Why Your Birth Plan Doesn’t Matter
A former work colleague of mine had her baby yesterday — there were plenty of pictures posted on Facebook and somehow she managed to look amazing in all of them. (I had a no photo rule for two weeks…more on that later). There was one in particular that seemed to be her holding her new daughter immediately after birth — the look of wonder and love of meeting for the first time was incredible. It was a beautiful shot — and yet I couldn’t help but finding myself a little jealous.
I was blessed earlier this year with AB. In the year prior, I had multiple good friends who also had babies — all but one ended up with C-sections (and she WAS pressured, but held firm since it wasn’t a medical emergency). I watched “The Business of Being Born” and got angry about the rising number of sections (one third of US births!!) and the footage of doctors telling women that their labor was “taking too long.” I was determined that this would NOT happen to me. I had selected a highly recommended midwife and birthing center. There would be no pain meds, let alone surgery. I was strong. I was resolute. I had it all planned out. But none of it went according to my birth plan.
AB was stubborn even before she arrived. She did not want to leave the coziness of my belly. Forty weeks came and went and she had yet to make her appearance. There were plenty of false alarms, or perhaps more accurately described as wishful thinking. My midwife scheduled me to come in at 41 weeks for a little “natural encouragement.” There would be no labor-stimulating drugs of course (a sure recipe for a C-section!), instead I drank special tea, had the lovely experience of membrane stripping, and was sent to walk around Target for two hours.
That did the trick. The contractions got serious and we rushed back to the birthing center. Our midwife confirmed — we were not going home today. We got settled into our birthing room, which was painted a calming shade of green, had a large double bed and a spa tub that I happily hopped in to await the real business. And boy did it get real.
I don’t think anything can prepare you for the pain that is labor. Hours went by, but we were progressing steadily, and soon enough our midwife was setting up to “catch” AB. In an excited voice she told us, “we will have a baby by midnight!” I glanced at the clock — 5:30pm — ok, well, that wasn’t quite seven hours — my friend labored for almost thirty, so I guess this was doable.
Some more time went by and then it was time to push. And push. And push. And push. “I can see her! Look at all that dark hair!” Push. Push. Push. Push. I begged for pain meds (too bad!) “She’s almost here!” Push. Push. Push. Push. Silence. Push. Push. Push. Push. Concerned looks. Push. Push. Push. “Is she getting closer?” I gasped. Nods. But no confidence behind them. Annabelle was not budging. The pain was unbearable. Hours went by. Midnight came and went. And AB still did not budge.
As we headed into the early morning hours, my heart began to sink. I saw tears in my midwife’s eyes. “She’s not getting any closer is she?” I asked. Her head shook. “We can go another half hour, but then we have to make a tough decision,” she said in a sad voice. I knew then what was happening. Soon enough she was calling an ambulance to transport me to the closest hospital. My parents packed up our things, my husband climbed into the ambulance with me, and we began the journey to the unknown.
We had never been to the hospital. We didn’t know the doctors or the nurses and they didn’t know us. They didn’t bother to check the papers our midwife had faxed over, so as I waited for a surgery room to open, I was poked and pricked as they redid ALL of my bloodwork. All the while, they bad-mouthed my midwife for letting me “suffer” this long. No matter that I was the one who insisted on pushing for hours — I did not want to “give up” — I still didn’t. But I knew that I couldn’t get this baby out on my own. It was a sucky feeling.
After two hours of patiently (ha ha!) waiting, and enduring an excruciating contraction that rocked my body every ten minutes (I had managed to slow down labor, but obviously couldn’t stop it), they were ready for me in surgery. To say I was terrified would be an understatement. I was about to let a woman I had met literally minutes ago cut me open. I was not mentally prepared at all. The only thing that gave me strength was knowing that I would soon have spinal anesthesia and the pain would mercifully stop.As they wheeled me into surgery, the anesthesiologist sternly informed me that I needed to hold still in order for him to perform the injection. My response: “I’M NOT &#$@ING MOVING. DO IT.” Within seconds I was paralyzed from chest to toes — I took deep breaths and tried not to think about how scary it was to be unable to move. People bustled around me (thankfully, my husband was allowed to sit next to me) they led him in, scrubbed and masked. I just stared at him and willed myself not to look up where the metal light fixtures reflected what was happening below. (I mean, seriously guys?!) “Making the first incision.” I felt tugged and stretched like my skin was leather. “Waa!” Already?! That was my baby?! And there she was! After all that time, (my midwife’s appointment was at 10am on Wednesday, it was now 7:21am on Thursday) she was finally here.
Poor little AB had a conehead from being squeezed and pushed for a full day. And she was tired too. Too tired to even cry. She just looked around with those huge eyes. They took Matt and AB away while they stitched me up. The most boring and lonely 45 minutes of my life. Then I was sent away to recovery and reunited with my family.
There are no pictures of me with my newborn baby. There are no pictures of me in the hospital. Or coming home days later. I knew during labor (and was correct in my assumption) that my eyes were full of blood from straining. I was dirty, sweaty, hair was everywhere. I didn’t want to remember looking that way. I wanted to forget the entire process of getting AB here. I felt cheated. I felt like a failure. No matter how many times Matt thanked me, or told me I did amazing, or how brave I was, it didn’t matter. I had envisioned what I called a “Lion King moment,” where AB was hoisted up in the air for all to see after I heroically pushed her to freedom, pain be damned! I was supposed to get to hold her immediately, my baby that I had carried for all these months. Instead I got just a glimpse as they pushed my guts aside and pulled her out of my stomach. My arms were strapped to the bed.
It’s taken a long time to come to terms with our birth story. To not feel robbed of what I thought birth was supposed to be like. I felt like a huge jerk for telling everyone how I would NOT be pressured into a C-section that I didn’t want. I had thought that I was somehow better, or stronger than my friends and all the other women who had “caved” to their doctor’s pressure. I had been knocked, or rather slammed, off my high horse.
What really matters is that AB is here. She was delivered safely (she was never in danger…I knew from months of kicking and punching in my belly that she was a tough, tough baby). I was beaten up, but I was ok, I would heal. At least now I had something in common with all my friends — we not only traded baby stories, but recovery stories as well.
Any regrets? There’s no point in that. Will I ever try again? I don’t know Would I try again for natural birth? Not sure. Sign up for a C-section right off the bat? I’d still hesitate to sign up for that torture. Try the epidural (which I had demonized) and allow my body to relax at least? Possibly. Fortunately, I don’t need to make any of those decisions for a long time. The memories of that day have faded somewhat, and I’m sure that as the years go by I will hardly think about how AB got here. But every now and then, as happened today, I am reminded that you can think and dream and plan and hope all you want, but childbirth is still a miracle and a mystery that we can’t fully understand, much less control.
It’s never a waste of time to have a birth plan, but keep in mind that it is just that, a plan. And things don’t always go according to plan! One thing I wish I had added to my birth plan was what to do in the case that I DID need a c-section, but I wouldn’t even consider the possibility until I was in that very moment of necessity. So plan away mamas, but don’t be so attached to that birth plan that you feel like a failure if it doesn’t work out exactly as you’d hoped. Getting your baby here safely…any way you can…is what matters most!
Disclaimer: This post is based on my own personal experience; I am not a medical professional. Consult your trusted care provider when making preparations for childbirth.
Related Posts:
Why You Should Plan for a C-Section (Even if You Don’t Want One)
102 Things You Never Say to A Pregnant Woman
- 50 Things To Say To Kids Instead Of “Be Careful” - March 24, 2025
- Easter Bunny Cinnamon Rolls - March 20, 2025
- Easter Peeps Fruit Kabobs - March 18, 2025
This is…beautiful!
Thank you so much!
You are very welcome!
Stacey, I couldn’t read this without stinging tears. I was (and continue to be) blessed with Elizabeth’s birth 17 years ago, and I was thrilled that I would finally get a chance to experience a labor and delivery on my own terms, with my husband. Casey’s heart rate had a different plan, and within 3 hours of being at the hospital to just get checked, there she was, born via cesarean. Cheated. Failure.
A few years later, my friend’s 21-day-old daughter was brought home from the hospital to die in her parents’ arms, in the nursery they had prepared months before for her. Had there been a c-section earlier in my friend’s labor, her daughter might be alive today. [MIGHT. I won’t pretend that it’s a certainty.] That horror allowed me, for the first time, to thank God for my healthy girl BECAUSE of how she was born.
But I can’t help myself, even now. I read a story like yours, and the sting is there. The tears, the cheat, the failure – it’s all fresh again.
I’m so sorry it’s part of your story. But I’m so glad that the BIGGER story is Annabelle, which is the one you’ll smile about and be able to focus on much more frequently than how she arrived.
You are right– we are so lucky to have the option when a normal delivery is not possible– I definitely do not take that for granted. I know the nurses told me Annabelle was never in danger, but in my heart I feel there could have been a very different situation had we not made the decision to accept the extra help getting her out. There were (and are) so many emotions to process, but I am thankful every day for our sweet girl.
So very happy for you to have a healthy little girl! I too had an emergency c-section. At 33 weeks I developed severe preeclampsia, was rushed to another to have our baby delivered by a doctor we didn’t know and an array of medical students. I learned a year later when I was pregnant with my second that after a year of thinking I could try again for a natural delivery, that dream was shattered as I was never told my emergency inner incision was horizontal and would easily rupture during labor contractions. So we had another c-section. That’s definitely something you should be sure to know.
Eek! I didn’t know there were different types of incisions (though that does make sense)! Obviously I was not educated at all about C-sections because naively I just never thought it could happen to me.
I know we are all so grateful for a healthy baby, but because of this, we don’t always feel like it’s ok to grieve the experience we had hoped for. Having experienced loss and knowing others who have as well, it feels almost wrong to complain about any of it as long as the outcome is good. But I wanted to share because I think that it is part of the healing process, and we DO deserve that much.
Thank you for reading and for sharing your story too 🙂
This was so beautifully written my friend. We all have a plan on how we will bring our child in to the world (believe me mine did not include 30 hours of labor), but childbirth never goes as planned. However Annabelle came in to this world, she is here and she is so incredibly beautiful; and, you are one of the strongest, most resilient, and caring mommies I know- to both of your daughters- and that is what matters most! Xoxo
You may be who I was referring to about the 30 hours of labor 😉 And you are still one of the few people I know who did not end up with a C-section! Thank you for reading <3 you!
I have so many feelings when reading this. I am so sorry you felt like this and it makes me so sad that society makes us Mom’s have major guilt when things don’t go the “perfect” way. And who makes up which is the “perfect” way. I feel this is similar to breastfeeding. It is made to seem selfish and horrible and “how could you do that to your baby, you are a horrible mom” if it breastfeeding doesn’t go well for you and you end up having to use formula. It takes away from the fact that at the end when your kids leave the nest, whether they were born vaginally or via c-section or whether they were breastfed or formula fed has absolutely no bearing on who your children are and how successful they will be in life. 🙂 Why has this become such a big deal to have the most natural birth as possible…it feels like a competition that people are just trying to win instead of realizing that everyone wins no matter how they get there when they hold their babies in their arms.
Anyways, love your blog. 🙂 I’ll keep reading.
You’re so right– when your child is all grown up, it really doesn’t matter how they entered this world 🙂 I wouldn’t say that I feel “guilty” about not having a successful natural birth, but it does make me a little sad that the experience was not what I had hoped for. I had little to no say in how things went once I was at the hospital and didn’t even get to hold my baby until over an hour later. I was the one who got her here, but I was the last one to meet her! (after my husband and my parents) I hope to educate more women to be prepared for all outcomes so they have more of a voice and to have an advocate to speak up for their wishes in case things get hectic. I won’t make that mistake again! Thank you so much for your kind comments and for sharing your thoughts Carolyn!
Sorry to say but this was the most boring story of all. You kept jumping from one thing to the next. I could not keep track. So what they they didn’t let you do what you want to do, you needed an emergency c-section. There was no time for you to be a princess. They were more worried about your kid than kissing your ass.
And I am NOT sorry to say, this is the rudest comment I’ve ever received. Hope you feel better for unloading on me.
Hi Stacey,
Thank you for sharing your story. I ended up laboring for over 30 hours, and despite all the progress I made during my labor, the rate of progress slowed to a halt. I ended up having a C-section, and I hemorrhaged after my C-section, losing 2 liters of blood and needing a transfusion. I felt like my body failed on me, and I felt like a failure. It was traumatic for me, and the entire experience has begun to interfere with my sex life with my husband. I’m scared to have sex, because I’m scared of getting pregnant and having to do it all over again or worse. I’m learning that recovering from one’s childbirth experience can be a long process, and it’s not just physical.
Sorry if that’s TMI, but I share it all to give you a sense of where I’m coming from and to say thank you. Thank you for sharing your story, because it’s an encouragement in my recovery process to know that I’m not alone. Birth stories are all so different, and sometimes I feel like the only ones that I hear are the “success” stories of natural, unmedicated, or vaginal births. Thank you for telling your story with honesty and vulnerability. <3
– Emily
Hi Emily – Thank you for sharing your story too. I wish I’d seen more stories like this before/after I delivered too – I also felt like a failure! But there are so many c-section mamas out there, and we are champs!