Childbirth rant
We have our first childbirth class tomorrow. Actually it’s more than just childbirth. It’s this series of 6 classes (we may have to miss one, depending on if we go out of state or not in a couple of weeks) that are all about examining your attitudes toward birth and whatnot. I’m pretty sure I know what my attitudes are: I would like to get Bisquito out of me with as little medical stabbing/poking/cutting as possible. I’ve been reading a lot about the topic, about the cascade of interventions that seem innocuous enough, but more often than they ought to, lead to a c-section.
IMPORTANT THING TO SAY SO PEOPLE DON’T GET MAD AT ME: I realize that some c-sections are done for very important medical reasons, and I’m really glad they’re available and usually quite safe. It sure beats the alternative.
GIANT CAVEAT: I have never given birth, and all this comes from reading and from hearing about my friends’ experiences. I reserve the right to completely change my mind and think of Past Aprille as an idealistic fool come February.
That said, I have kind of a fundamental mistrust of MDs, particularly the OB/GYN staff at UIHC. I worked there for a summer in college, and I gained a lot of respect for the non-MD staff (nurses, nursing assistants, midwives). They’re the ones doing 80% of the work for 30% of the pay.
MASSIVE GENERALIZATION: MDs are good at diagnosing and treating disease. They see a patient in pain and think, “How can I fix her? Epidural. Now the contractions have slowed down. How can I fix that? Pitocin. Her water hasn’t broken. How can I fix that? I can break it manually. Now it’s been so long since her water has broken that she’s at risk for infection. How can I fix that? C-section.”
I can’t really blame them—they’ve been trained in medical school to be mechanics of the human body, to fix the broken parts. That’s incredibly important if a person needs heart surgery or diabetes treatment or a way out of an unusual birth situation. Still, I don’t like the idea of giving birth as a broken state. Unless there’s a serious medical complication, I could probably give birth squatting in a closet. Letting a bunch of interventions happen takes it out of my control and turns me into a series of problems to be fixed.
Wow, that got a little rantier than I meant it to. All I was trying to say is that we have baby class on Saturday, and after that we’re going to visit Denny’s parents.
So there.
If you want to go natural (and maybe other have told you this already), but I have a friend who used hypnobirthing and said it was the best. There are tapes or books or something you can listen to/read. I don’t know much about it, but both her babies came when they wanted to and she was drug free. She had a doctor and not a midwife too.
Dude, you just got trawled and excerpted by some kind of clumsy google-spam site.
Holly had an emergency c-section (I’ve blathered that story enough, not going to do it again) and she’s always talked about how she thinks people who get voluntary c-sections are crazy.
My sister the women’s studies major gave birth squatting in a wading pool at home, with a midwife by her side. This seemed kind of daredevil to me, since my sister was herself born via emergency c-section due to an abnormally short umbilical.
But it worked fine. Also her little girl was born with a full head of hair, which is just ridiculously cute. Probably not a consequence of the birthing method, though.
As you start to share about your pregnancy on your blog, know that everyone has wisdom and opinions, yet I think it gets difficult when people are so dogmatic about their positions. It’s fervour sometimes goes beyond politics and religion!!!
Once I picked up a baby sling to just look at it- just look, mind you – and a woman rushed up and ripped it out of my hands and shouted that it was a terrible product. I may have not minded her sharing her opinion, but the ripping and shouting were unneccesary.
This is your blog to explore your thoughts and if people get rude and crazy, tell them to amp it down! Please do not stop sharing and exploring. People’s boundries are really bad where pregnancy and babies are concerned. Expect that, but be yourself and share what you are caring about. Good luck as you go, dear!!!
All I’ll say in response (and as someone who knows a woman who had a CBAV for no other reason than convenience), I hope that your delivery goes exactly as you hope it will.
I think you should have Bisquito in squatting in the closet. I’m totally kidding. Actually, I’m not- I hope you give birth wherever you are most comfortable. I’ve been reading a book, The Baby Catcher, and she keeps talking about how women seem to gravitate toward the smallest, tightest space they can when they’re in late labor. I’m guessing it probably feels secure. Anyways. It’d make a great story – I’m sure the closets are big enough at the U.
Idealistic fool or no, come February you’ll know you have a deeper well of inner strength than you thought you did in January and you’ll be so appreciative of the loads of reading you did so that if presented with the need to make decisions during your labor that you wanted to avoid you won’t feel blindsided or bullied.
And yes, let’s avoid those unnecessary c-sections like my own. Though I appreciate the personal growth it caused, I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.
Wow, there’s a rant back at you 🙂
Aprille-
Sorry to barge in on your blog and respond even though you don’t know me at all. I’m Jack younger sister, so I am not a complete stranger. Just to second the first comment on this thread- I actually used hypnobirthing when I gave birth to my daughter this summer. It was amazing! I can not recommend it more. There is a book with a cd that has some relaxation exercises on it. If you can actually find time to practice with Denny (or who ever is going to be at the birth helping you) then the book is completly sufficient. Otherwise you can probably find a class in your area. I read the book and then DH and I took a 5 week class. The instructor did hypnotherapy and was trained through hypnobirthing international. She helped me learn how to become completly relaxed so that labor went by quickly and with out a massive amount of pain, and yes I did give bith in a kiddie pool in my living room as Jack stated above. I you are wanting a natural birth you should really check it out. Our daughter was completly calm and scurprisingly alert at birth. Sorry for the unsolicited advise. When I was pregnant I got sick of hearing other peoples birth stories, as I am sure you are, but my experience was positive which is might be a change to what you normally hear.