K8 So glad your baby is doing super and you are also. Hows the husband HAHA. Thank you for the post the more post the more veiws people will have.

Smile

Sheilah

Wow--what a traumatic experience!  I'd hate to add to the painful memory, but why were you induced in the first place?  Were you allowed to walk (this helps to get labor going)?  When you were trying to push the baby out, were you in an upright position?  Being on your back cuts the pelvic opening (I'm talking BONES) by about 30%, so that alone could have contributed to the difficulty in getting the baby to come out.  Before you commit to a c/s with your next baby, do some research--start by visiting www.ican-online.org. Good luck and I'm so glad your baby is doing well!

It all began when my water broke at the doctor's office during my regular visit.  Due to this i was sent right to the hospital (hubby in tow) where they induced me since I was dialating but not having contractions.  I did get up a little to walk, but a downside of being in the hospital is that I was hooked up to an IV and blood pressure monitor so walking was awkward.  As if that wasn't enough trouble I was leaking fluids so walking just caused a messy trail! While in labor I was sitting upright in the bed.  My experience sounds horrible.  my husband does not like to talk about it because he had a first hand view of it all.  I know there are pros and cons of each side of the argument and the best thing to do is be educated.  Thanks for the website link. 

Again, so sorry about your experience.  For future reference, 80% of women will go into labor spontaneously within 24 hours of water breaking.  I'm not a doctor and obviously don't have all the info, but if it had been me I would have insisted on waiting because pitocin is nasty stuff indeed.

wow what an experince! I couldent imagne, I have had 3 kids my youngest I also just had in July, and I was verry lucky to not have any complacations with any  , I never even needed stiches.. my sister on the other hand demanded a ultrasound right befor she gave birth because she knew her baby was going to be big, so when they gave her one and relized that her baby was over 10 pounds they did a c-section without even trying a vaginal birth, your doctors should have checked to see how big you baby was.. but im so glade to hear that you and baby are doing well, and I wish you the best!

Women give birth to 10lb+ babies vaginally (and drug free and at home) all the time.  Our bodies are smart!  Additionally, ultrasounds are notoriously terrible for guessing baby weight (can be off by as much as 2lbs in either direction).  C-sections are dangerous and should be avoided at all costs.

Oh, I am so sorry for your experience.  Truly awful.  I wonder why you were induced to begin with?  This is unnatural and generally not good for you or the baby.  Also, the epidural causes positioning problems as well, since you cant move and the baby actually has to travel up to get out.  Maybe it would have turned out the same way, but I would consider it.  Having had a c-section and a vaginal birth I would recommend staying away with everything you got the section.  I hope you heal OK, and know that you can take control.  Every birth is different.  See www.ican-online.com

Check out www.thebusinessofbirthing.com And before you get pregnant again find another OB. I just wrote a very eloquent letter but it got wiped out. ;(   I'll try to recreate it tomorrow. But I have other posts that you might have already read.

Your "stuck" baby would have more likely fared better if he were born at home with midwives. Shoulder dystocia is handled much better by midwives, who are skilled at having you change positions to allow the baby to work his way out. However, if you are drugged up and immobile, then not much can be done for you except cutting you open.

I recently pushed out my 9+ pound baby at home. She was also "stuck" for a minute. My midwife had me stand up and squat a little. This opened my pelvis wider, and she came out within a minute, no problem.

This is why statistics show that when you get an epidural, your chance of having a C-section goes up 2 to 3 times. That is the risk you take. Complications arise MUCH MORE FREQUENTLY when you are medicated and lying in a hospital bed with doctors and nurses surrounding you who are scared to death of a lawsuit. Size of the baby has NOTHING to do with it, unless we're talking about a 12-pound+ baby. 

Home birth always sounded so romantic I'll admit.  For me, I had  two births that went really well with my doctor's help and no complications, and all was fantastic.  Two more births later on and both ended up with complications and unfortunately C-sections.  But without the surgery, the babies would have been lost.  I would NEVER recommend a C-section by choice for anyone; the recovery was long and painful.  With my vaginal births, I was up and walking and ready to go a day later.  Everyone is different, every birth is different.  Nor would I say have a home birth for sure; check out everything possible if opting for a home birth...NO baby's life is worth risking so YOU can live out a dream.  It's about the baby.  Talk to the doctors, talk to the midwives, talk to the doulas and check out all the risks.  I had no troubles during pregnancy and no indication whatsoever that things would go wrong during labour with my last two babies.  It can happen to anyone; my best friend had two home births underway and ended up in the hospital both times when the babies went into distress badly and one was completely covered in meconium.  It's a big day and a decision that can affect the rest of your life.  Choose wisely.  Namaste.

Whenever the topic of home birth is discussed, the inevitable question is, “What if something goes wrong?” First of all, home birth midwives DO NOT accept high-risk patients. Patients with toxemia, placentia previa, unmanaged gestational diabetes, severe anemia, potential malpresentation, and other high risk factors are automatically referred back to an OB to be delivered in the hospital.

Secondly, home birth midwives are highly trained to handle complications such as cord prolapse, cord wrapped around the baby’s neck, shoulder distocia, unresponsive newborn, and hemmorhage. They carry all the emergency medical supplies necessary, including oxygeyn, pitocin and resuscitation equipment.

Most “horror stories” you hear about childbirth involve complications which were actually a direct result of a hospital intervention. “Thank God I was at the hospital!” a woman will say, “My baby went into distress and I needed an emergency C-section!” What the doctor failed to mention, however, is that the pitocin he gave her is what put her baby into distress in the first place. And why was she given pitocin? “I was a few days past my due date, so we decided to go ahead and induce.” No medical reason to induce beyond an arbitrary due date on a calendar, which has a 2-week margin of error. If she had been under the care of a home birth midwife, there would have been no induction, no pitocin, and no C-section required!

Women need to be educated! They need to know the risks, benefits, and alternatives to hospital interventions. They need to know the studies which have proven that for 90% of healthy pregnant women, home birth is the SAFER alternative! They need to know that the transfer rate for most midwives is 4%, and the #1 reason for transfer from home to hospital is simply “failure to progress”, or a stalled labor, NOT an emergency. It’s time for women to get the FACTS!

I don't know all the details about your birth, but there are a few red flags I can see that may have caused several of the complications:  First, an induction.  The risks and side effects of induction are MANY, and most women don't realize it.  For more info, go here: http://www.ehow.com/how_2372132_avoid-unnecessary-induction.html

Secondly, an epidural.   Inductions are painful for the mother (not to mention causing distress to the baby), so epidurals are almost a matter of course whenever you induce.  Epidurals have MANY side effects and risks, which may or may not have been a factor in your birth experience.   To learn more about epidurals, go here: http://www.ehow.com/how_2351282_decide-epidural-right-choice.html

Sorry to hear you had such a terrible experience. I must agree with the other ladies though, this would have been much better handled at home. Dystocia is a scary thing and TRUE dystocia is extremely rare. Size has nothing to do with whether the baby gets "stuck" or not. Half of all dystocia cases happen in babies that are less than 8.8 lbs. It has to do with position of the baby and mother. A midwife would have had you change positions. Gaskin maneuver has been proven effective without having to slice a woman to her rectum.

You should not be made to believe that your body is broken and that you will never be able to birth another child vaginally. This is simply not true. Please do your research. Keep in mind Dr's are fearful of lawsuit . They are fearful of birth. They have their career in mind before your well being. Csection comes with HIGH risk, not only during surgery but with subsequent pregnancies. Please Please Please , do your research before you fall for any lies these OB's tell you.

I am so sorry for your experience. Let me say that the fact of the matter is your baby is alive and healthy. That is ALL that matters. My baby died because she was born at home.

Karinc,

I have to say i find your response somewhat offensive and greatly off point. Do you honestly believe that women choose home birth to risk their child's life and live out a dream?? 

First off women that choose home birth are usually highly educated in that choice and have done research on the safety of homebirth/midwife vs hospital birth/OB and have all drawn the same conclusions. Homebirth is safer (for healthy low risk pregnancy).You can research it for years (as i have) and still draw that same conclusion. In my mind i would be risking my body and my childs well being by blindly walking into a hospital that has a 50% (and that's low) c-section rate with a Dr that is induction happy and pushes every intervention under the sun for no medical reason. Interventions which studies have proven are both ineffective (electronic fetal monitoring) and UNSAFE (c-section, induction, epidural, episiotomy,laying on your back,being strapped to the bed,continuos vaginal exams that cause infection etc etc etc)for women and babies and should only be used as a last resort in an emergency. The last thing home birth is about is comfort. Although its been shown that when a women leaves her comfort zone in labor to enter an unknown place (hospital) around a room full of strangers her body tenses up and labors tend to be longer and can go from great progression to slowing down completely and even stop dilating. I can go on for days about the benefits and safety of home birth vs hospital birth. Women need to do their research about all options before choosing where  to give birth. it's a decision no woman should make blindly just because they ASSUME their provider is  educated. YOU have to educate yourself. 

Let me make sure i make one thing very clear. There are high risk pregnancies. There are instances where intervention is absolutely necessary and a woman should birth in a hospital. It's just not as common as most women assume it is,regardless of what your OB says. Previous c-section being one of them.

That's my rant for today. =) 

"shoulder dystocia's"--a VERY panicky time because the baby is out but not out.  I've seen some AWFUL cases and I'm glad that your little one is home and happy and healthy.

Reasons like yours is why a home birth is so scary.  Midwives can only do so much, and while "natural" is the ideal, it's not always realistic because women are having bigger babies, which creates--sometimes--more unfavourable conditions for a natural birth.

The important thing for women is to KNOW their doctor, to ASK questions, to GO to their appointments, to be upfront about their family history, and to be totally involved in their own care.  That allows the doctor to get a better picture of what could happen, what some issues might be, etc.

some people have to have c sections.. such as people with stds such as herpes..unless you want to give that to your new born baby i would not say no to a c section..every situation is different..do whats right for you no one else