Why I believe in VBACs - and why I LOVE my doctor!

 I'm not sure if I've written much about my awesome doctor, but I. LOVE. MY. DOCTOR!  I had a wonderful doctor deliver Parker, but in the 2 and a half years since I gave birth to Parker, I truly don't feel like he, or his practice he's a part of, was the right fit for me anymore.  I guess you could say my views on childbirth in general have changed.  With my first delivery, I did just about the minimal required as far as research is concerned.  I went to about 15 hours of classes on the "over view of the birthing process" and I just sort of figured my water would break, I'd go into labor, I'd get an epidural and I'd have a baby... just like both my sisters did!  WHY NOT?

Well, when that did NOT happen with Parker, my entire world turned up side down.  Soon after my bag of waters tore with Parker, we went to the hospital (cause that's just what you do, apparently, even when your water is BARELY leaking - mistake #1) and I was NOT in labor.  After just hanging out on the hospital bed for a few hours (mistake #2), my doctor came in - still no progress.  SO - what does he do?  OF COURSE - started me on pitocen (mistake #3).  What does this do?  Give me HORRIBLE contractions that I can't bear after a few hours so I ask for my epidural when I'm still BARELY effaced / dilated (mistake #4).  After several hours of no progression my doctor starts to get ancy and mentions a c-section.  I ask for a few more hours and he gives them to me.  Then I give in (mistake #5).  Then my SWEET doctor (I don't mean that in a bad way - he really is so sweet) holds my hand and apologizes and tells me how hard I've worked (huh?) and makes me laugh at a really stupid joke then wheels me away to slice and dice me open when neither me NOR Parker were in any distress really at all.

Doctor walks away with a bill about 10 times more than what it would have been if I would have delivered vaginally and mommy lays in a hospital bed for 2 days with drugs filling up her entire body - unable to even remember the precious first few days with her firstborn - then endures 2 weeks of the most intense pain she's ever experienced, 2 weeks of depression and non stop crying because she can't even sneeze, cough or sit up without being in an incredible amount of pain, and 4 weeks with a HORRIBLE battle with breastfeeding - all very normal after-affects of a c-section.  When I visited his office after the birth of Parker, doctor's charm and witty comments make mommy feel at ease and his amazing bed-side manner makes her feel as if he absolutely saved her life and her precious child's life.  And when I asked him if my next child would need to be born via surgery, he waved his hand in the air and said "Most likely - but we can cross that bridge when we get there."  Hmm.... like what I had just gone through was no big deal and was worth going through again because it would be "necessary".  I couldn't help but feel like I didn't truly get to experience labor and the amazing birthing process the God has given to women.  After seeing him a few more times - and over a year after I had Parker - the answer kept getting more and more negative every time I would ask.  This is when I started looking for a doctor who believed in vaginal birth after c-sections. 

I do NOT blame my previous doctor for everything that happened with my birth - I blame myself.  I blame myself for not being informed and for just saying "OK" to everything that happened.  Well, that won't happen this time.  Why?  Because I am the MOST informed person ever to go into labor?  Absolutely not.  But I have done my research and I feel comfortable now knowing that not only will my doctor give me the absolute largest chance of delivering a baby the way God intended women to deliver, but if I do end up having a c-section, it was because it TRULY was necessary for the overall health and well-being of me and this sweet little miracle kicking me in my ribs right now as I'm typing this.

Am I "anti-c-section"?  Absolutely not.  I believe that c-sections are absolutely necessary for some women and that they do save lives.  And I have NOTHING against women who choose c-sections over vaginal births - that is 100% fine and up to them.  But do I believe that the RISING c-section rate is absolutely unnecessary?  YES.  Do I believe that Northside Hospital's 50% c-section rate is a bunch of CRAP?  Yes.  Do I feel like some doctor's mis-inform their patients?  YES.  And do I feel like just because c-sections are the most performed surgery - they are just waved off like they are "no big deal"?  Yes - and this is 100% not true.  C-sections are MAJOR abdominal surgery.  IT'S SURGERY! 

If more doctor's practiced like Doc T, doctor's who practice HONEST medicine, there would be way fewer unnecessary surgeries performed to bring babies into this world.  Many doctor's now practice "I don't want to get sued" medicine.  I totally get that - I don't want to get sued either.  HOWEVER - Doc T SIMPLY puts his entire practice in God's hands and truly relies on Him to guide him through all his births.  Doc T has delivered more than 5,000 births (and that number is from a few years ago) and he has never been sued - and he performs VBACs more than any other doctor in the southeastern United States.  Any doctor will tell you that it's much easier to get sued for NOT performing a c-section.  The major "scare" that doctors throw in mommies faces is the risk of uterine rupture (the scar from previous c-section re-opening during labor).  Doc T has only experienced about 6 uterine ruptures (in well over 5,000 births) - and in ALL of those cases - the mom AND baby were BOTH healthy AND the mom in all cases was able to have more children after-the-fact - no hysterectomies.  In all of those cases, also, the mom had had multiple c-sections prior to trying for a VBAC.

Am I taking a risk by choosing to try for a vaginal birth?  Yes.  However, after doing the endless hours of research over the past few years, I truly feel confident that a vaginal birth is SAFER than trying to go for a repeat c-section. So - I travel 45 minutes to my doctor's office every week now and I plan on traveling 45 minutes to possibly well over an hour to my doctor's hospital in downtown Atlanta (depending on the time of day) so that I can have this baby vaginally.

I hope you'll take a minute to watch the quick video about Doc T and his practice and why he does what he does.  I personally think he's great and I thank my Heavenly Father for this particular Jew every day.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/embed-player?pid=GE6Uhl_HvsLZM_pDU4rF1SL4xnUVCDnA&share=true