Emily’s birth story!
Emily planned on being induced at 41 weeks, on Thursday, March 29. I was the doula on call that Thursday, so I contacted Emily to make a plan. She was going into the hospital on Wednesday night for cervidil, and they would start Pitocin on Thursday morning. She said that she or her husband, Thomas, would call me when they were ready for some support. At about 8 am Thursday morning, Thomas called me to let me know that they had started the Pitocin and that Emily was starting to feel her contractions but that she was managing fine. They would call me again when they needed me. At about 1:30, Thomas called to say that Emily’s doctor broke her water at 1, and Emily was ready for some support! That AROM was bringing on some intense contractions.
When I arrived at the hospital at about 2, Emily was dealing with her contractions really well, supported lovingly by Thomas and her mom, Ann. The contractions were short but pretty strong. Luckily, Emily is a yogini and a master of deep, focused breathing. The baby was having some heart rate decelerations, so her doctor wanted her to be in bed, but we tried different positions to make her more comfortable because side-lying was really doing a number on her hip. She alternated side-lying with sitting on the edge of the bed and sitting upright in bed. Thomas climbed onto the bed with her so that she could hold his hand and lean on him. He was a steadfast support and a great cheerleader.
Emily’s doctor had limited her to ice chips, but she was hungry. She hadn’t eaten since about 9 the evening before. I suggested asking if she could have a popsicle. They asked their nurse who said she would get approval, but Thomas took matters into his own hands. As it turns out, Emily’s friend, Bree, is actually her OB’s nurse. Going (almost) straight to the top, Thomas called Bree, and she said she would see what she could do. In a couple of minutes, the nurse returned to ask what flavor popsicle Emily wanted. It helps to have friends in high places!
After what Emily said was the best popsicle she’d ever had in her life, she got back to work dealing with those contractions. We made a plan for her to get up and go to the bathroom and switch positions every hour or so. Since she was attached to so many hospital contraptions, getting up to go to the bathroom was no easy feat. Once she was in there, I suggested staying on the toilet for a contraction or two so that she could really relax her pelvis and encourage that baby to move down.
At about 3:30, Emily’s contractions started to get really strong. Amusingly, this coincided with a visit from both Emily’s mom and Thomas’s mom, Diana. They were respectful of Emily’s space, but they were also excited and full of their own memories of childbirth so they stood tittering in the corner for a while. Eventually, they left, and Emily was at the point in her labor when she really needed quiet to focus and concentrate. I told her that the great, deep, yoga breathing that she had done earlier would help her get through the tougher contractions, too. And that’s what she did. As they got closer and stronger, she tapped into her breath and focused on getting through each one as it came. Thomas would hold her hand and cheer her on, and I would tell her when the peak of a contraction had come and when it would be receding.
Emily dealt with these intense contractions for several hours. When her doctor checked on her at about 5:30 pm, he said that her baby had moved down a bit but that she was still dilated about 2 cm. He suggested an epidural because it would help her relax and rest, which would hopefully allow her cervix to dilate more quickly. Emily had planned for a natural birth, so this advice from her doctor came as a bit of a surprise. She and Thomas decided that they wanted some time alone, so I went to meet Ann in the waiting room. After about an hour and a half, Thomas let us know that they had gotten the epidural. When I returned to the room, Emily was no longer dealing with the contraction pain, but she was incredibly shaky from the epidural. She said that right after the epidural, the new doctor on call came in and wanted Emily to know that if she didn’t dilate any more in the next hour or so, she would need to start thinking about a possible C-section. Baby was having some decels that were concerning her. Emily, Thomas, and I discussed their options. We decided that Emily should spend the next hour or so resting and waiting for the next cervical check to make a decision. Resting was hard for Emily because the epidural had made her so shaky. Once her body adjusted, though, Emily was able to doze for a bit. At about 8:40, twenty minutes earlier than the doctor had wanted to do her second cervical check, she came back in because she saw some decels that concerned her. She suggested a C-section.
It’s never easy to hear a doctor mention a C-section, and Emily and Thomas were understandably upset. They wanted to speak with their doctor, and they wanted to have some time together to discuss it. They ultimately decided that it was the best option for them, and everyone started getting prepared. Thomas and I suited up so that he could be with Emily in the OR, and so I could swap out when he went to be with the baby.
Things move fast when C-section preparations are underway, and in a little while, as I was waiting outside the OR to swap in, I heard a loud cry and knew that baby Max had been born! After seeing her baby for the first time, Emily felt much better. In the OR, she was a trooper, brave and peaceful. She even fell asleep for a bit after Thomas left to be with Max. When they were reunited, after Thomas spent time with Max in the nursery during his assessments and bath (which Thomas even helped out with), it was a beautiful moment. Max snuggled right up on his mom, so happy to finally be there. Thomas and Emily snuggled him and hugged each other, and it was just such a beautiful family moment. Congratulations, Emily and Thomas! It was not an easy labor, but you managed it with strength and grace. Good work! Now go enjoy that adorable little man!





