The Birth of Silas

Thank you so much for sharing your birth story with us!!

Silas's birth story, born at 42 wks 2 days April 12th 2010.
8lbs 2oz 21 inches long.


On Sat april 10(2 weeks past due) I started having contractions around 20 mins apart but they were not strong or painful. By that night they were 10 to 15 mins apart but still not feeling like labor. I went to bed and slept through the night waking up every 10 to 20 mins with contractions. I had had lots of prodromal labor the weekend before that felt much stronger so I really did not expect much to happen with these contractions. As the day went on the contractions never stopped but most felt really mild.



I had some friends over on Sunday(4/11) and we timed the contractions for awhile and they seemed to be getting closer and were around 8 mins apart at this point. I ended up cooking a big dinner and was eating when I felt a slight trickle. For a split second I though I was leaking urine but then I felt a funny pop near my belly button and this huge gush came out(this was at 7:15 pm). It was so shocking since I've never had my water break naturally. My Dh helped me up and I went into the bathroom and called my MW. I went about 15 mins with no contractions but my MW and I decided someone should come out and check me.



I had a MW team that consisted of two MWs and an apprentice(she's one month away from finishing) so the apprentice was sent out. I live far out but she still got to my house within an hour. By that time my contractions were anywhere from 8 to 5 mins apart and I was worried I was just wasting everyone's time. When she arrived she asked if she could check me and I was dilated to 6 cms all the way through my cervix (I had been 4-5 on the outside and 2 on the inside during my last visit) and she could feel babies head. At this point the contractions still felt pretty mild to me but I had to breathe through them and was focused on relaxing when they hit. I sat in a rocking chair in my room and watched the MW set up up all the birthing supplies. We talked and I was still smiling and laughing between the contractions.



I think an hour or so went by and the two other MWs arrived. One of them checked me again and I was 7cms so they started filling the birth tub. I was so excited to get in the tub after hearing how wonderful its supposed to be for labor. When the tub was full I got in and although it was very relaxing between contractions I had a hard time feeling grounded to focus during them. After trying some different positions I found something that worked and decided to stay in the tub.



At this point time is blurry but I think it was around 10:30 pm when I got into the tub and my water had broke at 7:15 pm. I remember the contractions were getting more intense but I felt in control and could focus to get through them. I know my best friend arrived around midnight and I was relived to see her since she lives 3hrs away. I remember worrying because it seemed my contractions were not regular and I still felt I was having long breaks

between them. Also some were very intense and other felt more mild. They never felt super painful but they were still intense and I started praying during the worst of them. I started to get really nervous because they were strong but I kept waiting for the transition feeling you read about. I told my MW that I did not think I could do it because I figured I had hours and hours left to go. I also got very restless and could not find a comfortable spot. I even started to get out of the tub but when I stood up the gravity on my body felt overwhelming after being in the water.



Shortly after that I felt a contraction coming on and suddenly my body arched on it's own and pushed. It was the most shocking sensation and I felt the baby coming down. There was no urge, it was just like my body took over and I had no control. It felt like the baby was coming out my bottom instead of where he was supposed to and it scared me like everything was going to rip open. I had another contraction where I felt like I had no control and then they changed or else I figured out how to work with them. The MW really wanted to check me to make sure my cervix was out of the way but when she tried I could not handle to feeling of her touching me so she stopped. She got a mirror and a flash light to see(since I was in the tub) and during the next contraction it was apparent he was coming and nothing was in the way.



My other two midwives had been sleeping in the living room thinking I had a ways to go so the one rushed out to tell them I was pushing. Everyone came in and I felt very secure and not scared by this point. I remember that during each contraction I felt like pushing but would feel a burning sensation that would make me let up. I kept saying I was worried he was going back up when I would stop but they assured me I was doing great. My body just knew to ease him out with small pushes instead of trying to bear down through the burning. After a few more pushes they told me I could feel his head and it was so strange feeling!



Finally I was told to keep pusing even with the burning feeling and his head came out. I kept waiting for him to slide out but I ended up having to push each part of his body out. He never slid out after the shoulders and I had to push his chest out too. It was weird to even feel his legs and feet come through, I thought I would just have a sliding sensation after the head.



After he was out my MW laid him on my chest and it was so amazing to see him and know that I just pushed him out myself! I felt so relived that it was so much easier that I had pictured and worried about. It really was not painful for him to come out like I had thought it would be. Once he was on my chest he did not want to breathe right away so they had to suction him and rub him. They did all that on my chest and he started to pink up after a bit. Then he just looked around and I looked at him and it was wonderful. I was so amazed by him and it was so surreal that I actually did it, I gave birth to him right then just the way nature meant it to be. By this time the cord had stopped pulsing and my husband was able to cut it. Then I handed the baby to my husband while the MW's helped me deliver
the placenta.

Once that happened they helped me out of the tub, dried me off and tucked me into bed. I got Silas back and we cuddled skin to skin and nursed for the first time. He latched right on and was a natural little nurser. My MWs cleaned up everything and fed me a snack and then examined Silas. He was weighed and measured and examined all right there with me. I was also checked for tears at this point and luckily I just had a small skid mark and abrasion but no real tears! After we were both checked they tucked us both into bed and we were left to bond in our own home. It was the best experience and I'm so glad we chose a home birth!

Hannah's Stories

The Story of Eve's Birth, a wonderful labor at home, followed by a transport to the hospital and eventually a c-section. One that led this mother further down the road of passion for birth, her second child Willow made a powerful entrance, in a beautiful HBAC! Which was followed by another empowering homebirth!



Thank you Hannah for sharing your birth stories with us!

Twin c-section followed by a VBAC story

I am from Ireland, and we had our first pregnancy there- boy/ girl twins conceived after 3 years of ttcing and 3 rounds of fertility treatment. The pregnancy went well and I planned a vaginal birth, but always knew with twins there was a chance of c-section (my hospital had a 40% c-section rate for twins, 13% overall c-section rate). I carried to 39 weeks- which is considered past term for twins-, when the twins showed some signs of distress on NSTs, and their growth arrested and placenta started breaking down. They needed to come out. I was unfavourable for induction (-2 station on Twin A, no dilation or effacement), but we tried anyway, in the hope of a vaginal birth.  It did nothing, not a single contraction. So after 2 days, it was decided a c-section was needed. I healed well and the overall experience was good, but that doesn't mean I want to repeat it! In Ireland, VBAC is the norm and so while we didn't think we could have more kids, I always thought I'd have a VBAC if I did get pregnant again- to be honest, the thought of an RCS didn't even cross my mind.

...then we moved to NW Arkansas, where my husband is from. I found myself pregnant with a very happy surprise baby, and upon doing some reading, realised VBACs were banned here! At first I was disappointed, but thought I might be ok with an RCS. I decided to stay with our family doctor for maternity care, as he also does OB stuff. I knew from friends that he did a lot of VBACs before the ban, so at my first appointment, when he explained that he tries to schedule RCS as close to the due date as possible, I mentioned I didn't really want one. He said that was ok, that I had plenty of time to decide. By my next (12 week) appointment, I had done my research and made up my mind that I really wanted a VBAC. I had considered how to achieve that- the nearest hospital and birthing center which allowed them was 2.5+ hours away on a good day, which I didn't want to risk considering I had no experience of how my labor would go. Home birth was an option I was toying with, but wasn't sure I was comfortable with, and my husband was completely against. So, my chosen option was one many warn against: VBAC in a VBAC ban hospital. I discussed this with my doctor, who went through the risks of both RCS and VBAC with me- giving equal time to both. He seemed supportive, but did say there could be issues if I was in hospital a long time, so best to come in dilated well already. So he kept “forgetting” to schedule the RCS.

Pregnancy went well until 30 weeks, when my blood pressure started to creep up (no other signs of pre-eclampsia). At first, the doctor just asked me to keep an eye on it at home, but after a while he got concerned. He requested an ultrasound at 36 weeks to check on baby and placenta, and frankly I was worried he'd use it to pull the big baby card, especially when the u/s tech estimated baby at 8.1 pounds already! But the doctor was fine with that- he said he was looking for info on the placenta and baby's health, not size, which can be off 1+ pounds at that gestation. I started having weekly NSTs which were ok, but got some swelling. Based on that, at my 40 week appointment (actually 39+4), and with baby still -2, 2cm dilated and somewhat soft ( asked about stripping membranes, he said he would if he could but I was too high still, he could not reach), the doctor said we should look at RCS if baby doesn't come out soon, and that if I was an RCS patient, he'd have taken baby the week before. We discussed dates and decided that unless things got worse, he'd do the RCS at 41+2. I felt a bit sad, but also realised that'd give me another two weeks, and tried to make my peace with that.

At 39+4, I went to bed and shortly after I went to sleep at 10pm, woke to a “popping” sound. A gush followed and I was pretty sure my waters had broken. Went to the bathroom and there was some more clear liquid. I started having contractions pretty much right away, but they started off light, so I let my husband and doula know what was happening and went back to bed. I had an appointment for another u/s the next morning anyway, so the idea was to just keep that, hoping I was in active labor by then. Believe it or not, I never discussed what to do when waters broke before labor with my doctor, I didn't think it would happen! Contractions picked up petty soon to a strong menstrual pain type, and moved closer together (6 minutes apart for several hours), but slowed down again once I got up. I rang the doctor when the office opened and he told me to go to the hospital.

So we went and met him there. Still -2, 3 cm dilated. He didn't want me to go back home due to the waters, but said we could wait a few hours before we did anything, to see if things started going again naturally. He gave orders not to check me vaginally so as to minimise risks of infection, and started an external CFM (his only request to me, discussed at prenatal visits, so I was ok with that). He also said the hospital's policy was c-section for anyone whose waters broke 18+ hours ago, but that we could “work with that”. I signed a load of forms, including a RCS refusal/ VBAC consent form, but refused to sign the RCS consent form they wanted me to sign “just in case of emergency, as you cannot sign if you have had pain medication”; as I pointed out to them, in case of true emergency, my husband could sign. There was no problem with that and indeed, throughout my stay not one nurse said anything derogatory about VBAC or tried to scare me- it was also noticeable that they had all read my birth preferences before coming into my room, which was nice.

Nothing started, so I consented to a very low pitocin drip. This started contractions, and my doula was a great help dealing with them. But several hours later, I had made only 1cm dilation progress and was still high and -2 station. Doctor asked to put an internal contraction monitor on for a bit, to see if the contractions were really as strong as I felt them (we left the external heart rate monitor on, as I didn't want to have a screw in my baby's head). They were. We had reached the 18 hour after waters breaking limit now, but as my waters were still clear and baby showed no signs of distress, doctor said he'll ignore hospital policy. Dr didn't want to put the pit up higher, so we waited. Soon after that, I went into transition labor. Hurray! Both doctor and doula said it would not be long now. I had very strong contractions one on top of the other for two hours, and it was hard to deal with, but I managed. After 2 hours, they checked me. 6cm... everyone was surprised, as we thought I should be getting ready to push. I couldn't take it anymore, so after discussing it with my husband and doula, I called the doctor back in to discuss pain medication (no-one had mentioned drugs to me before, as per my birth plan). I decided on an epidural to give me a break. The anesthetist recommended a low dose so I could still feel some minor pain/ pressure (as one of the signs of uterine rupture is pain between contractions), and so I could still move on the bed, get on all fours etc. It worked perfectly, and I got a bit of a break, even a little semi-nap (during which I swatted at the doctor, thinking he was my husband, when he tried to wake me).

Several hours later- some 28 hours after waters broke and contractions started-, I was almost fully dilated (only a lip around the cervix), but still high, a 0 station We let the epi wear off and I started pushing as I had the urge, but baby would not come down. Pushing was exhausting, and I felt I could not go on. Baby's heart rate decals started to last longer after contractions finished. Doctor started to get concerned and said we would need to look at a RCS soon, but he'd like to try one more thing: ventose delivery. It would probably not work as baby was still so high, and could involve an episiostomy, but it would really be a shame not to at least try, and end up with an RCS after all this. He would not try for too long- probably only 2 contractions worth- but it was worth a try. I cried a bit, I was so exhausted and felt my VBAC slipping away. My doula and husband kept me sane, and stopped me from crying as I needed all the energy I could get for pushing. After 2 contractions, there was some hope so we kept on going, and eventually- after a severe episiostomy, baby came out, head one push, body the next, more than 30 hours after my waters broke and contractions started. It was the most amazing feeling physically and mentally, feeling that head pop out. Doctor clamped the cord (husband didn't want to), and my wonderful VBAC daughter was put on my chest, where they did all their little tests while the doctor stitched me up. The doctor finally got to go home, some 15 hours into his supposed day off 

 I started breastfeeding and Rachel has been attached to me boob pretty much permanently since- she is 10 months now!  The day after my VBAC, I had quite a few nursing students visiting with their mentors- I guess I was a bit of an “event”, and ask questions about c-section vs VBAC experience. There is really no comparison. I was sore down there for a while, but it is nothing compared to the post c-section pain. With my VBAC, I got to hold and carry my toddler twins 3 hours after birth of their little sister.  I am not saying it was easy- the doctor said that would have been a difficult and long birth even for a FTM-  but it was so worth it, for baby and me and all my family.