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My Three Cesarean Births

All three of my kids (Nathan-6, Leah-2 1/2 and Justin-1) were born by c-section. Nathan's was because I had a long, hard labor (24 hours!), only got to 1/2 cm. dilated, then there was meconium and his heart rate became erratic, so they did an emergency c-section. He was 9 lbs. 5 oz. 21" long, so I didn't know if I could have gotten him out anyway!

With Leah, I had one because at my 20 week ultrasound my doctor saw that I had a very long, thick cervix that was probably scar tissue from an infection from a D&C (for a m/c). She said I would probably never dilate properly, so I scheduled her c-section 9 days before her due date. She was 8 lbs. 3 oz. 20 1/2".

Justin was c-section by default and my doctor's practice would no longer do c-sections more than 7 days early. Believe me, I tried to talk them into it, because I knew I was having a big baby and I was VERY uncomfortable. It hurt when he'd move. They did the c-section 3 days before his due date. I had to be put to sleep for this one because of an extremely low platelet count. Justin was 10 lbs. 6 oz. 22 3/4" long!! The hardest part about his birth was afterwards, because apparently when you have a large baby they help your uterus shrink by giving you pitocin- Ow, ow, ow!! They didn't even tell me they were going to do this ahead of time- or at least I don' t remember it- I was a bit loopy from the general anesthesia. If I would have realized that my IV drip was pitocin instead of just fluids or antibiotics like I thought, I would have pulled it out, because I had that in labor with Nathan and it's awful!! Here I was, already delivered and having labor-like contractions. Where's the postpartum epidural??

Anyway, c-sections wouldn't have been my first choice, but they really aren't too bad, at least in my experience!! The most important thing is that I have three healthy kiddos!!

Tammy Charles

Teenage birth

I am 17 about to give birth to my first baby daughter all on my own and where was my boyfriend? On holiday in Portugal for his 18th birthday! Don't men get the easy way out; it's not fair!

Kerry

Fast Delivery

I had my first baby 2/2/05 two months later I found myself pregnant again...It was a hard pregnancy from the start, bleeding, threw-up 13 times a day, I was in an out of the hospital every 2 days. I had a 70% placental separation, none of the doctors were giving me much hope, even though it was an unexpected pregnancy I wouldn't want to miscarry.

Anyways, at 29 weeks I was feeling pain the doc checked my cervix an I was 1 cm already. At 30 weeks she checked again and I was 2 cm...I was hospitalized for a day and put on medicine to stop the contractions. I took that medicine for 3 weeks but it made me sick so I stopped taking it at 33 weeks.

I went to the doctor at 34 weeks I was 3 cm. She wasn't worried since I was already 34 weeks. I honestly didnt think I was gonna have the baby anytime soon. at 36 weeks I was 4 cm. At 38 weeks I was 5!! It's about time to have the baby isn't it?? I asked her to induce me she also recommended it because I was so far along she was worried I wouldn't be able to get to the hospital on time. Ok, so she asked me when TOMORROW! Thats what I wanted and thats what she did.

I went in to the hospital 1/11/06 at 7 am. I was 6 cm by the way. They started me on some medicine to get the contractions stronger...I wasn't feeling much pain...nothing I can't handle. Until they brroke my water when I was 7cm at 10:35 a.m. I had nonstop pain. I yelled for the epidural they started preparing me for it. I asked the nurse if I could go to the bathroom b/c I had to pee....and she let me...well, I sat on the toilet and felt so much pressure I had to push! I got off the toilet so the baby wouldn't fall in there and sat on the bathroom floor. My husband got so worried and started yelling for the nurse...they picked me up off the floor and put me on the bed...
The nurse put on some gloves and wanted to check to see how much im dialated...I CAN FEEL THE BABYS HEAD...she look and saw the head and started panicing and calling "i need help! I need help!" 3 more nurses come in and the baby popped out on the bed....exactly 20 min after they broke my water. Our baby boy was born at 10:55 a.m. 8lbs 2oz and 20 inches long, which was also surprising since im so small and my other baby was 6 lbs 8 oz. The doctor wasn't there for the birth and what she was worried about would have probably happened...I would've had the baby at home! It was amazing but scary at the same time...no epidural no nothing...but its all worth it in the end.
I guess I can call him my miracle baby.

Diana

Beautiful home waterbirth

I have had two beautiful waterbirths, both at home with the same two wonderful midwives, Kaleem and Marlene, assisting. My husband Alan was terrific, rubbing my back and encouraging me every step of the way.

The first birth, our daughter Anaya, was great, and also a surprise to me because, just like the midwives had assured me, my body knew exactly what to do! I found the right positions, and in the end actually caught her myself. It was just so natural! The pain was actually less than I had expected. At the very worst it got about as bad as when you stub your toe unexpectedly walking at night. But it's different because a) you know this pain is for a purpose--it's a gift of love to my baby, because I know it's best for the baby not to be exposed to anesthetic, and b) I know it will end soon. Right after it peaks, it ebbs away and things are fine! The water really helps too. Never once during either labor did I wish for a painkiller! Every pain was a gift of love to my baby.

Our daughter was 2 years and 2 months old when our son Seth was born. We thought maybe we should have her stay with a neighbor or something, because she is a sensitive little girl, but in the end we didn't need to bother. She was enthralled by the whole process. She had watched her own birth video literally about a hundred times, and I had carefully explained to her lots of times that Mommy would get owies and go "URGH!" and then the baby would come out of Mommy's tummy. She knew exactly what to expect, and between contractions I would assure her, "See, Mommy's fine! Baby is going to come out of Mommy's tummy!" She cheered me on, first by rubbing my back and brushing my hair, and later by saying, "Okay, Mommy! Mommy okay!" She crunched on popcorn and watched from the kitchen counter the last few minutes, with my mom holding her and assuring her that everything was fine. She was so excited about the baby she could hardly hold herself back. And she has never struggled with feeling that he is an imposter. She knows exactly where he came from, and that they are equals. It worked out really well.

The decision to have our babies at home wasn't easy, but we have never regretted it for a moment. My OB-GYN told me that 94% of the time it is as safe or safer to have the baby at home. I figured that the other 6% was significantly shrunk by the fact that I didn't drink, smoke, or do drugs, and I exercised regularly and ate well. My midwives carefully watched the baby's position, my pelvis size, etc. to be sure that everything would be fine.

We had researched and discovered the astonishingly bad rates of both mother and baby mortality and morbidity in America, especially compared to other developed countries where midwifery is the usual method of delivery, such as Western Europe. I think that was the most convincing argument for us--open-minded international research. Having terrific midwives who knew their ministry thoroughly and were prepared to take us to the hospital--even against our wishes, if they felt it best--gave us the confidence we needed. And it has been a terrific experience.

I highly recommend it to anyone!

Nicole

Big Baby

My third pregnancy was going smoothly until 35 weeks when I experienced pre-term labor and was put on bedrest. My first son was born at 35 weeks so I was hoping I might have the baby a little bit early. Lo and behold, I went to my due date and then two weeks overdue!

So I was induced using prostaglandin gel on April 10, 2006. I expected that since this was my third baby, my labor would be quick and I could handle it well. Things did not go as I expected. When I reached 3 cm the pain of my contractions changed very suddenly and they became twice as bad as they had been up to that point. It felt like I was in transition. I simply could not handle the pain. We tried a number of things to reduce the pain. Being in the birth pool didn't help at all, using gas did very little.

Even though I was now progressing really quickly, I needed some relief to make it until the end. I finally got a spinal at 9 cm. It completely took the pain away and relaxed me. Then they broke my water but the baby's head was still at -2. Being relaxed and fully dilated allowed the baby's head to descend to +2 without my doing anything. And once the spinal began to wear off, I began pushing.

I pushed for over an hour and when he was finally born, we found out the reason why. He was 9 lbs 15 oz and his head circumference was 39.5 cm, which my midwife told me is the size of a 6 week old baby's head. So although I wanted to have a completely natural childbirth, I am glad I got the spinal because I really needed it. If his head hadn't come down, perhaps I would have ended up pushing even longer, or had a C-section.

I'm proud of what I accomplished; having a nearly 10 lb baby without tearing -- and he was worth it! We named him Benjamin.

Erin