- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Birth Stories
Successful Pitocin Induction w/No Epi!
Figured I'd share my birth story since of course I always enjoyed reading others. So here it is!
I went in for my doctor's appointment at 11:00am on 2/10/09 (my due
date) and my blood pressure was high and I had protein in my
urine (first time ever throughout my pg)...all signs of pre-eclampsia. So the doc came in and said that
they wanted me in the hospital at 3:00pm to start induction. This broke
my heart because I was dead-set against having pitocin during labor and
planned my entire pregnancy to labor at home for as long as possible to
avoid the hospital intervening with my labor. But...that's how life
rolls sometimes and at this point, I had to remind myself it wasn't
about me, it was about my baby.
So I called Tim at work (crying
of course!) and told him that they wanted me to check into the hospital
in 3 hours and could he come home from work.
I met Tim at home
and I ate a ham and cheese sandwich (I didn't eat breakfast and knew I
needed something in me because when I checked in, they wouldn't let me
eat anything). We finished packing the hospital bag and picking up
around the house so we wouldn't have to come home to dirty dishes or
anything! We also got all of Brandy's stuff ready for Alisa to come
pick her up and take care of her for a couple of days while we were in
the hospital. Thank God for Alisa because it would have been a pain in
the a$$ for Tim to have to come home to take care of the dog!
So
after we had the house in order, we headed to Noodles and Company for
Tim to eat. He was nervous and hardly ate at all, and I didn't eat
anything there. After the pit stop we headed to the hospital to check
in.
Once we were all checked in at 3pm...we sat in the L&D
room for an hour before they started the pitocin drip. The IV port for
my liquids and pitocin sucked - I hate needles!
They started me
out on the lowest dose of pitocin and came in every 20 minutes to turn
it up. I was feeling pretty good from 4pm-7:30pm. I was having
contractions, but nothing too bad. I was still smiling, laughing,
conversating, etc. I even played a bit of Yahtzee! (that didn't last long though!)
Doc came in around 6:30pm and broke my water and said I was at 3cm. This was discouraging because I was 2cm 80% effaced at my appt earlier that day. But, once 7:30pm hit - the back labor started full force
and my contractions were "coupling" (meaning that my uterus would
contract and before it fully relaxed, it would contract again). It was
hard not getting a break in between contractions and having back labor
on top of it. I tried numerous positions from sitting on the rocking
chair, sittingon the birthing ball, leaning over the bed, leaning
against Tim, rocking my hips back and forth - and nothing made the back
labor feel better. At one point I even said "I just want my uterus to
hurt and not my back". I was using very long deep breathing techniques
that I learned in my prenatal yoga classes - that seemed to help the
most.
I don't remember much about the actual times, but I
remember the order of things. I was checked and was at 5cm. I labored for a while after that and then I got a shot of Staydol, but got the lowest possible
amount (1 ml) at 10pm. The next time they checked me, I was at 7-8cm. I
was exhausted from the contrax being on top of each other and the
Staydol helped me relax and sleep in-between contrax. My best friend
said that they were coming like every 30 seconds apart. But from what I
remember, those 30 seconds of sleeping in-between contrax felt like a
half hour of sleep! At 11pm I asked for some more Staydol because I
wasn't able to "sleep" in-between the contrax anymore. They gave me
another ml but it did nothing. My body started to "push" on it's own
and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I remember saying that I
was sorry but I had to push and they told me I wasn't pushing, it was
the baby making his way down the birth canal. I don't know - I sure
felt like I was pushing; but hell - it's only my body, obviously the
doctor knows more about my innards than I do! LOL
After my
groaning changed from a long drawn out groan to very low sounds like I
was going to throw up - the doc checked me again. They couldn't tell if
I was 9.5 or 10 - - and it felt like she was searching for China trying
to figure it out. I told her I didn't care and she needed to stop
touching me! Oh, that poor doctor!!
The next thing I remember
(besides all of the contrax) was that it was 2:30am and it was time to
actually push (because remember, apparently all the "pushing" before
wasn't really pushing!). I felt like I was on one of those tv shows,
legs back, chin to chest, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10, again
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10, one more time, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10. And this
went on and on for an hour. I pushed on my back and on my side. At one
point I guess my heart rate exceeded Alexander's and the nurses/doctor
got all frantic and shoved an oxygen mask on my face. They didn't strap
in over my face though - so I had to hold it while pushing and using my
other hand to hold onto one of my legs! Oh what I site I must have been! And it's true what they say - pushing feels really good! The pain actually goes away while you're pushing!
I
pushed hard for an hour and then before I knew it Alexander Ethan
arrived on 2/11/09 at 3:35am. He weighed in at 6 lbs 12 oz and 19.75"
long! He was just perfect! They put him on my bare chest immediately
and I was in heaven. It was definitely love at first site! He breastfed right away and has mastered his latching...which I am most grateful for!
All-in-all, my birth experience was easier than I expected. Yes, the pit sucked, but it wasn't unbearable to the point that I caved and needed an epi - which I am grateful that I stuck to my guns and didn't get one. The whole process from start to finish was 11.5 hours and it felt like 2 hours; which again - I am grateful for. The feared pain of labor during pregnancy far outweighed what it actually turned out to be. I'm disappointed that I didn't get to have the birth that I wanted (spontaneous and birthing a lot at home) but in the end - I have a perfectly healthy baby boy and I can't complain. Motherhood is the best thing I've done in my life so far!
Warning
No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Successful Pitocin Induction w/No Epi!
It is batshitcrazy to talk about "giving in" and "caved in" re epdurals. There is NOTHING wrong with them. They just make labour fun instead of agony. I think you're nuts not to get one and more nuts to be proud of it.
To me the only people who turn down an epi are pain-addicts.?
Wow! You're stronger than I was! My dream of a natural birth flew out the window when the doctor broke my water and wanted to start me on pitocin. The contrax were too strong for me to handle, which led me to ask for an epi. The epi and the pitocin caused my ds' heartrate to drop which led to an emergency c-sect. (Classic case of medical intervention leading to c-section). Well, in the end we both have beautiful healthy baby boys...so they're both successful births in the end, right!
Congratulations! Thanks for sharing!
Get a grip. The risk of a needle is less than 1 in a million and you would take any other pain meds? Do you know systemic pain meds depress respiration in newborns? Basically everything else out there on the market is DANGEROUS for birth, epidurals are by far and away the safe option. If you aren't willing to have a needle how do you think you'll go pulling a baby through a tiny space? That is WAY way worse in every way.
You clearly have no clue about the facts.?
What is wrong with you? Get out of her birth story if you don't like it instead of calling her names. My mom had all natural births and I hope to as well. Not moving or feeling your body during birth? Shaking from drugs? Not if I can help it. You seem very negative and closed minded to me.?
First off - thanks for the nice words to my birth story. Not anywhere in my birth story have I said that epi's were a bad thing - it's just not something that I wanted. To each their own. Second - for saying that I'm nuts because I was proud that I was able to stick to my guns about not having an epi makes you sound really immature. I never had nor ever will judge anyone who chooses to get an epi or anything else - but good for you for being Judgy MsJudgerson....clearly you are such an open-minded person!
beautiful birth story and congrats to the unmedicated birth!
I can't wait to see you on the other side (0-6)
Actually, med free would be the safest option. I'm going to try to labor without an epi and if I can't hack it, I'll get an epi. Epidurals up your risk of needing a c-section - which not everyone wants. Just because you birth naturally doesn't mean you're a pain addict. You're a complete idiot. Facts, you say? Where are your facts that someone who doesn't want an epi is a pain addict? Have you done studies? Since you're all knowing and everything.
And just so you know, it's easy for someone to be afraid of needles but less afraid of giving birth. I personally don't want any needles stuck anywhere near my spinal cord. I don't want to be that 1 person out of a million that gets hurt. Would you?
I think its great that you were able to labor on pit without getting an epi. it seems like 99% of women that get the pit end up getting the epi as well. Obviously i don't know what the actual percentage is, just seems like that is the case after reading story after story. Congratulations on your little one!
I too plan a drug free birth and am not a "pain addict".
you're an idiot. you don't bash how someone wants to give birth to their child. Its their own damn choice.
Congrats on an amazing birth story and a beautiful little boy! I'm hoping to make it through without pain meds, too, so I'm always inspired to read of others who have done it successfully.
A couple years ago I was with my sister when she gave birth. She went med free as well, but not by choice (by the time the anesthesiologist arrived it was time to push!). She also had back labor but was too weak to get up and move around, so my mom and I took turns pushing hard on her lower back during every contraction to minimize the pain. It seemed to relieve the pressure of the baby's head against her spine, which made a huge difference. I know it's too late for that to have helped you, but maybe someone else will read this and keep it in mind just in case!
[url=http://www.thebump.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=UBB&utm_campaign=tickers][img]http://global.thebump.com/tickers/tt1a1ae8.aspx[/img][/url]