Michelle answers:

Hi. I had a csec because my daughter was breech. They did Ultra sounds at 36 weeks, 39 weeks and right before I was hooked up to IV’s for surgery to make sure she hadnt flipped. You can schedule the c section ahead of time, but that doen’t mean you will have one. If your baby flips, they will wait until the baby is ready for a natural birth.

As your baby is getting bigger it will become more obvious that it is turning.

Michelle answers:

Congratulations! My best advice: enjoy every minute of it! Being pregnant is such a gift!

#1: It usually depends on the doctor. I went once a month for the first 32 weeks, then twice a month until 36 weeks, then every week until I delivered.

#2: I think I had my son’s first ultrasound at 5 weeks, but he was just a dot on the picture. They’ll probably do the major ultrasound where you can see everything around 18 weeks. That is fun. I think you can see the heart beating around 8 or 10 weeks.

#3: I think that depends on what is important to you. Think about how you feel about medication during labor and how reassuring you want the doctor to be if you are having anxiety. You’ll probably know if your doctor is right for you when you meet him/her.

#4: Given the choice, natural birth is better for the baby (as long as you and the baby are both in good health and not in distress). Introducing medications and being cut open if it’s not necessary puts everyone at more of a risk. It will be much easier on you after birth if you have had it naturally rather than having just had major surgery. But you always have to keep your mind open because you want to do what is best for the baby and there may be a possibility that a C-section is the safest.

#5: There are a million books out there. I’d just go to the book store a flip through some until one (or a few) catch your eye and seem to match your thoughts, needs, desires and values.

#6: First trimester – tired and nauseous. To relieve nausea try lemon drops or lemonade. I lived off of lemon drops my first trimester.
Second trimester – feeling good. Try to keep exercising.
Third trimester – feeling big but good.
Advice: light exercise like walking was the best thing for me throughout my pregnancy. It helped me stay in shape throughout and helped me during labor.

Good luck and enjoy!

Michelle answers:

You should see a midwife in your area. An OB is very likely to do a repeat section due to issues with malpractice and not the safety of your baby or yourself. Keep in mind that a doctor views childbirth as complicted until proven otherwise, while a midwife views childbirth as a natural, normal part of life. Please, please, please don’t let someone tell you that it is unsafe to go VBAC. Many women have had successful vaginal births after a c-section. Go to HelpingHandsConnection@yahoogroups.com and post this question there. This is a website formed to discuss natural childbirth. You will get tons of input from mothers, midwives, and others. Good luck and congratulations on your decision to educate yourself before becoming pregnant. I wish you the best of luck!

Michelle answers:

I had to go natural because i have a heart condition. The best peice of advise i got was not worry what others think of you during labor…which i think is good advice natural or not…if you want ot yell, then yell. I had a fairly ok time with it.
At the beginning of “real” labor pains i had back labor (i felt it in my lower back more than my abs) they suggested using a hard old fashioned rocking chair to rock in whenever the labor started. I looked at that hard chair and thought they were nuts but other than having to have a cooler put under my feet to reach the floor it worked like a charm! Maybe its just you are thinking “must rock must rock must rock” that you trick yourself into forgetting about the pains…whatever it is it worked.
Also they suggest having regular breathing but controlled (not the he he hoo of lamaze unless you actually feel comfortable breathing like that) i felt like an idiot saying he he he hoooo so i didn’t.
Ok so here’s the tmi part…when she was born i didn’t feel like i had to have a bowel movement like so many people say. But while i was pushing i could feel her head pushing against the sides. I later told my hubby it felt like it does if you swallow a bite of a dorito without chewing and a sharp point kinda scratches your throat as you swallow.

Congrats and good luck going natural…2 things to remember, 1) every push makes you one step closer to meeting your baby and 2) you’ll be one of a few people of our generation to go natural…what a way to be different!!!!