birth

When you have had the cascade of interventions, the experience of being bullied in labor, or ended up with a planned or unplanned cesarean you know that you have questions that need answered. Most of you will go see the same doctor, unless you have moved or had other reasons to switch your providers. Many of you will find out that your care provider is less than enthusiastic about you wanting to “try” for a VBAC. 

You have questions and want answers, which you should, but will you actually ask your questions? Are you too nervous to have the conversation because your doctor makes you feel inferior any time you ask a question? Here are some ways that you can prepare for your VBAC, that you have control over and will have a huge impact on whether you are successful or not.

Man if this isn’t a topic that comes across my feed daily! If you are pregnant, FTM or planning your next, I’m sure it has crossed your mind too. From my experience most women believe that having a baby has to be painful. It’s understandable, given our sources, that pain is pretty much the biggest part of having a baby that women worry about. I have been there too, trust me, with my first homebirth I had back labor and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

After that experience I was pregnant with my third when I heard an acquaintance say that she had a pain-free birth! Of course my response was, “excuse me, say again please?” I mean I was in disbelief because I had never heard of such a thing before. We chatted and I grew in my confidence and belief in my body to birth my babies without pain. Below are some things that I learned that helped me manage the discomforts of labor once I knew what was possible.....

January of this year marks 8 years since I gave in to having a scheduled c-section. This was something I didn’t want and, to be honest, I didn’t think it was necessary, even with my daughter being breech. See, my OBGYN had criticized me, belittled me, and just plain torn me down throughout my entire pregnancy, including pushing the topic of a c-section from 4 months on. 

When I caved it was because I had no support or knowledge of what was possible, and, to be completely honest, I wanted my OBGYN out of my life. I was done being torn down at every appointment and just wanted it to be over. I walked away from this experience thinking I was broken and that my body just didn’t work the way it was supposed to. Until a few weeks later when I had an epiphany…..

If you have ever experienced prodromal labor you probably understand exactly where this question came from. When you are nearing the end of your pregnancy and things start to happen, you get excited and think okay I’m having a baby today. And then it stops, you go all day or night with no signs of what you thought was the beginning stages of labor. Then it’s back and you are again excited and ready for things to progress only to have it stop AGAIN!

You might be thinking, "What is the meaning of this, it’s torture and I just want to have my baby?!?" 

There are some pretty significant differences between an OBGYN, your standard pregnancy care provider, and a midwife, meaning “with woman”. What is the standard of care that you want through your pregnancy and childbirth journey? What do you want your experience to be like?

We have all been to the doctor’s office at some point in our lives and I’m sure that this first difference I share will make perfect sense to pretty much anyone. So let’s get started…….