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Old 11-25-2012, 10:43 AM   #24
papoosecaboose's Avatar
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Location: Illinois
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I just gotta add my story, if you don't mind. I have had biggish babies for the most part, but #4 was the biggest. 9lbs 15oz. I had not eaten healthy or exercised one bit during the pregnancy. I was miserable and at 37 weeks was begging my OB to induce. She did an U/S and determined that baby was probably about 9 lbs. But she put off induction until I was 39 weeks. I had all the regular interventions, Pitocin, epidural, oxygen, strapped down to the monitors in bed. After piddling around all day with barely any contractions, my nurse accidentally broke my water (I was only dilated to 3 or 4 at the time and he was way way up there, so definitely could have caused a prolapsed cord, praise the Lord it did not). Baby boy decided to come fast and furious then, my OB had just gone home and the MW of the practice came in to deliver baby. His head came out right away but then there was a problem. Everyone kept yelling at me to push as hard as I could (well, having an epidural sure hindered that) and I was just laying flat on my back with no idea what was going on. My husband had a very frightened look on his face and was asking me to push harder. My mom was also in the room and she said that the MW just kind of froze and didn't know what to do. Finally after a couple of minutes a nurse said, "Should I get a doctor?" This random OB in the hall rushes in, cuts me the biggest epidural ever, snaps his little clavicle (thought no one said she did, I now know this is a common last ditch effort by OB's and MW's when a baby is really stuck) and got him out. He had been stuck for 4 minutes and much longer would have had brain damage. A pediatrician that came in after the delivery joked that as long as the two parts of his broken clavicle were in the same room, they would heal back together perfectly. And he was right! It healed within just a few days, we have the x-rays to prove it. Thankfully my son didn't have any long term problems due to his difficult delivery. Both the OB's in the practice along with the MW said, "Next time, you're getting a c-section." At the time, I thought, "Good!" But as time went on and I learned about natural birth from Mama's here at Diaper Swappers, and from good documentaries, etc. I changed to a more natural-leaning Midwife who could actually remember my name and spent an hour listening to me at our first appointment. I became more educated and started to figure some things out.
#1 My big babies were not just the result of genetics, they were a product of a junk-food eating Mama who didn't take care of her body.
#2 Being induced even though my body was not ready, likely caused my hips and pelvis not to be prepared to deliver such a big baby. It also did not give baby a chance to move into the correct position for delivery.
#3 Babies are squishy
#4 God doesn't accidentally put great big babies into places where they weren't meant to be. I know everyone will claim they are the exception, but I truly believe this is a RARE situation and not nearly as common as the medical profession would have us believe.
#5 Having an epidural seriously impeded my ability to feel contraction, bear down and push the way I needed to.
#6 My MW was not trained enough to know that a simple change in position could have solved everything. I remained on my back the entire time.

All of this knowledge was put to the test when I delivered baby #5 three years later. I tried to eat better (sometimes not so successfully and sometimes yes), did pregnancy exercises, and positioning to be better prepared. I read natural birth stories from well-loved midwives and other Mama's. I used Hypnobabies which helped me achieve my first every totally natural birth. Baby Joshua was almost the same size as his big brother, Ben. 9lbs, 12oz and was 5 days overdue. I could absolutely feel my hips opening up and my body changing the day before I went into labor. He was born without any interventions and the birth was amazing. He DID get stuck for a moment while I was pushing on my hands and knees. My wonderful NEW Midwife had me flip over and try a different position. Out he came without any problems whatsoever and I didn't even tear!!!

I am due with #6 in May and looking forward to having my first ever homebirth/waterbirth with a lovely Midwife. Can't wait!!!

*Disclaimer: Yes, I know there are exceptions, and I'm not disregarding those. I know there are babies who must be born via c-section and I'm grateful we have the technology to help those Mama's and babies out. But we are an intervention-minded society and the average OB has been trained as a SURGEON - no question that is what most of them rely on as a good alternative when any type of issues arise.
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