Prenatal Yoga Helps with a Cesarean Birth

Here is Ting's story of the birth of baby Addy. She knew she was having a ceserean from the moment she conceived. Ting came to Prenatal Yoga with me every week starting at about 10 weeks pregnant. Althought she didn't need to use the postures to help with labor pains, yoga taught her how to use her breath to relax her mind and body before and during the surgery. Her body was so strong from all the yoga that she healed and recovered amazingly fast!

Enjoy reading Ting's Testimony:

I recovered really quickly with my c-section with Addy compared to Jack's. With Jack, I was in labor for 22 hours then ended up having a c-section so I have to recover from both labor and surgery. With Addy's scheduled c-section, I was rested and as my doctor said, the muscles and tissues were fresh. By the time I got out of the hospital I was up and about. I also attributed the speedy recovery to pre-natal yoga! I was a lot stronger physically the second time around.

The day of surgery, I did a lot of yogic breathing while I was at pre-op. My blood pressure was high because I was very nervous! To help calm my nerves, I did yogic breaths and chanting ohms. On the operating table and recovery room, I felt nauseous but I kept doing yogic breaths to keep nausea at bay. It worked like a charm. Even though I didn't get to use yoga poses like cat-cow, I got to use other yoga principles.

Thanks Shelly! I miss going to your yoga classes. I am going to continue my yoga practice - it's the only "me" time I get for the week.

Baby Anella's Birth Story

Anella's Birth Story is filled with wisdom and grace! Amanda used Hypnobirthing and Yoga to birh her baby without the use of medication!


Mommy's side of the story:

I'll begin at the beginning. We went to our 38 week appointment on August 7th and I asked Dr Biter to check my dilation as I had been feeling some shooting pains in my cervix area. He checked and let me know that I was 2-3cm dilated and almost completely effaced. I must admit although I knew labor could still be weeks the excitement built immediately. I lost my mucus plug on Saturday the 8th and yet again I just knew it could be any day. The night of August 10th, I went to bed at 10pm and started feeling light surges, immediately figured "this was it!" I laid in bed aware of each surge, at about Midnight I woke Wayne up to get him to time the surges, they were between 7-5 minutes apart and lasting 20seconds-1minute. We were up all night and decided we wanted to wait until Dr. Biter's office opened to get checked there rather than go straight to the hospital. When we arrived, the cervical check showed that I was 3.5cm dilated and the baby's head was low "very low." At this point we figure labor is imminent. At our next weekly appointment August 14th I didn't have a cervical check but I did mention that I had been having a light leaking and found my underwear to be wet on a constant basis. Dr Cap let me know that there was a chance that I had a pinhole leak in my water bag and that it would continue to leak. Yet again the excitement and anticipation was overwhelming. I just couldn't wait to meet my baby. Sunday August 16th I woke up at 2am to my bloody show, it was much more blood than I had anticipated and we immediately called Dr Biter's office. Dr Cap called us back and let us know that I would most likely go into labor in the next 24 hours so try to get some rest and call back when my surges were 5-1-1. I attempted to go back to sleep but was too excited, I turned on my relaxation CD and was asleep within 30 minutes. When I awoke at 8am I figured that once I got up and moving around the surges would start. No such luck, at 10am I called Dr. Biter's office again and Dr Cap had me come into the office to check my cervix. Wayne & I had a wedding to attend at 1pm, Wayne was a Groomsman so it was important to know if we should go to the wedding or not.

When we got to the office Dr Cap immediately did an ultrasound and everything looked
great there was still enough amniotic fluid and baby's heartbeat was perfect. He proceeded to check my cervix and let me know that I was 3-3.5cm and more effaced. He told us to go ahead and go to the wedding I'd most likely go into labor that evening or in the next day. So we went and danced the night away. At the wedding I had some surges but nothing that made think that I was in active labor. I was hoping we'd get home from the wedding and once I got in bed things would kick into gear. No such luck.

On Wednesday August 19th, I woke up and when I stood up I had a gush and assumed this was my water breaking. Yet again we were on our way back to Dr Biter's office to get checked since again surges hadn't started. Dr Cap checked my cervix again only to be told it was the same as Sunday. We left the office disappointed and discouraged again. That night we went to bed at 10:30pm I awoke at 12:15am for one of my first of many bathroom trips, once I lied down back in the bed I immediately had a big gush and felt a slight pop and woke Wayne up and told him my water broke, I was able to make it to the shower to have the rest pour out of me. Wayne called Dr Biter's office and Dr Cap called back and said "Try to get some rest, call us back when our surges were 5-1-1 or if we were going to head to the hospital." I did my very best to get back to sleep but immediately the surges kicked in and honestly the anticipation and excitement was consuming and I was just so excited to finally meet my baby. Wayne was able to go back to sleep, I woke him up at about 1:25am I had been timing my surges and I was ready for him to take over the timing. We got up and both got in the shower to labor some, I made Wayne shave my legs and we both just did our best to relax and prepare for what was in store. We were in the shower for about 1/2 an hour, and I found that the surges I had while in the shower were more manageable. As I got out of the shower and started to get dressed the intensity in my surges picked up and as each one approached I would stop and get myself completely relaxed. After we got dressed we headed down the stairs, our birth plan had us doing the majority of our laboring at home seeing that we are less than 5 minutes from Scripps Encinitas. I got downstairs and was having Wayne time the surges at one point I asked him if there was any pattern and he said "not really, they're between 4-2 minutes apart, lasting between 30seconds-2 minutes." I am not sure what made me say this but I told him I thought we needed to go to the hospital. I really struggled with this decision because it was completely opposite of our birth plan and I didn't want to do the majority of my laboring at the hospital, but something just made me need to go.

We arrived at the hospital at 3am, they took us back to our room, I got in my gown, they attached the baby monitor and the nurse checked me. She told me I was 3.5cm and 90% effaced. I felt defeated, I didn't say anything to Wayne and he didn't say anything to me but later we both spoke about it and we were both really disappointed we both pictured spending hours at the hospital. While lying in the bed on the monitor I must admit I felt completely out of control, I felt as though the surges were in control of me and I had no power over them. I was so frustrated by this because this is not how envisioned my labor, I had visions of being in control the entire time. I was able to breath through my surges and I kept repeating the following affirmation in my head "My body and my baby know how to work together in complete harmony." I didn't realize at the time but Wayne was video taping this part of my labor, and looking at the video I look as though I'm in full control and am working through the surges efficiently. Seeing it from that perspective gave me a different point of view and made me realize that the out of control feeling was something that stemmed from this not being in my 'vision' of my "perfect labor."
After monitoring the nurse let me know she spoke to Dr Biter and he wants me to walk around to progress labor. It's now 4am and I get up out of the bed, I asked for a birthing ball and I sat on it against the bed for all of 2 seconds it wasn't the best position for me, which I found quite interesting because when I pictured laboring I pictured using the birthing ball. Then I was slow dancing leaning against the end of the bed, as I was doing this I felt another gush and it felt like yet again my water broke. I asked the nurse if my water could have broken again and she said that there's a chance earlier that it only 1/2 broke or I had a fore bag and that is what broke earlier. I told Wayne that I wanted to get in the shower. He changed into his trunks and we slow danced in the shower. While in the shower my surges continued to intensify I had moments where I was unable to find my focus, Wayne would put his face to mine and do the slow breathing techniques we learned from Hypnobirthing and he would immediately bring back my focus. A few times in the shower I questioned my goal and was starting to lose hope that I would have a natural unmedicated delivery. I had started to get quite panicked and disappointed in myself. All my life I had imagined my labor and delivery without medications, I never understood why people would need drugs for the most natural experience on earth. I felt as if I was failing, as if I wasn't good enough. I of course kept this all to myself, at one point I said to Wayne "I just don't think I can do this," he pulled me close and told me what a great job I was doing and that I could do it. At about 4:30am I got out of the shower and was just trying to find a position where I could not only be comfortable but relax and I was finding it very difficult. I had been drinking water all night and decided to sit down to see if I could empty my bladder, as I sat on the toilet I leaned back against the wall and found the perfect position. I was finally able to bring myself into complete relaxation for close to 5 minutes even during all the surges I was having, I was so relaxed I don't even remember how many surges I had, I do know that at this point in my labor my surges were very close together and I had very little time between them. Then all of a sudden I had a surge that made me need Wayne's assistance as sitting was not comfortable, I stood up and we yet again slow danced, him holding the majority of my weight. During this surge I yet again questioned my ability to do this unmedicated, I couldn't help but think how good it would feel to just get rid of all the pain, the thought brought me to tears, I so badly wanted to experience every sensation of birth and delivery. I was so angry at myself for even considering it. Once that surge passed I found myself in need of squatting through the next few surges, during one of these I said to Wayne with panic in my voice "I can't do this, I really don't think I can do this." He told me yet again what a great job I was doing and kissed my forehead. With just these simple words and kiss on my forehead he had given me more strength to get through the next few surges, I decided I didn't have to make any decisions one way or another at this point I would let things happen naturally. I decided to sit back down on the toilet. As I was sitting there I noticed I had A LOT of pressure. I mentioned to Wayne that there was a lot of pressure. He immediately pulled the emergency cord next to the toilet and the nurse was there within seconds. I told her I was having a lot of pressure and she asked me to get back on the bed so she could check me.
I lay back down on the bed (the last place in the world I wanted to be) and as I laid down Wayne said "There's blood" I immediately got a little excited by his announcement but nothing prepared me for what the nurse said next, she checked my cervix and said "We're going to have a baby." The words whirled around my head, how could we be ready to have a baby it had only been 1 1/2 hours since I got there and I started at 3.5cm, how is it I'm already 10?????
I hear her call out over their intercom system that she needed immediate assistance in my labor room, to page Dr Biter immediately and to let the Dr on call know that he may have a delivery. I said "I'm waiting for Dr. Biter." I laid in the bed feeling like I was in a dream, how was it that I had only been at the hospital for 1 1/2 hours and now I'm about to deliver my baby? The nurse let me know to breath through the pressure, and Wayne was standing at my side giving me light touch massage and helping me with my breathing. At this point all of the pain I had been feeling was completely gone the only feeling I had was pressure, intense pressure but there was no pain, I kept breathing through the pressure and just knowing that my baby would be in my arms within the hour was enough to get me through.
Within minutes Dr Biter was walking through the door, I have never been so happy to hear his voice in my entire life. He sat down at the end of the bed and said "That was fast, are you ready to have your baby?" I said "YES!"
Dr Biter had me do different methods of pushing we started on my back, then we moved to my left side, my right side, he had a nurse hold one end of a towel and I held the other. Dr Biter used perineal massage to help during delivery, I must say that pushing is nothing what I expected. I had no pain, no burning. When my baby's head started to crown Dr Biter asked me to reach down and feel the head, all I could feel was a full head of hair. After 45 minutes of pushing my baby was ready to be born, Dr Biter asked Wayne & I to reach down, and the three of us delivered our baby onto my chest. I had never in my life felt so accomplished and so much love. I asked Wayne if it was a boy or girl? He looked down, and said "It's a baby GIRL!" We both immediately started crying.

My water broke at 12:20am and at 6:01am I had delivered my beautiful daughter 8lbs 4.7 oz, 20 1/4 inches of perfection. I NEVER expected my labor to progress so perfectly.
After allowing her cord to stop pulsing Wayne cut the cord and the nurses took Anella to be weighed. As they were weighing her I asked the nurse if I could get up to go to the bathroom, she paused and said "did you have an epidural," I said "no" and she said "Yes we can walk to the bathroom if you feel up to it," I said "Of course I do, I feel great." She walked with me to the bathroom and spent the entire time commenting on what an amazing labor this was for her to see and how impressed she was by not only the speed of it, but my control and ability to labor and deliver without a single drug or intervention. I felt accomplished, successful, empowered and more than anything that I had the PERFECT labor for me

Wayne and I spoke about my labor many times since that day and we both agree that without Hypnobirthing there is NO WAY that our labor would have gone so smoothly. He was so much more comfortable having learned not only the breathing techniques but the signs that things were happening. Had we not taken Hypnobirthing I can say that there would have been a very good chance that I either delivered at home, in the ambulance or on the toilet at the hospital. Hypnobirthing gave both of us the confidence that my body knew exactly what it was doing and that we needed to trust the signs it was giving us.

I cannot thank you enough for giving us the tools we needed to have our dream labor and delivery. Anella Paige Green was born into a calm, relaxed and loved atmosphere.


Daddy's side of the story:

Carol, let me begin by thanking you so much for your wonderful teachings and support. As Amanda wrote, I can truly say that without Hypnobirthing, there is no way our labor would have happened as it did.


The most important things I took from your classes were knowing how to trust Amanda's body and instincts, the ability to help Amanda focus on breathing, and knowing the signs of progression. This last point is one I thank you for...knowing when to call the nurse prevented us from having a baby in the bathroom.


We had quite a few false impressions of when the labor was starting. Over the course of two weeks Amanda and I were going through ups and downs of thinking we were ready and finding out we weren't. It is hard to know what is real when you've never had the sensations before. Needless to say, when Amanda's water broke at midnight, I was not very hopeful as we had been through this before. She had me call the doctor's and Dr. Cap called and said to call back when we were ready to go to the hospital. I fell asleep and Amanda woke me later to time the surges. I had a cool app on my phone that you had talked about that timed these surges and showed a cool little graph. Well, this for us was useless. Amanda's surges were not consistent and I had no idea if she was 511 or 211 or what. After a shower we were downstairs in the kitchen. I stared cleaning up the dishes, started the dishwasher and took the trash out. Then Amanda said we needed to leave. I immediately trusted her to know her own body even though our surges were not yet 511. Amanda has always been very in tune with her body and baby this pregnancy so I trusted her.


I filmed her laboring in the garage and was in shock that this was my life. We got in the car and started to the hospital with little fan fare....no speeding or going through red lights like in the movies. We were almost to the hospital when I remembered we were supposed to have called. Oh well. We arrived at Scripps Encinitas and at 3am had great parking close to the entrance. I picked up the phone and were were let into the birthing pavilion. I have to say here that we were expecting to have our baby at Dr. Biter's new birth center, but throughout our experience at the hospital we both agree that it is an amazing place. The staff are awesome!


During the next two hours Amanda was laboring. I had the cheat sheet you gave me but honestly it made no sense to me. I just followed my own way and gave Amanda light touch and whatever she needed. After the monitoring I could see she was overwhelmed by her surges and offered her what I could. She was so into her body that she could not answer my questions and I had no idea if I was helping or making it worse. When she had good surges, I reminded her to focus on her breathing. When we were in the bathroom she was getting panicked and I got close to her face and breathed loudly, this caused her to follow my breathing. I believe this was your suggestion Carol? After a while she said she had a lot of pressure. I remember from your birth story that pressure was a sign of imminent birth, so I pulled the emergency cord. The nurse was there soon and after checking she said the crazy words...."we're having a baby!" WAIT! WHERE'S DR. BITER????


Our love for our OB is strong as he has seen us through a miscarriage and has been such a great friend during the pregnancy (as has Dr. Cap). We could not envision having birth without him. Luckily he showed soon and got right to business. He told Amanda to start pushing, and even though purple pushing was against what we head learned, it was what was working for Amanda. Again, trust your body and know that whatever works for you is right.


I had Amanda's left leg and she pushed against me and after some time I could see some hair. Our baby was coming. She still pushed and the baby was crowning. I remember thinking how small the baby's head was (the size of a tangerine). Then she pushed more and the head came out (wow, a lot bigger!) My baby had a full head of dark hair...where did that come from? After some more pushes, Dr. Biter asked Amanda to take her baby.


Throughout all of this I had no idea if I was of any use. I tried my best to help. After it was done, Amanda told me that I helped a lot. That my words and actions helped her deliver naturally.

Jackson's Birth Story

Rochelle's ceserean birth story is a beautiful example of accepting what is and full-heartedly embracing each moment of the birth of her son.

When My husband and I started talking about having a child, I had wanted to be able to have a natural childbirth if possible. I had even changed physicians because my OBGYN had wanted to do a c-section from the beginning. My road to becoming pregnant was long in many ways because I was diagnosed with a Bicournate Uterus and Endometriosis years before even meeting my husband. I had several surgeries to correct what they could and to remove the Endometriosis. I had also been on several medications including a drug study to try and control my Endometriosis over the years with no relief of symptoms. I was given bleak odds by several OB's and went on a search. I am a nurse so I asked around to find a good doctor, which I did. From our first meeting she was much more optimistic about my odds of getting pregnant and sustaining a pregnancy. I was still at a high risk for a preterm infant but I decided that I was going to have positive thoughts about getting pregnant. One of the best thing that my doctor told me was that she could see no reason for me not to have a natural childbirth after reviewing all of my medical records ( which is like a bible).

Well low and behold we got pregnant after only a few months of trying, I was in shock!!!!!! I decided that I would continue with my Yoga which was good for my physical and mental well being. I loved going to class and also took up water aerobics and walking my dog to try and keep in shape to help with labor. My pregnancy was fairly easy except for a little nausea in the beginning and some hip pain in the second trimester. All of my Doctors appointments went well and they said that he was strong and that I looked good. I started to have a lot of Braxton Hicks contraction in my third trimester and I decided to take it easy and listen to my body. My husband started walking the dog and I was counting down the weeks for my maternity leave.

My husband and I started our birthing classes and I had a friend who was going to be my Doula ( my husband is a bit squeamish). On our second week of class I found out that my son Jackson was breech. At that time I had a feeling that he was not going to turn ( stubborn like his mom). I knew that he had been in that position for awhile from where he would kick me. We tried several tricks and exercises to try and get him to turn but I think that he actually got mad when I put ice on my stomach (he started hitting me from the inside). By 34 weeks it was apparent that he was there to stay and with my uterus shape we could not do an external inversion. I was then put on the books for a C-section. It was weird being able to pick the day my son was going to be born. It was definitely not the way that I had planned it. I decided that I was going to look on the bright side. First I got pregnant and had a great pregnancy. I know so many couples who can't even say that. Second I decided to take advantage of knowing when my son was going to be born ( I can be a bit of a control freak so knowing when he was coming was nice), I could get everything ready for him. I made meals and froze them, and was able to make all of my appointments before he was born and tie up any last minute projects around the house. I got a pedicure the friday before. The best part about planning his delivery day was that my Grandmother was able to be here for the birth of my child. My family lives out of state and my mother is deceased so it was great to know that I would have the support of my family there.

The day of the c-section was here and I was as nervous as can be, I could hardly sleep and was so thirsty and hungry. Even with all my planning it was still one of the biggest days and I was worried about if Jackson would be healthy and if I would be a good mother. That is the downside of planning... no turning back. I did some Yoga breathing that morning and downloaded some George Winston on my ipod to help keep me relaxed because even though I was not going through labor I wanted a positive and calm experience. the birth of my son was fairly uneventful it went like clockwork and 2 hours after I had checked in on that Sunday morning I was the mother of a beautiful baby son Jackson Thaddeus Mann 7 pounds 19.5 inches. We were able to hold him while they finished closing me up and I was able to breast feed him within an hour and a half after he was born. He was a champ and didn't know that that was the way he was supposed to come out. My husband was even able to be in the delivery room ( there was a drape so he just kept focusing on me). I look back and think how lucky I am to have a healthy and happy baby and for me I will never regret how he came out because the import thing is he did come out and he was healthy.

I don't know what I'll do if I get pregnant again but my doctor has already said I can try for a Vaginal delivery but after my last experience I might ponder that for awhile.

Welcome Baby Jackson!!

Congratulations, Rochelle and Jamie!



Jackson entered the world on 4/5/09, weighing 7 lbs 19.5 inches!

Congratulations, Bonney!

I gave birth to little Shannon Josephine on Wednesday, April 1st, exactly one week past my due date. She is a great baby and weighed 7 lbs, 10.9 ozs. and was 21cm long.

I am pleased to say I had a natural birth, no epidural. It's tough for me to say how long I was in labor because I was experiencing irregular labor contractions (4-20 min apart) and decided to go to my doctors appoinment Wed. morning to see how far along I was. So my husband and doula went with me and we discovered I was already 5 cm dilated! My worried doctor ordered us straight to the hospital.

Overall, it was about 47 hours of laboring, but counting hospital time, it was more like 7 1/2 hours. I was very lucky to have a wonderful staff working with me at Sharp Mary Birch. Some of the nurses heard I wanted a natural birth and said they requested to work with me. I am very grateful for all the support and encouragment and I'm not sure how I would have accomplished my goal without it, escpecially from my wonderful husband and doula, there for every contraction and push.

Throughout my labor, my body wanted to go into various yoga poses, and there was no contraction too strong that my deep yoga breathing could not get me through. I miss your class and I've been eager to give you an update. Thank you for all your positivity and encouragement along the way.

Manali's Birth Story (Baby Sid)

A friend was planning on attending Shelley's prenatal yoga class, and checked with me (I was then 31 weeks pregnant) if I wanted to join her. I was never much into yoga, but decided to go for the classes. My pregnancy till then had been really hectic, so I thought the yoga class would give me some bonding time with my baby. I was hoping to have a natural birth, but was open to other options too. And I certainly wasn't expecting the yoga classes to help me with a natural birth. Little was I to know.

At my 39 week check-up my doctor was preparing me for other options. I had till then not felt any contractions and my cervix had softened just a little. I was a little worried as I drove back home. I thought I was probably going to have a planned delivery. But the very next day, I felt some contractions in the wee hours of the day. The contractions went away in a few minutes, so I thought they were false labor pains. During the course of the day, I felt contractions again, and they kept coming at regularly intervals. Every 30-40 minutes, I felt mild waves. And then the intervals kept getting shorter, the duration of the contractions kept getting longer. My husband came home by 4:00 pm. The cow position (getting on all fours) was helping me. So for every contraction, I would get into the cow position. At 7:00 pm we called our doctor's line. I was told to leave for the hospital in an hour. As predicted by the doctor, my contractions got more intense in an hour and we headed to the hospital.

At the hospital, the nurse checked that I was in active labor. I was 5 cms dilated. I was asked and I said no to the epidural. In the labor room, an IV needle in my arm, with the fetus monitoring in place, we were left to ourselves. It was around 9 pm. The nurse was to check on us every couple of hours. I was watching the clock every so often. I would try to get to the floor for every contraction (didn't feel comfortable getting into a cow position on the bed which was quite narrow). By the time I would get myself off the bed with my husband's help, I would feel the contraction easing away. I remember shouting at my husband for not getting me off the bed faster. Eventually I got tired of getting off and then back on the bed. I am just 5 feet tall and getting back onto the bed was a huge effort (my husband was keeping a safe watchful distance to comply with my wishes). Then I decided to just sit out the contractions. I remember closing my eyes and remembering Shelley's mantra "ride the pain waves, embrace pain". And it really was easy after that. I didn't budge from the bed after that. My husband was keeping a watchful eye on me. At 11:10 I remember paging the nurse. I was 7 cms dilated. Again we were left on our own. I slept. The contractions would wake me up, and I would ride the pain waves. Both me and my husband were snoozing though. I again paged the nurse at 1:00. I was about 10 cms dilated. My water bag was blocking the baby's descent, so it was broken by the doctor.

The contractions started coming in at a greater intensity, but the pain was gone. However, I wasn't prepared for pushing. The pushing part was the most painful part of my labor. Every push was encouraged by my husband and the nurse. The doctor periodically checked on me. I was also given oxygen whiffs a couple of times. After about an hour of pushing, I was almost about to give up. At that stage, I just wanted the baby out. I kept saying that I won't be able to do it. I asked for a mirror to check on the baby's progress. I was told that it would not help much. After what seemed like an age, the doctor started putting on gloves, and a mirror too was provided to me. That really encouraged me, I could see the crown of my baby's head. After some time the baby's head descended and it started hurting me so much that I really didn't need any more encouragement to push. The last big push. And my baby boy was born.

Ariana's Birth Story

Feb. 21st Sat.- I felt crampy/crappy starting around 8 pm-continued all nite long, but managed to catch sleep here and there...

Feb. 22nd Sun.- I was woken up at 6:30am by a definite contraction! We called our doula, Diana Kayat 9am to give her a heads up, today might be the day! Had contractions steadilyincreasing until 3pm, then they stayed the same until 6pm. We managed themwith a lot of vocalization, breathing, and couples yoga postures! (thank you Shelley!). Myhusband Ernest and I felt confident working through the contractions by ourselves until around 7pm when they were 6-8 minutes apart and one minute+ in duration.Then we called for reinforcements! Diana armed with essential oils, massage toolsand her wealth of knowledge and expertise arrived around 8pm!!

I had eaten a light breakfast and a sandwich for lunch which came UP unexpectedly right beforeDiana arrived. As a small bonus, I did feel better after throwing up!!With Diana, we worked on a lot of cat/cow poses and double hip squeezes.For me these were key, because Ariana was "sunny side up" and I was going through "back" labor.We labored on..haha :) ...until I had thrown up again, pressure intesified, and contractions were 3-5 minutes apart.Then we drove to the hospital.

We checked in at 10:30pm, at 11:30pm I was 3cm dilated, 90% effaced, and -1 station.At that point it had been over 17 hours of back labor, I was exhausted from pain, lack of sleep and nutrients, and I was only at 3cmwith a long way to go. I felt discouraged, and worried that I would not have the reserves to push when the time came (resulting in a c-section :(.So at that point I asked for an epidural.

Feb.23rd Mon.- At 1:45 am I received the epidural which numbed only my right side. The anesthesiologist's strategy was to lie on my left sideand keep pressing the button and dose myself...everytime he checked on me he said the same thing....it never worked. At 2am I was 5cm dilated, 100% effaced, -1 station. Then my water broke! What a cool feeling! We all dozed off and on until morning. At 8:30am I was 6-7cm, 100% effaced and -1/0 station according to nurse Elena. Dr. Eisenhauer did an exam and thought I was not nearly that far along and wanted to start pitocin. I requested to wait until his next exam to see if things would progress on their own.At 12:30pm nurse Elena checked and I had progressed to 10cm, with a cervical "lip" on my left side. I thought it might have been all thatlaying down on my left side. Dr. Eisenhauer then checked and said I was 5-6cm! They both advised me to start the pitocin, and I did. I was veryupset and as expected my contractions ramped up in intensity...I was so grateful to have my husband (my champion :), and doula Diana (worth her weight in gold!) there with me. What great support!

Finally at 5:15pm, 10cm, 100%, and +1 station I got the okay to start pushing!At 7:19pm (37 hours of labor) a healthy Ariana Selene was born!! 8lbs. 3oz., 20 1/2 inches.It was all worth it, just like everyone says!

Jillian's Birth Story

On a Tuesday afternoon in February, more than three weeks before her due date, my daughter was born. My labor started when I woke up around one a.m. to go to the bathroom. As I climbed up out of bed a substantial amount of fluid came out and ran down my legs. I had no contractions, no back pain, just lots of clear fluid leaking out of me. I was surprised how the fluid kept coming. I always thought it would come out in one big gush, and then stop. Not with me.

After waking my husband, and convincing him that it was really time for the baby to come, I called the “midwife on-call” for advice. Since I hadn’t had even the hint of a contraction, I wasn’t sure when I should go in to the birthing center. I was fortunate that the midwife, Jasmine, who had been following me my entire pregnancy happened to be on call this night. When I described the fluid amount and type, she started recalling my due date. I was really nervous because I was told from the beginning that you couldn’t deliver at the birthing center unless you are at least 37 weeks along and I did NOT want to go to the labor and delivery unit. We both knew that I was only 36 + 5. But my midwife offered to “re-calculate my dates” and came up with 37 +1. Lucky me!!!

Jasmine the midwife told me that because I was GBS positive I would need to come in, even if my contractions hadn’t started, so that I could get the proper doses of IV antibiotics before my daughter comes.

So then my husband and I started to pack our bags. I also took a shower to relax. In the shower, my contractions started. They were very far apart, and easily manageable. “This isn’t so bad,” I thought as I finished packing. My husband loaded the car, and placed lots of towels on the front passenger seat (I was still leaking, leaking, leaking).

Driving to the hospital, I was anxious and excited. We arrived at the UCSD birthing center at around 2:30 am. My midwife greeted me and an RN started an IV line. Since the contractions were not yet that bad, the staff urged me to try to rest (sleep) but I was too anxious. Instead I sat in the wooden rocking chair while my husband set up my IPOD and helped the staff get the room ready.

The nurses put out birthing balls, a bean bag chair, stools, and they got the tub ready. They brought in an incubator for the baby, and made sure I was comfortable and warm. The contractions started to get worse, but I was still doing well. I played solitaire on my laptop, pausing for the contractions. I sometimes rocked in the chair, and sometimes I would sit on a stool or stand and walk around. As the contractions intensified, I started to use positions and breathing techniques that I learned in Shelley’s yoga class. I had to really focus and practice my breathing to keep control. I used cat-cow a lot, I squatted a little bit, and I did a lot of rocking in the chair and meditating. I’d say about 85% of the time I was able to control myself and only let out a sigh or moan or purposeful “ohhhm” or “ahhh.” About 15% of the time I could not keep control and yelled a bit (typical “OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD I AM GOING TO DIE”) like you see on TV. I managed not to cuss or use a swear word even once (a personal goal of mine). I can definitely say that if weren’t for the yoga practice, I would have been doing a lot more screaming. My husband was also a huge help during this period. We had discussed at length ahead of time that he was not to let me “give in” and get an epidural or take pain medications. He went to one couples yoga class with me and knew about some breathing techniques. Sometimes he would help by breathing with me, or rubbing my back. But mostly he was helpful by reassuring me that I could do this, and reminding me of what I wanted. This was very hard for him, because my husband works in anesthesia and puts in epidurals for a living. In fact we had fought MANY TIMES about me using the birthing center vs. a traditional hospital and doctor. In the end though, my husband was true to his word and supported me in my wish for a natural birth.

My husband wasn’t the only one to help. At around 7 am my midwife Jasmine had to leave, and the next midwife, Beth, took over my care, along with a new set of nurses and aides. At this point, Beth was wondering if I was in transition yet, and I described my contractions and pain, and I asked (begged) her if I could please start to labor in the tub. Beth explained that I had to be at least 4 cm dilated to get into the tub, since the warm, soothing water might slow down labor. She asked me if I wanted to “be checked” (i.e. was I ready for a vaginal exam). I responded by vomiting all over the floor in front of her. I guess this lovely donation to Beth was an indication to her that I was further along than she thought. Beth checked me and I was about 5 cm. She gave me the okay to get into the tub! Hooray!

Also at this point the volunteer doula arrived. She was very young and had no children of her own, and at first I was nervous that because of her lack of personal experience she wouldn’t be of much help. But she WAS helpful, because she gave my poor, tired husband a break, and gave me great leg and back massages, and helped me move around and get more comfortable, all while bending over the rim of the tub. Her back must have really hurt the next day…

Sweet, lovely Tub Goddess I love you I love you I love you! That is what I was thinking when I was floating in the water. I cannot tell the reader how much I LOVED THAT TUB. I had more control, less pain, and more rest in the tub than any position outside the tub. The best relief was when I would get on my hands and knees inside the tub. But after about an hour and a half, I was in severe pain. My contractions, if I had to describe them, felt light a rod of lightening was shooting through my body. I also felt the urge to push, and at my request, Beth checked me again (she actually reached down and checked me while I was in the tub). I was already 10 cm and I could reach up myself and feel the baby’s head. She was not crowning yet, but I only needed about an inch of my finger inside me before I ran into her head. Beth said I could go ahead and push with the contractions. For the next few hours I pushed through my contractions while floating in the tub.

Much earlier all the staff told me that while I may push in the tub, I may not deliver the baby in the tub. They told me that I would have to stand up or get out for that part, because the UCSD birthing center is not licensed for water births. This was very disappointing indeed, and I stayed in the tub until what I thought was the last minute. My husband was begging me to come out of there, and I could tell by the looks of all the staff members that they also would prefer if I would come out. So very, very reluctantly and with much persuasion I climbed out.

At this point the baby was supposedly almost out. The midwife Beth, the nurse, and my husband all told me they could see a lot of the baby’s head and that I was only a few pushes away. They were not lying, but later it turned out my babies hands were by her head…this impeded her from coming out “with just a few more pushes.” Instead, I PUSHED AND PUSHED for a few more hours outside he tub. The last 45 minutes were the worst. She was stuck like you wouldn’t believe. I tried EVERYTHING. I got on the bed and squatted, holding the bed posts. I sat on a “birthing stool” (a supported squat basically). I tried it on my hands and knees, I tried it on my back, I tried it on my side, I even tried sitting on the toilet. She would not come out. After a long time, the midwife had to notify the resident (doctor). The baby’s heart beat was fine, and I was fine, but they were worried because she had been stuck so long with most of her head just sitting right on the verge of delivery. Then they even called the director of the midwifery program at UCSD. She came in the room, and I had about 6 people looking at me now, and all of them kept telling me just to “push harder” and “she’ll be out with the next push for sure.” At this point I was SOOO super frustrated. All along I had been pushing with all my might. I was giving it my all, and I was exhausted. I cried and said, “you all have been telling me that for the last hour she’ll be out in another push!” But my husband reassured me that it really did look like that for the past hour. He has seen lots of deliveries and said that even he thought she would pop out any minute. I trusted my husband, so I pushed on…

But after some point I started to give up inside. I begged for an episiotomy. I even said the F word (no, not that reader, I mean Forceps…), I was so upset I was asking them to “cut her out of me, anything to stop the pain.” My perineum was on fire, and it was the “ring of fire” that some women tell you about. It was awful. The nurses were putting warm cloths on my perineum, and the midwife Beth was massaging me and trying to support me. Meanwhile, my contractions had faded to barely anything… they were not the once forceful uterine waves that were helping to expel my baby. I could barely feel them. I told Beth that I couldn’t feel any more contractions. She then told me that I was just going to have to push on my own every 5 minutes.

This went on a bit more, I pushed and pushed. I was in tears, and on the verge of an episiotomy. Beth and the midwife director agreed it needed to come to that. Beth was drawing up the lidocaine to numb me before she cut, even injected it. Then, my husband’s cell phone rang. It was my own mother. I heard her talking to my husband. She said she just arrived at the airport (she flew in from Nebraska) and wanted to know how to get to the hospital. I was angry and frustrated and yelled at my husband to get off the phone and “TELL HER TO TAKE A TAXI”. And with those words, backed with anger, frustration, fear, and pure exasperation, I gave it one more shot, and I pushed my baby out! Beth the midwife caught my baby girl and placed her wet, warm body on my belly. We both began to cry. She was the most beautiful thing I have seen in my life, and it was and is the best moment in my life. My husband cried and kissed me, and we were all glowing with love and bliss. Later my mom arrived and I told her how she inspired me to push my baby out. My husband, new daughter and I spent one that night in the birthing center all in the same big bed, exhausted but grateful and happy. We treated the staff to take-out dinner and celebrated the birth of our first child. Later that night, I could here screaming and moaning from the room next door. I smiled to myself, and sent the woman positive thoughts, and kissed my daughter on her head good night.

Jillian's stats: Born 2:35 pm on Tuesday, February 17th. 7 lbs 7 oz, 21 inches. Unmedicated vag delivery.

Olive's Birth Story....A Homebirth VBAC

Sharon's Birth experience is truly inspiring, empowering and amazing! The amount of will and determination is absolutely insurmountable! If Sharon can labor for 86 hours (that's not a typo) and naturally birth her baby, all the while dealing with cevical lip....anyone can do it!!!! Sharon, you really do have a "Proven Pelvis" and are a Powerful Birth Warrior!

As I sit down to write out my birth story, I feel like I’m embarking on the task of writing the never-ending story, as many times during my birth I wondered if there would ever be an end. It has been a little over 3 weeks, and I’m finally sitting down to write this out because I am already forgetting the details. I think this is Mother Nature’s way of ensuring that our species proliferates…only by forgetting the nitty gritty details of challenging labors can women ever think about birthing again. In fact, in the midst of labor I told Phil we would never have another child; yet within days of Olive’s birth, I decided that I would definitely do this again. After all, it would have to be easier and shorter next time, right?

So, on Friday night around 9pm, I started to notice my contractions were coming on moderately strong and were consistently 10 minutes apart. I had been having contractions on and off that entire weekend (and milder ones for about a month prior) but this time they didn’t go away. I tried to go to bed with Phil around 11pm but the contractions kept waking me up. So, I spent most of the night snuggled with Buttercup on the couch, getting up every 10 minutes to breathe through my contractions. At 2am, I called my mom to start the drive down from LA. I figured we were definitely having our baby soon and wanted to make sure she got here in time to help care for Annika (my two year old daughter) during labor. It took her 4 hours to get here in the pouring rain! In the morning, I called Vickii (my midwife) and told her what I was experiencing. I chose to have homebirth with a midwife this time around. She offered to have Daryne’e (her apprentice) come over and check me out. Later that morning, Daryne’e came over and determined that I was 3cm dilated. I was a bit disappointed that it was only 3, but happy to realize that it was already more than I had ever dilated with Annika. Phil told her that I seemed to be having back labor, since I had been asking him to push into my lower back, applying counter-pressure, during many of my contractions. During the exam she confirmed that Olive was posterior and had me lay in several positions to help move her. I lay on my side with my knee hiked up as high as I could get it, and had to remain in that position for 20 minutes, then the same on the other side. She also suggested climbing stairs two at a time which I did later that day. Most of the day my contractions were relatively minor and coming about every 8-12 minutes. By evening, they started ramping up again, both in frequency and intensity. I could not get to sleep Monday night because the contractions were coming on strong, and they eventually got to 2-3 minutes apart for hours. Sometime during the night, I had Phil set up the pool and I spent several hours laboring in it, which felt wonderful. The back pain I was experiencing was growing painfully worse, but it seemed to help when Phil would apply counter-pressure. I frequently had to wake him in the night so that he could help me get through a contraction. After strong, close contractions for hours, we decided to call Vickii as I was sure we were getting close.

Vickii and Daryne’e arrived early Tuesday morning. Daryne’e’s car broke down on her way, so her brother had to pick her up and bring her over. The rain was coming down hard, so Phil invited him to wait it out in our house. Annika was quite surprised to wake up in the morning and see all these guests in her home! When Vickii had been on her way, Phil and I had discussed how far dilated I must be and how close we were to having our baby. We were discussing dates and decided that day, December 16, would be a fine day to have a baby. I told Phil that my biggest fear was that I’d only be 5 cm dilated and told him I would cry if it were true. Sure enough, I was checked and turned out to be 4.5 cm dilated! Oy, 15 hours had passed since my last check and I had only progressed by 1.5 cm! I was so devastated, as I was already so exhausted and had experienced such strong contractions, I couldn’t imagine it getting much worse but knew it had to being that I was only halfway there. The midwives hung around for a little while, then I asked if they planned to stay until the baby came. They said it was up to me, that they would do whatever I felt most comfortable with. Knowing that I was not even halfway to pushing time, I sadly told them they could go. Phil was a great motivator and worked so tirelessly to keep me thinking positively. The good news was that I was progressing, however slowly. But the better news was that the baby had moved into an occipital position, out of the posterior one…though unfortunately the back labor did not go away. The midwives had encouraged us to get out of the house and walk around so we took my mom and Annika and headed out to the mall (indoor mall, since it was still storming). Annika and her Safta enjoyed running around and playing, while Phil and I slowly walked around. I was back to slowed down, less strong contractions. When I felt one coming on, I moved to stand by a store window and breathed through it so as not to stand out and look strange to the nearby shoppers. Later that evening, the contractions started intensifying again. I spent many hours of the night alternating between the pool, hot showers and bouncing on the birth ball. Phil was up with me most of the night, preparing food for me and rubbing/pushing my back. Thankfully Daryne’e had shown him how to use one of Annika’s rubber bouncy balls to apply pressure to my back so that his hands had a bit of a break (I wanted him to push so hard that he was losing feeling in his hands!). At one point, I remember we went and sat in the living room with the French doors open so I could hear/smell the rain pouring down. I was on the birth ball and Phil was behind me, pushing into my back. Phil was such a great cheerleader. There were moments during labor that I felt hopeless and ready to throw in the towel. He kept reminding me of the reasons we chose this path, telling me how well my body was working and how close we were getting, and what a good job I was doing. I am so lucky to have this man in my life! Later he admitted that he had experienced his own moments of weakness and doubt, but thankfully he never revealed them to me during the labor. At one point, I had even asked him if we could just go to the hospital for a few hours, so that I could get an epidural and feel some relief. I promised that I just needed a few hours and then we could go home. I had also made some mentions of how easy it might be to drive to the hospital and get this baby cut out of me and have this labor business be over with! Thankfully he never let me get too caught up in these fantasies and got me back on track.

On Wednesday morning, we decided to send Annika out for the day with her Safta and to get ourselves out of the house as well. We went to a nice local restaurant that we had been wanting to try for a long time. On our way in, I told Phil I was nervous about experiencing contractions while in a restaurant. I told him that we should ask for a secluded table away from other diners. At this point, my contractions had again slowed, but they still required my concentrated breathing and relaxation and they were coming about every 10 minutes. As we walked in, I was relieved to see that the restaurant was practically empty, except for one table of women. Though the owner was walking us to the opposite, very empty side of the restaurant, Phil decided to say ‘Can we please sit away from other diners? My wife is in labor’. The owner gave a very petrified glance and me and begged, “Please don’t have it here.” Thankfully we had a very quirky waitress that didn’t even notice my ‘strange’ behavior. I ate a hearty steak for lunch, Phil thought it would give me good protein energy for my endless labor. After lunch we headed to the mall again. We walked around quite a bit and even bought a cute pair of shoes for Annika. The mall was crowded with holiday shoppers, but no one really seemed to notice me. At one point, I was leaning over a banister and asked Phil if it would look inappropriate to have him push against my lower back for a contraction, as they were coming on hard again. He did it and I lost interest in whether we would look strange. Things were intensifying, so I asked if we could head home. Late in the evening, my contractions were strong and close together. I was feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, not sure I could survive another night of intense labor to only watch the sun rise the following day, still pregnant and in pain. I finally decided that we had to call the midwives again, knowing that I needed their support and had to make something happen soon. I really wasn’t sure how much longer I could do this, as I hadn’t slept in days and my body was exhausted. That evening my dad was over, which was strange because my mom was here too. They were cordial, thankfully, and my dad pitched in by massaging me and pushing my back. In fact, I had trained everyone in the house (Phil, mom, dad, midwives) on how I needed the counter-pressure applied, so that as soon as a contraction came on, I assumed a leaning forward position and demanded that someone ‘push my back!’. Daryne’e came over late in the evening with her partner midwife, Sara. I recognized Sara from a ‘meet the midwives’ event that ICAN (The International Cesarean Awareness Network) had held over a year ago. I remember that I had liked her when I met her at that time. Daryne’e and Sara took action, ordering my dad and Annat to leave and my mom to go to bed. They wanted me to get focused and relaxed. Over the course of the night, they alternately massaged and coached me. I was only 5-6 cm dilated when they arrived, which was horribly disappointing. They promised me that my body was doing its work and encouraged me to work through the contractions lying on my side, which was incredibly painful. They said that the more painful contractions were doing the most work, and tried to get me to relax and give in to them.

At around 2am, I was on my knees leaning on the bed with Daryne’e applying my back pressure and Phil talking to me from the bed. During my contraction, my water broke and when I looked up, Vickii hopped on to the bed. I was so relieved to see her there and to feel my water breaking. I figured finally things would get moving. A few hours later I was checked and was 7-8 cm dilated. I remember questioning them on the 7-8…am I 7 or 8? Am I really closer to 7 but you don’t want to make me feel bad so you say 7-8? I was so worn down and really couldn’t imagine why my body was working so slowly. However, during the entire time the midwives and Phil reminded me that my body was working and my baby was coming. I told myself that this had to end sometime, I couldn’t be pregnant and in labor forever. In the wee hours of the morning I started feeling overwhelming urges to push and started doing so for a while. Vickii checked me and said I was around 8-9 cm dilated but that I had a cervical lip and that my cervix and the baby’s head were swelling due to my pushing. She wanted me to lie down on alternating sides for 30 minutes each and stop pushing. That was the longest hour of my life and I swore they were not watching the time carefully. It was so hard to lay there while my body felt like it was being torn apart and to not push when that’s all I wanted to do. Most of the night the midwives were placing drops of herbs and homeopathic tablets under my tongue. At one point while lying on the bed, I had the tens unit (electrodes) on my lower back, acupuncture needles throughout my body, and 2 midwives and Phil massaging me and encouraging me. Sara talked to me about imagining my cervix opening and wanted me to chant ‘ooooopen’ during my contractions. Phil believes this meditation was a real turning point in my labor and says that he finally saw me physically relaxing and giving in to the birth. It was so hard, I am almost in tears remembering these moments. Vickii even had Phil pour me a shot of rum to help me relax. Towards the end, I shouted that I wanted to push so badly and Vickii notified me that I already was pushing. Apparently I didn’t realize that even as I tried to fight it, I was still pushing. I just couldn’t control it. I had been shouting other things throughout this endeavor, some obscenities and some announcements about how much pain I was in. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t woken Annika. Finally, a chance at some relief, Vickii offered me something to take the edge off my back pain. She wanted me to be able to focus my energy more on dilating and less on fighting the back labor. She said she could give me 4 injections of sterile water in my lower back. Vickii said that different women have different reactions to this, some find the pain goes away while others feel no difference. Her warning was that with each injection I would feel intense burning for 30-45 seconds. I figured nothing could hurt more than my contractions and I had nothing to lose but some pain. The shots certainly burned, but nothing compared to the other back pain and shortly thereafter I felt some relief from the torture and was able to put more of my energy towards opening up. After lying down for a while, I went out to the living room to rock on the birth ball and have Vickii pushing on my back. The midwives had sent Phil to go eat, shower and sleep. My mom was sleeping on the couch when I got to the living room. I was so jealous of the sleepers! At various times in the night, I saw midwives, Phil and my mom sleeping all over the house. I remember thinking how lucky they were to have still bodies, I couldn’t imagine feeling nothing in my body and I wanted to so badly. After the birth ball, Vickii said I should take a shower and then she wanted me to get outside and walk around in the back yard (I believe it was early morning). In the shower, the urge to push got the best of me. I ended up on my hands and knees pushing, and it hurt but felt so relieving at the same time. I got out of the shower and kept getting down and pushing with every contraction. At this point, I think Vickii realized that the plans of delaying my pushing wouldn’t work much longer and that I was really worn down. She asked me if I was ready to do some hard work and I said ‘bring it on’. She said we were going to do something unconventional, some ‘assisted pushing’. Basically, I still had a cervical lip and she wanted to help me push past it. I squatted on the floor with Sara behind me, supporting me. Vickii was in front of me and had her fingers inside me, feeling through my contractions. She said that I was moving the baby well while I pushed and that I could probably get her past the lip. She was using her fingers to guide my pushing so that I pushed effectively in the right direction to get her moving down. Daryne’e was next to us, wiping my face and giving me drinks of water and snacks. At some point, Vickii asked if she could make a call and get an energy circle started. Again, I said ‘bring it on’. When she left the room for a moment, I turned to Daryne’e and admitted that I had no idea what an energy circle was, but that I was open to anything they thought might help. I later learned that an energy circle consists of people calling each other like a phone tree, and sending positive energy and thoughts my way. Shortly after the circle got started, I was on the bed, pushing on my own and Olive began to crown. I couldn’t believe I was finally here, about to meet my baby. I think all the midwives were surprised at how quickly things were moving, as Daryne’e suddenly went running out to wake Phil. Poor guy, woken out of a deep sleep and told that it was ‘go time’ he figured we were about to start pushing and that he’d be back on counter-pressure duty. Instead, he walked into the room, still rubbing his eyes and found me there with the baby starting to come out! I was given a mirror to look down and see her and suddenly it was all so real and so close. I asked if I could move on to my hands and knees (I had been on my side with Sara supporting my leg). It was amazing how my body took over and I just pushed instinctually. I reached down and felt her several times and knew she was almost here. Suddenly I had renewed energy and knew I could do anything. Once I pushed her head out, they had me slow down and push gently to get the rest of her body out. I immediately flipped onto my back and my sweet and beautiful baby Olive was placed on my stomach. She was working to release the fluid out of her throat, and in a few minutes was wailing. It was a glorious moment. I did it! My body rocks. 86 hours of labor and I vaginally delivered my baby! Later, while being sutured, I asked if my cesarean would be considered for future pregnancies even though I had just successfully VBACed. Sara assured me that I had a ‘proven pelvis’ now. Vickii also said I had a ‘perineum of steel’. I need to get these things printed on bumper stickers for my car!

It was amazing to have my sweet, new tiny baby laying on my chest. She was so amazingly beautiful and perfect. She started nursing within about half an hour and did so like a champ. We quickly called my mom and told her to come home. Apparently she and Annika had just bought ice cream which my mom literally dropped when she got the call. Annika seemed a bit shocked and overwhelmed by what she saw when she came home (imagine going out for ice cream, and coming home to find a bunch of people in your parents’ room and this new bloody/slimy creature on your mom’s chest!). However, by evening she was holding her baby sister and admiring her tiny parts. Annika has turned out to be an incredible big sister who loves to hold Olive and help with her (she helps change her diapers, brings her blankets and picks out clothes for her). Annika has been very gentle and loving with Olive, it is so sweet. She has also grown and matured so much recently. She is getting better at entertaining herself and seems more understanding when her needs cannot be immediately met because mommy is tending to Olive.

I am so blessed and so lucky to have had this incredible experience. And I can’t wait to do it again!!

Olive Page Trom
12/18/08
11:11am
7lbs 9 oz
21 inches

Sofia's birth

For months my husband and I had been preparing for the arrival of our first child, we planned for a natural unmedicated childbirth as long as it was safe for her. We decided to take hypnobirthing classess with Jennifer and learned a great deal during the process. We practiced the breathing techniques and hypnosis almost every night and visualized the natural, healthy birth of our little girl until the day I went into labor.

On Jan 23rd at 4:00 am, three days after my due date, i woke up feeling really crampy. I soon realized that I was in labor, my contractions were lasting about a minute and they were betwen 8-10 minutes apart until about 8:00 am when they started getting stronger, longer and closer. I told my husband at about 7:30 am that I was having contractions, he planned on going to work for a few hours but five minutes after he left the house (around 8:30 am) my water broke. I called him and he turned around and we went to the hospital, I was admitted immediately. I was 3 cm dilated and my contractions were ~4 minutes apart. I was hooked up to the i.v. and the fetal monitor and was told that as soon as an acceptable baby heart pattern was establish I would be able to get up and walk around as I had requested in our birth plan. The nurse kept telling me that my contractions had a good pattern but the baby's heart rate was "flat" it was not going up and down with the contractions as they liked to see it. I was told that I couldn't get up until an acceptable heart pattern was established... hours passed and the contractions kept getting stronger and closer, I listened to the CD that we got in the hypnobirthing class and with my husbands coaching kept breathing through every contraction. I dilated up to 6 cm's but the baby's heart rate never reached the pattern that they wanted to see so I was not able to walk around. Once I reached 6 cm's I stayed there for about 3 hrs, at that time the Dr. advised that we get the epidural and pitocin as the baby's heart rate had started dropping after each contraction. We asked for some time to think about it and after much thought and about 12 hours of labor we agreed to the epidural and pitocin however the baby's heart rate started dropping even more once I got the medications, at that time the Dr. recommended a C section as I had only dilated one more cm since getting the medication and the Dr. was concerned about the dropping heart rate. They believed she had the chord wrapped around somewhere but were unable to tell where... after discussing our options we agreed to having the C section. Sofia was born at 7:49 pm, weighed 8 lbs 5 oz and was 21 in long. She had the chord wrapped around her neck and that's why her heart rate kept dropping.

Even though we could not have the natural birth we had hoped for, we are grateful that our daughter was delivered safely and healthy. I was able to use all of the techniques that I learned in our prenatal yoga class with Shelley and in Jennifer's hypnobirthing class while I was in labor, during the surgery and continue using the breathing techniques now when Sofia is being fussy. It helps me stay calm and calm her down too :)

Thank you Shelley for your guidance during the classes and for recommending Jennifer, we look forward to hearing more about the postpartum and baby and me classes.