Decisions

My midwife just delivered her 100th baby at her home birth practice.  Two of those babes were mine - Rachel and Sarah.

She also just cited her birth statistics for 2012.  An amazing 100% were born vaginally.  Not one c-section.  That includes Sarah, too.

It made me think about how initially, when I was told that Sarah was dead, that I considered a c-section as an entirely rational way to proceed. Even though I had two previous natural births and went out of my way to avoid unnecessary interventions.

My three birthing experiences have been so very different.

Jonah was a planned hospital birth with a labor that lasted an incredibly long time (regular contractions starting at noon on Saturday - he didn't appear until Tuesday at 3am) with few interventions. I labored for many hours in the shower. I asked for drugs to help me sleep (finally) on Monday morning. And during the home stretch, I had them break my water.  I was deliriously exhausted by the end, but it worked.

Rachel's planned home birth was fast and furious, encouraged by a tub of water. Labor was so quick that Michelle had just enough time to set up her supplies.  And rather than call the assistant who was many miles away, she called another local midwife who walked in just as Rachel popped out. It was the sort of joyous, uncomplicated birth that makes you want to have more kids.

And so we did.

But Sarah's birth went nothing like we had planned. We moved from birthing at the house to the hospital. Michelle's official role moved from midwife to doula, as she didn't have hospital privileges. (Although I never noticed her taking a backseat.)

There was no need for fetal monitoring. I gratefully accepted drugs. They didn't reduce labor pains, but kept me from becoming hysterical. We did pitocin to try to speed up labor. I'm not sure if it sped things up, but it did make each contraction more intense. I had my water broken, too. And right at the end, probably during transition, I asked for an epidural.  I suspect it was too late. And sure enough, Sarah was born a short time later. Labor had started early in the morning and she was born late in the evening.

Looking back, I realize that I easily could have had a c-section with Sarah.  But the decision to help me avoid major abdominal surgery was critical. It means I wasn't recovering for very long in bed. I avoided the risk of infection or other complications. And most importantly, should we choose to have more kids, I won't have the added stress of attempting a VBAC.

Three different births. And one common denominator: a calm, experienced midwife.  Thank you for helping us be part of your 100%.