Why I Chose A C-Section

So I have had a couple people ask me why I had a voluntary (planned) C-section with Preston. I first want to start out by saying that I think we are fortunate to live in a time and place where we as women have several options for childbirth. There are women who have their babies at home to those who have planned c-sections, the unfortunate thing is when another woman judges another for their choice. I think we each have our own personalities and circumstances when we go to make that decision. I guess the reason I begin like this is because I have received some negative comments when I tell people why I chose a c-section. I also hear people talk about how horrible it would be to have a c-section. So now I will being my LONG story (you can skip if you don’t really care).

The funny part of the entire story is that I wanted to be a midwife when I entered nursing school at BYU. I thought that having a baby naturally with no drugs was the best way to go and that doctors were the enemy. I studied how the whole experience having a baby in a hospital was just for the conveneience of the doctor. I did internships with midwives at clinics, in homes, and midwives at hospitals. I also did an internship with an OB at a hospital. So after all my internships and seeing about 20 natural births with no medication, about 10 births with an epidural, 1 emergency c-section and 1 planned c-section I decided the natural way was not for me. So I quit nursing school to go into family science (which I loved, and realized I had a passion for).

So before I got pregnant with Preston I had a couple of things happen: 1) I read an article in the Time magazine about how 90% of births in Brazil are by C-section and it is considered the norm. They talked about how today the complications of a planned c-section equal that of a vaginal birth. The article went on to debate why we look at the statistic of 25% c-section rate as such a negative thing when really it could just be another childbirth choice for women. The article also talked about how women in this country are asking for c-sections because of several benefits. When I read that article I went: hmmmm. The next thing was that I had 2 friends that told me horrific stories about having 4th degree tears. I was horrified. So I started to do research and read about it, but then I put it in the back of my mind.

Two months into my pregnancy with Preston another article came out in Time Magazine, titled "Too Posh to Push" and once again I was reminded about planned c-sections. On my first visit with my OB I asked her if she would do a planned c-section on me if there was any indication that my baby was big and she said yes. I decided to keep that ob (which I used for Wesley and absolutely loved). So each time I went to my appointment, Preston was measuring 2+ weeks every time. And it was obvious that I was going to have a big baby. I talked to my mom about a planned c-section, and being the wonderful mother that she is said she would supported me in whatever I chose.

Two weeks before I had Preston my doctor did an ultrasound and estimated that he would be about 9 ½ lbs. She said that the ultrasounds can be wrong so it isn’t a guarantee – only a prediction. She talked to me about a vaginal birth vs. c-section and then told me to let me know what my decision was at my next appointment. I talked to Tom about it and he wasn’t happy. I had pretty much made up my mind by now that I wanted a c-section… all the negative things that most women perceive of when having a c-section didn’t bother me too much. And I guess that’s because of my type A personality.

Tom wanted me to at least try going into labor, but my doctor explained that a planned c-section is a whole different experience than when you go into labor and your body is tired and then you get a c-section. An emergency c-section takes almost 2 times as long (sometimes more) to recover because the body is exhausted from labor. Tom was worried that I would feel like I missed out on the experience of going into the labor – really, seriously? My worst nightmare is labor (especially after seeing women naturally have children). Who REALLY wants to experience that? Okay, I guess there is some of you out there that want to.

The bottom line was – it is so ME, so my personality. Everything is scheduled. I know when I will go in, what will happen, what time the baby will be born. Everything can be planned. What a control freak, huh? Yep that’s me.

So I went back and told my doctor I wanted a c-section and a week later I had Preston – weighing 9.7 lbs with a big head. I loved it. I really did. I felt so good about and looking back I realized that it probably was divine intervention for me. I had 3 nurses tell me that I probably would have had a c-section because of his size. When Wesley was born my doctor said that the umbilical cord was loosely tied around his neck 2 times, which would have probably resulted in a c-section.

I hope this explains why I chose it. I find the recovery from a c-section worse for about a week but then I have pretty much caught up with my vaginal birth friends. By six weeks you would could never tell the difference between a vaginal birth mom and a c-section birth mom. I guess just to end this huge long saga, I just want to say, life is all about expectations. The real loss is when you have your expectations set on giving birth vaginally and when a c-section happens you feel less as a mom. That is poppy cock – change your expectations and realize that a c-section isn’t bad at all. There are lots of positive things about a c-section that you can focus on instead. One of my favorite – you get a baby with nice round cute untraumatized head!





So when I went to my first appointment pregnant with Wesley my doctor asked if I wanted to try a VBAC (vaginal birth after c-section) My reply – absolutely not!

If you have any more question, please ask. I won't be offended at all. Promise.




You can read more about my c-section experience (just incase this insanely long description does not satisfy your need to know!) on the following pages (click on the 1st picture and there is a description of what happened when you scroll throug the pictures):


Preston's Birth

Wesley's Birth