The Woolly Mom

Not too long ago Jamie Lynn Spears had a baby. I know, who cares, right? It wasn’t nearly as clever or funny as Juno. And even that movie was pretty forgettable. But there is a little something about this

knocked-up teen drama that kind of stuck with me: The rumors of her having a c-section. The culmination of those rumors being that Jamie (I refuse to repeat both of her names over and over, the rest of the world can get by with one name, and so can she) was advised by docs to have a cesarean, but ultimately refused and delivered vaginally.

I hear a lot about this type of obstinance from a lot of sources - friends, friends of friends, family, and my latest visits to the behemoth mom site, www.cafemom.com. But why is there this pressure on mommies to deliver vaginally?

My Lily was delivered via c-section. Completely unplanned. I prepared myself mentally and physically for the pain of natural birth for months ahead of my due date. I took the Lamaze classes where I was told that natural birth was the “right experience” and is “beautiful and fulfilling”. My teacher never once covered the what-ifs about unexpected cesareans. Huh. So I was completely dumbfounded when I was told two days before my due date that my girl had turned breech. To quote the doctor, “Uh-oh, I feel feet!”. Was this the end of the world? What about my natural, fulfilling experience? What about my rite of passage as a mother?

I believe my words were, “F*ck it!”. This is what my baby needed medically. It’s what I needed medically. I carried this child for nine months, I felt every kick and turn. And on that operating table, I gave up my body completely - getting turned and pulled this way and that. Getting cut in deep and disgusting ways. And they pulled my baby out from inside of me. Healthy. Beautiful. And large and in charge. All 9 lbs. 9 oz. of her!

I gave birth to that girl. Even if my vajay-jay remains blissfully in tact, I gave birth to that girl every bit as much as a mom who vaginally births. And I have a wicked scar to prove it. I’ll tell you what else, if pain sacrifice is any indication of having “birthed” your baby, then us c-section moms super-birth our babies. My pain may have come on the tail-end of the procedure, but it was sharp, ever-present, nauseating pain that lasted for weeks. Not hours - weeks.

It’s not what I planned. It’s not even what I packed for. But I wouldn’t hesitate for one second to be sliced open again and give up my “natural plan” if it’s what my baby needs. And yet, I’m an outcast in the mommy world for this. Shun the non-believer!

Well screw ‘em, c-section mommies! We should all be proud of what we’ve done, and what we’ve been through. Besides, I could have sex with my husband just 6 weeks after giving birth. Could the vaginal moms say that? I thought not! Ha!

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This entry was posted on Friday, June 27th, 2008 at 1:30 pm and is filed under Health & Safety, Pregnancy & Baby Planning. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.