What is "Natural" Childbirth?

Well, natural childbirth is a term most often used to describe a birth where the woman plans, for her own sake or the sake of her unborn child, a vaginal birth, foregoing pain medication, and instead using techniques to help alleviate the pain and birth through the pain. It is also used to describe births where the mother is encouraged to follow the urges of her body, to push spontenously when she has the urge to push, and to be surrounded by a loving and supportive birth team. However, not all births go as planned, and any woman who has an emergency c-section, true complications, or has an incredibly hard birth and ends up using pain medication, should be encouraged that they still did the best for their baby and themselves. So my personal defintion of a "natural" childbirth is one in which the woman and her partner are prepared for every possibilty, both what they desire and what might happen, given the tools for the mother to give birth gently and spontaneously, and however the birth actually looks like, are able to make educated choices during pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period for the best for both woman and baby.

We try to implement that in our Wonderfully Created Childbirth Classes by preparing the couple to be able to do what they desire for their labor and birth, and if that doesn't happen, by preparing them to know what they can do in whatever situation that may arise.