My Birth Plan: A Scheduled C-Section

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This post is part of an editorial series, “The Stork Stories,” brought to you by the Fort Worth Moms Blog and Texas Health. We hope these pieces provide you with helpful information, encouragement, and answers as you prepare for baby’s arrival.

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When I think about my birth story, the main word that pops into my head is medical. My entire story is so linked to the medical world that it is hard for me to relate to natural birth mommas. I love y’all. I love that you advocate for natural/holistic births. My best friend has birthed two beautiful children with ZERO drugs! But, that is not my story, and I am okay with it.

Let me back up . . . .

If our plan had worked out, we would have a six year old and possibly more children. Instead, we struggled to conceive. After three years of fertility treatments, we finally had our son through IVFInfertility was the beginning, but certainly not the end of the medical community for us. At 27 weeks pregnant, I went into preterm labor due to an incompetent cervix, admitted to the hospital for 24 hours on magnesium, and sent home on strict bed rest orders. From 27 – 35 weeks, I would be seen in the ER three times, given shots to slow contractions, and steroids to help boost my son’s respiratory status should he be born early. Needless to say, conception and pregnancy were closely linked to modern medicine and doctor visits galore. This was a Facebook post I made nine days before our son was born:

“Why do doctors always ask if you are experiencing all these horrible symptoms? Sometimes I want to say, ‘If I was having severe cramping, etc, don’t you think I would have called ASAP!!!’ I am SOOOO ready to meet our little boy and be done with doctors!!”

Truth! I was over the doctors visits, but also thankful for the opportunity to use them. Without their knowledge, I may not know what it feels like to be a mother.

You would think after all that I would go on to tell you that I had a wonderfully normal child birthing experience. Nope! My little guy was in a breech position starting at 22 weeks, and he NEVER moved! Oh, he moved around all the time, but never out of the breech position. I had tons of sonograms, so we knew his position all the time, and it never changed. Head up, butt down, legs straight up in his face. I have a petite frame and didn’t get very big during pregnancy. (Don’t hate . . . I had plenty of other issues going on.) My doctor literally had no room to work with in order to try and move him, and she told me it would be extremely painful. She gave me things to try at home, but those failed. C-section came up and I quickly said, “Bring it on!” This whole journey had been leading up to a sweet baby boy, and I did not care how he made his entrance. Why not have a very medical birthing experience? That seemed like the most “natural” thing for me to do. We booked the date, waited, and nested.

On the morning of my C-section, I showered, put on makeup, fixed my hair, and headed out the door. By 11:45 a.m., I was gowned up and headed to the operating room. This was the worst part. I had to go into the operating room without my husband. He couldn’t be there for the spinal tap and epidural. If I have to say something negative about a scheduled C-section, that would be it for me. Quickly after that was over, my husband entered. By 12:15 p.m., he was holding our baby boy. Our modern day medical miracle! Some women would be devastated by the fact that they weren’t the first to hold their little one, or they didn’t get to experience the immediate skin-to-skin contact. That wasn’t me.

C-Section

My husband and teammate got the honor, and that made me happy. Don’t worry . .  . I got my snuggles and skin-to-skin about 10 minutes after he was born. No big deal in my book. He was here, he was healthy, and that made my heart rejoice.

My recovery was no different than any other momma. A little pain here, a little pain there, but you forget all that when you are overjoyed with your newborn. I am not here to advocate for C-sections, but I am here to say that there is a time and a place for them. God has gifted physicians with the ability to perform them when necessary, and I am so thankful. If you are faced with a similar situation, please do not believe everything you read about C-section births. I am not less of a mother, I do not feel like I missed out on anything. My son loves me the same as any other naturally birthed child. All that negative talk is for the birds if you ask me! Embrace your scar and move on. Bonus: Now when my son asks how he got out of my belly, I tell him he came out my belly button because he did . . . kind of.

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