Birth Stories

A Tale of Two Births

My name is Stephanie and I am the mother of two beautiful boys. My two experiences are vastly different. With my first son, Ethan, I was tempted into an induction at 39 weeks. I was a "good candidate" the doctor said and would have a baby in about 12 hours after they started. Any risk of c-section was completely glossed over as highly unlikely since as I was such a "good candidate". I went to work on Wednesday, September 4th and told them I was being induced the next morning and my maternity leave was going to start on Thursday. I was totally excited and decided to take the rest of the day off to go and get my things together. I went home, gathered my things, and had my sister-in-law drive me to the hospital to begin my induction.

I reported to the hospital at 6pm Wednesday night. I ate dinner and they gave me an Ambien and inserted a foley bulb in my cervix to increase my dilation. At 6am Thursday morning they started the pitocin. I was 3 cm and 90% effaced. At 7am the broke my water (the point of no return).  By 10 am I was at the highest level of pitocin. I was still at 3cm. (Knowing what I know now, there are so many things I could have done to try and help me to progress!  But no!  There I was, flat on my back, waiting for my labor to magically improve!)

At 12pm I asked for a shot of Staydol and slept for an hour (I was at 4cm.) From 12pm till 4pm I made no progress and was in a LOT of discomfort so I gave in and got the epidural. I slept again for two hours and when they checked me at 7pm I had gone to 7cm. They checked me again at 9pm and I was almost 9cm. I was thinking, "Okay, a centimeter an hour... That's not bad.  I can handle another hour no problem!" It is now 11:30pm and I am throwing up and getting the shakes and chills. I have gone back to 7cm and now they say, "Hmm the baby's head isn't molding. Thats not good." Why they couldn't tell that before, I don't know, but that is neither here nor there! Now since my body has been without food since 8pm the day before and has been trying very hard to have a baby all day, I am getting a little shaky and Ethan's heart is starting to race. At 12am Friday the 6th of September, I was taken to the operating room for a c-section. At 12:23am September 6th Ethan was born. He was 8lbs 6oz and 19 inches long. The doctor said that he was face up and had his head tilted to the side, so instead of the top of his head, the side of his face was being pressed into my pelvis. He had a nice little bruise on his face where the contractions had shoved him into my pelvic bones.

For any one who hasn't had a c-section they strap you to a table at your wrists and ankles, it hurt when they pulled Ethan out, and worst of all, I didn't get to hold my baby till about 20 minutes after he was born. I still feel sad when I remember those missed moments. I don't feel that I failed to bond with him or that we aren't as close as we would have been if I had been able to hold him right away. If anything I think I was more protective of him than I would have been in an attempt to "make up" for those lost minutes.

Now my second son, in contrast, was completely different! In between having Ethan and getting pregnant with Colin, I met Heather. Heather was my doula for Colin's birth and she really helped me to see where I could have done things differently. So when I got pregnant with Colin I felt prepared to go about my pregnancy and birth with as little help as possible and definitely NO induction.

When I went to my first pre-natal appointment I discovered that my doctors assumed I was going to have another c-section. They quickly informed me that a vaginal birth after c-section (VBAC) was risky to both me and to my baby. Needless to say I left my appointment just a little freaked out! I immediately called Heather and she gave me all kinds of sources and information so that I could find out for myself what I was getting into if I wanted to pursue my desire for a natural birth. I decided that all in all the risks were minimal and not that much greater than childbirth is anyway! Having a baby can be a risky business even when you are young and healthy.  There are all kinds of things that could happen and I wasn't going to have surgery because of "what ifs".

On April 19th 2008 I was a few days shy of 40 weeks and my labor started. I actually went to bed with mild contractions figuring that they were just Braxton Hicks and would go away. I woke up at 11pm thinking that something was going on! I hung around the house, completely comfortable, staying calm and keeping track of the contractions, which were much easier to handle than the pitocin induced contractions. I called Heather around 1am to let her know what was going on since my contractions were getting closer together and hadn't gone away. I had had some false labor before so I didn't want to wake her up for nothing! Heather came and sat with me at home and helped me through some really intense back labor. I labored at home until 5am. When I got to the hospital I was 6 cm and 100% effaced. They put me in bed and started an IV and pestered me to get an epidural for the next 30 minutes. At this point I was beginning to feel the need to push and told the doctors that they could do the internal monitoring but that I wanted to push NOW. The doctor was skeptical that I was ready to push because I had only been there for an hour, but when they checked me I was 9cm and Colin was crowning!!! So much for internal monitoring!  I pushed for 10 minutes and Colin was born at 6:15 am on April 20th, 2008. He was 8lbs 10oz and 21in long. Thanks to Heather's coaching and encouragement I was confident in my body's ability to give birth and that I could handle the pain of the contractions. I focused on my breathing and was able to stay firm in my decision to limit medical intervention to as little as possible because I knew that Heather was there to support me. It was the most amazing feeling in the world to have Colin in my arms immediatly afterwards. Having a natural childbirth was actually less painful than my c-section. Heather was definitely my rock!

Submitted by Stephanie

Rock You Like A Hurricane

Our first child was born in 2004.  We were among the first in our circle of friends to have children, but from what little I'd experienced with friends, I knew I wanted something different.  My husband is in the military and the births I'd seen in our local MTF (military treatment facility) were very medicalized and actually frightened me.  It made me think birth was traumatic or a horrible accident just waiting to happen and you were lucky to have an OB rescue you and your baby from a horrible birth.  Before we even became truly active in our maternity care, we were notified that our MTF was full and we were given a list of alternatives to choose from.  As soon as I saw a birth center on the list, I knew that was where we wanted to be.  We sought out a Bradley class and devoured every book, watched every DVD and talked to anyone we could about how to achieve a peaceful, non-frightening birth.  Both my husband and I felt very well informed and empowered and we really liked the 3 midwives who rotated at our birth center.  The closer our due date came, the more fear I anticipated, but it never came.  I didn't expect that even with all the work we'd done!

The week before our son was due, I woke up thinking, "I need to get my Christmas shopping done."  It was exactly a week before Thanksgiving and my shopping is ALWAYS done by then, but today, there was a sense of urgency to knock it all out.  I left the house around 10 that morning and hit the mall.  Around 1:30, I started to get tired, crampy, and my back hurt, but I figured it was from not eating lunch and walking around for almost 4 hours.  I stopped at the food court, but ate very little of what I ordered at Wendy's.  I shopped until about 4, and then went home.  When I got there, my back was just about throbbing, but I thought, "Can't stop now!  I still gotta wrap this stuff!"  I sat in the middle of the floor and spread the day's purchases out before me with gift wrap, tape, and bows all over the place.  My husband got home around 5:30 and I was miserable.  My legs ached, my hips hurt, and my back was still throbbing fiercely.  I took my husband's suggestion and got into the shower.  He sat and talked to me, and after what seemed like just a few minutes he said, "You do realize you're pausing every 3 minutes, right?"  I'm doing WHAT?!  Once he drew my attention to it, there was no denying I was having contractions.  At that point, he asked me what I'd eaten and when I told him I had no appetite, he left to make me some macaroni and cheese.

I got out a few contractions later and ate a small bowl of macaroni and cheese.  After I ate, I got into bed and he sat behind me, applying counter pressure and moving the heated rice sock around to help keep me as comfortable as possible.  Around 7, my oh-so-attentive husband got uncomfortable and thought we should call the midwives.  I don't recall much about that conversation, but I remember seeing his face drain of color and ask something along the lines of, "NOW?!  RIGHT NOW?!"  I also know I spoke to the midwife on call, but I have no idea what was asked of me or how I responded. 

The next thing I know, we're slowly making our way down the stairs of our apartment and my husband is gently helping me into the car.  I was around 7-ish PM by then.  Though we lived 20 minutes away from the birth center, being in the car was agonizing!  I felt like the contractions never stopped and every little bump in the road made me want to shriek.  We finally arrived at the birth center around 7:30-ish.  We walked into our birth suite to find a perfectly filled tub, and our midwife.  It was like Heaven on earth just to get out of the car, but walking into the soft lighting and feeling so instantly calmed was absolutely incredible. 

I asked if I could get into the tub, and the midwife assured me I could after she examined me.  I was 8-9 centimeters!!!  My husband and I were in shock!  I got into the tub and while it helped make contractions more bearable, it also stepped them up! 

The next thing I knew, we were getting out, ready to push.  Our champion of a son was having some decelerations in his heart rate, and being out of the tub made monitoring easier.  Once I got into the bed, it seemed like I could not get comfortable.  I wouldn't actually say I was in pain, but it was definitely the most uncomfortable I have ever been in my entire life (up to that point!).  Once pushing started, our little guy seemed to like his situation even less.  We tried several different positions to take the pressure off his cord, but we couldn't seem to find a position that worked and made him comfortable.  It had only been about 35 minutes when the midwife explained to me that either he had to be born in the next 2-3 contractions, or they were going to have to help him out - either surgically, or with the vacuum.  The way she said it must have given me a second wind because within the next 2 contractions, we had a son!  It was a truly awesome.  The midwife couldn't unloop his cord, so she had to cut it right away, but he wasn't even blue!  He pinked quite nicely up almost immediately.  He didn't cry, but he was very alert when he was handed to me just seconds after he was born.  It didn't take long for the room to settle down and we were left to get to know our new son.  Our birth and postpartum period were treated with such dignity and respect that I felt as though it had been as profound an experience for our birth team as it had been for us.  I never felt like we were part of a machine, or just their daily routine.  It was life-changing for us, and I am so thankful to have had that birth experience.  

We had a 5 pound, 6 ounce bouncing baby boy, born at 39 weeks gestation.  He came so fast and with so much power - like a tiny hurricane - that I don't think I ever had a moment to panic.  Even when the midwife mentioned helping him out, it was more like going from, "This could take a while," to "How about having a baby...  NOW?"  I never felt out of control or pushed aside.  I felt as though we were all listened to and respected.  That alone made it so much easier to give birth! 

Submitted by Heather