Today is officially my son's 6 month birthday (and my 23 1/2 birthday!) so what a fitting topic to discuss on my blog. On May 6th of this year, my son was born three weeks early via C-section on my 23rd birthday. It was the scariest and best day of my life. The level of emotions I felt that day could not even be described in words. After almost 24 hours of labor, my doctor agreed to give me a C-section to get him out. I had wanted a C-section all along, as the more natural way of birth scared me even more than major abdominal surgery. All went well except for the fact that my son was having trouble breathing and after a few hours of intensive care, they informed me that they were going to have to transfer him to a bigger and more well-equipped hospital an hour away. I was devastated. I did not get to hold my son until a few days later. The whole experience is still a blur to me considering all of the pain medicine and anesthesia I was given but from what I do remember, it was an intensely wonderful experience overall. Since there are greater risks to the mother and child when an intervention such as a C-section is involved, we are very fortunate that everyone came out okay in the end. Combine that with my son being three weeks pre-mature and you have a higher risk for developmental issues. He recovered quickly and has hit milestones faster than most babies. There are no known developmental issues caused from his birth experience; which is truly a miracle. He is already sitting up on his own, holding his own bottle and starting to crawl. We are so proud of him! I have a picture below of him while he was in the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit and a picture of him dressed up as a mouse for his first Halloween six months later. He has come a long way!
Moving on....
I researched what an average birth experience may be in Thailand and was not too surprised that their experiences are much like those in the United States. It of course depends on your socio-economic status but the majority of women are able to have their babies in hospitals and birthing centers. Home births are typically by choice and government care is available for those with low income; much like here in the states. Cesarean sections are not as common in Thailand however. The article I read estimated them to be about 1 in 10, while they are performed every 1 in 3 births in the United States. As the article put it, Thailand has been "medicalised" in the last couple decades and I would assume the trend is picking up all over the world.
I had two C-sections with both of my children. They both were very scarey to me also, but you for get all about it when you see that little face looking back at you.
ReplyDelete1 in 10 C-sections in Thailand wow I pray that mothers are not dying and or the babies because they needed a c-section