Previous Birth Stories and Birth Questions

Re: Previous Birth Stories and Birth Questions

• fk18 member

  October 2024

  thank you @kamays54! 

  
  

  Question - I’m opting out of a doula for financial reasons. How did you feel about your ability to advocate for yourself and your birth plan hopes during labor (e.g. delaying c section if possible)? What helped or didn’t? 

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• kamays54 member

  October 2024

  I had a doctor's appointment Thursday morning the week before my daughter was due (she was due the following Friday).  They tried to do a stress test but couldn't get a good reading (same thing happened on Tuesday so they had me come back on Thursday).  So they sent me to the hospital so that they could check everything out.  I got to the hospital they hooked me up to the monitors and left for a little bit.  When the nurse came back she said, "Oh, I see you have been having contractions."  I honestly had no idea.  I thought I had some gas.  It wasn't painful just uncomfortable.  After being there for a while (sorry I have no concept of time), the nurse said that based on how everything was going my doctor wanted to admit me and start induction.  The amniotic fluid was low and had been getting low for a few days and they were worried about my blood pressure.  They said it was going to be a while though because they didn't have any rooms available.  So I was in triage for hours.  A room finally opened up and they got me settled and started the Pitocin.  I could feel the contractions now and they were steady but still not really painful.  After a few hours the nurse was concerned because every time I had a contraction, my daughter's heart rate would drop.  At some point in the night, they brought in the on-call doctor to inject fluid into the amniotic sac to see if that would help her heart rate.  Right before 3am, I couldn't sleep because of the contractions.  They started to feel like period cramps and were getting a little more painful each time.  So I asked to get the epidural so I could get some sleep.  That was not fun.  I will elaborate more, if you want.  I got some sleep and then the nurse woke me up and told me that her heart rate was still dropping with the contractions and that they were going to stop induction and I would be having a c-section.  My doctor was concerned that her umbilical cord might be wrapped around her.  So the anesthesiologist came in and got me prepped and a 7:34am my daughter was born via c-section.  She was perfectly fine.  Her umbilical cord was not wrapped around her and my doctor joked that she was just being a brat and wanted out (which, knowing her personality now, is pretty on brand lol).

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• kamays54 member

  October 2024

  @fk18 I didn't really have a birth plan so I don't think I will be much help.  My plan was just to let it happen how it was going to happen.  I will say that my doctor did start talking about scheduling a c-section at my appointment on Tuesday because of my fluid.  She didn't want me to go past my due date because she was worried.  She had mentioned it before at another appointment but I was trying to put off scheduling it because I didn't want to do it just to do it (if that makes sense).  My doctor was great about respecting that but also explaining her concerns.  I didn't feel like she was pushing me.  I really love my doctor and think that the relationship I built with her and her staff really helped with the communication.  Also at the hospital, I was really lucky and the nurse that was with me the whole time after being admitted was great.  She talked me through everything that was going on and made sure I understood everything.  She asked me about getting the epidural a few times before I got it but when I told her I didn't need it she didn't push.  She was just checking in from time to time.  I never felt pressured to do anything I didn't want.  I don't want it to seem like I had the perfect experience, there were definitely issues that happened during the whole process (again, I can elaborate more if you want) but nothing that had to do with how I gave birth.

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• babywiik member

  November 2024

  With my first i just flew by the seat of my pants, didnt plan much and ended up panicking with each contraction (after like 30 hrs) and it was quite scary. We were flown to a bigger hosptial so i could get an epidural and baby was born some hrs later. With my second, i used hypnobabies for my own sanity. My goal was to stay calm-ish during the contractions and relax into them instead of resisting them. I had some preferences like i wanted a water birth, to catch the baby myself, no vaginal checks, and no one telling me what to do. I wanted the midwives to tell me to listen to my body and do what felt right. I felt much calmer and confident the whole time. The midwives were very respectful of my wishes and other than using a doppler every 30mins or so they pretty much left me alone. When i could feel i was hitting transition i wanted her in the room and she sat there quietly, observing and every once in a while encouraging me. Baby was 10lbs 3oz and was a much easier baby to birth than my first who was 8lbs 12oz. Position during birth has more to say in terms of how “easy” it is than size. At least in my experience and many other moms ive talked to. My first i had an epidural and the only comfortable position was on my back. I had terrible tailbone pain after and baby was a bit stuck on her way out. Im convinced it was because My tailbone couldn’t move out of the way like it can when you’re upright. 

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