My Drug Free Birth Story (Very Long)

I apologize for how long it is but I wrote this out for myself so its just easiest to copy and paste. I also apologize for the delay but life has been a little hectic.


Miranda Shea’s Birth Story

Before I got married, graduating college was the best day of my life, then of course my wedding topped that and now giving birth to a precious baby girl tops everything. For 9 months you plan, you wait and you wonder but no amount of preparing yourself can describe how it feels to hold your child in your arms for the very first time.

I’m not sure where to say labor actually began. I had what was called pro dromal labor which basically is when labor just starts and stops. For me it started on Saturday September 24th. I finally started feeling real contractions. Believe me there was no mistaking it for a Braxton Hicks. I was excited but I knew a real contraction here and there didn’t mean much. We went to bed that night and at 3am I was woken up by contractions. I timed them and they went from 13 minutes apart for a while and eventually were 6 minutes apart. I was really hopeful at this point so Sunday morning around 8am I called my doula, Erika, and told her that it could be the day. That I was having real contractions and they were 6 minutes apart but seemed to be slowing down. She gave some advice on things to do to keep them going and try to get into active labor. Well I tried everything and nothing really worked. My contractions were all over the place. I was exhausted and miserable because they were painful enough that I couldn’t sleep through them.

Well Sunday came and went and I tried to get some sleep Sunday night but it was worse than the night before. At 2am I was hurting enough to try a hot shower and when I got tired of standing I filled up the tub and laid in there to relax. Baths have been soothing to me for my entire pregnancy so I knew they would be a godsend during labor. If I had a pillow and a blanket I very well may have been able to sleep in there. I actually got contractions 4 minutes apart while in the tub but as soon as I got out they were all over the place again.

After 2 sleepless nights I was off to my midwife appointment at noon on Monday. I was still having contractions so my mom drove me to my appointment. I very much expected her to just have me wait it out because although I was frustrated I thought I was holding up pretty well. In I went for my usual NST because of my previous high blood pressures. They have all been totally normal so I expected nothing different. My blood pressure was 124/100 but I just figured I was stressed out and exhausted from 2 nights of not sleeping. It had been back to normal for several weeks. When Eliza came in and asked me how I was doing I lost it. I was having a contraction and I just broke down crying that I was so tired and I didn’t know why my labor wouldn’t progress. She calmed me down and we talked about some options one of which was getting morphine to sleep. That just wasn’t something I wanted to do. Well in the meantime she looked at my NST and the baby had a few decals in her heart rate so that coupled with my spike in blood pressure bought me an admission to labor and delivery right after my appointment. My contractions were 4 minutes apart while I was in her office so she checked me and I was 3cm and 80% effaced. I was so happy to know my 2 nights of suffering had at least accomplished something. She stripped my membranes (OUCH) and said that she believed I was definitely in labor. I begged her to let me go home for a while and get my things together but she wouldn’t have it so my mom and I just walked over to the Birth Place and into my room I went.

Talk about surreal. I had never been in a patient in a hospital before so that in itself was weird but then to know this was it, my 9 months of waiting was coming to an end and for me it was a long 9 months full of worry. I was so afraid my labor was going to stop but those contractions kept coming. I called my doula and she headed over and Tony left work and stopped home to get my bag. I was initially hooked up to the monitor and my contractions were 3-5 minutes apart. Once they knew the baby was OK and my BP was good I was free from all machines. I was positive for Group B Strep so I have to get the IV placed for that (another OUCH). It took 3 tries and 2 nurses.

It was 1:30pm when I checked into my room and Miranda was born at 11:35pm. This is how the next 10 hours unfolded. My mom waited with me until Tony arrived. He brought us some lunch. I didn’t want to eat much but I felt like I needed some energy to get through what was in store for me. I just had some chicken nuggets and started drinking water and Gatorade to make sure I was well hydrated. My doula arrived and once she was there my mom left and went to wait at our house and take care of the dog. I had decided ahead of time that I just wanted it to be me and Tony when our daughter was born so that we could have time alone with her and name her and just take it all in. The early part of labor was totally manageable. Eventually sitting in bed wasn’t comfortable so I got up and we walked the halls a little bit. I would have to stop and breathe through my contractions but I think walking helped keep things going. My contractions were starting to get a pattern of being 2-3 minutes apart for a few then I would get a bit of a break. I also used a birth ball. My doula placed it at the end of the bed and we raised the bed up. I just leaned over on the bed and she sat behind me and massaged my back and during contractions used counter pressure with tennis balls which helped relieve the pain a lot. My coping technique was breath awareness where you just focus on your breath, in and out, in and out. You don’t breath heavier you just kind of use it as a distraction. I learned some other techniques but I couldn’t keep my eyes open during my contractions so I couldn’t use them all. I did some touch distraction where I would just feel the sheet or the blanket and rub it between my fingers and focus on how it felt or the sound. I also had music playing. I chose Sarah McLachlan and Enya.

Mixing the birth ball with walking worked for a while but when things started to get a little bit harder so we switched to the tub. In my hospital every room is a private room and you labor and deliver in the same room. Each room has a really deep and really long Jacuzzi tub. Erika filled the tub for me and put some lavender oil in it. The smell was relaxing and sitting in a warm deep bath just felt great. I was worried this might slow labor down and I would have to get out but it didn’t. The contractions were definitely getting stronger. I lasted quite a while in the tub and felt good. I was able to really manage the contractions but then something just felt different. I got out to pee a couple of times then things started to feel different. It hurt worse and I felt a lot of pressure. I had to pee and didn’t even care if I peed in the tub but I couldn’t. I got out to pee and I was hurting, I got back in on all fours thinking that would feel better. Oh my god it felt so much worse and I had to get through the contraction before I could turn over. I sank back into the water and it wasn’t helping. I was in pain and I had to get out. When I got out I sat on the toilet for no reason other than that was the only position that felt manageable at the time. This is the first time during labor that I actually felt sick and up came whatever little bit was in me. Thank goodness I only got sick that one time because I don’t think I could have handled having the dry heaves. With each contraction I was feeling tons of pressure and it was definitely harder to get through them and they were lasting longer. At this point I stopped asking how long or how far apart they were. No matter what the answer was the rest period wasn’t enough. Ha! If I only knew what was coming next. Ericka went to get the nurse to check me because I was feeling so much pressure. For this I had to move to the bed. It was awful but once I made it to the bed I didn’t move to another spot. The nurse checked me and said I was 7cm. Now if I wasn’t in pain 7cm may have sounded great but all I could think was oh god how long is it going to take me to get to 10cm. The answer to that luckily was not very long. My midwife came in right about this time as well and all I kept saying was (ok screaming) was it hurts and I need to push. At this point I was lying on my side. Tony was rubbing my back and my doula was doing her best to help me stay focused and get through each contraction. They were fast and furious at this point and I can’t lie I started begging and crying for drugs. I was so tired and it hurt worse than I expected. If you think a contraction at 3 or 4cm is painful you have no idea. I can’t even compare the two because it is so different. But somehow I made it through with no drugs with the support of my husband and my doula. They both knew how much it meant to me to do this naturally and they both were so supportive in getting me through.

At this point I was bearing down with my contractions but not pushing. It’s amazing how instinctive labor is. It’s almost like even if I tried not to bear down I wouldn’t be able to. It was just what my body wanted to do at that point. I just kept screaming about pressure and wanting to poop. Seriously that is what it feels like, like you just want to take a giant poo. At this point I had no shame. I didn’t curse or get violent I just screamed really loud and begged to take a poop (which coincidentally I didn’t do to my surprise).

This part gets a little blurry but I know the midwife was finally able to check me when I got a small rest and could unclench my body. I think she said I was almost 9 but I can’t be sure. I just know that after she checked me the light came down, the baby nurse came in or maybe she was already there, my midwife was in scrubs and told me I could start pushing. I don’t think I was checked again to see if I was 10cm but maybe I was. Well pushing is a whole new ball game in labor. You still feel like you have to poop but then you start burning where the baby’s head it coming out. I was on my side still pushing and they were helping me hold my legs back and push during my contractions. At some point during pushing my water broke. I remember her saying I see the baby’s head then reach down you can feel your baby’s head. To that I said I don’t want to just get it out, it burns . Here is when things took a slight turn for the worse. The baby’s head was out so next step is the shoulders. Well Miranda’s one shoulder was a little stuck. The midwife said it wasn’t a true shoulder distocia but it wasn’t in a position for coming out. Anyway I was pushing and next thing I hear is “OK we have to get her on her hands and knees right now.” I heard this and somehow got the strength to turn myself over. This is a technique midwives use to rotate the baby. Well it worked. I heard her say OK Jennifer I need you to push this baby out right now. Well talk about motherly instinct or whatever you want to call it. I pushed with all my might and out came my daughter. Tony cut the cord right away because they were concerned she might have trouble breathing because her head was out a little longer than the rest of her body but she did great. I heard her cry and I was crying. I sobbed when I finally got to hold her. I can’t even explain the rush of emotion you feel when you hold this baby that has been growing inside you. Then to see the man you love hold his child. It is truly amazing. At that moment the pain was all worth it.

No one ever talks about delivering the placenta so I will. It happens pretty quickly. You have a slight contraction. Kind of like the ones at say 3cm and out it comes. I asked “Is it all out?” and it was. Then my next question was how bad did I tear? I really worried I would have a bad tear because it seemed like 7-10cm went really fast and it took me less than 10 contractions to push her out. Luckily my tear was minor. If it hadn’t torn a little of my perineum she wouldn’t have even stitched me. She numbed me with lidocaine but it didn’t numb me all the way so I felt some of the stitches. It wasn’t pleasant but it wasn’t awful. I tried to joke my way through it and just kept saying “Haven’t I suffered enough?” and she kept saying “Just one more”. I don’t know how many times she said that.

Once I was all done I got to breastfeed my daughter. Wow!! Amazing. As per our birth plan they delayed all newborn procedures until we had a chance to bond with our daughter. When we were ready they weighed her and did the other things then we gave her a bath. Finally at 3am we turned it in for the night. I think the reality of life will never be the same finally hits you when you hold that life in your hands, when you see those eyes looking back at you. It has been a huge adjustment but totally worth it.

I would be lying if I said natural childbirth was easy because it wasn’t but now that 2 weeks have passed I can say I would definitely do it again with no drugs. It is so beautiful to participate in birth. My recovery was so easy. I was up walking around that night. Showering the next morning and organizing our room. The memory of pain fades and it turns into a new respect for what your body is capable of. I wouldn’t change one thing about my labor. I loved having a midwife and a doula and choosing not to use and OB. It was the most compassionate and thorough healthcare I have ever received and my pregnancy was not complication free. The midwives were so patient with me throughout all my worries and did all they could to help me have a natural intervention free childbirth.

Re: My Drug Free Birth Story (Very Long)

Great story and congrats.....

I have just one question. If god forbid something was not happening with the baby (or the baby was in distress) was there a doctor around that could perform an emergency C section if needed? You said no OB was around so I was just wondering.

Congrats again.

Re: My Drug Free Birth Story (Very Long)

Wow- thank you for sharing that. Congratulations on your baby girl!

You are a brave woman!

Re: My Drug Free Birth Story (Very Long)

WOW!! What a great story. I'm so glad that everything went well for you.

Re: My Drug Free Birth Story (Very Long)

What a story you're a stronger woman than I am....

Congrats

Re: My Drug Free Birth Story (Very Long)

wow, what an inspiring story, brought me to tears. I am also passionate about giving birth without drugs, def inspired me to keep that passion.

Congrats again on your beautiful baby girl

Re: My Drug Free Birth Story (Very Long)

What an incredible story! Thanks for sharing - it certainly gave me alot of insight and courage to whats to face in the coming months!

Re: My Drug Free Birth Story (Very Long)

You strong woman you!!! Congrats, it's a great story!!

Re: My Drug Free Birth Story (Very Long)

Wow - your story gave me the goosebumps.

Congratulations on your baby girl

and thank you soooo much for sharing your story

Re: My Drug Free Birth Story (Very Long)

that is some story!!

just a quickie-can you use a doula in a hospital with a OB or does it have to be with a mid wife? thanks

Re: My Drug Free Birth Story (Very Long)

Posted by Ali1

Great story and congrats.....

I have just one question. If god forbid something was not happening with the baby (or the baby was in distress) was there a doctor around that could perform an emergency C section if needed? You said no OB was around so I was just wondering.

Congrats again.

Re: My Drug Free Birth Story (Very Long)

Your story is so wonderful! Thanks for sharing and congratulations on your beautiful daughter

Re: My Drug Free Birth Story (Very Long)

Re: My Drug Free Birth Story (Very Long)

Re: My Drug Free Birth Story (Very Long)

Wow! Thank you so much for sharing! Congratulations

Re: My Drug Free Birth Story (Very Long)

what an amazing story, many kudos to you!!
congrats on your baby girl!!

Re: My Drug Free Birth Story (Very Long)

Wow that's some story. Reading it made me relive my labor and delivery expect for the no-drugs part.

Message edited 10/11/2005 5:05:46 PM.

Re: My Drug Free Birth Story (Very Long)

WOW!!! What an amazing story! I'm sorry to say I'm a sucker and am already decided on using drugs if needed.

Now I simply cannot wait to have this baby and see DH hold her!!

Oh...and I'm going to call that friend of mine that is studying to be a doula--I get her services for free!

Re: My Drug Free Birth Story (Very Long)

Congratulations!!! That's really an amazing story. Thanks so much for sharing!

Re: My Drug Free Birth Story (Very Long)

Thanks for sharing your amazing and very personal birth story.
You reminded me that our bodies are created to bear children, and that it CAN be done withoth the use of drugs.
As a woman in the Holistic health field, I hope & pray to have the strength you had to give birth naturally!
Congrats again on the birth of your new daughter & thanks again for this beautiful story.

Re: My Drug Free Birth Story (Very Long)

wow, what an amazing story - congrats!

Re: My Drug Free Birth Story (Very Long)

thanks for the story. You are brave and congrats.