Birth Story: Birth Center birth turned hospital induction

hvtang · April 2013

On Friday, 4/5, my water broke around 4pm. I was super excited as I was convinced the baby was going to be late, and my midwives were concerned he would be huge if I went overdue. I called my midwife and let them know, and they had me come in for a NST and to check for meconium. Every looked great and we went back home for the evening to wait for things to really get started.

I was having contractions but they were mild and the spacing was all over the place. I used my breast pump to do nipple stimulation, which brought on stronger contractions, but they would subside as soon as I stopped pumping. My midwife suggested castor oil as a last resort, which I really didn't want to do for fear of dehydrating myself. I told myself I'd give myself 24 hours and then decide.

Saturday morning I checked in with the midwife and told her I was having contractions but things weren't really progressing - I was having contractions anywhere from 5 - 12 minutes apart. She had me come in again that afternoon for another NST and everything still looked great, but at that point my water had been broken for over 24 hours and she was getting uneasy about that and suggested we may have to induce. My DH and I talked over the risks and decided to give it until the next morning to make a decision. I got up at 3am on Sunday to drink castor oil, which definitely brought on contractions, but they still just weren't establishing a pattern. Finally around noon Sunday I spoke to my midwife and decided to be induced on the lowest dose of Pitocin. This meant that my birth would now take place at the hospital, not at the birthing center across the street as I had envisioned. I definitely cried my eyes out and mourned the vision of birth I had, but my midwife was great and made me feel good about my decision.

We got to the hospital around noon and they started the Pitocin. I sat on the ball for awhile, then asked to get in the tub. They had mobile monitoring so I was able to be in the tub, and my midwife's student assistant taped a rubber glove over my IVs. They really went out of their way to make me feel comfortable and give me the birth I wanted. I lost all concept of time but I labored in the tub for hours - probably 5 or so hours. My DH fed me ice chips and sips of water and I just hummed through the contractions. I finally started feeling "pushy" so they had me get out so that they could check me. I was 7cm. They set me up on the bed at that point with a grip bar at the foot of the bed and I labored there for the rest of the time. Transition and pushing were really intense. It's so hard to describe - it was almost like an out of body experience. I definitely did a good amount of swearing, grunting, dry heaving, wimpering...my midwife checked me again and I was fully dilated with a small lip of cervix, which she asked if she could move out of the way...holy god...the first time she tried it I made her stop, but eventually I let her do it so that we could get that baby out. Again, I lost all concept of time, but I think I pushed for about 2 hours. It was definitely the hardest work I've ever done. They brought over a mirror so that I could watch - something I never thought I would want to do, but it made a huge difference as I could see the progress I was making.

Finally, at 1:08am, 57 hours after my water broke, my LO was born. He was 9 lbs and 21.5 inches long. They put him right on my chest. I was so exhausted all I could say was "you're so cute!" and "I love you!" over and over again.

I still can't believe that I was able to do it without drugs, and with the Pitocin. I say this only to let other moms know that if I can do it, you can too! I don't consider myself a particularly strong person, nor do I have a high pain tolerance.

To all the ladies on this board, I know I have mostly been a lurker but I have read so many of your posts over the past nine months, and you have all been a great help and support, whether you know it or not!

nicant11 · April 2013

Thanks for the amazing story. Def inspired me to keep my goals of a natural birth. Congrats!!!

elle_bee · April 2013

What an incredible story, congrats on having a natural birth even with Pitocin! So glad it worked out well, thanks for sharing!

nosoup4u · April 2013

Congrats, and great job! What a sweet birth story. I don't think I have a very high pain tolerance, either, but med free is a different beast. Enjoy your baby!!

Smartie26 · April 2013

nicant11:
Thanks for the amazing story. Def inspired me to keep my goals of a natural birth. Congrats!!!

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Celyn · April 2013

Congrats!

kcwnc · April 2013

Congrats on your little guy! Can I ask what method of pain management or birthing technique you used?

aylafsu88 · April 2013

That is an amazing story. Congrats!

kriskell · April 2013

That's really remarkable! Congratulations on your little boy. You should be really proud of yourself for enduring Pitocin contractions and 57 hours of labor!!