Inductions fail, our bodies don't.

I'm so sad about the fact that women don't know the high (over 50%) failure rate of inductions.  If a woman's cervix is not ready, a baby will NOT come vaginally.  It doesn't matter if you are past your 'due date', if you have sex, eat pineapple, do accupuncture/pressure, have cervadil, a balloon catheter, pitocin and/or all of the above.

INDUCTIONS FAIL.  Period.  That's it. done.

It doesn't matter how big you are, how big your baby is, your pelvis shape, your mother's births, your previous births, wether you desire a natural birth or you think your doctor is on board.  If you have an induction, there is a VERY GOOD CHANCE that it will not work.

It's not your fault, your body's fault, your baby's fault.  If you end up with a failed induction resulting in a c/section, It's simply because inductions DON'T work.  It is NOT any indication that ANYTHING is wrong with you, or that your body doesn't know how to give birth or you will never go into labor on your own.

Normal pregnancy lasts from 38-42 weeks.  Look it up.  ACOG says so.  If you carry your baby to 42 weeks before your cervix naturally starts to dilate...You are NORMAL.  Many, many, many women (myself included) are dilated to ZERO when labor contractions start.  Sometimes it takes a lot of hours before we see progress.  That is NORMAL. 

I have known women to say because they are not dilated at 38 or 39 weeks, they will never go into labor naturally.  FALSE.

Women think because they had a failed induction (or a very long induction) that their bodies don't work right.  FALSE.

YOU CANNOT EXPECT YOUR BODY TO WORK NATURALLY WHEN YOU DO SOMETHING UNNATURAL TO IT.

Everytime an induction works, it's a miracle.  Every once in a while there is a medical reason for induction but the vast majority are done now because you've reached a 'date' that everyone says "the baby is ready".  WRONG.  Your body will labor ON IT'S OWN when the baby is ready, when your BODY is READY.  There is a difference between taking a baby and the baby doing ok and a baby being truly ready to come.

Babies are more alert, they nurse better, their blood sugar regulates better, they hold their temperature better, they breathe better, they are overall HEALTHIER when they come on their terms and are not forced out even a day earlier than ready. 

You have the RIGHT to tell your doctor that you would prefer to go into labor spontaneously and you won't schedule an induction.  If you do...know that after 6 or 10 or 12 hours, you may end up on the operating table...and the pressure to do so will start in the late afternoon if your baby doesn't start having heart decelerations before then.  Know your options and know your rights.

(SB+BB=CS)=BS (Small Body+Big Baby=CS)=BULLSHIT!

MILLIONS of women have cesareans and repeat cesareans every year because they are told either their body is too small or their baby is too big, or both.

This is NOT, and NEVER has been a medical reason to schedule a c/section (or even an induction)

The ONLY way to know if a baby will come out of your body is to have spontaneous labor and allow your baby to come in his or her own time.  To let your child get into the right position with the right balance of hormones that your body makes when it decides to spontaneously labor.

Women are told that they can't birth a baby over a certian size or they can't birth a baby at all (me), and when they just let their body work, they do...often a pound or more BIGGER than the baby they supposedly had CPD with.

Women are scared of CPD, they are terrified that they will labor and labor and their baby will get STUCK.

But when you have a GREAT birth team who knows the physiology of NATURAL birth and do not operate on FEAR...who know positions to get you into before and during labor... Women who have chiropractic care and understand that a baby (of ANY size, small/medium/and large) have to be in a good position for labor to work effectively.  That means MORE than just head down!  Head down does not mean that baby is in the optimal position...and even a TINY, malpositioned baby can be IMPOSSIBLE to get out.  THAT doesn't have anything to do with the SIZE of the baby.  A LARGE, well-positioned baby, often will come out without issue.

This is a rant...about the MANY stories I hear of women being terrified into c/section because their OB told them that it would be easier for them to schedule a c/section.  OBs are NOT trained to help women to get babies out with position changes and movement.  OBs are trained to hook you up to machines and force a baby out, and if that doesn't work, they cut the baby out.  (obviously I don't feel that ALL OBs operate this way... an OB helped me to have my VBA3C, but he practices EVIDENCE based obstetrics and NEVER schedules a c/section for CPD....he will tell moms to go elsewhere, because he believes that each birth is different and CPD with a previous birth does NOT mean that you can never have a baby vaginally.)

I DID have CPD (because my baby was posterior) but I went on to have a vaginal birth with a baby just a few ounces smaller.

Inductions DON'T work.  The failure rate for inductions for any reason is really really high!  It can range to well over 50%!  And it has nothing to do with the size of your baby...it's because YOUR body isn't ready to give birth.  YOUR body has to begin producing the hormones that make your cervix soft and thin.  Your joints have to have the right amount of relaxin (a hormone produced in late pregnancy) in order to open up to make room for baby.  Cervadil, pitocin, cytotec...they do NOT address what your body needs in order to birth a baby.  They only address bits and peices of what needs to happen...and if an induction works, it's a real miracle.

Labor usually begins when your baby's head is putting the right amount of pressure on your cervix...you know, if it's in a really good position.  If a doctor breaks your bag of waters (AROM) then the head often becomes cemented in an asynclitic (crooked) position.

ACOG (American College of Obstetricians and Gynocologists) admit that a normal pregnancy lasts between 38 and 42 weeks.  So why are they all inducing at 38, 39, and 40 weeks?!?  It is PROVEN that women who go into spontaneous labor have better birth outcomes all the way around.  The average first time mother doesn't start laboring until AFTER 41 weeks.  NONE of my 3 spontaneous labors started until after 40 weeks.

Unless you have a true pelvic abnormality (like me...I have a sacral fusion that caused my long labors and my CPD with my second baby) then you just need to ignore all they big baby, small body hype and STAY pregnant until YOUR baby and YOUR body decide it's time (also like me).

Start reading stories about big babies who do come naturally...some mamas say thier biggest baby was their easiest birth.  My 5'1" sister had a 9 lb12 oz baby (her first) at home...Thank God, because they would have sectioned her in the hospital...it was a long, hard labor...but worth every second for her to avoid surgery.  Her second baby was 9lbs and a very easy labor and birth (also at home).  A small body does not mean an inadequate pelvis....small mamas give birth vaginally ALL the time!!

Of course, there are exceptions to all of this...sometimes babies come with a hand by their face, or face first, or breech...certainly not ideal positions...and sometimes even well positioned babies do have a hard time getting out...but they are usually well over 10-11 pounds.  I know of a local birth center where a mom birthed a 16 lb baby vaginally!!  That is amazing!!

All I'm saying is...DON'T assume that you can't give birth!  TRY it!! Surround yourself with a GREAT birth team who specialize in NATURAL birth, who know how to lead you to the birth you want.  You can't FORCE a baby out.  That's where things go wrong...It's likely not YOU or your baby who are the problem, but the people around you.

It's never too late to switch providers if you feel you are being pushed into something you don't want.  (moms do it at 42 weeks all the time!)

• Do prenatal yoga
• Get webster certified chiropractic care (http://www.icpa4kids.com/)
• Use http://www.spinningbabies.com/ as your position bible
• In your last trimester, don't sit on furniture!  seriously, sit on a birth ball or on the floor...keep yourself in 'forward leaning' positions as much as you can...keeping your belly button pointing straight ahead or downward.  Stay in a hands and knees position LOTS...and NEVER sit in a reclining position!  (this makes for a posterior baby!)
• Don't wear heels (it causes your pelvis to tip forward making it harder for baby to descend)
• Take an awesome natural childbirth class so you understand how and why all of this is true! (I do not recommend hospital provided classes...they almost always teach to what the hospital staff will be doing TO you and NOT what happens during an undisturbed birth, they reinforce fear and do not teach you to be confident in your body)

• 64.7% of Occiput Posterior babies and 73.8% of Occiput Transverse babies are born by c/section as opposed to 6.3% of Occiput Anterior babies  ((PROOF that position matters SO much more than size))  All of these babies are 'head down' but that doesn't mean all that much!!!

Risk of RCS vs. VBAC

I'm pretty excited about my guest post on Banned From Baby Showers today!!  Check out Donna's blog...she's a good friend and knows her natural birth stuff!!

Here's my post!

I've always considered myself an advocate of all things 'natural'. A bit of a hippie in high heels, well, wedges to be exact. I've never wanted my children to be exposed to anything artificial or harmful and have always wanted to give them a gentle start to life. Of course, all of that starts at pregnancy and birth, so naturally I expected and planned natural births and to breastfeed my babies.

The benefits of natural birth are far to strong to ignore...including but not limited to:

* Baby coming when ready (lower NICU rates, longer gestation means better brain development (ref 01)

* Immediate skin to skin contact (better bonding)

* Delayed cord clamping (increased levels of iron, lower risk of anemia, fewer transfusions, and fewer incidences of intraventricular hemorrhage) (ref 02)

* Immediate ability to breastfeed (ref 03)

* Faster, easier recovery

* No scarring on uterus, so no increased risk of uterine rupture or other effects on future pregnancies

For many of us, the desire to birth naturally is based largely on the emotional aspect of birth. It's what WE as women want to be able to do. There are FAR too many emotional benefits to natural birth to list. The glorious hormones received after an uninterrupted birth have been talked about by advocates of natural birth for many years. The famous French Obstetrician, Michel Odent says, "Oxytocin is the hormone of love, and to give birth without releasing this complex cocktail of love chemicals disturbs the first contact between the mother and the baby." He says that any interruption of that process is damaging to the mother/baby bond including any induction or augmentation of labor. Artificial oxytocin does not have the same effects as natural oxytocin.

Unfortunately my journey to birth took a very medical twist, despite having good information and support. Fourteen years after my first pregnancy, my natural birth score card read 3 to 1. That's right, 3 c-sections and 1 natural VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean -- I had a VBA3C). Despite the odds, my bond with my babies was strong and I learned to advocate for my own health. I have always thirsted for knowledge and continued researching risks/benefits of both VBAC and RCS (repeat cesarean section) since the birth of my first child in 1996. I'm a bit of a sponge with statistics and numbers and love to share that information with others. I want women to make truly informed decisions about the kind of birth they want, but they can only do that if they are given ALL the information. I'm sorry if the numbers below make your head spin, but they are SO important...especially in these days where c-sections are treated like lollipops and being handed out to every woman who (thinks she) wants one. Here's a little of what I've learned over the years.

The risks of VBAC carry the same risks as vaginal birth, but also the same benefits. The major difference is the increased risk in uterine rupture. Did you know that women who have never had a scarred uterus can have a uterine rupture? According to a 12 years study in 1983, the uterine rupture rate in an unscarred uterus is 1 in 16,840 or about 0.006%. (ref 1) 7 of the 10 cases of rupture were reported in women who either had used oxytocin or prostaglandins to augment or induce labor.

Finding the rupture rate for a scarred uterus is a little more complicated because there are so many variables that have to be considered that can increase risk of uterine rupture.

But let's keep it as simple as we can for now. In an Australian study of over 29,000 women, the risk of uterine rupture in spontaneous labor without augmentation after one prior incision was 0.15%. (ref 2) Once you introduce labor augmenting and induction drugs, the risk of uterine rupture increases from 3-14 fold and jumps to 1.91%.

The conclusion of this study was NOT that women shouldn't VBAC, it was that "careful consideration should be given to the use of oxytocin for augmentation of labour or induction by any method for women with a previous caesarean" Because that's where the true risk lies.

In the summer of 2010, ACOG revised it's VBAC guidelines to say "VBAC is a safe and reasonable option for most women, including some women with multiple previous cesareans, twins and unknown uterine scars. ACOG also states that respect for patient autonomy requires that even if an institution does not offer trial of labor after cesarean (TOLAC), a cesarean cannot be forced nor can care be denied if a woman declines a repeat cesarean during labor." (ref 3)

I read a story the other day of a mother who was attempting a VBA2C. Her OB seemed supportive up to 38 weeks and then he informed her that she would be having a RCS. The mother printed the ACOG guidelines and when presented to her OB, he said he had never seen it. The c-section appointment was cancelled and that mother was given more time. I suspect there are MANY OBs, nurses, and other medical professionals who don't know about the ACOG statement... sad but true. We often hear about the risks of c-sections, and not many people I know really want to have a primary c-section but after they've had that first one, there is a belief in this area that a repeat c-section is safer than attempting a VBAC. How true is this?

After you've had your first c-section, you have a choice to have a RCS or to VBAC. If you are only going to have ONE more child, your risks during your second surgery still skyrocket, but after 2 c-sections, the risks are downright scary.

Some of the risks of RCS include but are not limited to:

* Hysterectomy

* Blood transfusion

* Placenta accreta

* uterine rupture

* additional surgery due to hemorrhage

* injury to the bladder or bowel

* thromboembolism

* excessive blood loss

* cystotomy

* bowel injury

* ureteral injury

* and ileus (bowel obstruction)

* the need for postoperative ventilation

* intensive care unit admission

* duration of operative time and hospital stay significantly increased with increasing number of cesarean deliveries (ref 5)

* lower breastfeeding rates

* immediate skin to skin more difficult

* delayed cord clamping much harder

* harder/longer recovery

* scheduled delivery means baby could be premature (higher incidences of NICU stays)

Some long term risks are:
* Scar tissue/adhesions (can cause any number of issues, pain, fertility problems, etc.)

* Endometriosis and Adenomyosis can be caused from scarring on the uterus resulting in surgery and hysterectomy years after c-section

The charts below are from ICAN.

1st C-section Risk of hysterectomy: 0.65%
Risk of blood transfusion: 4.05%
Risk of placenta accreta: 0.24%

2nd C-section	1st VBAC
Risk of major complications: 4.3%	Chance of successful VBAC: 63.3%
Risk of placenta accreta: 0.31%	Risk of uterine rupture: 0.87%
Risk of hysterectomy: 0.42%	Risk of hysterectomy: 0.23%
Risk of blood transfusion: 1.53%	Risk of blood transfusion: 1.89%
Risk of dense adhesions: 21.6%

3rd C-section	2nd VBAC
Risk of major complications: 7.5%	Chance of successful VBAC: 87.6%
Risk of placenta accreta: 0.57%	Risk of uterine rupture: 0.45%
Risk of hysterectomy: 0.9%	Risk of hysterectomy: 0.17%
Risk of blood transfusion: 2.26%	Risk of blood transfusion: 1.24%
Risk of dense adhesion's: 32.2%

4th C-section	3rd VBAC
Risk of major complications: 12.5%	Chance of successful VBAC: 90.9%
Risk of placenta accreta: 2.13%	Risk of uterine rupture: 0.38%
Risk of hysterectomy: 2.41%	Risk of hysterectomy: 0.06%
Risk of blood transfusion: 3.65%	Risk of blood transfusion: 0.99%
Risk of dense adhesion's: 42.2%

5th C-section: placenta accreta: 2.33%
hysterectomy 3.49%
in the women with previa, the risk for accreta was 61% (ref 5)

6th (or more) C-section: placenta accreta: 6.74%,
hysterectomy 8.99%,
in the women with previa, the risk for accreta was 67% (ref 5)

Additionally, the risk of accreta for women who had previa was 3%, 11%, 40% for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd c/sections. (ref 5)

NOTE: "Major complications" include one or more of the following: uterine rupture, hysterectomy, additional surgery due to hemorrhage, injury to the bladder or bowel, thromboembolism, and/or excessive blood loss. (ref 4)

There was a study done with over 30,000 women having their 1st c/section up to their 6th (or more) c-section over a 4-year period that concluded, "Because serious maternal morbidity increases progressively with increasing number of cesarean deliveries, the number of intended pregnancies should be considered during counseling regarding elective repeat cesarean operation versus a trial of labor and when debating the merits of elective primary cesarean delivery." (ref 5) This study alone should deter ANYONE from wanting to have multiple c-sections.

If you want more info on the risks and benefits of VBAC and RCS, www.ICAN-online.org is a fantastic place to start. www.VBACfacts.com is good, factual information. www.specialscars.org is for women who have had 'different' types of uterine scars, including classical, T, inverted T, J, myomectomy or other uterine scarring.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21713130 (ref 01)
http://www.bellybelly.com.au/birth/cord-clamping-delaying-cord-clamping (ref 02)
http://www.llli.org/llleaderweb/lv/lvaprmay05p40.html (ref 03)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9166298 (ref 1)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20716251 (ref 2)
http://blog.ican-online.org/2010/07/21/ican-responds-to-new-acog-guidelines-on-vbac/ (ref 3)
http://icanofomaha.webs.com/vbacorrepeatcesarean.htm (ref 4)
http://journals.lww.com/greenjournal/Abstract/2006/06000/Maternal_Morbidity_Associated_With_Multiple_Repeat.4.aspx (ref 5)

My hysterectomy story....

I've never been someone who ever imagined having a hysterectomy....but this is my story of how/why it happened anyway.


I woke up at 4 am, Monday morning with a burning pain in my right lower abdomen. I waited to see if it would go away but it intensified. I woke Steven at 6, nursed Ava and told him I needed him to get up b/c I thought I had appendicitis. He got up quickly b/c he knows that I don't go to the ER unless it's truly an emergency.

I didn't drink anything, thinking I would have to have surgery later. I hopped in the shower (regretted it b/c of how bad I began to feel) and we took off for the ER at about 6:30 am. By the time we got there, I was in so much pain that I wasn't sure I was going to live through it. I went in, got the attention of an intake nurse and struggled not to vomit while I attempted to fill out forms...They saw my state and put me in a chair and quickly walked me down the hall to a room. I pulled the emergency call cord twice in the 5-10 minutes I waited, thinking they would hurry if I kept harrassing them. The nurses rushed in with needles and tubes and a urine cup within a few minutes. The doc asked me a few questions in the hallway when I hobbled to the bathroom for the urine sample. As soon as I got in the room they gave me an IV and a dose of morphine...it did nothing. They gave me another dose of morphine...which did nothing... I begged for something else and they gave me another dose of morphine, toradol and dilaudid. finally my pain level went from a 10 to about a 7-8. It was still awful. They took me to CT scan as I writhed around, rolling my eyes, moaning...then I began to feel a little better... I started vomiting (either from pain or medicine) They had been giving me zofran but it didn't work so well... I vomited about 5 times.

They said that my appendix was ok but I had an ovarian cyst...it seemed ok but there was some fluid around it. I went to have a pelvic and transvaginal ultrasound to see if there was anything else.

My bloodwork came back showing a hemoglobin of 6.1 (normal is 12-15) so they immediatly admitted me to give me a blood transfusion. I stayed heavily medicated until 11:30 that night. I continued to take meds but didn't need the dilaudid anymore...the pain finally went down a little bit. There was some confusion with paperwork and the doctor they called so I got a late start on the blood on Tuesday morning. (it takes 2-4 hours to infuse each unit of blood) I consulted with the OB/Gyn who suggested a laproscopic supracervical hysterectomy because the cause of my anemia was my heavy periods...and my critically low blood count was an emergency issue that needed to be dealt with.  The surgeon planned to leave both my ovaries (if healthy) and my cervix.  I was put on a liquid diet since I tentatively would have surgery Tuesday afternoon after the blood transfusion.

I agreed to the surgery because I have struggled with my periods for many years and recently they had gotten very very bad...debilitating, VERY heavy, with the passing of many large clots. I had planned to have a uterine ablation to diminish bleeding but had yet to consult my OB because we do not carry health insurance and it cost several thousand dollars.  (Things I had tried to cut down on bleeding were castor oil packs/tampons, cloth pads, detoxing, supplements, etc.  Nothing ever helped and it only seemed to get worse with time.  The thought of having my period made me anxious and scared.  I hated losing that much blood every month.  The last month had been especially bad with the passing of many golfball sized clots with rushes of blood behind them.  I had, many times over the years, grabbed a disposable diaper of my daughter's and filled it within minutes.  The episodes of bleeding were scary but it was something I had grown used to.)

The OB/Gyn at the hospital said that ablation wasn't an option for me with my fibroid so hysterectomy was really my only option unless I wanted to end up back in the hospital a few times a year to have blood transfusions... I know my body, and it's true...I needed to stop this bleeding. My last period was mid-February, so I was due to start in another week or more.

Tuesday after the first two units of blood, my hemoglobin only raised to a 6.7, and it should have been at least 8. This meant that I was dehydrated and my original count was much less than a 6 and read high because my blood was so concentrated. Once I got more fluid in, the count was more accurate...showing the 6.7. My abdomen started to swell and burn all over that day. I complained of bloating and tenderness...but it got worse and actually painful by that evening. I knew something was really wrong.

I had to get two more units of blood that night. After 4 units, my hemoglobin was finally a 9.9, (it had to be 9-10 to do surgery, since I would lose more blood.) About an hour after the last unit, I developed a low-grade fever, then at 4:45 Wednesday morning I started to have vaginal bleeding...totally unrelated to the ovarian cyst.

My surgery started an hour late, at 3 and lasted over 3 hours. My final diagnosis was an ovarian torsion (worst case scenario presented to us and why the ovary had to be removed. It was necrotic) and adenomyosis... My uterus was "massive", "mushy", and "bruised looking". She had a hard time navigating through the adhesions and scar tissue from my 3 c/sections (releasing it from my bladder) and it was difficult to get out laproscopically because of it's size.  I am left with one ovary and my cervix.

This is a normal ovary...white and wrinkly, and small.

A couple of photos of my right ovary.  It should be nice and white but it's enlarged and purple, necrotic.  The pink behind it is my uterus.

The torsion and anemia were life threatening and the adenomyosis was causing the heavy bleeding. 

1. 10 pints: amount of blood in the body of an average adult.
2. One unit of whole blood is roughly the equivalent of one pint.

I recieved a total of 6 units of blood over 3 days.  It replaced over half of my total blood volume.  This was all due to my bleeding during periods...it had nothing to do with my ovary.

My hemoglobin was 10.9 when I was discharged from the hospital.  I am looking forward to a life without blood loss.

"Natural" birth doesn't matter.

I've been thinking alot lately about the term 'natural' birth and just how many variations there can be on that term.

How perception can alter the definition of natural about 100%.

It seems that the mainstream views 'natural' birth the same exact thing as 'vaginal' birth.  No matter what other intervetions were used.

Some people say that 'natural' birth only occurs when it's 'undisturbed' birth.  Untouched.  Unassisted.

If there's any intervention whatsoever, then it's not really 'natural' is it?

If a vaginal birth was an induction, with AROM, with an epidural, with a vacuum, with an episiotomy, is that 'natural'?

If a c/section is the mode of delivery after spontaneous labor, SROM, complete and total unhindered laboring to 10 cm with 2 hours of pushing in different positions results in a stuck baby, is that birth considered 'natural'.

If a mom uses 'natural' methods at home to induce...acupuncture/accupressure, castor oil, herbs, nipple stimulation, sex, spicy food, etc....Is that 'natural'?

The term 'natural' is completely open to interpretation.

What I'm saying here...Is that it doesn't matter what anyone thinks of your birth!  What IS important is that you have your definition of what you want to get out of it and that you have a supportive team willing to see you through to the birth you want.  It's also important when your birth doesn't go as planned, that you can look back and see the things you DID want, happened, even if the mode of delivery wasn't exactly what you wanted or there was an intervention you didn't choose...you can still have a GOOD birth....you can still feel EMPOWERED...you can still be proud of your birth however 'natural' it was.

Happy Birthing!

(I feel the need for clarification on this post.  I do truly believe that 'natural' birth is best...but my blog is geared towards moms who beleive in birth and have tried to birth and for one reason or another, it did not work out...This is for the CBAC mamas who didn't quite get the birth they wanted.  I want to encourage women to try to get it, to believe that getting 90% is better, WAY better, than getting nothing.  I just hate hearing a CBAC mama saying that she failed when she got everything she wanted, except the mode of delivery)

Birth luck (rant)

I read a lot of birth blogs/facebook birth pages/birth stories/articles/studies...anything birth and I'm looking at it.

I get so sick of people always chiming in on how they were so "lucky" to survive their birth.  That if they had not been in the hospital, they would have surely died.  Just read one that said that if the mom had a vaginal birth she would have died.  She was SO lucky she was in the hospital.  Come to find out that mom had a uterine rupture and ended up with a hysterectomy...How very sad.  I read on, only to find out that she had been induced, had an epidural, had not dilated into active labor, was rushed off to c/section and nearly lost her life.

But...wait a minute?  Where else would she be, if not in the hospital?  It left us to assume that she was lucky she wasn't at home.  But...midwives don't do inductions at home...and in her situation, they would have referred her to the hospital...where possibly the same thing would have happened.  She wouldn't have ruptured at home because she would not have had those interventions at home...so it's dumb to say that she was "lucky" she was in the hospital, because there's no other place that she would be!

People assume that homebirth is not safe because they had a traumatic birth IN the hospital.  Something bad happened and they assume that the bad thing would have happened at home as well, and thank God they didn't make that choice because then they would be dead.  WHAT?

If something happens to you IN the hospital as a result of an intervention, then how can you say that the same thing would have happened at home WITHOUT that intervention?  You can't say that an epidural almost killed you, so thank goodness you didn't have a homebirth.  That doesn't make any sense.

Come on people!  Homebirth is safe because they don't do those things to you!  If you are sick and need treatment that is too risky for a midwife, you get referred to an OB.  Simply PLANNING a homebirth and a vaginal birth does not mean that you don't have any other option and that you and/or baby would have died if you'd made that plan.  Plans change, sometimes birth throws a curveball.  Midwives know that and know how to handle problems so that you and your baby are safe and cared for.  If you are high risk, then she will tell you.  Successful homebirths are not "luck", Midwives are smart, competent, medically-trained professionals who know what to look for and when to ask for help.  (Most of the time!!!  Know your midwife/doctor, know your back-up plan, take part in the decision making for YOUR birth...and don't rely on LUCK!)

How to check your cervix!

In 2002-2003, I had an IUD.  I learned to check my cervix to make sure it was still in place.  (There is a small string that is supposed to hang out of your cervix).

When I labored with my third baby in 2005 and my fourth baby in 2010, I found it really helpful to be able to feel my cervix to see if it was changing.  I know it would have helped me very much for my 5 day labor in 1999, when I went to the hospital and was sent back home even though I was having a really great contraction pattern, I was not dilating yet.

Several moms have asked how to check your own cervix in labor.

First of all, you need to know where your cervix is located and what it is supposed to look/feel like normally.  It's easiest to familiarize yourself with it BEFORE you are 9-10 months pregnant and in labor.

Here is a site with a photo gallery of an unpregnant cervix throughout the monthly cycle.  There are also lots of other photos of the cervix, pregnant and postpartum.

Photos (like the one above) like to show the cervix right at the top of your vagina...and that's usually NOT exactly where it is or what it feels like.  It usually tips towards your back and is sometimes very difficult to reach. (like the photo below)

Your healthy cervix should feel very smooth and there should be a small hole right in the center.  It should firm like the tip of your nose and when it's dilating and effacing during labor, it should feel soft, like your lips.

It is easiest for me to reach in the shower, in a wide squat.  With your first two fingers, you push your pointer finger against the wall of your vagina...reaching as far back as possible with your middle finger.  Your cervix feels smooth whereas your vagina has ridges.  Find the center to verify you are in the right spot.

You can see what happens to your cervix in the photo below...how it thins and begins to open.  It gets very soft and stretchy and doesn't really feel like the same thing it started out as.  At first, it might be closed tight with your mucus plug blocking any entry into your uterus...as it changes, you will lose your plug in peices or in a big chunk.  It might look like a bloody booger.  You might see it, or you might not.  Many times it slips into the toilet when you urinate and it gets flushed without notice.

Once your cervix is open to the size of the bottom of a soda can, you should be where you are going to give birth.  If you are not already in transition, you are almost there.  You may feel your amnitotic sac or the baby's head pressing against the cervix. (Please don't put your hands or anything else inside your vagina if your water has broken, it can cause an infection) You may have bloody show and discharge. 

 If you've only ever checked your own cervix, it's going to be difficult to tell exactly how dilated you are but you can at least gauge if it is opening or not.  If it's closed tight, then the best thing to do is go to bed or take a LONG nap...

Do I recommend that women check their cervix in labor.  No.  However, if you want to, it CAN be a useful tool.  It was for me.
~Happy Birthing!~~~Abbey