Haven't really seen my husband since. Should've known that was going to happen! LOL
Meanwhile we are keeping busy reading up and watching DVDs on different childbirth methods. After reading and talking to some friends I've learned so much about the effects of medications/procedures they do to you at the hospital not only to you but to the baby. So Adam and I have made the decision to go Au Natural. We will still be in the hospital setting (Emory John's Creek- hopefully- LONG story) but we will not have ANY medical interventions. I'll list some statistics below...Basically our plan is for me not to be hooked up to any sort of machine that would prohibit free movement about the room. This means no IV, no EFM, and definitely no medicine. We are also interviewing and looking for a doula now. We believe hiring a doula will give us the extra push and piece of mind that we are making the right decision and will cause us to stick to our birth plan. I don't want to put all the stress on Adam, having the extra person there to encourage me and who knows various methods and techniques (cause we might forget what we've learned) will benefit us.
-99% of births occur in the hospital
-92% of those are by an OB
-only 8 % of births are done with a midwife (we are choosing midwife over OB)
-31% of births are by C-sections (this rate has climbed 50% in the last 10 years)
-The number of labors being induced has doubled since 1990.
-23% of labors are induced. 16% of preterm and 24% of term and higher deliveries
-33% of women still get an episiotomy
-over 50% of mother's receive an epidural
-epidural is full of powerful narcotics (lidocaine, fentanyl, morphine, etc) all of which reach your baby within 3 seconds of you getting the drug
-a medicated baby is slow to respond after delivery most of which do not know how or cannot latch on right away due to the drugs in its system
-nurses have reported to be able to tell a non-medicated baby from a medicated baby just by the color and alertness in the nursing ward
-epidurals cause mother's blood pressure to drop therefore, lowering blood supply to the baby
- receiving an epidural often leads to vacuum, forceps, Pitocin
-affects of an epidural last hours post-delivery on mother (meaning can't walk around)
This is just a snip-it of why we've decided on a non-medical birth. To really understand it, I suggest watching "The Business of Being Born" DVD. It's streamable via Netflix or is probably at your library. Now, that DVD pushes for home birth but I'm not one of the 1% who currently thinks that is the way to go. At least not for the first one.
It really is astonishing how much the doctor's in hospitals push you to do what they want. Often you go to the doctor and they never tell you about other methods of delivery. Many women don't know what to expect or that it is not normal to be induced or receive an epidural. If you think about it, doctor's want to get home for dinner, they may have had a rough day...they just want to hurry your labor along so they can go home. Same with hospitals, it's like a restaurant, check them in - check them out. And don't get me started on insurances...I wonder why they don't pay for doulas, yet they'll cover thousands of dollars of labor and medication.
What boggles me are the women who go 9 months or more avoiding certain foods, exercises, etc. that "are bad" for them or the baby but AS SOON AS they go into labor are "shoot me up" attitude! Do they just "forget" what they are receiving? Does it not cross their mind that what they are receiving (cm from their spine) goes directly to their unborn child? Yet they'd rather be selfish and "escape" the pain. We are women, our bodies were made for this! Before the 30s, medicine wasn't an option. (I heard a statistic, I'll have to find it again- that the US has the highest mortality rate of infants of developed nations and 10th (I think) mortality rate of mothers of developed nations.) I've guess I've ranted long enough. I'm just appalled that women don't do more research on their own (since doctor's want to get paid).
Adam and I really hope everything works out and we are able to succeed in this decision. Given that medically everything lines up, au natural is the way to go! It may not be easy but the results will be worth it in the end.
