Melanie Maxwell gave birth

[Arete]

I honestly don't know. The pope made a big deal about this a while ago. He wants catholics to only use biblical names. I don't know if names like Christopher or Christina would count

Yes Christopher and Christina would count. They are considered Biblical names in Catholic and Orthodox tradition because they are derivative's of Christ's name, thus a baby is considered named in his honor. Also when the pope speaks of biblical names, he includes saints names not found in the Bible like Agnes, Ignatius, Theodore. The pope and the Patriach of Constantinople harp every so often that children should be named after things in the Bible or the Saints (gets translated into "biblical names" when the orders go out in English).

[marmalade]

It can be. It depends how much of an emergency it was, sometimes an emergency C-section can still be done horizontally. And you can have a vertical cut on the skin but a horizontal one on the uterus. So VBACs haven't definitely been ruled out for her, it just depends on what happened.

True, I think of Michelle Duggar as a classic case. She had pre-ecempsia with the first set of twins, but they apparently caught it early because, IIRC, she also had gestational diabetes, so she was already being carefully monitored. She likely showed signs at a weekly check up (I want to say she was around 35-36 weeks), so it wasn't as if she wasn't already a candidate for a c-section. The next two sections were due to transverse position, forget why Jordyn was a section, but they were all horizontal. It was the life and death situation with Josie and also her size that made the vertical section the best choice for Mullet's last section.

I wish Doc Sharon was still around. She explained the reasons a vertical incision would pretty much ensure it would be more difficult for Mullet to get pregnant again (but the fertile myrtle defied odds...again), but more importantly, keep any pregnancy to term, or even to the point of viability. I remember her saying that the vertical incision pretty much guaranteed any future pregnancy would not be held as long as the one that caused the incision, hence the Jubilee nightmare.

I also remember the blogger Sarah Pope (on the Duggar show praying with Mullet) saying that she chose to deliver vaginally for this exact reason. She didn't have life-threatening symptoms and was able to deliver her baby vaginally, so she can have children in the future, and she plans to...once the one she has is in a more secure place...unlike SOME baby hoarders we know.

[MamaJunebug]

Welcome to the world, Christina. With any luck, your mom & dad will continue to move toward being their own Christian people and not Stevians.

I'm actally relieved to hear that the family will be out of town the next weeks. Let Melanie's own family attend to her and their little nieces/cousins/granddaughters. Give Abs & Bethy a chance to interact with ... normal people. There, I said it.

[Alcyone]

They have a photo of the baby up now. She's a cutie.

[ricky_ticky]

I wonder if Nathan is capable of feeding the family and cleaning up a bit while Melanie's laid up. Maybe he should make some bean burritos.

[emesbe]

IIRC, Melanie had a c-section with either Susannah (the baby who died) or Abigail. I remember Nathan saying it was "the worst experience of her life".

[silverspoons]

I had a vertical incision from emergency surgery on my uterus (unrelated to pregnancy) when I was 19. I was told it would be very hard to get pregnant. I was able to get pregnant 7 times with 2 sucessful pregnancies (5 miscarriages). Both sucessful pregnancies were watched like a hawk and delivered early. The first pregnancy was okay, the second was rough and I was so happy to have 2, no more trying for us. I think vertical scars are not as commonplace. Most emergency c-sections are horzontial. From what I understand it vertical is used for emergencies before 28 weeks or in rare cases for people like me with uterine abnormalites.

Im glad the Melanie is okay. I think 3 girls would be so much fun, but if your a Maxwell I guess you can't be thinking about fun!

[Funky Chicken]

My C was an emergency and it was a horizontal.

When I was a hospital resident, all our emergency sections were horizontal (I was on paeds/neonates to catch babies and also on the assist roster for emergency sections). But when I did my elective in the UK we saw a lady on rounds who'd had a "classical" (vertical) incision - but that was because she had a micro-premie at 22 weeks, similar to Michelle Duggar. It is rare to do the classical incision (I think they only use it in these extreme cases to get maximum access) because the uterine wall is thickest at the top where they do the vertical incision. It is actually at its thinnest where they do the horizontal incision, so they cut through less tissue that way. So it's most likely she had a horizontal incision, I think.

[Arete]

I have always loved that quote from Micah, ".....do justice, show mercy, and walk humbly with your God.." Yet seeing it on the Maxwell baby anouncement today just made me mad. It's never going to be that poor kid's choice to do justice, show mercy, and walk humbly with her God. If she is not what Steve expects of her, she will be worthless in the Maxwells' eyes. God I need a drink.

[WanderingStar]

Welcome to the world, Christina! She's very cute. I'm glad that she and Melanie are both okay (at least, I guess Melanie's okay? I'm just as confused by Sarah's phrasing too, as usual), and I'll keep her in my prayers that maybe one day she'll break away from her granddad's screwed-up cult along with her sisters.

I also hope that eventually there will be more pictures and updates. Baby girls have just as much worth as baby boys, Steve!!! Just so you know! [/PointlessAttemptAtReeducation]

ETA: Also, if there is ONE thing I like even the tiniest bit about the Maxwells (meaning, it pains me to admit I like anything about them) is their consistently normal names. Nothing like Sauntina LaVerle coming from them at least.

[FloraDoraDolly]

I'm surprised they didn't go with Charity instead of Christina.

Charity is the name of someone who dances around in a bustier and fishnet stockings singing "Hey, Big Spender!" Of course, the Maxwells would never make that association.

[treemom]

I hope she's really okay and not just "okay." :?

Maybe god is trying to teach Nathan and the Maxwells to also value girl children, but I don't have god's antenna for truth (a penis) so what would I know.

Okay, I really hate to derail the thread but I hate even worse to see myths perpetuated.

Whether a baby can fit through the birth canal does not have to do with the baby's weight or the mother's size. It has to do with the baby's head circumference and the size of the mother's pelvic opening (not related to the size of the pelvis or how wide her hips are). It is very rare for a baby to not fit through the pelvis, and it occurs mostly in cases when the mother's pelvis has a deformity from a previous break or fracture or the baby has grown much larger than it normally would have from unmanaged gestational diabetes.

That having been said, I'm sure Melanie's C-Section was necessary (not going to speculate as to why) and I'm glad she was able to get one and I hope she recovers well. I'm also glad she was in the hospital because she has had a difficult history.

Actually it is really common in much of the world for a baby not to fit through the birth canal. It kills the baby and causes obstetric fistula.

[Patsy]

Actually it is really common in much of the world for a baby not to fit through the birth canal. It kills the baby and causes obstetric fistula.

Hush. That is a lie made up by the C-section and formula lobby, and anyway, fistulas are easily treated with breastfeeding. Or something.

[Mela99]

I really hope we're overthinking this... What could be worse than being a girl in that family than being an unwanted girl?

ETA; So is this a whole Henry VIII thing where they blame women for birthing the wrong sex, or has Christopher sinned terribly?

[darkplumaged]

Gorgeous baby. It's hard to say right now, but she appears to resemble Bethany.

Sad to think that these sweet little babies will grow up in Maxwell hell.

[terranova]

Not sure about in the US but I think it's not recommended to have more than 5 sections. What happens if she keeps getting pregnant and keeps requiring them? Will the doctor's tell her to stop conceiving?

[Muriel]

Not sure about in the US but I think it's not recommended to have more than 5 sections. What happens if she keeps getting pregnant and keeps requiring them? Will the doctor's tell her to stop conceiving?

Yeah I was thinking of this too, in France they say no more than 4 or at max 5 C-sections...

[Patsy]

Gorgeous baby. It's hard to say right now, but she appears to resemble Bethany.

Sad to think that these sweet little babies will grow up in Maxwell hell.

Bethany resembles my own impertinent, independent little hellraiser niece in some aspects, which makes me feel sick.

[freejoytoo]

They are clearly disappointed it was a girl. Jerks.

[Petronella7]

They are clearly disappointed it was a girl. Jerks.

Oh yeah, it's screamingly obvious.

There are some nice comments on the blog, though. Some I know are from FJ-ers, but a few seem to be from actual well-wishers and Maxwell fans, who are making sure to emphasize how wonderful it is to have a 3rd girl and that needing to have a C-section is not a failure.

I will be very interested to see if this baby gets the same amount of bandwidth as baby Joshua did.

[holothuroidea]

Actually it is really common in much of the world for a baby not to fit through the birth canal. It kills the baby and causes obstetric fistula.

So, you think it's okay to go around speculating that various size babies won't fit through random women's pelvises based on internet pictures because of this? You're cool with perpetuating that? Because I don't see how that helps educate women on the various risks of childbirth and it definitely doesn't call attention to helping women in "much of the world" with adequate evidence based obstetric care.

[holothuroidea]

Daw! The updated the post with a picture, and she's such a squishy little baby! She looks fabulous. No news on mom yet. That "okay" thing has me worried.

[treemom]

No, I don't care if people speculate on the reason fr a c-section. But I do resent you claiming that it is never needed and super rare. In the us that might be true, I honestly don't know. But it isn't true in many places in the world.

I am so tired of the implied or actual birthing the right way proponents. You grudge against people saying big babies need csections is such a first world problem. And really who cares if people say that? Because what you mostly accomplish is looking like you doubt people who say they needed a csection because of baby size.

[clibbyjo]

So, you think it's okay to go around speculating that various size babies won't fit through random women's pelvises based on internet pictures because of this? You're cool with perpetuating that? Because I don't see how that helps educate women on the various risks of childbirth and it definitely doesn't call attention to helping women in "much of the world" with adequate evidence based obstetric care.

You do know Treemom is actively involved in obstetric fistula charities and will be visiting one in Tanzania in a few weeks right? I think she is qualified as someone who can speak on the subject with knowledge, not just speculation. Are you a fistula expert? Treemom kind of is, so yeah, she knows what she is saying.

[tankgirl]

No, I don't care if people speculate on the reason fr a c-section. But I do resent you claiming that it is never needed and super rare. In the us that might be true, I honestly don't know. But it isn't true in many places in the world.

I am so tired of the implied or actual birthing the right way proponents. You grudge against people saying big babies need csections is such a first world problem. And really who cares if people say that? Because what you mostly accomplish is looking like you doubt people who say they needed a csection because of baby size.

Actually as I have heard, due to dietary issues, not commonly seen in the Western world, pelvic issues, are not uncommon in other areas of the world. In the west with better diet (ok more options, surplus, and vitamins), and less physically difficult lives, pelvic issues are less common. This was another one of those things that was not good about the "good ol' days" pre-1900, in the past pelvic issues were more common around the whole world, not just poorer countries like now.