We had our birthing class again last night. It focused on C-Sections. There were six of us there. The nurse told us that, statistically, two of us would have a C-Section. I am not a fan of that idea and I would have gone along blissfully without that knowledge. You know, one comes up unexpectedly at the end and you just have to go with it. But now I know ahead of time there's this decent chance of a C-Section. Was that really necessary? I think not.
Here are some other things that I find unnecessary. When in labor at the hospital, I will not be able to eat or drink (even water). I will only have ice chips and this doesn't change regardless of the length of my labor. They will, however, insert an IV if I start to dehydrate. I find that incredibly sweet. Now I have read in numerous books that hospitals do not allow eating or drinking during labor so I was prepared for this. However, I have also read that there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that drinking water is harmful to mom or baby even if an emergency surgery were to take place. It's just a rule. A stupid one in my small brain, but anyway. Here's what gets me. Jory and I have been told REPEATEDLY by nurses, in our birthing class, in books, by other people, etc. that it is very important that Jory have snacks and beverages with him during labor because it is absolutely necessary that he keep his strength up. For what? Is he pushing out a baby I don't know about? I can go 24 hours without water, but he's really going to need a Cliff Bar to get through this?
Anyway, Little One has still not received the memo that he or she may drop now. So I'm still not sleeping much. Do you think it's making me cranky?
Finally - two questions I am getting a lot: YES, the story of the Asian woman is true and happened just like that and she was entirely confident in her prediction of a boy. And, YES, there are still dates available in the Baby Pool if you'd like a chance to win some fun money. Of course, all of the available dates are before the due date since NO ONE thinks I am going to have this baby early. Another bit of information that I was fine without, by the way. Lie to me, people. Tell me that babies come early for first time mothers all the time!
Park City Utah
2 years ago
11 comments:
Your post is making me laugh out loud!!! I feel your pain, sista! March can't get here soon enough! The hubs keeps telling me to be patient. I tell him we will let him carry our next child and see how he feels after eight months! Also...we skipped childbirth class! I have heard from several people that all it does is freak you out! Appartently that is somewhat true! I am going into it all with the attitude what ever happens- happens! I want to see pics of the finished nursery! I am sure it is precious! We are closing in on the finished product!
Hi.. I just had to comment...I found your blog from blog hopping from Jenna's blog, whom I found from Kellys Korner.
Anyhow, I am a L&D RN and thought maybe I could help answer some questions.
First with the C/S rate, of course having a C/S is always a possibility but there are a few things that could reduce those rates. First, if you don't have to be induced-don't!
I don't know statistics but in my experience we do a lot more "failed induction" C/S's then Spontaneous Labor C/S's.
Also, I am a huge believer of changing positions frequently during labor. I help my pts change positions at least every 30 minutes-regardless if they have pain medication or not.
When you change positions it allows the baby to get in the right position easier.
About the no food rule...yeah I can't say that I agree with that either (I am guilty of looking the other way :).
I know the thinking where I work is, if there is an emergency C/S the Anesetheologist wants the patient's stomach empty. Empty stomach=less chance to throw up=less chance of aspiration (Again probably info you were fine without).
We allow our patients ice chips, suckers, and popsicles-not much, but sometimes a popsicle is really what you need!
The IV does so much more than just dehydration stuff. Giving a bolus of iv fluid, can raise a pts blood pressure, can help a fetal heart rate stay/recovery from non-reasuring patterns (again TMI-sorry), lower a fever, etc. It can do so much more, so much quicker then you trying to drink the same amount of fluid. They just aren't the same.
Anyway, I could go on forver but this is getting too long. Good luck to you and Little One! I hope I have helped instead of brought up more things to worry about. And sorry for "barging" in but I am passionate about patients having good labor and delivery experiences, so I wanted to comment!
I've had several first time friend mommies whose babies have come early...so there is hope. :) I did have snacks at the hospital for Matt, which he didn't eat during delivery, but we both sure enjoyed them afterward. Thanks for your prayers, too!
Sara,
I'm always happy to talk about one of my favorite subjects!
Our hospital policy for intermittent monitoring is if the patient is having spontaneous labor (no meds-pitocin etc) and everything is normal she can be off the monitor for 40 minutes and then on for 20 minutes every hour.
As long as the baby's heart rate looks good for that 20 minutes she can continue doing this until delivery time.
We also have one "cordless" moniter that the patient can walk around the halls with while it is still tracing the heart rate and contraction pattern. It is pretty sweet...
If continious monitoring is necessary you can definitely still move around. You can sit on a birthing ball while being monitored, rocking chair, or stand by the bedside. Walking is not easy though as you are limited by the 3-4 foot long cords! :)
Even if my patients are in bed (due to comfort, epidural, or whatever) I still change their position every 30 minutes.
The most comfortable and effective "in bed" position, I think, is having the mom lay on her far side (not barely tilted with those wedge things) in a semi fetal position. With lots of pillows under her head, behind her back, under her abdomen (sporting baby's weight) and in between her legs. I have my patient switch sides frequently and also do some sitting up positions.
I think the most important thing for you to do is talk to your healthcare provider before the big day arrives. Tell him/her that you want to move during labor. Then maybe he can write an order for that once you are admitted to the hospital so the nurses don't have to call him. Also talk to your nurse right when you meet him/her about what you want for labor and delivery.
I'll admit it takes a little more time on the nurses part to have a "mobile" patient (adjusting monitors-so they pick up what they need to can be tricky sometimes). I say you gotta do what works for you! Laboring women need to move!
If the nurse knows your expectations and wants and that your doctor is on board she will be much more likely to assist.
I hope that helps and I better put out my disclaimer that this is strictly my opinion and what I have seen help in my experience!
Feel free to email me (amgreener1214@hotmail.com)or comment on the blog if you have any more things you would like to talk about. Like I said, I like to talk about this and could go on for days...
April
PS I had to post under anonymous because I am having Java/Cookie computer issues and it keeps kicking me out everytime I try to submit my username/password
I completely agree with the whole eating thing. They keep saying make sure he has food and they forget who is really doing all the work!!
Wow! You sparked some incredible comments. As your mom, I found the additional information helpful and reassuring.
I laughed out loud at your comments esp. about Jory getting to eat!
And I've just got to remind you that you don't like being lied to dear, so why would any of us start now? Plus why get your hopes up for an early delivery? It's better to expect a late one and get pleasently surprised than expect an early one and get diappointed, don't you think?
Love---mom
Have you considered hiring a Doula? I made the decision to spend a little extra cash when I started to read these statistics about c-sections and rules about eating and so on. While my baby is not due until April, I feel much better knowing that I have a personal advocate to stick up for me if I'm starving, want to walk around, or just want to give it one more chance before we decide to cut!
According to studies, having a doula present during labor and birth has been proven to decrease: length of labor by 25%; epidural use by 60%; Cesarean birth by 50%; Pitocin use by 40%; narcotics use by 30%; forceps use by 30%
There are 2 organizations that train & certify Doulas
www.dona.com
www.cappa.net
You should be able to find a directory on their websites. I emailed a few and interviewed the ones I liked. You would most likely want to find a "Labor Doula" (most of them fit this)
Good luck! And thanks for visiting my blog :)
I promise a c-section isn't bad at all, although it was not my first choice. I am now a big fan of c-sections and thought the recovery was pretty easy! I still gag when I see pictures of myself cut open.(Sorry if I just made you throw up!)
I hated that water rule, too. Just let your ice chips melt!:) I will tell you that as soon as I left recovery after my c-sec they let me have water and I threw up 4 times in 10 mins, so I stuck with ice chips until the next morning. (Sorry if i made you throw up again!!)Haha!
My doctors and midwives knew we were going for natural childbirth, and we requested that I be able to eat and drink as I wanted during labor and so we were able to. No problem. (But even if you didn't want to do natural childbirth...I'm sure they would be fine with it. Like I said, mine didn't mind at all. It's worth asking!) At a certain point, when labor gets intense you obviously don't want anything anyway. But during early labor, like you said, you need something to sustain you and give you energy for labor and childbirth! :o)
We also only had the fetal monitor on for 15 minutes out of every hour. If they had started to see something that needed further monitoring, we would have of course been fine with continuous monitoring. But having the monitor off let us walk around and move things along (or try to!). I could not just lay there in bed!! I would have gone crazy...my body was telling me to get up and move!
I was SO fortunate to have had a really good birth experience. The nurses were EXTREMELY supportive of our wishes to not get an epidural and stay as natural as possible. They were so encouraging! I hope you have a wonderful birth! I am already looking forward to it again...it was by far the most exciting day of my life!
Well, I can tell you that BOTH of my children came earlier than expected. Amanda was just a week earlier then my "due date" and weighed in at 7 pounds, 8 ounces. Now Dennis, according to my "due date" vs his actualy birth, he was almost 3 weeks early!! The bad news was he was just under 10 pounds...ENJOY the last few weeks and PRAISE GOD for the miracle and blessing He has given you both!
LOVE YA!
Therese
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