labor is an excellent ebook that will walk you through everything you need to know about inducing labor with accupressure. This ebook is a digital download so you will get it right away, and you can start using the techniques to induce labor within minutes.

I remember when I was past my due date, my midwife told me I would be induced on Wed if I hadn’t already gone into labor. I was desperate to figure out how to induce labor. I tried all the herbal remedies and homeopathics I could find. Nothing really worked for me ~ but I think it was more my mental state than anything! I wish I had know about inducing labor with acupressure, it may have been just the thing to help me induce labor naturally, and help release some of the fear I was having (that I now realize was probably holding back my labor).

And one more thing. If you have not heard of EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) I STRONGLY urge you to take a look. This is an amazingly powerful tool to help you release fears, concerns, hidden limiting beliefs, and even alleviate back pain, and morning sickness.  Yes it is just that amazing!! It is very similar to acupressure. It uses the energy meridians in your body to help you release things you don’t need. Here’s a great website where you can learn all about it. It’s easy and fast and results are almost immediate!! I REALLY wish I had known about EFT during my back labor that lasted for 39 hours!! Here’s the EFT website and to get a good feel for how it really works here’s a great EFT video done by Bob Doyle.

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These days the use of drugs to induce labor is commonplace. Although doctors may be quick to prescribe pitocin for induction realize you have many choices to naturally induce labor.

Personally, I dealt with this situation during my pregnancy. I was two weeks “overdue”. I was seeing a certified nurse midwife in a doctor’s office. At my second visit past my due date she told me she would be inducing with pitocin on Wednesday if I had not gone into labor before then. (yes, it wasn’t exactly the relationship I expected when I chose a midwife)

I started to freak out, I KNEW I did not want to be induced. I talked with my doula, who talked with her midwife mentor about [tag-tec]natural induction techniques.[/tag-tec] We discussed a number of different techniques to induce labor naturally. In fact I tried just about everything available. Blue and Black Cohosh, castor oil, homeopathics, acupressure, acupuncture ~ the whole bit. None of these things work.

I’m not a doctor or a midwife, but as a woman who has given birth here’s what I believe on the subject.

• Babies don’t come until they are ready.
• Stress/anxiety stops the process
• Find a midwife who believes in letting the baby come when she/he is ready

I truly believe my due date was miscalculated and Hanna just wasn’t ready to be born. Some things that substantiate my opinion on this are ~ her weight. She only weighed 6lbs 3 oz when born. Even though I had been eating well over 100 g of protein every day, as well as strictly staying on the Bradley Diet. Also, as soon as she was born my doula bent her ears over and they stuck, which is a sign of an early baby.

I think the pressure to have this baby and have it by the medical timetable caused me to force her out before she was ready to come. This led to me trying anything and everything to naturally induce labor. Some of which I believe ended up being counterproductive in the end.

I used castor oil as a last resort to try to naturally induce labor. I believe that because our labor was so long it was partially responsible for the meconium staining I had which led to the doctors freaking out and taking her to the NICU. (where she stayed for a week ~ due to forced intervention)

I do know all these natural induction techniques work for many women. I also think they work better when the baby is ready to come. I do know from my personal experience that nipple stimulation works amazingly well. In fact, I stimulated each and every contraction with nipple stimulation.

What I do want you to remember, especially if you are working with a doctor or someone who is not completely behind your natural birth plan. You have the right to say no. If you and your baby are not in any physical danger you have the right to say no ~ I’m not taking the pitocin right now. Give us an hour to try to get things moving in a natural way.

Believe me, I know this is not an easy thing to do! In fact, I caved on this point, and luckily I had a strong willed husband who stood up to the hospital staff and told them no ~ we’re going to do it this way first.

Then get to nipple stimulating! It really works. The hospital staff, including an OB and my midwife were quite astounded at what we were able to accomplish without any drugs to induce my labor. So be strong, if you have to ~ let your husband be strong. Know your rights and make sure you don’t let the hospital staff bully talk you into something you don’t want.

*** On a side note ~ I will be doing a post later about this but I want to mention it here ~ NEVER allow your doctor to use Cytotec to induce your labor. Put it in your birth plan, verbally tell everyone you DO NOT WANT CYTOTEC ***

If you are overdue and want to get your labor started, there are many [tag-ice]natural induction techniques[/tag-ice] you can use. I am not an expert on them, I just know what worked for me. So here’s a great page that will walk you through many of the possible natural induction techniques you can use.

The only way you can completely avoid the issue of induction whether medically or naturally induced is to have an Unassisted Homebirth  and that’s a whole other post.

[tags]natural induction techniques, naturally induce labor, natural induction, technique for natural childbirth, induce labor naturally[/tags]

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