27 weeks, alive and "kickin"!

People really love pregnant. It's been so lovely to have all the good wishes for my baby. I have always smiled at people with children, but I see it starts even earlier. You get smiles just for having a bun in the oven. Of course no one will pay any attention to me after the baby is born so I am soaking it all up now.
My current obsession is childbirth. Originally I was on the "Epidural Fo' Sho' " team. Why suffer needlessly? As I read more and thought more, I decided to try a go at "Natural birth". Now, we are taking a hypnobirth class and I am reading a book by the most famous midwife in the country, Ina May Gaskin. We also watched Ricki Lake's documentary, "The Business of Being Born". The sum total of my reading and studying so far is leading towards one conclusion, it's all about your attitude. Like anything else the mind/body connection is what seems to make or break your childbirth experience, barring unforeseen complications. Assuming all is going well, fear, anxiety and tension will slow you down and make everything more painful, whereas relaxation and confidence in one's body will make childbirth , if not totally comfortable, tolerable and fulfilling. I believe strongly in this since I see it all the time with the kids I take care of at the clinic. When mom says "He's scared, he's going to cry", then of course the baby cries and is scared. He thinks he should be. When women are told "it's going to hurt so bad, you are going to want to die" then of course it hurts so bad they want to die. Or at least have pain medication. If women are told "it's a natural process, our bodies know what to do, there are ways to cope with the contractions so it's not as difficult," then we may be able to sail through it.
Of course, you may say "easy for you to say, you have never done it". But one interesting anecdote has stood out in my mind during all this new learning. When my very intuitive friend was trying to give birth naturally, she was not progressing well and she said to me "I'm being bad, I'm not letting it progress". At the time, I had no idea how she could stop or slow her own labor progress, but everything I have read says that fear will do exactly that. It causes all the muscles to work against one another and not together. I will also say that the institution she was in was not conducive to it and she was not as well prepared as she could have been. Next time she's taking Hypnobirth, if I have anything to say about it!!!
Sooo, when the time comes, which team will I be on? We shall see. I have been to many births, I know how hard it is, and I am not a fool. BUT, I now have some coping skills, I will have even more by the time the next three months are up, I have confidence, and I have a team, (hubby and doula). If I need meds, I need meds, I am not going to deny myself. But maybe... just maybe.. with the right mental preparation, I can put fear aside, and let it go. Besides, my mom did the "Natural Birth" thing 4 decades ago, twice! With 8+ pounders, which makes me think, "if she could do it... I can do it too!" She will be there too, hopefully, unless my baby is an early bird.
Here is a recent belly picture:
Hasta Luego,
Dr. A