Natural Childbirth

For those of you who haven't followed the blog for the past nine months, there was a lot of thought and prayer going into our decision to attempt natural childbirth (NCB) with this pregnancy. The reasons are many and would take ages to explain, but I'll try to hit the highlights, since plenty of folks wonder and ask. I also had not understood in the past, why a woman would willingly forgo medication, when it's readily available, and commonly expected to be used when going through labor.

With my pregnancy with Abigail, I just didn't research a lot, didn't know anyone who had done NCB that was my age, and was not encouraged in the least during our childbirth classes to ever consider it. I had a relatively easy labor, with my water breaking at home, labor starting pretty much like a textbook would describe it with increasing contractions, and we went to the hospital within a couple of hours of the beginning of that.

I started getting pretty uncomfortable around 5 cm, was offered something to take the edge of off the pain, and mentioned I was really sensitive to pain meds., so would prefer something really mild and known to not have bad side effects. I was given one dose of Nubain, and began vomiting that never let up throughout the entire labor. Very soon, I was happily accepting the epidural that was offered. Though it didn't help the vomiting, and I had to just endure that, I at least had a little relief from the contractions. I was so exhausted and emotional by then, and Pitocin was then given because the contractions slowed down some, and Abigail's heartrate dropped - I now know one intervention seems to lead to another, and that was sure the case in my situation. Nothing went as planned after I took that first dose of medication.

After a couple of hours of that experience, I was so exhausted that I could hardly tell what I was doing when told to push, and it was a sad, frustrating moment when I was sitting up in the bed, with nurses on either side laying across my belly, pushing, as my Mom held me upright and kept an emesis basin close at hand. After Abigail was delivered, with the use of forceps, I was finally able to be given Phenergan in the IV, which knocked me out and kept me drowsy for the next two days. I really don't remember much at all of her first days of life, because of the medication and fatigue from all that happened. She was healthy and was a great newborn, thankfully, and labor was less than 12 hours total. I prayed that if I ever had the opportunity again to give birth, I would try to have a different experience, and plan better beforehand.

So, five years later, when we were happily pregnant again, I desired to give birth to Elijah vaginally and without medication. However, when my placenta abrupted, there was no choice other than an emergency c-section. I was thankful that he was delivered safely, despite the potential for some scary circumstances. With our history of infertility, and feeling that God had completed our family with biological children, I was disappointed that I wouldn't ever be able to know what a normal, natural birth could be like, but was so grateful for our children, that I tried not to dwell on it.

We were shocked with the news that we were expecting again, when Elijah was just 18 months old, part of my excitement was definitely that I hoped this might be our chance to deliver naturally, though it would possibly be an issue if my doctors weren't in favor of a VBAC (vaginal birth after a cesarean). At my first appointment with the ultrasound to confirm the pregnancy, I asked how my doctor viewed my potential as a VBAC candidate and he quickly said that I was exactly the type patient that they'd want to have one. I had already had a vaginal birth prior, and gone into labor on my own, which were great factors in my favor. Throughout the pregnancy, that was my main question, as I met each doctor in the practice. Each one confirmed that a VBAC was very possible, though two mentioned that if I went past my due date, they may want to do a repeat c-section, since there is some risk of uterine rupture as the baby gets larger and the scar is compromised. I knew that was a very slight risk, but that they still might focus on the statistics.

I contacted a friend of friends, Rachel Garcia, who had attended our college a few years after James and I did, and who I'd recently found on Facebook. She was attending and assisting with births and getting educated in being a doula. I knew from friends I had met the past few years, that having a doula would greatly help in NCB. The word "doula" actually is Greek for "a woman who serves," and these women train to be advocates for moms in the birth process, and just help them throughout the pregnancy as well. The book I was recommended to read by numerous friends (Husband-Coached Childbirth: the Bradley Method) also mentions doulas as vital to the NCB experience.

We met with Rachel first early on in the pregnancy, and she encouraged us both with her knowledge and experience and I felt more confident that we had the ability to pursue the VBAC naturally. She became a good friend as she regularly checked on me, and especially at the end of the pregnancy, helped me focus on our goal of honoring God with our desire and not become too concerned about the timing and delivery date. When I became concerned about Owen being overdue, and feared that a c-section was going to be demanded by my doctors, she kept me calm, and reminded me to just take each day as it came. Up until a few hours before my water broke, she was still encouraging and helping me to patiently wait. I'm so grateful for her role in Owen's story, and have nothing but gratitude for how she made it such a joyful, easy experience.

The rest of the story regarding why NCB was such a great decision is explained in Part 3 of Owen's birth story.