By Any Means Possible

Dear Baby:

As of today you are officially one week late. I don't mind, although I would prefer if you were as punctual as your Mom and Dad. That is something we will work on after your arrival, and after I've given you a good right spanking.

I visited my doctor today, and even though I have tried to get you to drop and stimulate my cervix to open by any means possible, he reported that "there's nothing happening there." He then launched into a spiel the horror by which I have only witnessed in countless natural childbirth books and websites over the past several months, about how we will have little choice now but to schedule a C-section, that most women delivering at Hoag are not doing it past 41 weeks, that we are risking your head not being able to come out or even your shoulders, that putting you under a pitocin-induced labor will be an unnecessary stress for you, etc. etc. etc.!! I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I thought I had selected a second doctor who was more supportive of the natural birth experience, but apparently he was a wolf in sheep's clothing.

My blood pressure is normal. Your heartrate is normal and your movements have been regular. My urine checks out fine, and I am still sleeping satisfactoraly. Thus, there is no reason to believe that I won't go into labor on my own, when you or I am good and ready and the natural process begins. But modern medicine has frightened so many women into believing that this is an exact science; that due dates are something more than just estimates. Doctors would prefer to schedule C-sections and ruin women's chances of ever having a vaginal birth than to allow an infant to prove them wrong about the risks of delayed delivery. I have heard from countless women over the past couple of weeks about how late their babies were, and they still delivered normally. But here we are - only four days past your actual menstrually-determined due date of January 7, and he's telling me that a normal vaginal delivery is likely impossible. Baby, cover your ears while I call BULLSHIT.

Tomorrow they are going to give me a stress test, where they monitor your heart rate for a longer duration and measure my contractions (if any - and yes I have had a few over the past 48 hours). If everything checks out fine, then the doctor has agreed to not intervene, and I will meet him again on Thursday to reassess our options. If they notice a problem with your heartrate, then they will probably schedule a cesarean, and it could even happen tomorrow.

Baby, please understand that I want to hold you in my arms more than anything, and I of course want you to arrive safe and sound in this world. But I am strongly objecting to the suggestion that my doctor has made, that this is no longer a normal situation. I believe in our mutual ability to endure the birth process as God intended it, and I am counting on you to do your part while I do mine. You have been such a wonderful partner with me on this journey, and I hate the idea of it ending with a situation that was completely out of our control, for no good reason. I will not risk your or my life unnecessarily, but I will continue to stand up for us in this process. We can do this. Please, help me do this in the next few days. Let us start our life together on this note, that we did it together.