Tips and Tricks to Having an Unmedicated Birth

For this blog, I wanted to write about some tips and tricks for moms to be that want to have an unmedicated birth. I decided to discuss this after someone tagged me on Facebook regarding this topic. Both of my of my births were unmedicated

I treat all sorts of pregnant patients in my practice and no birth is exactly the same. Everyone has a different idea of what they want their birth to look like.  Some might want to go into it really wanting an epidural, while some may have had a previous C-section and they want to schedule a C-section for their next delivery, and more. There is no “one size fits all” as it is all individualized. There is no “right” way to give birth. If you are like me, you will want to know all the different options out there. 

The reason why I chose unmedicated birth with my kids was because I wanted to avoid having a C-section.  I wanted a shorter recovery time.  I wanted them to travel through the birth canal to squeeze their little lungs and prepare them for the world.  I wanted them to (gross as it is) take a gulp of fluid from the vaginal canal to set their gut flora (yes this is an actual thing).  Sometimes, the interventions that we do with medicated birth, such as epidurals, can make us more likely to end up with a C-section. That’s something I wanted to avoid as I wanted to be able to get back into my practice and work again quickly. I also know what the long-term effects of C-section are as I see them in the office with my patients frequently. 

I am not saying that the natural way is the best way for everybody because we have interviewed people who had really great luck with an epidural to help them relax during the late stages of pregnancy. There is also evidence that shows there are benefits to getting an epidural later in labor and making it less likely to have a C-section. 

The First Tip: Pelvic Floor Relaxation, Breath Work, and Core Work

If you want to have an unmedicated birth, it is best to start right after getting pregnant. You do not just prepare for the actual labor part. You have to start working on preparing for birth as if it is some type of intense physical event that is going to be one of the biggest things that you do in your life.

I give patients in the office exercises to work on their breath, core and pelvic floor relaxation from day 1.  An important thing that I give all of my pregnant patients who come in is to learn how to relax their pelvic floor. The weight and toll of baby, placenta, and amniotic fluid increase throughout pregnancy. As the weight gets more substantial, the pelvic floor is working harder. It is like a rubber band because as you pull on it, it is struggling to maintain that tension and it can start to spasm. This can be part of the reason why people have some incontinence issues and leakage while pregnant. It also helps us with an easier delivery. 

I have my pregnant patients do exercises like puppy pose and pelvic unweighting, which helps get the hips up higher than our torso.  This way the baby can slide off the pelvic floor and relax. We then combine these with breath work to help with that mind-body connection of relaxing thet area.  If your pelvic floor is spasmed and tight, it is not going to be able to fully relax to allow the easy transitioning in birth.

The preparation is also important for moms-to-be who are super athletic and are used to lifting heavy weights. Doing these activities are fine if it is part of your regular routine.  If you are used to lifting heavy weights, it is even more important for you to learn how to relax your pelvic floor because it is doing a lot of extra work and we want that full relaxation when it’s time to go into delivery.

I also try to get people when they are doing the puppy pose or when they are in their last couple weeks of pregnancy to look at an anatomy picture of what their cervix and pelvic floor look like and I want them to think of it relaxing and opening up. This is because there is a lot to be said for that mind-body connection of visualization and trying to get things to relax and release as well as tapping into the mindset of the areas you want to relax. With that being said, there’s a perineal massage that I ask my patients to do. I wrote about this a few weeks ago if you want to read more about it. There are some products that are great for perineal massage, but you can also use your fingers when doing this. No matter how you want to give birth, you want to avoid tearing as much as possible.

To wrap things up for this first tip, even if you aren’t showing and you think there isn’t extra pressure on your pelvic floor, you want to start early. Sometimes it is a tough concept to learn because a lot of times when we are stressed, we hold pressure in our pelvic floor.  We clench our glutes.   We tuck our tailbone under and we shorten that area up. It is a stress response.  If you are a first time mom, there is that fear of the unknown and we unconsciously clench that area.  It is something you need to get on sooner rather than later. If I had to pick one thing out of all these tips, this would be the top thing you need to do.

The Second Tip: Birth Classes

In the Facebook post I got tagged in, I saw that some people suggested Hypnobabies. I do not have personal experience with that education system, but I have heard great things.  My husband and I took Bradley method classes, which are 12 hours with our first pregnancy. It was great to have my husband learn from someone other than myself.  He took a bunch of notes and thought it was a good experience. The Bradley classes are great and detailed as they talk about the different parts of labor and they give you pretty well-rounded information on what to expect on every level. After my first birth, I became a BirthFit Regional Director for a year and learned their method of prenatal education, which is also a ton of great information and has a lot of overlap with the Bradley Method. 

Doulas are also a great resource for prenatal and postnatal education. My doula from my second pregnancy will incorporate birth education into your services if you need it. Her link is tagged below.  

I wanted to know every little last thing that could be a possibility in pregnancy and delivery. I do not like surprises and I did not want to be in the dark or worried about the unknown if something were to take a turn during delivery.  I’ve had patients in the past who think they’re going to have a pain-free labor with an epidural, but they ended up going to the hospital late and cannot get an epidural or they did get an epidural, but it did not work fully. When we are unprepared, it makes it easy to panic.  Panicking makes us tighten ourselves up to high heaven. It’s really best to know all the possibilities. Educate yourself. Know all of the options. Even if you’re really married to the idea of natural childbirth. It is not a failure if you have to get an epidural to allow yourself to relax enough to deliver. There is no failing in giving birth no matter what way it happens.

Besides birth classes, READ READ READ.  I give out Ina Mae Gaskin’s birth book as baby shower gifts all the time.   It is a collection of birth stories from Gaskin, who is a very well-renowned lay midwife. The birth stories in her book are all so different and I think that is a good takeaway point because it gives you the confidence going into giving birth that even if what you go through doesn’t feel like what you’ve heard about, you know that every birth is so different and you’re not going to feel like, “This is not what it is supposed to be like.” This book is really helpful to see that no birth is exactly the same and that it can be fast and furious or slow and arduous. It depends on the circumstances and it is not always a sprint as it is often a marathon. Know that you can do it and it’s going to feel sometimes impossible at the transitioning point of birth that you might not be able to do it, but you truly can. So many people have done it and I know that it is so doable.  I like to give people that empowerment that if they want to do it, they can definitely do it because there is nothing special about my birth stories. We are much stronger than we give ourselves credit for. 

The Third Tip: Getting Adjusted and Prehab Care

I am a chiropractor and love the Webster Technique to balance the pelvis throughout pregnancy for optimal positioning of your baby. I was very lucky to have other chiropractors in my office who are Webster Technique certified with both of my pregnancies. I got adjusted weekly throughout my pregnancies. You would want to do this so that your baby is able to have a nice symmetrical area to move around in. Babies want to get head down as long as they have enough room to maneuver. If your baby is not head down, most places are not going to let you deliver naturally. So, if you want a natural birth, you really have to have your baby head down for that to happen.  I did have an OB with my daughter, who was willing to do a breech birth vaginal delivery. I think that’s pretty rare, though. 

The Fourth Tip: Walking

Getting into that last trimester, you want to incorporate walking and movement as much as possible. I really try to promote that to moms to get active as much as they can. If they cannot walk comfortably, I suggest other exercises for good pelvic movement.  There are all sorts of exercises that I can give depending on how they feel.

The Sixth Tip: Avoid Going To The Hospital Too Early

First time moms often go too early to the hospital.  Once you are admitted, there can be a push to get things moving along and that often means interventions. One of those is Pitocin.  I really wanted to avoid Pitocin because I know that it makes labor more painful and difficult. It is hard on the mom and the baby.  I wanted to minimize pain with my deliveries because I wanted to avoid an epidural.  Pitocin and the pain that comes with it often leads to an epidural.  Epidurals can slow labor, which requires more pitocin…. Making it harder on mom and baby. There is the slippery slope of increased likelihood of C-section.

A little caveat though,this is always when talking about a LOW RISK pregnancy and delivery.  If there is anything odd going on with your pregnancy like low amniotic fluid or high blood pressure, you need to trust the advice of your birth provider. 

I avoided going to the hospital early with my first baby by laboring at home under the guidance of a lay midwife and it worked out absolutely perfectly for me. I had a very long, slow, and easy first birth. It was wonderful to labor in the comfort of my own home.  My midwife sent me to the hospital when I was 7 cm dilated. Right before a blizzard started. 

Once you are laboring, realize that there is not one perfect way to labor. It depends on your shape, baby's position, and what stage of labor you are in. The first stage of labor when we want baby to descend into the top of the pelvis (pelvic inlet) squatting can be helpful.  The second stage of labor requires baby to navigate some turns in your pelvis. Move asymetrically can be helpful at this time.  This can look like asymmetric squats, side stepping, putting one knee up on the hospital bed because that gets the pelvis to shift side to side and that helps the baby navigate turns. You want to listen to your body because every body is different and every baby is positioned differently so it’s really about coming into yourself and trying to be attuned with what you are feeling and what feels good.

At the last stage, we want the baby to come out of the bottom (pelvic outlet). You want to spread the bones that you sit on and your tailbone as wide apart from each other as possible and you don’t do that by hiking your knees way out to the sides or lying on your back with your tailbone compressed.b  This can actually make your pelvic outlet smaller. If you are laying on your back, it scoops your tailbone up so it’s shortening up the pelvic outlet. So, often, that’s why giving birth on all fours is good or on your side. You can play around with different positions because there is no perfect position and lying on your back might even feel good to you despite the smaller opening. If you really want to lay on your back, you could roll up a towel and put those on either side of your tailbone so that your tailbone has a little extra room to drop down and allow a little wiggle room for the baby that is coming out. 

The Seventh Tip: Picking The Right Birth Team

You also have to pick the right birth team that will best support you. This might sound weird, but it’s good to interview your practitioners. I went to three different places before I picked for my daughter’s birth. With my son, we went to two different places. We would have stayed with my original midwife, but she was at a practice that down a midwife.  She told me that I might end up with one of their Doctors and I would not have the birth I wanted. I truly appreciated her candor and she suggested I do a home birth (I was a low risk candidate as it was my second) or go to the birth center in Pittsburgh, PA.   

It’s really important that everyone on your birth team has a similar mindset and knows what your birth plan is. A birth plan is kind of laughable because it’s difficult to plan out things like a delivery with all the unexpected twists and turns, but I love the visualization of a birth plan and getting everyone on the same page.  Plan out every single detail for birth and after birth as well.  You don’t want to be deciding on whether or not to circumcise right after delivering.  I also highly recommend using a doula.  They can provide prenatal support, education, advocate in the delivery room, support person, and postnatal help. They are an invaluable resource. 

The Eighth Tip: Don’t Push Too Soon

When you’re in labor and you’re maybe getting anxious to have the baby and you think it’s taking longer than it should, you really really want to resist the urge to push until you physically cannot help yourself. There is this awesome thing that usually can only happen when you have an unmedicated birth and it is called the fetal ejection reflex. I got anxious with my daughter and I pushed before that happened. I was able to resist the urge to push with my second birth and essentially that reflex is your body pushing the baby out for you. So, it’s basically waiting and not doing coached pushing or anything like that so you can tap into how your body feels, and in turn your body will do the work for you. It is also the easiest on your pelvic floor and makes the recovery process so much easier.  You also avoid tearing this way. 

Conclusion

If you are looking for a natural birth, these are some things that I would look into.

If you have any questions, you can drop it in the comment section or you can send me a message through Facebook or Instagram. I’d be happy to do another podcast about your questions. Also, if you want me to talk about something specific, let me know!

You can also check my TikTok account as I use the platform to educate viewers about movement, chiropractic education, yoga, pregnancy, and more! 

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth "Updated With New Material"

by Amazon.com

Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0553381156/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_WPJP84PXSH2HS5GVNWFK?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Great reading for birth preparation. 

 https://www.goldenlotusdoulaservices.com

The doula that I used with my second birth. They are based in Pittsburgh, PA.