Saw some stuff today thanks to Sarah that really kinda made me shake my head, when it comes to childbirth. Not only are some places telling their patients they are not allowed to have Douala's (which is bad enough) but they are even going so far as to not let women make their own birth plan, and "providing one for them". Some places having the pregnant mother sign a sheet of paper stating that, and basically giving up all of your rights in the process.
Who are these doctors who think they know so much more than a woman's body? Humans have been around quite a while, and it is only recently that giving birth has become a medical procedure. They even talked about needing to assess the baby first before the mother holding him/her!
Now, I didn't even really take any childbirth classes. My mom came with me to an express one, but I ended up leaving. It was, of course, couple oriented and I got pretty depressed. (even had a nice nurse offer to give me a one on one...but I lost her phone number). Either way, I had a birth plan in mind. It was not to be hooked up to things if i didn't need to be. No IV unless I needed medicine. Try to do natural, but if I couldn't handle it, then not to beat myself up about it. (I probably would have been really into the whole natural thing if I had a supportive s/o..but..things are what they are.) I did not want needless internal monitoring...or being induced just because I was 39 weeks. No getting cut. I think most important, I DID NOT want a C-section.
But, things do not always go as planned. I was initially sent over to the hospital, 11 days after my due date, because of high blood pressure. I was in labor, but only the very early stages. Only 1 1/2 cm and 70% effaced. I come to find out that the stuff coming out of me the last 7 hours, was indeed amniotic fluid. After 2 hours of being hooked up to fetal monitoring...I told them no more. I got away with that until they wanted to put cervidil in because I hadn't made any progress. With meds comes monitoring the baby. I understood that. The next morning, when there was STILL no progress. I was at that over 24 hour after the water breaks point, where they could do a c-section. I didn't want to. So, the other option, since my body obviously at that point wasn't going to do it (the contractions, little they were, actually stopped overnight), was to go the pitocin route. Pitocin, kind of kicks your contractions into the kind of contractions you should be having at 8 or 9 cm...pretty quick. (got up to 2 minutes apart after about 2 hours on pitocin). Contractions starting every 2 minutes, lasting a minute, a little recovery, about 3-5 seconds worth of being able to actually speak...and then back in again. If this was normal progression, you would suspect after having contractions like these...it would be any time now that its time to push the baby out. I was not so lucky...and after 3 hours of contractions like this, I couldn't take it anymore...and went for the epidural....so, about 5 hours after the pitocin started. But, I was only dilated to 4cm. A nurse actually had the audacity to state publicly that I was not even in labor yet...since...I was only 4cm. I wanted to jump off of that birthing ball and slap her..but..labor pains held me back.
After I got the epidural, I could breath. And the contractions kept going, and they kept trying to figure them out with the pitocin to make them the exact way they wanted them too. It kinda felt like tuning an old radio dial to find the right frequency (not that I ever owned an old radio...haha). At one point, the contractions were so close together, they were coming on top of each other...and it dropped his heart rate. I was terrified from then on. But, I still was not making any progress...hours later. It came to a point at about 14 hours after I started the pitocin, that we were gonna have to make a choice. I could keep going...or get a c-section...as failure to progress. I REALLY did not want a c-section. So, monitoring of me and him went into overdrive. They wanted to do an internal monitor, both to make sure his heart beat was ok, and to be able to REALLY determine the strength of the contractions. I was ok with that at this point. And then, luckily, I went to 8cm and 100% effaced. Then 10cm. But, he still wouldn't drop now...so it was onto another problem. I still held off, and luckily he dropped enough for me to try to start pushing. What I didn't know is that he was posterior. It seemed the doctors didn't know that either, until I was able to push him out in one push (after 3 hours of pushing)...and he flipped over at the same time. The look of shock on my OB's face said it all...it was something rare...lol. I was able to push him out like that, only because of his heart beat disappearing, when it was connected directly too him. No-one could sugar coat that he just fell off the monitor or something. I knew I needed him out of there.
So, I did get to avoid things like forceps, vacuums, being cut instead of tearing (I did tear, two places, but only needed 2 stitches for one, and one for the other. ) I didn't get a c-section. (And both my OB and the resident in the room..who were wonderful, laughed and told me afterwords they were SURE I was going to get a c-section...they didn't think it was gonna happen...lol).
If I had ended up at one of these places, that makes you go by THEIR birth plan....there is no way they would have let someone go 47 hours past their water breaking. I would have gotten a c-section the day before he was born. I wouldn't have been able to have a say in the matter...and knowing my health issues and the way I get infections (4 since giving birth already)...and the slow way I heal....I would probably still be in a crazy amount of pain and having problems getting around had they done that. And Cole is great. The ONLY complications during birth, was his heartbeat disappearing by the vein being pressed on his head in the birth canal. And yea..that was scary...but he was OK. Apgars 8 and then 9...only for color. And STILL, the first place he was put after he was born? On top of me.
This has kind of turned into another birth story about Cole, but this stuff really got me thinking. How horrible would it be to be so out of control? What woman would want to be told what to do...and follow someone else's birth plan?
Who are these doctors who think they know so much more than a woman's body? Humans have been around quite a while, and it is only recently that giving birth has become a medical procedure. They even talked about needing to assess the baby first before the mother holding him/her!
Now, I didn't even really take any childbirth classes. My mom came with me to an express one, but I ended up leaving. It was, of course, couple oriented and I got pretty depressed. (even had a nice nurse offer to give me a one on one...but I lost her phone number). Either way, I had a birth plan in mind. It was not to be hooked up to things if i didn't need to be. No IV unless I needed medicine. Try to do natural, but if I couldn't handle it, then not to beat myself up about it. (I probably would have been really into the whole natural thing if I had a supportive s/o..but..things are what they are.) I did not want needless internal monitoring...or being induced just because I was 39 weeks. No getting cut. I think most important, I DID NOT want a C-section.
But, things do not always go as planned. I was initially sent over to the hospital, 11 days after my due date, because of high blood pressure. I was in labor, but only the very early stages. Only 1 1/2 cm and 70% effaced. I come to find out that the stuff coming out of me the last 7 hours, was indeed amniotic fluid. After 2 hours of being hooked up to fetal monitoring...I told them no more. I got away with that until they wanted to put cervidil in because I hadn't made any progress. With meds comes monitoring the baby. I understood that. The next morning, when there was STILL no progress. I was at that over 24 hour after the water breaks point, where they could do a c-section. I didn't want to. So, the other option, since my body obviously at that point wasn't going to do it (the contractions, little they were, actually stopped overnight), was to go the pitocin route. Pitocin, kind of kicks your contractions into the kind of contractions you should be having at 8 or 9 cm...pretty quick. (got up to 2 minutes apart after about 2 hours on pitocin). Contractions starting every 2 minutes, lasting a minute, a little recovery, about 3-5 seconds worth of being able to actually speak...and then back in again. If this was normal progression, you would suspect after having contractions like these...it would be any time now that its time to push the baby out. I was not so lucky...and after 3 hours of contractions like this, I couldn't take it anymore...and went for the epidural....so, about 5 hours after the pitocin started. But, I was only dilated to 4cm. A nurse actually had the audacity to state publicly that I was not even in labor yet...since...I was only 4cm. I wanted to jump off of that birthing ball and slap her..but..labor pains held me back.
After I got the epidural, I could breath. And the contractions kept going, and they kept trying to figure them out with the pitocin to make them the exact way they wanted them too. It kinda felt like tuning an old radio dial to find the right frequency (not that I ever owned an old radio...haha). At one point, the contractions were so close together, they were coming on top of each other...and it dropped his heart rate. I was terrified from then on. But, I still was not making any progress...hours later. It came to a point at about 14 hours after I started the pitocin, that we were gonna have to make a choice. I could keep going...or get a c-section...as failure to progress. I REALLY did not want a c-section. So, monitoring of me and him went into overdrive. They wanted to do an internal monitor, both to make sure his heart beat was ok, and to be able to REALLY determine the strength of the contractions. I was ok with that at this point. And then, luckily, I went to 8cm and 100% effaced. Then 10cm. But, he still wouldn't drop now...so it was onto another problem. I still held off, and luckily he dropped enough for me to try to start pushing. What I didn't know is that he was posterior. It seemed the doctors didn't know that either, until I was able to push him out in one push (after 3 hours of pushing)...and he flipped over at the same time. The look of shock on my OB's face said it all...it was something rare...lol. I was able to push him out like that, only because of his heart beat disappearing, when it was connected directly too him. No-one could sugar coat that he just fell off the monitor or something. I knew I needed him out of there.
So, I did get to avoid things like forceps, vacuums, being cut instead of tearing (I did tear, two places, but only needed 2 stitches for one, and one for the other. ) I didn't get a c-section. (And both my OB and the resident in the room..who were wonderful, laughed and told me afterwords they were SURE I was going to get a c-section...they didn't think it was gonna happen...lol).
If I had ended up at one of these places, that makes you go by THEIR birth plan....there is no way they would have let someone go 47 hours past their water breaking. I would have gotten a c-section the day before he was born. I wouldn't have been able to have a say in the matter...and knowing my health issues and the way I get infections (4 since giving birth already)...and the slow way I heal....I would probably still be in a crazy amount of pain and having problems getting around had they done that. And Cole is great. The ONLY complications during birth, was his heartbeat disappearing by the vein being pressed on his head in the birth canal. And yea..that was scary...but he was OK. Apgars 8 and then 9...only for color. And STILL, the first place he was put after he was born? On top of me.
This has kind of turned into another birth story about Cole, but this stuff really got me thinking. How horrible would it be to be so out of control? What woman would want to be told what to do...and follow someone else's birth plan?
I love this birth story. I am so happy you were able to avoid a c-section, especially because at many places they would not have given you a choice. The most important thing in a birth is the health of the baby. I also think that it is important never to beat yourself up about the birth that you had versus the birth that you wanted. In the end all that matters is you have a baby in your arms. You pushed your baby out and that experience will live on with your forever. I am so proud of you and I knew you could do it--all the way from Chicago I was thinking about how you would have such a successful birth.
ReplyDeleteIt is so upsetting to hear about hospitals making birth plans for parents! Thanks for the shout out!