Quote:
Originally Posted by Leroy2DaBeroy
Nolan Connor
We took a general childbirth class at the hospital. My wife read a bunch of different books as well and we watched a video that Rikki Lake did on going natural... I'll see if she can post a list of the books here when she gets a chance.
We also had a Doula (not that we much needed one, given how things turned out), but I think it's pretty much a requirement for anyone that wants to go natural. Even in the ~hour that the Doula was there prior to him actually being born, she was a big help in managing her pain and getting her to focus on the pushing and how to push, when to breathe, etc.
Hi pokerwifey, the books I read were Your Best Birth by Ricki Lake and Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way. Like Leroy said, we also watched Ricki Lake's documentary, The Business of Being Born. Your Best Birth and The Business of Being Born weren't really helpful with techniques for a natural birth, but more so provided the reasons why one would want to have one. Since you're already in that mindset, I'd focus on Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way. The author is a little wacky, but the techniques described in the book are really helpful. It would also be good for your partner/coach to read as it talks about what he should be doing at the different stages of labor. Although, I'll admit, Leroy didn't read any of it and he still did awesome. Other books we looked at were The Birth Partner by Penny Simkin and Gentle Birth Choices.
I can't stress enough how important it is to be relaxed and focus on breathing. To that end, I found prenatal yoga to be very helpful. The doula was helpful too. Given that she wasn't there for much of the labor, I still think it was worth hiring her because it gave me piece of mind knowing she would be able me (us) relax. And what she did do in that hour was very helpful.
Other than that, I have no idea how I got so lucky. I couldn't have asked for a better birth experience. I wish you the best. Good luck!