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.
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.
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.
This is a really interesting post. I don't think opiods during birth is a good idea personally.
ReplyDeleteYears ago there wasn’t much options or you weren’t given a chance to pick your options!
ReplyDeleteWith my first baby, I was alone and young. I went to a clinic for unwed mothers through Catholic Charities. I didn’t even meet the doctor who was going to deliver my baby until I was in labor! It was pretty scary for me and no one was allowed into the delivery room with you! I could tell the doctor had other plans or something & he just wanted to get out of there. Plus he didn’t hide it! I had a really nice nurse though who explained my options to me and what was going to happen. I was so MAD, because a Catholic Charities case worker showed up in my room after the baby was born and wanted me to sign adoption papers!! She was trying through the whole time I was going to the clinic to get me to give up my baby!! She kept telling me that there was a nice family ready, willing and able to adopt my baby (as long as the baby was alright & healthy) I didn’t know the sex of the baby before it was born. They didn’t care about the gender. I was thinking of giving my baby up so she could have a good life. But I knew I couldn’t the minute they laid that gorgeous baby in my arms! It would have been nice and less scarier to be put at ease and to know ahead of time what was going to happen, especially if you are alone! Nowadays though you can have people in the delivery room. A friendly face can help. So make your plans and have a great safe delivery and a healthy baby! God Bless!
Wow! That is crazy she was trying to make you give up your baby. I’m so sorry you had to go through that. Such a scary thing to have forced on you during a sensitive time.
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