So I’ve noticed here and there that there’s this constant perception that c-sections are BAD. This thinking is so pervasive, that poor first time mothers are terrified of even the suggestion they get a c-section.
I’ve been watching A Baby Story again. Doesn’t hurt as much to watch it anymore. And whenever some poor woman needs a c-section she is just shy of devastated. This bothers and concerns me.
Of course I know a c-section is most definitely not an ideal way to have a child. But at the same time, I don’t think there should be this stigma attached, as if a woman who has had one has had any less of a birth experience than another woman who had her baby naturally.
Isn’t the whole point to have a healthy child? If so, who cares how you got there? If your doctor comes in, says you’re not progressing, or the baby is having decelerations or BOTH (as in my case, the first time around) and recommends an emergency c-section, it is NOT the end of the world.
For one thing, depending on the person of course, recovery isn’t that bad. I’ve had two c-sections. Both times I was tentatively on my feet that same day and walking like a pro by the time I was discharged four days later. And come on, four days in the hospital can be a godsend. Especially when gearing up for those long sleepless nights ahead of you.
Of course, if you at all can, go for the natural labor and delivery. I’ve labored with both pregnancies even though they ended up in c-section and I don’t regret that. Getting a c-section simply because you’re scared of labor and delivery isn’t a very wise decision and I don’t think there are many doctors who would support such an idea. The old adage of “women have been doing this since the cave man days” is true.
But I, for the record, will be having another c-section. That is, God willing, this baby makes it that far. Which I think he/she will. Because I have faith like that. I know I will most likely be a NERVOUS WRECK by the time I’m in the home stretch and the last thing I’ll want to worry about is uterine rupture or the baby having complications from a stressful labor. But that’s my own neuroses.
I’m just saying; “World, lay off the anti-cesarean propoganda.” I don’t think it does anyone any good. At worst, it makes the poor mothers who need to have one feel like lesser parents when that couldn’t be further from the truth.
This is me. I'm a thirtysomething stay at home mom to three kids. For years I was a stay at home mom to one kid and trying very hard to have more. It took a LONG time (ie: 6 1/2 years), but finally Liam arrived and charmed us with his blue eyes and ginormous, round head. Then we got a shock: I was pregnant again and this time it was a GIRL. Our hearts and home are full at last and now that we're done having babies, we get to relax (snort) and watch them grow (not too fast now, you hear?). Thanks for coming by, feel free to dip into my archives, read my About and History pages (just don't do Jackson's Story without tissues!) and make yourself at home.
