CPD (cephalo pelvic disportorion) Scare from Doctors

Liam's birth was particularly hard for me, and I am so tired of hearing people say, well your pelvis was too small. To most women who are told this, is makes them feel like their maker didn't design them correctly to do what they are created to do. Now, if a woman has rickets (virtually unheard of since the 60s or earlier) then that's different.

For me, the main issue with Liam's birth was he was acynclitic. To explain this, a baby normally comes down and out the pelvis and birth canal with the top of his head first and his chin tucked into his chest. Liam, on the other hand, was stuck in my pelvis in a funny position. To give you an idea, it's like he was leaning down listen out the opening of the pelvis with one shoulder up and one down. This is EXTREMELY RARE, but more common with babies who are high in the pelvic opening, maybe with low amniotic fluid, and/or unable to move out of the position he is in because of size, or the mother's immobility. I had a few of these.

There are many different maneuvers a mom can do to help this. Virtually none are available if a woman is not encouraged to move into various positions (not just walking and laying down) or if she is confined to bed. Sadly I am now learning about all of these now. I knew some before we went into labor, but in the heat of it, they are almost all forgotten (the main reason to have adequate labor support such as a Doula). We didn't try any of those maneuvers. Looking back, I don't know if could have done it without intervention anyway. Usually mom's who don't correct the position of the baby, usually push on average of 5 hrs. Yeah, I had no energy for that. If I could change it, I would have gone to the hospital, gotten the epidural, and then napped as long as I wanted (I had plenty of time the way things were going). That is as long as I didn't have the side effects that come with the epidural, not only the ones I did experience, but the others as well.

So here, is the point...Yes, if your pelvis opening is the size of a quarter, then no, that is out of the question, but seeing how that is impossible, then let's consider the facts.
1) In late pregnancy, the LIGAMENTS in the pelvis become more flexible. Not the bones, so those who say, "your pelvis is going to be the same with every baby" are not fully informed. The hormones that stretch the ligaments heighten at the end of pregnancy, so if you are induced, your chances of gaining all the power you body has to help you are smaller. Also, in labor, one can use the "hip squeeze" technique where the tops of the hips are pinched much like a clothespin (not in a painful way, most women find it quite pleasant and relieving of much pressure) to open the bottom part.
2)The baby's head is made to mold. There is a reason God made baby's heads not fully formed till much later in life, even a late term baby's head will mold, even a large baby's head will mold. This takes time. If you are being induced, chances are you are not having contractions that are what you body would have had. Chances are you labor will go faster than what your baby and baby need, and not give enough time for the baby's head to mold properly, or it may (as it often does) cause the baby to be in distress and not tolerate labor well, or cause you uterus (as it often does) to contract in an abnormally strong way.
3)If you are lying down, you are narrowing the opening of your pelvis. If you look at EVERY OTHER MAMMAL and every document of people before medicalized birth, you will see, no one does this, it is rare. When a woman is in a upright position (usually not including a semi-reclined in bed, which still puts pressure on the tail bone, therefore narrowing the opening) like squatting, it opens up the pelvis up to 30% more. Also, this is GREAT for labor pain, especially back pain. To do a little experiment, if you don't believe me, place one hand on your pubic bone, the other on your tail bone. With help, move from lying flat on your back to hands and knees or squatting and see how far apart your hands go. Why not give birth in this position? To answer: it's weird, it's not what you see in movies, it's not the best "view" for Drs. and it requires more support emotionally and physically than most Drs. and midwives do.

There are MANY MANY stories of women being told their pelvises are too small or misshappen and need repeat c-secitons, the later, end up birthing larger babies with larger head circumferences later on. Again, the bones don't change, but everything does, if one is open to it.

It's so sad to me that some Drs now days (not all and including some midwives) don't see the dangers in first time and more hazardous repeat c-sections. Especially compared to a VBAC (sadly some women aren't even told what these are by their Dr.) Vaginal Birth After Cesarean. Not to mention the effects on a baby. Cesarean is NOT safer than a vaginal birth. There are exceptions if your baby is not tolerating labor well, then by all means, that is why we have hospitals and medical intervention, to help in these oh so rare circumstances. DO YOUR RESEARCH. Find out which one is safer, based on FACTS and STUDIES, not your Dr's feelings. Dr's are trained to look for problems in healthy pregnancies. So are some midwives. If you Dr. doesn't offer VBAC or has a VBAC rate of less than 70%, look for another Dr. If you want a normal birth, with the healthiest of outcomes, then make sure you and your Dr. are on the same page. If you are very adamant about staying with your Dr. then hire effective, skilled, labor support of someone who is knowledge on the topic of VBAC and how to increase your success with one.

I don't think midwifery is for everyone. I don't think home birth is either, but especially if you feel you missed out on what you are able to do as a woman, then, get the facts. Opinions you can argue with, facts, no.