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Big Decisions
What Birth Methods Are Right for You?
By Harmony Cornwell
Wherever you decide to have your baby, a solid pain management plan will help you to achieve your goals (whether you want a drug-free natural birth or one with narcotics).
Narcotics or an epidural are an effective way to relieve pain and should be discussed with your care provider as a way to help and relax you if alternative pain methods are not working.
Leslie categorizes the non-drug methods of pain relief as "human support and presence, professional labor support (doulas), physical comfort measures, relaxations and visualization [and the] freedom to move and change positions." If you choose to use drugs for pain relief any of these non-drug methods can still be used during your labor.
An alternative method of pain relief that Elizabeth Thomason has tried in the past and is eagerly awaiting to attempt again is hypnosis. This mother of two from Michigan is anxiously anticipating the birth of her third child. With her first two births she did not have a birth plan but utilized the hot tub in the hospital and attempted to manage her pain with hypnosis. Thomason encourages moms to communicate to the staff in the hospital your wishes for your birth so they can support you and your goal.
"You can do it; have confidence in yourself and your body that you instinctively know how to labor and give birth," Collins says. And remember, regardless of the path your delivery takes, the end result is going to be perfect – your new baby will arrive and you will get to hold him or her for the first time.
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