Birth Story

Mamadog's Story - Treating Women Fairly

I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy on Sunday, August 6, 2000. Friday night, after several weeks of pre-term labor, required bed rest, and the worst feeling medication administored to me to keep labor at bay, it was finally time to go to the hospital. By Saturday morning, things were not progressing and the doctor broke my water and started Petocin. Saturday night, after a full day of consistent contractions and a great deal of pain, I was still only 4 centimeters. By Sunday morning the baby was just not tolerating labor any longer and the time had come to get this baby out. It was an emergency c-section since there were decelerations in the baby's heart rate.

For months after that I had this guilt hanging over me that I had not had the birth experience I had wanted, that somehow it was not a "natural" birth. This feeling was only further encouraged by other women telling me that it was NOT a "natural" birth. I had to come to grips with the fact that despite not giving birth vaginally I had done what nature allowed my body to do.

I'm tired of women even today stating that its' a Natural vs. C-Section issue. Your birth experience is totally personal to you! If we want to get technical, then let's remember that Dr. Spock considers a "natural" birth to be one with no medical intervention at all. So then we could consider a birth by induction, or with an epidural to not be "natural". But why would we? That's a personal choice, or sometimes a necessity!

I just wish women would remember to uplift one another instead of tearing one another down. Birth is not an easy process for anyone.....there is usually pain involved in some way or another. Let's not let it be pain inflicted by another human being.