Delivering a Frank Breech Baby-Jack's Birth Story

A birth story.

Jack Bennett

December 28, 2011 9:21am

7lbs 1 oz, 17.75 inches

Backstory

Jack’s birth story starts when I was 35 weeks pregnant.  Jack had been stubbornly staying breech and around 28 weeks I started to really push that this needed to change NOW.  My midwife and others pretty much patted me on the back and said I’ve got time.  I innately knew I didn’t, and finally at my 34 week appointment my midwife listened.  I was scheduled for a NST ultrasound the next week, with the intent to have an external cephalic version done the following week.  If the baby stayed breech and I stayed with my midwife, I’d be scheduled for a c-section. 

The ultrasound took place at a different OB office, and the results were an 8 out of 8 score with low fluid in the normal range, not enough for the version.  The OB there stated the baby was a footling breech and stressed there was no reason to continue the pregnancy past 37 weeks.  I was admitted to North Fulton hospital for IV fluids and a repeat ultrasound in the next morning.  The nurses were confused, the monitors told them the baby was not in any kind of stress, I was not having any kind of labor and the fluid levels just didn’t justify the no food or drink after midnight order.  When I spoke with the OB associated with my midwife, her first comment on the phone was “but your baby is in distress”.  I asked for proof, as there was no proof of that and honestly a lot of proof that the baby was fine.  I realized that night I had to get out of that practice, but first I needed to get out of North Fulton still pregnant. 

By morning, there just wasn’t enough to justify a section, and I think the OB knew she’d need to more than just trying to scare me into a section at 35 weeks. She needed actual medical evidence, which she didn’t have.  She just kept saying, “Your water could break and a foot would fall out”.  We left that day with the understanding that we would have a follow up ultrasound on Monday.  In my head this meant I had until Monday to transfer to Dr. Tate’s practice.  My entire birth plans had changed.  No longer was I looking at a peaceful waterbirth or even a homebirth, I was looking at who will let me keep this baby inside the longest.  I didn’t want a section, but I didn’t want a 36-37 week scheduled section even less.  If I had to have one, at least let me go into labor naturally, so we knew the baby was ready.

My doula, Nikki, had met us at the hospital during this and being already a patient of Dr. Tate’s contacted him privately over the weekend with the situation.  Monday morning I got a call from Rachael(his front desk person), letting me know there was a cancellation and I could see him that day.  I cancelled my appointment with the other ultrasound place, collected my records from the midwife and headed out to Norcross(no where near where I live) to meet Dr. Tate for the first time.  

At that appointment I was impressed with Dr. Tate, relieved that I would be given the option of a natural delivery, and found out baby was in a complete breech presentation(think cannonball).  Dr. Tate could not turn the baby either, as Jack was well situated into my pelvis.  This delivery was going to be different, there were more rules than when I had Hal.  I was to push in an OR just in case and if I didn’t have an epidural or spinal, I was looking at anesthesia, if an emergency section was necessary.   That was honestly the first time I considered an epidural.  If something happened, I was risking missing my sons birth.  I decided I wouldn’t decide that aspect of the delivery until I was at the hospital in labor.

48 Hours leading up to and including delivery

Jack was born on a Wednesday morning.  This is what happened the 48 hours before he arrived.  

Monday evening I felt wonky, just off.  I was having bracton hicks contractions all evening, they were irregular and didn’t feel like much of anything but they did make me feel off.  I contacted some of the people who would be involved in the birth to let them know, I felt weird, something was happening but I couldn’t say what.  That night even as I slept they continued, but never bad enough to wake me.  I figured by morning if I could sleep through it, it wasn’t labor.  Tuesday we went about our day, which included a prenatal appointment.  At that appointment we found out Jack was now in the frank breech position(best one for a breech delivery), my cervix was very soft and I was 3-4 cm dilated.  I had a bishop score of 7, but Dr. Tate said the score doesn’t really account for breech babies that tend to stay higher until last minute.  My husband and I were reminded to do our homework, which we laughed over since we have a “no I won’t sleep” toddler.  

I had bloody show all day, but I honestly figured that was a result of the pelvic check, not actual show.  In the evening I spoke with Nikki and we solidified my birth plan.  She even wrote them out for me.  That night Hal decided to go to bed early, and since we had homework to do, we giggled and said what the heck, quietly sneaking off to the guest room.  It also gave us time to talk alone since we knew we’d be a family of 4 soon.  Afterwards we returned to our bed and went to sleep.  

Around 2 am I was awoken by a contraction that felt nothing like any I’d had before then.  I tried to fall back asleep, but it wasn’t going so well.  Around 3am, I figured I’d time them just to see what was going on.  The next 2 were around 10 minutes apart and by the third, they were too painful to lie in bed through.  I got up to walk around the house.  I started using the contraction timer on my phone so I didn’t have to pay attention to the clock.  I figured, I had HOURS to go, since Hal was at 43 hour labor, so I decided to let Alex sleep, and just contacted Nikki so she had a heads up. 

During the next 2 hours I focused on making sure all the bags were packed.  As the time passed the contractions went from where I could just pause and sway gently through them, to where they consumed all my thoughts and even the squeak of the floor annoyed me.  Throughout this time, I kept having to go to the bathroom, my bowels it appeared insisted that they be emptied.  I was a bit nervous that if dinner hadn’t digested enough I was going to be sick as well, but that didn’t happen.  I sipped water and had a few spoonfuls of honey during this time, but that was all.  Though out this I was communicating to Nikki what was going on, but I don’t think I was being very clear. 

Around 5:30am I realized I could not stay alone in the house any longer and woke up Alex.  I was also having trouble hitting the button on my contraction timer properly.  I think at this point the contractions were 4-5 minutes apart lasting a whole minute.  Since with Hal, even at that stage I still had hours to go, I wasn’t too concerned.  Alex woke up, started his morning routine, and about 30 minutes later I realized I needed to call the doctor.  

I think I spoke to Tia, who was glad to hear my water hadn’t broken and told me to head to the hospital.  I called Nikki and told her I was headed to the hospital in 30-60 minutes once we got the house in order.  Alex continued his morning routine, and we woke up Hal to get him ready to leave.  I was failing to say anything useful and felt like Alex was moving too slow.  In reality he didn’t realize that my contractions were getting closer and closer together.  I had 2 in the time it took to go get food for the dogs from the garage.  Between contractions I was able to dress Hal.  Along with all this I was still running to the bathroom to empty my system.  I think it took us an hour to get out of the house but we did, only forgetting Hal’s bag.  In that time we were able to get a hold of Tessa, who meet us at the hospital to take care of Hal.  We hadn’t heard from either of the couples who could take Hal for the night at this point, but with Tessa there wasn't any rush either.

The drive in was uncomfortable.  Alex drove, while I gave directions and we both hoped the morning traffic was light and we didn’t get lost.  Once again we were driving to a hospital we had never been to before while I was in labor.  This time we didn’t get stopped by a train. Alex put in a CD of songs I like to sing along to, and that helped distract me from being strapped to a seat when I wanted the sway my hips.  I think I had one contraction per song. 

Once we found the hospital, we had to circle it once to find the right door.  Alex hit a pothole in the road that had me scream from pain.  Nikki and Tessa were already at the hospital.  Nikki met me at the door and told Alex where to park.  When we entered the hospital, Tessa met us and then headed off to meet up with Alex to help with bags and Hal.  I was only carrying my purse.  Nikki rocked me through contractions all the way to the registration desk.  I had started to cry.  I just wanted to be in labor and not responsible for anything.  I was far along to be making decisions. But I still had to fill out paperwork.  Ha!  Nikki filled it out for me(asking me questions) and I signed.  Alex and Tessa met us there, and I was brought back into triage to access how “in labor” I was.  Since Hal insisted he be carried by Daddy, Nikki rocked with me through each contraction and Tessa was kind enough to carry our bags.  

Once in triage, I got to change into a beautiful gown, get hooked up to monitors and have a nurse check me.  I was 7 cm.  Oh yes, I was definitely having a baby today.  The hospital called Dr Tate, a kind nurse understood my request “Do not offer me pain meds, only give them if I can ask for them”.  Then we headed to the labor and delivery room, Nikki and I continued the contraction dance, this time I think the contractions were 2 minutes apart and lasting longer, it was getting harder to walk, I was getting tired and starting to question if I could handle this.  I still hadn’t decided on an epidural.  

In labor and delivery, I got hooked up to an IV for fluids and antibiotics(I was Beta Strep positive), during this time I was lying in bed riding through the contractions and nearly falling asleep through them.  In my mind I was thinking I can’t do this, I can’t push this baby out, and thankfully all the stuff we learned in Bradley class screamed at me “Johanna you are almost done!”.  Dr. Tate arrived and checked me during a contraction which is up there on painful things I’ve experienced.  He declared I was complete and station was changing.  He also made a comment about a bulging sack of water, which had Nikki laugh and the resident assisting ask if he wanted to break it.  Apparently not with a breech.  Then came the rules.  He informed us he needed to leave to change, that only two people would be able to go in with me and if something went wrong they would have to leave the room, no questions asked.”  A nurse appeared and gave Nikki and Alex scrubs.  

While everyone was getting changed, I was going through contractions and answering questions about my teeth and dental stuff to an anesthesiologist.  There was an internal moment of panic that if I was knocked out I could wake up and vomit, but I kept that fear quiet.  Just before we started heading to the OR, the only way to survive the contractions was to push through them while lying on my side holding up my leg(with Nikki pushing on my hip.)

Just after 9am, I think we rolled down the hall.  I have no idea how far.  That part is a blur.  When we got to the OR, the room was very bright and there were two giant bug eye like lights above me(turned off thankfully).  Alex commented that they rolled away to the corner a machine that goes bing.  Which had me giggle.  I then had to move off the bed and onto what seemed like the narrowest table.  I recall thinking that act made more difficult by the IV attached to me.  Dr. Tate explained how I was to hold my legs and push along with letting Alex and Nikki know how to assist me with my legs.  I didn’t get it right at first, but I was very much feeling like I couldn’t do this.

Then I got it right and at 9:08am there was a loud pop and my “low fluid” shot 3-4 ft out of me.  Those at the foot of the table jumped and ducked.  I started laughing.  Apparently the nurses had to put sheets on the floor to keep everyone from slipping. 

With my water now broken, Jack was able to get into the birth canal and out.  Apparently the first thing to exit were his testicles.   Luckily I’d been adamant that only Alex tell me the gender.  Following his testicles, out came his penis and he peed everywhere.  I was unaware of all this going on, my focus was on Alex, Nikki and listening to Dr Tate who counted down when I was supposed to push.  I’d rest, then feel a contraction start, push for a ten count, pause for a moment, then push again for another ten count.

Continuing on the pushing, out came his butt, I recall them talking about sacrum rotation which I understood, but was more amused by the meconium poop comment that was something along the lines of “it’s like stepping on a toothpaste tube”.  It was my birth and humor was a much needed part.  A few more pushes got out the body.  The last push to get the head out needed a bit more effort than the first one, but I did it. 9:21am Dr. Tate quickly removed the cord from around Jack’s neck and turned him upside down to help drain out fluids.  I remember thinking he looks so big.  The nurses put him on my chest while they cleared his mouth.  After the cord was cut, it was time for the placenta to come out.  Dr. Tate said it wasn’t ready yet, so a nurse started massaging my tummy.  All of a sudden I had to push, so I sat up a bit, pushed and felt the weirdest thing slide out of me,  Placenta came out perfectly with no complications.  I think sewing up my 2nd degree tear took longer than the pushing did.  

Once that was done I got to head back to the labor and delivery room where Hal and Tessa were waiting.  I found out afterwards that I did not poop on the table while pushing, which amused me since when I had Hal and pooped I was all excited because it meant I was pushing in the right place.

Tons of Thanks goes out to ICAN of Atlanta for supporting me in avoiding an unnecessary c-section. 

When this was taken, I'd been in labor for 6 hours and Jack was born a little over an hour later.

This was minutes before were were wheeled to the OR. Part of the arrangements of natural breech delivery is I deliver in the OR just in case something happens. Which is a very different environment from the dimly lit room I delivered Hal in.

Baby boy Newbold was born at 9:21 this morning. This picture was2 hours after the birth.

Delivering a Occipital Transverse Life-Hal's Birth story

A birth story (only 20 months late with all the gory details).

Hal William

May 1, 2010 7:23pm

6lbs 14 oz 18 inches

At my 36 week prenatal appointment, the OB failed bedside manner to the point that I was in tears.  He did everything he could to physically put me in a submissive position, while talking about how they would need to “control” the delivery.  My innate finally screamed loud enough for me to listen and I called my husband saying I’d rather deliver in our mini-van than with that doctor.  That was Wednesday morning.  I went over a friends house for lunch and she held my hand as I called the practice that did waterbirth and scheduled my appointment with them.  She also helped keep me together emotionally as I was not in good shape after that appointment.  Wednesday afternoon I picked up my medical records and Thursday morning I met my midwife Janet for the first time.  Due to being nearly 37 weeks, we went to a water birthing class at a different hospital Thursday night.

At the end of class I felt a small gush that was similar to when my period would start.  At home I noticed it was clear fluid and I had defiantly not peed myself.  By the time we got home I was exhausted and fell asleep quickly.  I woke up about 2 hours later starving!  Got something to eat, drink and poked at computer.  Realized I was feeling crampy like pains.   Went back to bed, could not sleep.  Got up again to pee.   I’d soaked another pad, I checked not pee, it was clear and smelled like vagina.   I once again went back to bed.  Still couldn’t sleep, but I tried.  I opted to skip school that day as cramping had gotten more rhythmic and clear fluid was now pinkish.  As the cramping got more often, every 10 mins or so, I wondered if I had broken my water and just had a slow leak.  I called the midwife to see if I could come in and have it checked. 

The cramping continued and got worse, I suspected this was it, Alex had gone into work to try and wrap things up with the intent to head home if this wasn’t a false alarm.  I drove to a friends house, where her husband drove me into the chiropractors office to get adjusted.  Fluid continued to drain, cramps started to last longer, starting from 5sec long around 5 am to I’d say 15-25 secs long around noon.  Alex met me at the chiropractors office and took me up to see the midwife.  The midwife took one look and told me my water hadn’t broken, but that I needed to do anything I could to get some sleep.  Her body language said I’ll be in labor in the next 2 days, but her words said it was normal late pregnancy pain and I should get some sleep.

We headed home.    I was slightly bummed it wasn’t labor and slightly relieved.  To have a water birth you need to be at 37 weeks.  I was 36 weeks and 6 days.  When we got home I tried to eat a bit more, then took some Tylenol and went to sleep for a few hours, being woken up by the cramps.  By 9pm on Friday the cramps were lasting about 30 seconds and were 3-5 minutes apart.  We had put on movies and such anything to try and distract me.  Nothing really worked.  By 10 pm I called the midwife, asking if it was ok to take more Tylenol or if I could get something to help me sleep a little bit, heck maybe stop the not-labor labor.  She told us to head to hospital and they would give me something to take and then we’ll go back home to sleep.

We packed up the car on the off chance that we were not heading back home and headed off on a 1 hr drive to a hospital we had never been to before. The ride was unpleasant with the cramps but uneventful, aside from watching a 70 car train travel by as we were stopped.  Once we got there, I got settled into a bunk in the triage area, while they figured out what to do.  Alex had to fill out a bunch of paperwork as our pre-reg wasn’t in the system.  They confirmed that the cramps were contractions and discovered I was already 2cm dilated and fully thinned out, meaning I was actually in labor.  At that point I was minutes away from the magic 37 week line I needed to cross to have a water birth.

Leaving the monitors on me, they gave me a shot in the butt for pain, sleep and nausea.  I was to nap for an hour before they were going to send me home.  An hour or so later, they told me they were going let me sleep another hour and then send us home.  Alex drank some coffee and promptly fell asleep in a chair.  Some where in all of this I contacted Genelle(good friend and doula for the birth) about what was going on as she was 2.5 hours away.  She started her trek in our direction.  After my 3 hour nap I was checked again.  4cm.   Nurse called my midwife to see what we should do.  Normally you are not admitted at that point if you want an unmedicated natural birth but considering how far we lived away, they decided to admit us anyway.  Sometime after this decision and before I was moved to my room, Alex left me alone for 20 minutes to finish up the paperwork and Genelle arrived.  I was also informed by the nurse I was dehydrated and needed to drink 3 large cups of water plus finish my bottle in the next 30 minutes. 

I know I labored through the night.  I don’t really remember much of it only that Genelle took over and let Alex nap for an hour or two.  I do know I got over being pee shy real quick as in, I need to pee and I need help.

The midwife came in to check on me sometime around mid morning and I had hit the magic zone of 5-6 cms which is what was needed to get into the tub.  I labored outside tub for a bit while it was filled and readied.  Over the next several hours I got in and out of the tub to labor.  I know I fell asleep in the tub and at some point Genelle pulled my hair back.  I was also having horrible back labor.  I kept needing someone to rub one side of my back the entire time.  I remember thinking I wanted someone to do the counter pressure thing we learned in Bradley class but at this point I wasn’t able to ask for anything or communicate well.  Sometime around 1pm, the midwife checked again at my request and I was at 8cm, but my contractions were getting further apart.  The midwife had me get out of the tub to try some other positions as we had confirmed, Hal was sunny side up(head facing the opposite direction than it should, while still facing down).  My labor started to take breaks.  I curled up on the bed and fell asleep, woke up and requested the monitoring be removed as I wanted to move around, did lunges, rocking on all fours, sitting on the yoga ball, nothing really helped the pain.  The midwife sent the 3 of us on a 30 minute walk down the hallway.  After all that I was still at 8 cm. 

Nothing had changed.  It was time to sit down and talk.  I wasn’t progressing but I had options.  The choice the midwife gave us was 1) go for a serious walk, large steps, not the walking like my knees were bound together. Or 2) we break my water and see if that helps move things along.  It would intensify the contractions and might even help increase dilation quickly.  She said yes while there were other options, I knew what they were and we could discuss those later.  Then she left the 3 of us in the room to talk.  I remember phasing in and out of the conversation.  It was strange I was there I was watching but I had a lot of difficulty communicating.  I knew I couldn’t walk, but was I willing to try the water breaking.  I was completely terrified of the contractions getting worse.  Genelle told me I’d already seem them as bad as they can be, the only difference was I wasn’t going to get a break anymore, we needed them one right after another.   She said, just give it an hour, you can do anything for an hour, give it an hour and if things don’t improve then we look at other stuff.  I also knew without a doubt the decision was mine and mine alone.  Alex and Genelle could support me but I was the one that would have to dig deep into my resources to make this happen.

I asked for the midwife back, I asked for a shot of GoChi juice.  When the midwife returned, I told her I wanted her to break my water, I would give it a try for an hour or two and then go from there.  Alex went to the bathroom to change into his bathing suit so he could join me in the tub.  The midwife got me situated on the bed and then tried to break my water with her finger, nope, then used the long crochet hook devise.  Once that happened, Hal’s head slid down and hit my cervix, we got another centimeter dilation right then.  Back to the pool we went before the contractions started.  Alex supporting me from behind, Genelle in front.  As soon as a contraction started I’d drop to all fours or on my knees with Alex rubbing my back.  Genelle encouraging me and reminding me to relax my muscles.  Once the contraction ended, I got two breathes then Genelle told me to stand back up, we locked arms and then I went down into a squat and bounced until we triggered another one.  That was hard, and I don’t think Alex could have pushed me like that, but it was good she could.  She reminded me that what we needed to get this baby out was for the contractions to be rapid fire no resting.  I have no idea how many times we did this, I think I was told not very long before I started pushing.  After pushing for a bit they needed to use the fish net to get the poop that had escaped.  Any other time I’d be disgusted with myself for pooping in front of others in a pool none the less, but at that point, all I could think was “Progress, I’m pushing in the right spot” .  The pushing continued for an unknown amount of time before the mid-wife wanted me out of the pool for two reasons, 1) there were more things she can do on the bed to assist, and 2) they wanted to change out some of the water and get it warmer(babies need to exit into body temp water). 

Once on the bed I was pushing on my back or side alternating, holding onto behind my legs with Genelle, Alex and nurses helping push back my legs.  The midwife had to reach up and start pushing the edge of my cervix back around Hal’s head and since he was now leaving sideways we alternated positions to corkscrew his shoulders through my pelvis.  They were stuck on my pubic symphsis and coccyx.  Finally he could start the end of his decent.  He started crowning, I could feel and see his hair.  10 minutes before he was out, Amanda the nice nurse was going off shift and cranky Nancy arrived.  She heard I’d been pushing for 2 hours and immediately started questioning my midwife.  While I couldn’t say anything, all I could think was “who the hell are you?  You’re not part of this go away”.   They had brought in a mirror so I could watch, I kept pushing, Finally I heard “do you want a picture of the crowning?”  “no” “keep pushing”.

Hal came out running his nose up my right thigh and promptly pooped up my left one.  As soon as he was out he started screaming, no need for any suctioning at all.  He was placed on my belly and wrapped in a towel.  All ours.  I said oh wait lets see the gender, Nancy went to grab for the towel. I hit her and I told her no it was for Alex and I to see.  We pulled back looked in: Alex said “All I see is umbilical cord” I said “it’s a boy!” I was so happy.  I kept trying to pull him up a bit higher to snuggle my messy and beautiful son.  Alex started crying.  We announced his name because it totally fits him.  The cord stopped pulsing and Alex got to cut it.  Hal was free.

Now it was time for me to deliver the placenta.  After a few pushes, the cord fell off.  A simple process just became a retained placenta.  The midwife reached back up to see if she could get it.  After a few minutes, she sent Nancy to call the OB and then requested the stuff to sew up the first degree tear I had.  For a transverse baby, only a 1st degree tear is impressive, but I took so long getting him to crown.  Alex took Hal and sat down to be out of the way of what they were doing.  I still had my mirror so I could see everything, which didn’t really bother me.  The midwife and nurses warned me that the OB would be quite a bit rougher and though I didn’t want painkillers for the delivery, would I like one now?  Uhm yes please!  During this time my blood pressure was dropping, and they were trying to get an IV into me.  Nancy failed on my left hand, blamed me for being dehydrated and another nurse succeeded on my right hand.  Before the OB arrived, I blacked out as well.  Alex watched it happen, but I was awoken before they got the smelling salts to the room.  I should mention that my midwife heard or thought Nancy’s name was Carol and kept calling her Carol.  Nancy was getting all pissed off and correcting her.  Because seriously when the timer is going(they had 30 or 45 mins to get that placenta out before I had to have a D&C), that is the right time to slow down out of annoyance. 

Once the OB arrived she dove in, literally.  Eventually they took the mirror away but it was fascinating to watch.  I didn’t know I had that much space up there.  I will say that while this was going on there was blood everywhere and just running out of me on to the bed.  They had special plastic bag&cover to catch and collect it.  Once my placenta was out it went to pathology to figure out what went wrong and even though the OB didn’t use a single instrument up my vagina I watched her out of habit count everything on the table.  Then the pitocin drip was started to contract my uterus and stop the bleeding.  The OB also had to redo my stitches, sadly by then the local had worn off.  Finally I accepted the antibiotics as well after watching what they did, the likelihood of infection was probably higher than normal. 

Hindsight being what it is, I am certain that if I had not transfered away from the previous practice I would have ended up with at least pitocin to "speed things up" and possibly a c-section do to "failure to progress" or as I've heard "the doctors failure to wait".  

Welcome to the world Hal William Newbold! He decided he didn't want to wait until May 22 and came 3 weeks early on May 1st.

First family picture taken.

A birth that didn't go as planned, but the end result was a healthy baby boy

(This birth story was sent to me in October, 2012 on Facebook but I'm just getting around to posting it)

Fletchers Birth story
It's rather a long read , Ill preface this with saying that this is not the way that
Ii wanted things to go, but the end result was still the same. : ) Healthy baby, healthy
Mama.


Isaac and I had been planning a natural water birth at a local hospital who offered that
option and had a great success rate with natural birth. The week prior to D day I had been
exhausted. I ate, slept, and rested for most of the week. Saturday morning I made myself get
up and do something, I walked 3 miles hoping that it would spike my energy levels. Not
really, the rest of the day I laid around, went to church that evening and left early
because I wasn't feeling well. Went home and couldn't sleep the entire night. Around 5am I
wanted to get in the shower to see if I could relax enough to sleep. While in there I
suddenly felt like I had peed myself. I got out, dried off and then saw a puddle on the
floor. At first I wasn't sure my water had broken, but then I laid down for 30 min, got up
and there was a puddle in my bed. We called are midwife who said to eat and rest, that
usually active labor starts between 4 and 8 hours after water breaks. Isaac and I ran some
errands, put the hospital bag together, cleaned up the house, set up the pac and play, etc.
Midwife called 4 hours later and nothing had picked up, so we did some things to stimulate
labor, walking, nipple stimulation, enema, pelvic rocking etc. Around 4pm she said to head to the
hospital so I could get tested to see if my waters had actually broken. Sure enough they
were. By then my waters had been broken 12 hours. Hospital policy gives you 24 hours to have
the baby and then the risk of infection increases. The only option we had was to start
pitocin. Which I was adamantly against in planning my birth. But since we wanted to deliver
vaginally, it was the better option to start it. They hooked me up, and about 30 min later
contractions started, catching me off guard with how intense they were. They were about 4 min
apart at first. I was strapped to the bed with the fetal monitor on, I wanted to get up and
so the nurse helped me. My husband and I held each other while the contractions got closer
together and more intense. They were were getting closer and mega stronger. Then the monitor
failed to get consistent readings on Fletcher, they put me back in bed much to my protest.

I felt a click of bone on my pubic bone, that's when hell broke loose. I had to get up if I
was going to be able to do this, I told the nurse that i couldn't do it on my back, they tried
again to get a reading which failed. That's when I started to panic. My husband was so good all
through this, he kept encouraging me, I didn't not expect to have such strong contractions so
fast and so strong. They were coming between 2 and 4 min each. My husband told me I could do this
and that he was here to help me, after 10 min I broke down, I started shaking, screaming,
crying. The nurse checked me and I was only a 4. I begged to have the pit turned off butthey said it
 hadn't been on long enough. After begging my husband for 10 min we decided to get the epidural
(He only did what I asked him to). My midwife came in and asked if that's what I really wanted, 
I said yes, and I couldnt think past the pain. I was dropping the F bomb and saying Jesus is King all in the
same sentence. 


They Anesthesiologist ran in and did his thing, the needle wasn't bad it was the
contractions during him working, the staff saying don't move! don't move! I just felt 3 more
contractions after the drugs. Then the guilt came in, I felt like a failure, that I couldn't
do what millions of women had done before and most of all let my husband down. He reasurred
me that of course I didn't disappoint him. I got checked 10 min after the epidural, I was a 7
which was shocking since I was a 4 just a bit ago. The nurse said to rest, that I needed to
save my energy for pushing. Of course I couldn't rest, all I could do was cry to my husband but I
was content not to be feeling anymore. My midwife came in to check me about an hour and a
half later and said it was time to push. They inclined my bed to almost a sitting position,
brought the mirror, one look and I told them to put it away, I did not want to see myself
stretch!! I pushed through 4 contractions then she said to cough twice and she plopped
Fletcher on my chest! My husband said I kept crying and saying It's my baby! it's my baby! It is a
indescribable emotion to hold and see your baby that you have carried and talked to for 9
months! As soon as they had repaired my lady parts they left my husband, Fletcher and I to
ourselves to bond for one hour before they did there whole checks. That was the best part,
to start our family of three undisturbed. That was beautiful.

My labor went differently than planned, but i am not one bit sad that hes here. As much as i
dislike pitocin it brought Fletcher into my arms and as much as I dislike Epidurals it
provided relief to my pit pains.

I didn't get the birth I wanted, but I got the baby that I did.
3. 5 hours of labor, including 7 min of pushing

Lauren's Birth Story-An unnecessary hospital transfer, but a natural, drug free birth non the less!!

So you know how you have things made up in your head that this is how this will go?  It will all be perfect and wonderful and go exactly as planned.  All puppies and rainbows right?  Well sometimes you just have to take a little detour that takes you a little off course.  Something that takes you through the countryside and lets you see something you had never imagined was there or be in a situation you never thought you would have to go through.  Sometimes you just have to accept what happens because it was meant to happen that way.  There was a reason you took that detour, but you still end up at the same place you were headed to, it just might take you a little longer and on a journey you didn’t plan for.  But maybe it’s better that way! 

My pregnancy started off just like that.  I was an extremely competitive triathlete, planning for this awesome year to come.  I was going to do a 100 mile ultra-marathon at the end of the year, and try to qualify for the Half-Ironman world championships for 2012.  But something happened.  Something that we didn’t expect, but would change our lives forever, even though we didn’t know it was even there. 

I found out I was pregnant at the end of April, probably more like May.  I had already done two 50k trail races and a sprint distance triathlon… all while pregnant.  It hit my husband and me by surprise but I will never say that it was an accident.  Nothing is ever an accident.  He was out of town when I found out so I had to wait two days for him to get back so that I could tell him in person.  Talking to him on the phone in the meantime while I knew and he didn’t was pretty dang hard!  But when I pulled out the little newborn socks and some booties and told him he was going to be a Daddy, we both smiled, cried, and then it hit us!  We were going to be responsible for a little person!  Were we cut out for it?  I surely don’t know what to do with a damn baby!  I had only recently held my first baby, my niece, only about a month before.  Let alone ever changing a diaper!  So off we went.  Detour!

I told my husband I wanted to give birth at home.  He was a little stunned by it at first but then was completely on board with it.  We talked about how we would tell our families since they were all extremely medical-minded and would balk at the idea of a home birth.  But we agreed to stick by our decision and defended our positions with evidence.  There was some questioning but we handled it quite well.  We got a midwife that could do the job and so began our journey to meeting our little bundle. 

The pregnancy went really well over all.  I was already extremely active so I continued that throughout the entire pregnancy, taking days off if I felt too tired or sore from the previous day’s workout.  I ran up until 7 months, then it turned into a jog/walk, then to just walking or elliptical training.  I would work with weights about 3-4 days per week and got high-fives from some gym rats the whole time I was in there as my belly grew and grew.  I had read and heard that exercising during pregnancy would help with labor and delivery.  I received excellent chiropractic care the whole time, even having to reposition my posterior baby towards the end of the pregnancy, and had gone through Hypnobabies for our birthing technique so I was feeling good about everything!  What could go wrong!  I was ready for this!  No detours here! 

My “guess date” was Christmas day.  What a wonderful gift!  As my husband and I were getting ready to go to his parents house for breakfast after opening our own gifts together, I was putting dishes away, and WOOSH!  My water broke, mucous plug and all.  I thought to myself, Oh SHIT!  But then quickly got it together, yelled to my husband who was on the other side of the house that my water broke and went to collect my thoughts… on the toilet J  This was really happening!  I was going to have a baby!  He came to find me a couple minutes later after he himself had to collect his thoughts and get into his Hypnobabies state of mind.  Positive thoughts only.  Everything was going smoothly.  I called my midwife and told her what had happened.  She asked me a borage of questions bout what color the discharge was and if there were any chunks.  I don’t know!  I was wearing dark pants at the time it broke so I have no clue what color it was or if there were any chunks.  It certainly didn’t look like it to me.  But she came to check on me and told me to relax for the rest of the day as the hard stuff could begin any time during the day.  She told us to let her know as the pressure waves got to be about 5 minutes apart and she would come check on me again. 

I put on my bathing suit and a robe, and put in my headphones to listen to my birthing day CD from Hypnobabies.  Everything was going well and I was very calm yet excited to see what was going to happen.  We never found out the sex of the baby so I mostly wanted to find out what it was going to be.  Baby, come out!  I want to meet you!! 

I relaxed on my birthing ball as the pressure waves got closer together.  They were about 7 minutes apart at this point and were only lasting about 45 seconds to 1 minute.  I watched as my husband set up and filled up our birthing tub and was amazed at how calm our two dogs were.  They would come check on me every now and then but were not asking to go outside like they normally would be.  They knew something was happening and they wanted to make sure I was okay.  They weren’t going to let having to go potty get in the way of protecting me. 

I had no clue what time it was but figured it was late afternoon by the light outside.  I kept my eyes closed most of the time in an attempt to remain in my bubble of peace and to concentrate on how well everything was going.  At this point, we called the midwife since the contractions were about 3 minutes apart and lasting 1:30 to 2 minutes long.  They were getting more intense and I wanted to make sure everything was okay.  She came to the house about the time they were 2 minutes apart and relatively intense.  She checked my dilation, which was at 1cm.  Not much but progressing.  I continued my hypnobabies CDs as my husband also talked me through each pressure wave.  He let me squeeze the ever living crap out of his hands as everything got much more intense.  With each pressure wave, we would both say “Open! Open! Open!” in an attempt to help dilate the cervix even more with each pressure wave.  The midwife checked my dilation again, which was 5 cm at this point.  I felt like I wanted to push but was told that it was too early and that I would tear if I tried to push too soon.  So I held back and continued on.

            My husband noticed something strange about the birthing pool as it was not filled up correctly.  They were puzzled but found that there was a hole in the liner of the tub and that it would be unsanitary for me to use it with barrier broken.  That threw a wrench in the system.  Slight detour but we are still on track.   

We eventually moved to the bedroom where I was trying hard to concentrate on not pushing, which was extremely hard, and the positive aspect of getting to finally meet my baby!  With a few incredibly intense pressure waves, the midwife came to check on me again at which point I was dilated to 8cm.  Time to start pushing!!  They checked the heart rate of the baby with the Doppler and all was well.  I kneeled up against the headboard of our bed and got ready to push.  Baby, come out!!  With each push, they checked the heart rate again.  The midwife felt like it was dropping but allowed me to push a couple more times, checking the heart rate each time.  At this point, she started getting vocally worried and yelled to my husband and me that the heart rate was dropping and that I needed to get on all fours with my butt in the air and my head on the bed to take the pressure off the baby for a minute.  Another detour…

She continued to check the heart rate, which at this point was doing okay again.  She then instructed me to push again on the next wave, which I did while she continually checked the heart rate.  She yelled to me to stop pushing, that the heart rate was at 120bpm and that I needed to get my ass in the air again.  Hypnobabies state of mind… Gone.  She yelled to her assistant that the baby couldn’t fit through a hole this small!  Um, last time I checked, soft tissue stretches if you give it time.  And that’s was birth is supposed to be like anyways… A baby comes though a small hole that stretches and its heart rate will drop somewhat because of that. 

She then shoved my face into the bed to put me in that position and started asking my husband how close the hospital was.  He said it was only about 5 minutes, at which point she yelled to me that I needed to do an Anti-push, which was the most painful thing I think I will ever do!  She instructed my husband to back the car up to the front door and for me to crawl down the hallway and get into the back of the car and rush to the hospital.  She told me that if I pushed anymore, that I was going to kill my baby!  WHAT!!!??  Don’t tell a pregnant woman in the middle of labor that she’s going to KILL her baby by doing what her body wants her to do!  But me, not being able to protest for the intense amount of concentration this took, did what she said and climbed in the car.  The whole way there, I was thinking, this is Horrible!  I am going to get there and they are going to give me a C-section!  What a disaster!  The whole trip to the hospital, I had to do an anti-push about 5 times.  Major detour…

As we neared the hospital, she instructed my husband on what to tell the ER staff as he drove up… like she had rehearsed it before and that this was not the first time she had done it.  Now, it was starting to look a little fishy.  But I just wanted my baby out safely.  I would deal with her later.  We pulled up to the ER and my husband did as he was instructed.  They brought a gerney out to meet me and wheeled me, for what seemed like miles, through the hospital to the birthing center.

I got to the delivery room, where they started asking us way too many questions about our prenatal care.  I was getting pissed.  They checked the heart rate, with not nearly the concern like the midwife had, and told me to switch beds and get on my back.  I did NOT want to be on my back but did as I was told.  It was then up to the doctor.  Was there going to be another detour?  Was I going to have to get a c-section?  Then he told me my instructions.  “I want you to look at me.  On the next wave, I want you to push like you are going to the bathroom.  Then I will ask you at a point where the head is crowning, to relax and not push to let the tissue stretch.  Then you can push again.”  I was going to have him vaginally.  Naturally!  No drugs!  Back up on that detour thing!  This may not be where I wanted to give birth, but it certainly is the way I wanted to give birth!  Baby, come out!  Let’s do this! 

It happened exactly like the doctor said.  I watched him the whole time.  I pushed, felt baby come out, stopped and relaxed, seeing my husband watching the whole thing while holding my hand, and then pushed again when it was time.  3 pushes, it’s a BOY!!!  Cut the cord… wait… We wanted to wait to cut the cord.  Both my husband and I said it at the same time.  But the doctor came back and said that since I had been in labor for almost 23 hours, that the baby had meconium and needed to be suctioned so we needed to cut the cord.  My husband looked at me and I gave a nod.  He took the scissors and cut the cord from our brand new baby boy.  I then told him to stay with the baby and make sure they didn’t do anything to him that we didn’t want.  No drugs.  No injections.  No circumcision.  Nothing.  I would be fine and could handle myself.

Then it happened.  I felt the doctor tugging on my placenta and out it came.  Oh crap.  He just did that.  He just ripped my placenta out before it was ready to come out on its own.  Not good.  But they gave me pitocin to slow the bleeding, which increased the painful post contractions 10-fold.  Holy hell!  I can see now why people think labor is so painful!  The pitocin does it!  But the fact that I had my brand new baby boy nursing already and in bed with me safe and sound, made it all more bearable.  He told me I didn’t need stitches, cleaned up, and left the room.

As they were cleaning everything up and having me sign everything, the nurse checked on my bleeding and noticed something was wrong.  An hour after birth, I was bleeding more now than I had been in the beginning.  She got the doctor on staff (as by this time, the doctor who delivered me was out the door, probably home already).  He discovered that there were still pieces of my placenta in my uterus and had to remove them.  He also told me that I did need a couple stitches, which was most likely the burning sensation I was feeling.  He asked me if I wanted pain-killers because this might not be the most pleasant thing.  I initially refused, thinking that it would get into my milk and into the baby.  But they assured me it wouldn’t and that I would most certainly need them for what they were about to do.  They weren’t lying! 

I handed my son over to my husband who cradled him like a champ.  So cute!  They gave me a morphine drip and proceeded to remove the placenta pieces.  I will spare you the details but as they scraped everything out, I screamed louder than I had ever screamed in my life!  Birth without drugs was nothing compared to this!  I cussed the doctor but knew that he was only trying to help me.  The nurses assured me that he was the best at this and was being very gentle.  I’m sure he was but let me get you down here and I will scrape your uterus out!  I yelled, asking them when the drugs were going to kick in, and they gave me more.  I also remembered my hypnobabies again and tried to concentrate on my happy place.  But damn that hurt! 

Fast forward to a couple hours later as I woke up with my baby nursing next to me in our recovery room.  It’s all over!  I had a healthy happy, 7lb, 21 inch baby boy!  I just did that!  I grew a human being inside of me and here he was, happy to be with me once again!  I realized what had happened after the birth and began to feel the effects.  The doctors came in and told me I had a large hematoma on my vaginal wall and that it would go down gradually but would be rather painful for a couple days.  They asked me if I wanted pain killers but I refused them again, knowing that if I could go through a natural birth, I could deal with the pain. 

After a two night stay in the hospital because my baby supposedly had Jaundice (every baby on the floor had jaundice that day…), we were allowed to take our little one home.  My husband got the car seat, we bundled him up, and wheeled ourselves out of that place.  Two nights in the hospital with nothing to do gives you lots of time to think.  I thought about everything that had happened and began to realize what had actually happened.  Our midwife freaked out!  She had been in practice for 25 years as a midwife but freaked out!  I come to find out later that we were not the only people this happened to.  Two friends of mine who had also birthed with the same midwife had the exact same experience.  Everything was going fine at home until it was time to push.  Each one of them gave birth at home though since they called 911 and it took the ambulance too long to get there.  It was just that convenient that we lived that close to the hospital.  Hmmm.  She had already been paid and didn’t want the liability of giving birth.  She told us our baby was in distress, which it wasn’t, and put the liability on the hospital. 

She came to visit me two weeks later to see how everything was going.  She told me that she didn’t take into account how good of shape I was in and that she thought I was going to be pushing for another few hours!  I had worked out my whole entire pregnancy and even discussed with her about how well everything was going, how I had great muscle tone, and that everything was going to be so easy!  She never thought of having me try another birthing position but just assumed I would not be able to push my baby out.  Wrong thought process lady.  I’m definitely not recommending her to anyone I know.

But, the end result, even though there were a couple detours along the way, is that I have an extremely healthy baby boy who is thriving and growing exponentially!  He is hitting every single milestone at least 2-3 weeks early.  He has gotten Chiropractic care since he was 9 days old.  He is only 4 months old now and is laughing, smiling, almost crawling, and has just about gotten a couple actual words out.  I never thought life would be this wonderful.  They say something changes when you become a mom.  It’s true!  I would never have let anything puke on me, drool on me, or poop on me and have been okay with it.  But now that I have my son, life is pretty good, even if he does occasionally poop on me J

Bring Birth Back (Atlanta Birth Center)

Because Birth Matters

The stories of these women being belittled, emotionally traumatized, humiliated and defeminized is heart breaking, but the emotion behind the midwives words is what makes the difference! To midwives, birth truly DOES matter! YOUR experiences are important to them. This is a great video about a birth center they are working to build in the Atlanta area. I can't wait to hear that it's happened and it's opened and changing the face of birth here in Atlanta. Bring Birth Back!!!

Dream Birth-Creating the Birth You Want

You’ve heard the stories…Morning Sickness. Non stop pain. Cramping. Screaming. Women writhing in pain. Their body being torn open. Thirfy five hours of labor followed by six hours of pushing, all to end up having a c-section or pushing a 10lb baby out your ‘hoohoo’. You’ve decided that from the moment you find out you are pregnant, you are going to have every intervention known to man! You’ll have the ultrasound and the blood tests. You’ll have a 2nd ultrasound to find out the sex of the baby. You arrive at the hospital already planning to have the epidural, but to look good to your peers you tell everyone you are going to ‘try’ to go natural. Truth is, you’ve already talked to the midwife and doctor, and the epidural and Demerol are already on standby. We’ve heard and used the line “Nature needs no help, just no interference” but when it comes to pregnancy and birth, we throw this concept out the window.

In this scenario, there are loud noises all around you. Beeping, buzzing and ringing surround you. People are in and out of your room, removing the sheet that is covering your elevated legs so they can do a check to make sure you are ‘progressing’. The lights are bright and the bed is uncomfortable. You are allowed to move around the hallways, but only for a limited amount of time, and only until they decide it’s time for the epidural. In a few more minutes, they will need to check your progress again. You’ve now made it-the 10cm required to begin pushing! You feel a sense of accomplishment at having made it to this point (epidural or not) and now are told that it’s time to start pushing. “Deep breath! Bear down! 1-2-3-4…10. And another big breath. AGAIN!” It doesn’t matter that you’ve body isn’t telling you to push. You are at 10cm and now you MUST push! The doctor who you worked so closely with during your pregnancy and who you prayed would be on call the night you went into labor, races in and spends the last 15 minutes of your pushing with you, just in time to catch the baby. The baby is laid on your stomach for a little over a minute, just long enough to cut the cord that is attaching the baby to your body. The placenta hasn’t birthed yet, but that’s ok. This baby has got to be cut from your body now that it’s outside of you! There is no more need for it to remain attached. Within a matter of minutes the baby is taken to the other side of the room where it is cleaned up, its nose suctioned. She is weighed and measured. You hear the baby crying and they tell you this is a good thing and that the baby has ‘a great set of lungs’. Truth is, this small baby is terrified and screaming for you, her mother.

But there’s a better way! This is not the way that birth should be, especially for those of us who believe that the body is fully capable of knowing what to do. Imagine a birth in which you, the mom, are in complete control. The room is dim, the smell of candles or incense burning from the corner. Your significant other is next to you and in these moments, it’s only the two of you. Your midwife might be in the room, but you are oblivious to her because you are totally connected to your body. You are immersed in warm water, your body floating up and down with each contraction. There is no tension in your body. You are relaxed, allowing your body to work with each contraction. The contractions grow closer together, more intense, each one coming right after the next, but you aren’t fighting them but instead, working with them. You are free to make any sort of noises you need to because you are in your own home, allowed to express yourself in your own way because it’s a familiar place to you. It’s a place you feel at peace. It’s a place you’ve created for the birth of your child. It’s the place you have created for this very moment! After a few hours of labor, you start to feel a pressure that is indescribable. You tell your midwife that it’s time and she comes to your side. In the next few minutes, the baby will slowly pass out between your open legs and into the water and your waiting hands. You may even find yourself having a powerful orgasm during this time in which your body is allowed to operate in wholeness and perfection. You slowly pull the baby up out of the water and to your chest. Immediately the baby looks up at you! There is an instant connection between the two of you as you gently wipe the vernix off of her head and await the placenta to deliver. The baby is still attached and is reaping the benefits of the most amazing blood that it will ever receive. The blood in the cord is essential to the baby and as it pulses, it contracts every last drop into this new baby. When you are ready, you hand the small baby to the midwife for her weight and measurement. Baby appears so relaxed and at peace. No screaming, no flailing. Just perfect peace in this moment. This is the way birth can be!

(Feel free to repost but please link back to this blog, send me a link to where you posted it and leave my name on it.)

Homebirth Doll

I'm a homebirther and I love teaching my kids what the body is capable of doing. I love educating women about how their body can and will work, given the right conditions. But I have to admit that this doll is a bit much. What do you think??