Comment on Unassisted Childbirth
My friend? acquaintance? friend's sister? (what are you Shannon?) wrote a post on her blog about unassisted childbirth and I wanted to comment on it but would've taken too much space so I thought I'd comment on my own blog.
First I was a little confused about the "ecstatic aspects of birth" part. I haven't read your friend's blog so I don't know if her opinion is that an unassisted childbirth creates more "ecstatic aspects of birth" than an unassisted one. I think that is silly (sorry to be rude to your friend).
How can someone measure that exactly? You know, how can someone say that they experienced more ecstatic moments during their labor? Who likes labor anyway? I will say that my water broke and I had to have pictocin and after 9 hours of contractions that came every two minutes, I told Mike I thought I was going to die. I also had a terrible pregnancy. So, when Will came out of me I burst into tears. Perhaps it was because I thought, "I'm finally free!" Or maybe it was because my husband never gets excited but the look on his face when he held Will for the first time is something I will never forget. Whatever the reason, I felt ecstatic he was out of me.
I felt ecstatic when Isaac came out of me too. His labor wasn't as long or as difficult but I had only slept two hours (my water broke at one in the morning) and threw up at the hospital at least five times. I got to the point where I would've given anything for an epidural. Does that make me less of a women? Does that mean that I don't appreciate the process of having my children? Does that mean that I didn't recognize how close God was to us when Mike and I held our children for the first time? Somehow I doubt it.
Finally, my mom had 11 children. I can't even imagine...She had all but two (I think) naturally. Then she had one with an epidural and the other was a C-section. when I talked to her about whether I should do it naturally and what her experience was (did she feel more ecstatic when she did it naturally) she said that each experience was beautiful and equally important to her. So, I think I can believe her and know that my epidural childbirths can be just as wonderful as any unassisted childbirths I might have in the future.
First I was a little confused about the "ecstatic aspects of birth" part. I haven't read your friend's blog so I don't know if her opinion is that an unassisted childbirth creates more "ecstatic aspects of birth" than an unassisted one. I think that is silly (sorry to be rude to your friend).
How can someone measure that exactly? You know, how can someone say that they experienced more ecstatic moments during their labor? Who likes labor anyway? I will say that my water broke and I had to have pictocin and after 9 hours of contractions that came every two minutes, I told Mike I thought I was going to die. I also had a terrible pregnancy. So, when Will came out of me I burst into tears. Perhaps it was because I thought, "I'm finally free!" Or maybe it was because my husband never gets excited but the look on his face when he held Will for the first time is something I will never forget. Whatever the reason, I felt ecstatic he was out of me.
I felt ecstatic when Isaac came out of me too. His labor wasn't as long or as difficult but I had only slept two hours (my water broke at one in the morning) and threw up at the hospital at least five times. I got to the point where I would've given anything for an epidural. Does that make me less of a women? Does that mean that I don't appreciate the process of having my children? Does that mean that I didn't recognize how close God was to us when Mike and I held our children for the first time? Somehow I doubt it.
Finally, my mom had 11 children. I can't even imagine...She had all but two (I think) naturally. Then she had one with an epidural and the other was a C-section. when I talked to her about whether I should do it naturally and what her experience was (did she feel more ecstatic when she did it naturally) she said that each experience was beautiful and equally important to her. So, I think I can believe her and know that my epidural childbirths can be just as wonderful as any unassisted childbirths I might have in the future.
Comments
I wrote a response/comment/blog post on my blog, because i needed to explain soemthing that i also thought was really funny.
interesting about your mom; my mom had her first three "naturally" and then 2 emergency c-sections after a long gap (3 miscarriages).
i've had 3 epidurals, but i've got a scoliosis in my back so they only work, initially, on one side. and i had to push avery, who was huge, for 2 hours with no drugs (it had worn off, and they wouldn't give me more). i don't need to feel that kind of pain to be a real woman. :)
I was also induced with Layla, but she was delivered almost immediately after the epidural was put in and I felt the entire thing. The anesthesiologist had tried twice with the giant 5inch long needle. It was awful!
When I was pregnant with Ryan I did not want to be induced and knew that I did not want to have another epidural, I had done it once without one, that I didn't want to go through getting one ever again. But Ryan was late and they were talking about inducing me, I even set an induction date for Monday morning. I knew that if I had to sit in the hospital watching my contractions on a monitor I would probably change my mind about an epidural. Saturday morning at 5am, I laid in bed bawling and asking Heavenly Father to please let this baby come on his own so I wouldn't have to be induced.
Sure enough my first regular contractions started at 3:40 that day. Jason and I arrived at the hospital at 5:55 and Ryan was born at 6:01.
Even if I had wanted an epidural there wouldn't have been time!
I think that there is no right way, and no wrong way to deliver a baby and that Heavenly Father will make it "ecstatic" or whatever no matter what!