Wow! Only Seven Weeks Unitl My Due Date / Birth Info

I redid my little pregnancy ticker that you see with the little baby floating around because it had the wrong due date.  As the day passed I was thinking about how far along I am and thinking I still have close to eight weeks left.  As I pondered this I realized I have not been "deleting" any days off in my mind.  I have been at like "8 weeks and holding".  ;)  Not on purpose.  I have just been too busy to think.  Anyhow, I decided to look at my little pocket planner and there it was.... my countdown.  As of today I have seven weeks until my due date. 

I really wanted to keep up with this pregnancy on my blog, but since I have had some not-so-nice comments about my pregnancy I have not done that.  I have chosen to follow this scripture during this pregnancy:

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Phillipians 4:8

It is hard sometimes to do that... to think on the good, the pure, the lovely.  We live in a world today where if you do anything that is out of the norm people will have something ugly to say about.  I have three strikes against me concerning this pregnancy in the eyes of the world.  First, I already have four children, which is "way too many".   Second, I am of "advanced maternal age" (38).  Third, and the last one... the most controversial we are "homebirthing" with a "high risk pregnancy".  I love all this I must say.  ;)  Let me just hit a few points here about the latter of the three because that is the one that has kept me from blogging about this pregnancy.  We are not really "homebirthing" as most people view it.  I won't be here surrounded by my children in the loveliness of my home because my home is about 30 minutes (speeding) to the nearest hospital.  If our area had a birth center we would be doing that, but since it does not we are kind of creating our own.  And oddly, according to midwives it is quite common to do this.  It is called a hotel.  Really?  Really.  Took me some time to get used to the idea... and really I am still getting used to the idea.  Unless I can find a home to "borrow" or rent for the day this is the only way I can be right around the corner from the hospiatl.  And as "dumb" as some people think I am smart enough to know I need to be near a hospital.  So, we have checked the local hotels that are nearest to the hospital and compared the layouts of rooms, the layouts of hotels, the ease of entry/exit routes, and the drive time required to transfer to the hospital.  I have spent my time reading and educating myself about birth (normal, high risk, and possible problems).  I will have a midwife with me, but my husband and I will be watching for problems that would require a transfer, also.  One of the things we will be watching closeley will be the baby's heartrate.  If the heartrate is out of the normal range for labor we will transfer to the hospital.  Blood loss is another thing, since this could be a sign of uterine rupture or placental abruption.  Some bleeding is expected in birth, but not a constant bleeding or passing of blood clots.  Fever is an absolute no-no.  Pain at the previous incision site is cause for concern, but as I have read is not a clear indicator of trouble.  It is advised to transfer to the hospital, if there is pain beyond normal labor pains, though.  Those are the main things.  I have also read alot about different laboring positions that help the progress of labor and done some researching specifically on shoulder dystocia and manuevers that can be done if that were an issue.  Now, I am sure you can see how it is hard to focus on the good, the pure, the lovely when you are reading all this stuff.  ;)  But really there is more of the good, the pure, and the lovely in these books than the negative things.  In wisdom I feel I must educate myself of the negative also, though.  I have said this before and I will say it again.... I did not "pick out" the books I have.  I simply went to the library and ask to see what books they had on childbirth and there were only four, so I checked them all out and brought them home.  I believe God lead me to those books.  They are all very positive about real childbirth.  They all have sections that are devoted to the "epidemic" of caesarean birth in our country and how to change it.  They all have sections in them supporting VBAC deliveries.  Now, I am not saying they all say "I" should try to VBAC, but that simply they are supportive of VBAC.  The books I have are:

• Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin
• Active Birth: The New Approach To Giving Birth Naturally by Janet Balaska
• A Good Birth, A Safe Birth: Choosing and Having the Childbirth Expereince You Want by Diana Korte and Roberta Scaer
• The Birth Book: Everything You Need To Know To Have a Safe and Satisfying Birth by William Sears, M.D. and Martha Sears, R.N.

I am reading the last book now and the others I have completed.  They all are very different, yet very much the same.  They all say that there is too much hospital intervention going on in birth in our country.  They all say that birth is a natural and not medical issue in most circumstances.  And they all say that a woman's body is designed to give birth and in most cases it can and will if left to do it without all the interventions.  They all say that the interventions are usually the cause of fetal distress or failure to progress in labor and are responsible for the high caesarean rate in our country. 

Amazingly, one of the things that are used to scare women away from trying to VBAC is that there is a 1 in 1,000 chance of placental abruption that puts the mother and baby at risk.  What the doctors will not tell you is that there is a 1 in 1,000 chance of dying from having a caesarean.  I find that very interesting!  And just to be fair here is the qoute from the book, A Good Birth, As Safe Birth:

"The true caesaren maternal death rate, or the odds of a mother dying after a caesarean delivery, are about one per 1,000.  Certainly this relatively high rate, compared to vaginal delivery, should be a strong reason for caution when the question of caesarean comes up."  (Page 163)

This book goes on to say that: 

"Almost half of caesarean mothers have serious complications from the surgery, some complications more easily treated than others.  The three most frequent serious complications are infection, hemorrage, and internal problems from scarring or injury to other organs...." (Page 164)

Anyway, that is just a tiny bit in that chapter... yes, there is a whole chapter about "The Caesarean Epidemic" in that book... about 30 pages of information.  I just qouted two parts that really stood out for me.  If you have ever had a caesarean or might ever have one you should read this stuff.  And again, I will point out that I have had to really try hard to focus on what is good, and pure, and lovely.  And it may not seem that I am to an outsider, but this stuff I am reading is very empowering to me.  I don't feel a sense of fear or anything like that when I read it.  I view it as more of a gift that others have put these books together for me to learn from and to help me make the best decisions possible (along with my caregivers). 

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Phillipians 4:8

Honestly, I have little support and very few people that I can even talk to openly about this birth.  My family does not support me nor do most of my friends and that is sad because in the end they should be the ones I can turn to.  When you get the "crazy look" or the unwanted advice you know that there is no point.  But I am not trying to win them over.  This is really between me and God and that is where my faith is.  I believe that God designed my body and He did not design my body to be faulty.  And not just my body.  I am talking about the women in our country.  The caesarean rate in my area is near 50% (and this varies regionally within the country and some places are more like 35%, etc.).  Those two examples imply that 1/3 to 1/2 of the women that God created have faulty bodies.  I don't buy that.  I think we have a faulty medical system and women don't know what to do about it and are too scared to try.  So, for me I am going to attempt to turn this thing around.  I believe God is going to honor my faith in Him!  I believe God is going to make this happen.... not me.... not the midwife... or anyone else.... just God and when He does I want Him to get all the glory. 

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Phillipians 4:8

{Negative comments will be deleted!  This blog is for my children, myself, and my bloggy FRIENDS!}