Some of you have asked for this. Yes we did put together a caesarean birth plan in case I needed one. Here it is:
Epidural anesthesia will be used. There will be no pre-operative medications, especially sedative drugs, and no sedatives after birth either. A general anesthetic is a last resort and the parents must consent in full prior to administration.
The father and support person will remain with the mother at all times.
A lotus birth is required. This entails not clamping or cutting the umbilical cord at all. We can explain this to any staff who are curious but it is not optional for us. In OR an appropriately sized dish is fine.
No one will announce the baby’s sex.
A double layer closure is required.
The mother will hold the baby while the incision is being closed and has the assistance of the father if required. One arm must be left free.
The baby will be placed straight on the mother’s skin, unwashed. A blanket can go over both of them. Apgar and well baby checks will only be done by observation while the baby is on the mother.
There will be no period in the nursery. Rooming in will be immediate and continuous. Parents and baby will be in the recovery room after delivery.
There will be no separation of mother and baby unless one or other is genuinely seriously ill or unconscious. If there is separation, the father MUST remain with the baby at all times. If the mother is ill the baby will be carried in kangaroo care style by the father only. There will be no use of plastic boxes with wheels.
The baby is not to be given vitamin K or Hepatitis B injections. Do not carry out any procedures or treatments on my baby without first obtaining permission. This includes cutting my baby’s umbilical cord, bathing my baby, giving my baby glucose water, formula, testing PKU, etc.
If I suffer a severe hemorrhage, do not perform a hysterectomy to stop it unless it is the only available course of action. I strongly want to have more children.
My Road from OB to Unassisted Childbirth
My first pregnancy began as most do, in search of an OB. I found one that came highly recommended. After several visits I learned that the doctor I was seeing would probably not be the one that would deliver my baby, unless he was on-call that night. I began to feel detached from my pregnancy, trusting only on the doctor’s say that things were fine. I started to research my childbirth options. I knew that I didn’t want to use any drugs. At 32 weeks I mentioned this decision to my doctor and he said, “Oh honey, you’ll see”. Well, that didn’t sit well with me so I went out and found a wonderful CNM. She was much more supportive of my choices. My son was born in a hospital without any complications or drugs. As far as hospital births go it was about as good as it gets. However, it still didn’t feel right to me. In the hospital there is such a state of panic at every turn of labor. I knew that what was happening was the natural progression but it was very difficult to stay focused with all of the hysteria I was surrounded by. The nurses treated my son as thought he were hospital property. When I voiced my insistence to go home they told me that I could leave but the baby would have to stay. We were both healthy but were forced to stay.
When we were planning our second pregnancy I knew that I wanted a homebirth so I found a local midwife that I liked. I wanted her to be as hands off as possible so I began to educate myself with every bit of childbirth knowledge I could find. A good friend of mine told me about Laura Shanley’s site unassistedchildbirth.com and immediately I knew that this is what felt right to me. It took me a couple of months to bring it up to my husband. I was afraid that he would think it was crazy but he was surprisingly supportive as was our midwife. I studied midwifery textbooks and became comfortable with all of the possible complications. I was in charge and responsible for this pregnancy and it was wonderful. I did all of my own prenatal assessments and took very good care of myself. When I had a concern or fear I studied it until I was completely comfortable and prepared. I had the appropriate herbs on hand for managing complications as well as a cheat sheet for my husband. Unlike my previous pregnancy, I was not blindly taking someone else’s word that everything was alright. I was not stressed; my mind was at ease because I knew that my body was made to do this.
My labor started gradually with several weeks of pre-labor. Feeling over due I decided we needed to do something to speed things up so we went for a good long walk. The contractions continued but without a pattern all day. I rested as much as possible. At about 10:30pm I realized that they were actually strengthening and seemed to have some pattern. I ran a bath, dimmed the lights and turned on some music. I was able to just breathe deep through most of it. I knew it would bee soon so I called my husband in. I remember thinking, wow I made it through transition and it really wasn’t that bad. I kneeled in the tub and had a really strong contraction when the water broke. My body completely took over. Two involuntary pushes and her head was out, two more and I was pulling her out of the water. It was about 3 hours of active labor and 5-10 minutes from the time my water broke until she was born. She was breathing right away. She didn’t cry for several hours but her color was good and she was alert. When my husband came in with our son he said, “Well, what is it?” I hadn’t even thought to check. We were all so excited to have a happy healthy little girl. She nursed immediately. The placenta came less than five minutes later. We left it attached for about two hours before daddy cut the cord. Our experience with unassisted childbirth has brought my family together with an intimate bond that I never could have imagined. I don’t know why something so natural as childbirth has become so feared that our society must manage it in the way that it does. What I do know is that as women we were designed to do this. Fear is the greatest enemy of the laboring woman. Belief in ourselves and trust in our bodies is the key to a successful birth wherever it takes place.
Thank You Katie! for a lifetime of loving friendship and for your gentile guidance.
(Please note any information provided is NOT to be construed as professional medical advice. This is my personal story provided for informational purposes only.
When we were planning our second pregnancy I knew that I wanted a homebirth so I found a local midwife that I liked. I wanted her to be as hands off as possible so I began to educate myself with every bit of childbirth knowledge I could find. A good friend of mine told me about Laura Shanley’s site unassistedchildbirth.com and immediately I knew that this is what felt right to me. It took me a couple of months to bring it up to my husband. I was afraid that he would think it was crazy but he was surprisingly supportive as was our midwife. I studied midwifery textbooks and became comfortable with all of the possible complications. I was in charge and responsible for this pregnancy and it was wonderful. I did all of my own prenatal assessments and took very good care of myself. When I had a concern or fear I studied it until I was completely comfortable and prepared. I had the appropriate herbs on hand for managing complications as well as a cheat sheet for my husband. Unlike my previous pregnancy, I was not blindly taking someone else’s word that everything was alright. I was not stressed; my mind was at ease because I knew that my body was made to do this.
My labor started gradually with several weeks of pre-labor. Feeling over due I decided we needed to do something to speed things up so we went for a good long walk. The contractions continued but without a pattern all day. I rested as much as possible. At about 10:30pm I realized that they were actually strengthening and seemed to have some pattern. I ran a bath, dimmed the lights and turned on some music. I was able to just breathe deep through most of it. I knew it would bee soon so I called my husband in. I remember thinking, wow I made it through transition and it really wasn’t that bad. I kneeled in the tub and had a really strong contraction when the water broke. My body completely took over. Two involuntary pushes and her head was out, two more and I was pulling her out of the water. It was about 3 hours of active labor and 5-10 minutes from the time my water broke until she was born. She was breathing right away. She didn’t cry for several hours but her color was good and she was alert. When my husband came in with our son he said, “Well, what is it?” I hadn’t even thought to check. We were all so excited to have a happy healthy little girl. She nursed immediately. The placenta came less than five minutes later. We left it attached for about two hours before daddy cut the cord. Our experience with unassisted childbirth has brought my family together with an intimate bond that I never could have imagined. I don’t know why something so natural as childbirth has become so feared that our society must manage it in the way that it does. What I do know is that as women we were designed to do this. Fear is the greatest enemy of the laboring woman. Belief in ourselves and trust in our bodies is the key to a successful birth wherever it takes place.
Thank You Katie! for a lifetime of loving friendship and for your gentile guidance.
(Please note any information provided is NOT to be construed as professional medical advice. This is my personal story provided for informational purposes only.
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