When we learned that we were expecting, it was pretty clear from the beginning that we wanted to go naturally with a vaginal birth without any pain medication. After attending several Isis classes (Natural
Childbirth, Newborn Essentials and Breastfeeding Basics) we felt prepared and were eagerly seeing the due date approaching. All that was missing was our little girl.
Then, on February 8th, labor started at 11pm. Contractions were not unbearable, however had gotten stronger over time. Therefore at 7:00 am we decided to head off to the Birthplace at North Shore Medical Center in Salem.
How disappointed we were when we were told that I was still at 3cm! Additionally, contractions had stopped completely while we were at the hospital and I was able to talk to the physician without any problems, so she sent us home again. How stupid did we feel?
Back at home, contractions started again and became stronger and stronger. How helpful it was to have Lars by my side. He wrote down the duration and frequency of the contractions, made sure I ate and drank, sent me to the bathroom frequently and was my rock I could hang on to during more painful contractions. At 7:00 pm on February 9th we decided to drive to the Birthplace again. This time, I was at 6cm and everybody was optimistic that the baby should be born by no later than 11pm. But we were so wrong…
Baby’s head was not in an optimal position and could not turn the corner of the pelvis. Our amazing labor nurse tried position after position to get her to move, and eventually me laying on my right side helped. Contractions were strong and long, sometimes around 2 minutes, but since they were not frequent enough the baby slipped back into the birth canal again and again. In the meantime her heart rate was lost intermittently by the external monitoring, so internal monitoring was used.
While the labor nurse encouraged us to hang in there and led us through contraction after contraction, our physician started to get worried about the well being of the baby and dropped the ‘c’-word. Oh no! More than 24 hours of labor already without pain medication – should all the work been for nothing and we would end up with a c-section? We knew that we would have to be open and flexible but this was a thought hard to deal with.
The labor nurse bought more and more time from the physician, but finally an ultimatum was set: An episiotomy will be done. If this does not work, the vacuum will be used. And if this also fails, we will have to go with the c-section.
By that point I was mentally really exhausted but kept on doing what I was told to do. Then the episiotomy failed – and I was feeling even more mentally drained. In the meantime a pediatrician was called into the delivery room just in case the baby would need additional help once born.
Then there was the next contraction, everybody was cheering at me while I was pushing. I was screaming, the whole room into pieces and suddenly, beautiful Olivia Jazz arrived in this world on February 10th at 2:36 am!
She was screaming loudly and had a pink color with a weight of 7.0lb and a height of 20in. The
pediatrician examined her and came to me: “I really tried to find something, but there is nothing wrong with her.” All I could do was smile – we really made it! Lars never left my side the whole 28 hours of labor (didn’t even get out of his hiking boots) and finally proudly could cut the cord.
Looking back, we are so thankful for the support we received from everybody at the Birthplace during delivery and post-partum. Especially we are grateful for having had such an amazing labor nurse who respected our wish for a natural birth and stood by our side the whole time. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
For a long time I could not see myself being a mother. Honestly, sometimes I thought that I never wanted to have children. But when I now look at little Olivia Jazz all I can think of is that she is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.
Eva-Christina
Visit the Isis website to find out more about our classes: Natural Childbirth, Newborn Essentials and Breastfeeding Basics.
Congratulations to Eva-Christina on the birth of her healthy baby girl! It’s comforting to read that mom got the support from her medical care team that she wanted and needed.
I do feel compelled to comment on this statement, however: “. . . our physician started to get worried about the well being of the baby and dropped the ‘c’-word. Oh no! More than 24 hours of labor already without pain medication – should all the work been for nothing and we would end up with a c-section?” I appreciate that Eva-Christina really hoped for a vaginal birth and of course that is her choice, but the attitude conveyed here – that “c-section” is a dirty word – perpetuates a culture that believes that a C-section is a failure. Perhaps this meaning was unintended, but it’s off-hand comments like these that make many moms feel guilty or somehow less of a woman for having had a C-section (unplanned in my case).
Eva-Christina points out that her physician was concerned about the well being of the baby – let’s remember this! The important outcome in any birth is a healthy baby, _not_ the method of delivery. And as moms, let’s support each other – whether we choose a vaginal birth, surgical birth, adoption, or any other way to bring a healthy child home.
Congratulations again.
Thank you, Kim, for your comment. I agree with what you have stated with such grace and appreciate it fully, as I, too, had an unplanned c-section after 2 days of labor and feel no less of a woman or mother.
When I read this birth story I did not have the same impression of the use of the “c-word” as a suggestion of failure. I thought she was just expressing how bummed out she would be to labor for so long without pain relief and then end up delivering surgically after all that effort. I felt she was just simply expressing her disappointment and was not making a negative statement about c-sections in general or about other women’s experiences with c-sections.
I agree with Chris. I did not take her statement that way either. She seemed simply to be expressing how she would have felt personally. I think it is very hard to interpret intent from online posts. And as stated by the first commentator, it would have been better to take the story at face value and offer our congratulations and unconditional support for this new mother, her choices and validate her experience in a positive light.
I agree that it can be difficult to judge intent by blog posts, and I enjoyed this birth story because she honestly displayed how she felt at the possibility of straying from her initial birth plan. Congratulations to this family and thank you for sharing your experience!
Eva, I was so happy to read your post. I was fortunate enough to meet you and Lars during your Newborn Essentials class and to follow through with the delivery of Olivia. I find extreme joy in teaching prenatal classes for Isis and then being a familiar face at the Birthplace when couples come in scared in pain and in labor.
You did an amazing job during your labor, and I was so happy to be there for you. It is the nurses job to respect the patients wishes and to help them bring their baby into this world in a happy comfortable safe environment.
I hope that this finds you and Olivia well, and once again thank you for the wonderful things you said.