Choices Matter In Childbirth
I received this educational information and assets from Moms Meet to use and post my honest opinions. Compensation for this post was provided and this page may contain affiliate links.
When you are expecting a baby, there are so many things to consider. Going into each of my births I had a birth plan which of course the main goal was a healthy baby, but a birth plan is honestly only the first stepping stone. When you are making out a birth plan, you consider how you want to labor, how you want your child taken care of, and maybe even your pain management options while you are laboring or after. More than 1 in 3 (36%) women did not have a birth plan, which is an opportune time for a patient to speak with their doctor about pain management options, including non-opioids.
I really wanted to try for a completely drug free birth with my son. With my birth plan in place, I tried to talk to my doctor about my options. My doctor made me feel like I was a child without a say. She wouldn't listen to me and in that moment, I should have taken a step back and realized that she may not be the best doctor for me.
38% of women are open to pain management options, but think some kinds of pain medications are or could be harmful to them or their baby. I was one of those 38% of women. I was concerned about the effects on breastfeeding specifically. I was given something during my birth with my daughter that I was never told what it was except that it would make me "feel loopy". And then after birth, my daughter had a very "lazy latch" so I was more aware of the concerns when I was pregnant with my son.
When you are expecting a baby, there are so many things to consider. Going into each of my births I had a birth plan which of course the main goal was a healthy baby, but a birth plan is honestly only the first stepping stone. When you are making out a birth plan, you consider how you want to labor, how you want your child taken care of, and maybe even your pain management options while you are laboring or after. More than 1 in 3 (36%) women did not have a birth plan, which is an opportune time for a patient to speak with their doctor about pain management options, including non-opioids.
I really wanted to try for a completely drug free birth with my son. With my birth plan in place, I tried to talk to my doctor about my options. My doctor made me feel like I was a child without a say. She wouldn't listen to me and in that moment, I should have taken a step back and realized that she may not be the best doctor for me.
38% of women are open to pain management options, but think some kinds of pain medications are or could be harmful to them or their baby. I was one of those 38% of women. I was concerned about the effects on breastfeeding specifically. I was given something during my birth with my daughter that I was never told what it was except that it would make me "feel loopy". And then after birth, my daughter had a very "lazy latch" so I was more aware of the concerns when I was pregnant with my son.
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Thankfully, I didn't have to have a C-section with either one of my deliveries, although it was mentioned with my daughter since they didn't think I was progressing because the monitor never picks up my contractions. Regardless, more than 1 in 3 women have C-section deliveries, with 1 in 5 C-sections being unplanned. While C-section patients had more opioids and anesthetics in the hospital and at home, they were less satisfied with their overall pain management. I was not happy with how my pain management was handled with my son's birth specifically.
40% more women than men become persistent users of opioids following a surgery. Women ages 40-59 are prescribed more opioids than any other age group and twice as many prescriptions as their male counterparts. Women between ages 45-54 have the highest death rate from opioids among all females. Yet, one in five women are concerned about the risk of addiction or dependence after taking opioids during or after childbirth.
Please check out the video below for more info:
The important lesson from this all is that you do have options and you should explore them completely with your doctor beforehand. I should have been more outspoken with my concerns to my doctor and if I wasn't happy or felt I wasn't being listened to, then I should have changed doctors. You do have options about your pain management.
Learning more about this can make you an empowered patient. What were/are some of your concerns about opioid use during childbirth?
I received this educational information and assets from Moms Meet to use and post my honest opinions. Compensation for this post was provided and this page may contain affiliate links.
