Hi...I just read Bonnie Douglas' interesting post.  She said something
that really hit home for me..."...It was imperative that I breastfeed to
get beyond the births"...her birth experiences didn't go as planned...all
cesareans...anyway, my first son was born by cesarean after 32 hours of
unmedicated labor...I won't go into the whole experience now but at 32
hours, I spiked a fever of 103-104 degrees and a cesarean was performed.
After eight years, at that time, of teaching Childbirth classes, I never
in my wildest dreams thought I would have a cesarean.  I tried to feel
okay about it...but it was very hard.  Anyway, at that moment I vowed to
make my breastfeeding experience and my son's nursing experience the best
it could possibly be...in a strange way, that odd birth experience gave
me a real focus...I always knew I would breastfeed and I knew I believed
in child-led weaning, etc...but somehow this new focus gave me a
concerted direction to my nursing experience and a real unmatched pride.
It's very hard to explain.  I guess I felt so disempowered by the birth
that I re-empowered myself by my breastfeeding experience and vowed no
one would ever put formula to my baby's lips...my friends all knew my
biggest fear was that someone would give something to my baby to eat that
I didn't want him to have...especially any kind of dairy product that
first year, among other things.  Anyway, I wanted to respond to Bonnie's
post, because I feel I can relate.  Happy  note...my daughter born 25
months later was a VBAC...hooray...albeit with some interventions I had
not planned...but I did feel great about my VBAC.  I'm working my way
toward that intervention-free delivery.  Next baby!!!!!
-Ava Carmichael Eagles, MS, ACCE, IBCLC