October 18, 2011 8:06 am

Operation: VBAC

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not pregnant. I’ve just been pondering my birthing options should we eventually decide to have another baby.

There are no words to explain how disappointed I am that my first pregnancy ended in a c-section, primarily because it closes so many doors. My local hospital formally bans VBACs. My mom, who is a Labor & Delivery nurse, says that it’s because of liability with regard to anesthesia – in order for the hospital (and their insurance company) to endorse VBACs, they need to have an anesthesiologist on staff at all times to cope with an emergency c-section if the VBAC is not successful.

I am having a hard time wrapping my head around this, because wouldn’t not having an anesthesiologist on staff be a problem for any emergency complications? Let’s say it’s 2am and a mom having a textbook pregnancy has been laboring for a few hours. Her water breaks! Whoosh! And… she has a (NSFW illustration) cord prolapse. Emergency! C-section! Go! But wait – it’s 2am and the anesthesiologist is on call at home.

HOW IS THIS ANY LESS BAD? It’s a liability regardless of the emergency happening. I am not allowed to try for a normal birth because the hospital is ill-prepared to cope with an adverse outcome to any pregnancy.

My best chance for having a hospital VBAC is if I make sure to plan my labor so that the anesthetist will be physically in the hospital while I am laboring, and to make sure I deliver before he or she leaves.

Right.

My best chance for having a VBAC would be a homebirth or delivering in a birth center, attended by midwives.

Earlier this summer, my aunt (who is also a L&D nurse) told me I am going to have a “gorked baby” (her words) because I stated the above. She and my mom conceded that I would have a hard time being allowed to deliver in a hospital setting and may have to labor in the operating room (can you IMAGINE anything more uncomfortable? Steel table and bright surgical lights? No thank you.) but would not agree that it would be a better choice for me.

If you have a healthy pregnancy, have a low horizontal scar on the uterus and go into labor on your own at term you have about a 70% to 75% chance that you and your baby will have a safe normal birth. – VBAC.com

The problem I start running into is the “healthy pregnancy” part. I had preeclampsia. That is most emphatically not healthy. If I do come down with preeclampsia, my chances for a VBAC drop dramatically, since I will likely have to be induced and that carries a much greater risk of uterine rupture.

Out of the eleven most significant risk factors for developing preeclampsia, I have two:

  • Previous history of preeclampsia
  • Obesity, particularly with Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or greater.

Clearly, I can’t control the fact that I have a previous history of preeclampsia, but the obesity is something I can control.

I haven’t mentioned it here for fear of being embarrassed should I have failed, but I have lost twenty pounds since February. This is an amazing accomplishment, especially for me given my history of weight-loss struggles, and one that I am incredibly proud of. However, I need to lose another 10lbs before I am merely “overweight” and not “obese.” This leads me to my new plan:

Operation: VBAC

I would like to get my body and mind ready to be a good candidate for a subsequent pregnancy and VBAC. This does not mean I am going to become an Olympic athlete or compete in CrossFit or something, but it does mean I am going to lose those ten pounds. Hopefully more. (I’m taking a bit of inspiration from Theresa’s Get Body Ready For VBAC series, since I think it’s a great idea to prep your body for the outcome you want.) The further away I can get from being obese, the better.

I’m going to look into HypnoBabies, because I’ve read so many great birth stories in which HypnoBabies seemed to help tremendously. I have a Hypnobirthing book, but didn’t bother getting any kind of CDs – I’m now going to consider doing so.

I will make sure my healthcare providers are on board with my plan.

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Since nobody knows what causes preeclampsia for sure, it’s hard to find things to do to “prevent” it. But if I can lower my chances, even a little bit, and up my chances for having a successful VBAC in the future, I’m willing to do it.

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September 15, 2011 10:32 am

Texas WIC – Breastmilk Counts!

In sharp contrast to my last post, the WIC program in Texas has created a beautiful, informative resource for breastfeeding moms: Breastmilk Counts.

Check out the 30-second TV spot near the bottom of the campaign page.

WIC Breastfeeding promotional advertisement

It shows moms breastfeeding and details a ton of benefits associated with breastfeeding your baby. It tells you to imagine the benefits of continuing for 6 to 12 months, helping to dispel the myth that you should wean early. It’s extremely tastefully done and I loved watching it. (Wesley did too, and giggled and pointed happily when the baby was “eating milks.”)

They have a great article on learning to nurse in public. I like that they note that several options are for your privacy while reiterating the Texas law that you are allowed to nurse anywhere you are already allowed to be yourself. This helps give confidence to mothers that might be worried they are being “indecent.” The website also offers a handy printable card (upper right) so if you do have a confrontation, you can show them the statues that support you. Awesome!

They have a whole section on returning to work, offering tips on how to talk to your employer and suggesting places to pump. (For what it’s worth, I pumped in a tiny conference room, and my employer agreed to install blinds on the windows to make sure it was a private place for me.) There’s also a page on how to build your freezer stash before you go back to work! This site left me feeling like they’d thought of everything.

It makes me so happy to see such a well-rounded website about breastfeeding, especially since it’s from the WIC program! WIC spends tons of money annually providing free or low-cost formula to participants, and would save so much money if they encouraged more mothers to breastfeed. I think this website is a huge step in the right direction, and I would love to see more of this sort of thing on a federal level.

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September 6, 2011 4:23 pm

Hey Evenflo – That’s not what I call support.

This morning, I saw a link to an Evenflo ad from somebody I follow on Facebook. I watched the whole video in horror as it perpetuated a ton of the most common breastfeeding myths and stereotypes while attempting to sell a product to breastfeeding mothers.

evenflo-video

The ad has since been marked as “private” on YouTube and is no longer available for viewing, but let me recap:

1. Obnoxious in-laws arrive and gawk at mother holding her baby, Mother-in-law says derisively, “Breastfeeding AGAIN?” (Despite the fact that it doesn’t even look like the mom is breastfeeding!)

2. Husband tries to usher his parents out of the room, claiming mom and baby’s need for privacy. (As though nursing in front of your in-laws is a total impossibility.)

3. Mother-in-law makes a comment about “them” (mom’s breasts) being “so small” and wonders if Mom can make enough milk. (Breast size is not a good indicator of milk supply. Women with small breasts can have oversupply, just as women with large breasts can have undersupply.)

4. Mom and baby sneak around the house trying to breastfeed in private while Father-in-law searches vainly for half & half for his coffee. (Again, as though you must be sequestered to nurse).

5. Mother-in-law whines that no one else gets to feed the baby. (It’s not their job to feed the baby – it’s Mom’s! They can do any number of other things, like change baby’s diaper, do laundry, do dishes, give baby a bath, make dinner, etc.)

6. Mom asks husband to pass her her purse, and they exchange a knowing glance. They run to their bedroom where the mom pulls a hand pump out of her purse and says to give her a few minutes. (As though pumping a bottle is going to solve the problem of mom and dad’s complete lack of boundaries regarding their obnoxious, unsupportive in-laws?)

7. Mom returns from the bedroom carrying a bottle of milk, which Father-in-law then mistakes for half & half for his coffee. Time slows down (“Nooooooo!”) as he pours the pumped milk into his coffee and takes a big gulp. (As though breastmilk is so gross, it’s not to be ingested.)

8. Father-in-law makes a comment about the milk definitely being 2%. (Implying her milk is “less than whole” when really, it is her infant’s source of complete nutrition.)

My reaction to the video was one of irritation and anger. The in-laws undermined the breastfeeding relationship at every turn, and instead of standing up for her baby’s best interests and telling the in-laws to screw off, the mom caves and hides in the bedroom to pump. I know there are probably some women who find pumping empowering, but I really, really did not enjoy it and cannot imagine purposely pumping when I didn’t have to do so, especially if it was done to placate family members with a misguided sense of entitlement with regard to my baby’s eating habits.

The entire thing really squicked me out. Ostensibly, this ad was to promote Evenflo’s manual breast pump. Helping perpetuate the most damaging breastfeeding myths around is not a good way to win the support of breastfeeding mothers.

Evenflo attempted to placate the masses by posting the following on Twitter:

We hear you. We appreciate how passionate you are. We are equally passionate & fully support all moms & the personal choices they make.

…and then followed up with:

Our intent with the video was to spark a conversation through lively humor, but we have heard your concerns & have decided to take it down.

Somehow, with the last scene of the video highlighting the Evenflo pump, I don’t think that was their true intent. And I don’t think that showing breastfeeding as an inconsiderate and selfish act is “fully supporting” all moms.

This article sums up the timeline of events pretty well, but I think they get it wrong when they indicate it’s just “mommy bloggers” who are upset. It’s moms who use social media who are upset, and I’m willing to bet that many, if not most of them, do not maintain a blog.

The comments on the above article indicate that many people think nursing moms can’t take a joke. I can take a joke – it’s just that this video wasn’t funny. There is humor in obnoxious in-laws, in pumping, and yes, even in breastfeeding, but this video did not find that humor. Instead, they took cheap pot-shots at a mother doing what she felt was right for her baby, and offered their product as a way of capitulating to overbearing family members who clearly don’t have the baby’s best interests in mind. Not really a product I want to support.

(Plus, having anybody drink the breastmilk that I pumped for my baby would have been devastating (not funny!) to me, because of the time and effort it takes to get that amount of expressed milk.)

I have not purchased any Evenflo products in the past, but you can bet I will not be buying them in the future, and I suggest you don’t either.

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