I'm not an OB or midwife, and this isn't to attack or really question what the OB team did as wrong. Birth isn't a moral issue. There's no right and wrong. They did nothing wrong, based on their training and the information they had and their liability. It's about how I might've achieved my ideal birth given the information I had. Wanting a healthy baby and an amazing experience isn't wrong either.
In my previous post about Estelle's birth story I noted some points where I might've done things differently.
Point number 1: I wish I would have said no to the ultrasound at my 38 week appointment. I already knew she was head down. I might have been able to leave the office that day and never gone down the path of IUGR.
Point number 2: I wish we would have gone home and not started the induction until 39 weeks. I wish we could have tried some natural induction methods. I wish we would have asked what my Bishop score was to see if it was favorable for induction. To some people this probably seems crazy, but I wish I would have eaten more dates. I wish we could have gone home and had sex a bunch of times! I wish I could have kept using my Clary Sage oil.
I wish we would have put off breaking my water and the internal monitor. I didn't have any pain meds while I was laboring. Potentially, I could have lasted longer if they hadn't broken my water because the contractions were much stronger and more painful afterwards. Estelle also might've tolerated the labor longer.
I don't know that any of this would have helped us achieve a vaginal birth. The risk of waiting could have meant a stillbirth. This is what it comes down to, we have a healthy baby.
I think the most traumatic part now in the recovery from a cesarean is the risk for future births. I want to deliver out of hospital next time. There will be restrictions given the history.
I'd love to hear from ya'll about your birth stories. Was it exactly as you wanted? Any seemingly minute detail you would have changed?
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