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I am a cloth diapering, breastfeeding, cosleeping, baby led weaning, extended rear facing, eco conscious, married mommy to two beautiful children. They have changed my view on the world we live in. It is now my number 1 goal to make it the best I can for them to grow up in. I find myself always rethinking how I want to live my life and often feel like sharing my findings and thoughts with others. So I guess here's my chance :o) I will talk about topics that interest me. If you dont like them or dont agree, well... there's nothing much I can do!

Sunday, November 18, 2012

The importance of making an informed decision

So instead of simply following my doctor`s advice, I have decided to seek other opinions. Isn't that what we are supposed to do anyways? Are we not encouraged to make informed decisions? How can a decision be informed when you only know part of the information?

I guess I have always wanted a vbac since one of the very first questions I asked the OB on call after Abigail`s birth was if I would need another caesarean next time. I was told "of course not!". And that was the day after she was born. Fast forward two and a half years, and some information I am receiving now is going against that.

During one of my first prenatal appointments, I was made aware of the risks of a vbac. No problem at all. She wanted me to understand the risks in the choice I was making. But what about the alternative? If I wanted, I could have a scheduled cesearian to prevent any of those vbac risks. Ok. But are there not risks with having major abdominal surgery as well? She didn't openly share those details with me. She wanted me to see an OB to go over more details.

Met with an OB based at our local women/baby hospital. Started off by saying that he firmly believes in the mother`s right to make the choice on how to birth their child as long as they know and understand all the risks. We went over the risks of a vbac. Alright, but then he also went over the risks of a 2nd cesearian.



Going over the details, I still stick by my choice to try a vaginal birth after a caesarean. If an emergency comes up, I have no problem with medical intervention. I`m glad that those options are available to me. I have spoken to a 3rd doctor about certain medical interventions and I have been told many are not necessary. I am not making my decisions based on "research I have found online". I am making my decisions based on medical advice given to me by several doctors who have years and years of education and experience behind them. I am not basing my research on medical professionals who are known to be ridiculed by the natural AND medical birth communities for her lack of references and blatant misrepresentation of facts in her articles. Instead, I choose to go with information from these kinds of sites.

  • http://www.acog.org/About_ACOG/News_Room/News_Releases/2010/Ob_Gyns_Issue_Less_Restrictive_VBAC_Guidelines
  • http://www.ican-online.org/
  • http://www.vbac.com/
  • http://www.americanpregnancy.org/labornbirth/cesareanrisks.html
  • http://www.americanpregnancy.org/labornbirth/vbac.html
  • http://www.sogc.org/health/pregnancy-vbac_e.asp
  • http://www.sogc.org/media/advisories-20090617a_e.asp
  • http://www.sogc.org/health/pregnancy-csection_e.asp


In the end, the decision is ultimately up to the mother. We should not be attacked for wanting to know all benefits and risks to all our options.

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