"Natural Birth" Birth Stories (Post yours here!)

LindseyJW · February 2012

I used quotes because we all define it differently and that is the name of our board! If you would like to post your birth story to our FAQ blog, post a link or the story here!

Please put a disclaimer at the top of your story or above your link so that those who want to read or avoid certain types of stories may do so.

LindseyJW · February 2012

vbac, home birth, water birth, HypnoBirthing, spontaneous labor

https://www.sunflowershealingandwellness.com/index.php/hypnobirthing/birth-stories/

TrendyTina · February 2012

LindseyJW:

vbac, home birth, water birth, HypnoBirthing, spontaneous labor

https://www.sunflowershealingandwellness.com/index.php/hypnobirthing/birth-stories/

This was so beautiful! Congrats to you!

aliska · February 2012

spontaneous labor, GBS+, birth center, water birth, no pain meds

https://minegoes2-11.blogspot.com/2011/08/katelyn-marie-has-arrived.html

LindseyJW · February 2012

TrendyTina:
LindseyJW:

vbac, home birth, water birth, HypnoBirthing, spontaneous labor

https://www.sunflowershealingandwellness.com/index.php/hypnobirthing/birth-stories/

This was so beautiful! Congrats to you!

thank you!

robyn2201 · February 2012

FTM, Hospital Birth with Bradley Method & Doula, PROM at 38 weeks

https://lifeinblissfulness.blogspot.com/2010/08/ivy-maes-arrival.html

StefandTodd · February 2012

FTM, hospital birth, Bradley method with a Doula, team green, GBS+ (but declined antibiotics)

https://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/57567557.aspx

ETA, a year and a half later:

STM, home birth with Doula and CNM

https://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/70968835.aspx

Temp76535187505890 · February 2012

Second spontaneous birth, birth center attached to hospital, doula

https://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/ShowThread.aspx?PostID=43847880#43847880

[Deleted User] · February 2012

FTM, water birth, hospital-attached birth center, spontaneous labor, hemorrhage from retained placenta.

https://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/59645261.aspx

jcsumm0 · February 2012

foley bulb and pit induction @ 37 weeks due to IUGR and low fluid

hospital birth

w/ Bradley and doula

pain-med free!

https://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/54566538/ShowThread.aspx

waterroxy17 · February 2012

Thank you for all your birth stories. As a FTM I'm looking for some encouraging stories other than a EPI is your best friend on month boards

pinksweetpea2 · February 2012

My first is below. I will have another (hopefully) in the next couple of weeks.

FTM, 43 week home water birth with MWs. 40 hour labor, posterior baby (with back labor), waters broken for more 24 hours, and "big baby."

This birth story might seem a bit disjointed at times- but that is pretty much how I felt while in labor. I am writing my story mostly from memory, but also include info from other parties involved and from the notes kept by my midwives.

I went into labor early in the morning of July 22nd 2008. I was by one count 42 weeks and 6 days pregnant, and by another count about 42 weeks and 2 days- either way, I was way past 40 weeks and it had been a rough couple of weeks for Scott and I as we tried desperately to avoid all the negativity and fear that comes along with not being induced for date reasons. We knew that there was no reason to think that Lily was at risk because our midwife was constantly monitoring the baby and myself, but it is hard to not doubt yourself when you are constantly being bombarded with skepticism. I think what got us thought was knowing that for as many folks who doubted us, there were just as many that supported our path. We know that if we had given into the negativity and gone with a hospital birth, I would have ended up with a c-section for a number of reasons- failed induction, posterior baby, long labor, and the fear of a ?big baby.? We just want to say thank you for those comforting visits, emails, posts on our blog, my myspace and facebook. It really helped us get through that tough time, stay strong and in the end have the most gentle birth possible for us and Lily.

I was awoken around 2:15 am on Monday July 22nd with a bad back pain and I got up and headed to the bathroom because I thought I needed to use the bathroom. When I wiped in the bathroom I realized I had some bloody show. Other than some wimpy Braxton hicks since 34 weeks, this was the very first time I had seen anything that I knew to be a concrete sign of labor and I was super excited. I even yelled to Scott about it. I got up, walked over to the bed and asked Scott if he thinks we should call Kelley our midwife or wait until morning to tell her. As I sat down on the bed I felt a gush and ran back to the bathroom. I wasn?t sure if it was my water or just urine (these things happen in late pregnancy), so I wiped- more show- and headed back to bed. I tried to sit down again and the same thing happened. At that point Scott and I knew it was my water. I went to wake up my Mom (who had been there since Thursday to offer support and act as a distraction) and then we called Kelley.

At this point I had already had a few contractions- all in my back and we realized that they were coming constantly at around 5 minutes apart. Since my fluid were clear and Lily was moving around happily in there, Kelley suggested we go back to bed, try to get some sleep and call her around 7 am. Well, I tried to rest, but with the already pretty painful contractions coming 5 minutes apart, lying in the bed was not relaxing at all. Eventually we gave up and got up at 5:30 am. Scott started right away setting up the birthing tub because it would take hours to fill it and I took a shower and just hung out, walking around contracting until Kelley got there. Soon afterwards Dina and later on Za?Yn, Kelley?s assistant midwives arrived. They were all there to stay until well after Lily was born. Scott and I felt very blessed to have so much knowledge and support.

After checking me, Kelley informed me that the baby was not in a great position for delivery and we were going to have to work on trying to get her to turn by laboring in different positions. Kelley never said the words posterior to me, but that is what she was talking about. This is the reason I had back labor and why labor was so long- we had to wait for her to turn.

And that is what I did for almost all of the 40 hours. I labored, and labored, and labored. I labored in the birth tub, sitting on the birth ball in the shower while Scott sprayed my back with very hot water, with my head down and butt up on the bed, standing in the bedroom, kitchen, living room, etc. Sometimes my contractions were close together and sometimes they spaced out. Some of them were very long- Kelley said those were the turning contractions- the ones that were turning Lily to the right position. I knew they were long, but had no idea how long until Scott and my Mom told me some seemed to last 15 minutes. Scott was there the whole time (except for a couple of hours here or there when Kelley made him take a nap). He spent so much time crouched over rubbing my back that he had back pain for a week after the birth. At one point our wonderful chiropractor came over to the house (on her own free time) and gave both Scott and I a quick adjustment.

The midwives never told me what I was dilated (even though I asked). Kelley just said that dilation is not that important, and that getting the baby to the right position was what we needed to focus on. Well, I am glad she never told me because I guess I spent 10 hours at 6 and then another 10 hours at 9. Knowing this would have totally discouraged me. I also never looked at a clock. I knew that labor had been long, but had no idea how long until after Lily was born. Again, knowing this would have discouraged me.

Finally late on Wednesday I started feeling different. Nothing that had helped with the pain before was working anymore. I got out of what seemed like my millionth shower and cried that I couldn?t do this anymore. The midwives were thrilled because that was a sign that things were progressing and that I was most likely in transition. Of course they didn?t tell me this- they just told me I could do it, everything was fine, I was doing great, etc.

At that point I got into the tub and floated on my back. I stayed that way for a long time. I had started feeling contractions in the front (normal ones I guess) on top of the back labor, which sucked but was a good sign because it meant that Lily was in a good position. During this time I laid as still as I could and moaned through the contractions- that was all I could do at that point. Most of the time it helped. Sometimes it didn?t. I am pretty sure the times it didn?t help was when I was feeling the urge to push and was not responding. I just didn?t know what it was at first.

Once I got it and started pushing I felt SO much better. Yes, pushing hurt (especially at the end), but it still felt better than just plain labor. I pushed for about 3 ? hours (the average for a first time Mom according to Kelley). It was hard, but I was SO done with being in labor and very determined to get her out.

As Lily was crowning, Kelley told Scott to get ready to catch the baby. She asked him if he wanted to touch the head, which he did, until I yelled at him to stop. She then asked my Mom if she wanted to touch the head and my Mom looked at my face, and promptly said no. LOL

Scott didn?t end up getting the tub with me since I was spread out, but he did catch his daughter when she was born at 8:28 pm on Wednesday, July 23rd. He put her on my chest and we looked our daughter for the first time. The first two things I noticed was that she had quite a bit of dark hair (not what I expected) and long feet. I was oblivious to her size, but everyone else couldn?t stop talking about it.

She was wide-eyed and very pink. She looked really pissed off and let out a few short cries. It was so weird because although I thought I would cry, I didn?t. I just looked at her. At one point I check to make sure she was a girl. I didn?t notice much else, but I do know my Mom was crying (big surprise- LOL), Scott was sitting just over my shoulder, and the midwives were all buzzing around doing what they do after a birth.

A bit later Scott cut the cord and took Lily into his arms so I could get out of the tub and checked-out by Kelley. He didn?t let her go for a long time, He just kept walking around the house with her, talking to her, bringing her to me so I could look at her. After Kelley was done with me and I breastfed Lily for the first time, they took her upstairs for her infant exam. She got 10/10 on her Agars and was 9 pounds 15 oz and 22 inches long- a big girl just as they said.

At the end of the day I was tucked in bed, eating a quiche (thanks to my friend Aimee for making it!), with my baby and my husband. Though the recovery days ahead would be rough, that moment was perfect.

tokenhoser · February 2012

Laboured at home, natural hospital birth with my family doctor, Occiput Posterior positioned baby

https://community.thenest.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/53109399.aspx

AmyRI · February 2012

FTM, team green, spontaneous, med-free hospital birth with an OB/GYN in 7 hours (4 in hospital).

Background info: This is our first child. We did not do any research on birthing past the hospital's birthing class (that teaches about cesarean and natural birthing), some labor positions from a prenatal yoga class I took, and info from my OB. In addition to a general desire to birth naturally, I also have a lot of anxiety associated with epidurals (I have a fear of needles, and epidurals are just that much worse) and I've had bad reactions to some prescription pain meds before and was concerned with taking anything I hadn't before for fear of a negative reaction. I really loved by OBGYN pre-pregnancy, and I knew she was very pro-natural birth going into the birth so I did not seek out a midwife. My OB also only delivers at a smaller local hospital (and not the very large Women & Infants hospital that I've heard called the "baby factory"). I was 2cm and 50% effaced at 38w 3d. No pregnancy complications, measured on track, no ultrasound past 20wks. We were team green.

The story:

I woke up 4 days before my due date to untimable contractions at 12:30am. I couldn't sleep through them, and I had a hard time just sitting down and letting them pass. I spent the first couple of hours pacing around and cleaning the house while keeping track of the spacing of contractions. By 3am, they were regular and 10 minutes apart. At 3:30, I threw up because the pain had increased quickly and it was my body's way of adjusting. I threw up once and felt immediately better. At 4:00, I woke up DH because contractions were at 6 minutes apart, and while I could still talk through them, I found it painful to walk through them. I would stand bent over a table/counter/chair and sway my hips until it passed. We were told about the 5-1-1 rule before going to the hospital, but I was very uncomfortable at that point and didn't want to wait any longer so I didn't wait an hour. We finished packing our bags and we were on the road by 4:15 and my contractions were 3 minutes apart, and called the OB on call for my practice that night who came to the hospital, but never actually checked on me.

4:30am, we checked into the hospital with contractions still at 3 minutes apart. I was the only person in labor at the time (1 more woman came in before I was finished). I did not object to their standard procedure of temporary monitoring of the baby's heartbeat (15 minutes the first time), bloodwork, an IV lock in my hand (although nothing attached), and checking for dilation. Sitting in bed for that half hour was very painful and I was begging for them to let me walk around. The nurse checked me and I was at 4cm. I was asked what my plan for pain management was once when I checked in and that was it. At some point, I don't remember the time, I threw up once more and was threatened with an IV of fluids if I didn't stop and they told me not to eat ice chips or drink water, but DH sweetly brought me the cup of ice water as soon as the nurse left the room and I was fine after that for the rest of labor.

I was left alone except for intermittent monitoring of the baby's heartbeat and taking my blood pressure every hour for about 5 minutes, and I was allowed to labor how I felt comfortable. I was offered the showers (to "help me progress and ease the pain") but I had no interest in being soaking wet and my back really wasn't hurting. They also brought a birthing ball, but I found that even more uncomfortable than laying in bed. I continued my standing, kneeling, and swaying. At 6:45, I was checked again and was at 7cm, but my water sill hadn't broken on its own and the nurse mentioned that the bag of waters was bulging and my OB would probably want to break it.

My OB got there at 7:30, I was at 8.5cm and she did break my water (it was the best feeling ever for about 30 seconds before the next contraction started, and that one was excruitiating). That contraction brought me to 9.5cm. The OB left to change her clothes, and the nurses had me lay on my side to help dilate me the last half cm because it was one particular point that was not dilated. I don't know how I didn't break DH's hand as I was squeezing it hard during the contractions, but he was great at supporting me. A few minutes later, I was feeling the urge to push. My OB came back and asked if a med student could observe, and that was fine by me. The med student ended up holding one of my legs and DH held the other while I pushed. 1 nurse coached me, my OB got ready to catch, and there was 1 nurse getting ready to attend to the LO.

It took me a few pushes to figure out exactly what muscles to use to really effectively push, and then it went really quickly. Our LO was born at 8:15am, and the OB barely caught the baby because I pushed him out quicker than she was expecting! She had my DH announce that it was a boy. He was 8lbs even. After cleaing out his nose and mouth they put DS on my chest while I delivered the placenta.

DH has a weak stomach, so we were impressed that he made it through without throwing up or passing out, but he didn't want to cut the cord. The med student actually did that. They hooked me to an IV of pitocin to help everything contract down quickly.

I did a lot of grunting, and a little screaming (just noises, not words or swears or anything) towards the end, but that was it. Everyone (DH, the nurses, my OB) were all more proud of my birth experience than I was! It was an incredible experience and I would absolutely do it again.

star173 · February 2012

https://www.freshgranolafamily.com/2012/01/dylans-mostly-painless-delivery.html

hospital, med-free, nearly painless delivery, 3rd child.

Oh, and here's the story from my first born son:

https://www.freshgranolafamily.com/2010/05/no-more-false-labor-baby-is-here.html

hospital, med-free, not painless, lol

GoldenPeaches · February 2012

FTM, 37-38 weeks, birthing center, pain-med free, birth after Procardia and pre-term labor, birthing stool, back labor

https://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/60428850.aspx

gy86 · February 2012

FTM, hospital birth with CNMs, drug-free, epi-free, back labor, long (story, not labor!)

https://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/57681446.aspx

rosiemomma · February 2012

This inspired me!

My natural hospital birth:

https://terracottamomma.blogspot.com/2012/02/birth-story.html

aylafsu88 · August 2012

FTM, hospital birth, Bradley method, doula, med-free

My labor was sudden and unpredictable but it was perfect!!

I felt a weird pop on sat morn at 11:38 am when I was laying on the couch. I thought it was my water so I got up but only a trickle came out ( i still dont know what the pop was!). Then I started having contractions @ 10 mins apart and they only got progressively closer ( 6 mins for most then a few would be 2-3 mins apart) but never established a pattern. I labored with my DH at home in the tub till about 4 pm. By that point I was exhausted and we called our doula over. She gave me new energy and reminded me of positions I had forgot. I stayed home until 7:30 pm. The contractions were mostly @ 5 mins apart but then I would get a few every hour that were much closer like 2-3 mins apart. At this point I was exhausted and decided to go to the hospital. We check in and my water broke as soon as they took me to triage. I was 6 cm dialated and got moved to delivery right away. We told the on call OB from the office we use (there are 8 OBs in the practice) that we wanted a natural invention free birth and he said he would do that for us. I got into the delivery room at 8:30 pm and went to the tub. After an hour I felt the urge to push and could not stop myself from bearing down. We called the nurse and I was only 8 cm dialated. I held back pushing for a few contractions and then she checked again.
I was ready to go!! I moved to the bed and delivered in the side position. Our OB was FABULOUS!! He sat right on the bed and massaged my perineum while I pushed!! He used warm pressed and told me that he was trying to help me not tear because one of her hands as on her face. After a few pushes she was out at 10:40 pm. I did ended up with a second degree tear that is pretty painful right now but our little girl is perfect and we had the birth experience we wanted!

The moral of this is you ladies CAN do it and you can have the experience you want.

Take control of your labor and the OB will be there to support you! I never even met this OB from the practice I use because the practice is so large, but he was amazing and did everything he could for me!

Finally labor is unpredictable but you will know how you feel and where you are at by listening to your body ( I never had established patterned contractions)!!

GL and you all can do it!

RockyMtnMama · August 2012

DS#1 - Typical first birth at hospital with CNM - pitocin for a short period, but no pain meds. No link to story.

DS#2 - Surprise vaginal breech delivery with CNMs in a free-standing birth center.

https://community.thenest.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/2942580.aspx?MsdVisit=1

pugznploons · August 2012

https://pugsnotdrugs.wordpress.com/2012/07/13/gretchens-birth/

vintagejjane · August 2012

VERY long, home water birth.

https://awhirlwindstart.blogspot.com/2012/05/weeks-38-39-40-41.html

xnbride · August 2012

Birth of my third son and third med free labor (spontaneous, back labor, GBS+, hospital natural birth)

https://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/65949489.aspx

edit to add:

I found Jonathan's too (super fast delivery, GBS+, natural hospital birth)

https://community.thenest.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/28028140.aspx

Vixey529 · August 2012

waterbirth, large baby, castor oil, older sibling present, shoulder dystocia (mild), birth center

https://iheartbaby.breathoflife.cc/?p=1417

ncbelle · August 2012

2nd timer, free standing birth center, sort of water birth, non-emergency NICU transfer, 10 pound baby ;-)

https://www.becomingmamas.com/introducing-eleanor-a-birth-story/

Dman85 · August 2012

Mine was a natural unmedicated birth in the hospital. https://dmans-world.blogspot.com/2012/02/charles-robert-cincoski.html

hamiltks10 · November 2012

FTM, hospital birth with midwife, doula, prenatal yoga and chiropractor care, hypnobirthing, GBS+ ...overall good natural birth experience.

https://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/69461499.aspx

superned · February 2013

I have two...

FTM, Team Green, hospital birth, NICU stay

https://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/38830660/ShowThread.aspx

STM, Team Green, hospital birth, precipitous labor

At my 39w appointment, I was almost 4cm and 50% effaced. My OB was actually a little surprised to see me; he thought I would have gone into labor after my 38w appointment. I was trying to be patient, but I was so over going to work and getting "have you had the baby yet?" a thousand times a day.

The next day I went to work and felt nothing - not even a single BH. I left at about 5:00 and made sure I had everything in order, just in case I had the baby over the weekend. I went home and met DH and DD and we decided to take the dogs for a long walk. We actually walked the exact same route that we took the night before I had DD, so I started hoping...

When we got home, I was beat. DH and DD played outside in the yard for a while and I went in to do some yoga. I was doing some pelvic tilts, resting, and watching TV while DH and DD made dinner. I felt a few small cramps, but nothing regular and they went away when I changed position.

At about 7:15, we sat down to dinner.

At 7:30 - WHAM! - I felt a really strong contraction, out of nowhere. I looked at DH and said, "That was real. Something might be happening." I brought DD into the bathroom to run her bath. While she was sitting on the potty, I felt another strong contraction, just two minutes after the first one. I was having to breathe through them already.

DH came in to check on us a couple minutes later, and I had a third strong contraction. He said, "Did you just have another one? Is that two?" I shook my head no and his eyes got huge. "That was your THIRD one?! I'm calling your mom right now." I tried to protest that it was too early, but (thank goodness), he called her anyway. She and my dad live about 25 minutes away and said they would be on the road in a few minutes.

I don't have a good recollection of the time between 7:40 and 8:15. DD got a bath and I labored in her bedroom while DH got her pajamas on. I was past all of the emotional signposts to get to the hospital, and DH was starting to freak out. I managed to mumble instructions to him about the last few things that needed to get in the hospital bag, and to lay out clean sheets for my sister (who was also on her way to spend the night with DD). I tried starting the contraction timer app on my phone, but it was useless. They were pretty much one on top of the next.

At 8:15ish, DH couldn't take it anymore. He picked up DD and told me to get out to the car. I was trying so hard to keep cool so DD wouldn't get upset, so I followed him. As I was having a contraction, leaning over the side of the car, my parents pulled up behind us. DH practically threw DD at them, my mom gave me a hug and my dad wished me luck, and I somehow got in the car and told DH, "I'm not having one right now. DRIVE!" We live two minutes from the hospital, with no stoplights, so I just held on and kept breathing.

As we approach the hospital, DH says, "Where do we go again?" I wanted to punch him in the face. This was our second child. We had JUST been to on an L&D tour with DD a few weeks before. I croaked out that he should just pull into the handicap parking in front and we'd deal with it later. He pulled in and said, "I'm going to get you a wheelchair," then proceeded to run to the wrong door, in the opposite direction. I got out of the car, tried to yell at him, and waddled my way toward the entrance.

Once he caught up with me and we had made it past security and up the elevator, we checked in at the desk in L&D. I'm sure they thought I was being dramatic, having contractions through signing the paperwork. A nurse walked us to triage and asked me if I had been dilated at all at my last appointment.

When I said, "Yes, to 4cm," she turned serious and said, "Oh. Well, you're probably not going to be here very long then." She checked me and said, "Um. Yeah. You have a tiny lip left and your bag of water is bulging. We need to get to a delivery room." At that point it was just about an hour after my first contraction at the dinner table.

I don't know how I managed to stay lying down on the gurney, but I made it to the delivery room, stripped off my clothes, and threw on a gown. The nurse held the monitor on me while I squatted and pushed a little while we waited for the on-call OB.

When the OB arrived, she asked if she could break my water and I said yes. She did, and I started pushing. I pushed through maybe four contractions, and my baby boy was born at 8:48pm - 78 minutes after my labor started.

He was 8lbs, 6oz and 20.5 inches long. I had a small tear and quite a bit of bleeding immediately after delivery. Once that was under control, we were able to BF and do skin-to-skin. He was so pink and healthy and his little head was so round! (None of that crazy cone-headed, alien look like DD had. : ) )

After dealing with some jaundice, we were both able to be discharged two days later. Recovery the second time was much easier for me.

tmrchi · February 2013

Thank you for this thread! I'm trying to only read birth stories that fit the birth I want to keep me inspired (I know things don't always go according to plan), and it is so nice to have the disclaimers at the beginning to know what to expect.

ridesbuttons · February 2013

DS1 born at 40w3d; GD; 8lb8oz birth plan: go with the flow

Water broke at about 3am while I was lying in bed. At first I thought I had peed myself as it was a short, warm spurt. So, I went downstairs to google 'water breaking' when all hell broke loose. Like a waterfall coming out of me! I ran to the bathroom across the hall leaving a wide, warm trail of clear water in my path.

It was the middle of the night. DH was sound asleep and it wasn't possible for me to call out to him loudly enough from where I was. My cell phone was right near me so I called the house knowing the phone would wake him up. The phone rang a couple of time, DH picked it up and said 'hello', I said 'hi', he said 'oh, you've got it' and then hung up on me. It took me 2 more calls to the house to get him fully awake enough to understand that I was the one who was calling and that I was in labour.

Called the hospital to let them know what had happened. They said if contractions didn't start by 8am (4ish hours away) that I should come in. First contraction occurred about an hour after my water broke. Felt like a mild period cramp that wrapped around my back and belly. Lasted about 45 seconds. Right away my contractions were a regular 4-5 minutes apart, but very manageable.

By 7am or so I was pretty uncomfortable and decided I would be just as happy at the hospital. DH called my mom to meet us and we drove in. Got checked out, I was 1-2cm...same as at my last doctor's appointment 5 days earlier. Oh well.

My labour was quiet. I did not make any noise, my DH and mom chatted in hushed tones and not very much. Contractions built regularly and got stronger and closer together. By 9am or so I was kneeling on the bed, resting my head on the top of the bed (had the bed in the upright position) and counting my breaths through each all consuming contraction. I asked for an epidural at that point. When the dude came in to insert it, he asked me to sit on the edge of the bed. When moving into that position I felt the urge to poo. It occurred to me that I didn't need to poo, I probably needed to push. I didn't say anything because I thought they wouldn't give me the epi (doc confirmed this after the fact). Anyway, epi in, relief instant, got checked out and yes, I was at 10cm. Time to push. lol

2 hours of pushing later (on my back, on my left hip, on my right hip and most productively, squatting), DS1 was born, healthy and happy. Placenta delivered a couple of minutes later (no pitocin). I had torn but didn't ask the serverity.

My epi was a good experience. I could still fully move around, I was not frozen or numb or paralyzed, I did not get a catheter. I could feel the contractions, they just didn't hurt anymore. The sensation of babe being born was exactly the same as a med free birth. I know this because DS2 was born 18 months later med free.

First sign of labour to delivery time: about 9 hours

DS2 born at 39w6d, 8lbs8oz birth plan: no pain meds/natural

Having had such a good experience with DS1, and knowing I had gotten to 10cm med-free and feeling frustrated with the 2 hours of pushing, I resolved to go 'natural' with DS2.

Looking back, my first sign of labour was an incessant need to empty my bowels one night. Every 10-15 minutes I was in the bathroom trying to poo. Of course, after the 3rd or 4th trip there was nothing left but back and forth to the bathroom I went for well over an hour. At some point during/after that, I realized I was having mild contractions. Very mild, very short but regular. Every 3ish minutes or so.

I timed them for about 45 minutes and decided best to call my mom to come over. It was after midnight and we needed someone to watch DS1. I had visited her that afternoon and mentioned that my belly was as hard as a rock. She said she showered after I left and had a spidey sense something would happen soon.

Anyway, we left for hospital with my comment to my mom "I might be back in half an hour, I'm not sure I'm even in labour".

Got checked out after checking in. 2 nurses came in to check me. They consulted and agreed: 7-8cm. I was feeling pretty happy with myself at that point.

It was at that moment that transition hit. 15 minutes of hell. Long, hard contractions with what felt like seconds between them. No steady build up this time. No time to catch my breath.

My water broke minutes before I started to push. It shot our of me like water from a garden hose the pressure was so great, lol. Just after that happened I stated to the ER doc (the on call guy had not yet arrived) "I am going to push". 3 pushes later, DS2 was born. Placenta followed minutes later. The sensation of babe emerging was exactly the same as my first delivery. Ring of fire and all. I had achieved my goal though I truly didn't have a choice as I wasn't in the hospital for more than 45 minutes before babe was delivered.

Tore the second time as well. Same amount of stitches.

First sign of labour to delivery time: about 2.5 hours

The only time stirrups came out with either labour/delivery was during the stitching. My GP was great, the ER dude was great, all of the nurses and support staff were great.

MrsBigTime · February 2013

FTM, spontaneous labor @ 39 weeks (narrowly missing an induction), hospital birth with Midwife

https://mrsbigtime.wordpress.com/2013/01/11/a-beautiful-beginning-lydias-birth-story/

AmyRI · February 2013

STM, team green, spontaneous, med-free, in-hospital, breech birth attended by my MW but transferred care to an OB/GYN. 6 hours from water breaking, 5.5 hours from first contraction, 5 hours in the hospital.

Background info: I hate needles. The thought of an epidural needle in my spine makes me want to pass out. I can?t think about the details of a c-section without wanting to throw up. I had a natural hospital birth with my first - a labor that lasted under 8 hours from first contraction to delivery. (That birth story is in a previous reply to this thread.) It was with an OB, but their office was awful during this pregnancy and I ended up switching to a midwifery duo at 34 weeks.

I was due 12/31/12. I was 2-3 cm dilated, 60% effaced at my appointment with one of the midwives at 39w2d and baby was head down (and had been since 34 weeks after I had seen a chiro for the Webster technique as baby had been transverse.) No ultrasound past the 20 week anatomy scan.

The Story:

First sign of labor was my water breaking at 2:30 am on Sunday, 1/6/13 (40w6d). Contractions hadn?t started yet, but knowing how quickly labor progressed with DS, we finished packing our bags and loaded him into the car. We dropped him off at a friend?s house and headed straight to the hospital. Contractions began on the way there and were 5 minutes apart but not yet intense. We arrived at the hospital at 3:30 am and went right up to labor and delivery. I was checked and only 3 cm dilated, but since my water was broken (although GBS negative), contractions had started, and my first labor was fast, they admitted me. Things picked up quickly and by 5am, one of the MW was on her way in.

I was allowed out of bed after the initial 20 minutes of monitoring and I was comfortable kneeling, pacing, and leaning over the bed or tray table just like my first labor. When the MW arrived, they monitored baby again for a bit as she went over my records and we chatted about what felt good, what didn?t, and what to try next. I got in the shower to let the warm water help with the pain. I didn?t really like being wet, but the hand held shower nozzle let me focus the water on my belly or back wherever the contraction was worst and I didn?t have to get totally soaked. DH pressed on my lower back during contractions to provide counter pressure. It was sometime around 6:30 when I started grunting through contractions instead of moaning and the MW asked that I get out of the shower and be checked.

Much to our surprise, when she checked me, she said I was around 8 cm but that she did not feel a head. She immediately got an ultrasound machine to confirm and found that baby was indeed frank breech. I panicked, knowing that this was almost certainly going to end in c-section performed by whoever was the hospital?s on-call OB that night. The MW admitted that she had never attended a breech birth, so she had to defer to the OB no matter what. She did give me a glimpse of hope that she knew the on-call OB had done breech deliveries before. She said the doc would be in to discuss options with us soon. After checking me again now that the shock of finding a butt had worn off, she said I was really only a 7. She gathered up my chart and got ready to hand everything off to the OB.

A few minutes later, she came back in the room with a big grin on her face, announcing that shifts changed and the new on-call OB was the best the hospital had at breech births. It felt like an eternity waiting for him to arrive as I hit transition. The MW was amazing at calming me down and answering some questions I had. She said it was still best to go without an epidural so I was in control of my body fully if we did attempt a delivery, so I didn?t need to resign myself to meds just yet.

The OB showed up around 7:30. He looked over everything and sat down to talk to us about the options. He explained that the risk of delivery to the baby is slightly higher with a breech birth, and the risk to the mother is higher for a c-section, but that the risks in both cases are quite low. He talked about what makes a good candidate for an attempt at breech birth: baby is butt first with chin tucked down and the mother has had previous births with similar size babies and low pushing times. They estimated this baby between 8 and 8.5 pounds, with head tucked and frank breech (butt first, feet up). I had delivered my first with 15 minutes of pushing in an 8-hour-total labor, and he was 8 pounds. I had no additional ?risk? factors besides the unknown. He was careful not to press one way or the other, but he made it clear that he thought I would be fine if I did decide to try and he could tell already that I wanted to avoid a section if at all possible. I let DH decide since he was more impartial than I was, and after talking with the doc he quickly agreed that attempting a breech delivery was the right option for us. So we did. There was a brief discussion of delivering in the OR, but the OB said it wasn?t necessary, which gave us a little more confidence in our decision. At this point, they started an IV of fluids (I had a hep lock already placed) to hydrate me in case I needed anesthesia for a c/s.

The next hour was spent with 2 teams assembling for delivery - one team in my room (my nurse, nurse for baby, midwife, OB, pediatrician, and us) and one team in the OR (multiple nurses for me and baby, another OB, anesthesiologist, and pediatrician) in case things didn?t go as planned. I was struggling through transition with super intense contractions and an urge to push that I had to fight. Successful delivery depended on me not pushing before I was fully dilated so baby?s head had less chance of getting stuck.

I remember kneeling over the bed stopped feeling good. Next I climbed up onto the bed and got on hands and knees facing the top of the bed for a while. That did help some, but it was a similar position. I didn't last long that way either before the MW encouraged me to lay on my side and she and/or DH would hold my right leg up so I could rest a bit. It wasn?t the most comfortable arrangement at first, but then DH figured out a good way to hold my hand and my leg at the same time and it was smooth sailing from there. I was checked a few times in this position as I was very close to 10 cm. Just before I started pushing, the baby pooped. A lot. Apparently the doc was scooping it away by the handful.

Finally they had everything and everyone ready and I started pushing. First contraction or two was a few pushes each. Last contraction, all of a sudden baby moved down quickly. It happened exactly as the OB had explained, only DH says it was faster than one body part with each push. Butt first, then a leg, then the other leg, body on the next push, head right after. 8:32 am, six hours after water breaking and 5 hours after contractions started. Total pushing time was 7 minutes, and baby came out very quickly right at the end of that.

As expected, the baby did not immediately cry and was suctioned 4 or 5 times before I heard a peep. As soon as the OB was done, the MW placed baby on my chest and DH announced that it was a girl! She required no immediate attention and stayed on my chest while the OB massaged my stomach, I delivered the placenta, and he stitched a minor tear that opened right along my scar line from having DS. She weighed 9 lbs even, was 19.5 inches, and we named her Clare Louise.

As a result of the breech position, her butt was bruised for the first few days but it faded quickly. We had to take her for an ultrasound on her hips to check for dislocation when she?s 6 weeks old, but it is unlikely that she has a dislocated hip as she was head down until sometime in the last week. (I was checked and she was head down at 39w2d, and I?m sure she didn?t flip between the time I was admitted and when I hit 7 cm, so the first nurse missed her position. She wasn?t really paying attention when she checked me and didn?t palpate my belly at all to check positioning. This is also why they had trouble finding her on the fetal monitors.) [Update: ultrasound confirmed pedi's assessment that her hips were not dislocated.]

It was not at all the way I imagined it would be, but I am really happy with how things turned out despite how stressful it was at the time. I am also now very thankful that my former OB?s office was so awful - the midwife and on-call OB both agreed that she would have immediately ordered a c-section. The OB that delivered me was the other person I contemplated switching to (as he is my mother?s OB). It?s all so bizarre the way it worked out, but I am happy to say I had another low intervention, med-free birth and a healthy baby.