We’re 16 weeks along today! Wow we’re almost half way there in this baby-making adventure we’ve started. It’s hard to believe that we’re this far along. But from what I hear there’s this phenomenon that happens once you begin to have kids: Your life begins to disappear faster than you ever thought possible. Well, here we go. It’s started.
As we get further along, it’s time to start thinking about the dreaded L-word. Love? No. Long nights? Not yet. Labor. Yikes. Breathe. We have a plan, & many people are curious what it is. And when they find out, they’re even more curious why the hell we’re planning it the way we are. Well, I’m glad you asked.
I’ll put it out there for you: We’re planning to have this baby naturally with no medical interventions in a birth center. The only Colorado free-standing birth center, Mountain Midwifery Center (check out their website here) is in Englewood, which is pretty close to us. A birth center offers most medical equipment you would find in a obstetrician’s office. We’ve had 2 appointments with our midwives & I’ve gotten your basic blood tests, blood pressure taken, & we’ve heard the baby’s heartbeat. There are a few things that birth centers don’t do, including taking high risk moms, ultrasounds (don’t worry, we’ll go to a doctor’s office to get the gender-revealing ultrasound!), epidurals, or c-sections.
When I say we’re having this baby in a birth center with a midwife, most people think of chanting, hippies, & primitive delivery methods. Well you can stop freaking out. A midwife is a very normal human being with education, a license, & I will assure you she will not be chanting over me. In addition, the birth center is literally on the same property as Swedish Medical Center, a perfectly normal, relatively hippie-free hospital. The birth center focuses on natural childbirth for women with healthy, normal pregnancies. The birth center is not against hospitals, c-sections or epidurals, rather they (and I) just believe that most women don’t really need them. God forbid anything happens & the baby or I need medical intervention, we could literally walk up the street & check in to the hospital (not that I would at that point, but I could). So breathe & believe me when I tell you we’ll be safe.
The main reason for using the birth center is the fact that most medical interventions for birth these days are just plain unnecessary. I don’t want surgery, I don’t want a huge needle stuck into my spine, I don’t want to have this baby without ever having felt a contraction. I am a woman. My body is made to have babies. I hear that labor might not be the most enjoyable experience I’ll ever have, but in my opinion, it sort of comes with producing a baby. I can do it. You can do it. 50 years ago, all women had to do it. I’ve never heard a woman say, “I had my baby naturally & I wish I wouldn’t have.” Instead it’s, “I had a bad hospital experience & wish I would have tried to have my baby naturally.” In my mind, giving birth naturally has got to be one of the most powerful, beautiful, & strengthening experiences one can have as a woman. To bring a baby into the world on my own power, with the coaching of my husband, would be simply amazing.
Soapbox Moment: Don’t even get me started on inductions & pitocin. Read about it here if you’re interested, but basically pitocin, given to women not progressing in labor "fast enough," speeds up contractions, to a point where most women need an epidural because the contractions are so much stronger than normal. The epidural slows down labor because it’s an anesthesia. The poor baby is caught in the middle, wondering if it should speed up or slow down. Fetal distress (or confusion I would say) is more common with pitocin, along with an increased heart rate for baby. Which is why there is such a high connection between using pitocin as an induction and then ultimately delivering via C-section. May I remind you that a C-section is a major surgery. But a very healthy & normal intervention, right? =/ Yet as of 2006, 1 in 5 babies were induced, & as of 2011, our C-section rate is above 1/3 of all births!
All this said, I’m not naive enough to think that everything is going to play out perfectly into this plan I’m forming in my mind. Ask my friend Amanda what it’s like to have an experience that doesn’t work out according to your plan. She also planned to have her baby in the same birth center, & she ended up having an emergency c-section. Talk about not what she wanted. And it was a difficult process for her to come to terms with how her actual experience didn’t match with her imagined experience. I’ve learned so much from her, & the one of the biggest lessons is to have a plan, but to be flexible if that plan should change. Hence Our Birth “Plan.” Knowing very well our plan could change, I am ready to embrace whatever experience God has planned for this labor & delivery.
One caveat I hope you’ll understand is that my position on birth does not mean I think any mother who chooses to birth their child differently than me is less of a woman, or wrong in my mind. And I realize there are situations where any of these interventions is truly necessary: Pitocin, epidural, & c-section! I truly believe every mother will try do what she thinks is best, as best as she can, & who am I to say that is right or wrong? I’m just saying I really believe in this natural childbirth thing, & this is the best choice for me & my baby. I hope you all know me well enough to know that I am not trying to sound or be judgmental. =)
In short, here are some of the reasons I’ve chosen to have a natural birth at a birth center:
- During labor, a midwife is with me at all times & also there to deliver the baby. There’s not a doctor I’ve never met rushing in last minute to stare at my spread eagle & deliver my baby.
- There’s no restrictions during labor- I can move around, eat, drink, & do whatever I feel is best. I’m not restricted to a bed because my legs don’t work.
- Speaking of bed, why do women deliver lying down? Doesn’t that work against gravity? At the birth center, there are multiple options for labor & delivery positions.
- After birth, baby will be placed directly on my skin. There’s no rushing the baby off to weigh & examine it without ample time with mommy & daddy first. This can also help baby learn to breastfeed quicker.
- Moms are usually discharged 4-6 hours after birth. No spending nights or endless hours in the hospital.
- The center offers many classes to get parents as prepared as possible, including Natural Childbirth Prep (4 week series), Breastfeeding, Newborn Care, & Healthy Pregnancy.
- Did I mention it will actually be cheaper than delivering in a hospital? Not that that’s the only reason to go with a birth center, but it’s nice!
Really enjoyed reading this post! You gave me a lot to think about as someone who isn't pregnant yet, but wants to be at some point. Since I haven't decided yet how I would like to give birth, it's interesting to read about how it works at a birth center. I think it's great you have strong opinions about this and know exactly what you would like to do, God-willing. :)
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