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Natural Birth
Hyaline
member
Sometimes Things Don't Go as Planned...Birth Story
Hyaline
member
First--I don't want to post this to be discouraging or anything! But I went into birth committed to going natural as far as it was safe and healthy for both me and baby, and things worked out so that we needed intervention. Still--I made it almost all the way there naturally, so wanted to share the experience 
(Sorry...kinda long.)
I woke up at 1 a.m. with contractions coming about 10 minutes apart, and by 2 a.m. they were 5 minutes apart. About this time it was too uncomfortable to lie in bed anymore, so I gave up on catnaps between contractions and moved around the house. DH got up with me and we watched some Netflix and I rocked in my rocking chair (super helpful, btw--and nature documentaries are really soothing if you like that kind of thing!) and moved around the house.
From the time I got up, contractions were really too painful to talk through--I had to breathe through them. We decided to wait until they were a steady 3-4 minutes apart before going to the hospital, but they never quite made it into a steady 3-1-1 or 4-1-1 -- there were always a few 6 or 7 minute gaps.
At noon we decided to swing by my midwife's office and get checked out--and head to the hospital if we were "ready." I was 5 cm, so we figured the drive home (about 45 minutes) was really not worth it and checked in at 1 p.m. Even at 12 hours of labor I was still feeling pretty good--contractions were hard but with breathing through them, alternating between walking, rocking, and sitting a little reclined in bed I was still confident and dare I say comfortable .
We broke my water at 2:00 ish and at the next check I was almost 7 cm. Awesome! Contractions got stronger and more painful, but I was still managing well. At 4:00 I was at 9 cm. I knew I was in transition--it took a ton of concentration to breathe through the contractions and I started vocalizing for the first time. I was also shaking like crazy, which was maybe even worse than the pain--I started to feel out of control (just like everyone says you do in transition ).
At 8:00 I was still at 9 cm and fading very, very fast. Honestly, by two hours in at 9 cm I knew something was wrong. We had tried rocking, spending time on the birthing ball in and out of the shower, and just weren't progressing. I tried a few practice pushes and had the strength to make it maybe 10 seconds into a contraction before I lost focus and strength completely.
At 8:00 we had a little conference of me, DH, the nurses, my MW and the OB. I knew my strength was spent, and that we couldn't hang out forever waiting to progress. I knew I needed one thing and could do this--a break. My MW felt a small amount of Pitocin would push the dilation to where it needed to be, but I didn't think I could handle artificial enhancement of the already crushing contractions. And the OB was really clear that he didn't want to do a c-section but we needed to start thinking options so that we didn't go down that road at all (baby's heart rate was still good at this point). But they let me decide--and I asked for an epidural.
By 9 p.m. it was in, I slept until just after 10, and at 11:30 Eleanor was born. I could feel the contractions and the pushing was all self-directed. Felt the "ring of fire" and everything (and after 22 hours of labor it actually felt pretty awesome in a weird way--and practice focusing and releasing tension helped me not hold back at all). Had a second-degree tear that needed stitches--no biggie.
It wasn't what I wanted--but I am confident it was the right choice, especially as my MW and I debriefed the next day and she said "any other OB would have been pushing for a c-section at that point." I truly believe I chose one intervention over risking a more extreme one.
Plus I made it through four hours of transitional labor without drugs--proving to myself that I really can do it med-free in an uncomplicated birth! Next time I'll go in confident that I can do it.
Sorry for the long post--just wanted to share my story. Hope it's ok to post even though things didn't go 100% natural.
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Re: Sometimes Things Don't Go as Planned...Birth Story
As a former regular on this board who had a c/s I sure as heck hope your post is welcome! Congratulations on the birth of your LO and on choosing a provider who helped you to make informed choices.
You did great!
FWIW, I'm of the opinion that epidurals are great in situations like this. Sometimes giving you a break will allow things to relax, progress, and you get to recoup some of your strength to prepare for pushing. Good news all around! You should be so proud of yourself!
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Congratulations on your new wee girl.
I think women who spend hours in transition are amazing. It definitely sounds like you made the right choice, and IMO this kind of situation is exactly what modern medicine is for.
Elizabeth 5yrs old Jane 3yrs old
This! And I'll add that having your birth team definitely was a bonus
Congrats on your newest little love and enjoy all the new baby snuggles!
...baby #3 is here...
Hey, congrats!! Love the name!
My old prenatal yoga teacher always talked about how an epidural is there for when/if women are exhausted from a intense labor, which is sounds like you were. Four hours of transition is hardcore!
But of course! I think it never hurts to hear how med-free labors go, be it epidural, c/s or successful med-free.
Take care!
DS2 - Oct 2010 (my VBAC baby!)
Edit: I meant to say I don't think that I could have labored that long without meds.
This, 100%. You listened to your body and made an informed choice. Guess what happened--healthy baby in your arms! Great job. I would be proud.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!
I totally understand why you chose the epi - I would have done the same thing in that case.
FWIW, my doula has attended over 500 births and told me that she has seen what you described dozens of times...cases where either pain stalls out a labor, or exhasution does. The epidural usually does the trick.
There's a HUGE difference in getting an epi at 2 cm vs 9 cm...the baby is exposed to it for much less time, etc.
Congrats on a great birth!