Eva's Birth Story - Planned Bradley Birth Turned Epi (long)

Rachiemoo · January 2011

My due date was January 1st. I had been losing my mucus plug in small pieces, without bloody show, for about a week prior. I had not felt any contractions whatsoever and my doctor had reported I was about 2cm dilated and not effaced at my 39 week appointment. I had a feeling that I was going to be over due and possibly have to be induced. Also my doctor told me she was going to be out of town Friday-Saturday and wouldn't be back until Jan 2nd (Sunday). I wasn't too worried about this though since I didn't think I'd be on time.

Around 5 am on the 1st I woke up with mild period like cramps (which I later realized were finally contractions). These continued throughout the day, along with more mucus plug loss (with plenty of bloody show this time). I went about my day as normal and found the contractions were easy to get through until about 5pm that evening when they started to get challenging, requiring more concentration to deal with.

I was able to successfully cope with the contractions for the next 7 hours, until the pain became unmanageable for me. I live two blocks away from the hospital so we got our bags and walked over. It took a little while as I was dealing with contractions on the walk. When we got there they said I was just a little over 3 cm and 90% effaced. Because I was planning a Bradley (non medicated) birth, I realized it would be best for me to go back home and keep laboring at home until I became more dilated.

This carried on until about 3:30am when I decided that I was not managing the pain well (this is a drastic understatement lol) and wanted an epidural. It took us over half an hour to get the 2 blocks from our apartment to the hospital because I was having contractions basically one after the other with very little rest in between.

We called labor and delivery so they were ready for me when we got there. I was 7.5 cm dilated and I got the epi around 4:30am. I am not sure if it is because I was already so far dilated, or just because of how the epi reacted with my body, but the epi certainly did NOT take away the pain entirely, it just made it a bit more manageable. I could still feel every contraction, but it helped me get through it and be more calm.

My doctor arrived at 9am, examined me, and said that I was almost fully dilated and that once I felt the urge to push, I could.

Around 9:50 am I began pushing. I was prepared to push for a long time because I notice a lot of first time moms do. The epi had basically worn off by this time and I could feel almost everything. I doubted if I could keep pushing for very long and was worried I couldn't do it. They kept telling me that her head was really close but I thought they were just saying that to encourage me. It turns out she really was close! She was born at 10:09 am and was 7 pounds 7 ounces and 20 inches long. She got a 9 on her apgar score. I did not have an episiotomy or tear at all! Even though I got the epi, I was able to avoid a c section, which is what my main goal of doing the Bradley method was. I am very happy with how the birth turned out and we are in love with our little girl!

Thanks for reading