We talked the other day about whether birth without epidurals is already an accessible option for all pregnant women. More and more hospitals advocate for less intervened deliveries in which anesthesia begins to be a complement and not necessarily a fundamental part of the protocol.
However, sometimes it seems that it is not easy for a pregnant woman to get a clear answer to one of the basic questions that any woman poses before making a decision in one way or another: a birth without epidural does it hurt a lot?
Speaking in silver
Apparently, in certain forums it is frowned upon to say yes, that a birth without epidural hurts a lot, very much sometimes. As if denying the obvious was a strategy to attract more seizures to our sect of suffering creams.
I believe instead that it is perfectly compatible to encourage any woman to have a natural childbirth for all the positive that it entails without needing to deny, make up or hide the obvious: a birth without an epidural hurts. Quite.
Every birth is a world
It is true that every birth and every woman is a world. I will not deny anyone their orgasmic experiences in full expulsion or contradict all those women who went through childbirth without disheveling or finding out almost. But let's say it's not usual.
In the same way that we can affirm with some firmness that a nephritic colic hurts - regardless of whether there are people who have suffered them without pain - it is not unreasonable to affirm with certain vehemence that, for the vast majority of women, a delivery without anesthesia It implies pain. That this can be perfectly tolerable and does not tarnish at all what is clearly a wonderful experience, is no excuse for not telling reality with all its faces.
Dilation, those contractions that we all know
Many times we hear how labor pains equate to those of a painful rule. Although this comparison does not do justice to the intensity of labor, it is true that dilation pains are very similar to menstrual periods, especially at the beginning of dilation.
Dilation contractions, those that allow our cervix to expand enough to let our baby's head pass, are very similar to the cramps that some women suffer each month.
Many times these contractions also begin in the kidneys and cause restlessness in the legs just like menstrual cramps. Unlike these, however, labor contractions are gradually gaining intensity and are increasingly difficult to reconcile with normal activity.
As the dilation progresses, it is normal that we cannot speak during a contraction or walk and that we need all our concentration to cope with them. The frequency of contractions is also always increasing, so we have less and less time to recover between contraction and contraction. If we get too tired the feeling of pain or discomfort can be accentuated regardless of whether the contractions remain equally intense.
The good news is that these pains can become much more bearable with breathing exercises, changing posture, relaxing baths or simply with an expert hand on the kidneys. The same contraction that lying in bed without help can be hell, it can be something completely bearable in proper posture and breathing properly.
The worst way to dilate is lying down, it is how it hurts the most. Normally any posture that allows us to lean forward so that the gut hangs freely, such as resting the arms on a bed, knees or cats, become much more bearable although somewhat more comical.
The difference during dilation is the mark, above all, the duration of the same and the exhaustion that the woman accumulates. If with the appropriate assistance, the pregnant woman is helped to remain calm and relaxed, this is a bearable and perfectly bearable pain.
The transition, the real coconut
The transition is a very short phase of labor between dilation and expulsion. And the most painful. The transition is perfectly noticeable, it is a brutal change, the contractions are no longer something dry that squeezes our back and abdomen, a known pain. The transition does not resemble anything we have felt before and is of an overwhelming, animal intensity.
Nobody has to tell you that something has changed, you know it, the baby is going to leave and you notice how you open inside to let it pass. Probably if so far we have been content to snort and some whining whine now we have to shout or mutter openly. It is a wet pain that is hardly comparable to anything you could feel before.
At this moment it is possible that you think that you cannot do more, that someone does something, that you leave it, is over. The good thing is that this phase is usually very short and in what it takes to say this mouth is mine it has already passed. It is best to surrender to your nature and do what your body asks, shout, squat, on all fours or insult your husband. This is the best moment.
The expulsion
Expulsion is not necessarily painful per se unless you suffer a tear or get too long. During the expulsion you feel the relief of having passed the transition and more than pain what can happen to us is a tremendous sensation when the baby's head crowns and your body opens to the fullest.
A moment that I remember very clearly is to have the head out and the rest of the body inside. The feeling of impatience because I went out once and relieved the tension in which my whole body was. It is a very strong sensation, more intense than painful and is passed as soon as the rest of the baby leaves with the following contraction. Like a miracle, the little pieces come out and nothing hurts, relief is instantaneous and immediate well-being. Your baby is here and you are in top form to enjoy it to the fullest.
The birth
It is possible that in full ecstasy with your new baby you will feel a contraction and think: It can't be ... again? But calm, it is the placenta that will leave quietly a while after your baby was born.
The high
Many times we hear about the endorphins and the high that invades us after giving birth without an epidural as if it were a Chinese story that they sell us to strain our birth without anesthesia. It's not like that. Actually, after giving birth without epidural - as long as there have been no complications in childbirth - we find ourselves phenomenal, we return the forces at a surprising speed and we have the perfect mood and energy to put the baby to the chest and enjoy it maximum.
This does not mean that when we have a baby with an epidural or caesarean section we do not enjoy it or do not fall in love with it instantly. Not at all. I remember with the same tenderness the birth of my first two daughters with their epidural than that of the two little ones without epidural. But it is true that after a delivery without anesthesia we are in a state of alertness and excitement that allows us to live it in another way. It is a difficult sensation to explain as if we said "it had to be and has been".
In addition, this bonus lasts for days, even weeks, and makes the puerperium a much more pleasant experience because we have enough energy to take care of our baby without running out.
In any case there are no winners or losers, bringing a child to this world, with or without anesthesia, is an unforgettable and wonderful experience for any mother. Having lived two deliveries with epidural and two without epidural I wanted to contribute my grain of sand to clarify as much as possible what can be felt during a delivery without anesthesia although the rhythms of it and how tired or nervous we are can make us take more awareness and remember more clearly some feelings than others.
In my particular case, when they ask me if it hurts a lot without epidural My answer is always the same: Yes, but it compensates.
