At some point or another during your pregnancy you will be asked what your birth plan is. In my case, I was asked multiple times. I kept telling my OB that I wasn’t sure what I wanted. But the truth was that I had known since before I had gotten pregnant what I wanted. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I wanted a C-section. I don’t have the highest pain threshold and I had only ever heard how painful childbirth was.
Finally, I admitted to my OB that I wanted a C-section. Her first question to me was why. I took my time and carefully explained my reasoning to her. What she said next surprised me. She explained that if I wanted to go the less painful route, then a C-section was not the answer. I hadn’t factored in the pain of recovery into my thinking. I was sold on the idea of a vaginal delivery, with the assist of an epidural of course. I was happy to have finally opened up to my doctor and with a new plan in place we anxiously awaited the arrival of my little belly bean.
On the evening of July 12th 2018, I went into labor. I spent quite awhile in denial about it and it was after midnight by the time I actually called the labor and delivery triage line. And it was two in the morning before we checked into the hospital. I was only three and half centimeters dilated when we checked in, still awhile to go. The nurse asked if I was going to want an epidural and I told her that I would eventually. I split my time between being monitored and walking laps. The contractions grew more intense as time passed but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. Well, until it wasn’t.
While doing some more laps I realized it was time for an epidural. It took all my strength just to make it back to the triage room. I alerted the nurse that I was more than ready for my epidural. Come to find out there was currently no anesthesiologist available, but she assured me that I could get pain meds in my IV. But then she realized that they hadn’t checked how dilated I was in quite some time. As it turned out I was nine centimeters dilated.
It hits me that that meant it was go time. There I was facing the absolute last thing I wanted, natural child birth. So much for having a birth plan. Luckily, I had my mom, my husband, and several nurses to coach me through. It actually still amazes me how little it hurt. I felt no pain as long as I pushed right along with the contractions. At 6:59am on July 13th, our beautiful baby girl made her entrance into the world. And although things didn’t go according to plan, I wouldn’t change the experience for anything.
Discussing your options and creating a birth plan are definitely important steps to take during pregnancy. But it’s also okay to let go of those plans if necessary. Of course, it’s also important to not let yourself be forced into something you don’t want. There’s a fine line between adjusting your birth plan because of medical necessity and making a change just because it’s what somebody else wants. Find a way to stick up for yourself while also going with the flow. You might just surprise yourself with what you’re capable of.
