A number of dear friends have voiced concern regarding my plan that (unless labor commences naturally beforehand) I’ll be having an induction on Thursday morning. They react with statements such as, “Elowyn will arrive when she’s ready,” and “You should wait for God’s timing.”
Firstly, I’m 100% certain Little Miss Elowyn has no idea what is going on. As far as she’s concerned, she lives in a nice, warm, dark, cave. When she is born, she’s going to have the shock of her life!
Labor is not triggered by the baby’s will, but rather by a series of complex hormonal changes in the mother’s body. In the case that those hormonal changes don’t occur properly, both the baby and the mother’s health are at risk. Eventually, the baby will get too big, and the mother’s body will fail to support it with proper oxygen and nutrients. This spells death for the baby and potentially the mother as well, unless some kind of intervention is made, such as an emergency C-section.
Secondly, while I agree that God in his providence has already picked out the right time for Elowyn to be born on, who’s to say that time isn’t Thursday morning when I’m induced? I believe God providentially provided us with doctors and modern medicine so that we wouldn’t have to suffer the way people did 50+ years ago. Availing ourselves of God’s blessings is both good and wise, and I suspect God would be offended if we snubbed his gifts in a vain attempt at piety or misguided faith.
Did the starving woman in 1 Kings 17 send Elijah away when he offered to bless her with food during a famine? Nope. Did a lame, blind, or sick person ever say to Jesus, “Don’t heal me! God made me this way for a reason?” I don’t think so. God works through means and miracles, and pitocin can be an awesome means.
“If you ever visit and old graveyard you will likely see many, many tombstones for mothers and their unborn or newborn babies.”
If you ever visit an old graveyard you will likely see many, many tombstones for mothers and their unborn or newborn babies. That’s because, sadly, labor doesn’t always go the way it’s supposed to. Babies get stuck. They grow too big. Some never come out at all. Mothers get infections. Grow too fatigued to push. Labor stalls.
If it weren’t for modern medicine, hospitals, and ER rooms, I would have died two years ago from a kidney infection. I wouldn’t be writing this blog to you, and Elowyn would never have existed. Yet God in his providence inspired some wonderful scientist somewhere to invent an antibiotic that would save my life, thereby making my future daughter’s life possible.
Now, two years later, God again has providentially blessed me with options like labor induction and an epidural to make the birthing process safer and less traumatic. In this way (assuming I don’t go into labor naturally by Thursday), God may very well be saving my life and my baby’s life again.
So … Thank you God for modern medicine, good doctors, and state-of-the-art hospitals! Me and my little family certainly appreciate your sovereign guidance of medical science.
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Hey, God created modern science so we’d all stop buggin’ Him all the time to fix everything. So you go do what comes naturally for mothers, and tell that kid to “get out here right this instant, young lady!”
That’s right! She needs to be hen-pecked into shape already and she’s only 40 weeks old. LOL!
Jennifer: Warmth and prayers for you both. Regardless of what they say, always follow your heart, your instincts and listen to what your Dr. says, which is not to say, do what the dr. says. Your instincts prevail. You and Jason are comfortable with your decision. That is all you need to know.
Where are you delivering? Send me an email and let me know.
Thanks Jacquie! I appreciate the support (o: Just emailed you!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Jennifer! You don’t even have to visit an “old” graveyard to see the number of babies that die….I know you’re referring to the advances in modern medicine, so looking at an “old” graveyard would give more evidence of that. But we frequent Eternal Valley here in Santa Clarita because that is where our daughter Elizabeth is buried. She was our 3rd child and died from SIDS back in 1988 and they still don’t have that one figured out! God was in control and still is and I can rest in that! The most important thing is to have your trust in Him! I’ll keep praying that you feel God’s arms of love wrapped around you in the days ahead and when you get to the point of being in labor to deliver your precious daughter!