Birth Story, Part II
[Click here to catch up on Birth Story, Part I]
As my contractions continued to ramp up, my doula stepped up to the plate with essential oils, homeopathic remedies for tension headaches, acupressure, robozo, and massage (seriously, get you a Doula if you can - I don’t know that my home birth experience would have been nearly as manageable without her).
She also introduced a technique that pushed on my hips during contractions (my husband eventually took over this responsibility) to alleviate some of the tension - a life saver for an unmedicated birth, let me tell you.
I was also heavily relying on my yogic breathing techniques to keep my body as relaxed as possible and stay present; I’ve honestly never been more grateful for my yoga & meditation practices.
While my contractions were intense, they were always manageable with rocking, my birth ball, and my husband applying pressure on my hips - until that 11:00am hour passed - and then the 12:00 hour, the 1, the 2….and eventually the 9:00pm hour.
At several points after my water broke, I made progress and my son would descend - but he then got stuck in a not-so-great position; this happened multiple times, and I actually ended up moving backward from 10cm to 9cm because of it.
My midwife and doula worked with me to switch positions multiple times, and at one point, my midwife tried to turn him internally. Each time we got him back into the optimal position, he would move right back into that not-so-great position and we’d be back at square one.
At this point, I had been in labor for three days + fully effaced, and stuck at 9cm dilated for 12 hours (I was holding at 7cm dilated the day prior); I was tired. The exhaustion made the contractions less manageable, and they were waving in and out every thirty seconds to a minute.
And then, my son’s heartbeat decelerated. It was only for a moment, but after laboring for this long after my water broke, my midwife made the call.
It was time to go to the hospital.
We wanted a safe birth, not just a home birth. It was the right decision.
So, my husband and I hopped into my Doula’s Tahoe with the seats down - me, draped over a birthing ball trying to balance myself through contractions that were a minute apart, and my husband behind me trying to hold my pelvis to make them more manageable - all while trying not to fall over. It was a sight to see, let me tell you (I wish I had a picture).
When we arrived at the hospital, the transition was seamless. My midwife called ahead, so I was greeted by another midwife (whom she had trained herself). I felt safe - but I also felt like my son needed to be born like...now.
My midwife suggested I get an epidural at the hospital to get some sleep and allow my body to rest; I wasn’t progressing, so if I wanted a vaginal birth, my muscles needed a break. I agreed and was eager to try again after a much needed respite.
Once the epidural kicked in, my body relaxed, and my husband, Doula, and I tried to get some sleep.
However, because my son was stuck in an awkward position, the labor and delivery nurses had to come in and flip me into different positions every 30 minutes - so much for a little rest.
After one of the position changes, I noticed that the shape of my belly was different - my son was no longer in my pelvis; he had moved back up into my abdomen.
Not long after, the labor and delivery team rushed into my room and flipped me over. My husband and doula were startled from their sleep, and a surgeon was walking me through a cesarean procedure as the nurses tried to stabilize my baby’s heartbeat. It had decelerated dramatically within a matter of seconds.
The team got him stable, we were prepped with the knowledge that a cesarean was highly probable at this point, and I was to remain in hands and knees position until it was time to deliver.
I declined the cesarean for the time being, and my son and I were given one last chance to do things on our own.
Then, about half an hour later, his heartrate decelerated again - even more quickly, and even lower than the last (this time, from 140-160 to 30 bbm; terrifying).
