Stories

My Birth Story

Cayden was due on July 9, 2005. I, however, was convinced that he would be born early, and so by 40 weeks of pregnancy, I was more than ready to meet my little boy!

At an appointment with my OB/GYN on July 15th, it was revealed that other than incessant, albeit painless, Braxton Hicks contractions, my body was doing nothing to prepare for labour. My cervix was BARELY starting to soften.

I continued with my regimen of walks, exercises that were supposed to help the cervix to dilate and the pelvis to open, spicy foods, and pressure point stimulation. But, to no avail...

On July 19th, I was admitted to the hospital. A non-stress test the day before had shown that my very large baby was still okay. I was nervous about induction, but was still hopeful that at any moment, my Braxton Hicks contractions would surge into action, and labour would start on its own.

At 8:45 pm, I had my first administration of Cervidel. I walked some more, and sat on a birthing ball, until I finally settled down to sleep. At 1:30 am, I was awoken by a painful contraction. Excited, I realized that this was it! Labour was finally starting! My contractions were coming 5-6 minutes apart now. Unable to sleep, I timed the contractions in between going for walks around the postpartum ward, and doing my birthing ball exercises.

I was thoroughly disappointed when, that evening, I was told that my cervix was ALMOST 25% effaced, but had not dilated any further. I was getting tired, too, having had only a few hours of sleep the night before. Now, it seemed that another sleepless night awaited me. I was given more Cervidel, and I continued trying to help labour along.

At 1:30 am, July 21, I was taken over to the Labour & Delivery ward. Unfortunately, NOT for delivery!! The plan was to insert a Foley catheter into my cervix, to help it dilate. By far the most painful thing I had ever experienced, I was comforted by my fabulous nurse, Dana, who told me that she had never seen a woman handle a Foley so well! Through the fog of exhaustion and extreme pain, I felt a little proud of myself!

I walked back to my room in the postpartum ward, sat on the ball again, and went for some more walks. At 2:30 am, the Foley catheter fell out. I almost squealed with delight! This meant that I was FINALLY 3 cm dilated, and the active part of induction could start! I went to the nurse's desk, and informed them of my wonderful news, then sauntered back to my room to wait....

The next day was a busy one in Labour & Delivery, so I (patiently?) waited my turn. My doula was informed that today was THE day, and my mother waited with me, accompanying me on my many, many walks.

At 2:30 pm, I was whisked into Labour & Delivery, so that the fun could REALLY start! My OB/GYN was able to rupture my membranes before rushing off to Toronto on business. I was disappointed that he would not be there for the rest of my labour and the birth, especially since he had specifically scheduled my induction for the 19th, so that FOR SURE I would have given birth by the time he had to leave. Ha!

As soon as my water was broken, labour picked up even more. My contractions got so intense that I could do nothing but breathe through them. They moved from 5-6 minutes apart, to 3-4 minutes apart. I continued walking and sitting on the ball, determined to let my body do its thing, and have as natural a labour as possible.

By 7:30 pm, my cervix was still barely 3 cm dilated. I was running a fever, and Cayden's heart rate was dipping consistently. I was put on oxytocin, IV fluids, and antibiotics for the fever. I requested nitrous oxide, knowing that artificially induced labour was often more intense and painful than natural labour.

My doula and my mother massaged my thighs and back as I laboured, eating popsicles in between contractions, and rocking and breathing through them. The gas took the edge off of the pain, and I was confident that no other pain medication would be necessary.

After 7 hours of oxytocin, my contractions were coming in 3's, with no breaks inbetween. From using the gas so much, my face was tingling, and I was feeling lightheaded. Cayden's heart rate continued to dip with contractions. By now, he had an internal monitor on his head.

At 2:30 am, July 22, I got an epidural. It was my last choice for pain relief, but I was still only 3 cm dilated, and the OB's were talking about the possibility of a c-section, if something didn't happen soon. I was exhausted, and in so much pain that I was unable to relax my muscles. Knowing that this was certainly not helping labour progress, I decided to try to sleep with an epidural.

I was terrified of having a needle in my back, but the risk of a c-section overpowered my fear, and my contractions took my mind off of what was happening in my spine.

After the epidural, I was finally able to rest, for the first time in over 48 hours. I slept well, with the exception of the times when Dana would come into the room and have me turn over, to encourage Cayden's heart rate to recover. My mother and my doula, who were also exhausted, were able to get some much needed rest as well.

Sometime around 5:30 am, an OB checked my cervix again. My heart sank when she told me that I was almost 4 cm. It had been more than 15 hours since "active" labour had begun, and I'd barely made any progress. The possibility of a c-section was looming, and the OB decided to call another OB for a consultation.

Within the hour, the other OB arrived, and checked my cervix again. Miraculously, I was now almost 9 cm dilated! I was elated! Not only was I going to avoid a c-section, but I was also getting very close to pushing!

At 6:00, I was fully dilated, and at 6:15, I started to push. Because of the amount of meconium present, I was informed that when my baby was born, a NICU team would be present, and would be assessing him immediately after birth. For a fleeting moment, I was disappointed that my baby would not be put immediately on my chest, but I realized that his safety was more important than having that first moment together.

At 7:15, after pushing for an hour, I was again looking at a c-section. The baby's head had not come down at all, and his heart rate was getting worse. An OB said that he could try to help with a vacuum, but that if it didn't work, we would have to go to the OR. On my next push, I found renewed strength. The OB said that the vacuum came off the baby's head right away, but I was able to push him down on my own.

At 7:46 am, July 22, my son was finally born. The NICU team whisked him away, and assessed him, and found him to be perfectly fine, although quite messy! He was weighed, wrapped up, and brought to me, and I finally met the child that I had waited so long to see. I looked down at him in awe, and decided that his name was Cayden. I was completely unaware of anything else, until I noticed that the room had cleared, and suddenly, it was just my mother, my doula, the nurse, myself, and my newborn son.

A half hour after his birth, Cayden had his first meal. He nursed like a pro, for 45 minutes. I revelled in the joy of having succeeded at bringing my son into the world, even though it had seemed for so long that it was against all odds. At times during my labour, I felt that my body was failing me, but in the end, it did just was it was supposed to do: give life to another human being, one who just happens to be the most special person I have ever known.