Thursday, December 11, 2008

One Year Post Cesarean

I often thought of asking other mothers to write about this subject, but now I face this subject eye to eye on my son's first birthday. I know that I should be thinking about more pleasant things and how grateful I am for such an amazing and beautiful little boy, but when I think of his "birth" day it often still brings nightmares.
Would I change anything that happened? Of course not because without the birth experience I had, and the first hand experience of how traumatic and devastating a cesarean section can be, I would not have seek for an ICAN chapter in my area only to find out there was not one.
I would not be here helping women in my area and helping to prevent unnecessary and very unwanted cesareans.
I personally know of one I prevented just with one of our meetings, and the feeling it gave me made me cry. Knowing I helped this woman avoid what I went through was the whole reason I started this.
Not many women understand my struggle, and that is ok, because I will always remind myself that "Some people, just don't understand" and I am not going to make anyone try and understand.
I just want to thank everyone who has been accepting, loving, supportive, and informative over the past year, you will never know the true impact that you have made on myself, my soul, and my family.
For that I say Thank you.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

2009 Meeting Topic Announcement

We had a great planning meeting this morning! I wish more people would have been able to join us, but I wanted to pass along the monthly meeting topics for 2009!
Drum roll please!!!!
January - Movie Viewing
February - How to choose a provider for your pregnancy
March - How do avoid an unnecessary cesarean
April - Cesarean Awareness Month
May - Birth Story Night (Open forum)
June - Changing providers mid pregnancy
July - Breast feeding after a cesarean section
August - Fathers Night
September - Body Image after Pregnancy & Birth
October - Anger : How to deal with an unexpected birth outcome
November - Interviewing providers
December will be hit or miss depending on the group of women we gather over the year. Hopefully we will have enough to have a small holiday get together.
Also, one of our goals for 2009 is to have 2 ICAN of CT events a month, one being our meeting, and one being other activities, whether they are movie viewing's, discussion groups, pot luck dinners or lunches, planning meetings, ec.
2009 is going to be our year to get out into the community more!! Lets hope we can be successful!

Monday, December 8, 2008

I was under the impression, at first, that this was a article written as a joke, until I learned that this was really written by an OB/GYN currently practicing in the state of Texas.


"How to Guarantee a Failed VBAC" by Dr. Gerald Bullock

Doctors...be noncommittal enough in the early interviews: the issues won't come up again until later in the pregnancy. It is the rare patient indeed who has the presence of mind and strength of conviction to change doctors later in pregnancy.


...During the pregnancy, be sure to add to the mystique of the previous cesarean by ordering several ultrasounds, and suggesting an amniocentesis, so the mother will understand how different and potentially dangerous her situation is. Never mind informing her that the risk of amniocentesis is higher to the baby than the risk of VBAC...


If by chance the mother hears about cesarean prevention classes or VBAC group meetings, tell her they are a bunch of crazy radicals who have only their own crosses to burn and do not have her best interest in mind.


Be sure to spell out whatever criteria you have in considering a VBAC for them. Tell them that the baby must not weight more than whatever is your own limit (never mind that your guess at the weight is often as much as 2 pounds off). Give her your own personal allowances for the amount of time you feel is safe for her to labor. Make sure she understands that she will be laboring against a deadline.


If you are not successful in getting the patient to consent to a repeat cesarean early in labor, do not despair. All is not lost. There are several ways in which you can get her to give up her notion of VBAC. Make sure she remembers what a high risk patient she is, and keep an ever constant vigil for "catastrophe". Don't give in to the frivolous request to ambulate. It is imperative that you know exactly what the contraction pattern is, she must be therefore confined to bed from the time of arrival to the time of delivery. Have the perseverance to insist upon monitoring.. .Be kind and considerate, and apologize for not being able to allow her more flexibility.


..Say things like "of course, your baby's safety is our primary concern"
When the patient arrives early in labor, look at her critically and say something like "Do you really think that you are going to have that big thing from below?" A note from the anesthesiologists: Come in fairly early to do your "routine pre-op history review". If you do it right you can leave the impression that almost all VBAC mothers eventually go ahead with a repeat cesarean. The return to her room frequently to check her progress...Explain what will happen "while" she has the cesarean, not "if" she has it. If you are not trained in conduction anesthesia, explain to her why general anesthesia is safer for her and the baby...Finally (for other staff members standing outside the door) you may say something like "Is that blood ready? get it stat! what if she ruptures?""

-Dr. Gerald Bullock.