birth #005

This story is written with permission and consent from the birthing momma.

This birth was different than the previous births I have attended in that I met the mother and father for the first time while they were already at the hospital in active labor. Typically, I meet the mother and father at least twice before going with them to the hospital. For this birth, I was the back up doula for my other doula friend-- who had another mother go into labor the same day as this couple. She called me to tell me that she would need me to be with them at the hospital and that she was hoping to be done with the other birth so that she could come and join us before their baby came. Birth is a funny thing, though, and doesn't always happen when or how you want it to! This baby came pretty quickly, and my doula friend never did make it.

I knew that this couple had gone to the hospital mid-morning as the mom's contractions were beginning to pick up, and this was her second birth. It also was hopefully going to be a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean). Her first baby had been breech and she was hoping to give birth differently this time around. I had gone to work for a few hours, and the mom and dad had been laboring together for a while. I told her to call me when she felt like they were coming a little closer together and felt like she needed me there with her. In the late afternoon she called me to let me know the contractions were getting much stronger and more powerful. I could tell that she was really in it, because she needed to take a few breaks when we were talking to be able to make it through the contractions. I tried to breathe through them with her over the phone, and assured her that I would be there soon.

I got off the phone and left work in a hurry. Of course, I managed to hit both rush hour traffic as well as major construction on my way to meet them. A trip that should have taken me twenty minutes, took me an hour. When I arrived, she had received an epidural (which she had been planning on using as her tool to cope with the pain) and was feeling much better. I felt awful that it took me so long to get there, but they seemed to be doing okay. It was nice to have some time to talk over their birth plan, and get to know one another before the baby came. At this point, she was dilated to a 5. Both of them were watching That 70s Show-- which I thought was a cute and memorable moment.

An hour later, the nurse came into check her and she was dilated to an 8. The doctor was called and the nurses all got the room ready. There seemed to be many more nurses and other medical personel setting up the room for different precautions than I have seen at other births. They want to keep everything on the safe side with a VBAC. A half an hour later, the nurse came in to check mom and also to check on the baby's heartrate, which was a little low. The nurse was very calm and suggested the mom try to re-position to give the baby a little more room. Mom was seeming a little anxious about the baby (and understandably so), so I decided to get out my lavendar oil, and give mom a hand massage to help her be able to relax and so that we could talk through some of that. I reassured her that the doctors and nurses were keeping a special eye on her, and that they knew what to do-- that she was in good hands.

Just a few minutes later, the nurses, doctor and hospital personel all came back into the room, ready for the baby to come. Mom was ready to start pushing! During pushing, the nurses became concerned again about the baby's heartrate. They used a vacuum to help the baby's head come down. Mom was using all of her strength to push the baby out. The vacuum came off three times, which is the maximum amount of times they are allowed to apply the vacuum. The doctor was concerned still that the baby needed to come out right away to be safe. The doctor instructed mom firmly that she needed to push with all of her might. Mom said okay, and took a deep breath and poured everything she had into her last couple of pushes.

Her husband stayed very close to her, holding her hand and encouraging her the whole time. It was very sweet. A nurse also reached over at one point and pushed on mom's pubic bone a little bit (which we later found out was because of shoulder dystocia-- a difficulty that arrises during birth when the baby's shoulders are not properly entering the mom's pelvis and therefore causes the baby to have difficulty coming out). At last, the baby's head emerged and the everyone in the whole room was so relieved! The baby took a little time to cry, but did cry out after just a few seconds. Mom and dad were so relieved that baby arrived and was safe and healthy.  Mom did an excellent job pushing with all of her strength and did just what she needed to do.  I was so proud of her that she was able to have a VBAC-- It was an incredible experience! Baby was adorable and latched on right away with no problems. Another miraculous birth experience that I was so thankful to be a part of.