Grumpy superiority

Hmph. I'm in a grumpy mood so I'm going to ponder about the strangeness of others.

Today's lack of understanding applies to what people mean by natural birth. To me, a natural birth is one that is non-surgical. In other words, the baby comes out of the birth canal and is delivered naturally.

To everyone else, a natural birth means one whereby no medical intervention is present at all. No drugs, no forceps/ventouse. I'm guessing no induction or hormone drips to aid labour either. Not sure. I think gas and air are permitted for "natural" but I don't think anything else is. A membrane sweep might also be considered natural, but it does count as a smidgums of intervention so perhaps not.

With regards to the all-natural birth, the definition is largely irrelevant, but the attitude does seem to colour a lot of women's attitude. To fail to achieve the natural birth, whether it's been due to needing an epidural, or whether it's having a caesarean, is seen by some as failing somehow. Some caesarean mothers want to "experience" the natural birth in future pregnancies.

Je ne comprends pas.

As far as I am concerned there are two desirable outcomes: healthy child and healthy mother. The experience is a means to an end and isn't something in itself. It's not a very pleasant experience however it happens, with the exception of the moment you meet your child. Risk minimisation should be the prime consideration, whether drugs are used is entirely moot.

My decision to go for a second caesarean is based on one thing: I consider the risks of an emergency section to be too high and an elective section is the only sure way to ensure an emergency section is avoided. As an older mum with no prior labour and caesarean scarring, the risks are unreasonably high in case of a very likely emergency section.

Obviously I want to avoid surgery, I don't care about pain because when it's over, it's over. All I do care about is the safety of my child, and myself, and an elective section is the best way to ensure both.

The experience thing is idiotic. That is the same school of thought as people who cannot separate "wedding" from "marriage". As I said, it's a means to an end, not an experience in itself.

That's not to say all mothers to be shouldn't arm themselves with all the tools that they think will help them give birth. As long as they accept that relaxation techniques do not supersede (I'd spell that with a c, autocorrect won't allow??) medical necessity, and that their experience and happy memories are secondary to safety.