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I was asked the other day if I wanted this birth to be the same as the last one. The answer is yes and no.
Yes in the sense that I produced a healthy, live child with no permanent injury to either of us. Yes to immediately bonding. Yes to recovering quickly from the birth. Yes to not getting post-natal depression. Yes to the lovely support of the fabulous midwives. Yes to getting a child with such a gentle, loving disposition.
No to having a premature baby. No to the mystery of her lack of reflexes and strength. No to having a child who could not grasp my finger. No to having a child who lay in the position you put her in because she lacked the strength to curl herself up into a little newborn ball. No to the extended hospital stay. No to the nightmare of her not feeding and me not producing milk. No to having her kept in a box. No to never going into labour. No to the C-section. No to having her whisked away for oxygen and not seeing her again for hours, and then only for a few minutes.* No, on a more comical note, to having some random stranger barge into the recovery room as I had my legs in the air (he was looking for the orthodics ward and no doubt would not recognise me as he was not looking at my face.) No, on a really heartfelt note, to spending the first night without her.
I have no psychological issues with having a caesarian. I was born by one myself, and, frankly, would have been equally happy had Pearl arrived by c-section, by vaginal delivery, or wrapped in a box with a ribbon on top. But obviously it is desirable to avoid abdominal surgery where possible, especially in circumstances when you know you are going home to incredibly hard work and lots of heavy lifting rather than rest. And it is better for the child, in the sense of stimulating her reflexes (an issue which Pearl has had so much trouble with).
So my ideal birth would be one in which I go to term, have a VBAC, recover quickly, bond immediately, and produce a healthy child who feeds effortlessly and sleeps well. But I could remove all of this except the important part about having a healthy, live child and still consider it an excellent birth.
ยท The only good part to this was that my Mum was there as my support person and she went with her, so poor wee Pearl was not alone for her first few hours.
Yes in the sense that I produced a healthy, live child with no permanent injury to either of us. Yes to immediately bonding. Yes to recovering quickly from the birth. Yes to not getting post-natal depression. Yes to the lovely support of the fabulous midwives. Yes to getting a child with such a gentle, loving disposition.
No to having a premature baby. No to the mystery of her lack of reflexes and strength. No to having a child who could not grasp my finger. No to having a child who lay in the position you put her in because she lacked the strength to curl herself up into a little newborn ball. No to the extended hospital stay. No to the nightmare of her not feeding and me not producing milk. No to having her kept in a box. No to never going into labour. No to the C-section. No to having her whisked away for oxygen and not seeing her again for hours, and then only for a few minutes.* No, on a more comical note, to having some random stranger barge into the recovery room as I had my legs in the air (he was looking for the orthodics ward and no doubt would not recognise me as he was not looking at my face.) No, on a really heartfelt note, to spending the first night without her.
I have no psychological issues with having a caesarian. I was born by one myself, and, frankly, would have been equally happy had Pearl arrived by c-section, by vaginal delivery, or wrapped in a box with a ribbon on top. But obviously it is desirable to avoid abdominal surgery where possible, especially in circumstances when you know you are going home to incredibly hard work and lots of heavy lifting rather than rest. And it is better for the child, in the sense of stimulating her reflexes (an issue which Pearl has had so much trouble with).
So my ideal birth would be one in which I go to term, have a VBAC, recover quickly, bond immediately, and produce a healthy child who feeds effortlessly and sleeps well. But I could remove all of this except the important part about having a healthy, live child and still consider it an excellent birth.
ยท The only good part to this was that my Mum was there as my support person and she went with her, so poor wee Pearl was not alone for her first few hours.
