Thursday, July 14, 2011

it was fate...

that i found three birds
she's a natural birth advocate. and while she's having her baby at home with zero drugs, i'm going to try to have my baby in a hospital with zero drugs...

we're pretty much on the same path (4 weeks to go) and i really feel as though i need to trust my body. induction was ridiculous. it was annoying. i was scared, misinformed and young(er) than i am now. if its one thing i've learned after 33 years on the earth, it's "if it doesn't feel right, it's not." and it's funny because i usually am a very go with the flow type person but i just feel strongly about this. i know that i will be wishing that the baby comes out right on his due date, but i'm pretty sure he won't. they never do. but i have to trust the person growing inside me to know when the "time is right."

here's an excerpt from her blog, which i feel that i could've written myself i feel SO similarly to her:

When did we subscribe to this thinking that our babies and our bodies don't know how to birth without synthetic drugs? This topic angers me so much mostly because I was forced by my doctor to induce labor with Conrad and knowing what I know now about inducting, I credit my induction to my emergency cesarean.

Instead of getting anxious about going over my due date, or wondering when the baby will come, I've been trying to say affirming statements about birth to myself.
-God has equipped me to birth this baby. My baby will be the perfect size to fit.
-The baby will come when it is ready to come.
-My body will nurture this baby until it is ready to arrive.
-There is no reason to stress over when it will come.


"Inducing labor means to force it to begin. It is sometimes necessary when the continued pregnancy itself is a threat to the mother's life, as in the case of a diabetic mother whose pregnancy is too stressful, aggravating the diabetes into a life threatening situation. This would be a medical reason and the proper use of induction. Such cases are rare. (There has been a dramatic rise in the labor induction rate in the last 15 years. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the rate of inductions was 9.5% in 1990. In 2003, the rate more than doubled to reach 20.6%. Imagine where it is now! The world health organization suggests a rate no higher than 10% induction, world wide.)

The majority of inductions are done today for what can only be termed "frivolous" or very questionable reasons. Induction for convenience or because the woman has gone past her "due date" with no other medical reason for induction is highly questionable and oftentimes dangerous.

Forcing labor to Begin is usually a rough business for the woman. An artificial hormone, contracting the uterus, is dripped into her arm intravenously.

The effect it can have on the uterine muscles is alarming. Your own natural hormone contracts the long muscles of the uterus progressively from the top downward toward the cervix in a wave like action. The contraction builds slowly to a peak of it's strength.

Induction can cause violent contractions which make the muscles contract all over at once. It feels like a big crunch. It feels stronger and it cuts the uterus off from circulation longer than nature intended. That blood supply to the uterus is also the baby's oxygen supply.

(No wonder babies often times don't react well to induction and need to be delivered another way....)

A forced labor is an extremely hard labor. It is difficult for the two of you to work with it. The woman in a forced labor often starts with a self doubt emotional signpost and stays that way for the entire labor (this was my experience with Conrad.) She is apt to feel overwhelmed. If both of you are looking forward to an unmediated, enjoyable labor experience, then you should know that an induced labor makes your goal difficult. Most woman feel it is an extremely painful experience.


1 comment:

Mrs. Maria said...

I was induced with Isabelle. It was not the best experience. I don't think I've felt pain like that ever since and I'm very tolerant to pain. The gift worth it (of course), but with Olivia I opted to suck it up as much as I could. Olivia came when she was ready. The birthing process was so relaxed, rhythmic. I wish I had done the same for Isabelle but I was young and led by my Dr. Then again mine was based on health issues too. I was 7cm when I arrived at the hospital for Olivia. I did take drugs but again doing it sans the induction was a much, much better experience.