High epidural rates, society vs. reality

Why is it that such a high percentage of women takes an epidural? Many pro-natural birth advocates claim it's because health care providers don't tell women all about the negative side effects, and that women don't educate themselves enough.

I think the problem lies in a much, much earlier stage, long before the woman even becomes pregnant. I think the main problem is not (only) that pregnant women are not informed enough by their caregivers, I think that society as a whole plays a main role.

Let me explain.

When births moved into hospitals, the doctors didn't fail to close the doors behind them. Birth literally happens behind closed doors. In the beginning, the woman wasn't even allowed to have anybody with her, including her husband.
Before that, birth happened at home with a midwife, and was very much part of society. Often, the woman would be assisted by her husband (sometimes), her sister, her mother, her neighbor. Birth was a normal part of daily life.
So when birth moved behind the closed doors of the hospital, the societal familiarity of birth also disappeared.
What remains, is whatever trickles out from behind those hospital doors, and that's mainly horror stories.

I believe that there are 2 reasons for that:

1) I think that birth in a hospital, under hospital circumstances, has not really been an improvement for the circumstances of the mother. It generally did not make her birth experience better, quite the opposite. It has been like this for 3 generations already, since the 1920's approximately. Which means that in most cases, even our grandmothers didn't know anything else. So in a short century time, this has become our knowledge of the birth process.

2) Horror stories make for much juicier stories, so they're more likely to go around.

So this is how our society has gotten to know birth. Hollywood also adds some very unrealistic views, even though they generally leave out the epidural (and every other gory detail).
Society's view of birth has become distorted. One of the clear messages society gives about birth is that it's unmanageable without an epidural, and birth is a medical emergency. And we've been brainwashed with these messages ever since we were little.

As a childbirth educator I try to set the record straight about birth. But when I get a young, newly married 21 year old scared little birdie who is heavily pregnant, and I need to tell her that birth really isn't this big scary monster, it's already too late. It won't be able to take those fears away because they're too deeply instilled.
And that is where my frustration lies.

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Relaxation techniques

I went to R. for another birth preparation lesson this morning. I was alone with her today, her husband was at work. It was the class about comfort measures and relaxation during birth. It was a really interesting because R. seems very into it. I have the feeling that she is well prepared for her upcoming birth, mentally as well as physically. She is interested in a natural birth without drugs.

Giving birth naturally is a realistic option for most women. You need to realize that giving birth, being in labor, is very hard work. But it can be done. Being mentally prepared for the tough job is half of what you need, the other half is relaxation. Being relaxed is key to having a successful drug-free birth. If you know how to relax your body, I mean really relax your body, you will be able to ride the contractions like a wave.

When you tense up, your contractions will feel more painful. And the more painful it is, the more tense you will be and before you know it, you're going around in a downward spiral. So, you need to train yourself to relax the different body parts. It is something you need to practice during your pregnancy, so that your body will know what to do when the time is there.

We did some relaxation exercises, and I noticed that R. knows how to relax her body really well. That is going to work to her advantage during labor! It makes my job a whole lot easier, because it's extremely difficult to teach someone how to relax, especially during the birth.
I also taught her some good positions and movements for labor, as well as the Lamaze breathing technique. Doing the Lamaze breathing is not the most important thing. It doesn't matter how you breathe, as long as you do it! Relax your body and keep breathing, that is what will get that baby out. The Lamaze breathing technique can help to focus on the breathing, which can be a good way to get through the contractions.

All that is left for R. now is the breastfeeding class, and then she will be ready to meet her baby!

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