08/26/2023
It’s been a while since we’ve shared a birth story… this is from one of our own, me, Andrea. 😊 It’s kind of long, but I hope you enjoy!
“4 Midwives (including my mom) Helped Me Out”
On Friday night (August 18th), I checked my blood pressure because I had a headache, which can sometimes be a symptom associated with higher blood pressure, and I had been monitoring it occasionally, because that’s what a patient who is also a midwife will do. My blood pressure was elevated, so I rechecked awhile later and it was lower, but still higher than normal, so I contacted Torrey, who was the midwife on call that night. We made a plan to recheck it in the morning and take things one step at a time. I had also been contracting some, and like many other pregnant people at 39wks, was hopeful I was just going into labor. I slept through the night and felt fine in the morning. When I took my blood pressure, the systolic (top number) was normal, but the diastolic (bottom number) was elevated, so I made sure I had been sitting for at least 10 minutes before rechecking and when I did, my blood pressure was higher than it had been before. Instead of contacting my midwife right away… I rechecked a half hour later and it was normal. Torrey and I decided to touch base again around noon and come up with a plan from there. I was contracting a bit more after using my labor ball and other positions to help keep things moving along. I wasn’t feeling like things were progressing much and my blood pressure was normal when I checked in with Torrey around 1230, but I wanted her to check it manually and check my cervix to see if I was dilating any further, knowing I was about 3.5cm before. We met at the office at about 2, my cervix was about the same, but my blood pressure was still elevated, so we decided it was a good idea to be admitted to the hospital to start the process of induction.
My husband and I went and had some late lunch/early dinner before getting to the hospital at about 4. Although my blood pressure had been perfectly normal since arriving to the hospital, we still agreed that it was a good decision to continue as planned. After discussion, we decided as a team to start my induction with oral cytotec through the night to assist with contractions and further cervical softening/thinning. I had some contractions in the night that would wake me up, but I knew active labor could still be some time down the road.
Around 9am on Sunday, I asked Torrey if we could consider breaking my water if my baby was low enough in my pelvis, making sure it would be safe to do so. It felt good to have the monitors off and I knew after breaking my water, as long as my baby was doing well, I could have them off. I had dilated to about 4.5cm at that time and Torrey felt it was safe to break my water, and my husband and I trusted her 110%, so we proceeded. My baby tolerated it very well, and I went on to listen to my body and move in the ways that felt right as my contractions intensified significantly.
My mindset going into labor was that I planned to go with the flow and listen to what I needed to do to help cope throughout labor. This was uncharted territory for me and my body. About an hour or so later, I decided I was ready for some relief as I was having a more difficult time coping. I opted to try the nitrous oxide to take the edge off. I have seen this work very well for some patients, and not much for others. My personal experience was that it helped for about 1.25 contractions and that was about it. It was getting harder to allow my body to relax and I knew I could still be in labor for quite some time, so I made the decision to have an epidural placed. This wasn’t the most comfortable experience, but I knew what to expect after helping many others through the process. After it was placed, I felt a big sense of relief and like I could get some rest as my body continued to work. I rested in between position changes, as I knew that would benefit my progress as well. A couple of hours later, I was feeling some vaginal pressure and, although I knew it wasn’t quite time to push, asked to have my cervix checked. I was 6cm at that time, I knew I was making progress, but had hoped for more. I knew I just needed to give my body more time and be patient with the process. This also meant more time for another nap!
At about 4pm, I was feeling contractions on my right side and was quite uncomfortable. I asked to be checked again before deciding if I wanted a bolus (extra medication) through my epidural. I was 7cm, so I decided to have the bolus. We also discussed the option of starting pitocin as my contractions had started to space out some. I felt this was the right decision as I wanted my progress to continue. I was able to get more comfortable after the bolus and continued to rest and change positions.
Around 8pm, I was feeling more re**al pressure, which is what we always tell patients to look for as a sign of baby moving further down in the pelvis and getting closer to feeling the urge to push. I was 9.5cm! So close! I continued to change positions and moaned/groaned through my contractions to help move my baby down without actively pushing. The pressure was so intense, but I knew it wasn’t quite time to push. Then the moment came when I HAD to push. With my amazingly supportive husband, encouraging nurse friends, and loving midwife sisters all by my side, I began to push with my contractions and bring my baby closer to the outside world. This was absolutely the hardest thing I have ever done. I could feel myself losing control at times and was reminded by everyone that I WAS in control. I worked so hard to ease my baby into the waiting hands of her eager dad and excited midwife auntie at 9:10pm on August 20th, 2023. Our baby girl let out her birth cry and the whole room was overcome with emotion and joined in, sharing their happy tears. As she was handed to me, I couldn’t believe what I had just accomplished and that she was really in my arms.
After watching others for the past 10 years welcome their babies into the world, I have a completely different understanding of this whole experience. It’s amazing, scary, intense, fulfilling, and empowering, among a million other things, all at once. I am beyond lucky to have the people in my life that I do to encourage me to keep going when I don’t think I can, and to remind me of what I’m capable of.
Everybody has a different story. Not everything goes according to plan all the time, but our goal (as midwives) is to try to make everyone’s experience what they want it to be. I’m happy to say that my story feels like a dream to me.
Also, highly highly recommend having a birth photographer. Morgan did an extraordinary job at capturing the beauty and emotion of my birth. I’m incredibly thankful to have these photos to look back on. ❤️ (pics in comments)
*I’m no photographer, and my model is not very cooperative.
