What I am about to tell you may sound far fetched BUT, bare with me.

As I approach my due date, I've been thinking about my family history of obstetrics.  While going to school, we were taught that 50% of a patient's diagnosis can be found through taking a good family health history.  Basically, when the doctor looks at you, 50% of you is diagnosed through your genetics.  The other 50% is diagnosed through your symptoms and vital signs such as blood pressure, heart rate etc.

So, thinking of myself as the patient, my family obstetrical health history would show what my future may entail for having babies.  Logically, I started to dig into my family's past to figure out what kind of history there is in having babies because C-sections are a medical intervention that has not been around forever.  In order for me to exist, a long time ago, someone with my same genetics MUST have had a baby naturally.  Here's what I found ... My mom had both me and my brother through C-section with exactly the same diagnosis I had with Abby (failure to progress).  My mom is an identical twin with identical genetics who ALSO had a baby through C-section with exactly the same progression as my mom and myself.  Because my mom and aunt are twins, it can be assumed that they were both born via C-section (although we don't know this for certain).  My Grandmother was probably the first of 3 generations to have a C-section.  My Great Grandmother was probably the last person with my genetics to have a natural birth probably on a farm somewhere. 

With this logic, some may ask, "can you even have a normal birth? maybe you're just destined to have a C-section."  Believe me, I've been asking myself the same question for this whole pregnancy.  BUT, here comes the "far fetched" part of this blog.  Somewhere in my genes, is hidden the truth and the mechanism for me to have a normal, natural birth.  I am my own living proof.  I am alive today because SOMEBODY had to birth my genetics WITHOUT pain medication, WITHOUT medical intervention and WITHOUT a C-section.  Thus, my genes hold the secret to me having a normal birth, I just need to believe in them and trust in God to innately guide my body to do what it genetically knows how to do.  Birth is such a process that is ingrained in us to the core that if we didn't trust ourselves or listen to the needs of our body or believe that God will guide us through such a difficult process, that we would no longer exist as a human race.

Therefore, I will be trusting in my genetics, calling upon the strength of my Great Grandmother and her mothers and grandmothers of their past, as well as praying a LOT and most of all believing in myself to accomplish my goal.  I can do this.  I know I can.  I am my own living proof.  I can do this ...

~Mama Beal