I have always wanted to homebirth. With my first it wasn't an option because
I had high blood pressure and at 32 weeks I moved from Australia to America. I didn't have enough time to find a homebirthing midwife, or prepare for a homebirth. My husband was in Australia still and didn't feel comfortable with a homebirth anyways. So I settled for a hospital birth with a midwife who worked at an OB's office. I wasn't very educated and settled for a pitocin induction at 38 weeks for a shotty reason ("low" amniotic fluid - like I said I wasn't educated at all). So when I found out I was expecting again, in fall of 2010 I knew I wanted things to be different.
I started reading every book I could get my hands on. I loved Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. Her Spiritual Midwifery book is amazing to. I tried talking my husband into a homebirth, and he wasn't comfortable with it. Once again I settled for a midwife in an OB's office.
At 18 weeks they bumped my due date up a week. They put me through multiple, unnecessary ultrasounds because of my history of high blood pressure (not pregnancy induced high blood pressure, but very well controlled "high" blood pressure). At 28 weeks I went into pre-term labor and they discovered I had a short cervix. I started going for bi-weekly ultrasounds. At 32 weeks I went into pre-term labor again and dialated to a 2. I was laying on the hospital bed, scared and contracting when the OB came in, checked me and said "Well it looks like we are having a preemie tonight." Excuse me?! Was she not going to
attempt to stop my contractions?? Eventually they did stop my contractions, and I was dialated to a 3. Again I brought homebirth up to my hubby, as a 'for a future baby I would love to...' type thing, but he was still not even comfortable discussing it, and because of my preterm labor I knew for this baby it wouldn't happen.
40 weeks came and went (silly boy was overexcited to get out, once we made him stay he decided he was to comfy to come out!). I went to my 40 +6 week appt with my midwife, a woman I had never really liked anyways. She checked me (I was dialated at a 5 and 0 station, 70% effaced) She wanted to induce. By this point in my pregnancy I was so tired, and sore I agreed. She left the room and came back, shoved a peice of paper into my hand and left again. When I looked at it my heart started to race. I was to be induced on a Monday (it was Wednesday) and she was going to use cytotec. For those of y
ou that don't know what cytotec is, please look it up. The short version is that it is a drug approved for ulcers, it has never been approved for use as an inducer - or for use in pregnant women at all. Because of this there are no studies on it's effect, but an awful lot of maternal and fetal deaths have been 'attributed' to it in the small trials that have been attempted. Why is it used to induce? Because it works, and it works quickly. I would rather have pitocin again, then let cytotec come withing a 10 foot radius of me and my baby, and that's saying alot because I didn't want pitocin either.
In all actuality I was hoping they would break my water (I know AROM is bad to) and let me naturally progress......but apparently that wasn't the plan. I think what made me the most angry was that my midwife didn't even discuss it with me. Like I sa
id, I wasn't a big fan of her anyways.
So, with my heart racing I left the office. I was shaking, I didn't want cytotec near my baby. I had a plan. I went to Target and bought a yoga ball. I knew it wouldn't work if my baby wasn't ready to come, and I was determined to have this baby before I was supposed to be at the hospital for induction. (I know I could have just not shown up, but I'm uber non-confrontational when it comes to stuff like this). I also went and bought some cinnabons because they sounded fabulous.
I went home and blew up my new yoga ball. I sat and bounced on it for 20 minutes. I was determined to bounce on the yoga ball for 20 minutes eve
ry hour till this baby came out. I know....not so rational, but I was a pregnant woman on a mission.
I bounced on the yoga ball, in actuality, twice, before it got old and I got tired. I was already having contractions very unpredictably (like once every 2 hours, it had been that way for 2 weeks). When I gave my 2 year old a bath I noticed that I was starting to have contractions closer together. I timed them (okay, I timed the space between 2 contractions once) and they were 12 minutes apart. I was sure I wasn't in labor and went about putting my 2 year old to bed. I refused to believe I may actually be in labor. That was at 7 p.m. At 8 p.m. my contractions were becoming a little bit uncomfortable, and sligh
tly more regular. I started timing them and they were about every 8 minutes apart. I called my mom (she lives 45 minutes away) and told her I thought I may be in early labor, but not to get her hopes up, because it was probably fake anyways and would go away. We talked for the course of an hour and around 9:15 I started to notice my contractions were more like 3 minutes apart. I panicked. "Mom, I'm in labor, come get me now!" She hung up and began her trip to get me.
2 minutes later I called her back again "Mom, I can't breathe through the contractions, they are 2 minutes apart, drive fast" She promised to drive fast. I called my husband, who was working an hour and a half away and told him to hurry to the hospit
al (which was about 30 minutes away, in his direction). I knelt over and almost through up my lovely cinnabon.
I climbed back onto the blessed yoga ball, which helped, and bounced for awhile. My brother in law (visiting from Australia) was the only one home with me. I have to say, the best part of my labor was watching him buzz around "What can I get for you? Can I help with the bags?" He was so nervous, I could tell, and it was so funny. :)
My mom got to the house and picked up for our 30 minute drive to the hospital. At this point the contractions were still every 2 minutes, and very intense. We got to the hospital, I got checked in and I was dialated to an 8! I was so excited, my baby would be here soon. My husband had made it to the hospital in 40 minutes (from an hour away :p) and we were ready to go.
The nurse asked if I was having back labor, I was. She got a grave look. My husband said "Is that a good thing" she shook her head and went back to her computer. I looked at him and said "Baby could be facing the wrong way - we will get through it". I n
eeded to sit up to deal with the pain, they wouldn't let me. That was the hardest part. They transferred me to a different room and started my i.v. I asked to be allowed to sit up and deal with the pain, they pushed me back and said "No, we have to monitor the baby, for his safety" (lie) At this point I couldn't handle the pain laying on my back. I asked for an epidural. (I so wish I had just smacked the nurse and sat up anyways). I got an epidural around 10:30, contractions were coming every minute or so, and I was so close to having my baby, but I couldn't do it on my back.
After the epidural my labor slowed a bit (completely normal for an epidural). I was finally ready to push at 11:50. They had me push on my back to :( This was not what I had planned, but in the hospital it is their way or the highway. The mid
wife wasn't mine (which I was glad, this midwife was nicer). I looked at the midwife as she gowned up and said "We don't want to cut his cord, we went to let it stop pulsing." She said that was fine.
At 12:27 my sweet boy made his way into the world. My favorite thing is this - he held out till his original due date. :) They said he was 41 weeks, but I think he was right on time, right when he was due to be born originally.
He was 8 lbs 14 ounces - 21 inches long - perfection. We let his cord pulse, he got lots of nutrient rich blood into his body, the best part of his birth. He nursed right away and settled in to sleep. It was wonderful.
They transferred us to another room where someone else gave my baby his first bath, swaddled him tightly and laid him in a bassinet, seperate from me - the familiar he knew. I pulled him out and held him tight. When he slept for 4 hours and didn't nurse right away I was met with a scowl and "don't let that happen" from the nurse. (It's completely normal).
When the pediatrician saw us he cleared us to leave that day. I was so excited to be going home. That was at 7 am. We didn't get to leave till 7 pm because we had to wait for all the discharge things to happen. I was so over it and ready to be home.
We finally got home, settled and happy. It took me 6 1/2 months to write this birth story (I know it was really long, thanks for baring with me).
So many emotions course through me while I write this. It may not be right for every woman, but for me it is right to birth my next babies at home, in peace. My husband and I have talked about it, extensively and agreed, our next baby will be birthed at home, where I can do what I want, get up if I want to, and lay on my back only if I want to. Was my baby harmed? No, in fact he is perfect. My confidence in myself was slightly damaged though. Thankfully I now have a happy, healthy, loud, wiggly baby boy who is perfect in every way.
