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I’ve had several births that I had the honor of being a doula at in the last month and it made me think about my own birth experiences and the difference between them. For reference, I had (full saga here) :
- A typical intervention hospital birth that thankfully did not end in a c-section
- A 26 hour long labor that ended in a great natural birth with midwives in the hospital
- An unavoidable c-section due to placenta previa and a hemorrhage at 35 weeks
- A 25 hour natural labor that ended with a successful v-bac (hospital, with midwives)
- A perfect, wonderful, 13 hour natural home birth of a frank breech perfect baby girl
When a friend and I were talking about birth experiences, I said that I’d had the gamut of birth experiences and could just have normal births from now on and she responded: “No you haven’t. You haven’t had multiples yet.” Here’s to hoping we didn’t speak that into existence! (I’m happy to have one at a time!).
What I did notice in reflecting on my births was a big change in my most recent labor, especially considering some factors. I’ve been to a lot of labors and though I’m slightly jealous of women who are able to breeze through (seemingly) without pain or noise, I am not those women.
Looking back though, I realized that I’ve never had a “normal” labor (is there even such a thing) to see what would happen. After my first birth I was nervous and afraid I couldn’t do it. Then, after the c-section, my labor was still long and I was discouraged, but after research I realized that first time v-bacs are often longer since the uterus can take time to contract effectively.
Then, even with a breech baby and my apprehensions about that, plus the fact that she wasn’t even sitting on my cervix until that lovely time when I went from 6-10 centimeters in approximately 1 contraction, my labor was still a full 10 hours less than my other labors and not any more intense. (And my daughter was born healthy and wonderful but you can read the full story here)
So, this is a long way of saying that I think there were a several factors that helped make my most recent labor my easiest. I’d love to hear if you’ve tried any of these factors and what made a difference for your labors, so please share in the comments! Of course, check with your doctor or midwife before making any changes when you are pregnant and always research for yourself anything you do while pregnant!
Magnesium
I’ve written before about how much I love magnesium and how we use it at our house, but I really noticed the difference during my last pregnancy!
I used several methods of magnesium supplementation, but most often, magnesium body butter (here’s the recipe) and magnesium oil (how to make magnesium oil). These are applied topically so the body only absorbs what it needs.
Magnesium was really the only dietary/supplement change I made during my last pregnancy and I noticed these things during pregnancy:
- No leg cramps (really bad cramps in the past)
- I slept great and never had the insomnia I’d had before
- No morning sickness- I had minor queasiness a few times but none of the vomiting or nausea I’d had in past pregnancies
I also think that magnesium was part of the reason that my labor was so much easier this time. Magnesium is needed for proper hormone function and muscle health and I really think that for me, optimizing these factors with magnesium made a big difference.
While it is safe to assume that about 50% of us are magnesium deficient (and pregnancy increases this need even more), check with your doctor for the best magnesium dose for you. Too much of a good thing can be bad! Remember, magnesium relaxes muscles, so it can not only affect contractions, but in too high of a dose could also affect other serious matters like heart contraction and diaphragm movement needed for breathing.
Exercise/Squats
I discovered a great blog KatySays.com written by Katy Bowman who is an expert in biomechanics. She has some incredible information on her blog about pelvic alignment and she also just released her first five years of blogging as a book.
Thanks to her info, I stopped doing kegels and started focusing on pelvic alignment and squatting. If you haven’t already, check out her post, “You Don’t Know Squat” (and Part II).
I especially found her info (and my daily practice) useful when I had to push in a hands and knees/modified squat position (of which there are pictures that nobody shall ever ever see!)
I think another factor is that I used a Squatty Potty (I reviewed it here) which made elimination easier while pregnant and which also was the reason for dilating 4 centimeters in one contraction.
Chiropractic
I’d had some Chiropractic adjustment during all of my pregnancies but it was sporadic and I often didn’t make it a priority at the end when the crazy nesting kicked in.
This time, because she was breech, I was at the Chiropractor twice a week without fail for the last 8 weeks of pregnancy. My chiropractor focused on pelvic alignment and the webster technique, which has a good track record of getting breech babies to flip.
I’m convinced that my little one just wanted to hit the ground running (which she did and hasn’t stopped since) but she was delivered breech. Even though the chiropractic didn’t get her to flip, I think it did help make labor easier.
Healthy Fats
Fats are needed for proper hormone production and the body needs certain kinds of fats to make hormones correctly. Specifically, the body needs more saturated fats and absolutely no artificial fats like vegetable oils and margarine.
This pregnancy, I made it an absolute priority to consume a lot of saturated fats from sources like coconut oil, butter, tallow, animal products, etc and avoid completely all sources of vegetable oils. I also consumed plenty of Omega-3s from wild caught fish, fermented cod liver oil and chia seeds.
Being at Home
I know this won’t be a popular opinion with everyone, but I really do think that being at home during my labor made a big difference for me. Obviously it isn’t always the best option and even for me, a c-section save my son’s life (and mine).
For my specific birth in my specific case, it was the right decision and I also think it shortened my labor a lot since I was in a completely comfortable and safe environment and was able to really relax.
This article was medically reviewed by Dr. Betsy Greenleaf, the first board certified female urogynecologist in the United States. She is double board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology, as well as Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery. As always, this is not personal medical advice and we recommend that you talk with your doctor.
Have you had a natural labor? Was there anything that made your labor easier or harder? Tell me below!
My last natural delivery was my easiest of 6. Two things my nurse did to help 1 was with back labor..she showed my husband how to put his hands on my pelvis, on each side of my hips when a contraction hit he would apply pressure, this really worked. The other thing since I delivered on my knees she had to put a towel around my tummy and pull upon my belly, I could feel the pressure and push. The thing that helped me most was visually in my mind seeing my baby’s head coming through my cervix and knowing that was the pain this whispered to me was so important everytime a contraction hit and also imagining my baby’s little out stretched arms.
My midwife recommended that I take magnesium for my leg cramps during my pregnancy. I was only “semi-crunchy” at that point but really had no idea what I was doing, but I did it! Since following your blog I’ve become so much more educated and I’m glad I took her advice even though my first birth was nearly identical to you first birth… kind of aware, but not fully, didn’t have a great plan of action even though I had the best intentions. I hope my next births are closer to your last experience (minus the breech!) 😉
Oh wait! I meant magnesium for my restless legs, not for leg cramps!
I had my first out of hospital with a midwife in 8 hours! Due next week with #2 and having a home birth. I am getting really nervous about going through the physical pain again even though I have had a good pregnancy. Now that I know what to expect, I am not as confident as I was the first time. My first birth was quick and painful with umbilical cord wrapped around his neck and low heart tones. Midwife was amazing but had to get him out asap! I feel good about a home birth but having trouble mentally preparing for the pain.
You will do great! I feel the same way in getting ready for my upcoming third home birth (baby #5). I am planning on emailing some of my natural homebirthing friends and tell them to all send me encouraging words.so I can put the fear in the back of my brain to rest. That, and prayer, are going to get me through. It will be okay and I’ll have an adorable baby to show for it!
Three of my five kids were born without medication (one in the car, two at home). I think one thing that helped a lot was doing prenatal belly dancing videos as a prenatal exercise. Other than that, I think a lot is genetic – I have very fast labors (hence the car delivery) and just think I’m built that way (thank you, God). But I’m currently pregnant with number six and I hope the magnesium and fats will make pregnancy more comfortable. I can’t say they helped with the morning sickness but neither was I particularly good about taking them regularly.
My first natural birth was 25 hrs of back labor and no break between contractions! I thought I was gonna die! I knew I couldn’t do that again so I took Gentle Birth from Mountain Meadow Herbs. I also used reflexology while in labor. I Squeezed combs across the palms of my hands. It was very relieving! Do not do this before labor starts as it can start labor. My next natural birth was back labor again with breaks between contr but only 5 hrs! A wonderful experience!
Ahh my first birth was just like yours! It was terrible, I literally told my husband I thought I was going to die!
Great Post. Read “Natural Childbirth”, Goodrich in 1961 prior to the birth of my first. I found total relaxation in bed while breathing as though I’m going into a deep sleep, caused totally painless contractions and total time for my first 6 hours, my second child 20 months later took 5 hours, my third child 2 years later took 4 hours. When you’re relaxed your body produces endorphins. God bless.
All of my eight children have been born via natural births in hospital. This includes there breech births (one of which was over 9lb) and a set of twins. My longest labour was my first which was eight hours. My quickest one (baby #6) was much less, in fact we made it to the hospital just 10 minutes before her birth and walked out to head home less than an hour after entering hospital. My greatest birth dramas have been in the form of PPH/heavy bleeding follwollowing the births.
streAll four ofmy births were natural and at home, including the delivery of my 10 lb son. Factors cobtributing to my success were eating clean, avoiding sugar, staying hydrated, walking daily, and stretching to prepare for birth. Also I was crazy determined to make it work. And I followedall my midwife’s advice to a tee. The parents technically get a lot of leeway in a natural birth in my state, which means we get to decide how much of the midwife’s recommendations to follow. But I can assure you that if you do not do what they say, you will end up in the hospital and contribute to the skewed statistics that make home birth look like it doesn’t work for more people than it should. The first midwife I ever met told me, “Natural birth is like a marathon. You have to train for it.” She also explained how the uterus is akin to a sewer with the baby sitting in its own waste, and how essential it is to drink water continually to clean the baby. Youalso have to breathe deeply regularly in order to supply both your body and the baby’s with essential oxygen. Sleeping on your left side exclusively will put the baby, usually, in the proper position for birth, as will cat-cow stretches, but your body gets stretchier the more kids you have, so it is easier for baby to slip out of proper birth position. All of this prep work will ease labor considerably because it will lessen complications and shorten the overall length of labor. In order, my labors were 5 hours, 14 hours (the 10 lb baby), 7 hours, and 7 hours. I did not do anything for the pain like water birth or hypnosis, just submitted to it and tried not to fight it. It is very rare that a natural birth will be pain free unless, perhaps, your are in optimum physical shape, and I shudder to see the amount of misinformation being spread that a pain free natural birth is possible. It may be, but best to go in expecting some discomfort–like a period on steroids–and you may or may not be pleasantly surprised depending on your own situation. I cannot overstress the 9 months of prep work you must do. One last thing, hire a midwife with a minimum of 20 years experience, preferably 30, if you don’t want to be transferred to the hospital with complications. Anecdotal experience speaking.
Oh and Katie, what do you think about placenta encapsulation? Anything to the health benefits?
I was induced at 39 1/2 weeks with fraternal twins. I shot for 100 grams of protein a day (which is a lot from real food) and I took magnesium the last half of my pregnancy along with regular chiropractic care. I was able to give birth to them naturally with no epideral. Took about 16 hours of labor and I just watched about 30 minutes of the Lamaze breathing technique on YouTube but that did the trick (memorize the breathing evolution and start before you have to to form a rhythm). This was my first pregnancy and I wish I’d known about the magnesium in the first trimester for nausea. All in all though, I was a deep tissue massage therapist and worked till 36 weeks and felt great. I think being active before pregnancy is key so it’s not an uphill battle to stay that way once you begin your pregnancy journey. Love the information here, some people do jut have harder pregnancies and I doubt I could expect another one to be as great as my first. Preparation is key and this list will totally empower your pregnancy process if used! Oh and they were a healthy 6.11 and 7.14 lb girl and boy!