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It’s probably going against the grain to be talking about pain medication in a natural parenting blog, and one of the few writers this week that would probably advocate non-natural childbirth; but I always knew that epidural was going to be my drug of choice when the time came to give birth. Two distinct memories of labor and birth came from my mother and childhood best friend. I was three weeks overdue, and by the the time my mother delivered me; I was over ten pounds. She would regale in the horror of the labor and how terrified she was of her next birth, my brother. My best friend had a child right out of high school. I remember her telling me how it was the worst pain she had ever been in her life. With those two very painful experiences; I decided that I would DEFINITELY get an epidural, no doubt about it. I would always joke, first sign of contraction, I am rushing myself to the hospital so they could stick a needle in my back. Of course, I never expected to be induced either.

I waited a long time to have a child. Although I am only couple months shy of thirty; I am the last of my siblings, who are of rightful childbirthing age, to have a baby. My brothers would often ask me, when I would settle down and be a mother. I had no interest in settling down. I loved traveling and loved my life as a single girl in the city. However that changed when I met my baby’s father. Things progressed pretty quickly for us, and not even a year after we became a couple; I was pregnant. I suffered through the hell of first trimester, the bliss of second, and the ridiculous weight gain of third. We started laughing one night because my feet were SO swollen, they looked like Fred Flinstones. Then there was the waiting game. Waiting patiently for my daughter to make her entrance into the world. Eight days past her due date, and still no sign of our daughter; an induction was scheduled. Although I had always planned for an epidural; the induction didn’t play into the equation. I tried everything from sex to chocolates to induce naturally. No avail, on April 1st at 7:30 in the morning; we arrived at Moses Taylor Hospital in Scranton, PA with my trusty pillow.

I was fortunate to have an amazing natural birth experience with my first-born, despite being stuck in a tiny fairly rural hospital in Mississippi. My Canadian OB-GYN was the only one in town who would let me labor without an IV, and while she arrived to catch the baby leaving me to rely heavily on my two doulas-in-training and a few clueless nurses, my daughter was born after 15 hours of extremely painful back labor.

With my son’s birth, we were living in a large metropolitan area, so I sought out my “dream” birthing scenario: a midwife with a freestanding birthing center. However, thanks to an extremely tight budget and insurance that would only pay for a hospital birth, I wasn’t able to have the birth center experience. But my visits with my midwife, the relationship with my doula, and an extremely supportive hospital staff made my son’s birth just as wonderful.

That is all two hours of the time I was actually laboring at the hospital.

We writers at Eco-Child’s Play are writing about our birth experiences this week. My son’s birth was a fairly traditional hospital birth. It wasn’t until…oh… about a week before my son was born that I started really getting into the natural movement…way to late to do anything but make minor changes to my birth plan. So, I’m going to write about a friend of mine’s “natural c-section.”

My friend, a yoga teacher, living a green and organic life in Northern California, was happy to find herself finally married and pregnant in her forties. Well educated and well informed she planned to have a home birth until she received the devastating news from her OB and another OB and a series of midwives – a prior episode with fibroids, involving surgery, prevented her from having a vaginal birth, let alone a home birth. A C-section would be required.

I felt it was important to write about her story because there are ways to make a hospital birth, even a C-section, if you or your OB feel it’s necessary, more “natural” and feel less like medical intervention.

We went to labor classes, and I was all excited. I could do this, no epidural, no drugs. I’d run a marathon, I have a high pain threshold. I was all set mentally for this approach.

As it turned out, labor itself was enough of a marathon. One month to be exact. Did you know you can be in early labor for a whole month? Real contractions, off and on, for weeks. I knew that by the time my water broke, it would be go time.

Which turned out to be 1 a.m. on a Monday morning. The doctor on call was not worried, he did not know I had been through early labor already. We packed up and went to the hospital.

I refused the epidural initially, the contractions got stronger. I allowed them to “knock the edge off” with the epidural at seven. “Keep it light,” I said. Pretty soon it was time to push. And I pushed, and pushed. And pushed. Two hours of pushing. I watched the little one’s heart rate drop with every push. Something was not right. My pubic bone slanted inward, there was no way I could give birth naturally.

They cranked on the epidural and a c-section followed. My doctor offered to try natural birth — with forceps and risks. “Get the baby out, c-section, now!” I said. I had seen enough of her struggles on the heart rate monitor.

I decided early on in my pregnancy that I would have an epidural if need be. I fully support anyone who has a natural birth, but for me that was a level of pain that I did not wish to experience.

Funny how best laid plans always go awry isn’t it?

So we were two weeks from our due date and family had just arrived “just in case” I delivered early. My husband went with me for the weekly check-in with the doctor. After listening for the baby’s heartbeat she pulled me up from the exam table, told me to throw my clothes on and get to the hospital right away - she’d have a team ready to meet me (the hospital was next door to her office). Words blurred, but I managed to remain calm and understood only that the heart rate was not what it should be.

Until my first daughter Carly was born by an ER-style emergency c-section, I had never been to the hospital except for the couple of times with minor injuries as a small child. The experience was so extraordinarily shocking to my system that it catapulted me into a determination that my next delivery would be VERY different. The birth of Carly, was traumatizing on so many levels. That I was only 21 and relatively immature and inexperienced probably didn’t help. I had wanted her very much and did everything to prepare, but like most of the cliches you hear about becoming a mother for the first time - nothing could have prepared me, especially for the frightening, dangerous, surgical birth.

After going through a rough post-partum depression, my reaction was to get pregnant again pretty quickly and immerse myself in research so that I could be more empowered the next time. I had been shocked into a state of alertness about my body and had a strong intuitive knowledge my next baby and I didn’t need to go through this same situation again.

I had done my homework and knew that what happened with Carly and I was unusual and not likely to repeat itself. I also learned everything I could about VBACs (Vaginal Birth After Cesereans). If my doctor had done a good job of patching me back together, and I believe that she had, my uterus and I stood a good chance of having the strength to give birth naturally.

Almost seven years ago, I gave birth to my daughter.  My pregnancy began with really bad “all day” sickness in the first trimester, where I would watch Dr. Zhivago between trips to the bathroom to puke. My second trimester was grand, as I was big enough to look pregnant and not just fat, and I felt really good. I had the glow. The third trimester was a challenge, as I gained 55 pounds overall and cried when I couldn’t squat long enough to plant my onions. Then, exactly on her due date, my daughter entered the world.

We live in a very remote region of Northern California.  Our closest hospital (that won’t do births) is an hour and half away.  Our midwives would not take the risk of a home birth at our off-the-grid homestead, nor did we feel entirely comfortable with the idea, so we decided rent a house in town for our birth.  A couple was going to Senegal for the summer, so it worked out perfectly that we could use their home for a month. It was about 15 minutes from the closest hospital, although no hospitals on the coast have an neo-natal intensive care unit.  I wanted a home birth, and this was the closest I could get to one.

Everyone feared I would go into labor in the mountains, so several days before my due date, we went to town to wait it out. I was restless and knew I would never go into labor in town, so we returned home.  I went for a long hike, and that night the real contractions began.  I was walking down our driveway as my husband pulled up, and I said, I think it is time to go.  My mother was here, but I feared her driving on the mountain roads, and we needed to take two cars for our dog to accompany us to town and fit everyone. So, I drove myself in labor two hours to the house we rented. My mother and I timed my contractions, but even though they were five minutes apart, I kept on driving (that’s how much I fear my mother’s driving!).

Editor’s note:  Here’s our first birth story of the week from a guest writer! Amy Gates writes about attachment parenting, activism, green living and photography at Crunchy Domestic Goddess.  Thank you Amy for sharing your story!

Julian Emerson’s birth story

Recorded on Nov. 29 and Dec. 11, 2006

My labor began around 1:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 23, 2006, (41 weeks to the day) when I woke up to a real contraction, not the typical toning contractions I’d been having for the past several months. This was the night after I went in for some serious acupuncture (with electronic stimulation) at the acupuncture college to bring on labor. I was excited when I had another and yet another contraction and it started to sink in that I was in early labor.

I mentioned that I thought I was in early labor to Jody when he came to bed around 2 a.m. He got me my HypnoBirthing Rainbow Relaxation c.d. sometime during the night and I listened to it with my headphones on to help me stay focused and relaxed. I went through most of the night sleeping in between contractions. When I did have one, I breathed through it and reflected on something I’d read on a Mothering.com message board. One mama said that each time she had a contraction, she thought of her body giving the baby a big hug. That thought made me smile when I read it and so I focused on all the hugs my body was giving my baby for the last time while he was in utero.

I woke up a bit before 9 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 23). Jody and Ava were still sleeping. I continued to have contractions though they weren’t really regularly spaced. I decided to go have some breakfast and watch TV. I had some yogurt, peanut butter toast and Pregnancy Tea and watched a bit of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade while I breathed through contractions. I found the TV to be a bit distracting so I turned it off and mostly lay on the couch. When I got up and moved around, my contractions picked up, but while I laid on the couch, they slowed down a bit. I was feeling pretty tired so I decided that hanging out on the couch was a good thing for now, to save up my energy for when I really needed it.

As part of Eco Child’s Play Labor of Love series on birth stories, natural birth, hospital births, and home births, our writers will be sharing their birthing and pregnancy stories. We’d like to hear your birth stories too, whether you are a mother, father, grandparent, or adoptive parent.

We are encouraging our readers to share their thoughts and birth stories by hosting a giveaway contest.

Entries in the contest are made by leaving a comment or birth story on the Green Options Forum. At the end of the week (6/28), we will randomly pick two winners for this giveaway. Up for grabs are:

IsaBootie: Funky and Stylish Soft Soled Baby Shoes

Any mother knows, birthing a child is a labor of love. Inspired by a discussion amongst the writers on Eco Child’s Play about our births and the safety of home births in particular, we decided to share our labor experiences with our readers. One of the things we hold in common as eco parents is our desire for a natural birth, however, we may not always experience the birth we envisioned. From VBACS to home water births, our experiences are diverse, and we want to share them with you. We believe what is important about birth is that parents are given an educated choice about how and where their baby is born, as well as be flexible to deal with any medical issues that arise.

We don’t only want to tell our birth stories; we want to hear your stories too! As a pregnant woman, I could not read or hear enough women’s birth stories, because they were all unique and different. The experience is not the same for any two women. By sharing our stories, we hope to build a community of parents who can support and share with one another. Therefore, we are hosting a Labor of Love contest!

Here are some great recipes that offer a new twist to your child’s vegetarian diet!

White Bean Burritos

White beans have a great mild flavor that most children find appealing.

Ingredients for each burrito:

4 Tablespoons canned, white beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

2 Tablespoons cheddar or jack cheese

1/2 teaspoon chopped cilantro

1 Tablespoon mashed avocado

1 small flour tortilla

Directions:

Place beans and lemon juice in a bowl and mash with a fork. Mix in cheese and cilantro. Heat the mixture in microwave for 30 seconds, until cheese is melted. Spoon the bean mixture and mashed avocado on the flour tortilla crosswise, fold the tortilla in on 2 opposite sides, and roll it up lengthwise. Let it cool before serving.

Tip: If the flour tortilla seems a bit stiff, you can soften the tortilla by placing it between 2 damp paper towels and microwave 20 seconds.