The birth of my daughter, Laila, was an interesting one.  At 30 weeks, I was admitted to the hospital due to pre-eclampsia, high blood pressure and rapid weight gain.  From there, my doctor told me we would take things day-by-day.  Two weeks later, during the nurses’ routine monitoring of her heartbeat, we witnessed her heart rate slow down to almost nothing then it would build back up again.  They continued to monitor to see if everything improved and after 24 hours of the same thing happening, they decided that June 16, 2008 would be her birthday.  I was mortified! I wasn’t prepared to welcome a baby home but the doctor, nurses and anesthesiologist were all wonderful.  They kept me calm and helped me through the process of figuring out all of the last minute details!  Once I’d been given my epidural, it seemed like only a matter of minutes.  I remember my husband and parents and sister gathering around me to say a prayer and shortly after, I was headed into the delivery room for a Caesarian section; the doctor decided he would not put Laila through labor since they did not know the cause of her heart beat declining and increasing.  Things went pretty quickly as the doctors explained what they were doing and after some pressure and a few more moments of anticipation, Laila was delivered and crying with a healthy set of lungs!  As soon as they rolled her over to me, I said to my husband, “Oh my goodness, she looks exactly like you!”  That was the scariest and most exciting day of my life.  Once I was back in recovery, I remember the nurse telling me about the medicine pump that would alleviate any pain.  After that, everything was a blur.

According to the CDC website, the number of Cesarean deliveries is 1,272,503, making the percentage of all deliveries by Cesarean 32.0%.  I chose Canada as the region to compare my experience to (https://www.babycenter.ca/a160/caesarean-section-basics gives a thorough explanation).  The process in Canada is not different than my own experience.  Although I was stressed because I did not want to be cut open, the experience was seamless and I was reassured the whole way.

I chose this example because it was an extremely important day in my life.  When it comes to birth, I think it’s the very beginning of development.  Shortly after birth, depending on circumstances, a mother and her new baby begin the bonding process.  The relationships between children and their parents is a major factor in development as well.  Parents are their children’s first teacher and the bond established at birth is an integral piece.

Births – Method of delivery.  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/delivery.htm