10 things I miss

I knew when I had kids that things were going to change.  Every parent-to-be knows that they are going to miss getting an uninterrupted night of sleep, but there are a few other things I really miss.  Some I was expecting, but a lot I was not.  So here's a list of 10 12 things I miss since having kids.  If you haven’t had kids yet, here’s a glimpse at things to come.  If you have kids already, well, at least you know you’re not alone!

#1 My brain

Don’t laugh, it is so true.  Ask any mom out there, a little part of our brain must come out during the birth of each child.  So if you think “pregnancy brain” is bad, just wait!

#2 A “normal” living area

If you haven’t noticed, babies come with a lot of stuff.  As they grow, they get other stuff and stuff ends up in just about every corner of the house.  And if you have more than one child, you get to add big kid stuff to the baby stuff and it gets even more interesting!

#3 A real purse

I never liked carrying purses before kids and now I wish I could carry a purse!  But purses are small and light and can’t possibly carry the amount of stuff you need when traveling with kids.

#4 Alone time

No, I am not talking about alone time with my husband, I’m too tired to worry too much about that.  I am referring to alone time in general.  I’m not even asking to have time to drink coffee and check e-mail in the morning, I’d settle for just being able to go to the bathroom without an audience or someone knocking on the door!

#5 Eating hot food

At least when we only had one baby, my husband and I could alternate who got to eat dinner first.  I thought once my baby got older though it would be easier.  Boy was I wrong!  And now with three kids, I am lucky if I get to sit down before everyone else is finished eating.  I also miss tasting food.  When I do finally sit down, I eat as fast as I can because I know someone is going to need me before I can finish.

#6 A clean floor

Even if you are one of those super parents that can keep their house clean (I am not one of those), kiss clean floors goodbye.  No matter how neat and careful your kids are, and most are not, you will constantly have food on the floor.  And to make it more interesting, add a crawling baby that puts everything in their mouth to the mix!  It is a full time job to keep your floors clean.  There has been much success reported when using a dog, but that also leads to more messes that have to be cleaned, so you pretty much break even.

#7 A long shower

I really miss those.  If I actually do manage to get a shower alone, I am usually rushing through it as fast as possible because I know I am on a count down.  Someone at some point is going to need me before I am ready.  It may be the baby is hungry or tired, someone fell and busted their head open, or maybe someone just stole someone else’s toy.  But I promise, before I can shower, dry off, and actually get dressed, someone is going to need me.  So I really miss those days when I could just stand in the shower forever and not worry about anything.  Although for some reason, my husband can still manage to do it.

#8 Watching TV

First, you just don’t have time to watch tv.  But if you do find time, you will find that there is very little that you want to watch that you are okay with your children also watching.  So tv time gets mostly limited to after kids go to bed and by then, you are tired and will probably end up there soon.  Long movies can be even harder to squeeze in, but these work well when broken into parts that can be watched on different days.

#9 Swear words

Not an important one, but I still miss them.  Or at least the ability to use them without having a parrot ready to repeat it 20 times for the next week after you accidentally spill the milk.  And FYI, toddlers learn words before they know how to say them.  So just a little piece of advice, you might want to clean up your language before they start talking.  Take it or leave it, but you’ve been warned.

#10 A day off

A day off is pretty much impossible once you have kids.  If you can manage to pull one of these off, it will be the last one you get for a long time, so treasure every second!  And don’t even think about a vacation.  Vacationing with kids is fun, but it’s actually more work than staying home.

UPDATED:  I thought of a couple more and had to add them...

#11 Talking on the phone
Children are part of some kind of conspiracy to keep their parents from talking on the phone.  Babies are born with special skills that allow them to cry the moment you put the phone to your ear.  Then as soon as your child is old enough to reach, it's really over.  I don't know what it is about phones and remotes, but babies must have them!  And as they get older, they develop a sixth sense that allows them to hear you dial a number from anywhere in the house.  The most affective tactic is to be as loud and distracting as possible so that it becomes more work than it is worth to try to continue your conversation and you give up.

#12 The snooze buttonThere isn't a morning that I don't wake up wanting just 5 more minutes.  But unfortunately, kids do not come with snooze buttons.  They also do not come with pause buttons, on/off switches, or volume controls.  What they do come with is the uncanny ability to push every button that you do have.  Oh, and they also NEVER run out of batteries!


 

Are the parents-to-be totally freaked out yet?  Don’t be.  I promise, it is ALL worth it!  Don’t believe me?  How about this: even after learning all this with the first baby, I still chose to do it two more times.  If that doesn’t convince you… just wait, you’ll see!

My daughter likes pink

When I would see all the adorable pink baby dresses at the store, I always complained how much cuter the girl clothes were compared to the boy clothes.  Then, when my daughter was born, she wasn't a day old before friends and family started showing up with cute little pink outfits.  But something strange happened that I hadn’t been expecting… I got so sick of PINK!

Actually, to say I was sick of it is not putting it right.  I got upset about pink, everything it represented, and the fact that it was everywhere.  Just walk into a store, any store, and you will find isles where it looks like a pink sparkly princess puked all over EVERYTHING!  The clothes, dolls, toys, there are even special Lincoln Log and Lego sets for girls in appropriate girly colors!  Made me sick!

Gender wasn’t something I had thought much about when my son was born.  Though we don’t have a gender neutral household, we didn’t believe in silly gender rolls either.  I wasn’t concerned about raising my son to “be a man”.  I knew there was nothing wrong with a boy that needed to cry or wanted to play dress up.  Whether he chose to participate in sports or not would be his choice and if he wanted his toenails painted like mommy, that was okay.

So I was surprised how strongly I reacted when my daughter was born.  It wasn’t the color itself that had me so upset, it was the fact that from birth, my daughter was being pushed into being a cute little frilly princess whether that's who she wanted to be or not and it pissed me off.

So I told myself (and everyone else) that my daughter didn't have to be a princess.  I went on a huge rant about how we weren't going to buy her dolls or Barbies unless SHE asked for them, and not one day sooner.  We would let her be who she wanted to be and decide what she was interested in without pressure from us.

As she got older, her spunky personality came shining though.  She ran around with her short bob haircut and never wore dresses.  Instead she wore stained pants and tennis shoes since you don't put a frilly dress on a 2 year old that wants to play in the mud.  She was naturally interested in cars and trains just like her brother and I secretly felt proud of my little "Tom girl" and felt like I must be doing something right.

And then, something strange started happening, again.  Before I realized it, my little girl started becoming girly!  She started picking out the pinkest, most sparkly stickers at the store.  She chose a dress when I let her pick out anything she wanted while we shopped with her brother.  And then one day, she announced that her favorite color was pink!

Pink?!  How could she do this to me?!  I was shocked and upset when I realized just how girly she was becoming.  I felt like I had failed her, let society tell her what she should like and who she should be.  I didn’t do enough or go far enough to keep this from happening.  I was so disappointed.  But then I had an epiphany.

Yes, one year for Christmas my daughter got 5 dolls from people as gifts (apparently that is what you buy little girls).  Yes, she currently has six pink shirts in her closet from my mother.  And yes, society does tell our girls they should be proper little princesses.  But then I realized that the problem was not princesses, sparkles, ruffles or the color pink.  The fact that my daughter liked these things did not mean that she had to stop being herself.  She still enjoyed playing in the mud after all.  She could still go on to be who ever she wanted to be, she would just be someone that also happened to like pink!

It also helped to remind myself that my son also loves pink and things that sparkle!

It's just easier

I have heard so many women say they don’t know if they are going to be able to breastfeed.  It just seems like so much “work” and “bottle feeding just seems easier”.  Easier?  I think someone may have given you the wrong idea!

There are many reasons some women choose not to breastfeed, but please don’t be fooled into thinking formula and a bottle is going to be “easier”, because it’s not.  I can’t imagine using bottles regularly!  I am not trying to be sarcastic here, I seriously don't know how so many women do it!  "Breast is best" and that may be true for baby, but it is also very true for me.  I find breastfeeding so convenient and easy, and the idea of having to schedule feedings, prepare and clean bottles, and do this all day and night long is enough to cause me serious anxiety.  I am so grateful I have been able to nurse my kids.

True, in the beginning some women can experience some difficulties and discomfort when first nursing.  The first couple weeks of nursing are spent with both mother and baby learning to breastfeed and it can be harder for some mother/baby couples.  In these situations, finding a good lactation consultant as soon as possible can be the difference between breastfeeding success and failure.

But once breastfeeding is established, it becomes the most convenient and easy thing to do.  It doesn’t matter where you are or what you are doing, you have milk for your hungry baby at a moments notice.  Anybody that has had a baby crying for food knows you can’t feed them fast enough.  Listening to them cry while your prepare a bottle sounds like torture!  Sure, Most of the time you probably get the bottle ready before they start crying, just like I usually nurse before they are that hungry.  But there are those times when baby wants to eat.right.now. and I am so grateful in those moments that all I have to do it pull up my shirt.

So do I nurse because it is better for my baby?  Yes.  Do I nurse because I enjoy the bonding experience it provides?  Yes.  Do I nurse because it is the natural way my instincts tell me to feed my baby?  Yes.  But I also nurse because it is the simplest, fastest, most convenient way I can feed my baby no matter what is going on in my crazy life and I need that!  Why make my life more complicated than it already is?  Besides, I’m lazy!

Why do I nurse in public?

So many people don't understand why I choose to nurse in public.  I thought it might be fun to answer a few common questions.  Let me know if you think I missed any.

Why do you nurse in public?
Simply, because my baby is hungry.

Why not go to a bathroom?
Why don't you eat in a bathroom?  Because it's disgusting, that's why!  I am not going to feed my baby in a small room filled with flushing toilets.  Enough said.

Why not go somewhere more private?
1st, because my baby is hungry now and I don't want to make them wait.  2nd, because I am comfortable where I am and don't want to stop what I am doing, gather my stuff, and possibly leave the place I am at just to find a private location... that is not a bathroom.

Why not use a bottle?
Because my baby prefers my breast.  Because it is time consuming to pump and wash bottles.  Because I don't want to have to carry around the extra baggage of bottles and ice in my already overflowing diaper bag.

Can't you at least use a cover?
I could, but my baby hates it and always grabs it off their head.  Also, it is hot and I don't feel like adding another layer of anything to me and my baby.  And did I mention the overflowing diaper bag?

But what if someone sees your breast?
Chances are they see more breast exposure walking through the zoo on a hot day or walking down the magazine isle at a store.  I am feeding my baby.  If someone sees that, oh well.

But what if you offend someone?
I understand there are people that may be very uncomfortable with seeing part of a woman's exposed breast.  Unfortunately, it is not my job or obligation to worry about every stranger who may or may not be offended, it is my job to look after and feel my baby.  If someone is offended by me taking care of my child because of some deep cultural or religious reason, then so be it, I have offended them.  I can live with that knowing that it was not my intent and that the comfort of my baby takes priority over that of a stranger.  But if it is some hypocritical person that has no issue watching nudity and sexual content on tv but can't handle watching a breast being used for it's intended purpose, then they can just get over themselves.

So why do I nurse in public?
Because it's the best thing for me and my baby and I put my child's needs above my social awkwardness or the threat of offending some stranger that may walk by.


Related post: Try not to hide

Pass it on!

Note:  This post is not intended to make an argument against circumcision, that is a more complex issue to be addressed in a future post.  It's a message for the non-circ population, so please don't waste your time attacking me for not giving any facts.  If you're looking for information, check out some of our links at the bottom.

While following an on-line debate about routine infant circumcision (RIC), one poster asked if we were actually doing anything about it or just talking about it.  They said that no one listens to non-circumcision arguments and that talking about it is a joke if we don't actually do anything.  In reality, what they said could not be further from the truth.

Talking about circumcision is probably the biggest thing we can do.  Most people don't even realize there is something to talk about when it comes to circumcision.  Like me, many people don't even think twice about it until someone brings it up.  Once they know there is something to actual research, many parents decide that reasons not to circumcise out weigh the arguments for it.  But before they can even ask themselves if they would circumcise their child, they need to know there is a question to ask.

Sure, being politically active or donateting and joinging groups that work to inform people definitely helps.  But just talking about it changes so many lives.  Everyone I know that has made the choice to keep their child intact was influenced by someone they knew.

Despite what that person believed, people do listen and talking about the reasons not to do routine circumcision is doing something about it!  You may not change everyones mind, but if you even change one, that is one baby that will be left intact.  Then he will influence people in his life and it will continue.

So keep talking!  Keep telling people why you chose to keep your child intact.  Keep giving people the facts about routine infant circumcision and letting them know there is something to talk about.  Keep passing informational articles along on Facebook and discussion boards.  Our words are our strongest tool and people do listen.  We can change our world one person at a time and someday it might just be routine to leave our baby boys intact, just they way they were born!


For more information on the circumcision debate, check out these resources:
NOCIRC
As Nature Intended: Infant Circumcision Info

Why I co-sleep

Like so many other parenting choices, where your baby or child sleeps seems to be a constant source of controversy.  People are often too embarrassed to admit that their children sleep in their bed even though surveys show that co-sleeping, at least part of the time, is actually more common than not with 68% of parents admitting to co-sleeping with their babies.

Since day one, we have enjoyed co-sleeping with our babies, or bed sharing in our case.  Although often used interchangeably, co-sleeping is technically when a baby shares a room with their parents and bed sharing is when they actually sleep on the same surface.  We bed share in our house, with two huge mattresses side by side so that we can all comfortably sleep together in a giant family bed.

Why Co-sleep?

Everyone sleeps better.  Babies fall asleep and stay asleep better when co-sleeping.  Baby sleeping more equals mom sleeping more which is always a good thing!

Co-sleeping is so convenient!  It makes night time parenting so much easier when baby is close to you.  You will be able to respond much quicker to your baby and get back to sleep that much sooner.

Breastfeeding is easier.  Nursing mothers naturally tune in to their babies and wake up easily when baby shows signs of being ready to eat.  This means mom can nurse her baby without baby needing to fully wake from sleep.  Since neither mom or baby have to get out of bed to nurse, it is much easier for both to get back to sleep.

Co-sleeping is not only safe, but research shows it can actually reduce the rate of SIDS.  Although not a significant enough amount to be the reason to co-sleep if you don't want to, it is nice to know that when done safely, co-sleeping is actually slightly safer than having your baby sleep alone.

But the biggest reason we share our bed with our babies?  WE LOVE IT!!!  We love sleeping with our kids.  Sure, it can be crowded and sometimes we get a foot someplace unpleasant, but it's all worth it.  How could you not enjoy having the last thing you see before you close your eyes be the angelic face of your sleeping child?  It is one of the greatest joys in my life.  That is why we co-sleep.

Life is so busy, babies grow so fast, toddlers are crazy, and pre-schoolers are hard to snuggle with.  But at night, in bed, we all snuggle together as my children are transformed from crazy monkeys into peaceful angels.  No matter what kind of day we've had, in that moment, everything else seems less important and the only thing that matters is how much I love my kids.  Someday my kids will be grown and want a bed of their own.  So for now, we co-sleep and share our bed with our babies, even the big ones!


Dr. Sears: Safe co-sleeping

The Natural Child Project: Cosleeping around the world

Mothering:  How the stats really stack up: Cosleeping is twice as safe

The "necessary" cesarean

I am so sick of listening to people talk about how they needed a c-section.  Every time you try to have a discussion about the over use of cesarean sections in this country, you will get women adamantly defending the fact that their cesarean was of course one of the necessary ones.  For whatever reason they give, they all have some explanation for why they had to have one.

Now let me just start off by admitting that I do believe a small number of c-sections are not only necessary, but save lives.  I am not crazy, I know there are cases out there where a c-section was very necessary.  But that being said, they are being grossly overused and even caused by irresponsible choices made by both doctors and patients.

The United States has one of the highest rates of maternal death (death of the mother after birth) with 40 other countries having better survival rates for mothers.  Not surprisingly, the highest cases of death are in women that have had cesarean sections, a major surgery that greatly increases the odds of experiencing infections as well as fatal hemorrhaging and blood clots.

The c-section rate in this country is now 32.9%.  That means that 1 in 3 women that give birth in the United States do so by having the baby cut out of them.  The World Health Organization recommends that the rate of cesarean sections in developed countries should fall between 10-15% of all births.  That means that the US performs at least 2 to 3 times the number of recommended c-sections with some hospitals, doctors and areas having over 50% rates!

So why are so many women having c-sections?  The cold hard reality of the matter is that most c-sections not only could have been avoided, but were probably caused by the choices the mother made or allowed to be made for her.  Yes, at the risk of pissing off a lot of women, I am saying that I believe you may have actually caused your c-section to be “necessary”.

Think I’m wrong?  Prove it to me.  If you can read this and you don’t fall into at least one of these categories and made at least some of these classic mistakes, then you might actually be one of the 10-15% of women that “should” have had a c-section.

Here are some of the classic reasons women give as to why their cesarean section “necessary”:

My baby was too big.

Wrong.  I am so sick of hearing doctors and women telling other people that their hips are too small or their baby is too big for vaginal birth.  Tiny women all over this world give birth to large babies.  This is not the 19^th century where malnutrition, rickets, and polio are causing women to have malformed pubic bones.

The reality is that women and doctors are making choices that make it harder for babies to fit through the birth canal.  A semi reclined position where a mother is sitting on her coccyx, one frequently taken while in the pushing stage when baby’s head needs to most room to maneuver through the birth canal, does not allow the pelvic to open naturally and is a huge factor in how wide the pelvic is.  Squatting can actually widen the pelvic opening by 30%!

Also, in cases of a big baby, women are often encouraged to induce as to not allow the baby to gain any more weight.  Not only does the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) not recommend inducing a baby because it is suspected to be a large or macrosomic, studies show that induction for this reason does not lead to better outcomes for the baby and also nearly doubles the risk of having a cesarean section.

My labor stalled/I had failure to progress.

Translation, my body wasn’t ready to deliver.  Often this is because the mother was induced for some reason or another without understanding the risks involved.  We may be able to artificially start labor, but we can’t always make the body fully cooperate.

Dr. Sears has this to say about failure to progress:

“Most cases, though, are due to inadequate support for the laboring woman and violation of the basic physiology of labor. Of all the reasons for a cesarean, "failure to progress" is the most under your control. No other system in your body "fails" 25 percent of the time. Why should your "delivery" system? Emotional and physical support for the mother, walking during labor, upright pushing, along with the prudent use of medication and technology will help labor progress by increasing the efficiency of uterine contractions rather than interfering with them.”

Some “failure to progress” isn’t a failure at all and is actually just a natural part of labor called the natural alignment plateau, or N.A.P.  This lack of dilation we see during a N.A.P. does not mean the labor stalled at all, but that the mother’s body is actually allowing something else to happen.  Sometimes the mother needs rest or calories, but a woman’s body will also stop dilating to allow the baby to get into a better position or slow things down if that baby needs that so they don’t get stressed.  If you give yourself and your baby some time, you will start dilating as soon as you and your baby are ready.

But what usually happens once you get labeled with “failure to progress” is that steps are taken to force things to move along at a more acceptable rate.  Usually this involves breaking the bag of water or giving Pitocin.  Speeding things up is exactly the wrong thing to do when your body is trying to slow things down.  The baby can get stuck if they were in a bad position and needed to move, or they become stressed by the stronger unnatural contractions brought on artificially when the mother’s body was trying to allow the baby to rest.  Which brings me to the next one…

My baby was in distress.

Well of course they were!  When we force a baby to endure labor before they were ready, or we cause unnaturally strong contractions using Pitocin and other drugs, they are going to become stressed!

The contractions caused by Pitocin differ from the way a uterus naturally contracts.  Contractions from Pitocin are stronger and more stressful on the baby.  You don’t get the slow, gradual buildup like with a natural contraction, and it causes the uterus to contract all at once squeezing from all sides instead of gently pushing the baby down into the birth canal.  This causes the baby to have a much harder time coping and recovering from the contractions and can cause the oxygen levels to drop sending the baby into distress.  This is why you much have electronic fetal monitoring of the baby at all times when on Pitocin.

We frequently cause our babies to go into distress when we do not allow labor to progress at the natural pace set by the mother and baby.

The cord was around the baby’s neck.

I just had to throw this one in there because I heard it just the other day and I couldn’t help but actually roll my eyes.  I am not trying to offend anyone, but this was just the icing on a very frustrating conversation about birth where another baby had to be saved via c-section for completely “necessary” reasons!

So because the cord being around the baby’s neck just sounds so incredibly frightening, let me start off by saying that one in three babies have a cord wrapped around the neck at birth.  This is not dangerous at all and very, very common.  Babies are born every day with cords around their neck and the doctor or midwife simply unwraps it once the head is out.  There are extremely rare cases where it can be an issue for some babies, but chances are, it was not dangerous for your baby.

I had a c-section last time and I think it’s just better to have another one.

If you don’t want to bother educating yourself about the risks to you and your baby and the many reasons why you might want to at least try to avoid another c-section, then that is probably why you had one in the first place.

I know that is harsh, but it is time to accept responsibility.  Too many women hand over control to doctors and other people to make their decisions for them so that they don’t have to take responsibility for their choices.  So many people spend more time researching what camera or car they should buy and don’t bother to find out anything about birth.  Well guess what, there is a really good chance that your choice to not educate yourself and make blind decisions is exactly what got you into that operating room.  You can tell me all the reasons you want as to why you needed a c-section, but the reality is that there were probably choices made along the way that caused the exact “emergency” that led to your c-section.

So now what?

Now that you know that some c-sections can be avoided, what do you do?  Here’s a few simple suggestions.  They may not prevent every c-section, but you are a lot less likely to end up in a position to need a c-section if you just do these simple things.

Educate yourself.

This is probably the most important advice I can give you.  Educate yourself.  Educate yourself about labor, birth, and what to expect.  Educate yourself about the way medical procedures and technology can help when used properly to aid labor when necessary or harm when misused and allowed to interfere with the birth process.  Educate yourself about the risks and side effects of commonly used procedures since most doctors do not thoroughly explain them.

There are many, many resources out there.  Read books.  Take a birth class like Bradley or Brio.  Knowledge is a powerful tool in the birth process.

Hire a doula.

A doula is a support person that is there to help a mother during the labor and birth process.  The emotional and physical support a woman can give another is invaluable.  It’s extremely helpful to have a person ready to back you up physically and emotionally while adding their vast knowledge and experience to help you through labor.  Generally speaking, women that have doulas present at their birth have a lower rate of interventions, including the need for pain medication, Pitocin, vacuum or forceps extraction, and a lower occurrence of cesarean sections.

Don’t get induced.

Induction is frequently done by breaking the bag of water or using other powerful drugs to interfere with the body’s natural progression into labor by causing or trying to speed it up.

Being induced increases the odds that your baby will experience fetal distress, abnormal heart rate, shoulder dystocia, and need to be admitted to the NICU.  It also increased the odds that a vacuum or forceps will be used to deliver your baby.  If that is not enough reason to avoid being induced, recently, a study found that being induced more than doubles your chance of having a c-section.  Woman who are induced are twice as likely to need a c-section as women that are not.  (click here find out more about the study)

Move.

Women are often forced to stay in bed because of all the equipment they are plugged into.  They don’t always force you flat on your back anymore, but they still don’t want you walking around or crouching on your knees, especially once labor progresses.  Being free to move around helps during both the labor and the birth.  Labors progress better when the mother can move and movement is an important part of coping with the contractions.  Baby also has more room to fit and maneuver through the birth canal when you are not confined to a bed while sitting on your coccyx.  If you must be in bed, try to at least kneel, crouch, or lie on your side to allow for a more open pelvis.

And finally…

Trust your body.

When we interfere with the natural progression of labor, we are asking for trouble.  A woman’s body is designed to give birth.  It knows when to start labor, when to slow it down, and when to move.  Unfortunately, women are taught not to trust their bodies and allow doctors, nurses, and machines tell them what they should be doing.

Moral of the story…

Take responsibility.  No one is telling you that you need have to have an unmedicated birth.  No one is telling you that you can’t have Pitocin or even an elective cesarean section if that is what you want.  But it’s time to stop acting like a victim.

Sometimes there are cases where there is absolutely nothing anybody could have done to change the outcome of a birth.  But more often then not, the choices you do or don’t make will affect your birth.  If you refuse to acknowledge that you can greatly influence the outcome of your birth, then at the very least, stop telling people that you had to have a cesarean section, not because I think you are wrong, but for every pregnant woman or future mother within hearing distance.

With the c-section rate in this country being so high, one in three birth stories a woman will hear is going to be a cesarean, even more in some crowds.  Every time you tell some pregnant woman about how you had to have a c-section because your hips were too small or you just never fully dilated, you are perpetuating the myth that women need all the medical help they can get to deliver their baby.  You are planting seeds of doubt in the ability of women to birth their baby naturally.

On a positive note, I know many women that have had two, three, and even more babies, all vaginally, many very big, and without any complication or need for major interventions.  This is just more evidence that if you educate yourself and can avoid having a c-section the first time around, you greatly decrease the odds that you will end up with one in the future.  By making choices that reduce your risks, you can repeatedly avoid being that 1 in 3 women that ends up with a cesarean.  And if you do end up needing one, at least you’ll know you did what you could to avoid one.

Articles, Referances and Resources:

Dr Sears:

4 Common Reasons for Cesarean Births

7 Ways to Boost a Natural Delivery
VBAC: Vaginal Birth After Cesarean

5 Reasons to Avoid Induction of Labor

US News: Labor Induction Boosts C-Section Risk

Small Pelvis? Here’s The Truth About Cephalopelvic Disproportion (CPD)

How big is too big?

Childbirth Connection: Cesarean Section

WebMD: Cesarean Section - Risks and Complications

ICAN: Cesarean Rate Jumps Again To Record High

VBACfacts.com

New York Times: Cesarean births are at a high in US

The Unnecesarean.com: Avoid an unnecesarean

Maternal Mortality Rates Rising In California

Is the Cord Around the Baby's Neck at Birth a Problem?

DONA International: Doula FAQ

Top 7 Ways to Have an Unnecessary C-Section (funny blog article)

Books:

The Birth Book: Everything You Need to Know to Have a Safe and Satisfying Birth by Dr. Sears

Birthing from Within: An Extra-Ordinary Guide to Childbirth by Pam England

Gentle Birth Choices by Barbara Harper

The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth by Sheila Kitzinger

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin