I do wish my reasons were grounded in research since everywhere I look, articles and blog posts keep popping up telling people that natural births are not for everyone. Well, I never really answered those questions; I simply referred to my sister.
I have a confession to make.
I do wish my reasons were grounded in research since everywhere I look, articles and blog posts keep popping up telling people that natural births are not for everyone. Well, I never really answered those questions; I simply referred to my sister.
One thing I have always known was that I wanted to have children. The sooner the better. My sister, on the other hand, was eager to avoid the baby talk. For as long as I can remember (basically until she had her own), she didn’t even want to go near babies. As things turned out, she had a baby even before me and she experienced the perfect natural birth.
When my turn came around, it really showed that sister rivalry is still as strong as ever even when not living under the same roof anymore. I don't mean the competitive type of rivalry; I didn't want to outdo her really. Instead, it caused me to reason like this: If Alida can do it, then, by God, so can I! Aside from the fact that I genuinely get ill every time I walk into a hospital, I had a fervent wish to get into my own bed with both my baby and hubby after giving birth. I was terrified of having to sleep in a ward with my daughter but without my better half.
As it turns out, I was able to match my sister in the giving birth section. She, however, did far exceed me in the endeavor of breastfeeding. Giving my daughter formula milk was never in the equation. Because my sister breastfed her son, I too was going to breastfeed my baby. After all, the research also does make the benefits of it quite clear. While my sister breastfed until she weaned her son off of it at four years old, I stopped after only a year. I was going back to work again and my little girl was eating so much solid food that she didn’t even want to drink that much anymore. So there you have it. Sisterhood is a continuously interesting and never-ending journey. Tell me, do you recognise yourself in this? Or am I the only one who has taken such a laid back, sister rivalry approach to these important decisions during pregnancy and birth?