I’d only recently learned that the month of April is Cesarean Awareness Month, an education campaign by the International Cesarean Awareness Network. While I do believe in promoting natural or vaginal birth as a safer way, I also see the need to offer a better understanding of cesarean section as a possible and an acceptable way.
If you’re someone determined to have a natural or vaginal delivery, please be open to even the slightest possibility of an emergency or unplanned cesarean section.
If you’re attending Lamaze® classes and visiting your hospital’s birthing room, please also talk to your doctor and read about the circumstances when a C-section may be needed, and what will and what may happen before, during and after this major surgical procedure.
If your mind and heart are so filled with the desire to have the most natural delivery possible because you believe it’s the healthiest choice for you and your baby, please also remind yourself that neither you nor your doctor can truly predict or completely control what will happen when this most awaited time comes.
If you start out feeling strong, steady and saying no to any medication then slowly start to feel scared, tired and desperate,
if after hours of labor you are too exhausted from the agonizing contractions and you give in to an epidural,
if you are shocked to find your whole body shivering uncontrollably and you don’t understand why you feel frozen and helpless,
if after hours of waiting and preparing yourself to push your baby out, your doctor breaks the news to you that, because of suspected fetal distress, you will need an emergency C-section,
if your anesthesiologist gently asks you to try to stop crying if you can so they can put an oxygen mask on you,
if after delivery, you’re dismayed to find yourself nauseated all day in your hospital room, needing to keep your eyes shut so you don’t see the room spinning and needing your husband to stay close by with a kidney dish (emesis basin) so he can catch your intermittent vomit,
please be kind to yourself and forgive yourself for not being prepared for all of it.
Just because something wasn’t all natural doesn’t mean it was adulterated. Just because you needed or wanted help doesn’t mean you were weak. You are not a failure. I am not a failure.
If you do have the interest and the time to learn about cesarean section delivery, please educate yourself about what you can and should expect to happen not only physically but also mentally and emotionally. While a c-section will leave a scar on your body, it doesn’t have to shatter your confidence and break your heart.