From a Perfect Normal Birth to a Caesarian, in just a Few Simple Steps!

This posting is a follow-up on my posting Are We Still Designed To Give Birth Naturally? It is not intended to frighten anyone, but to help you make a balanced, informed decision based on the risks or benefits.

My second and third pregnancies both ended in miscarriages due to candida infections. By then we where wholeheartedly moving into a natural health direction because of our son’s health problems when he was 15 months old. We have moved from Bloemfontein to Cape Town and I had to get a new gynecologist.  With both miscarriages my Durbanville gynecologist and his partner informed me there was no way they could prevent the miscarriages due to candida. We decided to try natural remedies to heal me from candida and visited my homeopath.  Within weeks after I started the natural treatment for candida, I was healed, pregnant and dreaming of the possibility that my baby could be a little girl.  Needless to say I also changed gynecologists and I was now with my third gynecologist.

This pregnancy went just as well as my first pregnancy. 

We still had a few ultrasounds, but not with every six week’s follow-up. Except for being adamant to give birth naturally without an induction (50 - 60% of mothers being induced ends up with emergency caesarians) or epidural (taking in account my experience with CJ’s birth), we again didn’t have much of a birth plan.

Ten days before my due date I had a show around midmorning.  I was overjoyed and scared!  With CJ, my waters started to leak just after the show and he was born hours later.  Did this mean I would soon hold my baby in my arms?  I was not sure if I was ready yet, a few things still need to be done. Fortunately my hospital bag was packed and ready.  We called the gynecologist and he advised us to come see him in his rooms, and be ready to be hospitalized just in case I was in labour. 

I remembered saying goodbye to my little boy and almost burst into tears.  I didn’t know what to expect and didn’t know what to tell him.  What was going to happen until I see him again? 

At the gynecologist’s rooms the nurse immediately ushered me through to one of his examination rooms and had to wait for him.  Minutes later he walked into the room, asked me to lay on the examination bed. 

He immediately checked my blood pressure and next baby’s heartbeat.  Baby’s heartbeat was perfectly well, but my blood pressure was above normal.  The high blood pressure was strange, since my blood pressure was extremely low through out the pregnancy,.

What happened next I could only explain as a whirl wind.  Before even asking me anything or discussing possibilities, the gynecologist called the maternity ward and inform them Mrs. Lues was on her way for admission.  Only then he turned to us and informed us the high blood pressure is a high risk pregnancy condition, due to the possibility of preeclampsia and I needed to be hospitalized, immediately.

He didn’t test my urine for protein, or even question me for related symptoms of preeclampsia, like headaches, vision problems or swelling of hands or feet (of which I had none!).  I tried asking him if my high blood pressure wasn’t due to the test performed immediately after I laid down or my excitement but he didn’t even notice me asking... I remember from my gynecologist in Bloemfontein, a fine older gentleman, that I had to be laying down for at least 5 min before he did a blood pressure test,  On top of it, I was so excited and afraid of the possibility that I’m in labour, that obviously my blood pressure was going to be higher than normal!

No, he just rambled on about the dangers of preeclampsia and there was no way he was going to take any chances! 

Within half an hour I was in the maternity ward, in a public room with three other ladies.  I wasn’t sure what to expect next. My gynecologist, didn’t have the time for more discussions or questions asked, his next patient was waiting and he would see me during his hospital rounds later the evening. We had no idea what his plan of action was. On his 19h00 round he informed me that he was going to induce labour around midnight, by way of a vaginal induction gel - Cervadil Slow Release Pessary. Due to our lack of knowledge we had nothing to say, than accept it. Only years later I learned one of the side effects of Cervadil is Stillbirth!!  That is apart from the additional risks associated with induction. To what could be a perfectly normal birth, induction greatly increases the likelihood of further interventions, from pain relief to emergency Caesareans.

Christo intended to stay with me the whole night, but I sent him home by 22h00, to go get some rest.  He promised to be back by 04h00, when the contractions was supposed to pick up.  At midnight the nurse inserted the gel and I just went back to “sleep” - in the midst of routine noises every now and then.

By 04h00 Christo was back, but I had no contractions what so ever!  Five O’clock a nurse came and informed me, they need to insert a higher dose of Cervadil, this time through a pill.  See the pattern of more intervention...?   They also planned to move me to the labour room, since I would be giving birth soon.  Excuse me, I’m not even having contractions!?

An hour later I was in the spacious, bright, impressively equipped labour room.  They proudly showed me the private toilet on the side and showed Christo how to operate the TV hanging from the ceiling  I must have fallen in a very deep sleep, when the next moment I was awaken by the loud voice of my gynecologist who burst into the labour room and asked me how I was doing.  I still had no contractions at all, on which my gynecologist quickly made the decision (not even asking our opinion) to break my waters, in an attempt to speed up labour! 

It was only with my 4th pregnancy that we learned the great danger of Artificial Rapture Of Membranes (AROM).

Did you know: 

• It is off the utmost importance that the baby is in a good position before the membranes are ruptured – if the baby is too high, there is a risk of cord prolapse, where the baby’s umbilical cord slips through the cervix before the baby, putting pressure on the cord. This can be a very serious situation as the baby’s blood and oxygen supply becomes compromised. Baby go into stress, labour progress to slow, next an emergency caesarian, due to the AROM.

• Early rupturing of the membranes can result in more posterior or incorrectly-positioned babies. Again you end with an emergency Caesarian.

• If your waters are broken before 4cm dilation, there is the possibility it may slow down your labour, or even have NO effect on labour. Now keep in mind when your membranes are raptured and you do not deliver within 4 - 24 hours (depending on the policy of the hospital or gynecologist) you would need to start antibiotics to prevent infection, since the seal around baby is no longer there to prevent bacteria reaching baby.  This is usually done by injection or possibly a drip (preventing you from being in active birth, cannot move around as easily). It’s best to avoid the need for antibiotics in the first place. Antibiotics not only kill the bad bacteria in your body, but the good bacteria too – they don’t discriminate. It can throw yours and your baby’s gut bacteria out of balance and often result in a colic or constipated baby.

• After the AROM you are only given a short time frame for contractions to establish – sometimes only an hour or two – before being put on an IV (intravenous) Oxytocin (induction-drug) drip.  The IV induction will result in contraction waves occurring almost on top of each other, and increase in the resting tone of the uterus. This may be followed by you requesting pain relief, which may result in help by way of an instrumental delivery or caesarian.  All this is called a ‘cascade of intervention’ where one intervention leads to another and another and so on.

• The hyper-stimulation (overstimulation) of the uterus, during induction, can deprive the baby of the necessary supplies of blood and oxygen, and so produce abnormal FHR (fetal heart rate) patterns, fetal distress (leading to cesarean section) and even uterine rupture.

• Mothers induced with synthetic Oxytocin have a higher risk of significant bleeding after the birth. The numbers of Oxytocin receptors in the labouring woman’s uterus decreases, so her uterus becomes unresponsive to the post-partum Oxytocin peak that prevents bleeding;

• 50 to 60% of mothers being induced end up with emergency Caesareans. Not only do you need the labour hormone, Oxytocin,  to be circulating in your body, but your uterus also needs Oxytocin receptors to be activated, something that only happens once labour is established, which takes time. Because your body may not be ready for labour, high amounts of artificial Oxytocin may be needed to get labour going and then it can still end in a ‘failed induction’ followed by an emergency Caesarean.  

Not a single one of the points mentioned above were ever discussed by my gynecologist as a possibility during my pre-natal visits, neither at this point of labour.

Seconds later, while I was still trying to clear my brain, after the very deep hour of sleep, I experienced the most shocking discomfort and pain I could imagine! They artificially raptured my membranes! 

Next my Gynecologist marched out of the room, shouting over his shoulder that he would see me lunch time, if I was not in the final stage of labour before then. Lunch was only 5 hours away, I wasn’t experiencing any contractions and couldn’t picture myself having a baby before lunch!  But then, right out of the “Induction textbook”, the hospital personnel was preparing me for an intravenous induction.  They will make sure I’m delivering my baby within hours, using all the possible interventions they possibly had at their disposal - sadly to my baby and my own increased risk!  Graciously (?) I had no knowledge of the above risks and I was in no position or had the courage to argue or question.  I was in the process now and was only hoping for the best!  Sad to say I don’t think I even prayed, but God was faithful! 

Within 2 hours contractions was ripping through my body! (#4 from the above) I couldn’t believe it happened again!  I was so determined not to allow all the different interventions. Now I know, I didn’t have a clue how vulnerable one is when you hand over the decision making to someone else!   

By 10h30 the contractions was so intense, I couldn’t bear it any longer.  I couldn’t focus on the contractions in the spacious, bright room and mentally experienced an overwhelming feeling of defeat, which in no way gave me the courage to stay on top of the contractions and let my body go with the flow. I couldn’t even try to walk the aisle, as I intended to do. I was stuck in bed, with  tubes of IV drips and fetal monitor wires - the Cascade of intervention!

The only thing I could think of was, “How long?” and asked the nurse to check my dilation. I was 5cm... only halfway. There was no way I could bear the pain for another 5 hours and asked for an epidural…  After 8 labours I’m convinced that with no other birth did I ever experience such intense contractions, one over the other. 

By 11h00 the anesthetist was next to my bed ready to perform the epidural.  He told me to sit up straight, my legs hanging from the bed and my back in a curve, and to keep dead still for the procedure. I had to warn him every time I felt a contraction coming. Since my pain threshold was at an all time low, by now, I almost cried while he gave me the epidural, due to the uncomfortable position I had to be in for at least 5 minutes! I only held on to the thought that the pain would be gone! 

Moments later a miracle took place, and I will praise the Lord forever for His intervention.  About 5 minutes after I moved back into a horizontal position, I realized the pain wasn’t gone, but bearable. The left side of my body was totally numb, but I could feel everything on my right side.  It was an amazing feeling, to feel the pain but to be on top of it. I was able to monitor my body, the contractions and labour myself, not by a monitor or third party!  

I was to afraid to tell anyone, in the fear they would turn up the epidural drip, and just hung in there, now at least able to work with each contraction.  But while I was still getting back to reality, I suddenly felt the strong urge to push. This was about 15 minutes after the epidural had been performed. It was an awesome feeling. My body immediately knew what to do. In total awe I realized, I’m at the point of giving birth and although up to now, everything went totally the opposite way I was hoping for this birth, I would be able to give birth without instruments, the way it is intend to be!  

My biggest challenge was to calmly ask the nurse to check my progress, without giving away that my body was not totally numb by the epidural.  I was so afraid they will turn up the infusion, and I would lose the feeling I still had in half of my body! The nurse was reluctant at first, since she checked me 45 minutes ago, but I insisted with a renewed strength, quickened by the turn in circumstances. What joy when the nurse with shock, and little panic, announced me fully dilated and ready to give birth. She informed me to hold back since they need my gynecologist.  There was no way I intended to hold back!  I urged them to hurry, and within minutes they had everything ready. Five minutes later, as my gynecologist walked into the room,, I prepared to give birth!  Waiting for the contraction and with it the urge to push! Within a few pushes, our little baby girl, Heidi-Mari was born, with no instruments!  

What a miracle! Taking into account all the procedures done 24 hours before Heidi-Mari’s birth, the diagnosis of ‘false’ high blood pressure, premature induction, premature breaking of my waters, “ten days prior to my due date”, it is only by God’s intervention that labour did speed up with the artificial Oxytocin infusion.  If the labour did not speed up, the next port of call would have be an emergency caesarean section - all totally unnecessary! 

Over the years the motivation for inductions became cloudy. An induction has only one advantage. When given for true medical reasons. It may ‘potentially’ save the life of a mother and / or her baby. Of course, if it leads to saving a life, we are all going to choose to induce – there is no argument that an induction would then be the best choice. Just like a Caesarean, it has a place in life-threatening situations – and for that we are more than grateful.

However, and this is were the statistics for caesarians in South Africa proof the facts, when an induction is performed for social reasons and convenience or without clear proven evidence cited by your Doctor, I encourage you to seriously think twice. 

I don’t mean evidence such as:


1.    ‘Well you’re 10-days overdue, we should book you in for an induction now, because babies could die if they are anymore overdue.’ 

‘Post-dates’ is the most common ‘indication’ for an induction.

Dear Mother, a full-term pregnancy is defined as 37 to 42 weeks. But this is a fact more and more overlooked by the gynecology profession. How can I be so sure that a full-term pregnancy can be as early as 37 weeks or as far as 42 weeks?

• The estimated due date you are given is only a ‘guess’ in the middle of that.
• We know that estimated due dates are inaccurate, due to the myth that every woman has a 28 day cycle and that every woman ovulates on day 14. Only about 10 to 13% of women ovulate on day 14. The day of ovulation differs from woman to woman and can even be different from month to month for the same woman.  Many woman will tell you they don’t have a 28 day cycle, some have a 21 day cycle and others a 32 day cycle.
• Ultrasounds are notoriously inaccurate for pinpointing the day of birth (around 3% to 5% of babies are born on their predicted dates). Ultrasounds are plus or minus 7 to 10 days either side of the estimated due dates. This results from calculating these dates based on mathematics and averages, not your baby and the unique rate at which he or she grows or your unique cycle. Even first-trimester ultrasound can be inaccurate by 5 days either way.
• Only 3% to 5% of babies are born on their ‘predicted date’ and full term is classed as up to 42 weeks of pregnancy, so for your baby to be born safely when he should be, when he is ready, you need solid supporting evidence that things are not safe to continue before intervening.

2.    False Blood Pressure

• I totally agree that no one want to play around with a pregnant woman with high blood pressure.  But please make sure you do have high blood pressure.  
• High blood pressure don’t just happen overnight, there is accompanying symptoms like:
• Persistent headaches;
• Changes in vision, including blurred vision, flashing lights, sensitivity to light and vision loss;
• Upper abdominal pain, usually on the right side;
• Sudden weight gain, typically more than 5 pounds (2.3 kilograms) a week.
• Very important to make sure the pregnant mothers is resting for at least 3-5 minutes in the position the blood pressure is going to be done and don’t talk! How often I hear of mothers wrongly diagnosed with high blood pressure due to their excitement, anxiety or wrong position.  If you don’t have the above symptoms of high blood pressure, please ask that it be taken again after an hour, while you rest and calm down.  Your gynecologist might be upset with your request but so much depends on the results of this measurement.

3.    Progress of Labour is not satisfactory to the Gynecologist, Care-Taker of Hospital personal.

• Anxiety or stress in the mother result in the slow onset of labour. You need high amounts of Oxytocin in labour and adrenaline is not helpful to Oxytocin production. Imagine a set of scales – as adrenaline goes up, the Oxytocin goes down. 

• When you have low adrenaline, the Oxytocin can go right on up and get that labour going.

• You might be familiar with the ‘flight or fight’ response we as humans have. If we feel anxious, unsafe or afraid, our body produces adrenaline, which pumps blood out to our limbs ready for escape or action. This means the response prevents more blood going to important locations for labour, including the uterus. Labour just shuts off or slows. In ‘flight or fight mode’, we don’t want our babies to come until we are in a safe place so we can ‘let go’.

• Pressure from your gynecologist to go into labour before the ‘due date’ is by no means a safe place to get labour going. 

How Do I Know If I Need to Be induced?

If you are offered an induction and the situation is not life threatening, always ask the following questions:

• What are the BENEFITS? (of this being done)
• What are the RISKS?
• Are there ALTERNATIVES? (other than this being done)
• Does it need to be done NOW?
• Can we have some privacy to make a DECISION?

Dear Mother, as you can see, something so simple as an induction can result in a whole heap of complicated stuff, so quickly.  Make sure of the facts before you give in to an induction!

With much love

Linnie

Are We Still Designed To Give Birth Naturally?

We fell pregnant with our first born, while I was still a dietitian, working at an infertility clinic and Christo a biomedical engineer. We were comfortable with the medical world and even knew the hospital personnel on first name terms due to Christo’s business.

My pregnancy went smooth and without any problems.  My gynecologist was an older gentleman, and earned my trust through the way he had compassion with me during my first miscarriage the previous year and advised me not to use the contraceptive pill only months after we got married and experienced the terrible side-effects there of. He trusted very much in all the medical gadgets available to measure and monitor pregnancies, and since he was my doctor, I trusted him in every decision he made.  

Photo courtesy Philips Research

He did a sonar with every 6 weeks visit, but did respect my decision for no blood tests. We never questioned the frequency of doing sonar’s or internal examinations. We also didn’t discuss a birth plan, natural birth or caesarians. I never really weighed up the pros and cons of natural births versus caesarians, I just assumed I will give natural birth.  What I knew about a caesarian was what we learned at the prenatal classes and the nurse who presented the classes was VERY pro natural birth and present it as a very positive experience.

Two days before my due date, I had a show in the middle of the night.  An hour later my water started leaking. We called the gynecologist at 7h00, and he instructed us to meet him in the maternity ward as soon as possible.  I wasn’t rushed at all, I experienced NO contractions what so ever, and went for a shower and blow dried my hair before we got in the car - two hours later.  By now my water was streaming down my legs and Christo had to line the seat of his brand new Volkswagen Jetta with black bags!  At the hospital the nurses were so relieved to see me, since my gynecologist was constantly checking on my arrival, since I already called him 7h00.  By now it was 9h30.  The ward personal was quite busy and without any fuss,  I was pushed into the line of duties for the day!  Without even knowing me in any way they started to shave me and gave me an enema to clean my bowels.  Next, they informed me, would be the induction, since I wasn’t experiencing any contractions yet.  But before they could put in the intravenous line, I had to run for the toilet!  Oh, what a shock to my body and mind!  Nobody prepared me on the effect of the enema.  Within seconds painful contractions was ripping through my body due to the irritation of the enema!  

After about an hour, (at 10h30) I found some balance again, the personnel made me comfortable in a bed and it seemed like I was stuck to the bed for the rest of labour! The intravenous drip with Oxytocin was slowly finding its way into my body. The gynecologist arrived and attached electrodes from a cardiotocograph to my unborn baby’s scalp to keep a constant monitor on his heart rate.  I also had a belt around my tummy monitoring the intensity of the contractions. 

No way of escape for me - I was “plugged in….” I couldn’t even go to the toilet anymore and had to use a bedpan.  Talk about uncomfortable! The whole time Christo was by my side in the spacious, bright white room, with lots of noises finding it’s way through the door and personal coming and going. I wasn’t at all prepared for the intensity of the pain and had to fight off contractions that flooded my body every 3 minutes lying still on my back, leaving me breathless at times.  So, I asked for an epidural by 11h00! Within minutes the anesthetist was next to my bed and 10 minutes later the pain was gone!  Wow, what bliss!  For the rest of the day, Christo and I was chatting and waiting, while listening to our baby’s heartbeat and watching in amazement how the contractions come and gone and increased in intensity, according to the monitor!  Every now and then a nurse marched into the room to check on baby and me.  

By 16h30 my Gynecologist visited me and checked my dilation.  He warned Christo that it wouldn’t be long now and if he wanted to have supper at the cafeteria, he needed to hurry!  At 17h00 the nurse checked me again and found me fully dilated.  Next a rush of events happened.  The nurse informed the gynecologist and called Christo. Nurses started running in and out of the room, arranging equipment around the bed and worse of all, strapping my legs in stirrups in the air!  It was a terrible feeling, the lifelessness in my legs!  The worst of all was knowing that my baby wanted to be born, I had to give birth to a baby, but I had no idea what to do. I wasn’t in control of my body anymore...due to the epidural. 

By 17h20 everyone was around the bed and the gynecologist urged me to push.  What?!  Where must I push, I cannot feel anything!  It isn’t possible to push!  The whole day they command me to stay in bed and relax, dripping liters of body foreign chemicals  into my system, from different angles and now I must be all up and arms (with legs in the air) and ready to push my baby out? Was it only me that cannot do it?  For what felt like hours, but actually only 10 minutes, they kept  instructing me “How to push”, with no success.  Then the gynecologist asked for equipment to help me deliver. It scared me so much to hear that he wanted to do an “instrument delivery” but there was no other option! I couldn’t give birth to my baby by myself. Due to the epidural my lower body was paralyzed making it impossible to “push” !  

Praise the Lord, my Son was born only minutes later, with no head injuries!  

As I think back to my son’s birth it is a miracle that he wasn’t born by caesarian!  Almost every single procedure that preceded the birth of my son, are contrary to what is the ‘natural way’ for the body! Here I shared how Prolactin, Endorphin and Oxytocin are the main birth hormones and how it is the baby who determines when he/she is ready to be born, through hormones released into the bloodstream when the lungs are fully matured. As the end of pregnancy draws nearer the Mother’s body automatically increases the secretion of Oxytocin. As the baby releases ‘extra’ hormones due to the matured lungs, the Mother’s body releases even more Oxytocin and enter the latent phase of labour. Mother will start to experience contractions (the very strong Braxton Hicks), which results in dilation and the cervix will start to thin out and a small bloodstained discharge can appear (not always).  

When observing the latent phase of my Firstborn’s birth, everything went according to my body and baby’s readiness.  At home I was in the latent phase of labour.

In my observation (over the past 10 years, being involved with many women in labour), as well as my personal experience of birth (8 babies later), the way the latent and active phase of labour is handled, determines a successful natural birth!  

It would be interesting to know what would have happened if I wasn’t pushed into the line of duties and pin to the bed, in a spacious, bright delivery room, with all kind of noises and activities. I would most probably very slowly went into the active phase of labour and would not have needed any induction. I had 6 babies the natural way away from the hospital procedures and with each one I went into the active phase after about 12 hours. My second baby was also an induced baby, more in a next posting.

The biggest antidote to the release of Oxytocin, is adrenaline. During the latent and active phase of labour the mother needs to withdraw and be by herself.  

This sense to withdraw, will be more or less for different women, all depending on their personality. 

An introvert Mother will need a lot of privacy and an extrovert Mother will sometimes need close friends and family.  The bottom line is, she wants to feel save, secure, loved; all due to Oxytocin and the overwhelming emotions and sensations she is experiencing. When the mother at any stage during the latent or active phase of labour experience anxiety, exposure to disturbing emotions, the release of Oxytocin will slow down and the latent or active phase will slow down, or can even stop.  Anxiety due to, too much movement, bright lights and spacious rooms, observations and procedures ‘necessary’ to monitor labour. Even a natural rush of excitement  (who will not get exited by the idea of their baby being born today) and normal distractions like too many things a mother still has to get in place before she has her baby, can result in the release of adrenalin. When labour then slow down or even stop, the ‘old school’ would probably sent a mother home with a ‘false labour’ message.  But now days, I seldom hear of women sent home with ‘false labour’, they rather keep you in hospital and intervene.  Next will follow induction (as in the case of my firstborn) or even breaking you waters (the case with my second birth), and then in 2 out of 3 cases labour will end in a caesarian.  

The labour will end in a caesarian because the body just did not have enough Oxytocin to ‘push it over the edge’ for the active phase and birth of the baby.   During this, the mother’s blood pressure would most probably skyrocket, only because of all the adrenaline and excitement and then the caring gynecologist would suggest a caesarian, with accompanying scary words like high blood pressure and preeclampsia. 

During the past year I know of more women giving birth by caesarian than women who had a normal birth, and it breaks my heart!  The saddest part is that it is mostly first pregnancies that end in caesarians.  These new Mothers, trust their doctors with their whole heart, the husband and father to be, trust the doctor with the lives of his wife and unborn child!  They believe the medical profession act with their best interests at heart and when the doctor suggest tests, scans and a certain procedures during labour, they believe, it is for their best!  And may I be so bold to say, a labour ending in a caesarian is seldom for the Mother and Babies best interests!  Oh, I know their are emergency cases, my 4th birth was an emergency case and we were heading for a caesarian.  But emergency cases don’t count for 66% of labors ending in caesarians, which is the ridiculous statistics for caesarians in South Africa!  

So what is the root of the problem?

-Mothers aren’t allowed to listen to their body, act on impulses of their body and let their body do the job at it’s own pace;

-Mothers aren’t allowed to move around in their own space;

-Mothers are talked into procedures which is mostly for the gynecologist and hospital staff’s convenience and not for the Mother and Baby’s best interest;

-Due to the high subscription to Medical Aids in South Africa, it is financially highly beneficial for the gynecologist and hospital to perform a caesarian. Exactly the opposite is true in the UK where caesarians are only performed as a last option, due to the high cost of the procedures carried by the national health care.

What can Mothers and especially First Time Mothers (and Fathers) do, to avoid a Caesarian?

-Educate yourself on the body’s ability to give birth, as God intend it to be!   Contrary to the medical propaganda that babies grow too big and mothers are too ‘small‘ to give birth naturally, God designed women to give birth naturally and He hasn’t change the design (I do know history testifies of such rare cases, but not 66% of cases!);

-Negotiate with your doctor so you are able to provide your body with all the 
desirable impulses of safety to go into labour naturally;

-Provide your body with the correct supplements (Omega 3 - the building block of hormones is a good start) so it can react on the right impulses. Read more about supplementing during pregnancy here (tips for breastfeeding mothers);

-Have a birth plan.  Know what can go wrong due to intervention and plan to avoid it;  

-Talk to mothers who had emergency caesarians and mothers who had normal births.  Why do you need to make the same mistakes as other, learn from their mistakes;

-Find out from your gynecologist what percentage of his patients end in caesarians (if it’s more than 10%, chances are good that he will push you into a caesarian with the usual scare tactics).

-Be specially aware if your baby’s time of birth is near a holiday, (Christmas) or your gynecologists annual vacation; 

-Often gynecologists are “very pro-natural birth” in the early months, but then during the last few weeks starts talking you into a caesarian, due to possible ‘complications’.  In the last few weeks no mother of father have the energy to argue with a gynecologist, with whom they have build a relationship for 6 to 7 months, and whom they trust.  The gynecologist knows that at the end of your pregnancy you are tired, you are big, you are full of anticipation to hold your baby, you’re not in a situation to find a second opinion and you just want to get it all over and done!  It is during this stage that they will tell you your baby is to big too be born naturally and you need a caesarian. If you resist, they will use the scare tactics on the caring husband. After all, what young husband would want to put his wife’s life in danger by putting her through a ‘high risk‘ natural birth - let alone that of the baby!  

-As you approach the 40 week mark, your gynecologist will start to put pressure on you and give you ultimatums (more on this topic in a follow-up posting) of expected delivery.  This unnecessary pressure will inhibit your body to produce Oxytocin in high enough levels.  

So many times I hear, it is not important how you baby was born, what is important is that mother and baby is safe and in good health.  Yes, I totally agree, but that is only a half truth!  

An unnecessary caesarian does not end in a healthy baby, automatically!  We daily encounter mothers with caesarian babies with health issues, as a direct result of the caesarian.  Babies born by caesarian all have gut problems which manifests as colic and/or constipation. No fun experience for a First-Time-Mother or any mother in that case.

Then there is the sad truth that the medical world don’t allow more than 4 caesarians, without a major battle!  I currently have a dear friend who is awaiting her sixth caesarian, but not without battles and constant ridicule from the medical world, well meaning friends and family. Praise the Lord for her gynecologist who is a believer in this case and trust the Lord for his patient and not his own abilities - quite unlike most other so called Christian doctors. 

Can I be honest with you and say unnecessary caesarians is the enemy’s most successful way to stop you from bringing forth Godly seed into this world.  Unnecessary Caesarians rob the World from Godly men and women who could change the World for God’s glory!

And therefore I urge Mothers to seek truth in this very important part of life, seek God and be not afraid!

With love

Linnie

"But the midwives feared God, 

and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them...

...Therefore God dealt well with the midwives,

and the people multiplied and grew very mighty."

Ex. 1:17;20

Michael Jonathan's Birth Story

As you may know by now, I had a show on Thursday morning and started having stronger, regular contractions during the day.  I started taking certain remedies to strengthen the uterus and pelvic muscles, to ensure, if it was real labour and prevent the contractions from stopping, like Raspberry Leaf tea. 

During the morning CJ and I worked in the vegetable garden.  Our first batch of beans was finished and we took out the remainder of it.  We replanted some of our herbs and prepared the soil of this second bed for the Rainbow Corn Heidi-Mari sowed in seedling trays a few weeks ago.  She sowed it in seedling trays, since we did not have space in the beds at that time.  I enjoyed the time in the vegetable garden with CJ so much, although I couldn’t actually bend forward or sit down or reach the ground, anymore!  CJ was such a star, knowing his mom needed the distraction and activity to get the contractions going, while he did everything I asked him to do.

By 11h00 we went into the house and every child started with his/her maths for the day.  During this half an hour the contractions got closer, about 6min apart and more intense.  Christo was at work and I had to keep him up to date by the hour.  

By 14h00 Christo came to fetch CJ for a horse riding lesson and since my contractions was rhythmic every 5-7 minutes and longer than 60 seconds, he decided not to go back to work but came home to keep an eye me.  We even went for a half an hour nap together, while the little ones were having their nap.

The rest of the afternoon I kept myself busy with doing laundry, cleaning bathrooms, putting away stuff scattered around the house. I also took care of our organic fruit and vegetables which we receive every Thursday at Eirene Health Shop

and prepared dinner.  During dinner I realized that the contractions were not as rhythmic and strong as earlier the afternoon.  There were even periods of 15min with NO contractions.  I know from experience I have to focus when I am in labour.  My contractions can stop very easily, when there are too much distractions.  Feeding and bathing little ones fit the criteria to distract my focus from labour.  So Christo and I went for a walk at 19h00.  CJ, Heidi-Mari and Josua would clean up the dinner-table and kitchen, Danika would keep Andrew and David busy and Christo put Daniel in the ergo on his back so he could be with us.

We took a brisk 30min walk around the neighborhood and although there were a few strong contractions, they were not as strong as I would expect after 13 hours in labour.  But then they got stronger again and Christo and CJ started filling the birth pool.  

The birth pool takes 2 full geysers and they wanted to play safe to make sure they got it filled in time.  I was only 3cm dilated, but had a few very strong contractions 3min apart and I called the midwife to warn her that she’s possibly going to catch a baby sometime during the night.  Christo and the children were watching a DVD - “Wall E” while I took short naps between contractions, until I got one very strong one, that got me wide awake!

At 20h30 we put the little ones to bed and I put Daniel on my breast to enhance the labour.  During the 15min he was on my breast I had 5 VERY strong contractions and actually started panicking for the intensity and length of the contractions.  We called the midwife and she arrived at 21h30.  Again my contractions become irregular and the intensity and length was less.  I paced the house, became extremely tired and decided to lay down for a while, while Christo and Jenny sat chatting in the living room.

About an hour later a very strong contraction woke me up,  they were rhythmic and strong again.  By now I was 7cm dilated and quite excited.  I was ready to get into the bath and from previous experience, I expected baby to be born in the next 90min, possibly before midnight!

As I got into the bath, I again couldn’t believe the relieve of the pain I experienced from the warm water and effect it had on my tense muscles.  And then... the contractions stoped again!  I even fell asleep at one stage only to wake up and see it was midnight and I still didn’t have strong enough contractions to indicate baby will be born soon.  

By now Christo was giving me Caulophyllum and Cimicifuga every 10 minutes. You can read about the remedies during birth on his blog. Somewhere during this time I got a terrible pain on the left side of my back.  This immediately added to my stress of not being fully in labour.  With the little knowledge I have of labour it reminded me that back pain during labour, could be due to an incorrect birth position of baby. At 00h30 the midwife gave me a choice:  We could either let the process go on naturally, leaving me with another few hours of labour, or we could break my waters and speed up the process.  With all my water births the midwife broke my water at some stage, so without hesitation we decided to break my waters.  At this stage my body was in total shock with all the pain, especially the back pain, but Jenny kept reminding me baby was in the right birth position and I needed to ‘relax’ and trust the Lord.  I knew I had to trust the Lord and took all the mental strength I had left, to get myself focused on the Lord. The whole time while I was in labour we played Michael W Smith’s Worship DVDs and I took especially courage in his reading Ps 139 and his song “Everywhere I go I see You”! Christo also gave me some rescue drops, cell food and opened up a Coral 8 capsule and put the powder in my mouth.  Baby’s heart beat was high and my pulse was high too.

The back pain was so bad, that I could hardly feel the contractions.  When thinking back now, I think this was the worse part of the labour.  With contractions you have a rhythm, the contraction comes, works itself up to a climax and gives you a few seconds of relief before the next contraction comes.  With the intense back pain, there weren’t any moments of relief.  It was a constant pain, with contractions in between.  

Half an hour later there was still no progress.  I could see Jenny was becoming worried about baby and me, but baby’s heart beat was back to normal again and my pulse too.  It was 01h20 and I was still only 7cm dilated and my cervix wasn’t softened out and baby’s head still needed to move down about 3 cm. I was exhausted and panicking - how was I going to get this baby out?

It was then that Jenny suggested that with the next contraction, she’s going to manipulate the cervix to see if it will help baby’s head coming down.  She put on one glove and with the next contraction was ready. Christo was supporting me from outside the pool.  I’ve also decided that with every contraction, I would just push this baby down.  I remember Jenny asking, “Do you feel like pushing or are you just pushing?”  I was just pushing.  Within seconds I felt baby’s head crowning.  The moment Jenny pushed the cervix back, baby’s head had enough space and came down!  There wasn’t even time for Jenny to put on another glove, baby was ready to be born!  As I was pushing, I could feel baby coming out, but then we got stuck!  There was no contraction, but I heard Jenny and Christo urging me to push. I didn’t know it then, but baby’s shoulder was stuck!  Christo afterwards said, he could see Jenny’s muscles bulge as she literally had to pull Michael out. After what felt like hours (according to Christo about 2min) and with the help of another contraction, I felt the amazing relief of baby being born under the water! This was the most amazing moment of my life!  The next moment Jenny lifted our little baby out of the water, and with great curiosity checked if it was a boy or a girl!  Praise the Lord, our perfect little boy was safely in my arms!

  

For the next ten minutes I could only cry out in relief to my Lord and Savior for the amazing thing He had done!

Right through the delivery all the children were fast asleep!  The children were a huge concern of mine. Daniel is cutting molars and he woke up every night during the past two weeks, before Michael’s birth, between 03h00 and 05h00. We had a plan for the older children on what to do if he woke up, but it wouldn’t be without Daniel crying and he would be totally out of his sleeping routine.  I have the custom to fast coffee the last 40 days of every pregnancy and lay before the Lord all my fears and concerns.  Some of my concerns that I put before the Lord were the timing of the day that would make it the easiest on the little ones, the fear for the pain, a safe delivery and a healthy mother and baby.  The Lord was so faithful, as usual.  After we praised the Lord and where sure baby was okay, Christo went to call CJ, Josua, Heidi-Mari and Danika.  

CJ, who’s room is at the total opposite side of the house, said he woke up at 01h20 and couldn’t go back to sleep. This was the exact time when Jenny decided to give a hand with the cervix.  I also heard from two other close friends, how they woke up at exactly 01h20 and where prompted to pray for us.  Danika, who is sharing a room with Heidi-Mari, right next to our room, said she heard baby’s first cry and was just waiting for Daddy to come and call her to meet her new brother/sister!

It was so special to see their faces of adoration when they first laid eyes on their newborn baby brother!  

Then they quietly went back to their beds.  The little ones didn’t have an idea want happened and slept until 07h00 the morning!

As soon as Heidi-Mari could get CJ out of his bed, she bombarded him to help her put up the ‘It’s a Boy’-banner she’d made to let the neighbours know baby has arrived. 

They are so proud to tell the world they got another brother!

This was my most difficult birth yet! Even with my recovery taking longer, looking back I just realized again - It is such a miracle and I will do it again!  Without my loving husband’s constant encouragement and support, 

my competent midwife and the Helping Right Hand of the Lord, I could never have done it!

Praise the Lord!