I’ve been under the care of a midwife practice that works in conjunction with an OBGYN group. We learned so much from the midwives during the pregnancy, and they taught us ways to achieve a natural labor. All of their births take place at the city’s major hospital, we always had access to physicians, and we felt secure if any emergencies were to arise.
We know that being under the care of a midwife was a major factor in having my labor go as we hoped it would – natural and with no pain medications. We are very happy with how the whole birth day went. I am still amazed at how my body told me exactly what to do throughout the labor. Staying focused and relaxed helped me get through it.
The birth day began at 5:00 a.m., when I woke up to go to the bathroom and discovered my mucous plug had released. I was pretty excited and showed it to Devon! I went back to sleep for a bit, but at 6:30, I felt two big pulls in my abdomen. A relatively strong contraction followed, and then there were two more big pulls. I could feel liquid ready to spill out, so Devon got me a towel. Sure enough, my water had broken, and several big gushes soaked the towel… labor had begun.
The water was clear and odorless, so we didn’t have to worry about infection from meconium. I lay in bed a little longer to try to catch a few more winks, but contractions were coming stronger and a little closer together. We got up and made eggs for breakfast, to get some good energy into my body.
The contractions were coming strong, just strong enough that I had to start breathing through them a little. Devon started timing them, and they were about five minutes apart. I couldn’t focus on eating, and I felt like walking around was the best way to handle the discomfort. I was also still leaking a lot of fluid, so sitting on a couch made me nervous.
Three hours in (9:30), and the contractions were much less bearable. I definitely had to breath through the peaks, I was being much more vocal (i.e., yelling) during the contractions, and unfortunately I vomited the small amount of breakfast that I had eaten. We decided to call the midwife.
Juliane was in the office that day. Since the office was open, she suggested that we pack our things for the hospital but come in to see her first so she could check my progress. We got to the office around 10:00 a.m., and Juliane determined that I was 3 cm dilated and 100 percent effaced. My contractions were about 4 minutes apart at this point, and she said I was in pre-labor. Juliane said it was our choice to go to the hospital, but she suggested going home for several more hours to progress a bit further before checking into the hospital.
Even though I couldn’t imagine continuing with these contractions (especially once they got worse!), I knew Juliane's recommendation to labor some more at home was sound advice.
In the car, I realized that I was pretty comfortable sitting down, so I settled onto the couch at home. Less fluid was leaking now, but the show was bloody after being checked. Active labor had started, and it was amazing how my body took over and I settled into a rhythmic zone. I was very quiet and just focused on getting through each contraction. They were 3-4 minutes apart, and seemed to be getting stronger over time. I closed my eyes and dozed a little between contractions.
I decided to try sitting in a hot bath to ease the pain a bit. Juliane always called a hot bath a “liquid epidural!” Now, I do not like bathtubs. I haven’t sat in a bathtub without a bathing suit in a long, long time. But this bath felt great. I imagined the energy of each contraction being absorbed by the warm water. Devon poured water over my back and made sure the bath stayed hot. I labored in the tub for about an hour.
I got out of the bath after an hour because I’d read that labor can slow down a little with too much liquid epidural. I went back to the couch for about an hour. I mainly used deep breathing to get through the contractions, but sometimes I would use quick breathing at the peak of the surge. I also tried to imagine the energy of the contractions being dissipated over the rest of my body.
Devon was there for me, but during active labor I didn’t want any physical contact like I thought I would. I didn’t want to talk, I didn’t want to be touched… but emotionally, it was important that he was there. If he wasn’t in the room when a contraction started, I called him in to be near me.
We decided it was time to go to the hospital when my contractions were regularly 3 minutes apart, and they had become stronger. I felt like there was a lot of pressure happening between contractions, too. We also wanted to beat rush hour traffic! We left for the hospital at 3:30 and got checked into our labor and delivery (L&D) room around 4:15.
I didn’t want the sudden change in environment to affect my focus. I didn’t make eye contact with anyone except Devon, my midwife, and my L&D nurse. By ignoring most of the people and equipment around me, I was able to concentrate on breathing through each contraction.
Amelia was the midwife on call at the hospital. Amelia checked my progress; I was at 7 cm! I was hooked up to the electronic fetal monitor, and the baby was doing great. Then transition began for the last couple centimeters of dilation. I felt like being on all fours, and I was very vocal (this surprised me). I didn’t yet have a strong urge to push, but my body was doing a little pushing on its own during each contraction.
Around 5:30, I felt more of an urge to push. I was at 9 cm, and Amelia and my L&D nurse had me change positions. I ended up on my back, and they told me this would help get the baby under my pelvic bone. The nurse and Devon helped hold my legs, and I learned how to give three or four effective pushes with each contraction.
Pushing was not that painful, but the feeling of the baby’s head down in my pelvis was agonizing between contractions. I kept asking how much farther he had to descend, when would he be far down in the birth canal? I distracted myself by rubbing a damp washcloth over my face and neck. I also sipped water between contractions – Devon handed it to me.
The baby eventually moved into the birth canal, and it was time to push him out! Devon could start to see the baby’s head bulge in the perineum and move in and out with each push. Once the baby started crowning, a lot of people came into the room – nursery nurses, additional nurses to help out. Amelia was busy delivering another baby across the hall, but she came to evaluate the situation. She told me, “Irene, you are a powerful woman.”
The baby’s head crowned one final time, and he emerged facing my right thigh. I looked down and could see his head as Amelia helped deliver his shoulder and then the rest of his body. Then suddenly he was up on my chest! He made a few small cries and started breathing. His skin was grayish-pink but soon turned bright red and pink. His hands and feet were the last to turn pink. His little fingers immediately latched on to mine. The nursery nurse cleaned him up a little and suctioned out his mouth and nose.
Little Alden lay on my chest for a while as the nurses did their jobs. His Apgar scores were 9 and 9 at 1 and 5 minutes. At one point I asked, “is he definitely a boy?” We checked, and he sure was! After the cord stopped pulsating, Amelia clamped it near his belly button. Devon made the cut, and little Alden was officially operating on his own.
When it was time to deliver the placenta, the nurses moved Alden to the warming table and weighed him – 8 lbs 14 oz! Delivering the placenta was not difficult, but I didn’t like that Amelia had to push on my brlly to stimulate my uterus. The placenta came out and was intact. Devon held Alden for a little while, and then the baby went back onto my chest for some more bonding.
I had a tear that Amelia had to stitch up. She gave me a local anesthetic, but it was still a really uncomfortable procedure for me. It was over after about 20 minutes, and then the room emptied out.
The L&D nurse helped Alden and me nurse for the first time! He latched on well. He was very alert for about two hours after delivery, and we got to look at his eyes and make connections with him. We gazed at his head full of curly blonde hair. We took in his pouty little mouth and big blue eyes with long lashes. He is perfect, and well worth the wait!
