My Natural Birth Story with No Sugarcoating

From long before I became pregnant, I had determined to give birth without pain medication. I was afraid of the needle, as I had a spinal tap as a child and remember well the sensation of that awful procedure. I also knew that epidurals, while for some women speed up labor, often can prolong labor or cause it to fail to progress, leading in some cases to a c-section. The C word was my worst nightmare. I've never been operated on, and with a few more children down the line, I knew that there was a high likelyhood that if I needed a section with the 1st baby, I would need one for subsequent children. As far as other drugs, I didn't want anything to come into my blood stream as it would then transfer to my child. Nurses called me brave (though I think they meant stupid) and my doctor told me to keep my options open. Most of my family said get the epidural. I promised myself I would give my son the best start in life that I was able to give him, come hell or high water.

Tues. Oct 13

• 38 week checkup, dialated 4 cm, anterior cervix still fairly thick

Wed. Oct 14

• 10am- wake up, lie in bed feeling typical morning contractions, had been contracting most mornings for the last week or two



• noon- mild contractions persist irregularly about 10-15 minutes apart, have never had contractions last past getting out of bed before so I am beginning to wonder if this is it



• 1 pm- call hubby in TX and tell him to get his plane ticket immediately and come home, have a feeling that this baby is coming soon



• 9:30 pm- pick up hubby from the airport with family, contractions now 7-10 minutes apart, contractions now quite uncomfortable and having a hard time standing through them



• 11pm- go to sleep despite persistance of contractions getting harder to ignore

Thurs. Oct 15

• 2am-awakened by uncomfortable contractions, I begin timing them at roughly 5-7 minutes apart



• 2:30am-I wake up husband and we continue timing as they steadily tighten up to 5 minutes apart



• 3am- heading off to the hospital, this is it, as I run around the house making sure I have everything the contractions become far more painful



• 3:30am- en route to hospital, contractions lessen in intensity and frequency



• 4am- check into labor/delivery, hooked up to iv and monitors, I'm told my contractions are 3-5 minutes apart, I'm checked and told that I am 4 cm dilated and 50% effaced, baby at 0 station, oxygen mask administered in order to get the baby responding better or something then removed after about 10 min.



• 5am- pitocin drip starts in order to tighten up my contractions to 2-3 minutes apart, intensity of contractions is building making it difficult to talk through them, breathing and relaxation help immensely



• 8am- cervix checked to be 4 cm (I'm very dissappointed) and 90% effaced (nurse says I'm almost fully effaced and dilation will happen quickly once this happens, yay!)



• 10am- cervix checked to be 6 cm and fully effaced, pain still bearable with concentration



• 11am-water breaks, cervix checked- 8 cm, ob is called, pain suddenly hits a new level as I enter transition phase and contractions are about 1 minute apart, I begin contemplating pain meds but husband helps me stay strong, pain gets to the point that at one point I believed that I would die, screaming, hair pulling, pull-ups on hubby's arm were all I could do



• 11:15am- terrifying pain level, cervix checked at 9 cm, nurses jumping around in the hall yelling for someone to get my doctor here now, urge to push begins



• 11:20am- urge to push is strong, cervix checked at 10 cm- fully dilated, still no doctor, am told by nurse to cross legs and not push



• 11:30am- am pushing a little bit whether nurse likes it or not- out of my control, feels so good to push and do something to alleviate the contraction pain, this stage is much less painful than 8-9 cm was



• 11:40am-finally obstetrician arrives and I am given long awaited permission to push, baby's head came into view after the first contraction and I'm told he has lots of light hair



• 11:45am- crowining, not too much pain



• 11:53am- whoa! the head is out, extreme discomfort in that region (though not a "ring of fire" as expected), and a bit of fear as I realize that he can't slip back in now- I have to do this right now, I ask my ob "Can I get him out on the next contraction?", she answers "That's up to you." Wow, up to me? that fired me up but good



• 11:55am- contraction begins, I scream "Get him out nooowww!" and bear down with all my might



• 11:56am- shoulders, body, legs, feet, onto my chest, a quick thank you prayer to the Lord, then oh, my gosh, he's here! I held him and cried.

What happened next

I wish my story ended with that happy moment, but unfortunately, I still had a great deal of pain ahead. I cuddled my little boy delightedly as hubby cut the cord. The doctor sat down there coaxing out the placenta. She asked me to push a few times, but I had no strength left to be of much assistance. My son was then taken to be weighed/measured and my husband went to watch. The placenta came out, but to my bewilderment, the doc said that all of it didn't detatch on the right side. She said she would have to put her hand in me to get the rest. Horrified, I repeated, "Your whole hand inside?" She nodded her head with sympathy. My husband left our son with the nurses and rushed back to my side when he heard, and held my hand tight. My doctor said she would count down from 10. My husband recalls that I screamed as though I'd been shot. The pain that swept up and down my body was 10 times more severe than what I had just been through giving birth. Our bodies are designed to give birth, and though it hurts, it's a natural process. This, however, was the most unnatural, painfully gruesome experience which I have ever gone through. "...3...2...1" She kept her promise, and I felt the immediate relief as she pulled her hand out of my uterus. Thank goodness, she had retrieved the rest of it. I was done...oh, wait! Not quite yet.

I had suffered 2nd degree tears in 3 directions (nice handiwork, son) and my doctor spent the next 45 minutes repairing me. So, instead of sharing in the joyful celebration with family upon my son's arrival into this world, I'm lying there being poked with a needle. She numbed me of course, but it kept wearing off quicker than she could finish me, so I felt a lot of pricks. Although, compared to the nature of what had been done to me before this, I wasn't phased.

Birth rarely goes the way you would expect it to, although, next time I shall discuss the pitocin issue with my doctor beforehand. Hopefully I can avoid tearing, but there are no guarantees on that or the placenta detatchment. You just have to know that even the worst case scenario (yes even a c-section) would be more than worth it to have your bundle of joy in the end.