No Awards for Pushing!

I read this beautiful write up on facebook and decided to share with all mothers (author unknown). At the end of the day what is important is a healthy mother and child.


To all mothers out there, I salute you although I must say
I am one of those mothers who experienced the initial "disappointment" of having a C-section. He was cut out and is healthy and smart - that really is all that matters A child is a child. As long as it has an umbilical cord & it isn't the anti-Christ, a baby is a baby.


Last month, I attended the church dedication of the beautiful daughter of a close friend. Their church does many dedications at a time - so there were 10 families dedicating 11 children on the day. And EVERY mother had a story. My friend discovered she was pregnant on a Saturday & landed in hospital on Monday. Some complications that I don't want to go into; but the bottom-line is that they were so severe that the doctors decided to 'treat her as if she was not pregnant'. She came through & now has what EVERYONE would call a miracle.

Another woman was told that she would have to undergo CS & she almost started binding & casting the doctor. Said she would pray with her pastor. She couldn't get to see her pastor (I think protocol in their church) till he saw her one day after a service or something and asked how far. She went into how she was scared of CS, wanted to 'give birth like the Hebrew women' and wanted him to pray away the CS. He prayed with her & told her to go for the CS. When the baby was taken out, they discovered that the umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby's neck. How the baby didn't suffer some kind of brain damage due to oxygen deprivation, only God knows. But if she had insisted on pushing, she would have given birth to a dead baby. Even the doctors who told her about the CS weren't aware of the umbilical cord around the baby's neck. If that baby had died, it wouldn't have been funny at all. Especially considering what she went through to get that child - when she first got pregnant, they told her they could see a fibroid, not a foetus. I could see she wasn't as 'tripped' that she gave birth by CS & said something about a 'normal birth'. At a point, the pastor interrupted her and said "Which one is the normal one? And which is abnormal? A human being grew inside you & was taken out. Whatever was done & you & the baby can answer 'present' is normal."

Many would probably not agree, but I agree completely. Does a mother love less because she pushed? Afterall when you become a relevant person in society, does anyone ask your mother "So, did you push or did they cut you, to bring this one out?"

I felt the need for this post because many of us unwittingly take away from the glory of God as a result of cultural and other mindsets. And it is very concerning. A child who was pushed out is not more important than the one who was cut out. There are CS procedures that take 20mins or less; and there are 'pushing deliveries' that develop serious complications. Some women even feel like 'less of a woman' because they underwent CS. Like I told someone, I don't know if people have noticed but there is no special reward for pushing. At the end of the day, whether you push or they cut you, a healthy baby is IT. And some of us bring this weirdness into church & some women are made to feel guilty as if they didn't have 'enough faith'.

Taking medication is not a sign of lack of faith. A dear friend underwent brain surgery last year & the surgeon was Ben Carson. Dr Carson is THE BEST neurosurgeon in the world and is a born-again Christian. His skill, knowledge & expertise could have only come from one place (read his book "Gifted Hands" and you will marvel at what can only be the power of God).

Seriously, medical intervention is not a sin. Neither is adoption (if push comes to shove, or if that's what floats your boat). You are not a failure because you didn't 'visit the labour ward' yourself. At the end of the day, all that matters is that God trusts you (with all your flaws) enough to make you a custodian of a precious child & not mess up its life. Whether that child arrived by pushing, CS, adoption, surrogacy or IVF; it really isn't a big deal.