Learn the business of birth

Two months ago I was able to watch Ricki Lake's documentary "The Business of Being Born" and was riveted by everything that I learned.

I actually took notes while watching it so I could share everything with you all, but I packed the notebook up in the move. So not as many facts as I want to give you...guess that means you'll have to rent the movie.

When I  got pregnant with Phoenix I knew right away that I wanted a natural childbirth. I read a book on the Bradley Method and anything else I could get my hands on. I purchased a big exercise ball, the last few weeks leading up to D-day I practiced all my squats. I printed out my birth plan from The Bump passed it to my doctor and slipped a copy in the hospital bag and one in my husbands wallet just in case.

I had all these visions in my head of a peaceful and serene birth for Phoenix. But I didn't quite get it.

I guess if I put my story up against others it wouldn't have been so bad. But for me, it wasn't what I wanted. The only thing that went according to my plan was not having any drugs.

I didn't want to be strapped to the bed monitored the whole time, but I was. I didn't want to be induced, but I was. I didn't want an episiotomy (Fact: over 1 million unnecessary are performed in the US each year) , but I got one PLUS 100 plus stitches. I had a pretty routine delivery, by hospital standards.

I know I left the hospital with a beautiful blonde baby boy, but I still was slightly disappointed in my birthing experience.

And after watching the TBOBB I really realized how much hospitals and doctors intervene and even cause problems in the delivery room.

The pitocin they give you to speed up your labor, that does nothing but make contractions stronger, which makes you beg and plead for some drugs (or a gun, in my case), that then slow your labor down, that makes the doctors want to speed things up with pitocon, which makes you beg for more drugs, and then they get the brilliant idea to give you a C-section to save your baby. But had they not done all of the interventions your baby wouldn't need saving.

-The US has the second worst newborn death rate among developed countries

-In Europe 70-80% of births are attended by midwives.

-Over the last 10 years the C-section rate has risen by 50%? 

Hospitals are in the business of making money. Open beds = more money. Natural vaginal delivers mean full beds for hours and even days. C-sections/inductions, = money. Period.

In the documentary some studies found that the amount of c-sections performed between the hours of 3 and 5 PM is staggering....and what they found was that doctors didn't like waiting around for a women to go into labor. Start the section then and you can beat traffic and get home to have dinner with your family.  

As women we have been told for so long all the horror stories of birthing and what we can't do it, that we are unable to trust our own bodies. I'm what you would call a creationist. I believe in God and that He alone created us all and everything that surrounds. And so I believe that as women He designed us for a very specific task....to bring forth life and everything that we need to do that is within ourselves. If we allowed our natural instincts to take over I think we'd be surprised at what we would be able to do.

I'm not saying that doctors and hospitals are wrong. I also wouldn't consider myself a "hippie" by any means advocating giving birth outside by a tree or anything. But we spend so much time when we're pregnant worrying about not drinking coffee or eating fish, that we don't spend enough time thinking about our delivery and the things we shouldn't be putting in our bodies at that time. 


And if you must have a c-section for medical reasons...by all means do so! Do whatever is safest for you and your baby. But always know that a c-section should not be your first thought and that being induced isn't always best either.


I've already made the decision that whenever I do decide to have another baby that I will be doing it with a midwife and either in a birthing center or at home. And if you are pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant do your research. Even if you choose to go with a doctor make sure its a doctor that's goal and objective is to give you, your best birth.

And check out the movie if you haven't seen it.


Good places for information and facts:


http://www.givingbirthnaturally.com/


http://thebirthsurvey.com/


http://www.motherfriendly.org/index.php

So is she or isn't she?

I know that you all have been sitting on pins and needles for the last few days to hear if I am with child again.

And the answer to this most important question would of course be no!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! 


Is that angels I hear singing?

I was so super relieved to I hear I wasn't.

I love all of my awesome new followers and commentors (is that correct English? Or should it be commentators). 

I lot of you were saying that I should take that little incident as a sign. 


But you see I didn't quite feel the same way.

I would have been excited if I was, but I was even more excited when I wasn't.


Having a baby right now just doesn't seem like the right thing to do.


Getting pregnant with Phoenix was at the worst time, but I wouldn't change it for the world. All I can do now is make the best decision I should have made back then. Which is to wait.


Hear that teens? It is better to wait!



I really enjoy being our little family of 3 and snuggling on the couch together. I enjoy that our life isn't super chaotic and that we can get up and go and only have to grab one diaper bag as apposed to two.


I'm just getting my figure back. I'm sleeping. And I am now just figuring out who Shawn and I are meant to be.


We didn't take enough time to do that before Phoenix and it is paramount to me that we take that time now while we still can.

Do I want more babies? For absolutely, maybe, certainly, possibly.


I'm thinking after Phoenix's second-ok maybe third, or fourth, or seventh birthday I'll be ready to talk about it again.


But for now being the three soup cans (See cuz our last name is Campbell and it's kind of a play on the Three Amigos. Get it? No? Lame? Ok.) is ok by me!

More importantly however, why is my title post is third person?

And the results are in...

I hope I'm not the only irrationally momma out there who thinks every headache, upset tummy, and sleepiness are signs of another occupant living in my belly!

Seriously ever since I've had Phoenix every few weeks I'm like 'Oh crap! Where' my aunt Flo?' and then sure enough she shows up a few days later then I expected. Since having Phoenix making those little red dots on my calendar once a month has been the least of my concerns!

I remember the day we got our little Charlotte girl I was on the way to Target to get pet supplies and it hit me "Oh my GOD! WHERE THE HE!? IS MY PERIOD!!!!" All through Target I walked around in this cloud thinking of two screaming babies, piling laundry, 2 diaper bags and fat rolls galore! I quickly ran to get a pregnancy test and drove home as quick as I could! I called Shawn to come upstairs and I was shaking and crying! Don't get me wrong. I love my monkey baby and I even loved being pregnant. But I don't have a lot of patience and I have always known popping kids out one after another was just not me!

Shawn tried to calm me down and say he really didn't think I was, but based on my math I hadn't had a period in like 45 days! So I pulled open the Clear Blue Easy box and peed so fast!

Those 5 minutes were truly agonizing! But of course it read "NOT PREGNANT!"

Phew! What a relief! But I sure did call my doctor and make an appointment to get Mirena...

But even with this trust little device, I still feel paranoid. Every few weeks when it seems my period is late again (she must like making me sweat) I'll ask Shawn if he thinks I could be, I'm always to scared to pull out my emergency pee stick.

But last night, my mom really freaked me out! After dinner I was debating if I wanted to go to Coldstones for dessert. And I said I had been "craving it"and of course my mom says "You aren't pregnant are you!?" "No!" I shouted. But that 15 minutes ride down the mountain really f'd with my head and as soon as I got home I pulled out my emergency test, took a deep breath and let it go.....



In case you can't see it, that does say NOT pregnant. Phew! Dodged another bullet!