Childbirth: Induction, C-sec, or natural timed labor????

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Touchy Topic Tuesday: Child birth. To induce, c-sec or just let it happen?

At the beginning of 2005, when I was in my first birthing class while pregnant with my first child, Lilly, we were taught about all aspects of labor, including pre-labor, which can go on for hours, or even days. The mother of 7 instructor told us to drink some juice to give you energy, have your hubby rub your feet, massage your back, and enjoy a movie during contractions, but try to sleep in between. When it was 'time', you could calmly drive to the hospital, where you would have your baby, and all would be well.

I remember her very clearly stating several times that "No one really has a 'movie' birth." In otherwords, when a woman goes into labor, she isn't laughing happily about things one moment, and then suddenly she screams "It's TIME!!!" Even when the water breaks, she should spend the first several hours of her labor at home so she can progress without wasting the nurses' time. Babies, especially FIRST babies, certainly aren't born in the car on the way to the hospital- and when it DOES happen, it's a fluke.

THAT is what I was prepared for. Unfortunately for her lecture (but not so bad for me, I thought) my labor with Lilly WAS a typical 'movie' birth. From my first contraction to my last, only 5 hours later, they were long and hard. There was ZERO pre labor. I pushed twice, and my girl was born.

(Lilly Saber)

15 months later, I gave birth to my son, Mahone. I was induced with Mahone because [one of] my doctors thought that he was measuring too small and they were worried that he wasn't being nourished inside me.

Again, from the first contraction to the last, they were long, and hard without let up. It was just over two hours, and one push later that I had my son in my arms.

(Mahone Raphael)

With my third child, I asked to be induced.

The thing is, my first labor was 5 hours. My second was just over 2. And now I had two small children at home, and I was terrified out of my mind that I would be forced to give birth on the floor of my home while on the line with 911 and my two babies watching in horror.

Of course my doctor was happy to oblige, and said that he shared my fear of a very quick birth outside the hospital. (Ha! And my mother in law wants me to have my next baby at the hospital she works at- an hour away from me! I love you Christine- and I know you read this blog- but I will have a bloody mess and a huge cleaning bill in the back of my mini-van if I were to try that.)

Scarlet decided to push her way out of me three days before my scheduled induction. She was the only child I had any pre labor with.

For about 8 hours, once an hour, I would have a huge contraction that made me feel as though I had to bear down and push. It lasted for over two minutes each time, but then it would always go away. It never progressed, it never got worse, there was just one and it went away. So I would go about my day, taking care of my children, and reach for my cell phone each time it happened.

When my husband returned home from work at 4:30, he took me to the hospital, where, though I was 5 1/2 centimeters dialted and 90% effaced, they tried to send me home because I didn't progress in an hour, and my contractions were regular, but I couldn't feel them anymore.

I was like "WHAT!? You're going to send me home when I'm already more than half way!? Are you CRAZY!?"

Brandon used his charisma to charm them into admitting me. Scarlet very easily could have been born an hour earlier than she was, because even through my epidural, I felt the urges to push. But there was no doctor available. (It seems that every pregnant woman in Alabama went into labor at the same time I did.) They told me to hold on. SERIOUSLY? Anyway, I made it just long enough for the doc to catch, and I had my scarlet in a little under 6 hours from the time they admitted me.

(Scarlet Serafina Estelle)

So my labor time went up. I'm still terrified that my next will just slip out when I laugh or lean over too far. And I will be asking for another induction. (Hey- keep crossing your fingers for a blue line soon!)

So here's the 'touchy' part:

What do you think about inductions or c-sections that are scheduled without medical necessity? Do you feel that it is dangerous for the mother? The baby? Do you think that they are done too often?

Personally, I think women who schedule a c-section without medical reasons are CRAZY!!! It's a SURGERY! I understand that there are ABSOLUTELY the occasions where you would need a c-section for the safety of the mother and/or baby. But just because you don't want to stretch out your hoo-ha? ~tsk tsk, shake head.~ Silly. A lot of work for nothing.

As far as inductions go, obviously I don't have much problem with those. I do not feel comfortable with women who just want to induce because they feel like they are 'done' with their pregnancy and just want to not be pregnant anymore. Babies know when they are done. We don't. We may THINK they're okay, but some doctors induce so early (as early as 36 weeks) that the baby's lungs are not fully developed and there can be problems. In my case of extremely fast labor, I feel that a woman is justified in her fears. It's terrifying to not know what to do, especially when there might be little eyes watching! (Heaven knows my children have all witnessed enough emergency situations in their short little lives.)

Let us know what YOU think, leave a comment, grab the Touch Topic Tuesday button on my left sidebar, and post your OWN touchy topic (Or even your opinion on THIS touchy topic), and link your blog to the mck linky below so we can all discuss these issues! Thanks for participating!!!