Mary Esther Malloy-Hopwood MA, CCE, CD(DONA), CLC | Mindful Birth NY | tel: 347.276.2819 | email: info@mindfulbirthny.com
| I have been asked by expectant parents where they can find birth stories that reflect birth in New York today. In response, I would like to share stories from couples who’ve recently taken my classes. I have many, many wonderful stories to pull from, but thought I would offer a snap shot in time. And so with the permission of the wonderful parents of a Fall 2007 Mindful Birth NY childbirth class, I share their birth stories as they announced them to each other. Some of the tales are short; others are long (the same is true of the births). The stories are “of the moment.” You will read about coping, pushing, fainting, “curveballs”, doulas, tangles with medical professionals, support from medical professionals, and of course the amazing moment of birth. One birth happens at home attended by midwives (the last one); three of the births happen at the St. Lukes/Roosevelt Birth Center, again attended by midwives; and three of the births take place on Labor and Delivery floors attended by obstetricians. Readers will notice that the different types of care the couples receive reflect the environments in which they’ve chosen to give birth. I have changed the names of the parents to protect their privacy but I have left the rest of the stories untouched. Enjoy! |
| Baby Number One is Announced A new Scorpio came into the world yesterday Tuesday November 6, 2007. Amy labored for 24 hours and pushed him out at 9:38 AM. No drugs. She was amazing. Lucas is healthy and Amy is recuperating. Our doula, Elanna, was terrific. The nurses were really great. Doctors ok. But all went well at NY Presbyterian (Cornell). They said 1% of mothers give birth there like Amy did! Look forward to seeing you soon. Love George, Amy, & Luke Baby Number Two Arrives at the SL/R Birth Center Hi all, Rebecca gave birth to Jonah C. Henley this morning at 2:35 am. Mom and Baby are healthy and doing fantastic. We couldn't have accomplished what we did without all of the knowledge we absorbed in Mary Esther's class and the reading we did in the Bradley method. The birth was unmedicated and natural. We are so happy that our birth went the way it did.The "hard work" part of the laboring process itself was pretty textbook. Rebecca handled it terrifically. We jumped in a cab for the hospital when she hit the major self-doubt point. She was 7 cms dilated when we got there.We had a couple curveballs before and after the laboring though. The first curveball was minor. It came on Thursday night when we thought Rebecca's water might have broken. (She woke up with her pajama pants soaked). It turned out to be a high leak (in the bag of waters) that sealed itself back over. This was interesting because it was one of the more unusual occurrences we learned about in the class that actually happened to us. The midwives determined the bag of waters hadn't broken. We were happy to hear this because Rebecca wasn't having contractions at that point and the bag being intact meant we weren't "on the clock" to show progress within 24 hours.The second curveball was more major and occurred during the pushing stage. Rebecca began pushing just fine. But about 15 minutes in, the Baby's heart rate fell substantially. Our midwife (Sylvie Blaustein) told Rebecca "we need the Baby now!" Rebecca, amazingly, managed to push him out in 5 minutes even though his head was barely showing when Sylvie gave the order. The umbilical cord was around his neck and had begun to tighten on him. But Rebecca got him out in time. And he is totally fine. The whole pushing stage took Rebecca an unusually low 20 minutes. She was thrilled to be done that fast. It was somewhat frightening. We're passing this part of the story along because it was an eye-opener for me (John) in terms of what laboring Moms are truly capable of.We're so happy it's over and to have young Jonah. Our thoughts are with all of you who are about to go through this. Best wishes to everyone! John and Rebecca Baby Number Three Arrives at the SL/R Birth Center Hi all, Nikhil and I are pleased to announce that our daughter, Nora, was born on November 20, 2007. Baby’s birth weight was 8lb 5oz. Birth was unmedicated and natural. The whole process was not as textbook as we expected, and baby was in a posterior position. Yet, the birth was empowering, and such beautiful birthing experience would not have been possible without our teacher and doula, Mary Esther, midwives Sandy and Coralie, and wonderful nurses at St. Lukes Roosevelt Hospital birthing center.The following is a recap of our experience:11/18 (Sunday) 6.30pm In the bathroom, mucus plug slipped out followed by a discharge of an unknown volume of fluid, which was mistaken as part of the mucus plug. Called midwife to report the incident without mentioning the fluid discharge (Why? I don’t know. I guess the water not gushing like scenes in the movies did not alarm me that mine was actually water breaking). Midwife told me to go to my scheduled appt the following morning. No sign of labor, only mild cramps.11/19 (Monday) 9.30am Reported the incident in detail with the suspicious discharge for midwife. Midwife was extremely concerned that the suspicious fluid was indeed rupture of membrane, which would mean hospital policy would want me to deliver within 24-48 hours to avoid infection, even though a cotton swab test did not show that membrane was ruptured. Midwife was not convinced by test result and insisted that I should watch for further leaks later during the day. 2cm dilated.5.30pm Further leaks. Called midwife, who suggested taking castor oil to bring on labor.10pm Castor oil was taken with juice.11/20 (Tuesday) 12-1am Early first stage labor. I found breathing, vocalization and curling up in bed most helpful. Darkness and silence helped me concentrate.2-4am Labor accelerated quickly.4.30am Reached hospital. 7cm dilated.5.30am Nikhil fainted. Doc was paged like in movies. Nikhil was sent to ER, and returned like new in 15 mins. I looked at the beautiful dark sky outside window, thinking it will be a long day.6-8.30am Advanced first stage labor. To my surprise, no self-doubt, but I repeatedly requested to be told when pushing could start. I was eager to get going. I knew this was the time to imagine myself running a marathon. I was told that baby has moved from an anterior position to a posterior position... 8.30-11am Long second stage labor. My body was tense at the beginning due to the pressure. However, as the pressure intensified, I felt that I needed to let the body take over, surrender to whatever it made me do. 11am-2.30pm The encouraging coaching voices from midwives, doula, husband and nurses was my fuel and guiding light at this stage. Visualization images also helped pull me through. Fatigue caused a decrease in contractions. All people in the room were stimulating my nipples and belly to intensify my contractions again and again, like a line of workers in a factory. I tried all birthing positions: lying sideway, all four, full squat, half squat. At some point, I remember Nikhil asking for Advil! he had a headache! In the end, I accepted an episiotomy that was fully consented and greatly needed given the circumstance. I knew I could not push for another few hours and I did not want the baby to be in distress. Baby was born shortly after the procedure. Nikhil and I are thrilled about the whole experience. I would like to share this story because I did not believe that an unexpected birth experience would be beautiful, but mine indeed was, because both Nikhil and I were prepared, and we had a great support team which helped catch all the curveballs and ease my path in the process.Good Luck to all of you. I look forward to hear all the stories! See attached picture. Best, Danielle and Nikhil Baby Number 4 at SL/R Birth Center Carlos and I are pleased to announce that after 22 hours of labor our daughter, Anna Cruz Engel, was born on December 11, 2007 at 12:21am. She was 6 lb 6oz and 21 inches long. The birth was unmedicated and natural. We are very happy that our birth went the way it did. We couldn't have accomplished what we did without all of the knowledge Mary Esther gave us and the great help of our midwife Sandy Woods. A quick summary of our experience: During our last check-up our midwife told us I was already 2 cm dilated (I was 1cm dilated 2 weeks earlier). Contractions started on Monday Dec 10 around 2am. They were 10 minutes apart and 1 minute long average. Around 7am the mucus plug slipped out. At 9am we called our midwife and she told me to take a warm bath for 30 minutes and try to take a nap and to call her when contractions would be 5 minutes apart for a period of 1 hour. I couldn't take a nap. I was hungry so I had a bowl of cereal with milk but my body didn't take it. I tried eating chicken soup around noon, but I vomited again so I continued drinking water, gatorade and juices only. From 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm contractions were coming every 3-5 minutes so we called our midwife. She told us to meet her at the Birthing Center around 6-6:30 pm. While at home I used the physio ball between contractions and walked from one side of the bedroom to the other. My eyes were always closed. It helped me relaxed better. What worked best for me during contractions was hip pressure and lower back pressure (really hard). We arrived at the Birthing Center at 6:30pm. I was already 8 cm dilated. So I thought 2 cm more should be quick. I was wrong. It took me 4 more hours. Sandy told me to get in the tub and that helped a lot. I was able to manage the contractions without someone putting pressure on my lower back. Then she took me for a walk with Carlos and during the contractions we would do some kind of dance (moving hips from one side to the other) to help move the baby down. After the walk I started feeling the urge to push. I was 9.5 cm dilated so Sandy ruptured the water bag and I started pushing. I was pushing for 1.5 hour. For some reason I thought I would feel much better during the pushing stage but I was exhausted. I felt like sleeping in between contractions. I tried the sideway position first and then the reclined squat position. And finally the baby was born. I was starving right the second the baby was born so I ordered a cheeseburguer. Carlos and I are extremely happy and are thrilled about the whole experience. Carlos was a great coach and we had a great support team. Thank you! See picture attached. Good luck to everyone. Looking forward for our next reunion now with the new family members. Baby Number 5 at SL/R | Birth Story of Natalie Stein Tuesday - Beginning of Labor On Tuesday, December 18th, Ilan went for a doctor's appointment and saw Dr. A, her regular OB/GYN. She was 2cm dilated. Since she was in her 41st week, she was scheduled for another appointment on Thursday morning, and a hospital appointment on Friday morning, a week after the due date, to see if there was enough fluid for the baby to stay in the uterus another week. On Tuesday night, light contractions began, lasting about 30 seconds and coming every 15 to 30 minutes. Ilan took a bath, and we went to sleep. Wednesday The next morning, Ilan was still having mild contractions. She could handle them on her own, but we didn't know when she might escalate, so Eli decided to work from home that day. That evening, contractions were varying anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes apart. Ilan was excited to try the “midwives trick” - she took a bath, surrounded by scented candled and new age music, had a glass of red wine, and went to sleep. We went to sleep Wednesday night around 10pm. Ilan woke up several times during the night with moderate contractions, but was able to go back to sleep. Around 4:30am on Thursday Thursday, Ilan woke up to some pretty strong contractions, and was needing back pressure. By 5am, we got up and went to work. We turned off the lights, lit candles, and Ilan kneeled and leaned on the birthing ball for several hours, and was very focused and serious. Contractions were 3 to 5 minutes apart, lasting between 45 seconds and a minute. She had a doctor's appointment scheduled for 10am, and the doctor said we should still come in. However, the process of getting dressed and driving downtown effectively slowed the contractions to those seen in early first stage “ Ilan could talk through them, and was making jokes, etc. We got to the doctor's office, found a parking space right in front, and went in to see Dr. C.. She said it was common for labor to stop when coming to the office. She checked Ilan, and she was 3cm dilated. We decided not to go home right away, so we went for a walk in Central Park. Ilan was having mild contractions along the way. We then went to a restaurant for lunch. As lunch progressed, she started having contractions every 4 to 5 minutes, and was requiring counter-pressure on her back. At some point, she indicated that we needed to leave the restaurant. This seemed like the (re)start of the serious phase. We walked back to the car, but did not go back into the doctor's office despite the proximity, as we feared it may again interrupt the labor. We drove home, and Ilan continued to labor, with contractions every 3 to 5 minutes. However, we found that labor required a lot of concentration, and any interruption slowed the labor. Ilan's sister came over for an hour or so in the afternoon. She was very helpful, bringing flowers to help with the image of an opening flower, and generally keeping us company. However, after she left, I noticed that during the time she was there, contractions had slowed to about 8 to 10 minutes apart, since Ilan was focusing some of her energy on talking to her sister. This may have taken her out of the seriousness phase. Ilan continued to labor all evening, spending a couple of hours in the bath. Since contractions had been in the 3 to 5 minute range, lasting about a minute, all afternoon and evening, we thought it was time to call the doctor. We spoke to Dr. B at 8pm, who was the doctor on call for that evening. Eli described the contractions, and Dr. B asked us to call back in a couple of hours if contractions continued at that pace. We called back at 10pm, and Dr. B spoke to Ilan and suggested that we look to arrive at the hospital around 11:30pm. Ilan got dressed, we got our bags, called a car service, and went downstairs. The process of getting everything together seemed to almost stop the contractions. Ilan was losing focus on labor, and was giving the cab driver directions, etc. She had a few contractions on the way in, though they were not very strong. We walked in through the emergency room entrance, and proceeded upstairs to triage on the twelfth floor of St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital. We went into the waiting room, and Eli filled out the registration form. Although we had pre-registered, we had to give all the information again. After about 20 minutes, we were brought into a triage bed. Ilan was hooked up to an electronic fetal monitor, and had a sonogram as well. A medical student named Dr D looked at the sonogram and told us that the baby's head was on the side. He also checked her dilation, and said she was 2-3cm dilated. We were horrified. The supervising resident, Dr. E, then checked again, and said the head was way down at the bottom, and that she was 4cm dilated (much better). We suggested that Dr. D not specialize in OB. She told us that at 4cm, we could check into the hospital. The sonogram revealed that there was still enough fluid for the baby. We said if it was OK with them, we would rather go home for the night. She said we were the first people to want to leave the hospital when they could check in, but that it should be OK, and she would check with our doctor. After a long wait, we asked when we could leave. Dr. D told us that he had paged Dr. B twice, but she had not called back. Ilan had pretty much completely stopped having contractions, so we didn't want to wait around. Dr. E told us we could take off the monitor (ourselves), and that she would speak to the attending, Dr. F, to see what to do. We took off the monitor, and Ilan got dressed. At this point, it was close to 2am. The attending came in and said that in the absence of our doctor, she was allowing us to go home. She said Ilan looked too good to be in active labor. We were scheduled to come back to the hospital at 9am the next morning (seven hours later) for the 41-week sonogram. Since they had just done a sonogram that night, and had told us the fluid looked good, we asked if we could skip that appointment, since coming back to the hospital would be disruptive to the labor. Dr. F told us that the sonogram was not “official,” but as far as she was concerned, it was fine, and we could go home and skip the appointment. We asked the resident to tell this to Dr. B when she finally called back and that she should let us know if she still wanted us to come in for the 41 week sonogram. We hailed a cab and went back home. We never heard from Dr. B again. We got home at 2:30am, again had a glass of wine, and went to sleep. Friday/Saturday Active Labor (For Real) At 4:30am, Ilan again woke up to strong contractions. We got up, and set up our apartment for some serious labor. We turned off the lights, lit candles, unplugged our phones, turned on some New Age music, and got to work. Ilan labored for a few hours on the birthing ball, having strong contractions every 3 to 5 minutes. Dr. C, the on-call doctor from our practice for Friday, called us at 9:30am on my cellphone. Ilan was laboring away, so Eli spoke to her. She asked what happened to the test we were supposed to go in for. We told her how Dr. B had not called us back, and the attending had told us we did not need to go for the test, as we had just had the same test the previous night. She told us that she did not trust the resident who did the test, and that she was concerned for the life of our baby. She also said that Dr. B did not receive any of the pages. Eli mentioned that we thought that coming in that morning would be disruptive to the labor, and we felt the test was not necessary since a) we had just done the same test, and b) the purpose of the test was to see if she could wait another week to give birth, but she was already in labor. Dr. C explained that she needed to manage the process, and that since we had missed the appointment, she didn't know if she'd be able to get us another appointment. (We later discussed how the phrase, “manage the process,” was central to the medical model, and antithetical to our approach of letting nature take its course, and only intervening when necessary.) Eli described the contractions, and Dr. C asked him to call her back in a few hours to let her know how they were progressing. Ilan continued to labor, though the negative impact of the conversation slowed the contractions for about a half an hour. We were of course concerned for our baby, but our sense was that her desire for us to come for the test was more procedural than related to the health of our baby. However, we were also concerned that there was now tension between us and the doctor, and this may impede the care we would get from her. Throughout the morning, we practiced several techniques known to stimulate labor: we tried acupressure points, visualizations, and nipple stimulation. One thing that we found to be surprisingly effective was talking about our excitement about having a baby. Though Ilan had some ambivalence, over the course of the conversation, she became excited about finally meeting our baby. We found that this conversation led to an increase of both the intensity and frequency of contractions for about an hour afterwards, as the contractions moved closer to 3 minutes apart. This was another strong indication of the importance of the mind-body connection in labor. We started thinking about going back to the hospital, though we were afraid of repeating the trauma of the previous night, and wanted to make sure she was sufficiently far along that a trip to the hospital would not stop labor. At around 12:30pm, Eli paged Dr. C again. When she called back, Eli described the pattern of contractions, suggesting they were getting more serious. However, Dr. C seemed completely focused on the ultrasound test, very upset that we had not gotten it, and insisting that we come in for the test. Eli said that once we came in for the test, we'd want to stay, rather than keep going back and forth. Dr. C said she had to go do a C-section, but would check and see if she could get us an appointment for the test. She called back around 1:30pm and told us to go to the hospital right away to get the test. We decided that since she was so focused on the test, we would have to go, and if she was still having strong contractions, we would try to check in. We brought our bag with us, but this time drove our car and parked at a one-hour meter. Ilan continued to have contractions in the car and on the way to the hospital, though they had lessened in their intensity. Ilan also started to become more emotional; she began crying from the frustration with the entire experience. She thought this may be a significant indicator that her labor was progressing more and impacting her emotional state. When we got to the hospital, we went to the 11th floor, to the maternal fetal screening unit. We told them that we were there for a 41-week sonogram. They took our information and asked us to wait. Eli told Ilan to focus on her contractions, and that he would take care of arranging the test. Ilan decided she would try and encourage the labor as much as possible. She began to walk as quickly as she could, pacing the halls, squatting, etc. The contractions began to strengthen in their frequency (every 3 minutes) and intensity to the point that she had to lean against the railing for support to get through them. We waited for almost an hour for the sonogram; by the time Ilan was in the room, Eli had to go feed the meter again. Surprisingly for a maternity unit, people kept asking her if she was OK, as if they had never seen a laboring woman before. Eli kept asking the staff when she would be seen, saying she may have the baby right here if we don't hurry. They just told us that the sonographer was with another patient. Ilan became increasingly frustrated. She was really uncomfortable physically and was having a lot of pain and discomfort. At one point, Eli mentioned to a staff member named J that this was torture. She said, “I know, this is what women must go through. Eli replied, “We know how to deal with labor. But waiting here for an hour is torture.” She was very helpful in advocating for us, and even came over once to apply counter-pressure to Ilan's back. During this time, we were so traumatized by the hospital experience that we discussed whether we should go home again. Eli called Mary Esther for some encouragement. The concern was that we had been in labor for three days, and all these changes of environment kept interrupting labor. Would we ever be able to labor and birth naturally in the hospital? She advised that if we checked into a room, and recognized that this room was the room our baby would be born in, then this would give us the peace of mind to labor productively in that environment. This was very helpful in encouraging us to stay. Eli moved the car to a parking garage, and came back. Ilan was finally taken to get the sonogram. The sonograher expressed annoyance that we missed our 9:00am appointment even though the resident told us we wouldn’t have to go. Apparently there was no communication between the outpatient department and the triage/inpatient unit. Ilan had been hooked up to an electronic fetal monitor. They wanted 20 minutes of that before doing the sonogram. Of course, 20 minutes on the electronic monitor is medical terminology for 45 minutes of the electronic monitor. Everything looked fine, and they then did the sonogram. As expected, the fluid looked fine, so despite the contractions every 3 minutes, Ilan was cleared to stay pregnant for another week. The general consensus among the staff there was that we should head upstairs, to the 12th floor labor and delivery unit. We decided we should page Dr. C to let her know that we were in the hospital. Eli asked a staff member if he could page the doctor, since we knew she was in the hospital. She said we could try calling the nurses station on the 12th floor, and directed us to a phone. While Eli was speaking to the nurse on the phone, another staff member yelled at him for using the phone. Eli then instead called the practice office, and asked them to page Dr. C. She did not return the page. We headed upstairs, and went back to the triage office, where we were handed the same form we filled out on Thursday. Eli said that we were there the previous night, so they already had the information. The woman at the desk said, “well, that was yesterday, and I don't know who you are.” So, Eli filled out the form again. We were told there were no beds available in triage. We ended up waiting there for about an hour. Ilan was having contractions every 3 to 5 minutes and experienced them very intensely. We were breathing through them using vocalization, making low groaning noises together. The environment was very disruptive to labor. Ilan was the only laboring woman there. The lights were bright, the staff was loud, and we were sitting next to a family of four relatives of a laboring woman who were loudly chatting away. Eli hoped that the groaning would be a subtle hint to them that some of us were trying to work. At some point while we were waiting, Eli realized he had left Ilan's purse on the 11th floor. J was able to locate the purse in the sonograph room. While Eli was upstairs, Ilan ran into Dr. C in the triage waiting room. Ilan told her that we had the test done downstairs and everything was fine, but that she was having strong contractions 3-5 minutes apart that were very intense thinking labor was progressing quickly. Dr. C was very curt, and said she was heading back to the office, since for all we know, Ilan may still be 4cm dilated. Ilan became very upset and began crying openly. She felt dismissed by the doctor and was upset the doctor wasn’t going to even check her. Ilan decided to try and find Eli because she was feeling so helpless and frustrated and was having a difficult time sitting in the waiting room by herself. She tried to take the elevator downstairs but got lost. She continued crying openly (unusual for her and an indicator that labor was continuing to progress to be more active). Ilan finally found her way back to the waiting room where she met Eli in the hallway. She was crying and told Eli what Dr. C had said and that she felt dismissed by her and was afraid that she would not be sensitive as their delivering doctor. Eli went to find Dr. C to try and talk with her, but she had already left the hospital. We went back to the triage waiting room. Triage Soon after, a nurse named G came and said a bed was opening up in triage. We said that we were very concerned with our doctor because she was not returning our page and that there was tension between us that would impact our laboring experience, and we were thinking of going home and coming back the next day when Ilan's regular doctor would be on call. G asked us to step into the triage room to speak with us privately. She was very nice, and reassured us that we could choose not to have her deliver our baby, but that we should come into triage and be checked again. We asked if we would have to do the electronic fetal monitoring again, since we had just done that on the 11th floor. They said yes, since it was a different unit, again, showing the complete lack of communication between the outpatient and triage units. At this point Ilan was given a hospital gown and slippers to change into. She commented that the slippers were the same that the inpatients wore on the psych unit she used to work on. Eli said he would get her the clogs she had brought from home, so she wouldn't have to feel like inpatient and could feel more like herself. Ilan was again hooked up to the electronic fetal monitor. She continued to have contractions, though they had again slowed down in frequency and intensity. The resident then came in with G to check Ilanâ’s dilation, and told her she was between 5cm and 6cm. We were a bit disappointed that the whole day had only produced one cm, so G said, “Let's call it 6cm.” We asked if we could go home or at least leave the hospital and get some air. Ilan had enough of the hospital and was very fed up with the experience. Both the resident and G recommended against this but said they would page Dr. C and ask her and let us know, but it was doubtful we could leave. We accepted the fact that we would have to stay. G then informed us that there were currently no Labor and Delivery rooms available, so we would have to wait in triage indefinitely. We asked if we could leave the hospital to walk around the block. She said we could not leave the hospital but we could walk up and down the hallway. Meanwhile, Eli went to get our bags from the car, and Ilan walked around the hallway outside of triage. She found a partially inflated birthing ball at the end of the hallway which she sat on and labored on for a couple of hours. Contractions were now regaining their strength. Eli came back with the bags and some orange juice, which Ilan quickly drank. We then returned to triage. After a few hours the resident came back and told us that Dr. C said we could have left even at 6 centimeters but that she did not know where we were (even though G knew we were down the hall). At that point it didn’t make sense to leave because G told us a labor and deliver room was opening up any minute. About an hour later G told us that a room was opening up. She put a heparin lock in Ilan's hand in case they would later need to insert an IV in an emergency (foreshadow.).Ilan asked if she could get it wet, since she may want to take a bath. G told her that they could give her a plastic cover for the heplock so she could go in the bath. We later found out that the plastic cover was essentially a large ziplock bag to put over her entire hand and forearm. However, she ended up not using the bath since earlier in labor we had found it to slow down contractions. Labor and Delivery Room We finally got moved to a labor and delivery room at around 9pm, about seven hours after arriving at the hospital. We called Ilan's father and asked him to bring us some extra items we had left at home, including some food, our music, and our birthing ball, which he did. Eli had some dinner. Throughout the labor, Ilan ate small pieces of bread and protein bars, and drank little boxes of orange juice and fruit punch. (Although Ilan was only supposed to have ice chips, at only one point in the whole stay did anyone offer her ice chips. After the birth, when Ilan asked for juice, Dr. C said, “Now you can drink whatever you want,†and we smiled at each other as she took a drink.) When we got into the room, Ilan was again hooked up to the electronic fetal monitor. Our nurse's name was I. She was with us through most of the labor and delivery, and was an amazing help and a positive presence in the room. She said that since we had requested intermittent monitoring, they would be hooking up the fetal monitor for 20 minutes every hour. Since 20 minutes always seemed to turn into 45 minutes, we asked if they could instead us the Doppler monitor every 15 minutes. She said the doctor preferred the strapped-on monitor, but later she ended up using the Doppler for a couple of monitoring sessions. Once the monitor was off, we took Mary Esther's advice to heart and set about making it a proper laboring environment. We turned off all the lights and the computer monitor, and Ilan labored between the standing position, the side-lying position on the bed, and kneeling on the birthing ball. Eli continued to provide back pressure. By this point, his knuckles were red and chapped Interestingly, we found that the spot in which she needed counter-pressure moved down as the baby descended. I was very respectful of the environment. When she came in to do the monitoring, she spoke in a quiet voice, waited until the end of a contraction if she walked in during one, and kept the lights off when using the Doppler. At some point, she apologized for having to turn on the computer monitor. Early in the process, a resident named Dr. H came in to check Ilan's progress. She checked and told Ilan she was 7cm dilated. She also told her how strong she was, and how impressed she was with how she was doing. Presumably, she was referring to our decision to labor without medication. This news and encouragement were just what Ilan needed. She was so excited to hear that the last few hours of contractions had paid off, that her contractions got stronger and closer together. She also focused on staying relaxed during the rest periods. Dr. H said she wanted to break the water bag now that Ilan had progressed so much. We both instinctively responded, “No!” We explained that Ilan had been in labor for so long, that we were not convinced that she would give birth within the time limit usually set by breaking the waters. She agreed, but told us that Dr. C would want to break the waters to progress labor. We asked her when Dr. C would come by. She responded that she would page her and keep her updated about our progress but that Dr. C would likely not come by for a few hours, maybe when Ilan was 8 centimeters dilated. We were happy to hear this because we felt this would give us more time to progress naturally without feeling the pressure of needing to dilate a certain amount every hour (we remembered an earlier doctor’s visit when Dr. C said she would induce if two vaginal exams were the same-without any progress in dilation). Ilan continued to labor, and about an hour later, Dr. C came in for the first time during the labor. Her entrance was very different from that of I. She came in during a contraction, turned on the lights, and spoke in a loud voice. She said, “Let me see if you are still 6cm dilated.†We told her that Dr. H had said Ilan was already 7cm dilated. Dr. C checked, and said Ilan was still 6cm dilated. We asked how that could be, and Dr. C explained that different people will measure differently. She suggested breaking the waters to help move things along. We told her we were not ready to do that, but that she could come back in an hour and re-evaluate. Ilan was very discouraged by Dr. C's claim that not only was she not progressing, but that the perceived progress which had helped move along her labor before was not real. This frustration stopped contractions for about a half an hour. While Eli looked in Ina May's book for the risks of an amniotomy, Ilan expressed the concern that Dr. C's real desire was to give her Pitocin, and that the amniotomy was the first step down the road to Cascading Falls. Ilan decided that she was not going to allow the doctor to discourage her. We noted that the mind-body connection was very strong; being told she was progressing actually let to progress, and being told she was not progressing impeded progress. Eli told her she was doing great, and that we were going to birth our baby today. At that time Ilanâ’s father was present and as a health professional, Ilan and Eli sought his advice. While it’s true, he is skewed more toward the “medical modelâ” than the “natural model” we at least knew he had our best interest in mind. He spoke with Dr. C and advised us that he thought it made sense to have the waters broken. We kept laboring, and when Dr. C returned an hour later, she checked Ilan and told her she was now 8cm. We were very encouraged, but now she was very eager to break the waters. We felt that we were doing well, and did not want to disrupt things. However, Dr. C countered that the baby was still at -2 station, and could not move down further with the water bag blocking descent. She asked if we would rather have many contractions that were less intense, or fewer, more intense contractions. We thought the former was the better option, but Dr. C was concerned that since Ilan had been in active labor for two days, the no matter how good recent progress looked, she was way behind the expected curve of labor progression. At some point in the discussion, were probably close to consenting, but had not yet given consent, when Dr. C broke the bag of waters. It may be unrelated, but it was our sense that things got a lot more complicated after this. At some point, Ilan was attached to the electronic fetal monitor and a blood pressure machine. Transition The contractions were getting much stronger and more intense, without any break between them. As a result we felt it was more important at this time to have freedom to move around. At this time Ilan was confined to the bed due to the monitoring. During the first visit to triage, the nurse had taken Ilan's blood pressure during a contraction, and therefore it was higher than usual. Although this was understandable, she was now permanently flagged as being at risk for high blood pressure. After about 30 minutes, we asked the nurse to remove the monitor, and she said she was waiting for the doctor to return. When she did, the nurse told us that there was something the doctor wanted to monitor, and therefore Ilan would have to stay on the monitor for longer. When Dr. C returned, she said that the baby's heart rate looked low. She was concerned that the monitor may not be accurate, since it kept getting jostled throughout the contractions, and if the monitor was accurate, we were looking at a C-section, but she knew it was not accurate. Dr. C told us she was going to introduce an internal fetal monitor, which would be much more accurate. However, the external monitor as well as the blood pressure cuff remained on. This was very difficult for Ilan to hear because she found it impossible to stay completely still during a contraction (which she would need to do for the external monitoring to be accurate). At the same time, the more she moved around, the more she seemed to be hooked up to other monitors. Based on some of this monitoring, she became concerned that the baby was not getting enough oxygen. Ilan was therefore given an oxygen mask, as well as a glucose IV drip. Ilan and Eli were getting progressively more tired and drained at this point. The contractions were getting worse and so were the complications. All of these monitors made Ilan much less comfortable, although she was still able to shift position somewhat, from side-lying to crouching to kneeling on the floor. All of these interventions remained attached for the remainder of labor, even once the baby's heart rate stabilized on the monitors. The contractions at this point were quite painful, and the rest periods were very short. Ilan now needed intense back pressure, either pushing against the top of her butt, or squeezing her hips. This generally needed to be done even between contractions, but especially intensely during contractions, which were lasting up to 90 seconds. Eli put some oil on Ilan's back, and used his hands or fists to apply counter-pressure, leading his entire body weight on Ilan's back, sometimes kneeling on the bed for extra leverage. At some point during transition, I went on her break, and an angry Russian nurse came in, yelling at Ilan to lie on the bed and stay still. When Ilan said she could not, she continued to berate her in front of the doctor in an exasperated tone. When I came back, Ilan begged her to never leave again. During the intense contractions, while Eli was applying pressure to Ilan's back, Ilan was able to squeeze I's hand, while I offered her words of encouragement. After a couple of hours, Dr. C came back and measured Ilan's dilation again, and said she was still 8cm. She told Ilan that her body was not able to produce contractions that were strong enough to get her to 10cm, and that she would need to use Pitocin augmentation to get her fully dilated. (“Your body is not strong enough to push this baby out on your own.”) During this time, the doctor was using a monitor that measured contractions using a measurement called Montevideo units, which measure the area under the curves created by monitoring contractions. Dr. C said Ilan's number was currently 50 or 60, and that she needed 200 to fully dilate. From the mid-body perspective, telling someone in labor that her body is incapable of doing what it needs to do can actually make it harder to proceed, just as telling a woman that she can do it would be helpful. We had decided beforehand that if Ilan needed Pitocin, which is known to cause unnaturally strong contractions, that she would also get an epidural. Ilan felt confident that she could tolerate the pain that her own body was creating, but when it was artificially imposed by medication, Ilan felt otherwise, especially since she has heard a lot of negative stories about pitocin from friends. So, we discussed this course of action with the doctor. Ilan asked her if it was too late to get an epidural, and the doctor reassured her that it is never too late to get an epidural, despite the fact that she was 8 centimeters dilated. We also asked who would administer the epidural, and were told that the attending anesthesiologist would do it and not a resident. The contractions at this point had become quite painful, and it was around 2am, so this option was starting to sound tempting. However, we were still both reluctant to take this course of action. Eli asked Dr. C if there were any alternatives to Pitocin, and she replied that there were not. Eli then said that we would like to try nipple stimulation instead. Dr. C said that she advised against that, since unlike with a an IV, with nipple stimulation, you can not control how much Pitocin is released into the body. (Eli did not point out that the body produces oxytocin, not Pitocin). Eli said that we would like to try it for 20 minutes and see how it goes. Dr. C reluctantly agreed and left the room. Eli began to stimulate Ilan's nipples between contractions, and this seemed to produce stronger contractions on the monitor. Ilan moved to a standing up position, despite all the monitors, and Eli continued to stimlate her nipples between contractions, and apply counter-pressure during the contractions. I stayed throughout and was very supportive, holding Ilan's hand and saying encouraging things. After a while, Eli asked I if this was helping. We could see on the monitor a small improvement in the strength of the contractions, but I said it was not going to be enough. We had been awake for 46 of the last 48 hours. Ilan was exhausted from the contractions, and Eli was starting to lose strength and focus as well from the intense counter-pressure. Ilan asked Eli to stop the nipple stimulation because it did not seem to be helping and was causing discomfort at this point. So, we reluctantly agreed to proceed with the Pitocin and epidural, knowing that we had given natural childbirth our best shot for 3.5 days, and that we would soon meet our baby. We told I, and she went to get the doctor, and Ilan lay back down on the bed. When Dr. C came back, she said she as going to check Ilan one more time before beginning the augmentation. Just at that point, Ilan had an extremely intense contraction, causing her to jump up out of bed and scream out She lost her inhibition and did whatever she needed to to get through the pain. Her whole body shook, and she felt like she was going to vomit (though she did not). Dr. C said something to the effect of that being the kind of contraction Ilan needed. She checked her, and she was now 9cm dilated. At this point our relationship with Dr, C improved dramatically. She noticeably relaxed and related to us very differently. Upon reflection, we think it's because she was no longer worried about the safety of our baby and we began to work together. We were elated to now be in the home stretch. We continued with occasional nipple stimulation, though at some point Ilan asked Eli to stop, since the contractions were so strong. Ilan had several more intense contractions. She said she couldn't take it anymore, and Eli knew that we were at self-doubt, and the baby would be here soon. At some point, Dr . C came into the room and said, “I'll be back in a minute.” Ilan said to Eli, “Quick “ get me some orange juice!” When Dr. C came back just a few minutes later, she checked Ilan again, and said she was 10cm dilated, and the baby was ready to come out. It all happened so fast the doctor said she did not even have time to change the sheets which they like to do before the pushing. A couple more contractions, and Ilan said she was ready to push. Delivering the Baby Dr. C told her to get ready to make the biggest bowel movement of her life. Ilan looked up and said, “Baby?” Ilan got into a reclining squat position. Eli held one foot, I held the other, and Eli held Ilan's neck. Earlier in the pregnancy, we had predicted based on Ilan's personality type that she would be a putterer in the beginning of labor, but a speedster in the end. After 3.5 days of labor, Ilan pushed out our baby in six or seven pushes, lasting no more than 15 minutes. Dr. C brought in a mirror, and we both watched as the baby's head emerged. Natalie was born at 3:56am, weighing 7lb, 4oz and measuring 20in. When she came out, Dr. C put the baby on Ilan's chest, and asked Eli to cut the umbilical cord. The baby was very alert, and we spent the first few moments looking into her eyes. She had very strong lungs evidenced by her loud crying. The baby's quick trip through the second stage caused some second-degree lacerations, which Dr. C spent the next hour repairing. During that time, Ilan, having lost her filter, shared with the doctor how she appreciated the fact that the doctor gave them leeway with the nipple stimulation despite the fact that she obviously came from a different perspective and that she loved her for it. Although the pain of transition was not dulled by medication, neither was the euphoria afterwards. Ilan later said that the pain of transition was too great to describe in words, but similarly, the joy of holding the baby just after birth was also too great to describe in words. Some interesting postscripts: My birth story really begins around week 40 when "the waiting" for labor started. I started having cramping and contractions during the night beginning in about week 40 through week 42, but each morning they would stop. It seemed that labor was starting, or at least signs of labor, and then they would stop. I couldn't help but feel excited when my mucous plug came out almost entirely toward the end of week 40 (even though we know what that means) but still nothing. When week 41 came and went, I had to let go of the birth center birth that I had been visualizing and hoping for. It was a pretty huge disappointment . At my 41 week checkup, my doctor stripped my membranes which caused incredibly painful cramps and some bleeding, but no onset of labor. She also told me that their practice induces at 41 weeks and 4 days since the risk of stillbirth increases after week 41 and even more so at week 42. This was of course an even bigger disappointment. At week 41 I also began to have sonograms every two days to check the amniotic fluid and fetal heartbeat. Since induction was imminent, the weekend prior we started to escalate natural stimulation techniques. I walked the stairs in our building, put evening primrose oil on my cervix, walked outside all the time, spiced almost everything I ate, etc. I also started an intense round of acupuncture (the acupressure I had done the week before didn't do much) called labor induction acupuncture which stimulates the labor pressure points with a pulsation of electricity into each needle. Ouch! But it was a good way to practice my pain relief techniques. Each night after acupuncture, I would feel the contractions and cramping for a few hours more intensely each time, but again they would stop in the morning. I felt discouraged that there was an increasing possibility that my birth would be nothing like I'd hoped. I decided that if I had to have pitocin, I would be open to having the epidural, for the same reasons Ilan and Eli listed in their birth story. So….we kept up natural stimulation techniques, more acupuncture, etc. . I realized that many of the things we'd learned in the Bradley book were happening to me. I was a putterer. Waiting for labor to begin was a struggle and wondering why it wouldn't start was even worse. I had to fight my fears that I was putting my baby at risk by waiting longer and pushing it closer and closer to 42 weeks. It was really difficult to trust that waiting was the right thing to do and that the baby was still ok, even though the testing showed that she was. My fluid continued to be low/normal and her heartbeat was strong. On the day of my scheduled induction, we opted to wait one more day after learning from the testing that morning that fluid was still ok, normal/low. I was alarmed that the resident who did the sonogram said that the placenta looked 'tapped'. I was convinced we should just check in and get the induction over with. I just kept thinking about how devastated we would be If something happened to the baby. I was encouraged that I had been having more intense contractions at night and had had a bloody show that morning. After talking with my doctor, she assured me that the fluid check holds for about 3 days so there would be no further risk in waiting one more day. So that's what we did. 41 weeks and 6 days, day of induction. I woke up around 6 am and noticed about 6 or 7 short gushes of fluid and thought that I either had a leak or my bag of waters had broken. We called my doctor and she told us we could come in to have the fluid check to see if it had really broken, or stay home during the day as long as the baby was moving sufficiently. Well, not knowing what sufficiently meant and being freaked about low fluid to begin with, we decided to just go in and have it checked. We brought our bags in case, but had planned on checking in after we had lunch that day. We got to the hospital and they put me on the monitor for what seemed like an eternity – definitely no 20 minute test strip. Contractions were showing on the strip, regularly occurring, but very mild. I was checked by a resident (not our wish as our doctor was in the hospital). She said my water had definitely broken and that I would need to be admitted. We were unprepared for this since we had brought only snacks and fluids, but no real meal. W planned that Stephen would get me some real food as soon as I checked into my room. That never happened and it turned out that my last meal was at 9am that morning. Who knew that we would wait a while for a room and that my labor would start escalating rather quickly. Since I remained in triage on the monitor for some time, we could see (and feel) the regularly occurring pattern of contractions…it seemed like labor was finally starting. By the time we checked into my room, lunch was a distant memory because active labor kicked in pretty quickly. I had to be put back on the monitor for a while since I was in a new room, and my contractions were becoming more intense and closer together very quickly. About 2 hours into labor, I began having some incredibly long contractions lasting 7-9 minutes. This sent Leah into distress, as her heartbeat began racing way above normal for long stretches of time. Essentially, she was going without oxygen for very long periods during contractions…so of course we were freaked out. I had to stay on the monitor and remain lying down for a long time until the contractions began to become more normal, and her heartbeat stabilize. This became increasingly painful, and I was thankful for the time when I was able to get up and move around. My doctor (who I love) was completely down with the natural birth program, dimmed my lights, let me have intermittent monitoring, brought me a birth ball, and was very compassionate and supportive. . About 5 hours into active labor I was 3cm, then 5 cm. It felt like everything started quickly and continued that way for some time. I was encouraged by my dilation and was relieved that Leah's heartbeat seemed to be remaining normal for a good stretch of time. The techniques I found most helpful during this phase were rocking on the birth ball, vocalizing (loudly), counting, and focusing on the breath. Stephen was awesome, supportive and helpful, particularly in applying the very strong pressure I needed on my low back for every single contraction. I was able to get into the tub at some point between 5 and 6 cm, encouraged by my doctor and it sounded like a great idea at the time. Once in the tub I found it was difficult to get warm, since not only was the water not very warm, but half my body wasn't covered. It wasn't long before I was freezing, shuddering and shaking with each contraction. I tried to get out of the tub, but was so cold I felt it was impossible. When we finally got back to the birth ball with a lot of towels and blankets, I still couldn't get warm. Sometime between the tub and the birth ball the wonderful Mary Esther arrived. Her relaxation coaching and Stephen's back pressure were a winning combination. I continued to shake and was growing more pale and sickly by the minute. I felt weak and sick, but given that I've never given birth before I didn't know what was normal and what wasn't. The nurse decided to check my temperature and I had 101.5 fever. The source of the problem. Given that my water had broken, I knew I was more prone to infection, but still wanted some exams to check dilation – fatal flaw. I just didn't really think it would happen I guess. I was given 2 round s of antibiotics and some Tylenol…I don't know when the fever went down if it ever really did. I remained freezing and feeling like I had the flu. The next time I was checked, I had reached 7 cm. My doctor had left and a new doctor had taken over. I had met her as she was part of the practice, but wasn't thrilled w/ her demeanor. The next 3 hours we labored were intense and to be honest, very painful. I was unable to relax during the contraction because I felt so cold, that I shuddered and contracted my muscles. I had the chills so intensely that I found it impossible to keep my body from shaking. Mary Esther kept feeding me soup and water, and I was really sucking it down. I felt incredibly thirsty. I also remember having some really long contractions again, much like the 7 minute long ones, and also double and triple peaks. There were many times when I had no break in between contractions, they just kept coming. The times when I had a few minutes in between were heavenly. I remember Mary Esther coaching me in head to toe relaxation and giving me lavender to smell. I was much more relaxed in these moments and there were like little slices of peace. We continued our techniques and when I finally vomited my brains out, I thought maybe I was almost through w/ transition. No such luck. I was still at 7cm. Dr. M (not my doctor, but the doctor on call) was concerned that I hadn't dilated any further in 3 hours, and started suggesting that I be given pitocin. The only catch was that I had to lay still in bed! Are you kidding me?? We asked that we be given more time, and I think we were allowed to continue laboring for another ½ hour to hour. When she checked me again, still no more dilation. It seems that I had 'stalled' at 7cm. At this point, she sounded like she wasn't really giving us a choice, that we had to do something to get labor moving. She was convinced that while my contractions were painful, they weren't strong enough to continue contracting my cervix. She intimated that the infection may have something to do with that, ie…that my body was doing two things at once: fighting the infection (and making me incredibly weak), and laboring. At this point, Stephen and Mary Esther were both looking alarmed and I was trying to keep calm and focus on what was happening, but I felt unable to think clearly. Stephen went into the hallway w/ Dr. M, who at this point wasn't seeming likely to negotiate. In retrospect, its obvious that 'the clock' was ticking on my labor and she wanted to get it over with…thus her vote of no confidence. At the time, I felt vulnerable and would probably have believed anything anyone told me. Basically, Dr. M was insisting that I wouldn't continue to dilate on my own and that I needed the pitocin. My decision: So, there we were trying to sort out our options. And then I realized that I had had it. It was a true moment of clarity for me in the midst of a lot of confusion. I would have the pitocin and an epidural. Not only did I feel too weak to continue, I was afraid that by the time I got to pushing I wouldn't have any strength left, and then I might have to have an c-section. So I picked my poison. It all happened rather quickly after that…I had the epidural and the relief was immediate. I was able to lay down and rest for about 2 hours, not really sleeping but resting completely. There were a lot of things 'being done' to me at this point and I had definitely reached Cascade Falls…..I had to have a catheter inserted and an internal heart rate monitor, which I barely remember being inserted. I had IV fluids, though they had been flowing since the fever came about. Second stage: We all rested and miraculously I kept dilating until I reached 10cm. The epidural is a very strange thing. Then it began to wear off and back came the low back pressure/pain with each contraction as the baby descended. When it came time to push I had a good amount of sensation and could feel the contractions. Dr. M was rather tough during this stage and seemed impatient, though in the end pushing only lasted for about 1 and ½ hours to 2 hours. Leah's heart rate was getting low so I was given oxygen (Cascading again). Dr. M threatened vacuum extraction at one point and I think it pissed me off so much that I started pushing my brains out. Mary Esther and Stephen were amazing, and really cheering me on. Leah finally arrived in a bath of meconium, and I mean a bath – we have it on video. She didn't breathe for a while, and was frantically being suctioned by the pediatrician, though I couldn't really see any of this as Mary Esther was happily reporting that all was well w/ Leah and telling me how cute she was. Thank you Mary Esther. Stephen and I were both freaked out until we finally heard her cry, which felt like the longest minute or two of my life. I had been so worried that by waiting until 42 weeks I was risking losing Leah, and when I realized how much meconium there was and how much suctioning she was needing, I was really scared. But breathe she did, and not to long after she was in my arms. My placenta came out so quickly I barely noticed, and that too showed major signs of being way over due, very dried out, calcifications, etc. Dr. M said something snotty like ' don't wait until 42 weeks next time'. The weeks leading up to the birth were really a test of my ability to stay present and accept what was happening and that I had no control over it. Although I was disappointed not to have a natural birth, I feel that I made the right decision given the circumstances. Mary Esther and Stephen were both a huge source of support and comfort, and I felt that they both supported my decision unconditionally. I was truly lucky to have them there. Leah is a beauty—we couldn't be happier. Baby Number 7 Born at Home Hello fellow birth warriors! I look forward to seeing you all, and sharing our children and stories of the first few weeks of life with them on this planet. I know I've enjoyed all the moments I've had with my daughter so far... sleepless and otherwise! wow! Life is delicious now, and I savor these weeks at home. I especially savor those precious few moments I get to take a shower.... Kevin and I seem to be the last of the baby bunch, and we haven't yet shared our birth story with you all. I will try my best to fill you in, but I think I'll need Kevin's help on this one, as my memory of those long days kind of molds into one looooong experience. I'm not so much help on dates and times and what happened when. I'll give it a go..... and Kevin can interject in italics. It all started Saturday evening, January 5, 2008. We arrived home from our holidays out on Long Island to await our baby's birth, and by that point, we'd been waiting about 6 days. (As you all may or may not know, we were having our baby at home, with a midwife, whose name is Karen.). Kevin just made an excellent lamb shank for dinner, and I started to feel.... something.... about 7 pm. I kept an eye on the clock, and realized the mild cramping every 20 minutes or so could be very early labor. I didn't get too uptight about it, realizing it could or could not be the first stage, but drank a glass of wine, and went to bed about 10 pm.12.15 am, early. Sunday, Jan 6.... those mild cramp feelings gave way to stronger sensations, that were pulling me out of bed and to the bathroom. I noted the time, and realized these sensations were pretty consistent at about 15 minutes apart. I was confident that labor had begun! Sunday, Jan 6.... by the morning, I was definitely in labor. Contractions were fairly strong, but started acting a bit sporadic. Sometimes they would come every 5 minutes, then 7, and then 3 minutes, then 10 minutes apart. After all was said and done, we realized that my contractions never evened out, they never came on at consistent, regular intervals. We called Karen and asked her to come over, which she did, and she watched me labor for a while. I spent my time between the bathtub, the shower, and the toilet. Ah, the toilet! Very unglamorous, but the most comfy space for me to be. I started to notice that the contraction itself wasn't the uncomfortable part per se, but the feeling it would leave in my lower back as it subsided was VERY unpleasant. It was beginning to get difficult finding a position to alleviate this. Kevin ran back and forth from the microwave, ever-ready with the heat pack to put on my back. Karen suggested that I try to conserve energy at that point, and focus more on breathing than on making sound ( I was moaning pretty good with each contraction). She tried to get me to eat and drink, which I tried to do, but with little success. Nothing was very appealing except water, and all that went in came back up again. At some point, she went home to get rest, and Kevin and I labored on. Sunday evening/night.... Kevin called a friend to come over and walk our dog. He stayed up the entire night, talking me through a very Bradley-esque relaxation technique with every contraction. Every 5-10 minutes he would start over again, talking me through a head to toe release. It was extremely helpful to me! I tried to do it myself (on the couple of occasions where Kevin nodded off, and I couldn't wake him except to yell), but my focus couldn't hold onto the technique through the contraction. Laying on my side was beginning to intensify sensation in my lower back and hips, causing the need to shift position with every contraction. Rest was sparse. Kevin was my consistent, patient hero at that point. Labor was moving into day 2 now.... Monday morning, January 7..... After some calls with progress reports to Karen, she suggested we get up and move around. We started roaming the halls from front room to back room and back again, sort of in a figure 8 pattern, through contractions. As one would come on, I would slow down a bit, but there was some relief from the back pain standing upright. We'd walk for about a half hour or so, then I'd try to lay down through a contraction or two. We did this through daybreak and into the morning. Karen returned, and tried to get me to go outside for a walk. Wasn't going to happen. I wanted to stay home for this home birth, and the LAST thing I wanted to do was get dressed! She tried to get me to eat. Puke. She gave me some horrible drink that she added salt to. Puke again. She began to voice more concern over the need to rest, to eat, and to drink. She wanted to make sure I had the energy to continue. At that point, I was wondering..... continue for how much longer? its already been 30 hours or so... weren't we close? She checked my cervix for dilation..... 4-5 cm. What a blow. I felt the wind definitely go out of my sails with that news. This was when she suggested I do what was necessary to get some rest. She gave me some choices.... a shot of liquor, a glass of wine, or a sleeping pill. Sounds unorthodox, right? I could have cared less. I knew the alcohol would not affect me that much, and I'd never taken a sleeping pill in my life, so I figured it would have the best chance of knocking me out. She wrote Kevin a prescription for Ambien, and sent him off to the pharmacy. So my birth story is not entirely drug-free :-)Monday afternoon, January 7... After a comedy of errors at the pharmacy, Kevin came back about an hour later with the Ambien, and I took one. Karen went home again to get some rest, and Kevin stayed to help me through the contractions again. I was supposed to be sleeping, but the pill sent me on a little trip for about 2 hours. I thought I was Alice in Wonderland, and kept asking Kevin if we were in Wonderland. I remember seeing little fairies made out of the clothes that were laying on the trunk in my bedroom, flying around the headboard of my bed. And I got up even more frequently to use the bathroom. But at the end of it, I felt like I got some rest, like maybe three hours had passed. I learned later that amount of time had not passed, but I did feel better.Monday evening/night...Jan 7...... I have no idea how we passed this time. Kevin has to tell you. We spent the night sleeping in 3 minute snatches as Judi needed talking through every contraction and counter pressure on her lower back. I was exhausted by now and missed several contractions as Judi was kind enough to let me sleep through some. At some point, we filled the labor pool I bought to give birth in, and spent about a total of 1.5 hours in it. the water seemed to slow contractions down, and any position in the tub put more pressure on my lower back. Tuesday morning... Jan 8.... about 5 am, Karen showed up with reinforcements. She brought with her a lovely doula named Colleen who let Kevin get some much needed rest while she walked with me through contractions. She was awesome. Throughout the day, she was a second set of hands on my sore and tired back. By this time, I had a big bruise from all the counter-pressure, and a mild burn from all the heat packs. At some point in the early part of the day, I had the urge to push. Karen suggested I do just that. My question was about dilation... what if I wasn't open enough yet? She assured me that my body knew when to push, and to follow the urge.... so I did. All the live long day, in the pool, on the toilet, in the bed, squatting, leaning against the wall, against the chair, all of it. Tuesday afternoon, Jan 8...... By the afternoon, I was tired, and sore, and losing hope this kid would ever come out of me. Karen checked me again.... 7-8 cm dilated. Are you kidding me??? Her next suggestion was that she would manually dilate me as I push, which would hurt, she said, or I could go through a couple of hours of contractions without pushing, which would also hurt. I chose the manual effacement/dilation, because it seemed like it would be the shorter route. It didn't hurt so much, actually, except after the contraction, when my back would tighten up as if in a vice. But good old Colleen and Kevin were there to help me through, God bless them both. After some time of this, the midwife stopped trying to dilate me. It wasn't budging like she had hoped. This was the time i started to lose it. I asked her what my options were. Could we just pop some pitocin in there and be done with it? If I had gone to the hospital and had a c-section, I'd be home by now! Are we going to end up there anyway? If so, let's go NOW. Karen was calm, and reassured me that I wouldn't be home by now after a c-section, and we didn't need to head off to the hospital, that I could do this. She was going to get another midwife in here, to help with this step. While she was away, she asked me to labor without pushing, to try and get the cervix to open a little more, which I did- for a couple more hours. Tuesday evening, Jan 8..... More reinforcements arrived. Midwife #2, Kristen, was on the scene, and breathing some fresh air into this labor. All of us were so exhausted by this point, it was so good to have this new set of eyes, ears, and hands! to help us all through. So, back to pushing and manual dilation. I had dilated slightly more in the interim, to about 8.5 cm. Karen and Kristen held the cervix back as I pushed the baby down into the birth canal. It was early evening now, around 6 pm. Tuesday night, Jan 8.... Pushing, pushing, and more pushing. I pushed on the bed from one side to the other, then on my back. I pushed in a squatting position, and the toilet, all of which felt like a grand piano had been dropped on my back. All of this long and painful back labor was due to the fact that my daughter was in an occiput posterior position, or "sunnyside up". Apparently, certain positions of pushing were better for this type of delivery, like an almost completely reclined back position. Trouble was, I didn't really feel like I could get the leverage to push very well like that. The toilet and the squat were great with gravity, but my lower back was about to explode. After every push in those upright positions, I swore secretly inside I wouldn't survive another one. The baby slowly, ever-so-slowly, worked her way down, and then it was time to finish it where it all began: on the wonderful toilet! My water broke while I was pushing, about 9-10 pm... Kevin climbed on the toilet tank and was putting counter-pressure on my lower back, Karen sat on the edge of the tub, checking on the baby's head, Kristen leaned over her shoulder, and Colleen ran and got me whatever I needed. Tuesday night, 10.50 ish pm.... The ring of fire! She crowned, and I screamed. Karen grabbed me by the arm, looked me in the eye, and said I had to get up and squat for the next contraction, so the baby would not be born in the toilet. I couldn't believe after all this pushing she was finally ready to come out. And when the next contraction came, I pushed, and she was born. 10.59 pm, with a massive conehead and mighty lungs. After all that, she came out with two final pushes. 71 hours melted away as little Ella Michelle squealed in my arms. Tuesday night, 11-12.30.... Ella was beautiful. She was very alert and bright, and took to my breast about 30 minutes after the birth. Although we were all so wiped out, we were all so excited and happy to see her and to get the good report of excellent health. Her head was very smushed through the long journey down, and she had some bruising there, but nothing to concern ourselves about. Throughout the labor, the midwives kept checking diligently for her hearbeat with the doppler monitor; she never wavered--it was always strong and steady. I had to have a few stitches, so Karen and Kristen did the honors while I nursed my baby girl.... in my own bed. Then I had some cereal (a much needed meal after 3 days!), got instructions for the next couple of days as to what to do for myself and the baby from the midwives, they all said good-bye (after a toast of Cotes du Rhone that Kevin brought out), and there were the three of us, soooo ready for a long and well deserved sleep. A very happy ending to it all! |