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Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Childbirth, breastfeeding, etc.

March 22, 2008, from an older blog

I educated myself quite a bit when I was pregnant, I had a doula (birth assistant), Degra, who helped me to learn about how natural the process of childbirth is, my husband and I attended childbirth classes and we went on to have a completely unmedicated pregnancy and delivery.  I had a wonderful team supporting me...my husband and my doula, as well as a great delivery nurse, she was very supportive of natural childbirth.  My doctor unfortunately was out of town and the doctor that delivered my son (I found out later), has a very high incidence of encouraging his patients to have epidurals as well as having lots of c-sections. My lactation consultant said his is the King of Interventions.  And my doctor was amazed that I had a natural childbirth with him there! It is amazing to me what a woman’s body is capable of.  And it makes me sad when women don’t educate themselves and just believe everything the doctors say.  I know that doctors are smart, but doctors are also in too much of a hurry.  When it comes to childbirth the doctors would prefer for you to lay in a bed medicated and quiet.  And if things don’t progress as quickly as they would like they give c-sections.  Don’t get me wrong, I know there are circumstances that warrant c-sections, and I know they can save lives.  But, I also believe that there are more c-sections done than needed.  If you are induced, if you have an epidural, if you don’t stand up for yourself, etc., these things can lead to c-sections.  Anyone interested in more info should look up ICAN (The International Cesarean Awareness Network) I also think that breastfeeding is best.  I  breastfed my son exclusively for six months before starting any solids, then we continued on until about 15 months.  It was wonderful.  I really enjoyed the closeness that I got to enjoy with my son.  I didn’t enjoy pumping when I was at work, but it was a small price to pay for him to have the best, healthy start to life.  For more info and support I recommend Le Leche League, I started attending meetings before my son was born.  It is great to have a support group before you get started, that way you can ask all of your questions.  There are many great books out about pregnancy, childbirth and breatsfeeding...if you are pregnant...you should be reading them!  And BabyZone website is an awesome place if you are pregnant or a parent!

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