{"id":1339,"date":"2018-03-14T18:11:13","date_gmt":"2018-03-14T18:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hopemeetsjoy.com\/?p=1339"},"modified":"2018-03-14T18:12:13","modified_gmt":"2018-03-14T18:12:13","slug":"the-i-word","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hopemeetsjoy.com\/index.php\/2018\/03\/14\/the-i-word\/","title":{"rendered":"the “i” word"},"content":{"rendered":"

Induction. You probably have strong feelings about it. Whether it’s fear, dread, acceptance, embrace etc., it is a word that many women do NOT want to hear at the end of their pregnancy.<\/p>\n

Why?<\/p>\n

“Inductions lead to a higher C-section rate.” “Inductions are unnatural.” “Inductions force your baby to come out before they are ready.”<\/p>\n

But are these statements\u00a0actual facts? Or opinions?<\/p>\n

In trying to become pregnant or being pregnant in the last 2.5 years, I’ve learned that there are too many topics in pregnancy and motherhood that separate us into monumentally different camps. The exclusive breastfeeding\/pumping camp vs. the formula feeding camp. The sleep training camp vs. the co-sleeping camp. The disposable diapers vs. the cloth diapering. \u00a0The natural labor and delivery vs. the epidural or planned induction camp. The list could go on for days.<\/p>\n

What\u00a0lies deep\u00a0within us as women that makes these topics so sensitive? Is it feelings of insecurity? Fear of “failure?” Loss of control? And if these are strong personal beliefs, then why can’t we keep our opinions to ourselves?<\/p>\n

I have\u00a0followed many Instagram accounts during this pregnancy that have broadened my knowledge of in different kinds of births.\u00a0\u00a0While I may\u00a0have a specific idea in mind for my own delivery,\u00a0I’ve seen over the years that it\u00a0is generally not the best idea to go into something as insane as\u00a0labor with rigid instructions and a set plan.\u00a0 No matter how you envision your labor going, there are some things that are completely out of your control.\u00a0 One of the hashtags that\u00a0has surfaced recently on the accounts that I follow\u00a0is\u00a0#optionssupportrespect.\u00a0 I realized during this pregnancy that I didn’t feel respect towards all camps of women who chose a certain type of delivery over another.\u00a0\u00a0 I took a good, hard look in the mirror and didn’t like what I saw\u00a0because I was\u00a0one of those opinionated women.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Every woman deserves the respect to make her own choices regarding her own birth story.\u00a0 Every woman does the best that she knows how to do.\u00a0 Every\u00a0woman relies on the means that she has at that time to help her through pregnancy. \u00a0Every woman deserves a break from judgement and criticism– especially from other mothers.<\/p>\n

\"\"So back to the “i” word.\u00a0\u00a0Inductions can sometimes be medically necessary, acting in the best interests of the baby and the mother.\u00a0\u00a0Preeclampsia,\u00a0pregnancy induced\u00a0hypertension, gestational diabetes, cholestasis,\u00a0and severe growth retardation are a few of the\u00a0main reasons to medically induce.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Sometimes inductions are elective, because a woman might just be “over it.”\u00a0 And sometimes inductions are encouraged based on the infant being well past “due.” \u00a0Are any of these wrong? Arguably no.\u00a0 But they sure can be controversial.<\/p>\n

When I met with a diabetic counselor after receiving my diagnosis of gestational diabetes, I was handed an educational brochure highlighting all the ways that diabetes could harm, and even kill my unborn child.\u00a0 It read that having gestational diabetes increases your risk of having a stillborn baby.\u00a0\u00a0 My risk for having a large baby, causing a difficult and prolonged delivery are higher.\u00a0\u00a0 This is why many doctor’s recommend induction for gestational diabetes at 39 weeks to avoid the risks associated with birthing a large for gestation (LGA baby) such as shoulder dystocia, meconium aspiration, failure to descend etc.<\/p>\n

At my 34 week appointment, babygirl was measuring right in the 50th percentile for growth.\u00a0 My controlled blood sugars were keeping her growth exactly where she should be and that felt great.\u00a0At 38 weeks, we measured her again during her routine ultrasound where I was told that her growth was in the 86th percentile.\u00a0 I didn’t handle that news particularly well.\u00a0 Guilt. Frustration. Fear.\u00a0 You name it, I felt it.\u00a0\u00a0My blood sugars\u00a0remain to be well controlled.\u00a0 Why the boost in growth?\u00a0The 86th percentile translated to an estimated weight of\u00a0 7# 11 oz.\u00a0 With still 2 weeks left until my due date, I was picturing a difficult delivery, possible\u00a0C-section and possible neonatal\u00a0complications caused by\u00a0gestational diabetes.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I was really discouraged.<\/p>\n

So\u00a0with\u00a0the guidance of my doctor, and all that I know (too much) about birthing and neonatal complications, I have been scheduled for an induction.\u00a0 Could this mean a prolonged labor? Yes.\u00a0 Could this result in my need for a c-section? Yes.\u00a0 Could this mean that my baby needs help with breathing, eating and blood sugars? Yes.\u00a0 But these are all possible outcomes for any type of labor scenario-\u00a0 induction or not. \u00a0And NONE of these are worth the risk of serious injury to my baby. So I will ask for your prayers, patience and well wishes as begin our induction experience in the near future.<\/p>\n

There is an AMAZING article from the October 2017 issue of Time magazine that I read last fall.\u00a0 It seems only right to end this post with a quote from the article “The Goddess Myth: Why Many New Mothers Feel Guilt and Shame<\/em>“- (and then go check it out for yourself! It is\u00a0such a good read- covering everything from birth plans to breastfeeding struggles.)<\/p>\n

“Motherhood in the connected era doesn\u2019t have to be dominated by any myth. Social media can just as easily help celebrate our individual experience and create community through contrast. Moms have to stick together even as we walk our separate paths. We have to spot the templates and realize there are no templates. We have to talk about our failures and realize there are no failures.”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Let’s support each other in this crazy realm of fertility, birth and motherhood that only other females can TRULY understand.\u00a0\u00a0We need each other’s support- not each other’s opinions.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Induction. You probably have strong feelings about it. Whether it’s fear, dread, acceptance, embrace etc., it is a word that many women do NOT want to hear at the end of their pregnancy. Why? “Inductions lead to a higher C-section rate.” “Inductions are unnatural.” “Inductions force your baby to come out before they are ready.” But are these statements\u00a0actual facts? Or opinions? In trying to become pregnant or being pregnant in the last 2.5 years, I’ve learned that there are too many topics in pregnancy and motherhood that separate us into monumentally different camps. The exclusive breastfeeding\/pumping camp vs. the formula feeding camp. The sleep training camp vs. the co-sleeping camp. The disposable diapers vs. the cloth diapering. \u00a0The natural labor and delivery vs. the epidural or planned induction camp. The list could go on for days. What\u00a0lies deep\u00a0within us as women that makes these topics so sensitive? Is it feelings of insecurity? Fear of “failure?” Loss of control? And if these are strong personal beliefs, then why can’t we keep our opinions to ourselves? I have\u00a0followed many Instagram accounts during this pregnancy that have broadened my knowledge of in different kinds of births.\u00a0\u00a0While I may\u00a0have a specific idea in mind for my own delivery,\u00a0I’ve seen over the years that it\u00a0is generally not the best idea to go into something as insane as\u00a0labor with rigid instructions and a set plan.\u00a0 No matter how you envision your labor going, there are some things that are completely out of your control.\u00a0 One of the hashtags that\u00a0has surfaced recently on the accounts that I follow\u00a0is\u00a0#optionssupportrespect.\u00a0 I realized during this pregnancy that I didn’t feel respect towards all camps of women who chose a certain type of delivery over another.\u00a0\u00a0 I took a good, hard look in the mirror and didn’t like what I saw\u00a0because I was\u00a0one of those opinionated women.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Every woman deserves the respect to make her own choices regarding her own birth story.\u00a0 Every woman does the best that she knows how to do.\u00a0 Every\u00a0woman relies on the means that she has at that time to help her through pregnancy. \u00a0Every woman deserves a break from judgement and criticism– especially from other mothers. So back to the “i” word.\u00a0\u00a0Inductions can sometimes be medically necessary, acting in the best interests of the baby and the mother.\u00a0\u00a0Preeclampsia,\u00a0pregnancy induced\u00a0hypertension, gestational diabetes, cholestasis,\u00a0and severe growth retardation are a few of the\u00a0main reasons to medically induce.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Sometimes inductions are elective, because a woman might just be “over it.”\u00a0 And sometimes inductions are encouraged based on the infant being well past “due.” \u00a0Are any of these wrong? Arguably no.\u00a0 But they sure can be controversial. When I met with a diabetic counselor after receiving my diagnosis of gestational diabetes, I was handed an educational brochure highlighting all the ways that diabetes could harm, and even kill my unborn child.\u00a0 It read that having gestational diabetes increases your risk of having a stillborn baby.\u00a0\u00a0 My risk for having a large baby, causing a difficult and prolonged delivery are higher.\u00a0\u00a0 This is why many doctor’s recommend induction for gestational diabetes at 39 weeks to avoid the risks associated with birthing a large for gestation (LGA baby) such as shoulder dystocia, meconium aspiration, failure to descend etc. At my 34 week appointment, babygirl was measuring right in the 50th percentile for growth.\u00a0 My controlled blood sugars were keeping her growth exactly where she should be and that felt great.\u00a0At 38 weeks, we measured her again during her routine ultrasound where I was told that her growth was in the 86th percentile.\u00a0 I didn’t handle that news particularly well.\u00a0 Guilt. Frustration. Fear.\u00a0 You name it, I felt it.\u00a0\u00a0My blood sugars\u00a0remain to be well controlled.\u00a0 Why the boost in growth?\u00a0The 86th percentile translated to an estimated weight of\u00a0 7# 11 oz.\u00a0 With still 2 weeks left until my due date, I was picturing a difficult delivery, possible\u00a0C-section and possible neonatal\u00a0complications caused by\u00a0gestational diabetes.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I was really discouraged. So\u00a0with\u00a0the guidance of my doctor, and all that I know (too much) about birthing and neonatal complications, I have been scheduled for an induction.\u00a0 Could this mean a prolonged labor? Yes.\u00a0 Could this result in my need for a c-section? Yes.\u00a0 Could this mean that my baby needs help with breathing, eating and blood sugars? Yes.\u00a0 But these are all possible outcomes for any type of labor scenario-\u00a0 induction or not. \u00a0And NONE of these are worth the risk of serious injury to my baby. So I will ask for your prayers, patience and well wishes as begin our induction experience in the near future. There is an AMAZING article from the October 2017 issue of Time magazine that I read last fall.\u00a0 It seems only right to end this post with a quote from the article “The Goddess Myth: Why Many New Mothers Feel Guilt and Shame“- (and then go check it out for yourself! It is\u00a0such a good read- covering everything from birth plans to breastfeeding struggles.) “Motherhood in the connected era doesn\u2019t have to be dominated by any myth. Social media can just as easily help celebrate our individual experience and create community through contrast. Moms have to stick together even as we walk our separate paths. We have to spot the templates and realize there are no templates. We have to talk about our failures and realize there are no failures.” Let’s support each other in this crazy realm of fertility, birth and motherhood that only other females can TRULY understand.\u00a0\u00a0We need each other’s support- not each other’s opinions.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-journey-to-parenthood"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hopemeetsjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/IMG_0538.jpg?fit=2011%2C923&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8oEBX-lB","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hopemeetsjoy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hopemeetsjoy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hopemeetsjoy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hopemeetsjoy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hopemeetsjoy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1339"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/hopemeetsjoy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1339\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1364,"href":"https:\/\/hopemeetsjoy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1339\/revisions\/1364"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hopemeetsjoy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hopemeetsjoy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hopemeetsjoy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hopemeetsjoy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}