I recently discovered that April was C-Section Awareness Month.  With Mother’s Day coming up in May, I thought this would be a good time to put the spotlight on moms, and all the ways women are transformed by motherhood.  There are various ways that women join the ranks of motherhood, and, today, I’m focusing on the way most people think of first - childbirth.  It is not an easy task, growing a baby inside your body, but it is the first sacrifice God asks us to make for the children he blesses us with in this manner.  Your whole physical appearance and function changes when you are pregnant.  There are drastic changes, like cravings, illness, fatigue and a growing midsection.  There are also more subtle changes or changes that last the rest of your life.  Though short, I have had to say goodbye to any junior sized pants since becoming a mother; they just aren’t cut the same as women’s pants.  My sister developed allergies only after her second child was born and they seem to be with her to stay.  I know of some women whose hair has gone from curly to straight or vice versa upon becoming pregnant.  It is crazy and amazing how someone so little can change you so much!  To all the mommas who have carried babies inside them, embrace the changes!  Love your new body because of all those changes.  That little baby changes drastically in one year as well.  Isn’t it amazing to look at how much a baby grows and changes from the beginning of their life (a single cell), to a walking, talking, demanding, creative force that leaves a path of toys in their wake just one year later!  

An all natural childbirth with no medical intervention has been a dream of mine.  It is just amazing to me how strong God made women to be able to grow and deliver another person.  The human body in general is just an amazing phenomenon, but childbirth always leaves me in awe of our amazing Creator.  While this is the goal, it is not always possible.  In the United States, there are so many different approaches to childbirth that it feels like walking into another world sometimes at that first doctor’s appointment.  With my first baby, I felt like I had just failed a test that I didn’t know I would take.  First time moms become researchers looking for the best for their baby.  Can I have a tuna sandwich for lunch?  Is it safe to go swimming?  What if I get sick; can I take medicine?  If I’m not listening to classical music for at least an hour a day will my child be delayed?  It gets crazy.  Then there are questions of what to do with that small human when they arrive!  Do I get them vaccines?  What does the timing look like for that?  Should boys be circumcised?  Yeah, it gets overwhelming very quickly!  On top of all of those decisions, you have to make decisions about the birth itself.  You would think the baby will just come out when ready, but medical practices make that a whole different big decision.  It is easy to feel bullied or overwhelmed into just doing whatever the doctor says whether or not you are comfortable with that plan.  

My first baby seemed like my dream of all natural birth would be a success.  I had a very supportive midwife on my side.  Unfortunately, I had the laws of the state and the other doctors against me.  As soon as I got to 38 weeks the other doctors were already talking about scheduling an induction.  I had to fight to give my baby all the time she needed to make her appearance on a natural time frame (and to make it to what I thought would be my due date rather than the date the doctors set two weeks earlier).  Hindsight being 20/20, there were several things I would have done differently if I had known what I know now.  There were so many people with different opinions, I just had to go with what I thought was best.  I have learned that this is true of all of parenting.  There will always be plenty of opinions and options.  Wading through them and choosing what we think is best is all we can do.  We won’t make everyone happy.  I had to realize that I did what I thought was best at that time.  My little girl was in no hurry to breath when she was born, so I was very thankful for the hospital setting and the immediate medical support for her upon her birth.  Though her birth wasn’t exactly what I had planned, I am thankful for a healthy, happy, creative little girl who is never in a hurry to do anything.

I thought my second baby would be much different, and I was right.  I had the experience of the first baby to know exactly what I wanted.  I had a clearly articulated birth plan, and a whole practice behind my decisions.  I didn’t feel like I had to constantly fight for what I thought was best.  However, my son didn’t come at all like I envisioned either.  After 36 hours of labor with little progress, a sonogram revealed that he was face first.  This face presentation, as it is known, meant that the biggest part of his head was trying to come first, rather than the top/crown of the head as is usual.  Instead of descending down through the birth canal, he was hitting his face on my pelvis with each contraction.  The only way to deliver him without a risk of injury to his neck was via c-section.  As someone who wants minimal medical intervention and hates needles, this was devastating.  I definitely ugly cried for a while over that decision.  While it was not what I wanted, I am thankful that the medical intervention was possible to safely deliver my baby.   

No matter what your delivery experience, whether you had the birth you envisioned or something drastically different, every mom can say it was worth it.  Pain in childbirth is part of the curse for sin.  Childbirth is difficult.  Everyone’s experience is different with each child.  It takes a toll on a woman’s physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health.  Our children leave their mark on us, and God has given us the task of leaving an impression on them as well.   I don’t know of anyone more influential than moms.  All mommas, from those carrying their first babies to those who are decades past their babies moving on, you are changing the world!  It is always worth it.