Life Is An Adventure: Thoughts on Ceserean Deliveries

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Thoughts on Ceserean Deliveries

Lil' Robert, Hannah, and Wesley were all born too early. They were all born in a cold, sterile, very rushed, invasive manor. Not at all how I ever thought it would be...

When Daddy and I married, we spoke at length about family. Being one of 9, I wanted to have that big family, full of love and blessed chaos, and he was all for it. Together we decided, that we would have baby #1 in the hospital and the remainder that God blessed us with would be born in the comfort of our home...

On April 8, 2005, when I was 36wks along, part of that dream forever changed. When the doctor told us that we would require an emergency cesarean section NOW or risk losing our baby, I knew that having home births would be difficult to come by, especially since VBAC's were quite taboo at the time...

When we became pregnant with Hannah, all of our doctors agreed that a VBAC was okay to try and we were so excited! However on March 2, 2007, at just 35wks, that dream was crushed. While at work, I began having very strong, very painful contractions - not just the uncomfortable early ones, but doubled over, cannot walk, one does not end before the next begins kind of contractions. On the way to the hospital, things changed for the worse and 15 minutes after arriving at the hospital, Hannah was on her way to the NICU for a few hours of intense observation...

After this, I knew 2 things: 1.) A home birth would never happen and 2.) An eventual VBAC was unlikely. It took a lot of self affirmation to know that this would be okay. That never having the natural, family centered, non medically invasive birth was not the focus, rather having children that survived. I will not say that I was ever okay with having c-sections, but I did eventually accept it...

Until March 2, 2009 when Wesley made his hasty entrance into the world at just 32 weeks with my 3rd emergency C-section. I was mentally prepared for a planned, calm, following my birth plan type of C-section. I was not at all prepared for what happened and all that followed...

Months after his birth, when he was healthy and growing and I was recovered from all of the complications/surgeries following his C-section, all of the guilt and emotions that I had overcome had returned in full force. Part of this was due to the fact that a full term pregnancy would never happen, if we were even able to have another, which never would happen due to the hysterectomy on March 3, 2011...

I am writing this because I don't understand this huge rise in C-sections. I do not understand why anyone would choose to have one for convenience. Emergencies, true life or death emergencies are one thing, but to choose major surgery just because is something I will never understand...

C-sections carry the same risks as any other major surgery - infection, blood clots, blood loss, anesthesia complications, damage to bowel and bladder, and of course death. There are also risks to the baby - they can be cut by the scalpel, lose oxygen, etc. I know many families of full term newborns who have suffered collapsed lungs requiring NICU stays, chest tubes, ventilators, etc solely because of the C-section. These babies would have been healthy and would have gone home with their parents instead of fighting for life had it not been for the C-section...

I know that they save lifes, my 3 children are perfect examples. I know that there is good behind them, but this huge rise in C-sections for convenience or because of a failed, non medically necessary induction, is saddening. I hope and pray that one day they will not be as common...

Here are just a few of the research articles/news links of what I have seen lately: