You had a textbook birth. You had some contractions or maybe your water broke so you went to the hospital. Your baby handled contractions well and so did you. Maybe you got an epidural, maybe you didn’t. You went through labor and in a few hours you pushed out a baby. I am envious. And I think “why couldn’t that be me?”
Your doctor told you your baby is probably going to be too big, so you happily scheduled a c-section. Or you had an emergency c-section the first time and realized that the best idea would be to schedule a repeat c-section for this one. You recovered easily from the surgery and you feel that a c-section is an acceptable way to give birth. I am jealous. And sad. And I wonder why my c-sections were so hard for me.
You came to the hospital with contractions. You were given pitocin and an epidural. Your baby’s heart rate dipped a few times. The doctor decided a c-section would be the best way to go. You are ok with this. Or maybe you aren’t. You tried for a VBAC and didn’t succeed. Maybe you arrived at the hospital thinking you could have a vaginal birth and the doctors told you it wasn’t possible. Or maybe the doctors let you labor for hours, but you still didn’t progress. It was a c-section in the end, of course. You feel like you aren’t a real mom or that your body failed you. I can relate. You are me.
