Green Options

Annmarie Schulte and her husband Matthew had planned on a natural birth for their fourth daughter. They had also planned the perfect name for the babe. What they didn’t plan on was Annmarie reaching down and delivering the baby while stuck in rush hour traffic on the I-43 near Milwaukee.

Annmarie shouted to Matthew at 7:48 a.m. after she felt her baby crowning,

She’s here!

As we all know ad nauseam, OBs generally warn against a vaginal birth after C-section, or VBAC.  And in this case, it would be a VBA3C; all 3 of the Schultes’ daughters were born by cesarean. This time, to ensure they’d get the natural birth they wanted, the couple worked with two doulas, a midwife, and a physician throughout the pregnancy.

And whoa boy. They got a natural birth; an unassisted natural birth.

Editor’s Note:  This VBAC birth story is from guest writer Heather Garvet. Heather blogs at A Mama’s Blog, where she has written other posts on C-sections, VBACs, breastfeeding, pregnancy, and birth issues, as well as her two boys.

I had a C-section with the birth of my first son, Ryan, in 2004, only because he was a breech baby, and refused to turn.  I wasn’t very informed on other alternatives for turning breech babies at the time, other than the external version, and accepted having a C-section was the only way to give birth to my baby.

I was thrilled of course, to have my new baby after the C-section.  The hospital was very baby friendly and I was “allowed” to nurse Ryan while I was in the recovery room.  As soon as I was out of recovery though, the problems started for me.  I had a bad reaction to the anesthesia, and stared vomiting.  That was the worse pain I have ever experienced.  The nurses were trying to get me out of bed to walk around, but I was too weak, vomiting, and almost fainted every time I sat up.  That evening, I started itching like crazy- another reaction to pain medication.  On top of that, the pain from the C-section was intense as well.

Without going into all the other details, my recovery from the C-section was very long.  After twelve weeks post-partum, I was still sore and having pain occasionally.  I had a sixteen week maternity leave, and it killed me that most of my leave was spent recovering from the C-section.

After having such a negative experience from the surgery, I decided with our next baby, I was going to have a vaginal birth, or VBAC for short.  I started researching everything I could about VBAC’s, and found out that in most cases, VBAC’s are very safe for the majority of women.  I was troubled to learn though, that the majority of hospitals and doctors don’t “allow” VBAC’s, because of the small chance of uterine rupture.

What never was said though, that just being pregnant again increases the chances for uterine rupture after a C-section, because of the baby growing and stretching the uterus.  However, the chances  for uterine rupture was 0.05% higher than having a repeat C-section.  I was still convinced I was going to have a VBAC.

Any mother knows, birthing a child is a labor of love. Inspired by a discussion amongst the writers on Eco Child’s Play about our births and the safety of home births in particular, we decided to share our labor experiences with our readers. One of the things we hold in common as eco parents is our desire for a natural birth, however, we may not always experience the birth we envisioned. From VBACS to home water births, our experiences are diverse, and we want to share them with you. We believe what is important about birth is that parents are given an educated choice about how and where their baby is born, as well as be flexible to deal with any medical issues that arise.

We don’t only want to tell our birth stories; we want to hear your stories too! As a pregnant woman, I could not read or hear enough women’s birth stories, because they were all unique and different. The experience is not the same for any two women. By sharing our stories, we hope to build a community of parents who can support and share with one another. Therefore, we are hosting a Labor of Love contest!

I did not have a doula when my children were born, because I had the loving care of two midwives attending our homebirths. If I was planning a hospital birth or wanted a little more support at home, I would definitely find a doula. What is a doula? Doulas is an ancient Greek word meaning “handmaid”.

According to Wikipedia, “A doula is an experienced, non-medical assistant who provides physical, emotional and informed choice support in prenatal care, during childbirth and during the postpartum period.” Dona International further explains:

Giving birth to a baby is so much more than a physical phenomenon; it engages parents-to-be in a transformational experience, a key life event full of emotion and meaning. A doula who accompanies a woman in labor mothers the mother, taking care of her emotional needs throughout childbirth. A doula also provides support and suggestions for partners that can enhance their experiences of birth. A postpartum doula continues that valuable emotional support and guidance, helping a family make a smooth transition into new family dynamics.

My sister is due to have a baby next week, and I have been trying to think of the best, natural, newborn baby advice. My sister’s labor will be quite different than mine, as both of my children were born at home in water, and she will be giving birth in a hospital. My midwives had prepared a list of things needed for a home birth, and one item on the list was organic olive oil.

I have read many books on natural childbirth, such as Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth and Special Delivery. When I saw olive oil on my midwives’ list, I assumed it was for massaging the perineum to prevent tearing during labor. After my first child was born; however, I discovered the real reason every newborn’s parent should have olive oil on hand.

A newborn baby’s first stools are called meconium. Meconium is a dark, tar-like substance created in the baby’s digestive system in utero from ingesting amniotic fluid, epithelial cells, etc. In fact, the term meconium is derived from the term meconium-arion, meaning “opium-like”, because of its thick, dark appearance.