B's Birth 11/15/09

This was my first birth as a doula. It was really special for me because I was being a doula for my sister!

B texted me just before 4 AM on Sunday telling me she was pretty sure her water had just broken. She was one day shy of 41 weeks gestation. I didn't hear the text alert on my phone until an hour later and when I called her she was contracting but not regularly. I told her to call her midwife, who advised her to rest, eat, and drink and be at the hospital by 10 AM. At about 9:00 I got another text, from B's husband J, telling me B wanted me to come over. I quickly got my kids packed for their stay at my sister's house and headed to B's house. When I got there around 9:40 B's contractions were piggybacking, then coming 4–6 minutes apart. So she'd have one contraction followed immediately by another milder contraction, then she'd have a 4–6 minute break before having two contractions again. She was tolerating them well and could talk through them, but the midwife wanted B at the hospital by 10 since her water had broken, so off we went.

By about 10:40 B was almost 5 cm. She labored on a birth ball while our mom, J, and I applied counter pressure on her back. She was feeling quite a bit of back pain on one side of her lower back. At 12:55 B was checked again. She was dilated to a 5 and the baby had moved to a -1 station. B was doing well but contractions were getting intense. We got B into the tub and she labored really well in there for about an hour and a half. At 2:30 she had to get into bed for some EFM and a dilation check revealed she was nearly 6 cm. I think this discouraged B, and 20 minutes later she was saying she wanted an epidural. Knowing that the tougher contractions meant progress, I encouraged her to get through another contraction. After that contraction she was still asking for pain relief so I talked to her about the option of Fentanyl instead of an epidural, just to see if it helped. She decided to do that and was given a half dose of Fentanyl at 2:50. 5 minutes later she requested the epidural again. I suggested she try the other half of the Fentanyl dose first, which she agreed to do. After that, B started tolerating the contractions a lot better and didn't ask for an epidural again.

Around 5:00 B was checked and she was almost 9 cm! The midwife stretched B's cervix a bit during a few contractions to help complete dilation. At 5:10, B was complete and ready to start pushing! At 5:20, the midwife announced that she could see dark hair. We were all encouraging B as she pushed, and she was doing really well, but the baby was turned at an angle (explaining B's back pain). A few attempts were made to turn the baby manually but it didn't work.

B kept pushing, trying a hands and knees position as well as lunging on the birth stool while pushing. About 6:30 she was too exhausted to do any more and requested an epidural. We gladly gave it to her and by 7:15 she was covered in warm blankets, relaxing after all her hard work. Her contractions slowed, so Pitocin was started to keep them strong and help labor the baby down. B was very cold and kept shivering, so I held her hand and rubbed her legs and back to help warm her. Soon she was comfortable and able to sleep for a while. The midwife put B's legs in a position that would encourage the baby to turn and let her rest for a while. About an hour later, she came in to check progress. Baby had moved down a little bit. B started pushing again, but no progress was being made. The talk turned to forceps delivery, or possibly a c-section. After discussing all the risks and benefits, and talking about it for a while, at 9:00 B made the decision to have a Cesarean.

Baby Jack was born at 9:40. He was having some trouble with his respiration and had a fever, so after a quick moment with mommy, he was taken to the nursery, accompanied by his dad, to be taken care of. There was a long wait in recovery while Jack was suctioned, monitored, and had blood work done. Finally, around 1:30, a nurse brought Jack into the recovery room where two tired Grandmas held him for a minute then headed home to sleep. I helped B through her first breastfeeding, and once we got tired little Jack to start sucking, he was off! He ate for about 15 minutes before he was just too tired to do anymore. I left B feeling exhausted but happy, and the last view I had as I left the room was of Mommy, Daddy, and baby. A beautiful new family! I am so proud of B for all the hard work she did to bring her little baby to her!