Thank you, Choices Matters Campaign, for sponsoring this post, Discovering Your Plan Against Pain during Birth. I was selected for this opportunity by the Choices Matters Campaign with collaboration of Moms Meet; the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
There may be a moment where you plan your birth to a tee. You write down all of the details because let's be honest, you dreamed of becoming a mom to this little one for nine months, or nine years, or more. You pinned every other birth plan on the planet. You read tens, no hundreds, of birth plans from Instagram stories to blog sites alike. You cannot wait for your perfect birth. And then it does not go as planned. And you feel like you failed your body or your body failed you. Or just you failed.
Sound familiar?
Not all of our birth plans go "as planned".
For me, I didn't necessarily have a written out plan like the books tell you to have; however, it wouldn't have mattered anyways, or that's what I thought. My body had other plans with both births, so those birth plans would not have mattered. Or would they have?
With Ollie, we were itches away from have a C-section because his heart kept spiking, mine was far too elevated as well. My water had been broken for hours and there was a high risk of infection for both me and him. He needed to get out and get out quick. He was stuck and thankfully, a vacuumed birth did the trick. With Lillie, the cord wrapped around her neck when my water broke. With every contraction, my birth did not necessarily progress and the longer and longer she was still in there, her heart rate would drop. Thankfully, we made it to the end quickly with some medication and she was here vaginally, yet again... the words "emergency C-section" were a common term in the delivery room.
Doctors see my little frame. They see my "big" 8 pound babies. They see the struggle that I am having, or have had... they assumed C-section.
Since I did not have a C-section, I cannot speak to the pain and the recovery of that; however, what I can speak to is that assumption that even after a vaginal birth, the doctors just assumed I wanted opioids to manage my tears, my stitches, and my pain. I did not. I told him I did not... and yet, he wrote me a prescription "just in case"... because I did not have a birth plan.
This is common too. Did you know in a study conducted by Moms Meet, they polled 1,452 women in the U.S. and found that nine out of 10 moms are concerned with using opioids after childbirth?
With the heightened media exposure over opioid addiction in this country, it’s no wonder we, as women, have hesitations about taking these medications after birth, especially when our newborn is involved and especially when we factor breastfeeding and the additional side effects into it. But what are our options? Or do we even have options?
Yes. The clear answer is yes.
By the statistics, you would not think so. That same survey showed that three in four women would rather try a non-opioid to manage their pain, but only 11% reported actually talking to their doctors about it. This is where a good birth plan comes into play.
I never really thought about birth plans in this way. I thought more about the idea of bouncing on a ball, or sitting in a tub of water, but pain management? It was not on my radar. I must be in the 36% of women that statistically did not have a birth plan, which is an opportune time for a woman to speak with their doctor about pain management options, including non-opioids.
This is where the folks at Choices Matter come in. Choices Matter is a campaign designed to educate and empower patients, caregivers, and physicians to discuss pain management options, including effective non-opioid options, prior to surgery or births. The use of non-opioid options before, during, and after surgery can significantly decrease or, in many cases, completely eliminate the need for opioids after many common procedures, including C-section deliveries.
Choices Matter helps you build your own plan and even gives you a discussion guide to use when chatting with your physician. They are all about educating folks on non-opioid options and making sure that people feel empowered to have the conversation. No matter how big or small your surgery may be, whether it is a C-section, non-surigical birth, or even another surgery non-baby related, it’s important to be aware of certain details beforehand. You may require surgery due to a medical condition or emergency, or perhaps you’ve decided to have an elective surgery (a surgery that is scheduled and does not involve a medical emergency). Either way it’s important to ask your doctor questions about what you can expect after surgery, including your options for managing pain.
Women are prescribed nearly twice as many prescription opioids as men after surgery, and it's time for us to become more educated and empowered for our own decisions. Go check out Plan Against Pain and the Choices Matters Campaign to learn more.
