This is a guest post from Heather P, sharing her personal story of finding out she was pregnant while still a high school teenager, and her decision process in favor of natural childbirth with no Epidural or pain relief medications.

Seeing the double pink lines on the pregnancy test, showing positive results that I was pregnant, came as a shock. I’m having a baby and I’m scared to death. I had just celebrated my 18th birthday, about to graduate from high school, go on to college and get my degree, then pursue my chosen career.

Here I was, a month after returning home from my summer vacation to Chicago, taking a pregnancy test, with my boyfriend on the phone with me. Out of all the things I was worried about and planning for my future, taking a pregnancy test and getting the results was the last thing I wanted to deal with.

I knew I had to tell my mom about my discovery, but how? I hadn’t even graduated from high school yet; I’m young and not married, but I’m pregnant. Having to tell my mother that I’m pregnant meant disappointing and hurting her. How do you look your mother in the eyes and tell her the news? How would she react to hearing that her own daughter was now an unmarried pregnant teenager, just like those she’s written about here on this site? Every emotion possible was running through me. I had no idea how to tell my mom, “Hey, Guess what? You’re going to be a grandmother…” Umm, no.

How to Tell Parents You Are Pregnant

I decided that I was going to call my mom at work and tell her over the phone once I got home from school that day. I expected all hell to break loose, but I was extremely surprised and relieved that her only reaction (after a long moment of silence) was to calmly tell me to go to Planned Parenthood and take another pregnancy test to be sure there was no false-positive results, and that we’d talk about it when she got home.

Having heard how other parents of pregnant teenage girls have reacted to an unplanned pregnancy, I was expecting to hear an explosive reaction from my mom too, but I didn’t get one. All we talked about were the 3 different pregnancy options that needed to be decided: Adoption, abortion, or keeping and raising the baby. There was no criticism from my mom; no down-talk; no name calling; no emotionally-charged rants whatsoever; our conversation was purely informational and calm.

While I knew I wasn’t ready for a baby, I called my boyfriend and told him what I was thinking and feeling, and asked him what he wanted to do since it was his baby too. He cried his heart out to both me and my mom, telling us that he wanted me to keep the baby, and that we’d work everything out. Ultimately, that’s what he and I decided to do. So I was now a 18-year-old mom-to-be.

Next question that had to be answered was, where was I going to live? My boyfriend lived in Chicago, and I live in Texas. Was I going to move back to Chicago and stay with him and his family? Was I going to stay in Texas and he move out here? We decided I was going to stay here in Texas with my mom, and my boyfriend would move here as soon as possible. While his family had already known (prior to him moving) that I was pregnant and he was about to become a father, my dad and siblings still had no idea.

I was way too afraid to hear their criticism and negative comments, so I asked my mom if she could deliver the news for me. She didn’t need to tell me what they said to her about it because it was written all over her face. Suffice it to say that their reactions were the exact opposite of my mom’s reaction. Then it was time to start figuring out who my labor and delivery doctor (OBGYN) would be, where and how I would give birth to our baby, and start getting things we needed for the baby.

Birthing Options for Expectant Mothers

Although I didn’t know anything about the different places to labor and deliver a baby, my mom knows what birthing options there are for mothers-to-be and she was a big help to us! In an unbiased way, she explained the pros and cons of giving birth in a hospital, as well as the cost of delivering a baby in a hospital. She explained midwives and birthing centers to me and the costs involved, and explained what home births are like. Not once did my mom ever say anything to pressure me or influence my/our personal choice of how or where I would labor and/or deliver our baby. Thanks mom!

Labor and delivery in hospitals is very expensive even if you have health insurance, and you have virtually no freedom on how you’re going to labor and deliver your baby. If you’re having mostly back labor (where the labor pains or contractions are mostly felt in your lower back), the last thing you would want to be told by the hospital nurses is to lay flat on your back, or that you’re not allowed to turn on your side or move around at all even if it makes you feel more comfortable before, during and after each contraction.

Hospitals aren’t very open-minded to what birthing methods women want for their own labor and birth experience, and you only see your doctor for a quick few minutes when the baby is ready to be delivered. Birthing Centers are very open to what pregnant mothers want for their birth experience, assuming you don’t want an Epidural or any strong pain medications. Birthing Centers are available for women who want natural childbirth like I did, but at a much lower cost than having a baby in a hospital. Birthing at home (home births) is essentially the same as laboring and delivering your baby at a Birthing Center.

Once my boyfriend and I understood the choices and options about how and where to deliver a baby, we decided to visit the Allen Birthing Center in Allen Texas. I didn’t want to have to spend $20,000 just to see my doctor for 5 minutes, so it was a relief when they told me that the cost was only $4750 dollars flat fee; the price includes from the moment you have your first prenatal office visit, to the day they check you after birth. Once we had a good look around and got all our questions answered to our satisfaction, we decided that the Allen Birthing Center was where I would give birth.

Trying to finish school while pregnant proved to be very interesting to me. At first I was self-conscience about myself and the way that everyone looked at me, but after I realized that the kids at my school didn’t really make a big deal about it, it was easy to just be myself. Being pregnant didn’t really stop me from doing very much. I still drove everywhere, and held a part time job well into my third trimester.

The prenatal Lamaze classes that my boyfriend and I went to were pretty funny. We were the youngest couple there, but no one treated us any different. We watched some birthing videos of people having a baby, worked out of a workbook, and practiced different breathing and relaxation techniques that make labor more tolerable. I didn’t realize there was so much information you needed to know about labor and delivering a baby.

Natural Childbirth vs Epidural and Pain Relief

The time came for me to decide what kind of birth I wanted to have. I already knew that I wanted natural childbirth, with no Epidural administered or pain meds. Since my mom personally chose natural labor and delivery for each of her 6 kids, she was a good reference for “what to expect” as far as what natural labor and delivery is like. It was really helpful to hear from someone who’s “been there” explaining what it was like for her, and feel no pressure from my mom at all, or influence to go through labor and delivery the way she did.

I even decided that I wanted a water birth, where I would deliver the baby in a bathtub filled with warm water or in the “birthing tub” in the birthing center bedroom I chose. At 4:00 am on May 11th last year, I woke up to the sound of a really weird “POP”. Lucky for me I didn’t really FEEL the pop, I just heard it. (It sounded a lot like when you pop the cork from a wine/champagne bottle) I didn’t really notice anything weird for a couple seconds, until I started leaking fluid a little bit. My water was breaking, slowly. It was only when my mom woke up and came upstairs that we confirmed that indeed my water broke and was causing me to leak.

My mom, my boyfriend, and I sat in the living room for quite awhile just timing the contractions that had begun, until I decided that I wanted to get into my parents huge Jacuzzi-tub. I just wanted to relax and take it easy, so sitting in the tub getting a back massage and listening to some good jazz music, was definitely the way to go.

Once the contractions started getting more intense and lasting longer, I felt it was time for us to drive to the Birthing Center to get checked out, but we were sent back home with further instructions. A couple of hours later we went back to the center a second time, and even though I had only dilated 4 centimeters, I was allowed to stay at the center and was told to walk around as much as I could to help speed up the process. Gravity matters during labor!

My Doula came in to help relieve my back pain as my labor and contractions progressed, since I was having back labor mostly. Hand/fist pressure applied to my lower back only helped a little, and left me bruised more than anything else. I tried sitting on a “birthing ball”, also known as a birth ball or labor ball (it looks like an exercise ball) and rolling my hips, but it didn’t really do anything for me. Sitting on a stool in the shower for about 45 minutes, while my boyfriend held and directed the shower-head water on my lower back helped a lot.

The much maligned transition phase started while I was sitting in the shower. Transition was painful but, surprisingly, it was still tolerable. Even though both my mom and I were criticized about my personal decision for natural childbirth vs having an epidural and/or pain medication, I’m glad I did it this way and would do it again. I labored and delivered our baby my way, just like I wanted and planned for myself.

Delivering a Baby the Natural Way

It’s a very strange feeling when your body naturally, suddenly and without warning, starts pushing the baby down and out the birth canal. Water births are great! Sitting in the tub filled with warm water made pushing the baby out a lot easier than I had originally imagined. The tub water took the weight of my stomach off of my back, so it was easier to concentrate on pushing, instead of how sore my back felt. When my daughter’s head was crowning, I was scared to keep pushing because I could feel myself tearing slightly. Once the baby’s head came out, the midwife told me to stop pushing. “What?! Are you crazy?” were my thoughts.

As a way of distracting myself, I turned to my mom and my boyfriend, and told them that my boyfriend and I weren’t going to be having any more kids, haha. Someone then told me that the umbilical cord was wrapped around my daughter’s neck and they had to unwrap it before I could finish pushing her out. After the midwives/Doula un-wrapped the cord, another push or two was all it took and beautiful Sophia Bella was finally born at 2:59 pm on May 11th 2009.

There are many options to choose from regarding labor, dealing with labor pains, and options for delivering a baby that pregnant teens or women need to carefully consider and decide. I wanted a natural, vaginal childbirth, and I’m so glad it all happened as I had planned. Creating a birth plan is very important when you’re pregnant, and I’m glad my mom provided me all the information, support and guidance I needed in order to choose for myself and my baby.

Similar Posts:

• Birthing Options – Natural Childbirth Options For Expectant Mothers
• Allen Birthing Center, Dallas Midwife Birthing Options, American Association Birth Centers
• Ricki Lake: Ricki Lake’s The Business of Being Born
• Pregnant Teenagers – Unplanned Teenage Pregnancy
• The Expectant Father: Facts, Tips, and Advice for Dads-to-Be

Knowing what your birthing options are, in order to decide where to have a baby, are important decisions expectant parents need to make. With the average cost to deliver a baby in a hospital by vaginal birth in the U.S. being around $8800.00 in a labor and delivery room, pregnant moms and dads are looking for alternative ways to deliver a baby in a healthy and safe environment, but without the high costs of delivering in a hospital.

Pregnant teenagers and expectant women need to know what natural childbirth options are available for them to deliver their baby, understanding the pros and cons of cesarean sections so aptly discussed in “The Business of Being Born” documentary by Ricki Lake, especially since childbirth by cesarean section has become big business in U.S. hospitals.

Natural Childbirth Options

• Hospital Birth

• Hospital Birthing Room

• Birthing Center

• Home Birth Delivery

Labor and delivery cost is an important factor for many expectant moms and dads in deciding where to deliver a baby, but the cost to deliver a baby should not be the primary reason for choosing a birthing center or home birth delivery over a hospital birth, as there is much more than cost to consider in deciding how or where to deliver a baby.

Whether you have medical insurance or not to help with the costs of delivering your baby, understand that the average cost of birthing center deliveries and home birth delivery is 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of giving birth in a hospital, and many birthing centers accept insurance and are happy to file claims for you or work out a payment plan.

If you are interested in delivering your baby at a birthing center or a home birth delivery, find a birth center near you and schedule a consultation and walk-through of the facility. A consultation visit with the birthing center gives you the opportunity to talk to the certified midwives on staff and ask important questions about birthing options, costs of delivering at the birthing center or a home birth, insurance and payment plans, your personal birth plan and preferences for labor and delivery.

Birth Plans

Wherever you decide to deliver your baby, it’s important that you take the time to create a birth plan. What is a birth plan? A birth plan is a clear, one-page statement listing all of your preferences and choices for your labor and delivery that you discuss and share with your baby’s father, doctor, nurses and/or midwife, and anyone else involved in the birth as your support team.

The birth plan is a detailed “map” your labor and delivery team will use to follow your wishes and instructions for a natural childbirth experience throughout the stages of labor and delivery. Be sure each person involved in the birthing process has a copy of your birth plan well ahead of the “big day” in order to avoid any miscommunication or confusion during labor and delivery.

Writing a birth plan with the help of a “birth plan template”, or by following the guidelines found in a “sample birth plan”, will help you in choosing and writing down your personal birthing options and preferences. What should a birth plan or birth form include?

• Who do you want to be there throughout your labor and delivery?

• Will there be children/siblings, parents or in-laws present?

• Do you want a doula? A doula is an assistant who provides various forms of non-medical support (physical, emotional and informed choice) in the childbirth process

• Do you want mobility, the option to move around at will, or do you prefer to be confined to a bed?

• What activities or labor and delivery positions do you plan to use during labor and while giving birth? (walking, standing, squatting, sitting, etc)

• Do you want a calm, quiet, gentle birth?

• Do you want a water birth? (delivering your baby in a birthing tub), or with a birthing stool during the birthing process?

• Do you want any pain medications? Do you have any preferences for which pain medications are used if any, or do you want to avoid them altogether?

• What will you do for pain relief? Massage, hot and cold packs, changing positions, labor imagery, relaxation techniques, breathing exercises, shower/tub or Jacuzzi, and medication are just some options to consider

• How do you feel about fetal monitoring? Fetal monitoring often requires laboring mothers to assume the supine position (flat on your back) during labor, which can make back labor more uncomfortable and painful during labor

• Do you want an epidural childbirth? Do you want an episiotomy? Many birthing centers and home birth certified midwives do not routinely give episiotomies unless deemed necessary, and epidurals are not an option at birthing centers or home births

• How will you hydrate yourself during labor? Sipping water or ice chips? Do you want a routine IV, a heparin/saline lock, or nothing at all?

• Do you want soft music playing during your labor and/or delivery?

• For birthing center or home births, what are your wishes and preferences if you must be transported to a nearby hospital?

• If you need to deliver by cesarean section, do you have any special requests or wishes you would like considered?

Throughout your pregnancy, you are likely to hear a variety of labor and delivery stories that may or may not be welcome or invited. Keep in mind that each labor and delivery is different for every woman, so take these labor and delivery stories with a grain of salt.

Be sure to sign up for and take prenatal classes or natural childbirth classes, as childbirth education provided by those who are  educated, qualified, certified and experienced in natural childbirth are better equipped to answer your questions and/or concerns about your birthing options, labor and delivery stages, nursing/breastfeeding your baby etc.

Childbirth classes also provide expectant parents the opportunity to watch high-quality natural childbirth videos, as opposed to “birthing videos” found online at websites like YouTube.com, where many of the “childbirth videos” are nothing more than pranks.

Childbirth books written by natural child birth experts offer expectant mothers invaluable information and advice on how to have a prepared childbirth regardless of which childbirth option you choose. Husband-Coached Childbirth: The Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth is an excellent childbirth book, so be sure to include that on your list of must-read books.

Natural childbirth education, provided by those who truly care about you and your baby, is all you need in deciding for or against natural childbirth and choosing your childbirth options (or how and where to deliver a baby).

Related Posts:

Baby Needs Checklist – Basic Baby Needs for Newborn Babies
Pregnant Teenagers – Unplanned Teenage Pregnancy
Ricki Lake: Ricki Lake’s The Business of Being Born
The Expectant Father: Facts, Tips, and Advice for Dads-to-Be

Similar Posts:

• Allen Birthing Center, Dallas Midwife Birthing Options, American Association Birth Centers
• Natural Childbirth Birthing Options, Delivering Baby the Natural Way or Epidural?
• Ricki Lake: Ricki Lake’s The Business of Being Born
• The Expectant Father: Facts, Tips, and Advice for Dads-to-Be
• Pregnant Teenagers – Unplanned Teenage Pregnancy