Today I feel a little upset and perplexed. You may ask why? A very dear friend of mine posted an article on her Facebook account of "Mothers against C-Sections". I understand how some women and even men could be against a C-Section, but I believe that first and foremost they should know the motives why our Doctors carefully research and review options before deciding to fore go vaginal birth for a C-Section. I am upset because we can't just take a side based on our views without thinking of others and the consequences that delivering vaginally could have brought.
For example, in 2005 I was pregnant with my daughter. My pregnancy was not the portrait of the best one. I had nausea, food aversions, heartburn, reflux and to top it off at 27 weeks my blood pressure began to rise. I was kept close watch, wasn't put totally on bed rest but was told to lay down for 12 and then 14 hours every 24 hours. Which means I was only active 10 hours a day. I must add that during pregnancy I am very health conscious, I eat balanced meals, no salt, low fat and mostly fresh foods made from scratch. I am so healthy in my lifestyle that I loose weight! this pregnancy I lost 35 lbs. Not bad right? I mean I was preparing for a "marathon". However, we didn't count on my blood pressure rising therefore being diagnosed with Pre-Clampsia and having to be admitted to the hospital at 34 weeks.
The words of my OBGyN were "this baby has to be born at the latest tomorrow! your blood pressure is very high -170/120!" In case you are not aware or don't know much about Pre-Clampsia, is a condition of pregnancy marked by high blood pressure and excess protein in your urine after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Preeclampsia- often causes only modest increases in blood pressure. Left untreated, however, pre-eclampsia can lead to serious — even fatal — complications for both you and your baby.
Pre-eclampsia may progress to eclampsia, characterized by the appearance of tonic-clonic seizures. This happens only very rarely with proper treatment. In my case the proper treatment was to induce me, 13 long hours later at around 11 a.m. the following day I was informed that my blood pressure was still rising -even though I had and IV with Magnesium- and that I wasn't dilating plus I wasn't even having contractions. So I would undergo a C-Section at 2 p.m. My feelings were mixed at that very moment, I had envisioned the perfect birth. I was to have contractions, breathe in-out, relax, find my peaceful place and deliver my baby without complications. Well needless to say after crying and feeling anxious for about 40 minutes and with my whole family by my side, I took a deep breath and accepted my reality and thought to myself "gee for never being in the hospital and having a baby for the first time I really got myself into some deep complications!"
So 2 p.m. it was and I was getting prepped for surgery. At 2:53 p.m. on September 8th our daughter was born at 34 weeks gestation weighing only 3.12 lbs and measuring 19.5 inches. She was immediately placed in a bassinet with tubes connected to her very fragile body and taken to the NICU at Scripps Mercy Hospital. My recovery was not that easy either, I was in recovery for 24 hours which felt more like a lifetime. I wasn't conscious and didn't not remember anything from the moment I was given anesthesia!
Our baby is now 5 years old, is as healthy as any other full-term child. She is very healthy and always happy, if you'd met her you wouldn't even think she was a preemie!
I honestly respect my friend's opinion but feel that people should not be judgemental towards others. The same goes for breastfeeding, sometimes for health reasons it is impossible to do so and there should be no pressure for it. If you can't breastfeed then do not stress or feel unworthy, yes it is best however you don't know why that mother couldn't. In my case it was all the magnesium plus I couldn't put my daughter to the breast and there was never a let down. After 3 very stressful, frustrating weeks my OBGyN said "listen, sometimes everything is set for breastfeeding but other times the mothers body endures so much that it is impossible to produce any milk... you have formula and the Neonatologist and Pediatrician want the baby to take a special one so enjoy your baby". Which I did...
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