36 Weeks and the VBAC Debate

A friend of mine posted about how many days were left in her pregnancy and that made me realize there are only 28 days until my "guess date" (as she calls it!).  That's crazy!

I've had some good contractions that I hope are causing some kind of change on my cervix.  I've definitely reached that uncomfortable part of pregnancy.  Sleep is getting harder and harder during the night and this baby has its little bum so high up in my ribs on the right side that it's really hard to sit upright in a chair.  Baby C never "dropped," but I'm hoping this baby does at some point to give relief to my lungs, stomach and ribs.

Here's my belly comparison from two weeks ago.  I can see the change!

I got a couple great kicks on video the other day:

There have been a lot of great things posted lately on different pregnancy sites and facebook that I've enjoyed.  As the push for VBAC is rising, the push back is rising too.  Many c-section moms who did not have a traumatic experience can't understand why some of us want to try to have a vaginal birth the second (or third, or fourth, etc.) time around.  It is really frustrating to hear something like "I don't understand why it's such a big deal.  I had a great c-section experience and all that matters is a healthy baby.  How I have my baby doesn't affect you."  Well yes, on one hand that is true.  But on the other, it does affect me.  It affects ALL women.  The more women who go through the labor and delivery experience not educating themselves and just blindly trusting our medical system, the more our national c-section rate will just continue to be the atrocious number it is.  There are some of us actively fighting the system to try and reclaim our rights as birthing mothers and demand fully INFORMED consent for all patients.  Yes, there will always be some moms who would rather just take their doctors word for things, but I have to believe in my heart that if more women did their own research or were given full information on risks and reasons from their care providers, many c-sections would be avoided.  

This was a recent blog post.  It is a women try to put "humor" on an elective repeat c-section.  The article is appalling (in my opinion), but the debate in the comments is definitely something worth reading:

http://www.modernmom.com/blogs/jill-simonian/yes-i-m-actually-excited-for-my-c-section

I love the site www.vbacfacts.com, whose author made many comments in the above debate.  It is a great site to go for statistics for BOTH sides of the risks of repeat c-section vs. VBAC.

Also, I've had a lot of friends and family use the phrase with me, "I hope this birth goes the way you want it to."  I feel I need to set the record straight on something I thought I had been communicating all along...

I'm okay with a repeat c-section.  I've done my research, I trust my doctor and I'm giving my body every chance to do what it needs to do naturally.  The main thing I want out of this experience is an EMPOWERED birth.  That birth does not come with the requirement that this baby be born vaginally.  That birth comes with the requirement that I feel I am fully informed on each step of the process and if Dr. C tells me we need to head to the OR, it is a discussion of options and not an order that is prefaced by scare tactics.  I have confidence in the decisions I've made and feel myself and this baby are both set up for the best possible outcome.

If anyone in the birth world is solely focused on vaginal birth over c-section, they've missed the point.  I just wanted to make that clear.