Birth Class
David and I started childbirth prep classes this week. It's a 5 week course and we will be going every Monday from 6-9. The first class was great. We went over the three stages of labor and what the signs of pending labor will be. Finally David is learning about the labor and birthing process. I had tried to get him to read books and watch things on TV but he was never really into it. But now he was taking notes like crazy and asking questions and said he learned a lot! I learned some things too, although most of it I already knew from my reading, web site, chat rooms and baby shows on Discovery Health. But I'm sure in future classes we will both have a lot to learn.
I did leave the class feeling confused though. Confused if I have chosen the right OB, the right hospital, the right birthing method. No, I won't say I want to go au natural as I know the pain will be something beyond anything I could ever imagine, but I do want to be as close to natural as possible. Mainly, no epidural (I hope) and definitely no C-Section (unless a true emergency arises). I'm starting to panic a little as the NYC C-Section rate is a ridiculous 40%. All the Maternity Ward shows aren't helping me much either as it seems EVERYONE gets a C-section for a variety of reasons, some of them which don't seem valid to me. But the instructor of our course really made me think that there are other ways to really gain control of my birth and that I have more options. I think the key thing that scared me is once you arrive at a hospital they start a 'clock' on you. Basically they want you to dialate 1cm per hour. If not they could introduce intervention methods that I'm not sure I want. I've always felt that I have to do what they say, but I realize now I do have options, and I'm so glad David is taking notes because when I'm in pain and out of it, we'll have two of us to remember these options and whether or not we want to go an alternative route. So this weekend we are taking a hospital tour to see what their protocols are and get a feel for the place. We also plan to discuss our birthing plan with our doctor when we see him again in two weeks and make sure we are on the same page. I'd hate to change doctor's at this stage, but the instructor told us there are so many women that do change after taking the class as they reevaluate what they really want and realize they won't get that with their current OB/hospital. Hopefully it won't come to that. I doubt it will. I know ultimately it's having a healthy baby that is the priority.
Ugh, so confusing. Maybe I should move to Nambia and have my baby ala Brangelina.
posted by Simone at 6:58 PM
3 Comments:
That's great that David is actively involved in preparing for labor. You're right that when you are in labor, you might not be able to advocate for yourself, so David will be key in playing that role.
And you definitely have a say in what goes on during the delivery. It's YOUR body. Different women labor in different ways. For me, I think I dilated 1 cm in something like 9 hours! At various points the doctor made intervention suggestions, but it was clear that she was only providing us with options. She gave us her medical opinion, and then let Ken and me discuss and decide what to do. We ended up having interventions at several points because one of the problems of prolonged labor (and I think mine was usually long) is the baby might poop inside you, and then there's a risk that the meconium might get into the baby's lungs, which is bad. We made the decisions mainly on medical reasons, not my comfort. Of course, we did decide on an epidural for my comfort. :P
The other thing I wanted to just mention is to be mentally prepared for an emergency C-section, just in case, because you can't rule it out... I honestly was not at all prepared, because I figured, "I don't want one, and I'm sure I won't need one," because my pregnancy was completely normal. In the end, I needed one because the baby did poop inside me, and since I was nowhere close to actually delivering, the doctors had to get the baby out as soon as possible. Turned out, I am "not a candidate for VBAC" because my hip shape precludes the possibility of a vaginal birth, and oh, my God, if we didn't live in this day and age when C-sections are available and safe, I and/or Isabelle probably would have died... Such a scary thought every time I think about it.
Anyhoo. I don't mean to scare you. :P I really wanted to back you up that you DO have options, and you should definitely feel like you are in control throughout the whole process. At the same time, you should trust your doctor, in case emergencies do arise and they have to do stuff (like a C-section) whether or not you feel prepared for it.
You're clearly doing your homework, and I think that arming yourself with knowledge is the most empowering thing you can do to prepare for labor and delivery. You'll do great!! :)
Thanks Irene. I actually had gone back to your birth story the other day to remember how things went for you. I'm aware that emergencies can and do arise and I'm just going to have to accept that whatever is good for baby & me is what I'm going to have to agree to in the end. Still, I'm so glad I took this class to know about when I DO have an option and when I don't.
Thanks so much for your advice! I really appreciate it!
I want to chime in here and say that it's GOOD that you are learning your options.
On the flip side though, too often I think that people seem to think the Dr's and staff are just doing what's easy and right for their schedule.
In my experience, I literally would have died if I didn't have such great doctors. I'm a Doctor person, and luckily I have never been in a situation where I didn't trust my doctor was doing the right thing.
Of course you want everything to go as planned, and I really hope it does. But if God forbid something happens, know that the doctors are just doing what they think best for you.
(but 40% DOES seem high and I think I'd be nervous about that as well)
On the flip side:
With Logan, I labored for 27 1/2 hours. I pushed for 4 1/2. I WOULD have had a c-sect after 1 1/2 hrs of pushing, but the woman next to me hemoraged and had the same doctor as I did. I did it all by myself! Sometimes perhaps they think it just can't be done when it CAN, it just takes a little longer.
Whatever happens will happen Simone. And it will be your birth story. It's amazing to have a birth story and it will be the right one for you.
I can't believe you are this far already.
I'm SO excited for you.
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