I have heard horror stories about child birth in and out of hospitals. I figure if something is going to go wrong than it will go wrong no matter where we are. as i grew up mom told more horror stories of hospitals than home midwife births. okay well no horror stories but she would shiver and just mumble on about the discomforts of a hospital. as i grew older and learned more about what having a baby entails i saw mom in a different way. she had willingly chosen to endure great motherly pain for all of us equally. honestly she is my hero . i dont know for certain if my grandmothers did too but i have the feeling both my parents mothers did as well. i want to be one of those women that is so selfless. ill be honest the main reason i want to do this is to walk in my mothers footsteps and really try to be a similar mother in as many ways as i can.
This being the first real step to motherhood i feel its got to be done right. i know that doing natural birth can bring a stronger connection and love between mother and child. i will FEEL everything and i want it that way. pain is nothing compared to the thought of missing out on the miracle of feeling my child come into this world through God, William, and me. Some new medical things are good and some are not as good. why start off motherhood in one of the laziest ways? silly. Childbirth has changed since old times. for some reason Western women go in thinking its going to be a terrible experience and so they make it into one. well i for one am going to try my best to go in thinking it will be hard yes, but that doesn't mean it has to be terrible. is climbing a mountain terrible if it burns your legs and blisters your feet? if the view is amazing and the pain made it more worth it? no. not to me. if things are easy we dont grasp the whole of what we are. I want to know i can do anything for my kid, even endure that infamously terrible pain.
Love this post - especially the part at the end about climbing a mountain - well said!
ReplyDeleteI love your explanation of the mountain. I love that you are a strong woman with strong opinions, but not all of us are that strong. Just remember that just because someone chooses a different path it does not make them lazy. It just means that it may not have been the right path for them. Enduring to the end does not always mean that it has to be painful, just worth it.
ReplyDeleteWe love you guys and misss you!
In my experience, it's not so much laziness as it is most women are horribly uninformed and/or scared. I blame the medical system for not informing women of their options and just running them through the assembly line. (I see you're reading Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, you should also read Pushed and watch The Business of Being Born...both great and informative!)
ReplyDeleteAlso, make sure William is planning on being an advocate for you and not letting the hospital bully you into anything you're not comfortable with. (I know I probably sound like how you remember your mom talking, lol...it's a side effect of homebirths.)
wow misty that video/show was really emotional for me. my goodness every women should watch it. william after hearing those stats is like "wow ya now i really feel like going with a midwife next time, and tryin to get someone trained to be with us this time" the prob with prob not getting one this time is insurance. does medicaid cover a midwife? we cant afford it other wise. saddly. but next time he is totaly on board so THANK YOU!!
ReplyDeleteMedicaid does cover a midwife if they are a nurse practitioner. There was one in the office in Cedar that we went too.
ReplyDeleteI was very well informed before I went into the hospital too. If you take a prenatal class they go through every thing. They go through all the options such as doula's and breathing techniques, and what to expect in the hospital. I never felt bullied or pressured about anything. The hospital staff did everything to make me happy.
Don't ever be afraid to ask questions and tell them what you like/want. Usually the nurses are awesome and cater to your needs. But do make sure William knows what you want so that if you are out of it because of a contraction he can step in and tell them what you want. Also, it is a good idea to write down names, soc's, and birthdates for him to fill out paper work. It is hard to do it in labor and Dad's tend to freak out. Also make sure you have snacks for him so he isn't there on an empty stomach, that could be very inconvenient if he passed out, lol! Oh yeah, birthing balls are awesome!