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Natural Birth
I think I just need to hang out here
I may get flamed for this, but go for it.
I am pg with #2 and spend lots of time on my birth month board (July 2012), but have recently started checking out the current month to read up on the birth stories, etc. I think I need to stop, though it doesn't freak me out like it would have with #1 (and I did not read birth stories then).
I got so frustrated reading some of those stories, where the women are hoping for a vaginal birth and then head to the hospital the moment contractions start, they are admitted at 2cm and then end up with a c-section, or where the Dr's tell them they aren't big enough, or they end up with a c-section but it takes them awhile to get the baby out because it is "lodged" in the birth canal. Well no sh*#! you had nearly delivered that baby before they intervened! This of course comes after reading the recent postings here on 10 things to do to avoid a c-section and other helpful articles.
I know that there is always a time and place for interventions, and I don't knock anyone for wanting an epidural, but it is amazing how unaware women are about their options on having the vag birth they want and the choices some make to sabatoge their chances of that.
Alright, I'm done, stepping off the soapbox.
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Re: I think I just need to hang out here
I posted something similiar to this a few months back and the lovely ladies on this board really opened my eyes to the situation by presenting points that I had never considered beforehand.
First things first, its not always the woman's fault when she is sucked into an intervention. I don't care if your Ina May herself...if an OB comes to you while you're in the worst pain of your entire life and tells you that if you decline intervention (may it be a c-section, a shot of pit, forceps, or a vacuum) that you will be placing your baby's life in danger, you are not going to protest. End of story. You can write your birth plan six ways 'till Sunday but an ill-advised consult from your OB can change the game in an instant.
Second, there's the aspect of available care. For example, take TriCare (its military insurance-its what I know so hopefully I can articulate it as a clear example). If you are enrolled in TriCare Prime (which everyone is unless you request otherwise) you are only able to see on-post OBs. Most miltary hospitals do not have MWs on staff, nor have I come across one that advocates or even offers easy access to NB resources (NB friendly-ob's, NB classes, ect). If you don't know how to get around it, you're SOL because that's all that your insurance will cover. The path of your prenatal care combined with the value/strength/commitment of your support system really does have the ability to directly influence the final result, may that be to your advantage or to the demise of your ideal birth.
this is perfectly said,
the only thing I want to add to it the support system thing, my mom never had an epidural she had 6 births 3 at home I was 3 weeks late and big.. my sisters (I have 4 and 1 close natural birth cousin) were all older than me, I had seen birth more ways than one. I guess that helped me 'know' I could do it, so I wasn't afraid and having your mind ready is a huge helper!
Little Rose is 2 1/2.
Your mom sounds awesome!
Sadly enough, I feel as if we've finally reached an era in which natural birth is barely considered as an option anymore. Not enough people have had NB's, so when it comes time to talk about birth with their daughters, they only have the cookie cutter "I dilated, rushed to the hospital, had my water broken, got pitocin and an epi, and had the baby a few hours later" sort of story to tell...
NB seems like leprosy sometimes, I swear. Doctors who don't advocate (or even adequately accommodate) NB's get the serious side eye from me. Their job is to heal and preserve life-not put it at risk just because they have tickets to the baseball game that starts in 2 hours. Plus, it seems like they try really, really hard to maintain a super-speedy turnover in the L&D wing.
So far the mom's in my month have delivered naturally. Just a couple of Cesareans, and they were necessary enough that it didn't cause me to SMH. We're the next month, so we'll see what happens. I'm terrified of being pushed into something I don't want. I'm more concerned with AROM than anything else. Once AROM occurs, baby HAS to come out.
Can one refuse AROM? My membranes ruptured spontaneously right before transition with DD. I liked that. IDK how hospital births work anymore. You only see the scary extreme stuff. You don't see the middle of the line.
(soapbox) Some women drive me crazy. I keep getting told, "Only 10% of women have their membranes rupture spontaneously. The hospital has to do it" No, not true. Only 10% of women have their membranes rupture spontaneously BEFORE labor starts. I promise you, that baby will not be born in his amniotic sac. (/soapbox)
My sister and I both delivered at Wilford Hall Medical Center on Lackland AFB. They PUSH you to a natural birth. They'll offer an epidural, but that's it. No inducing. No sectioning. No "helping things along". I guess we lucked out. BAMC, at Fort Sam Houston, is the same way. But, then again, the staff of WHMC took over BAMC.
Actually this does happen, it is called being born in the caul. my cousins daughter was born like this... at home... no medical problem being born that way, in fact they said it was very special had a party and sang a special song.
Little Rose is 2 1/2.
OP, that's my BMB, and I think the same thing each time I read one of those stories. I also was frustrated for the women who were pressured into scheduled c-sections because their doctors said their babies were too big. Each to her own, but I really wish women as a whole would better educate themselves about their reproductive systems and choices.
/hops off soapbox
It's not a woman's job to study up for birth. She should be able to trust that her provider has her best interests in mind - which a good amount of them don't, unfortunately.
The maternity system in this country is broken. Most OBs have a screwed-up view of birth. Blaming women for not educating themselves doesn't help anything. Blame the system, not individual women.
And FWIW, I "educated" myself before my first birth. found the MWs with the lowest c-section rate in my area. I had a doula, I took classes. I had a birth plan, and refused an epidural. I Guess what? I had a c-section in the end.
DS2 - Oct 2010 (my VBAC baby!)
I agree. And its perceptions like that, OP, that contribute to the problem.
Why have OBs if we can't trust that they know what they're doing?
If I got cancer tomorrow,I could google my face off looking for treatment options....but I'm going to trust the word of an oncologist over the information I've gathered myself. We should be able to trust health professionals to provide us with accurate information and safe treatment...if I wanted to educate myself to such a detailed extent, I would have become a doctor myself.
Just giving the other side of the argument here. I am a doctor's daughter and a future doctor's wife. I've had chronic, unexplained health problems for the past 5 years. They are not childbirth related, but seeing doctor after doctor taught me a couple of things. First, you really can't trust every doctor or their opinions. The med school students who graduated last in their class are still doctors. And individuals who went into medicine for the money and not to help people have thriving practices. Second, you have to be your own best advocate. That means doing your own research and educating yourself. Your health is your most important asset.
PP mentioned that if she had cancer, she would trust her oncologist over her own research. After seeing over a dozen doctors for my one problem, I must disagree. Modern medicine is wonderful for true emergencies- putting you back together after a horrific injury, appendectomies, treating massive infections, etc. Unfortunately, treatments for most other types of conditions involve protocols that aren't right for everyone and may even be harmful. And at preventative medicine, this system gets a big fat F. If I were diagnosed with cancer, I would absolutely do my own research and find out everything I can before making a decision regarding treatment. You have to arm yourself with knowledge because, unfortunately, nobody cares more about your health than you do. There are good, caring doctors out there, those who take time to talk to you and see you as more than just a body- I know a few personally. But if the cross section I have met in my quest to treat my problem is an indication of what is out there, they are the minority. This applies to the full range of patient-doctor interaction, neonatology to geriatrics and everything in between including OBs. Blaming women is not the answer, the system IS flawed. Medical education is flawed. But knowing that it is flawed, I would never walk into a doctor's office to discuss my birth plan/cancer treatment/surgical options/whatever else undereducated or blind to my options. We have to take active roles in our healthcare.
OP, that's my BMB too and I've had the same response to some of the stories.
I don't agree that you shouldn't have to do your own research b/c you should be able to trust your OB. It's not about trust. OB's are human, with their own worldviews and biases. Some keep up with current research & literature better than others. An OB who isn't well educated on NB isn't necessarily hatching a nefarious plot to get more money, make it to his golf game, or screw women out of their ideal birth experience. Some just genuinely have a different opinion on best practices than you or I do. I researched the sh!t out of what humidifier to buy, for goodness sake. I certainly also researched my birth options.