If you have read my about page… you know that I have mentioned my birth did not go exactly well. If you don’t mind, I would like to share a few more details. 
I was about 38 weeks when I was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia. My blood pressure was up, I had lots of protein in my urine and my ankles were beyond swollen. We started our night in the hospital with the usual induction methods… which my body was not really responding to.
Finally after many struggles, tears and different methods the doctor came in to tell us that we had finally dilated to a 3 about mid morning on Sunday. However, this news was followed up with some news I never planned on for my birth experience. The doctor informed me that I had not had urine output for 5 hours, even with fluid boluses. He said that we needed to do a c-section or I could end up with permanent kidney damage. Once we finally made it into the c-section and they reached my little guy, we was white, limp and not breathing.
As you can also see from our about me page, we had a happy ending. I am lucky to be mommy to the happiest, cutest little boy in the world. I would like to tell you today that not every mom is this lucky and if I had this birth experience in a developing country I likely would not be here today.
Maternity Worldwide is an organization looking to change what would have been my outcome in many developing countries. The risk of dying during pregnancy or childbirth in a developing country is 1 in 150. Compare this risk to 1 in 3800 in most developed countries. Then compare this stat with the ratio of 1 in 39 for sub saharan Africa.
I could not imagine missing out on the life of my little boy. The event of a mom passing away trickles down stream in the family with devastating effects. Many of the children have in increased risk of poverty once their mother passes away. They have an increased risk of poor nutrition, decreased education and decreased access to medical care.
This Christmas, or even later, I hope you take the chance to change the life of a woman and alter the course of her family for good. Maternity Worldwide has several support options including Christmas cards. Then after that go give your kids and mom a big hug. 
Happy Sweet Thursday everyone, don’t forget you can nominate your friends to be recognized here as well.
Does anyone have any birth stories to share?
What a wonderful story with a very important message. We forget how lucky we are and often take for granted all that we have available. I will be purchasing some their Christmas cards and I’m on my way to hugging my kids and grand kids.
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Yes, despite the story being nothing like we hoped for… it was a happy ending and we did take the time to remind ourselves that this would have been different in many other countries. Thanks for coming by today!
It is stories like yours that make us realize how blessed we are to live in this country. Deaths still happen, but at least there are fewer of them now. So glad yours was a happy ending.
Hoping to make it fewer deaths be spreading the word about this program. Thanks for coming by today!
Great reminder that life is precious and to help others who not as fortunate.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for coming by. I feel like I was very fortunate to have a deeper glimpse into the appreciation of life through my work as a nurse. And I am always happy to hear/ share the stories of others and their struggles/ triumphs. I think it makes us stronger.
I’ve shared all 3 of my birth stories on the blog. Thankfully, after rough pregnancies (crazy morning sickness throughout) my birth’s were fairly routine.
My best gf had to have a c-section with her first due to the fact that her birth canal was too small. The doctor’s told her that had she given birth years ago? She would have died in child birth. This post definitely resonated with me. Very nice.
Well that birth story is very short compared to the first one I wrote- 3 pages typewritten. We were in there for awhile. My only thing is now I am not sure what to plan, hope, wish for my next birth experience when it happens. Hope for the best at least.
Thx for sharing. My son will be 2 on Dec. 20, he was born with a very rare deformity that required immediate surgery and left him in NICU for 4 weeks. So I totally understand where you are coming from! He’s happy and healthy today and I feel so blessed for every single second we spend together!
Even though my son came out not breathing, we were incredibly fortunate to avoid the NICU. Of all the things we did experience, that was one we avoided. That must have been a tough experience, but I am glad to hear it was a wonderful outcome!
The birth of my son didn’t go as planned either. I was very disappointed because I really wanted to labor in the bathtub. My son decided to turn breech and threw all my birth plans out the window. I ended up with a C-section.
Isn’t it so hard not to be disappointed? I try not to be that disappointed because all along our goal was to have healthy mom and baby in the end and we succeeded in that. However, it is hard to feel like I did not give up when I allowed the epidural and see that everything went downhill from that point on. But when you look at it objectively, I am not sure what could have been different. I hope you have a better experience next time if that is in your future.
Wow, did you write about your whole birth story somewhere? Please share. I love reading other Mom’s birth stories. I did write about ours here: http://www.mommyroxi.com/2011/09/our-birth-story-pt-1.html
I had an unplanned C-Section too. I wish my doctor was more patient with my labor. I didn’t have any complications, nor was my son in distress.
I have not publicized my birth story. Our birth class instructor encouraged us to write it down. Also, I will have to look for it at this point.
We have moved a couple times since that happened.
I’m glad your story had a happy ending. What a great cause you are supporting. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for coming by. I know there is a quote that says it is about the journey… but frankly that is one I don’t care to repeat.