C-section -- the "easy" birth

The last few days I have been overwhelmed with blogs, facebook posts, or people just saying to me that they either wished they had a C-section birth, C-sections are easier, or that I am lucky because I had a C-section. This makes me want to scream!

 I envy those who were able to give birth vaginally. I honestly feel like I failed myself because I was not able to give birth vaginally. My anger has many parts to it. First of all, a C-section is not easy and painless, C-sections SHOULD be emergency only, and the miracle of vaginally birthing your child is how God intended and therefore should be everyone's desire.

To begin with, I can promise you that C-sections are not easy, and definitely not painless. Now I realize that I have one child, born via C-section, so I can only first hand speak of the pain and suffering I went through and not what those who have birthed vaginally go through. During the C-section my body was cut open, and the doctor said I would feel "a little pressure". Well, let me tell you, that "little pressure" hurt like my insides were being torn out (and they kinda were). If that wasn't enough, I was unable to get up and move around for 24 hours, my legs were strapped in these things to pump blood through them so I did not get blood clots. My incision hurt so bad that I could not have a bowel movement without crying for 4-5 weeks. I could not cough without wincing for weeks. I could not get out of bed to get my baby and feed him easily and without pain for 3 weeks. I could not lay comfortably in bed because of my incision also for nearly 3 weeks. My incision still has a numbing feeling to it (my little guy is 3 1/2 months old). Not to mention that for the rest of my life I have a scar that constantly reminds me that I could not birth my child naturally, and I had to have a doctor cut him out of me. It was not physically easy on me. It hurt. It still hurts. And I am only speaking of physical pain.

Also, C-sections should never be a choice "just because". C-sections are major abdonimal surgery. And to have one because you are scared of labor, or because the doctor is lazy, or because YOU are lazy, is a ridiculous idea. You are willing to submit yourself to major surgery because you didn't think about the consquences of having sex COULD end in pregnancy, and if so, WOULD end in labor. You are afraid of pain, and don't think you can handle it? That is not an excuse. And neither is a "big baby". Women have been giving birth naturally for centuries. Women have been giving birth to 9+ (even 10 or 11) pound babies without drugs for a very long time. (Yes, even now, with modern medicine, some women choose to give birth naturally, and give birth to a big baby). Elective C-sections make me so angry. More could go wrong having a doctor cut you open, then giving birth vaginally. And why would you take that chance with a new baby (once again, I am speaking only about elective c-sections).

Lastly, I have cried over the fact that the birth of my son turned out the way it did. I was looking forward to giving birth to him naturally. I was not afraid of the pain, I looked forward to feeling my body do what it was made to do. I wanted to feel that. I did not want to be numbed up. God made me (and every women) with the ability and the strength to give birth naturally, and I strive to live up to what God made me to be/do.

I think that the worse part of me having to have a C-section is that it will be difficult for me to convince a lot of doctors to allow me to have a vaginal birth in the future. Now trust me when I say, it is not impossible, and as long as my body healed correctly I will be doing it. But there is false information that is being put out (by people in the medical community) that if you have a C-section, that you can never safely have a vaginal birth in the future. This is not true. It will be harder on me though, for example, my home town in Michigan has two hospitals in it, neither will allow women to have a VBAC (Vaginal birth after cesearen).

I think women need to step up and if they decide to have a baby, to be prepared for what that means. That means pushing a baby out of your body. That means taking one day of your life and being in as much pain as it takes to give your child the start that he/she deserves. That means sacraficing you. And if you are not willing to do the work, maybe you should think twice about forever changing your life and getting pregnant in the first place.

Now to finish this off, I know that the people who think that C-sections are the "easy way" are not the majority. But I have heard it enough to be angry. Also, realize that any reference to drugs during childbirth is my opinion, and I strive not to force my thoughts about this on others. If you believe that pitocin, epidural, etc is right for you, I beg you to do your research as to what that means for your child, and make an informed decision that is best for your family. And do not judge my family for the informed decisions we make.