Rowan's Birth Story
-Bridgette
Born at home on 2/13/09 at 4:30 @ 40 weeks
11.5 hr active birthing time, 2 hr 2nd stage
Preparation: Hypnobabies Course with Ludia Sarmast, 2 months of daily Hypnobabies practice
Joined NoVahomebirth and Hypnobabies Yahoo Groups
Purchased Birth Pool in a Box
Background: Planned on a hospital birth with a midwife and physician but was encouraged by Hypnobabies to consider homebirth. Switch to TLC Birth at 35 weeks.
On Thursday evening I started experiencing tightening sensations originating in my back travelling around to my lower front. At 10:00 pm I called my midwife, Marilee, who confirmed that this was likely to be the start of my birthing time. I fell asleep around 11pm and slept soundly until 3:30 am. I awoke to a similar pressure wave as I had felt the night before. I got up, ate a pear and started deep pelvic rocking, breathingusing my release and peace cues, relaxing my upper body as I swayed on a rocking chair ottoman. After peeing and seeing a large swath of mucus, I called Marilee back at 5:00 am informing her of the mucus and that the pressure waves were every 5 minutes lasting about 1 minutre. I then woke Jesse, my husband, who moved the ottoman to the bedroom and supplied me with water and an ipod in timer mode which displays the duration of each split every time you press the button. The pressure waves had now moved entirely to my back and were arriving every two to three minutes lasting for a minute. Jesse applied pressure to my sacram which provided immense relief, all the while using hypnobabies ques and words of encouragement. We used this time to establish my breathing rhythym, deep and slow, a kind connection between us and a calm, focused environment in which I was able to enter the infamous laborland or trance-like state many women experience during their birthing time. This state was also augmented by the self-hypnosis I was practicing. I will provide examples throughout this story on unique perceptions of reality I experienced throughout my birthing time, but nothing sums it up better than the sense that my subconsious-self took over and my mental or consious being faded to the background. At times, I checked into the happenings around me but the majority of the time, it was my breath, my sensations and a lulling almost sleepy cloud over my mind that were all-encomapassing. My reality took on an almost childlike aura and the here and now was all that mattered.
At around 7 am, Marilee called and let us know that she was on her way. When informed of the frequency and duration of pressure waves, every 2 to 3 minutes lasting a minute, she inquired as to how long they had been like that. It was only at this point along with seeing the continual repetition on the iPod timer that I truly believed my birthing time had begun. An amazing sense of satisfaction came with this realization. I could now welcome the intensifying waves, knowing they were drawing me nearer and nearer to meeting my baby. Marilee arrived around 8 am and advised Jesse to start filling the pool. Concurrently, I required greater pressure and support on my sacram. I attempted to change positions; standing in Jesse's embrace, walking outside and even entering the pool but kept returning to hands and knees, completely limp on the ottoman in the bedroom for each pressure wave. By 10:30 am, the lure of the pool became stronger than the worry that the water would slow down my pressure waves so I eased in. The analgesic effects were evident as soon as I immersed my body in the warm water. After a particularly strong pressure wave, while on hands and knees, I commented in awe at the beauty of the crystal clear water. Marliee, paralleling my train of thought added, "...like a clear mountain stream". Deep in laborland, I focused on only my body and that which was within the walls of the pool, breathing through each wave, uttering or moaning as instinct instructed. Waves of sleepiness interjected between waves of pressure. I communicated to Jesse the exact location of sacral pressure required to balance the intense pressure. When communication seemed more diffficult, Valerie, our birth assistant, positioned herself in front of me and translated to Jesse who was behind me. At noon, Jesse soon joined me in the water while Valerie held my hands and continued to relay any requests of mine to Jesse. Throughout this time, Liz, our other birth assistant would present me with water, Recharge, Kefir and small amounts of food.
By 1 pm, my voice began to catch at the height of the waves and I felt a pressure in vagina and rectum. When, the pressure began moving to my hips, Valerie instructed Jesse on hip squeezes which they performed on either side of my pelvis. Soon only Jesse performed the hip squeezes. I was much encouraged when Marilee informed me that the hip pressure meant the baby was moving down into my pelvis. When I felt a bearing down sensation, my noises became deeper, more satisfying moans as I imagined I was feeding the pressure or keeping it at bay with the guttural intonations of my voice. During this time, the pressure became sharper and I remember whimpering but received strong words of support to hang in there. Several times in between pressure waves I asked if I was getting closer, prompted by the noticably increased intensity. I remember Valerie asking about the video and digital cameras we planned to use. I replied that I just didn't think we should mess with them at this point, mainly because I couldn't envision being able to show her how to use them, since my pressure waves were now requiring 100% of my focus. During several waves when the pressure from Jesse's hands didn't balance the pressure from the wave my anesthesia noticeably decreased. So I continued to request him to reposition up, down, center to spine, or out from spine to gain the greatest relief. I laid back against Jesse's chest listening to his voice and words taking deep slow breaths in between waves. I refused several requests to play my hypnobabies CDs feeling that all I needed was complete and total silence to maintain a high degree of inner focus for my own creative visualizations in receiving each wave. Soon I wasn't listening to Jesse's words just tapping in to the calm reassuring cadence of his voice. I was reminded after the birth of my own helpful mantra, "AAAshaaah" which I was repeatedly saying. At the time, my entire birth team were wondering what this meant to me. Jesse later recalled that this is the noise I make when I yawn in a completely contented state such as lying in on Saturday morning.
By 2:15 pm, Rowan's heart rate dropped to 110, his head was in the 3+ position (5+ is crowning) and there was labial separation. Until now I had only been breathing Rowan down the birth canal but I was now encouraged to actively start pushing during the pressure waves. At 2:30 Marilee observed light meconium and then increased meconium at 3:30 pm. She then broke the bag of waters which was intact at the base. I was asked to start pushing while holding my breath and curling around which was the most difficult time because bearing down with such force was more aggressive than was natural to my body. After little progress was observed, Marilee joined us in the water attempting perineal massage. When Rowan's heart rate dropped again to 110 and his head appeared dusky in color, Marilee had Jesse and I move from the pool to the bed where she attempted perineal massage twice more. His head began pinking up but his heart rate was steady in the 100's when fresh meconium was released with him almost crowning. At 4:30 pm, Marilee performed an episiotomy and Rowan was born on the next push. His hands were tucked beneath his chin, possibly making his birth more difficult and cutting off the oxygen to his head. He pinked up completely upon birth and was suctioned. He released meconium as he was brought to my chest and we kept him crying a short while to clear his wet lungs.
I just stared and stared overcome with emotion; relief after a difficult 2nd stage and ecstasy to finally have him in my arms. Just looking at him I knew he was a boy, but Jesse confirmed it whispering to me, also overwhelmed with joy. The cord had stopped pulsing soon after birth and I released an intact placenta within minutes. Rowan nursed and we reveled in the miracle given to us. He was given multiple doses of Antimonium, a homoepathic remedy over the next six hours which fully cleared his lungs. He was also given oral Vitamin K. Much of Rowan's birth story could only have been documented after recounting with my birth team and referring to the invaluable Labor and Birth Flow Sheet Marilee compiled. Even in the midst of a more hectic last couple of hours, everyone remained calm and focused and subsequently, his birth was the empowering and magical event Jesse and I had envisioned.
