Cesarean Delivery: In My Opinion

My doctors would be THRILLED if I said, "Hey guys, you know what? Let's just schedule me for a c-section at the doctors convenience and be done with it..."

That's not going to happen and here's why.

Like any mother-to-be, as soon as I got pregnant, I started researching everything about pregnancy, labor and delivery. This is my first baby and and I wanted to be as educated as possible. Of all the things I learned, the most impactful was that I should avoid a c-section if possible. I know that sounds strange. C-sections are so common now, they're routine. People schedule c-sections like they schedule hair appointments. But the truth is, it's major abdominal surgery.

In short, a c-section is when they cut through your lower abdominal wall and through your uterus to remove the baby. One out of three babies are delivered via c-section today, YIKES! But why is this percentage so high? Because it's very convenient for doctors, and some mothers, to know when the baby will be born.

So why am I so opposed?

• Hospitals are a business. Like any other business, time is money. Once you step into a hospital to deliver your baby, you are on their clock. If you take too much time, you will most likely have a c-section
• Baby does not experience a gradual "transition" from womb to world.
• Longer recovery for mom, usually 3 days postpartum in the hospital, restrictions on lifting including holding baby. For me, this could mean not getting to see or hold Santi until AFTER his surgery :(
• Mom cannot get skin to skin with baby immediately after birth.
• If mom wants to have other children, she will be classified as a VBAC, vaginal birth after cesarean, which is a riskier delivery. The scar tissue in the uterus could tear causing the uterus to rupture. Some hospitals even have a ban on VBAC's. Making another c-section you're only choice for delivery.

With induction day rapidly approaching I have to face the reality that I will most likely be the one in three that has a cesarean delivery. I'm the perfect candidate: my baby is high risk and he needs to be born at the doctors convenience. And not just one doctor, several teams of doctors. 

I have let it be known that a c-section is my last resort. However, the ultimate goal here is to deliver a healthy baby. As a mom, I will do ANYTHING to make that happen.