Any women that used relaxation techniques for natural childbirth?

I was in hard labor with my son for 30 hours- about 26 hrs into it, I got the epidural (and ended up with an emergency c-section shortly after grrr).

The breathing helped me a lot, as well as the Jacuzzi tub in my hospital room. I found that I just needed to get in 'the zone'... I can't explain HOW to get there, but I was pretty out of it (and exhausted) and that was when I handled the pain the best, even though it was coming harder and faster.

Just do whatever feels best for you! Rocking back and forth, breathing, squeezing a hand, etc.

Good luck and congrats!

To get a cesarean for any cosmetic purpose is just a bad idea. They should be on a NEED basis ONLY, because they put your wife AND your baby at a much higher risk. I'm not sure how getting a c-section became such a huge trend over natural birth, but it needs to stop. The muscles in her vagina may not be exactly the same after giving birth depending on a few things. First, sometimes during childbirth muscles are naturally ripped; other times during childbirth the doctor will actually take scissor and make an incision from the bottom of her vaginal opening as far as nearly to her anus if there is a problem getting the baby through. However, these things will heal, and with Kegal exercises, your wife's vagina will be as tight as before, but it certainly might take a while.