birth #004

This was written with permission and consent from the birthing momma.

The mom I was working with was at risk for needing to be induced due to high blood pressure, and also happened to be a first time mother. A couple of weeks prior to her due date, she had stayed at the hospital over night because they were concerned that her high blood pressure could cause problems for the baby. They were able to moniter her overnight, and decided that she would be able to go home and stay on bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy. She called me on the week of her due date telling me that they were planning to induce her the day after her due date if she had not gone into labor yet. The baby decided to take matters into her own hands and get things started the day of her due date so that she would not have to endure any interventions:) She began having some contractions the night before. After attending her regularly scheduled prenatal appointment on her due date, I talked to this mom and found out that she would be staying at the hospital-- her contractions were coming close enough together.

I left work and went to visit her there to see how she was doing. Her sister was with her also. She had been lying in bed, resting after a long night with little sleep. The nurses wanted her to try to rest as she could have many hours to labor ahead of her. I gave her a foot massage to help her relax, and also helped her to breathe through some of the contractions. The nurses also wanted her to labor in bed so that she could rest, but when they left, she got up during some of her contractions and told me that she felt more comfortable walking. I nodded in quiet approval; it is not my job to follow hospital regulations. It is my job to be lead by the mother and help her to find what is comfortable to her. For this mom, it was helping her to walk. After a little while, a nurse came in and gave her medication to help her to get some sleep. I helped her to get comfortable, and decided to step out of the room so that she could sleep soundly.

Another nurse came on shift and she told me that I should go home, because it could be a while. After a lot of thought, I did decide to go home for a bit, and gave the nurse my informed consent contract that I had signed by the mother which allowed her to call me as soon as the mother needed me. Those things can really come in handy! I did get a call just a few hours later, and the nurse told me that she had woken  and that her waters had broken and that her contractions were coming on much more strongly now. She also prepared me by saying that a mom who has high blood pressure can have more intense labor, but that the silver lining is sometimes that the baby can come more quickly as well.

I arrived back in her room in an hour, and was prepared to stay all night if I was needed. When I got there, I did not even really take time to open up my doula bag. I just jumped right in. The contractions were coming on very strongly. The mom was using all of the strength that she had to make it through every contraction. At this point, she had had no pain medications. During some points she was calling out and seemed panicky. I tried to remind her to breathe through each contraction, and to use low tones. I was breathing through a lot of the contractions with her and trying to stroke her arm to pace her breathing through each one. It was very difficult for her to get on top of her contractions because they were coming so quickly. The nurse came in and checked her. She was complete, and the nurse called for the midwife right away and told everyone to get ready for the baby to come.

The pushing began and went very quickly. It seemed to only last a few minutes. The midwife asked the mom to open her eyes at one point so that she could focus on what she needed to do. The mom did a wonderful job and poured all of her efforts into pushing the baby out. Within an hour of my arrival, the baby was born naturally, and was a beautiful baby girl. I know that this mom was so happy to hold her in her arms. It was another exceptional, foundational experience for me to have as a doula. I was so proud of this momma!