Do You Have a Birthing Plan?

Many women spend the last few months of their pregnancy developing their birthing plan and wondering exactly how the delivery will go. They review all the information available to them and although many know that logically they can not prepare for every eventuality, they hope that their birthing plan will go -- well as planned. I was no different. Even though this was my fourth pregnancy and I had experienced a natural, though hospital delivery; a medically assisted delivery that included medical interventions such as drugs and forceps; and a regular assisted hospital delivery I had never though to have a home delivery or a C-section. Recently, home birthing has become a much more popular option for women with the advent of more and more qualified midwifes and doulas and the desire to avoid medications and interference in what many feel is a natural event. But sometimes nature has a mind of its own and even the best laid plans can go wrong.

It was 5:04 am on a Tuesday morning and I awoke to painful contractions in my lower abdomen and back. This was no different from any other day in the last five weeks of my pregnancy. I had been having contractions on and off for five weeks, with careful monitoring every other day. Progress was being made, however, not enough to warrant inducing the delivery process. The day before I had been to the doctor with such intense contractions, I actually fainted in the doctor's office; however, the contractions were not being successful in preparing for delivery. During this visit my doctor scheduled me for a C-section, as further waiting for a natural induction to the delivery process caused additional complications to what was not termed a "high-risk pregnancy." After shifting my position and walking around for thirty minutes to no relief I started timing the contractions. By 6:00 am, I was certain I was in true labor and that it was time to get my house awake and get to the hospital.