Let me back up and explain...
Conner and I had no idea of a birth plan or our preferences in the delivery room (or birthing center, or our bathroom tub, or in the elevator at work, or wherever this baby decides to make an appearance)...up until recently, that is. Seeing Laura induced and having such a horribly traumatic and life-changing outcome for herself and for Baby Brynna and for the entire family opened my eyes to medical intervention when it comes to childbirth. I know tons of women who are induced, have always been scheduled to be induced, and the outcome is a healthy baby, healthy momma. It never occurred to me that it could go wrong, or lead to more dramatic twists and turns in the birthing process and end sometimes on a great note, or in this instance, in the worst outcome possible. I mentally decided that when I did eventually get pregnant someday, and we were discussing our birth plan with our doctor, I would be sure to write it in BIG BOLD LETTERS: "DO NOT INDUCE", completely unaware that the choice is not always a choice, and not always so black and white. In fact, I knew very little about the birthing process at all.
A few months ago, Conner and I decided, "Hell yeah I can do this without an epidural. My mom did. Women do it all the time, and have been doing it forever!" Still not fully understanding, I felt confident and strong that I vowed a non-medicated pain-managed birth.
Last week, we finally watched the documentary "The Business of Being Born" and I know it's a little biased and it's not the most tastfully done informative documentary, but we did learn a lot about the money-driven side of all of the medical interventions, the convenience they bring to a doctor who would rather be scheduling his vacations, the quick move to a c-section because it delivers fast results even if it's major surgery that brings more risks than vaginal birth, and the vicious cycle of inducing and adding an epidural, only to slow labor down and needing more Pitocin, which causes harder and stronger contractions and needs an up in the epi. Not all black-or-white scenarios, and I realized that every birth really is different, every woman is different with preferances, pain threshold, insurance plays a big part, the hospital staff and personal obgyn play a big part, communication plays a HUGE part, and everyone eventually wants the same end result.... healthy happy baby, healthy happy momma. Seeing the film really did open our eyes, and had me glued to the computer doing hours of research on the different natural methods for pain management, the effects of certain drugs, spinal blocks, cervadil, pitocin, etc. Even c-sections and possible scenarios going incredibly wrong.
In the end (and we are nowhere near the end), we both decided that the best thing to do for our personal situation is to stick with what we know so far, form a plan, and then form a Plan B, Plan C, Plan D. Situations come up, emergencies happen. I am still going to attempt as natural a childbirth as possible in the comfort of Los Robles Hospital. The closest birthing center is too far away, and while I'm not exactly comfortable with our home bathtub or the dogs assisting in the delivery, our lease clearly states it's not allowed anyway. :-) We live only a few miles from Los Robles, and I have one of the best obgyn's (if not THE best) in the area. We are hoping that I can just go into labor naturally, without a breech baby, and quickly get our "happy healthy" end result without too much intervention. We have looked into some natural childbirth classes (which the hospital does not offer, ironically) *wink* and are educating ourselves as much as possible in the 6 months that we have left. Ehh 5 1/2 months, but who's counting?
In my searching and researching, I stumbled upon Robin Gruver's website:
www.birthingwithwisdom.com
...and decided to keep looking, but all of my searching still led me back to her. She has been in the business of pregnancy, childbirth, midwifery, doula services, hospital births, nursing, natural techniques, and yoga for yeeeeeaaars. I learned quite a bit about her from her website and learned even more from her by speaking with her on the phone for a half hour. Coincidentally, Robin offers Sunday evening classes (perfect for mine and Conner's schedules) at Los Robles hospital, where couples from Los Angeles all the way up to Santa Barbara scramble to sign up to hear what she has to say. We chatted for quite a bit, and I gave her a little bit of a backstory... I told her about Laura and Brynna, and she got teary and it led to more discussions about medical interventions. I even told her about the film we watched and how up until recently, I thought natural childbirth (especially at home) was such a "hippie" idea. She was such a great listener, and such warm words of advice and knowledge to spring back at me. We even discussed my doctor, whom she is a very big fan of. According to Robin, he is one of the FEW doctors affiliated with Los Robles who supports VBAC (which is amazing!) and he is the only doctor on staff who actually serves as a backup to a local midwife when she is unable to attend a birth. She claims he is a great and honest doctor who knows what he is doing and we can trust his medical opinion when a situation comes up that does call for an alternative plan to our original birth plan. I feel extremely comfortable with both Robin, and Dr. Poliakin. I'm EXCITED to give birth. Maybe the fears will come as February approaches, but for now, we have addressed so much, and I have learned a lot so far, and it excites me. I am viewing it as a challenge, a very personal challenge in strength and endurance and pain tolerance/management, and a test of communication for myself and Conner with the professionals who will be helping us along the way. I'm so excited!
Robin's class is an 8-week series that has two sessions remaining this year. The first one starts on the last Sunday in August and ends in November. The second one starts in November and has a few Sundays off for travel and holiday weekends, and will end mid-February..... so funds allowing, we are probably signing up this weekend.
Her class covers natural childbirth techniques, and while a few people who attend are planning a home birth or birthing center birth, she said almost all are planning a hospital birth and that is the focus of her class..... communicating and knowing our options in a hospital setting. She has one class with massage techniques, breathing techniques, using yoga as a way to focus and breathe, breastfeeding, etc. Everything we need. She even teaches about Cesarean Sections and the effects and benefits of certain drugs during labor.... because it's REAL. There are so many possibilities and going in with the attitude that this will just be a natural birth and that's that will not prepare a woman for a necessary c-section. At the end of her classes, Robin has a little get-together to welcome the couples and their babies for a reunion, and many go on to form mommy or daddy playgroups. Yayyyy we are socializing ourselves! :-)
How cool is this photo of Robin surrounded by the babies of her couples class?
I'm feeling soooo good about all of this!
Reading this made me feel very happy!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jane! I'm very glad you are reading our blog, and that makes me happy that it made you happy. ;-)
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