The story of Maggie's birth

On the occasion of her 4th birthday, I am naturally reflective on the day I became a mother. I realize that I have never told any of my birth stories on this site. Given my love of birth and interest in becoming a doula, I feel compelled to share my stories. This is the first, the rest will follow in time. Be advised, this story is not for the faint of heart. Here goes...

I was on the phone with a friend on Tuesday, September 19th around 9pm. I stood up after the call ended and felt a little gush of fluid. Nothing huge, but big enough for me to take notice. At 38 ½ weeks, I excitedly hoped this could be it! I called my midwife who said it was likely urine (even though it didn’t smell like urine) or a pocket of fluid. She thought is probably wasn’t my bag of waters. Overnight I had irregular, mild contractions. Enough to keep me from sleeping well, but by morning they had stopped.

Wednesday morning 9/20, Jim went into work. I worked from my home office but called my boss, telling her that I thought things were happening and told her I wouldn’t be working that afternoon. I had some irregular contractions that morning, but no real labor pattern. I still had a small trickle of fluid. After lunch, I took a couple long walks to try and get contractions going. By 1:00, the leak of fluid was pretty regular but I was still without a true labor pattern.

I checked in with my midwife later in the day who suggested I go to triage at the hospital to have them confirm if it was my amniotic fluid leaking. Jim suggested we go out to dinner first, in case they decided to admit me, and then at least I would have a good meal in me. (He actually remembered that from our Bradley classes). I decided on Thai food hoping the spices would kick things into gear. No luck.

We went to Good Samaritan Hospital around 8 pm on Wednesday, where the midwife on call confirmed that I was leaking amniotic fluid and checked my cervix – I was 2 cm dilated. When asked when my water broke, I fibbed and said I couldn’t remember exactly (another Bradley tip). When asked when I noticed a constant leak, I told the truth – around 1 pm. They offered to admit me at that time, but I wanted to go home and try some other methods to get labor to start, so I declined. I was told to come back at 1:00 am for induction.

My spirits were crushed at this point. I had wanted an unmedicated birth experience and didn’t believe that would be possible with Pitocin. So I called my friends who all lit the candles they received at my Blessingway and ask that they start to pray. I hooked myself up to the breast pump hoping the release of oxcytocin would get contractions going. I spoke with my doula who suggested taking Castor Oil if the nipple stim didn’t work. I took a “shot” of Castor Oil around 10:00 pm and tried to get some sleep before heading in. Sleep alluded me though, not because of contractions, but because I was worried about the possibility of pit and the cascade of interventions that typically follow.

As we were getting in the car to head in for induction, I felt that my Castor Oil might be kicking in and made a trip to the bathroom. And wouldn’t you know, we weren’t even out of our driveway when mild contractions started coming 5 minutes apart! When we got to the hospital, my friend and midwife Cheyenne greeted us. I trust her completely and was so thankful she agreed to attend my birth. The doula, Heather, also met us there. I was only 3 cm when I checked in, but because contractions had started Cheyenne was comfortable not giving me pitocin. So we walked and walked and walked the halls some more, trying to keep contractions coming. They were mild at this point and I could still talk through them.

Around 4 am, I tried to lie down and get some rest but this caused contractions to nearly stop. The nurse came in and said, “Cheyenne is thinking about giving you some pitocin to get things going.” Upon sensing the threat of pit, my body and the baby were moved into action! Contractions started up again, at a higher intensity. I ate some fruit and listened to my labor music. I learned that Heather, my doula, was also a big Dave Matthews fan. Cheyenne and I have been to a lot of DMB concerts together, so the three of us sat around talking Dave. As things got more intense, I moved to the birthing ball and the nurse monitored fetal heart tones with the doppler. The nurse hooked up my antibiotics (since my water had been broken for so long) and I had a cervical check. I was about 7 cm.

Things were pretty stable and Jim went down to get some coffee around 6:30 am. While he was gone, my doula suggested I might enjoy a hot shower, so the nurse went to warm it up. All of a sudden, I had an urge to sit on the toilet. Not to use the bathroom, but to SIT ON THE TOILET – it was the only thing I wanted to do. As I was sitting, a huge gush of water filled the pot. The bag of water between the baby’s head and my cervix broke. Still wearing my street clothes at that point, I became very hot, agitated and felt confined around my neck. Sitting on the toilet and stripping my clothes off, I saw Cheyenne out of the corner of my eye – she was grinning ear to ear and gave two big thumbs up to my doula out in the room. Intellectually, I knew that I was heading into transition and my loosing modesty was a good thing. But I found my midwife’s enthusiasm about my current state quiet annoying at the time.

And then it gets a bit blurry from here on out. As I walked back to the bed, I had intense contractions with every step. The nurse told me the shower was ready but there was no way I could walk that far, so I collapsed onto the bed. Jim was back now and sat next to the bed, stroking my arm, telling me what a great job I was doing. I remember the doula rubbing my feet. I felt hot and dizzy and I saw Cheyenne reach for the emesis basin – “Why is she doing that?” I wondered. And seconds later, I vomited. This was the only time I wanted to strangle Jim because he commented, “Looks like a fruit smoothie!”

Contractions were very intense and coming one right after the other with very little rest between. I was exhausted. The pain was intense. I was dizzy. This was not like anything I ever imagined. There was no way I could take any more. I would look at Jim and say, “I can’t do this!” to which he responded, “You ARE doing it!” Jim led me through a guided imagery that helped me focus on the task, relax and open up.

Then I felt downward pressure and the urge to push. Cheyenne had left the room to check on another birthing mom. I remember sitting up, very seriously, and asking “Okay, what is going on? What are we doing? ” Heather, my doula asks, “Do you feel like pushing?” Lying on my left side, I started pushing. At some point, Cheyenne returns. I pushed for about 45 minutes and experienced the “ring of fire” as described. It took every ounce of energy I had. Some people say pushing is a great relief. I think those people are nuts. It was intense, hard work!

At 10:46 a.m, September 21, 2006, my world forever changed and I started the journey of a lifetime – motherhood. I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Margaret Grace weighed 8 lbs 12 oz and was 21 ¾ inches long. She was immediately placed on my chest where she promptly peed all over me! She had a head of thick black hair, a thick coat of vernix, her eyes were shut tight and she wailed. We were covered in warm towels and snuggled up together – tears running down Jim’s nose and sweat running down my cheeks – we were a family!

Relief! She is here, healthy and perfect!

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