A laborious c-section

For years I thought that when I got pregnant I’d just get a c-section.  Made sense to me.  Why go through all those hours of labor and pain when they could just lift the baby out in about 5 minutes?  It seems like everyone is doing it these days.  I even scheduled one for Week 39 just in case the baby was still in my belly AND because the ultra sound technician kept scaring me with reports that his weight and head size were large and ahead of schedule.  I had nightmare thoughts about his head getting stuck or a shoulder and an emergency c-section after hours of labor.  Ouch!

But as the pregnancy went on, I changed my mind. The more I thought about it, surgery no longer sounded like a good idea and I wanted to deliver the good old fashioned way!  I cancelled the c-section.

Then as week 40 was approaching, my Doctor said she would only allow the pregnancy to go on for one more week at the most.  I guess the placenta begins to die and not supply the baby with enough oxygen and nutrients and the rate of still birth increases as time goes on.  Ok, I agreed to be induced and get the delivery going.

I was admitted to the hospital and they realized I was already having contractions – a good sign this would go smoothly!  They hooked me up to an IV of Pitocin around 8pm and the contractions became strong and steady for 12 hours.  12 hours!  12 hours of contractions, cramping and little sleep.

Joe stayed in the room with me on the most uncomfortable reclining chair I’ve ever seen.  It was like a joke.  Although I doubt Joe thought it was funny while he tried to sleep on it all night.  Maybe they purposely make them uncomfortable?  They figure why let the guy sit there in luxury and get sleep as their woman aches in pain for hours?

After those 12 cramping, sleepless hours, nothing was happening.  Nothing!  No progress.  This baby did not want to leave my belly.

The options presented to me were to do the c-section now, or go home for a few days and see if I go into labor on my own.  Really?  Go into labor on my own? After all this help and it didn’t work?  I really doubted that would happen.  At least not within days.

I decided that since I was already checked into the hospital and already been denied any food, it was best to do it NOW before I could go home to think and stress about it.  And that’s how this pregnancy became yet another c-section statistic.