I want your opinions, PLEASE

I am currently reading two books in preparation for Floodling's arrival.  One in preparation for the actual arrival, and one in preparation for the needs that then follow.

I'm actually writing with the hopes of getting some of your opinions.  You all have been awfully quiet lately!  I know most of the time I'm just writing about daily things that happen and nothing needs to be said, but this time I want to hear from you! :)

The first book I am reading is about the Bradley Method of natural childbirth.  I will start off by first saying I am NOT thinking of having a home birth.  What is meant by "natural childbirth" is a birth that is unaided by the use of medications, whether for pain or for inducing labor, it does not mean I can't be at a hospital or have an obstetrician aiding in the birth.  I've been asked by several people if I plan to have a natural birth (kind of a weird question in my opinion) and my resounding answer for the longest time was "NO!".  You hear from friends and family and see on TV just how "painful" labor is.... so no, I did not think I wanted to do a natural birth.  I am NOT a brave person, nor do I deal with pain very well.  I saw natural birth as something women do to be seen as "heroic".  In addition, I know that I have my own medical needs and complications, possibly making a natural birth difficult.

So how did I get to thinking (notice I'm saying thinking) about natural birth then?  A teacher at my school had a baby over Christmas break.  Upon her return she told me she had a number of pregnancy books and asked if I would like them as this was her LAST child (she had a lot of health issues with both her pregnancies).  The next day I took home a large bag of books, among them The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy, The Complete Book of Breastfeeding, Hypnobirthing, Communing with the Spirit of your Unborn Child, and The Bradley Method.  A lot of them (Hynobirthing and Communing with the Spirit... for example) seemed a little too...weird... for me.  I passed them aside and dug through the others.  I opened the book on the Bradley Method not really knowing what it was and thinking it seemed like something maybe along the lines of Lamaze.  I quickly discovered it was a method for natural childbirth, but read on curious about its theories.

So this is what I've gleaned so far (keep in mind, these are not MY opinions, this is what I've read from a one-sided book):

• Labor drugs do enter the baby's bloodstream before birth, and can carry with them risks to both mother and baby
• Epidurals often slow the labor process then forcing doctors to use pitocin to again speed up the labor which may then again cause very painful contractions
• Epidurals don't always numb all of the pain
• If an epidural numbs the muscles needed to push the baby out then forceps or vacuums have to be used to extract the baby (in turn often leading to necessary episiotomy...or tearing....)
• Unmedicated babies have a natural tendency to help push themselves out and to spin to pass properly through the birth canal 
• A lot of the pain in labor is caused by the tensing of ALL the muscles in the body during contractions.  The theory behind this method is that by relaxing all of your muscles and allowing your uterine muscles to do their job (and understanding what they're doing) you can handle (and maybe even avoid) the pain.

And I thought this quote was interesting (though I don't entirely believe it as I have several friends who say once they got their epidural they couldn't feel a thing and were happy-go-lucky):

"The myth is that the medicated labor is painless.  But it is the medicated mother who later talks most about pain (and it is she who is often seen during labor suffering and out of control).  She may have thought drugs would see her through labor, so she didn't take the opportunity to get her mind and body ready.  In contrast the trained, natural-childbirth mothers talk primarily of hard work..."

I know of one person in particular that after her epidural was still in pain.  She also had to have pitocin to speed up the labor process but things still didn't move at an appropriate pace and she ended up having to have a C-Section.  But I also have (as mentioned above) friends who had epidurals, and one even then had pitocin, and they felt nothing and everything went "normally".

I've searched online for opponents to the Bradley Method curious what they have to say against it.  Honestly, I had a hard time finding anything.  There are a lot of women who have had medicated births followed by Bradley Births who all rave of how much better it is the Bradley way.  The biggest negative factor I've found is that apparently a lot of Labor and Delivery nurses and obstetricians dislike Bradley patients for being demanding and being hostile to medical interventions.  I am obviously not a person that is against medical intervention (who knows where I'd be if I were!) and I don't imagine myself being hostile or demanding.

Some opinions I found (from a neutral site):

"The knowledge about the anatomy/physiology and psychology provided by Bradley can't be beat. And you are smart/savvy enough to know not to incorporate any hostile attitudes about health care providers, if you choose not to. It can't hurt to gain the knowledge you would get taking these classes. And if you do choose anesthesia in labor for some reason, that's ok. You will still be smart and go in informed about your body and its workings in labor and delivery, something NO ONE can take away from you!"

"Tried both methods. Bradley teaches you how to relax and work with the labor you get--hard or easy. It better prepares you for releasing your body to the process of labor, for what childbirth will feel like and how to manage it by not fighting your body.   It helps reduce some of that Fear-leads-to-Tension-leads-to-Pain cycle that birthing can cause so well. Lamaze works OK to start with, but was worthless once real hard labor started. Bradley Method was by far the best...."

If I do choose to go with a natural childbirth, I am not set in any one method (yet, at least).  I did talk to my Ob/Gyn about natural childbirth and the Bradley method.  He said I would likely be viewed as "weird" as it's not the normal thing to do these days, but he often enjoys natural births as it makes his job a lot easier and often times the delivery room environment is more inviting.  I think the fact that his job is made "a lot easier" says something in itself, not to mention a "more inviting" room (ie. no screaming and cussing!).  His concern was allowing him to do his job if an emergency situation should arise, but otherwise he had no problem with it, and of course if it came to the health and safety of my baby I'd do what was necessary.  He also didn't seem to have any concern over my own medical situation interfering.

I should also mention that if I were to take Bradley Method courses it costs about $300 (eek!)... it is a 12 week class though that not only prepares you in this method, but also prepares you for breastfeeding and a lot of other things that come along with childbirth and having an infant.

So this is what I'm looking for... all of you moms out there, what is your opinion?  Am I crazy?  Is this book a load of... you know what....?  Did you have a natural childbirth or a "medicated" childbirth?  Either way, how did it go?  If you had medicated, did you still have pain?  Is there anyone that has done both?  Non-moms, I'm sure you have an opinion too.  What do you think???  I like to think I am open-minded (thus the reason this is even coming into question) so please feel free to share honestly!  Don't be mean, but I would appreciate others' true and honest opinions.

I will share more on the second book I'm reading later... :)