lucy jane and a book review

i had my fourth baby 10 weeks ago yesterday. lucy jane. she's awesome.

she's the second baby i've had completely naturally in the hospital. my first was a natural birth in the hospital. my second was a home birth, yes, on purpose. :) my third was in the hospital. he was induced with pitocin and i had a shot of nubain, but no epidural. and then lucy, a natural birth at the hospital 3 weeks sooner than expected.

there are several reasons i chose to go natural. number one was that i could not handle the huge needle in the back thing. i also learned that when you start with one intervention it can and a lot of times leads to other interventions ultimately a c-section. i know that not every woman who gets an epidural ends up with a c-section. i have lots of friends that have had one and have given birth without any complications, but having the epidural increases the chances of having a c-section. i did not want that. there are also risks and complications that can arise for both mom and baby when using pain medication. i didn't want to deal with any of those no matter how small. the last thing was that i wanted to see what my body could do. pregnancy, labor and birth are so often looked at like a sickness or a medical procedure or an emergency waiting to happen when, in fact,  a woman's body was created to do these things. the woman's body is an amazing miraculous thing!

don't get me wrong, i am so very very thankful for obs and the knowledge they have. my sister would have been one of those women that would have died in childbirth way back when. between having a blood clotting issues, placenta previa, and the baby being transverse (lying horizontal in the womb as opposed to head down) she would never survive this labor and delivery if it weren't for her ob and specialist. i also am not one who will judge another woman for having an epidural. if a woman came and asked me, i would definitely encourage her to go natural and give her all the information i know and recommend books to her for more in depth information.

books like this one:

this is unbound birth:how to have a natural birth in the hospital, by jennifer yarborough. if you're a first time mom or just wanting to have a natural birth or thinking about your options, this is a great book for you. jenny has a great conversationalist style of writing. it's like chatting with a friend about what you can do to help you have the natural birth you want.

jenny does a wonderful job of weaving together her own personal birth stories with helpful information and quotes from other women who have had natural births. topics include pain management, why the baby's position is important, why you may want to have a doula, and diet and exercise. a customizable birth plan is also included! jenny gives you links to other resources if you want to study further the topics that she covers.

the book is very encouraging and would be very helpful to those of you who are new to the pregnancy and birth thing or if you are just finding out that a natural birth in the hospital really is a possibility should you want it.

at just under 60 pages, this ebook can easily be read in one sitting.  unbound birth is a wonderful wonderful resource and very very much worth the short amount of time to read and low cost to buy!

you can purchase unbound birth:how to have a natural birth in the hospital here and here. you can check out unbound birth the website where jenny has more information and right now has a breastfeeding 101 series going on. unbound birth is also on facebook here.

if you want to have a natural birth, you can do it and this ebook can help!!!