Tuesday 21 February 2012

Found this-

“My baby is healthy and innately knows when to begin labor. My body knows how to birth by instinct. My mind has released all fears and trusts birth. I am enjoying this process and growing through it all.” ~Mrs. BWF

THANK-YOU Birth Without Fear!
www.birthwithoutfear.com

Feeling a tad defeated...

So up untill this point in my pregnancy (now 22weeks), ive only been seen by my midwife. She does all my regular checks etc and she will be the one with me at the birth so i have been planning that with her. A few months ago she had to send off a routine referral for me to see an OB (obstetrician) as ive had 2 previous ceseareans. However she did say it was my choice wether to go or not. I decided that i would go, half heartedly though and id promised myself that there was no way id let myself get pushed around like i have before. Also although ive decided not to labor or give birth in or near a hospital, i wasnt going to tell her that.
So off i trogged to the maternity unit. I saw a nice midwife first who took my blood pressure etc. Then waited a bit and went in to see the OB. I went with an open mind but wasnt going to let her tell me what was going to happen or let her tell me crap that just wasnt true....

Well thats what she did. I was told i would head to hospital in early labor or as soon as my waters broke. I would have a routine lure and be on continuious fetal monitoring. She saw my face scrunch up and asked what i thought. I mentioned that there would be no way i would consent tor allow CFM for the duration of labor. She asked why, i simply replied that there is no evidence that a healthy woman with a healthy baby needs or should have CFM. And certainly i have read statistics and facts on CFM being read wrong, slipping position and not gathering correct information anyways. My first pregnancy i went to the hospital at 6cms dialated. My waters were broken, without consent or being asked or informed, i was then strapped to a bed with the CTG monitor and refused to be allowed off...WHY?! As i told my story to her and the reasons why i wouldnt consent or allow CFM, her head shook at me. What the hell. Here are some facts about CFM...

-The staff are more aware of any small changes and may therefore be more likely to intervene rather then letting labor take its natural course.
-Babies who are electronically monitored are 3 times more likely to be delivered by ceserean section!!
-Electronic fetal monitoring increases the paraphernalia in the room.
-Staff are tempted to concentrate on the machine rather then the woman in labor.
-EFM may restrict movement thus slowing down the labor process and making fetal distress more likely.
-With the internal monitor it is screwed into the babies head, bruising, scarring, hurting the baby.

And thats not alll. Sooo many more risks!

Yes today i primped myself to look somewhat like a barbie, hair extentions blonde and curly. Makeup, high heeled boots, tights and a gorgeously pink top that showed off my pregnancy curves and pre-pregnancy size 8 body. So what...because of that i dont know what im talking about.

I KNOW THE RISKS!! I know the risks of uterine rupture and slight seperation or windows of the uterus...not that theres a difference according to the OB i saw. I also know that the same, albiet not quite as high (if you can call 0.3% high) risks of unscarred vaginal birth. I also know off by heart the risks of ceserean section, planned and emergency! Ive lived through 2 although now that i do know the risks and realise that the complications i suffered from because of them could have killed me and have killed many women and their babies.

So im getting a little carried away but i cant help it. When will people open their eyes and realise that all i want to do is birth my baby like any other woman in the world. When did birth become so medical and banished to the hospital. Since when did it become normal to cut womens bodys open and rip ther babies out unnecessecarily.

I was born with a uterus, with 2 ovarys, a vagina and eggs that are released every month. God gave me the capability to concieve this baby growing inside me. My body is saftley and amazingly working with nature to grow and nuture this baby within my uterus, scarred or not. My body WILL gon into labor naturally when MY BABY IS READY, not when it is convienient for that doctor. I will get the magic pain that is labor, i will do it with my husband and with the faith i place within myself, my body and my baby. How dare anyone, OB or not tell me it is safer for me to have my body pumped full of drugs, cut open and my baby ripped and torn from that hole leaving me and possibly him/her scarred emotionally, mentally and physically.

Seriously it drives me mental. I want to laugh at all the ridiculous crap she tried spinning me and the ways she was judging me. (I wonder if shes ever had a ceserean due to unnessecary interventions, then left without adequate pain relief, in severe debilitating pain, unable to care for her crying newborn, being continiously touched and poked and treated like crap. Leading to severe PND, loving her child but unable to see a point to living....).   And then im left wanting to cry because of the ways she tried to tear me down and 'break me'. I am trying not to let others opinions get to me, we all think and feel differently. I believe i am getting better with this but it still hurts and is hard to deal with. In a way i feel defeated....

Monday 20 February 2012

Some things im learning

So as i continue along this journey towards a purebirth (no drugs or interventions) im constantly learning and reading new things i didnt know before. As i read these i am continually blown away by how medicalized labor and birth are these days. And yes, sometimes a doctor is needed and sometimes a caeserean is needed. But in some cases a woman can and does birth her baby without the help of anyone but her husband and sometimes with the help of noone but herself. This is called an unassisted purebirth.

3days ago we made the 2hour trip to Hamilton to have my routine 20week scan (intervention?). I was petrified as i was a tad paranoid there would be something wrong but mainly because i was scared the sonographer would accidentally let slip what sex our baby was. We were greeted to the images of a most perfect, amazing, beautifully clear little miracle of a baby. We still have no idea as to what sex he or she may be and are happy to report that "NAD" was written on the bottom of the report...No abnormality detected. The best we can hope for although they do state that by writing those 3 little letters they can still no way say 100% that everything is perfect. Routine scans...just another way in which doctors can invert more fear into a mother whilst satisfying their own curiosity?? (I have purposfully cropped out my details.)
However, heres the beautiful human being living inside my uterus xx



As today stands, Febuary 20th 2012 we, my husband and I are planning on a homebirth with our really great midwife. I up untill this afternoon was happy with this. This morning i had my monthly check up with our midwife. We heard the babys heartbeat, felt some kicks and talked about the routine blood tests coming up and about birthing pools. We also talked a bit about my impending homebirth. Up untill that point had felt so calm and happy and at peace with our decision to have a homebirth. Nothing else truely mattered. Im healthy and my babys healthy and unless anything happens i will go into labor and give birth at home. Today my midwife started saying things like, we will start labor at home and then we will see how we go etc etc. I started feeling as if she was beginning to put restrictions on me. So im left to close my eyes and imagne my birth...

What do i see...
I see me going to bed early and being awoken by contractions at around midnightish. I try and stay in bed and rest then get up and walk and fluff when contractions get quite bad. After a few hours i wake hubby and tell him it wont be long and to fill the birth pool for me. I check on my 2 big kiddies and they are sound asleep. Cuddles with hubby, lots of love and attention. I continue to walk and stay upright, eating and drinking and emptying my bladder when i feel the need to do so. When the pain and contractions get close together and quite bad, then i get into the pool and wait to feel my uterus beginning to expel (for lack of a better word), my baby. My baby will enter this world and have me to bring him/her into my own arms and against my naked breasts. Baby in my arms, me in hubbys arms. My placenta will arrive when it is ready to, not when i want it to and my baby will breastfeed when he/she wants to, not when any nurse decides he/she can.

I want no drugs, no interventions, monitors, leads, needles, people.

I want my husband and my ability to feel and sense my own body and my baby uninhibited.

I found this website tonight...  www.unassistedchildbirth.com ! I am in love. Its not only amazing for women thinking or planning an unassisted birth but also women planning or thinking of a homebirth. Heres a few things ive learnt from them....


-It was English physician and writer, Grantly Dick-Read, who first opened my eyes to the safety and beauty of birth. Dick-Read, who wrote and practiced in the first half of the twentieth century, is widely credited with being one of the fathers of natural childbirth. Simply stated, Dick-Read believed there is a loving, intelligent consciousness that is behind and within all life. This consciousness knows how to grow a baby inside of us. We don't have to consciously "assist" it, figuring out how to grow fingers and toes, eyes and ears. We simply have to trust that as long as we get fresh air and exercise, shelter and food, the fertilized egg within us will grow into a human being. And because nature or God is efficient - it completes what it starts - that same reasoning can be applied to the act of birth.
In other words, we are not suddenly abandoned at the end of our pregnancy. There is literally a birth "response" that propels our babies from womb to world with very little conscious effort on our part. The problem is, there is something even more powerful than the birth response, something that can override it entirely. That something is known as the fight/flight response.
Dick-Read explained it in this way: when a woman is in a state of fear, messages are sent to the body telling it there is a danger out there that must be fought or run away from. Blood and oxygen are instantly sent into the arms and legs enabling the frightened woman to fight the danger or run away. In order for this to happen, however, blood and oxygen must be drained from other organs which the body considers nonessential for fight or flight. This is why we turn white when we're afraid. The body assumes that our leg muscles need blood and oxygen more than our face does.
Unfortunately, when it comes to fight or flight, the uterus is considered a nonessential organ. According to Dick-Read, the uterus of a frightened woman in labor is literally white. Because it is deprived of "fuel" - blood and oxygen - it cannot function correctly, nor can waste products be properly carried away. Hence, the laboring woman experiences not only pain, but a multitude of problems. The solution, he believed, was twofold: not only do women need to stop being afraid, but doctors need to stop interfering in the process. Laboring women do not need to be poked, prodded, and drugged. Instead, they need to be calmly encouraged, or simply left alone so their bodies may work unhindered.

-Pitocin is given to women in the hospital either to induce labor, or speed up a labor that a doctor has "determined" is proceeding too slowly. Both excuses rarely hold up, as most women can safely go weeks beyond their due date, and once a labor has begun, there is little justification for rushing it. Pitocin is artificial oxytocin, a substance the body produces naturally when a woman is relaxed and unafraid. Oxytocin is produced not only when a woman is in labor, but also during breastfeeding and sex. This is why some midwives recommend having sex to get a labor started. They know that when a woman's nipples and clitoris are stimulated, her body will produce oxytocin.
Stimulation resulting in orgasm is even more powerful. According to Ann Douglas and John R. Sussman, M.D., authors of the book The Unofficial Guide to Having a Baby, a single orgasm is thought to be 22 times as relaxing as the average tranquilizer. Often, it's exactly what a woman needs in order to relieve the tension that is preventing the birth response from doing its job. Most doctors, however, are either unaware of this fact, or prefer more artificial methods.
What most women don't realize is that Pitocin is not only unnecessary, it's potentially dangerous. Doris Haire writes in her article, "Update on Obstetric Drugs and Procedures: Their Effects on Maternal and Infant Outcome," (Birth Gazette 13:1, 1996)
""the American manufacturer of Pitocin points out in its package insert that oxytocin can cause: a) maternal hypertensive episodes, b) cardiac arrhythmias, c) uterine spasm, d) titanic contraction, e) uterine rupture, f) subarachnoid hemorrhage, g) water intoxication, h) convulsions, I) coma, j) pelvic hemotoma, k) postpartum hemorrhage, l) afibrinogenemia, and m) fetal death. Uterine stimulants that foreshorten the oxygen-replenishing intervals between contractions by making the contractions too long, too strong, or too close together increase the likelihood that fetal brain cells will die. The situation is somewhat analogous to holding an infant under the surface of the water, allowing the infant to come to the surface to gasp for air but not to breathe.""
It's no wonder that so many babies in the hospital are determined to be in distress. They're literally suffocating.
 The routine administering of Pitocin and epidural anesthesia is directly responsible for many of the "complications" women in the hospital experience. The C-section rate in this country is high not because vaginal birth is inherently dangerous or difficult. It is high because birth is not designed to be medically managed.

-All this being said, there is no denying the fact that many women successfully give birth in the hospital. However, I truly believe they are doing it in spite of hospital procedures rather than because of them.
Of course, nearly all doctors would disagree with this premise. They would instantly point to the many "problems" they believe they have "fixed." What they fail to admit, however, is that many of the so-called problems they are claiming to fix, are actually caused by them in the first place. For instance, doctors pat themselves on the back for the fact that they're now saving more premature babies than ever before. They fail to mention that according to Midwifery Today magazine, the biggest cause of premature birth today is induction of labor. Doctors are "heroically" saving babies who should still be safely tucked within their mother's wombs!
So what is the alternative to a medically-managed hospital "delivery"? Some would say a homebirth with a midwife. It is true that midwives as a whole are much more trusting of birth than doctors are. Many of them understand not only the dangers of medical intervention, but the effect of fear on a laboring woman's body. A loving midwife can offer a fearful woman a tremendous amount of emotional support. Yet midwife-attended births are not without their problems. Artificial rupturing of the membranes, instructions to push or not push - regardless of the desires of the laboring woman - and aggressive management of the third stage of labor (delivery of the placenta) are not uncommon in a midwife-attended birth. Part of this may be due to legal requirements. A midwife is required to "chart" a woman's labor. What this means is that technically she must measure dilation and time contractions (among other things). A woman must also be transported if her placenta hasn't delivered within an hour of the birth - even though there is no evidence that suggests retaining a placenta for longer than an hour causes problems. Of course, many midwives ignore these requirements, and allow women to give birth in their own time and in their own way. When a midwife does intervene, however, the consequences can be devastating.
I refuse to believe that birth is this big mystery that the ordinary woman can't possibly understand. If a woman is in touch with her physical and spiritual instincts, she does not need to be told how to give birth, any more than she needs to be told how to make love or how to go to the bathroom. Birth is a natural bodily function that is sorely in need of demystification. It's time women stopped putting doctors and midwives on pedestals and started believing in their own abilities. The sun will come up tomorrow, the grass will continue to grow, and our babies will come out if we let them. The key is to not interfere - either physically or psychologically.

Hmmm, so what do you think?! Jump on the website if you are truely intreged and read and discover it all for yourself! Lots of amazing stories.

I know that i will cop alot of flack for thinking and now writing all of this but hey what do i care, this is MY blog. I write it for me. My thoughts not in a diary but on a computer screen. I am considering an unassisted birth. I AM CONSIDERING AN UNASSISTED BIRTH!

Oh and just before i go, a few days ago i read a blog post. Cant rmember where i found it but it went something like this.... "I wouldnt take my toddler with a mild fevevr and runny nose to a hospital to be hooked up to monitors, leads, oxygen and i.v's just incase these sniffles turn into pneumonia or bronchchiolitus so why would i as a healthy laboring woman go to a hopsital to give birth just because something may go wrong." Something to think about.

Oh and another thing, as far as i am concerned, my scars are of no signifigence to me!

Sunday 12 February 2012

Silent Knife, C/S prevention and VBAC...

So im half way through reading the following book, Silent Knife; Cesarean Prevention and Vaginal Birth After Cesearen...Written by Nancy Wainer Cohen and Lois J. Estner. Its honestly to most amazingly eye opening, honest book ive ever read in my life! Granted it was written and compiled in 1983 but when you read you realise that not much has changed. In fact one of the main things i am getting from this book is the fact that all this VBAC stuff and all the negative stigma surrounding it has been and is soo covered up. It still is. The only difference i see between this book written 30 years ago and todays maternity world are the statistics. In this day and age they are even more STAGGERING and DISGUSTING! (Im constantly left wondering how the authors would be feeling at todays statistics compared with then)! Within the first few pages i found myself laughing, crying, bawling and nodding my head along with EVERYTHING they had written there! I honestly have never felt so right in my opinions, decisions and how i feel. Although it is aimed at women who have had previous C/S, i believe and recommend that EVERY woman, pregnant or not should read this book!! I got my copy from the library but am now planning on buying a copy for myself to keep forever and ever and trust me, i will be reading it well after im finished having babies.

So the rest of this post is an extract from the book that im sure sums up everything beautifully! To go more in depth with everything please please please read the book...For now though, i hope this gets you all wanting more!! 

Let me start by saying.....What lead to your epidural, your induction, your Unnecessary C/S. Heres some ways to avoid another one or to avoid one altogether!




Preventing Unnecessary Caesareans

Reason for C/Sec

  Dystocia, CPD, Failure to progress, Arrest of labor, Uterine inertia, Failed induction, Failed forceps.

Avoidable factors

1.       Lack of patience with normal labor process; misinterpretation of Friedman labor curve. (It’s a mean, not a norm; there is a normal human variation in length and pattern of labor.)

2.       Recumbent position; lack of mobility in the first stage. (When a woman is upright and ambulatory, first stage is shorter, contractions stronger and more efficient, gravity helps, baby enters pelvis at a better angle, mother is more comfortable and feels less pain. Supine position leads to maternal hypotension and reduced uterine flow.)

3.       Exaggerated pushing with prolonged breath-holding in semi reclining or reclining position. (Squatting increases pelvic diameters, can increase available area 20-30%; gravity helps; baby descends at a better angle. Hard, lengthy pushes result in ineffective pushing out-of-sync with uterus’s own bearing-down efforts, as well as maternal exhaustion. Pushing with closed glottis, holding legs up, pushing with heels results in tense, tight legs, buttocks, pelvic floor and vagina, delaying baby’s descent and causing more stress on baby’s head and mother’s soft tissues.)

4.       Too hasty use of pitocin after premature rupture of membranes or after due-date; elective induction; artificial rupture of membranes early in labor. (If cervix is unready for labor, induction will be ineffective or labor prolonged. Pitocin can result in contractions too strong, long, and close together, increasing likelihood of use of analgesics or anaesthesia, and of fetal distress, discussed later in this appendix. Pitocin associated with excessive third-stage bleeding and neonatal jaundice. With precautions, risk of infection after ruptured membranes very small in healthy, well nourished women. Induction solely on the basis of dates runs risk of premature baby if dates wrong; there is a normal variation in length of gestation. Artificial rupture of membranes removes protection for baby's head, can lead to excessive molding; increases likelihood of infection with internal exams, leads to concern over length of labor because of fear of infection.)

5.       Fasting in labor. (Labor is hard physical work and requires lots of calories to burn. Digestion slows down in active labor, but continues slowly. A 5% glucose solution insufficient to supply energy needs. Times when inhalation anaesthesia required are rare; fasting does not eliminate the risk of acid aspiration; effects on maternal and fetal metabolism and uterine functioning of prolonged fasting not clearly known.)

6.       Narcotics in first stage. (Central nervous system depressants can slow uterine functioning, especially if given in the latent phase or if labor is progressing slowly already.) Epidurals in the first or second stage. (Slow first stage by withdrawing blood from uterus and retarding uterine functioning; slow second stage by eliminating urge to push, weakening abdominal muscles; higher incidence of failure of baby’s head to rotate.)

Alternatives

1.       Trust in a woman’s body unless clear clinical signs of fetal or maternal distress; stay at home until at least 5cms; go home if you arrive at the hospital and your less than 5cms.

2.       Stay out of bed and WALK! Avoid semi reclining and reclining positions; no I.V unless indicated for a specific reason, then on mobile stand; monitor by auscultation unless electronic fetal monitoring is specifically indicated, then alternate fetal monitoring with long periods of walking.

3.       Avoid semi reclining and reclining positions for second stage; squat, kneel, stand or sit on toilet, especially if second stage is long or uncomfortable; use these or side lying position to rotate posterior or transverse head. Push only with the body’s own rhythm;  mother avoid holding legs up, pushing with heels, or closing glottis; mother emphasize opening up and tuning into body’s own signals, not technique.

4.       No Pitocin after ruptured membranes unless signs of infection are present; wait at home for labor to start (risk of infection and anxiety both lower there); eat at will and drink lots. No post-dates induction unless signs of placental deterioration. NO elective induction (Banned by FDA). No artificial rupture of membranes except in late labor in a few selected cases.

5.       Eat at will in labor; drink lots!

6.       No narcotics or epidurals. Walking or other positions, relaxation, massage, shower and bath, breathing patterns, loving support and touch, and encouragement instead.

7.       Increase mothers self-confidence by emphasizing birth as a normal physiological function, not only in childbirth classes and during pregnancy, but from childhood; give extra support in labor; stay at home in early labor; improve community options for safe out-of-hospital births and alternative in-hospital births.



Reason for C/Sec

Fetal distress

Avoidable factors

1.       Misinterpretation of electronic fetal monitoring tracings. (Tracings are difficult to interpret, as some variations are normal; electronic monitoring produces many false positives.) Reliance on electronic fetal monitoring for diagnosis. (According to NIH, this is a screening, not a diagnostic tool.)

2.       Reclining position. (Supine position can cause maternal hypotension, reduce blood flow to the uterus; labor less efficient and prolonged.)

3.       Narcotics. (Central nervous system depressants can depress maternal respiration; cross placenta quickly and can depress fetus, especially if already stressed.) Epidurals. (Can lead to maternal hypotension, withdraw blood from uterus, as well as prolong labor.)

4.       Pitocin. (Can cause contractions too long, strong and close together for baby to recover oxygen supply inbetween, especially if already stressed; increases maternal discomfort and anxiety, raises likelihood of the use of narcotics and/or epidurals.)

5.       Exaggerated pushing with prolonged breath-holding (Valsalva maneuver). (Can reduce oxygen to baby by retarding blood return through extreme intrathoracic pressure, and by using up oxygen with mothers own efforts; supine position leads to maternal hypotension and reduced uterine blood flow.)

6.       Hyperventilation. (By several mechanisms, reduces oxygen available to baby.)

7.       Maternal anxiety. (Reduces blood flow to uterus and oxygen available to baby.)

Alternatives

1.       Monitor by auscultation unless electronic monitoring specifically indicated (according to NIH, no benefit of EFM over auscultation demonstrated, except in high-risk cases.) Confirm diagnosis with fetal scalp sampling before intervening.

2.       Stay upright, out of bed, or on side.

3.       No narcotics or epidurals.

4.       Use pitocin rarely and sparingly; turn down once labor established. Stimulate labor by giving the mother a rest, getting her up to walk, helping her to relax, or stimulating nipples, instead of pitocin.

5.       Push physiologically with body’s own rhythms, in upright or side-lying position; hold breath no longer than 6-7 seconds.

6.       Help mother relax upper body, avoid rapid breathing.

7.       Help mother relax; see earlier paragraphs of alternatives.



Reason for C/Sec

Breech presentation.

Avoidable factors

Automatic, blanket rules about how to deliver breech babies.

Alternatives

Prenatal exercise to turn baby; external version; ultrasound at labor onset and trail of labor; skilled, confident midwife or Obstetrician



Reason for C/Sec

Toxaemia, Hypertension, Placental abruption, Placental insufficiency, Premature birth, Low birth weight.

Avoidable factors

Inadequate nutrition during intrauterine life, childhood, adolescence and pregnancy. Use of drugs in pregnancy-prescription, over the counter and recreational, including alcohol, caffeine and especially smoking. Restriction of blood volume and placental size by restricting salt intake or using diuretics.

Alternatives

Education about nutrition and use of drugs in pregnancy, before pregnancy begins, in early pregnancy, and in childbirth classes. Avoid ALL drugs if possible. Avoid use of diuretics, salt to taste; increase protein intake, maintain fluid and salt intake, if fluid retention and high blood pressure become problems.



Reason for C/Sec

Previous Caesarean or previous multiple Caesareans.

Avoidable factors

Automatic, once-a-C/S-always-a-C/S policies. NIH and ACOG have both stated that VBAC is safe in most cases. 2-4 times greater risk of maternal mortality, increased risk of maternal morbidity and neonatal respiratory disease with elective repeat caesarean. Increased maternal-infant separation, stress on attachment process, decreased maternal self-esteem all may follow C/S. Risk of dishence (separation) of lower segment (horizontal) scar about 0.5%, with risk of serious rupture much less. Risk of maternal or fetal death little or no higher than without previous C/S.

Alternatives

Labor and vaginal birth unless new indication for C/S in this pregnancy.

Wednesday 1 February 2012

Where im at..Ceserean risks v VBAC

So today is the first of Febuary and my head is all over the place. Hubby is starting to have dreams i'll die during childbirth. Today he said we should up my life insurance just in case. He didnt say how i gave birth in the dream or anything else. I kind of dont blame him, i did say to him that i want no negative talk or thinking. I really think we need to surround ourselves with positive thinking and like minded people. He was acting weird, distant and i bullied it out of him.

Myself on the other hand, almost a week ago i had the most truly inspiring and amazing dream....I was kneeling on the side of my bed and my midwife was with me. I gave birth to my baby and caught her (yip it was a girl) and brought her to my chest myself. The midwife wasnt freaking, it was light and there was no noise. It was so calm and peaceful and serene. It was soo real, the blood and vernix, the pain...yip i felt everything. It was soo magical and has given me a new light on everything.

So im not naieve or being stupid. I realise that there are definate risks with every decision we make. There are also risks with giving birth naturally aswell as having a ceserean, wether its elective or an emergency. So here is a little of my history...

-I have laboured to the point of pushing, being fully dialated.
-I have carried 2 babies within me, both completley healthy and normal and never in distress until given reason to.
-I have successfully breastfed both of my children until they weaned themselves, 11months and 15months.
-I have had 2 cesereans, both unnessecarily and neither an emergency until unconsented for drugs were administered to me.

Now lets find some stats on the risks of ceserean... (www.vbacfacts.com)

Potential Harms to the Mother
Compared with vaginal birth, women who have a cesarean are more likely to experience:
• Accidental surgical cuts to internal organs.
Major infection.
• Emergency hysterectomy.
Complications from anesthesia.
• Deep venous clots that can travel to the lungs and brain.
• Admission to intensive care.
Readmission to the hospital for complications related to the surgery.
Pain that may last six months or longer after the delivery. More women report problems with pain from the cesarean incision than report pain in the genital area after vaginal birth.
Adhesions, thick internal scar tissue that may cause future chronic pain, in rare cases a twisted bowel, and can complicate future abdominal or pelvic surgeries.
• Endometriosis causing pain, bleeding, or both severe enough to require major surgery to remove the abnormal cells.
Negative psychological consequences with unplanned cesarean. These include:
o Poor birth experience, overall impaired mental health, and/or self-esteem.
o Feelings of being overwhelmed, frightened, or helpless during the birth.
o A sense of loss, grief, personal failure , acute trauma symptoms, posttraumatic stress, and clinical depression.
• Death.
• Women who have unplanned cesareans are more likely to have difficulties forming an attachment to their babies.
Women who have cesareans are less likely to have their infants with them skin-to-skin after the delivery. Babies who have skin-to-skin contact interact more with their mothers, stay warmer, and cry less. When skin-to-skin, babies are more likely to be breastfed early and well, and to be breastfed for longer.
• Women are less likely to breastfeed.
Potential Harms to the Baby
Compared with vaginal birth, babies born by cesarean section are more likely to experience:
• Accidental surgical cuts, sometimes severe enough to require suturing.
Being born late-preterm (34 to 36 weeks of pregnancy) as a result of scheduled surgery.
Complications from prematurity, including difficulties with respiration, digestion, liver function, jaundice, dehydration, infection, feeding, and regulating blood sugar levels and body temperature. Late-preterm babies also have more immature brains, and they are more likely to have learning and behavior problems at school.
Respiratory complications, sometimes severe enough to require admission to a special care nursery, even in infants born at early term (37 to 39 weeks of pregnancy).
Readmission to the hospital.
Childhood development of asthma, sensitivity to allergens, or Type 1 diabetes.
• Death in the first 28 days after birth.
Potential Harms to Future Pregnancies
With prior cesarean, women and their babies are more likely to experience serious complications during subsequent pregnancy and birth regardless of whether they plan repeat cesarean or vaginal birth. The likelihood of serious complications increases with each additional operation.
Compared with prior vaginal birth, prior cesarean puts women at increased risk of:
• Uterine scar rupture.
• Infertility, either voluntary or involuntary.
Cesarean scar ectopic pregnancy a condition that is life-threatening to the mother and always fatal for the embryo.
• Placenta previa, placental abruption and placenta accreta, all of which increase the risk for severe hemorrhage and are potentially life-threatening complications for mother and baby.
• Emergency hysterectomy.
Preterm birth and low birth weight.
• A baby with congenital malformation or central nervous system injury due to a poorly functioning placenta.
• Stillbirth and Miscarriage.

WOW!! Pretty big list, and thats not even all of them. (The stats that are underlined have occured and continue to effect me and my children!!)

The only other risk with a VBAC i can find that is different to a first time mum giving birth vaginally is the risk of uterine rupture. So lets review....(all of my info in this post is from the above website www.vbacfacts.com).  The risk of uterine rupture after 1 or more cesereans is 0.3-0.7%. Now think about it like this, thats not even 0%!! The risk to a mum giving birth with an unscarred uterus is 0.1%...Hmm not much less then if a scar is present. Of course these stats dont tell us what type of rupture has occured, just that one has. It is known that women can have a "ruptured" uterus where it only slightly opens and leaks a bit of fluid but the woman can continue on in her pregnancy, labor and birth and have no problems and in some cases not even know it has happened. And then of course there is the rupture, catastrophic, where it is 100% nessecary to perform an EMERGENCY ceserean as the uterus rips, the mother can bleed internally and the baby can protrud inside the womens body.

Then of course when you add unnessecary interventions common practise within hospitals and some maternity homes these can add up against you and you may end up needing an emergency ceserean. These things include epidural, pain relief/drugs, stress, pressure, fear, continious monitoring, laboring on your back, piticon and being induced.....and the list goes on!

My fears of birthing in a hospital...
So if you follow this blog you'll have read whats happened to me during my past labors. I am TERRIFIED of any of this happening again. My worst fear is not being listened to and loosing control over my body.....just like the first time! Im scared i will be strapped onto a bed, refused food and drink or to be allowed to go to the bathroom, refused moments alone, refused to walk and labor upright, being put "on the clock" if labor doesnt progress how a certain doctor thinks it should.
I have NO FEAR what so ever of something going wrong, i believe that birth is a natural thing that my body was made to do. I know i can give birth naturally...Its just that in a hospital, i dont know if i will be allowed to give birth naturally!

My fears of giving birth at home...
I have none. Im excited, im soo excited to hit over 38weeks and go into labor naturally. I cannot wait to be in my own home, my own space. I can do what ever i want with the watchful, yet not interferring eye of my midwife and husband. If something goes wrong, if something happens then just like with everything else in life we have a back up plan. When it comes to mine and my babys life im not willing to take risks and if my midwife or myself believe that something is happening that shouldnt be then we will transfer to our local hospital where we will manage the problem.

Im not brave, im not stupid.... I am a survivor of 2 unnessecary cesereans, a baby with respritory distress due to birth by ceserean, 4years of postnatal depression and 4years of posttraumatic stress disorder, having to fight the "system" to birth my babys vaginally, having to constantley take crap from people and explain myself to people who think what im doing is wrong......Plus numerous other things.

So when you ask me next time why i want a VBAC, ill answer you...

 BECAUSE I BELIEVE IT IS SAFER FOR ME AND MY BABY!

...and if you dont understand that then you need to go away and research the facts for yourself. However unless you have been in my shoes, read and re-read my birth stories and experianced some of it yourself, you will NEVER fully understand my decisions or the way i am now thinking. Sooo much of my decision is based on my emotional well being as well as how i feel about cesereans. Not everything in pregnancy and birth is medical....infact unless there is a previous reason for it to be...it isnt medical at all.