Why Unassisted? My birth history... Part 1

There's a growing controversy surrounding unassisted births and unassisted pregnancies in our nation. It has gained the spotlight numerous times in newspaper articles and television broadcasts... and typically isn't well responded to - especially by the medical arena.

Why would an intelligent, healthy woman in the western world resort to unassisted birth or UC as it is commonly referred to? And why live through an unassisted pregnancy (UP) when we have so many "amazing" resources available to us?

My journey began as a young married woman, pregnant for the first time and excited about the prospects of "giving birth". I knew I didn't want to be one of those "weaker women" who had to be dosed up on tons of drugs and couldn't handle the pain. I was also very curious about the workings of my body and expected that labor should be something that comes naturally. A friend referred me to her "pro-natural" doctor and things progressed quite normally. I went for the tests they told me to go to, had my monthly, then weekly appointments - albeit spending more time in the waiting room than with the doctor. But she knew what she was doing, right? What did I have to be concerned about?

I gained an enormous amount of weight... extra padding in the first trimester because my eating habits became scattered and random, affected by the morning sickness and the need to "eat for two"! Then towards the end of the pregnancy I began to retain a lot of water. My ankles were swollen and you could press your finger into my lower leg an leave a dent for several minutes. Thankfully, it was nothing serious - my blood pressure remained normal and baby was doing fine.

I started to have Braxton hicks contractions in the last few weeks... Also, my doctor sent me in for an ultrasound because I was so huge. So at 39 weeks we found out that I had polyhydramnois, or an excess of amniotic fluid. It wasn't considered serious, but something to keep an eye on.

On Thanksgiving day (just before my due date) I remember hanging out at my parent's house and feeling the baby doing gymnastics in my belly. I didn't think too much of it until I had another ultrasound at 41 weeks and found out that the baby had become breech. The doctor gave me the good news and the bad news. I would be having the baby very soon and the bad news, it would be via c-section. I asked whether they could turn the baby and was given the story of how risky that was, that most often the baby would go into distress if you tried and then I would be in for an emergency c-section and be cut open stem to stern (not the conventional way.. and much more risky in subsequent pregnancies).

On Friday, October 15, I was booked for my c-section and willingly yet nervously awaited the "birth" of my baby. I remember shaking with fear when I was in the operating room as the anesthesiologist gave me the spinal. The nurse said "You're shaking like a leaf... take a deep breath!"

I lay on the operating table with my belly curtained off... feeling cold and nauseous. My dear husband was at my side, stroking my face and telling me it was okay. Then some tugging, and voila! A baby girl. Funny, but I remember the music playing in the O.R. at the time was "In The Jungle". She cried right away and they wiped her off, and eventually brought her over to me so I could see her sweet face.

Thankfully recover was really well for me - I didn't end up with an infection in my incision like a friend of mine did after her c-section. She was in excruciating pain for months.

But something was really missing. I didn't "give birth". They took the baby out of me, and then I got to take her home. Oh I love her dearly and bonded with her and breastfed her well past the first year. But it lacked the success and joy that comes from birthing your child.

That was my first indication that something wasn't right. When I became pregnant for the second time, when my daughter was around 13 months, I started to read everything I could get my hands onto. I read a book called: "The VBAC Companion" by Diana Korte and learned that my chances of a successful vaginal birth after cesarean were much better if I chose midwives. We didn't have a ton of money at the time, being a single-income family, but this was an absolute priority. I did not feel supported by the doctors involved in my last pregnancy. I didn't feel as if I was treated as a person - just a body with symptoms to observe and react to.

The first visit with the midwives was incredible. They were so different. They were like sisters or mothers who wanted to share the joy and miracle of pregnancy and birth with me! I told them of my disappointment with my last birth and they tsk-ed and nodded their heads in understanding. They told me how doctors are trained to look for NORMAL and anything that varies from that, they don't understand or know how to cope with. It becomes abnormal, instead of just a variation of normal.

My pregnancy was even more enjoyable this time around with our visits with the midwives. We brought our little toddler and they even had a cupboard with toys in the "examination room" which was more like a little bedroom with a soft, nicely make up bed and large windows and some cupboards for the medical stuff. They talked with me about my feelings and my eating habits and how I would cope with a toddler and a baby. It felt like they wanted to genuinely know me as a person so they could better serve me at the time of birth.

These midwives really earned their money too! I was two weeks late when labor finally seemed to start. The baby was posterior and labor was slow and irregular.
To make a long story short, I labored at home with the midwives support from Sunday until the middle of the night on Monday until we transferred to the hospital. At this point, no one was very sure if I could deliver naturally, but I was still determined to try. Because I was exhausted, I chose to have an epidural, and then they offered me some Pitocin to strengthen the contractions. 12 hours after being at the hospital (after more than 36 hours of labor) and 2 hours of pushing, I finally gave birth for the first time. What a joy. What a relief. I didn't regret one minute of it. They laid him on my chest still bloody and beginning to whimper, and I cooed at his sweet face. I didn't care about the extensive tearing of my perineum! This was my baby whom I loved and labored for! I told everyone in the room I couldn't wait to do it again, and that next time would be better! They laughed at me... amazed at my tenacity and willingness after such an ordeal.

Well my 3rd pregnancy happened in around the same timing as the previous... when my son was about 13-14 months, I was pregnant again! We went back to the midwives, no questions asked - even though our financial situation was worse than before. It wasn't an option to us.

This pregnancy was also complication free. My only regrets were towards the end, when I was overdue again and the midwives were getting antsy. As they did in my previous pregnancy, they rimmed my cervix and tried to get things going once I was past 40 weeks. I even tried Castor oil to induce but it did nothing - just tasted disgusting!

I had a very easy birth - only a few hours of hard labor, and gave birth to my second girl in a pool in our bedroom at home. There was peaceful music playing, the lights were dim and I felt at home. My only complaint was that the midwives were fairly insistent on me squatting, supported by my husband who was outside of the pool. So I felt very awkward and precarious as he tried to hold me up. I didn't like it much at all and was quite concerned about tearing. But my little girl was born easily into the water and a short while later, we were cuddled in our own bed and I was saying "I can't believe it's already over!"

-----To Be Continued-----

Apparently I'm Pregnant! (Shhh... it's a secret!)

Well, I suspected it. Even took a couple pregnancy tests (that were negative - but that could be a result of conceiving a bit later in my cycle...). Then - a positive test result in the bathroom of Thi Thi Vietnamese Subs in Calgary (more on that later). And now, I know the truth! There will be another baby coming to our family!

Back when I was pregnant with our 2nd boy (our 5th baby), we had "determined" that he would be our last... our family was complete. But despite the extra long pregnancy of 43 1/2 weeks, and the extra long labor lasting a couple days... something kept us from closing the door to more children.

Okay, so already I've probably displayed that I'm not normal. I don't do things like everyone else. I am a pro-freebirth, unassisted birth, whatever you want to call it kind of girl. I have had 2 homebirths out of 5, and I would love to have more.

So now for the details as I record the musings, details and adventures to be had in my 7th pregnancy (I had one miscarriage between baby #4 and #5).

First day of last period: Feb 28/09
And on that note, it was my first (and only) real period since having my last baby who turned a year on March 5. I'm lucky to have LAM (in layman's terms.. a lack of a period because my body is too busy producing breastmilk) and it tends to last a year.

So I took a pregnancy test on March 27th and it was negative. Although, it did come from the dollar store... so I wasn't completely convinced. But that was only about 4 weeks since my period, so.. maybe too soon.

The next week, I was impatient and took a test on the Thursday.. April 2nd. Still a dollar store test (I just wasn't willing to invest much into it yet!)
That week following, I do specifically remember very mild symptoms... maybe an inkling that perhaps I was pregnant again, but I also thought it might just be my mind playing tricks on me because I still didn't have my period!

On Friday, April 10th, my husband and I got the rare chance for an overnight getaway without all the kids! (Just our nursing baby!) His parents had come up to spend a week with us, and had no qualms about watching the kids overnight. Since we were headed to a friend's place in a nearby city, we thought we'd pick up some wine. I told him that maybe I should pick up another dollar store test because I didn't want to imbibe extravagantly if I was pregnant! Unfortunately, because it was Good Friday, the dollar store was closed so we went to Wal-Mart instead. I bought the Equate brand pregnancy test with 2 tests in it... just in case I would be saving one for later.

Then it was time for some food! We were excited to be in a bigger city, with more to choose from, so we went for Vietnamese Subs. I snuck into the bathroom with the test, read the instructions as if I was a newbie, and peed on the stick.

Seriously, within seconds of the "liquid" absorbing up the stick, it showed some interesting lines. I was confused at first, because this test is supposed to show a line in the first circle - the control, and then it is supposed to make a "+" sign in the second one. And if there is only a straight line down, I think you're not pregnant, but if there is a horizontal line as well, then you are. I sort of freaked out a little, looked into the mirror and said to myself "I'm pregnant!!!" in a giddy little voice. I put the test back into the wrapper and headed out to the table where our delicious food was waiting.

I tossed the package across the table and told my husband to look. I don't know if he could tell from my expression at that point, but he opened it up and was like "ok..." Happy, yet calm. No big comments.

And inside, I was gurgling with nervous excitement. Can't believe it. NO WAY! All ready pregnant! WHAT THE HECK! It's like as soon as my body has viable room for rent, someone goes ahead and moves in! No long months of waiting and wondering... guess everything is working just fine!

So that's it on the beginnings of this journey.

I am planning to go fully unassisted - unassisted pregnancy except for maybe some visits to the chiropractor, and then I would love to have another unassisted birth. (This would be my second.)

Welcome to my world...