Born 10/11/12 at Tampa General Hospital. Story told
by Sophia
My history includes two
cesarean sections. With my first son my water broke
prematurely and when I went into the hospital they
started me on pitocin right away. I was not dilating
at the rate they were comfortable with and after
more than 28 hours of labor they saw that his heart
rate was dropping. Being new to the whole thing
I agreed to the C-section right away. I mean you're
telling me his heart rate is going down and I know
that a baby needs a heart rate! If only I knew then
what I know now.....
I learned a lot after
that but not enough as I would soon find out with
my second. My second daughter, I decided to go with
a home birth at 36 weeks because I felt that my
doctor was pulling the whole "bait and switch"
on me at the last minute. I was told that the baby
looks to be about 8lbs and that by the time I deliver
it would be at least 10 lbs. So he was suggesting
that I schedule a repeat cesarean. After that meeting
I found a midwife that was willing to take me so
far along. Forward to labor day and my water broke,
just as before, and I was forced to transfer after
12 hours because of Florida laws that stipulate
that a midwife can only stay with a women after
her water breaks no more than 12 hours. I was not
anticipating another premature rupture and within
24 hours I had another cesarean. The emotions and
disappointment that came with the second cesarean
was nothing compared to the first. I felt like I
had failed myself. Both of these babies were posterior.
My first was 8lbs 9oz and my second was 9lbs 10oz.
This time WOULD be different.
I joined "Shapes" lost 25 lbs, started
eating right and found a chiropractor that would
be there for me when I got pregnant. I joined ICAN
and read every book I could get my hands on. I was
obsessed with watching labor videos and asked every
women I knew so many questions about their labor.
I was becoming an expert on the topic, now if only
I could get my VBAC. My planning started way before
I got pregnant. I knew that I had to get the baby
in a good position and I had to take care of my
health. Throughout the pregnancy I saw this chiropractor
and she adjusted me every month. Towards the end
of the pregnancy I was going once a week for an
adjustment. Also with my history of PROM I increased
my intake of Vitamin C and learned all I could about
how to get the baby in just the right position.
LABOR Week
I started having prodromal
labor and started losing my plug at around 40 weeks.
It was coming out very mucous like and I knew that
the time was getting close. Also as 40 weeks I started
getting really bad diarrhea. I thought I was getting
sick but there were no other symptoms. It was like
my body was getting ready and cleaning itself out.
I was happy about it because up until then I had
been constipated and it was not pleasant. The prodromal
labor kept coming and it felt a lot like period
cramps. If I walked around the mall or took a walk
around the neighborhood they would get so bad that
I had to stop every now and then. At 40 weeks 3
days I started having the same kinds of cramps and
menstrual like pains only this time they did not
stop when I sat down or moved. My husband and son
came home from school around 4 and I started dinner,
all the while having really uncomfortable cramping.
I still was in denial and just ignored it. I knew
I was NOT going to the hospital right away like
I did before so I continued the household chores
for the day. I knew that if this was it, that I
needed to get some things done for my family first.
I cooked and cleaned and got bags packed for my
little ones.
The cramping kept getting
worse from then on but they were still very irregular
so I did not know if it was the real thing. By 8pm
that night I knew it was the real thing. They were
contractions and they HURT. They were very irregular,
coming every 3 minutes and then spacing our to 5
or 7 minutes. It was weird because I always thought
that when they were close together it meant that
it was almost time to push. My contractions were
very close together but not so intense. I still
tried to rest and pretend like nothing was happening
but by the time 10pm came around I was in a lot
of pain. I decided to call my doula who was also
my chiropractor and she had just come home from
another birth so she sent over her backup to be
with me until she got some rest. I also called my
two sisters to come and be with my kids. I told
my husband to get some sleep but he was too excited.
The doula came and put some herbs under my tongue
to speed and regulate my contractions. I sat on
the birth ball and walked around. I ate and drank
and just tried to get through each contraction.
We all sat around and talked a bit. By 1am I was
not myself and only focusing on my contractions.
I was not comfortable any longer so we packed up
and got ready to leave for the hospital. My husband,
one of my sisters, and backup doula were all with
me. It was nice having the doula there because she
knew all the hospital policies and locations so
I didn't waste time checking in. All the while I
am dealing with painful contractions on the birth
ball and just sitting around talking with everyone.
As soon as I got into
triage I had a doctor come in and tell me she was
not comfortable with allowing me to VBAC and although
my doctor agreed to allow me, it all depends on
who is on call that night. I told her that was fine
but I was NOT going to have a major surgery unless
there was something wrong with the baby or me. She
left and a midwife came in and read all the risks
and procedures of both. I agreed and signed all
the papers they needed and kept on contracting.
The doula had some herbs and things that she would
put under my tongue every now and then secretly.
She also had a way of helping my deal with some
major contractions by pushing on my knees and that
really helped. I knew I did not want any pain medication
and I wanted an all natural VBAC. I did not want
anything interfering with my progress. They checked
me and I was 4-5 cm! I was so happy to hear that.
I had never reached that far with the first two
and to hear that was so uplifting and energizing.
They wheeled me into my room and there I sat just
dealing with each contraction as it came.
It was 7 am at this time
and they checked me again around 11 am and I had
reached 6 cm. This is when my mood changed and the
energy in the room had dropped significantly. I
was going to scream! I was calculating that it took
4 hours to get 1 cm and I still had 4 more cm to
go! The contractions were so hard and hurt so bad
that I was contemplating getting the epidural. I
gave up about 5 times in that instance and my doula
could see it in my eyes. My family and doula were
not just talking to me and reminding me of what
I wanted and getting me back on track. Without my
support team there I don't know what I would have
done because the doctors and nurses were just waiting
for me to give up. It is sad to think about it now
but they really have no idea of the effort you go
through to get what you want from your birth. Now
my doula wanted to get me up and move me around.
I was walking around and when the nurses had me
hooked up to the monitors I just told them I needed
to pee. I would get unhooked and walk to the bathroom
and walk around the room until they told me to lay
down again. The nurses were really nice and never
gave me a hard time about anything. It was almost
like they were happy to see that I had a doula that
was there taking care of me too. My chiropractor/doula
had rested and was in the hospital by now. She just
kept talking me through the pain and I just kept
focusing on each contraction at a time. 45 minutes
later I started feeling contractions that had a
pushing feeling at the end. They felt better and
I kinda liked these more than the first contractions.
I asked if we should call the nurses and my doula
was like, "no you don't want them to come in
now they are just gonna want to tell you when to
push and you already know what you are feeling.
Just keep doing what your body is telling you".
So I did. I listened to my body and I just pushed
a little every time I felt like it. It felt good
to stand through these contractions so I stood by
the bed and sat on the ball if I needed. I did this
for about 15 minutes and with one of the contractions
I ended up pushing a little harder and my water
broke on the floor. I was so happy and couldn't
believe that I was actually doing it! Everything
I read about and saw is actually happening! My support
team was so happy and they were cheering my on.
After that I got back into bed and my doula got
the bed in a chair position dropping the legs and
raising the head part. It was like I was sitting
on a big comfy chair. I was pushing all over the
place and how ever I wanted. Every time a nurse
came in we assured her everything was fine and I
kept on pushing whenever I felt like it. After about
10 minutes I started feeling a burning sensation
and my doula lifted the blanket and she saw the
head! Now we called the nurses. They prepped the
whole room and got everything ready. Things slowed
down a little now and I did not feel like the contractions
were coming as fast or strong. I guess it was my
body getting a break for the real deal. After about
5 minutes I got a really big contraction and had
to push hard. 3 more of those big pushes and I had
the baby out and on my chest!!!!!!!
I just sat there with my baby on my chest. He was
beautiful and like nothing I could have ever imagined.
It was the most amazing feeling I had ever felt
in my life. In an instant I was overcome with love
and joy! Tears filled the room. My mom, sister and
husband were just in awe and so proud and I could
feel their relief that it was all over. I had my
VBAC and I felt healed. I felt like a new women.
I got everything I ever wanted! I got delayed cord
clamping, and took the placenta home like I wanted.
I tore a bit and had a couple stitches but it was
nothing like the stitches I would have received
had I had another c-section. I did it! ALL NATURAL
VBA2C!
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