Birth Stories

Women all over the world often share their birth stories with one another as a way to bond with one another. Birth stories also serve another valuable purpose, they serve as a verbal history for the earliest development of a child. As the mother of three children I have shared the stories of my children's birth with many people, including pediatricians and therapist.
I had my first two children when I was a teenager and was not fully aware of what was happening in my body as I brought another person into the world. In my twenties I gave birth to our youngest and was more aware of my labor and the changes taking place in my body.

On April 20, 2014, I sat in my Ob's office as he told me he wanted to induce labor because he feared that the baby was getting to big and he feared that I was going to need a c-section. He gave me the option of the next day which was Friday or the following Monday. We choose Monday so we would have the weekend to prepare. At 10:00 am on Monday morning we went to the hospital, got checked in and I was hooked to an IV with Pitocin to induce labor. I labored comfortably making some progress for two hours. At 12:00 pm my OB came in to check on my progress and to break my water to help speed my labor along. At this point I was having several small and inconsistent contractions and the doctor was concerned. After several increases in my dosage of Pitocin I began to get uncomfortable and was having regular contractions. At 3:00 pm I was told by the nurse that the doctor was on his way back and had ordered an Epidural and the anesthesiologist was on his way. I had not wanted an epidural, but because the nurse and doctor felt that I was not progressing as they wanted I was going have a cesarean section and the epidural was necessary. I was helped back into bed and was checked again for progress, the nurse surprised everyone letting us know I was fully dilated and the baby was coming. There was no time for an epidural, eighteen minutes later we welcomed our daughter Annika into the world weighing in 7pounds even and measuring 19 inches long. After her birth Annika weighed, measured, examined and given eye drops before she was put in my arms. Once she was in my arms we were able to bond and the nurses left me and my husband alone for two hours for bonding. The lights were dimmed and the room stayed quiet and we had no interruptions. At the two hour mark we were transferred from labor, delivery and recovery to the maternity ward, where Annika and stayed for 24 hours. The next day we were discharged from the hospital.

I think that Annika's birth story is a very common story in which mom's are pressured into inducing labor because medical professionals feel Annika was not too big, she was not overdue but I listened to the medical experts. For many women this doesn't turn out as my delivery did, with a vaginal-pain free delivery, but with a delivery that ends with a c-section.

The childbirth experience in Sweden is different than in the United States. In Sweden the majority of women receive prenatal care via a midwife, with only medical intervention if there are complications. Sweden is one of the safest places to have a baby while the United States ranks number 27th.
Maybe less intervention is better...