Educate2Liberate

I feel like I am a minority in my society. When I first decided I wanted children, I knew there would be sacrifices. I of course knew that I would have to sacrifice my body for nine and a half months and that my life would forever change. I was accepting of this. I wanted children. Until I was actually pregnant, I didn’t quite fathom all of the sacrifices that would need to be made. I couldn’t drink alcohol (I of course knew this before pregnancy). I had to eat healthy, small meals all the time. I had to drink water like it was going out of style. I had to skip the caffeine. I had to deal with morning sickness. I had to deal with the crazy spurts of energy my daughter had when it was my night time. I forced my prenatal vitamins down my throat even though I damn near gagged them up and had to swallow them a few times before they would go down and stay down. I sacrificed my body. I sacrificed its appearance. I sacrificed my muscles (carrying 35 extra pounds is not easy). I worked every day up until I had her. I did this all for her. I did it for her well being. I did it for her future. I did it for her potential. She was the most important thing to me, long before she took her first breath of air.

When I first was pregnant I knew one very important thing. I did NOT want a c-section. Over my dead body was some freak cutting my body open. Childbirth to me was a natural process and I was going to do EVERYTHING I could to make sure of it. I researched my brain to the point of a short circuit. I think most of my views on childbirth stemmed from my wonderful and loving mother. She had my brothers and I all natural and drug free. I am not going to get into my birth story here. I am saving that for another blog. I just don’t understand how women and men can not prepare in every way possible for such a monumental and life changing event. This not only affects your health, but it affects your child’s health as well. When I became pregnant, I made it my number one priority to ensure my offspring’s life was the best it could possibly be. This meant the best circumstances both prenatally and during the labor and delivery. It also meant the best circumstances after as well, but that too will be another blog.

I just don’t understand the selfishness of some women. How can someone be so selfish to go the whole pregnancy without preparing one bit? Well, I guess going to a childbirth class where they tell you about interventions and c-sections counts for most people. All those classes teach is the scientific process and interventions. They don’t encourage women. They don’t teach women that childbirth is a natural and normal process, not a procedure. Your typical childbirth class tends to leave out the most important parts about childbirth. Most women hear the horror stories of their friends and family of how horrible the pain is. Most women “learn” through the others around them. They take their advice. They use this knowledge solely and don’t research further.

When I became pregnant, there was no way that just a measly childbirth class would suffice. I read books. I researched online. I talked to many other mommies-to-be on BabyCenter.com. I did take a childbirth course as well. I talked to my friends who had children. I talked to my mother. I took everyone’s advice in, but mentally sorted it to what I found useful and what I thought could be put on the back burner. My mother (unlike most I am sure) encouraged me to do an all natural, un-medicated birth. It didn’t really take much for her to convince me. I already had my heart and soul set on it. All of my friends thought I was crazy. They said that they too wanted an un-medicated, vaginal delivery, but once you go into labor you just won’t be able to handle it. “You’ll give in,” they said discouragingly. I told them no way. I had no idea what labor felt like, but I knew that I would do everything I could to prepare myself and make my odds in favor.

Why can’t other women do the same? Why can’t they stand up for themselves? Why can’t they stand up for their child that will soon be in this delusional world? Why do women discourage our own kind? Why do we belittle our own? I try to stick positive thoughts in every pregnant woman’s mind about childbirth. How did childbirth get such a bad wrap anyway? I don’t know about you, but bringing a child into the world beats ANY and ALL of the most positive experiences I have had in my whole life put together.

I also do not understand how women can be selfish enough to try to induce their own labor, electively induce when not medically necessary, and electively choose a c-section. I am currently a member on a website called BabyCenter.com. When members in my birth club were near the end, many electively induced, chose to have their c-section early or even tried inducing labor themselves with home remedies. Many women complained and said they didn’t want to be pregnant anymore. You are trying to have a fucking child (pardon my French) and raise this child for the rest of your life and you are worried about being pregnant for a few more days?!? Now I know there are many studies on how you want to let natural labor happen on its own for many reasons, most importantly for the health and well being of the child, but who on Earth is so self-absorbed that they need to take their child out of the most important place so they don’t have to “deal” with the pregnancy anymore?!? These people shouldn’t be allowed to have children! This child is going to be relying on YOU for the rest of your life and you can’t even handle the end of the pregnancy?

There are so many more things I would like to bitch about, but this is already so very long. I just felt these were the most important things to write about now. There are many more topics of egotistical “BS” that I would love to share with you all, but I will save that for another day. I just feel like I am the only one who sacrifices EVERYTHING for my daughter. Until tomorrow… peace & love!