I am very blessed to be pregnant. Mr. BWF and I have conceived 5 children, all in the first month we stopped preventing. Every pregnancy has been different emotionally and physically. Every birth has been vastly different as well. You would think after a planned c-section, a homebirth transferred c-section, a traumatic hospital VBA2C and an empowering unassisted homebirth, that I’ve got this. It doesn’t work that way.
Like I said, each pregnancy and birth are different. This pregnancy has been good for me emotionally. I am thrilled to have another baby. Physically it has been harder. I get tired very easily. Our situation in life has been a bit on the rough side too. A lot of transition going on. This alone has made it difficult for me to physically and mentally prepare for my upcoming birth.
I like to feel in tune and connected to my babies. I want to know I am getting the best nutrition possible. Both of these have been challenging to do thus far. For example, how can I visualize my birth when I don’t know where we will be living in a few months (we are moving again).
So here I am, 28ish weeks pregnant and trying to find that peace. So far this has been an unassisted pregnancy, like our last one. We haven’t hired a midwife, so we are planning another unassisted birth too! I do not take this decision lightly. I know where I need to be physically, mentally and emotionally.
“My baby is healthy and innately knows when to begin labor. My body knows how to birth by instinct. My mind has released all fears and trusts birth. I am enjoying this process and growing through it all.” ~BWF
Recommended Reading
22 Favorite Birth Quotes and Affirmations
Your Body, Your Birth, Your Baby
2 Videos of Twins and Triplets Born Naturally!
Two Amazing Hospital VBAC’s!!!
Breech Does NOT Equal C-Section
The Birth of River Jeremiah: The Homebirth of a First Time Mama- One Woman’s Successful Frank Breech Vaginal Hospital Birth
Trusting Birth and Trusting Ourselves as Birthing Women- What is a Birth Without Fear?
- The Birth of Sicily Rose {Postpartum Hemorrhage, Vanishing Twin Syndrome}
22 Comments
Amy
Have you done any hypnobirthing? The affirmations really helped me a lot and the hypnosis visualizations helped me envision the birth in a way that I didn’t need to know where it would be happening, too. Though I missed out on some things because of our fast move at the end of my pregnancy (like water birth ’cause we couldn’t find the tub we’d bought, for example) I was pretty satisfied with my UC birth and I attribute a lot of that to the hypnosis.
Birth Without Fear
Yes! I read the book 3 times my last pregnancy and about to start reading it again. I know I will feel better when I do! 🙂
Bethanny
I was wondering, when you have aUP how do you know things like placenta previa?
Because for my 3rd UC, my mom wanted me to check in with her midwife at 34 weeks( so SHE could feel good about the UC) I felt great, and didn’t have any “feeling” that anything needed to be checked. truth be told, the midwife thought the placenta was very low, we had an ultrasound to double check….and bingo!!! complete placenta previa! It sends chills down my spine to think I could have UC, then bled to death at home…I don’t mean to scare you be I feel that my experience could help other mothers who UP and desire to UC. Now I know that if we ever get preggo again I will have a check up of positioning towards the end! just to be safe!
good luck to you! good luck to your familly and hope you will pull thru those financial struggles!
god bless.
Birth Without Fear
If we chose to, we can have a check up or ultrasound anytime, even if UCing.
LivandLex
You can also find this out yourself if you are able to tell the difference between the fetal hearttone and the placental tone. The placenta pulses with mom’s heart rate and so if you have a listening device you can find the general location of the placenta and then decide if you need more information from an ultrasound, etc.
Bethanny
I understand that,I thought that my experience could help. I have never even thought that placenta previa could happen to me! now after a C-section(that I am very much thankful for) I am fiercely determined to have a Ubac, but I might have a midwife follow up, and not call her once in labor.
Unassisted birth is the most empowering event a woman could do! I wish you all the luck!
Brittany
I love your posts, your blogs, and your fb page. I wish you the best of luck with everything.
The quote at the end of this blog post gave me chills…
Birth Without Fear
Thank you Brittany!
Bethany
Bethanny,
Funny, same name!
I am pregnant with my 6th and this will be our second UC. I have never had one U/S and never plan to. More often than not if there is cause for concern with PP you will have some signs during pregnancy/early labor such as bleeding ect. I am very sorry you were scared into your u/s but even at 34 weeks the placenta can move out of the way of the cervix along with dilation during labor.
Worst case of course it “could” cover completely and while risky the placenta can be delivered before baby. IMO this is a very personal matter for the birthing mother seeing that c/s (especially repeated c/s!) come with very high risks as well.
The human body is amazing when left to work completely unhindered in it’s own right. I hope your next birth is everything you want it to be.
Bethanny
Hi Bethany(one N),
well I wasn’t scared into doing an ultrasound, when the midwife said she suspected the placenta to be very low,I needed(for my peace) to do an U/S, as you know UC succes is almost all in your head, and I wanted to know that I could go ahead without worries….
If you could share your ressources on birthing with complete placenta previa I would be thankful.I always read that placenta previa was the only true need for c section, even Ina may gaskin recommends c section for placenta previa.
It’s funny because as affraid of hospital and doctors as i was , my experience wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,I was able to recover quickly, and I know without a doubt that I am going to birth my next baby(if we get blessed again) at home alone with my hubby and older kids!
Anna
Don’t stress too much about the “where”… when the time comes you’ll be there. Focus on the “how” and give yourself nesting projects that can come with you wherever you go, like gathering candles, posters… beaded necklaces that have special beads. Once you do make the move, you will begin visualizing your space.
I moved one month before my unassisted birth… I hear ya.
peace and blessings
Mara
Though we’ve been blessed to have 2 wonderful midwife-assisted homebirths, I can relate to the inner turmoil of finding emotional, physical and mental balance while pregnant. I am pregnant for the third time and due in May. My husband and I are finally trying to live within our means (for the first time!) and pay off bad debt, meaning we are limited financially…stressful on me for I struggle with focusing on the positive outcomes of this – future financial freedom and prosperity. Meanwhile, we both need to focus, as you said, on the blessings we have and are currently growing! You will be in my thoughts;)
moma
Bethany, I can’t believe that you are suggesting that a woman could UC with a complete placenta previa, it wouldn’t be ” risky” it would be down right suicide…it’s insane.Plus if the placenta is fully convering the cervix at 34 weeks, the chances of it moving more than a few millimiters is close to none! if she would have been before 20 weeks I would say there is a chance of it moving, but not at 34 weeks!!
I have been a homebirth midwife for 17 years, and I UCed 3 of my 4 kids , and I would never ever consider delivering a woman with a complete placenta previa.Could it be ok….maybe.. but the risk are WAYYY high!
Birth Without Fear
Another midwife recently told me that ‘moving’ of placenta really would occur after 28 weeks. I don’t think that she is suggesting a mom with PV UC’s, she is suggesting that there is time and there are ways to know if it’s an issue.
moma
I apologize for “sounding” so harsh, and I know that she just gave her opinion , but she IS saying that you can birth a healthy baby after the placenta is out …that it is too bad that she( the 1 st Bethanny) was “scared” into an u/s …seriously? if I have a mom who just wants peace of mind for her UC and that I think that the placenta is over the cervix I would recommend a u/s and would strongly sugest she rethink her UC plans. After what she does is her decision of course, but no respectable midwife should ever say” your cervix are covered you are 34 weeks…go ahead follow your instinct UC if you wish”.
I think there is a place and time for everything, and placenta previa is unfortunatly one of those circumstance that greatly reduce you birthing choices.
Bethany
I will explain myself. And I never said anyone “should” have an UC with PP, I said they “could”. Birthing is all about choices and knowing ones options along with the risks for each of those.
I only said that I was sorry she was scared into an us because she made it sound like it wasn’t something she wanted. If a mother feels they need one for their own peace of mind more power to them but I do feel it is unfortant when women are scared into things they don’t want to do regardless of what it might be. I think we can all agree on that, no?
As for birthing with PP yes I believe a woman still has options. One of those being going ahead with a planned cs. Another being waiting for labor to start and then going in for a cs. There are several benefits to allowing labor to start and still having a cs VS a planned cs. This could also include having no idea one has PP from never having an us and watching for signs during labor. And lastly yes one could even see if the placenta would birth first with the baby after. It is an option. Obviously not a very popular one which is fine but for a select few major surgery may not be something they are willing to under take.
It would be impossible to know the odds of either but I think we can all agree that babies and mothers alike die every day from routine cs. There are however far more cs than natural PP births to ever compare especially since not only are cs so common but standard for PP.
What it really boils down to is what people have more faith in… Their bodies or their Dr and I don’t feel either one is wrong. Some believe if their body created the “issue” at hand, whether that be PP or something else, that their body can carry them out of it. I mean no disrespect or to offend anyone. I completely understand your view point. I’m only trying to open the picture a bit wider to offer more options. Isn’t that one of the reasons we choose uc in the first place? Because we don’t want just one way to birth? Why is that only open to us if we meet the “norm?” Are we not any better then the OB that tells us we can only avoid a cs if we go into labor between day x through y, or our labor is only less than 24 hours or our hips are wide enough ect ect ect?
Tuesday
I had placenta previa with my daughter, and I didn’t go into labor, but nor did I have a planned c/s: I dilated painlessly to 3 centimeters at 32w4d, and as a result, began hemorrhaging uncontrollably.
Waiting for labor to start with placenta previa is dangerous, because dilation can damage the blood vessels of the placenta, causing bleeding that is fatal to the baby and often to the mother as well. If you look through old obstetrical references and books on midwifery, all the techniques for “safely” delivering a mother with previa are techniques for delivering a dead infant, often using the body of the fetus to apply direct pressure to the internal bleeding in ways that are extremely likely to snap the fetal spine.
Risking a near certainty of death to see if maybe a miracle will occur is not a good plan, and no responsible doctor will let you do it, nor should any sane midwife (or doula, friend, partner, or random stranger on the internet) encourage it.
Alyssa
i definately agree with Bethany, if i had pp, i would want to know there were possible options that i could explore and i thank her for saying so, there are a lot of things that ppl just take as wrote, but arent necessarily all there is.
T
Death of the baby and Death of the mother is something No sane person would consider an option Bethany!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You’re talking about a condition both parties rarely survive!!!!!!!!!!!
Mary Bennefield
PP is one that I would definitely not take a chance with ….. the odds are not at all favorable. Now, back to what this post was actually supposed to be about …. Mrs. BWF – how are you doing? Now that you have gotten through some of the “stuff” you’ve been dealing with (ie: Life in general) – have you had a chance to re-read your Hypnobirthing book and do sme visualization and just focus on you? I am praying for ya …. you are going to have a wonderful, peaceful birth and I can’t wait to read the story (oh, and see a pic of your newest little angel).
Mrs. BWF
I am just finally getting there Mary! Thank goodness! Thanks mama for checking in on me.
lily bhavani
Many years ago I had a client, preg w/her 1st babe (his 5th), deliver on the side of the road while trying to get to a hospital to meet me. Babe was 5 wks premature, so we thot it would be better to be in hospital rather than home. When I found them they were cleaning off the very messy, small (5#) son and Dad reported that the placenta had come ahead of the babe, as well as “lots of blood”. The babe had come so fast that he was fine and her bleeding had stopped when I got there; her vitals were fine. This dad had caught all of his other kids so I believed him on this PP story! (She went on to have 9 more kids….)