Anyone who likes to share their birth stories? I’m due in a month and a half and being a first-time mom-to-be, I can’t help but feel a little bit of dread as the THE DAY nears! Is having an epidural really worth it? I’ve read that they only give to you after you’ve dilated to about 4cm.
I’m afraid that some of our birth stories may scare you so you might not want to hear them.
Oh I want to hear them! So as I’ll know what to expect =)
my doctor was concerned b/c she thought gabriel was small (under 6 lbs) and that he was not growing. i was in and out of the doctors for more than a week getting ultrasounds and non-stress tests run. everything looked great, but they decided to induce on my due date just to be safe. i wanted a totally natural birth, so i was disappointed. i also didn’t want an epidural or pain meds.
i went to the hospital on monday to be induced. i was already in labor, but didn’t know it or know how long. i wasn’t dilated b/c i had scar tissue on my cervix from a surgery. i was in labor for about 24 hours without dilating. they were giving me the max dose of pit, and my contractions were back to back. i had no time to even breathe between them. i was so exausted and in so much pain. they said my options at this point were to get an epidural and get manually dilated or get a c-section. so i got the epidural, and they broke up my scar tissue and manually dilated me. around 4 hours later i was ready to push. gabriel was born at 11:51 am on tuesday nov. 13, 2007 after about 28 hours of labor.
he came out with the cord around his neck, and he wasn’t breathing. he was laid on my stomach for a minute, but was quickly taken away. he had to be bagged and finally uttered a tiny cry. i got to hold him for a few seconds before he was taken to n.i.c.u. they didn’t even have time to weigh or measure him. i was so scared and sad. i didn’t know if my baby would be ok. all of my dreams about having a natural birth and getting to bond and breast feed immediatly, went down the drain.
it was a couple of hours before i knew what was going on. my mom finally got fed up with not knowing anything and demanded that we see the doctor. he told us that because gabe’s oxygen was cut off, gasses built up in his organs, and they created a hole in one of his lungs–a condition called pneumothorax.
they had to put a tube in his chest to drain the fluid. he also had i.v.s in his hands and belly button, as well as wires monitoring his heartrate, breathing, and temp. of course, he was also dependent on oxygen. i couln’t even hold him for 2 days.
on thursday, he was able to breathe on his own, and i got to hold and feed him for the first time; it was heaven. on friday, his i.v.s were removed, and he got to come to my room all day and night. we came home on saturday.
he is fine now. you would never know anything was wrong. the hole closed up when they took the tube out.
btw he was 7lbs 3oz and 20.5 in long, so much for the small baby they were concerned about.
all in all, my experience was hell. i had the perfect pregnancy, and i’m an extremely heathly and fit person, so you would think it would go smoothly. luckily, since the scar tissue on my cervix is gone, my next labor should be quick, natural and easy!
Hi, well I heard all kind of horros stories and stories, where they didn’t feel any pain or hardly. So when I got into real labor on my first child, I waited for the real pain labor contraction evryone was talking about…well the pain wasn’t as horrible as I thought it would be and my delivery was fast without any painmeds, because
I came to late to the hospial and all I had to do is to wait until I was fully dialeted and push my baby out. Some say the painkiller work and some say it didn’t work or it wore off, so at the end they felt everything , so depends on you how your body will react to the painkiller. But I think what makes it more painul then it is, is the fear of the pain in the labor…I read that first time mom had the tendecy to cramp up when a contraction would come, making it more worse then it actually is. Well one of the thing that made me confident about my labor and not fear the pain, was that grandma and ma did it without and why shouldn’t I be able to do that. And by thinking this way, it help me to cope better with the pain I guess. Good luck on your labor and trust your body…
For me, I did experience the pain. But that’s not what the story is about. 
At 4am of 07 Feb 2005, I woke up to go to the bathroom and had what doctors say is ‘bloody show’. So, I woke up my husband and told him about it then just sent my doctor a message via SMS. She just told me to sleep and go to the hospital in the morning when I wake up. When I got to the hospital, I was hooked up to a monitor for about an hour os so, then was sent back home because I was still not having major, close intermittent contractions. So, I went home, had lunch and just stayed home and watched videos. Around 8pm, after dinner, I noticed that my underwear was so wet. My sister, who was an intern, told me that it could be that my water broke. I then called my doctor , who advised me to go to the hospital. So, I got promptly cleaned up and prepped and then brought to an area, which I assumed was the waiting room before actual delivery. Luckily, the hospital was not full at all and they allowed my husband to lie down in the bed next to me while they hooked me up to a monitor and subsequently injected with something to induce contractions. In the course of the contractions, I was arm wrestling with my husband who was suprised with my strength - given the pain I was experiencing! However, after about 12 hours of labor, I ended up having a c-section due to the umbilical cord being wrapped around my son’s neck. After I gave birth to my 6lb 10oz son and saw and touched him for the first time, who cared about the pain?!?!? I was so overwhelmed with happiness and excitement at seeing him. It was one of the most wonderful feelings I have ever experienced. Going through the pain was all worth it!!!
That was quite an experience! You really couldn’t know what will happen on the big day…'guess that’s where prayers comes in. I think your Gabriel is such a ‘strong’ boy and I think a large part of his strength he got from you since you’ve maintained a healthy pregnancy. Kudos to you and goodluck on your next pregnancy!
Thanks, and good luck to you!
Thanks for sharing! Wow I wish I’ll have the same experience as you! You really are blessed to have breezed through labor like that! I guess it’s a matter of how well your body can handle pain. Did you practice any pain management program like Lamaze?
Well My due was on 3rd of March but no signs of natural delivery were showing till 6th March. So that day when I went to visit ny Gynec she asked us to get admitted for A sczerain the very next day by 5.00 Am early in the morning.Whole night I couldnt sleep as i am allergic to doctors equippments…Whole night I dreamt about doctors equipments tearing me n my baby apart…Because of this my BP started going down deliberately. by the time I readched Hospital next Day the BP level n the Childs heartbeat Ratio were too low…I was treated as an imergency…I lost my senses… all the treatments were started as fast as they can…By the time I was givien Aneima I was completely out of control… When I woke up I was alredy operated n my Baby was next to me… All healthy n happy…Later my husband told me how the medicines were injected n doctors carried on the operation and the baby was brought to in this world…
Thxs even after mybody didnt supported well nothing happened to my baby and everything did well…(My babys herat beat were going down as she had a 2 loop of cord around her neck at the time of her birth, But operated at right time made evrything go well)
Arm wrestling with hubby while on labor…maybe I should try that one to take my mind off pain! =)
Haha!! It’s definitely one way to release all that pain and stress!
Exciting times for you Nadia as the day approaches! What helped me to have a positive outlook in labour is to expect that there will indeed be pain and that I’m not alone on this. Millions of women have and are experiencing the same labour pains. Not to mention that God designed childbirth to have pain but the pain is bearable. Honestly, I really looked forward to my own labour because that meant seeing my baby very soon
It’s good to know ahead of time what the position of the baby is that’s why it pays to always ask. I learned that if a baby is in a posterior position in late pregnancy, it’s of no consequence to the actual labour and birth so don’t be anxious. There’s a high possibility that that the baby will turn and become anterior. You need to adopt positions that are not using gravity in order to give the baby a chance to turn. Positions you may use to help the baby turn during contractions will be kneeling on all fours, the stand-lean, side-lying and crouch kneeling with your back parallel to the floor. DO NOT stand up, walk around, bounce on a Swiss ball until your midwife confirms the baby has rotated to the anterior position. Try to distract yourself using Juju’s birth skills I mentioned in the email thread.
I enrolled in Juju Sundin’s Birth Skills and Pain Mastery classes. She is one of Australia’s prominent educators in prenatal education including both childbirth preparation and holistic pregnancy fitness.
She teaches her women to make use of all the 5 senses in Labour and to be active. If you can get her book “Juju Sundin’s Birth Skills with Sarah Murdoch”, it will really help you in the 1st and 2nd stages of Labour since you are unable to attend her classes. I used her techniques as well as her suggested labour kit tools to help manage pain and of course with God’s help I did well in labour. Talk about from the time my water broke at 9pm, I started having contractions (began doing Juju’s skills) then at 1030pm I was 7cm dilated already and by 11pm already 10cm dilated after my husband massaged my back with oils while I was kneeling on all fours! (Try to get essential oils from an aromatherapist that will be used to apply oil on the skin. Mine was a combination of oils that have the therapeutic effects of strengthening the contractions of the uterus, relaxing the skeletal muscles and reducing the flow of adrenalin. Oils that have been found to be the most effective are - Clary Sage (effective in the stimulation and progression of labour), Geranium, Jasmine, Lavender, MArjoram, Rose, rosemary and Ylang Ylang, Your aromatherapist would usually combine 3 or 4 these essential oils.)
Afterwhich, I was ready to push and Juju recommended about thinking how the “coffee plunger” works when pushing. Juju says to imagine your torso as a coffee pot and your diaphragm as the plunger. Push down on the plunger with your breath, sound, thought and energy. This will move your diaphragm down on top of the uterus and move the baby down towards the vaginal outlet. After that Crowning came and it was time for me to start panting and as my vagina was stretching really hard I just thought that it’s made to open and a little more stretch and my baby will be out.
My labour kit included:
a) heat packs (to ease back pain)
b) essential oils (lavender for relaxation, grapefruit for nausea and peppermint for fatigue - which I used to smell directly on a tissue (6 drops on a tissue paper and put near your nose as “olfactory distraction” for pain)
c) Labour Oil Massage
d) wooden back massager
e) stress balls
f) rattle, tic tac, rice shakers for “auditory distraction”
g) picture of Sydney Harbour Bridge (for visualization)
h) wooden palm roller
Go check her website www.jujusundin.com.
By the way, in case you will have an epidural or fetal monitoring that will confine you to bed, you can still be active by using your hands (hold on to something like stress balls to bang them on the bed) and legs (move the sheets with your legs).
What helped me to have a short labour was that I was always active while pregnant - on the treadmill every other day, doing yoga and lots of stretching and pelvic floor exercises. During actual labour, I was releasing the pain by being active again- standing and walking around the room, stomping my feet, kneeling on all fours rocking and swaying, banging my stress balls, saying words like - “Healthy pain”, “Pain out”, It’s just a muscle working, “Relax” and “I can do this thru HIM who gives me strength”. I also try to distract myself by visualizing my baby inside trying to come out and thinking of positive things.
Dont forget to always ask what the position of the baby is - if its anteror or posterior so you can try to do some exercises while in labour to rotate the baby if it’s posterior.
Don’t panic my dear. You can do it! What more can excite you than seeing your baby soon?!
Congraulations!
Thank you for the very helpful advice Zaja! =) I’ll browse over the web-link that you gave. As early as now, I’ll search for those essential oils that you mentioned as they are quite rare here in my country. Even lavender essential oil is hard to find!
Good for you to have prepared very well for your labor. It really paid off isn’t it? Kudos to you! Starting tomorrow, I’ll do pelvic exercises as you have done. I used to be active in my second trimester but now, even climbing the stairs would make me pant a little!
One good thing though is my baby is heads-down as early as now and hopefully she’ll stay in that position. I really would like to have a natural child-birth sans episiotomy so I’m also doing Kegel exercises (thank goodness this exercise doesn’t require me to sweat!) and would soon do perineum massage.
Thanks again, I’m inspired! =)
Also try renting or buying some yoga for labor dvds. I bought a set when I was pregnant. They teach you how to breathe properly, how to massage, different pressure points to press to bring on contarctions, ease pain, ect. They also help you stretch and get ready for labor. They are very helpful if you have a normal labor, although in my case, they didn’t help much.
And I was one of those unlucky ones who was confined to the bed. Since I was induced, I had to sit with monitors hooked up to me, and my IV in my arm. How I would have loved to walk and move around, take a shower, and practice all of the techniques I had learned to help in labor. They definately would have helped!
Oh, yeah. Water helps a lot! If you can sit in a warm tub or take a hot shower during labor, it will help. Maybe even get your partner to come in with you and give you a massage! 
Thanks for the suggestion! Any particular Yoga DVD you found helpful?
I have to try to remember…will let you know…
After my last child (not my last, as I will have more, but thus far…), they recommended I do a CALM birth course, a new thing out in Australia. Actually, I dont need to attend a Calm birth class, I need doctors and midwives who do as I want and have made clear all along. All they have to do is give me an epidural as soon as I ask for it, and things would be very calm!!! But my first 3 births they have been determined to hold off on the epidural (public hospital, no private health insurance…we dont need it in Australia, hospital and doctors are free but you get what you’re given when they want to give it)…
I learned that due to my ABSOLUTE fear of childbirth, I dont dilate. 2cm is all I get to, until they give me the epidural… then it’s straight to 10cm, ready to push, and them not believing me!! that was my experience with the first, then I told them of this with the 2nd…same result, but still didnt believe me, til I got the epidural at 2 cm and was ready to push. 3rd child, 2cm, finally got epidural, ready to push…they insisted I needed to do a bowel motion, so I grabbed a dish, they all left the room, and returned 10 mins later to me still doing the BM (and giving birth at same time!)…the baby was half delivered in a bowl of poo while no-one was around. So for the 4th kid I explain all this (yet again), and was given an epidural at 2cm as soon as I asked for it!!! yet once again they werent believing I was needing to push, and poor bub was kept waiting longer than she needed to because they wouldnt examine me to find I was 10cm dilated when I told them I would be…so I just lay there twidling my thumbs til they decided they better check things out cos “nothing was happening”. So they take a look “ooh, you better push now” (no kidding!!).
The other thing that I did find bad, was with 3rd kid, epidural didnt take properly, as I was stuck on one side, and I was half numb (one half), then when it came time to push it had totally worn off, and they did not believe I was in pain. I was screaming my head off, “I’m splitting in two, I’m dying!!”, and they were saying, “No, that’s not pain you’re experiencing, it’s pressure!!” (I’d had 2 already, I knew I was in PAIN!! ).
There are several out there, but I was looking for some specific things…massage, breathing, pressure points, pain management techniques…I wanted something more like a birth class to help me through the labor process.
I found a 3 DVD set called Rocki’s prenatal yoga. The first DVD is more for the yoga to do throughout pregnancy, teaching you the different moves and helping you breathe properly and stuff. The next 2 are labor prep for you and your partner to get ready for labor. She really goes through a lot of helpful stuff.
They were pretty good and helpful. Here are the links for Amazon, notice they all have a very high user rating. The last link is to buy all 3 for $20 + shipping (a very good deal!)
http://www.amazon.com/Rockis-Prenatal-Yoga-Vol-Introduction/dp/B0007CEX0Y/ref=sr_1_33?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1220171051&sr=8-33
http://www.amazon.com/Rockis-Prenatal-Yoga-Vol-Preparation/dp/B0007CEX18/ref=sr_1_31?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1220170733&sr=8-31
http://www.amazon.com/Rockis-Prenatal-Yoga-Vol-Preparation/dp/B0007CEX1S/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1220171108&sr=8-4
http://www.amazon.com/Rockis-Prenatal-Combo-Vols-1-3/dp/B000K7UHC4/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1220171108&sr=8-2 (all 3)
My friend, a midwife, gave me a book to read with this baby, which had a cd at the back… will try to find out who it’s by, but it’s based on Dr grantly Dick-read’s teaching that fear causes pain. Might work for you, but for me, it was pain that caused the fear. I was afraid of pain, but I didnt imagine the pain. If I’d gone into childbirth and there wasnt pain, my fear would have gone. my fear has nearly gone because finally I got an epidural the moment I asked for one. Mind you, my birth plan this last baby was this:
I want an EPIDURAL,
and i want it NOW!!!
(Please)
That was all. Got the message across. Why should we suffer?? I think the epidural is the best invention in the history of the world, and whoever invented it… I LOVE YOU!!! (You deserve the NOBEL PEACE PRIZE)