Better Than a Birth Plan

April is Cesarean (or C-section) awareness month, so let’s talk C-sections. Having a Cesarean section is no joke, but two years ago, I delivered my child via emergency cesarean section after many hours of labor and subsequent fetal heart rate decelerations, fetal distress. If you knew me while I was pregnant you know that I had extreme, persistent nausea and vomiting for the first trimester of the pregnancy, so I was anxious because I had gone through a previous miscarriage, but after the nausea and vomiting subsided, I was anxiously anticipating the arrival of my baby girl. 

They said my baby girl was due January 29, 2018. However, that due date came and went, so an induction of labor was scheduled for February 1, 2018. FYI: Induction is when the mother is brought into the hospital and given Pitocin in order to get her to go into labor. I was induced at 40 weeks. After hours of labor, little progression and my baby’s heart rate plummeting, an emergency C-section became necessary. 

When I found out I needed to have a C-section with my first baby, I was disappointed as it wasn’t the experience I’d hoped for. My plan had been a natural childbirth, so when my birth plan didn’t go as planned, I felt instant grief for the birth that I had imagined. My mother had given birth naturally to me and my sister, and my sister had also given birth naturally to her daughter so I wanted to give birth naturally to my daughter too — but to ensure my baby was safe and healthy, I agreed to the operation, filled with tears. I gave up my plan and I rested in God’s plan for me.

That afternoon, I was rolled to the operating room, and the doctor began the surgery. An incision was made through the wall of my abdomen and then the wall of my uterus and before I knew it, my daughter had entered the world.  She was here, alive and breathing. Although nothing went according to my birth plan, God had other plans and His way is always better. That C section was better than my birth plan. No, it wasn’t done the old-fashioned way. No, nothing immediately following her birth went as I would have liked. But I still gave birth to a beautiful healthy baby girl through surgery. Glory to Jesus Christ, the surgery was a success and I recovered from it pretty easily. 

“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” Proverbs 19:21 ESV 

In honor of Cesarean Section Awareness Month, let it be understood once and for all: Having a C-section is not the easy way out ... C-sections, and other medical interventions, are gifts from God to preserve life. Also, my advice to first-time moms is to be flexible about your birth plan as anything can change in the moment. Chances are good that you will be able to deliver your baby through the birth canal (vaginal birth). But there are cases when a C-section is needed for the safety of the mother or baby. So even if you plan on a vaginal birth, it's a good idea to learn about C-section, in case the unexpected happens — and just remember that regardless of how you choose to or end up having a baby—through natural delivery, use of epidural, or C-section — it is worthy of praise.