So, after a little discussion on natural birth I decided to read some stories about the "ring of fire" some women experience and natural birthing stories. My friend Alexis had her baby during the hurricanes in New York and her natural birthing experience was phenomenal. I literally squealed, grimaced, and eeek'd when she wrote me about it. It gave me complete faith in the human body as a woman giving birth and the reminder that hardly ever, does the birth plan go smoothly.
I liked this one chick's tiny example of what it might feel like, intensified of course...
So what's the sign of fire?
"At some point during birth preparations, somebody is going to
tell you about how it feels to give birth. For me, the contractions were
painful, but the birth itself was not, except for what is known as “the
ring of fire.” Some women feel this every birth, some don’t feel it at
all, and some have it at some births and not at others. I don’t want you
to set yourself up for feeling more pain than is strictly necessary,
but I do want to prepare you for this sensation.
First, what is it? During a vaginal birth, as your vagina expands
around the largest point of the baby’s head you will often feel a
pulling or burning sensation. It is brief (maybe 30 seconds), and like
every other pain you feel, it impels you to change something to
stop the pain. Typically, it will feel better to stop pushing, to allow
your tissues to rest and expand gently. Many times when women push
through the pain, they end up tearing.
Now, what does it feel like?
Open your mouth as wide as you can and hold it. Now, put your fingers
in the corners of your mouth and pull your mouth wider until you feel
stretching or burning. Now, imagine that at your vaginal opening. That
is similar to what you might feel when your baby is born.
Yes, it’s painful, but it’s also brief. Some women are nearly
terrified of the “pain of giving birth,” but they feel like they can
handle the contractions. They may opt for an epidural or a local
anesthetic to avoid this pain. But I gotta tell you–birth is painless
compared to the contractions beforehand. If you can handle the
contractions, you don’t need to worry about feeling the baby come out.
For me, pushing was one of the most empowering things I’ve ever done;
and the sensation of the baby moving down was also empowering. The
contractions were no fun; but pushing my babies out was painless, except
for the ring of fire."
I also go to experience watching my little sister, Chelsea, give birth and it was the most wonderful thing I could have ever seen. She was induced because Kira was late and was told over and over again different times to come in and get Pitocin (oxytocin injection). Her contractions were super intense and during the birth she was screaming warrior cries that made me sink onto myself and sit with helpless teary eyed admiration. Kira was stuck at her shoulders and Chelsea was exhausted and seemed to give up for a bit. She was screaming instead of pushing and it gave me the inspiration and know-how to take these natural birthing classes will benefit that exact situation. The fear factor- stops breathing and can cause complications and difficulty so I will be practicing and focusing breathing and the mental state it is going to take to lessen the pain. I can say that getting certain tattoos for seven hours straight was intense on my body and mental state and breathing deep and escaping into a place in my head helped the time go by. And though, the pain doesn't even compare, it's a good place to start.
I chose a natural birth for several reasons:
The first being that I want to be in the best mental and physical state to perform the birth. I don't react well to pain medication. I vomit and weaken instantly. I don't like the feeling of being out of control and often become depressed. Even when I have headaches, Joel has to beg me to take Tylenol. I'd rather ice pack it. Growing up we weren't raised on medication. It was always "bite a bullet" and "tough it out"..."rub some dirt one it". So I naturally live this way today as I am not even a heavy drinker- because I straight up don't like the feeling and it doesn't do me good.
Everyone reacts differently to medication and stimulants. I know my body and mind very well and it is a last resort. There are a lot of side effects that come with Pitocin that also concern me.
- an allergic reaction (shortness of breath; closing of the throat; hives; swelling of the lips, face, or tongue; rash; or fainting);
- difficulty urinating; chest pain or irregular heart beat; difficulty breathing;
- confusion; sudden weight gain or excessive swelling;
- severe headache;
- rash; excessive vaginal bleeding; or
- seizures. nausea or vomiting
BUT- if I go over 40 weeks- it's just what I am going to have to deal with. My sister experienced a lot of these symptoms and threw up a few times. I am researching all the options and mostly just want to be prepared and open to the changes and varieties of options I will have once the pain starts. I have Joel who is going to help me through the pain and be my voice when i won't have one- I am finding much relief in this.
We made the choice to tell the nurses that if my heavy dilated labor goes over 24 hours to talk about the options of pain medication for the simple fact of my health and bodies sake.
I am looking forward to seeing how my body will do under this pressure and pain and more so, the connection between Joel and I as I go through this. I am holding great confidence in his ability to read me through the pain and speak out of my best interest. We have some books and are going to start reading them throughout the next two months. I am practicing my breathing during my Braxton- hicks, which unfortunately hurt, and I am finding new places in my head to go when they occur. They are increasing as the weeks go by, having two in math class the other morning. It was intense and I turned white and clammy- almost at the point of passing out.
This is going to be hard and intense and I am looking forward to meeting my baby girl and having a story to tell and connection to other mommas and for the three of us as a family-forever.
