Urg and Urg
My stomach has joined in The Fight Against The Rest Of My Healthy Body. Oohhhh has it. Major tummy troubles today… being stuck in traffic on the way home really really sucked. It keeps making noises. Gurgles. Very very unpleasant gurgles.
My appointment with the ENT is scheduled for next Tuesday afternoon. I really hope this virus thing will be gone by then so he can start looking closely at the other issues hiding beneath that won’t go away. Allergies maybe? I feel really whiny about that. I’ve never had allergies. I rather liked being allergy-less.
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So I hear a lot of birth stories lately. A lot of them sound remarkably similar. Long pushing, failure to progress, c-section. Today I was trying to catch some details.
A frustrating theme I hear is of the nurses ignore the woman regarding the progression of labor. I’ve heard several stories of the woman KNOWING she was going fast, nurses telling her she isn’t. Guess who was right? I especially love it when no one is ready for the baby to come, so the doctor isn’t there, and they either tell the woman not to push or they *hold the baby in* so the doctor can rush in and “catch” the baby who was well on its way without him, thankyouverymuch. I just want to shriek when I heard these things. What the fuck??
But what really catches my ear is the pattern of things going too slow, so the doctors give medication, and when that fails they c-section. Or they just jump for the c-section. You know what I’m NOT hearing? Women being encouraged to change position! There is a time and a place for an epidural or other medication with the intention of getting labor past a stall – and it usually has to do with relaxing the woman, relaxing the muscles, and allowing labor to progress as it should. So there are instances that I’ve heard of that being used successfully – but in the overwhelming number of cases it fails. Changing positions is free, easy, and has remarkable success. Doulas and midwives know the value of this tool, and I hear it again and again. Laying on your back is usually the worst position to be in during labor. It’s common sense: you are pushing a heavy object out a small hole. You need gravity to work with you! And beyond that, every labor is different, every woman is different. Some women do best on their sides, some do best squatting, some do best reclining. And yet their first move is to impose the exact same position and progression on every woman. That makes no sense!
If nothing is working and there is reason for concern, then by all means call a section and get the baby out. But why on earth jump to that point before trying the most basic solution?
Oh wait: epidurals. And when the woman doesn’t have an epidural the nurses frequently forget that their patient can move because they are far more used to an epidural labor.
Just makes me shake my head. I know there is absolutely nothinig I can do for these women after the fact and in general I keep my mouth. But it really does underscore how important it is to educate the doctors and nurses and hospitals – and the patients.
I had an emergency c-sec with my first when my blood pressure shot up to 168/112 and then a planned one with my second because they were only 25 months apart. I LOVE MY C-SECTIONS!!! OMG it made life easy!
My sister just had her first 2 years ago and she was not progressing at all so they gave her the epidural and she went from a 3 to a 10 in about 10 minutes.
You should so be a doula! I’d hire you!
i agree with you 100%. When I gave birth i was to be induced because my blood pressure was rising every week. My son had the cord around his neck when he was born and the dr said that was why i had not gone in labour on my own. (however i was 2 cm dilated and 75% effaced for 6 weeks before I was induced a week late) anyways I had my water broken at 1230, walked around nothing happened so i was put on pitocin at 4pm and stayed sitting in the chair for 2 hours but my bum was hurting so bad.. i went pee and i just wanted to stay there..the nurse was rude and argued with me..like i wouldnt have pushed my son in the toilet…anyways at 830 i opted for the epidural after laying down and wanting to die…like you say it DOES make it worse…then finally after the epidural began working. from 1230-9 i dilated 1 cm and effaced 25%..so i was at 3cm..75% at 10 i begged the nurse to finally check me and she argued with me that i wouldnt be dilated etc etc…at 11 finally she did and i was fully dilated..i did as you say “held it in” and it was horrible..i wish i would have just started pushing on my own.. next time i will know what to expect..but inductions are prone to c-sections…
A friend of mine just had a c-section, and it was the classic story: she was afraid of a vaginal birth because a relative of hers had a large baby and a bad tear. Because of her fear, she made no effort to educate herself about the labor process because she wanted to have a c-section. She went into labor before the day of her (I assume) scheduled c-section (she said that her baby would be here in no more than 7 days, so she must have had either an induction or section scheduled around her due date), and found the pain of the contractions excruciating for several hours, yet once at the hospital found out she was not dilated at all or even 100% effaced. Because of her fear and resistance to the contractions, her body shut down and stopped the labor even as she continued to experience contractions. So, she got what she wanted, a c-section.
That was so completely the opposite of my experience — I was terrified of a c-section and would have done anything not to have one. I wasn’t afraid of the contractions because I’d taken a 12-week Bradley class and understood how the process works, and it never occurred to me to ask for any pain relief until I was almost fully dilated (I didn’t really mean it, and of course by then it was too late). We both got what we wanted, my friend and I, but her story is very common and mine is very uncommon. I wonder if there is anything that will change that in the coming years or if we will move closer to 100% c-sections.
I hope you feel better soon! I have nothing to add on the birth stories, but what you say rings true in terms of what I’ve read.
xx K
Nat,
I was induced with the twins because D had already died. He came out first. C came out screaming right after. I had an epidural mainly because I wanted anything but to give birth to my dead baby. I tore like crazy. They both came out too fast.
Second time around I REFUSED to be induced. I REFUSED the epidural and I INSISTED I be allowed to walk ,change positions, etc. Labour & delivery went well. Very slight tear (no episiotomy). I agree w/ you. Let nature takes its course first.