No, not my own! I just spent the evening assisting a friend - her third baby, first attempt at a natural birth (hospital). I have only ever attended my own births, and that of my sister when I was eleven. So here's the story:
Girls had swimming lessons tonight, and I was just about a block from our house when my cell rang. I've been keeping it tucked in my bra for the last week, waiting for A to call in labor. It was 6:33, and her husband was on the phone, telling me they were just leaving their house for the hospital. Perfect timing! Dan was right behind me, so we went in and I nursed the baby. Of course, L has never had a bottle, so we weren't really sure how me being gone for a while would go...but nursing him to sleep at least gave D a little extra time.
Anyway, I arrived at the hospital just after 7 p.m., and just minutes ahead of A and her husband. I was feeling badly for her, sitting in a wheelchair answering stupid intake questions about their phone numbers and address and emergency contacts while laboring...but she was dealing fine. The staff got her into triage, hooked up to the belly bands and started asking MORE stupid questions. This went on for a good 20 minutes plus...the nurse didn't really explain much or do anything but intake. She did check dilation (4-5 cm). She also told A to leave the belly band on for the transfer to L&D - how uncomfortable!
We finally moved to L&D, where a lovely nurse basically dropped us off to do our own thing. A went immediately for the shower - still in those stupid elastic bands that the first triage nurse had her keep on. We took them off. Eventually we made our way to the "spa room" (yes, the sign really says "spa") so A could use the tub. She wasn't very comfortable there, so I suggested we go walk the halls instead, as upright positioning was feeling best. The nurse wanted to check before we walked too far, so we popped into a nearby room and - she was at 9cm!
A just draped over the couch, remaining upright for some time...finally her water broke with the stereotypical explosion...it had light mec staining. I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of "concern" expressed by the nurses. They occasionally took heart tones with the doppler, and otherwise left A to labor. Cutting to the end...she ended up on the floor, where we all surrounded her. The OB showed up and happily just did her thing on the floor too...the nurses had dimmed all the lights, they remained pleasantly dark. Baby was pretty purple and didn't make a sound...for so long *I* was actually wondering if they were going to do anything! Baby did get a little O2 in the warmer, but the overall feeling in the room was so pleasant and peaceful, I was shocked.
Aside from the annoying intake, there was very little that rubbed me the wrong way about this entire labor and birth. She had no IV, only intermittent monitoring, drank water as desired, nobody offered pain relief, the nurse was encouraging and stayed with us most of the time, she used the shower and the tub, and birthed side-lying on the floor! I have to admit, it was nothing like I expected...in a great way, of course. Now the pre- part, and the post- part (the annoying intake questions and lack of communication, the belly straps, pit shot, the cord clamping, the erythromycin and Vit K, etc., the monitoring) I would never want. But this gives me much more confidence in the ability of women to birth naturally even when choosing a hospital birth.
From the time A arrived at the hospital to the baby's birth was less than two hours. This mama was so strong and so beautiful laboring...and so quiet! I was so honored to be invited to the birth and to be able to assist this mama in finally "getting" her natural birth. Congrats to A and Baby M...
...and need I say...I'm hooked. I think I know where my path will lead me. Not tomorrow, not the next day...but I dare say it's obvious I need to become a midwife.
ETA: I just posted in the comments too, but I forgot to give the details :)
It's a girl, after 2 boys...9 lb 2 oz, 21 inches, born one day past 40 weeks.
10 comments:
Lovely experience, thanks for sharing! I am my family's doula and have been present at births for three of my sisters. Six births in all. Five were home births, attended by midwives and one was a hospital birth. The hospital birth was a dramatic contrast to the home births. You would be perfect as a midwife! You have the midwife aura about you already! One tip I learned from one of the midwives -- when the baby is born, try to remain somewhat detached - cuddle as little as possible and limit eye contact, or you'll end up with a birth bond and feel sad for days over the "loss" of your "baby"! Now this works out fantastic when the baby belongs to a family member. My mom is not really attached to any of her grandchildren, *except* for the three whose home births she attended.
Jen, I'm glad to hear her birth went as she had planned. That's a great introduction to hospital births.
Yea! Fantastic! I'm delighted you had such a wonderful experience. Good luck on the road to your new calling.
Ah what a high! I have been present at three births before my own. 1 hospital and 2 BC births. They were definitely awe inspiring. It really is a different experience than your own. Good for you to be there for her J! I'm sure it meant the world to her.
Congratulations to our friend, and to you too! What a beautiful honor, to attend her birth, and I am so happy to hear about how well it went!
You will make a wonderful midwife someday--it is a gift and I see it in you.
How neat to share in that experience!
Go get 'em! You'll be a great midwife, I'm sure. I'm glad you could see a positive hospital experience. They do exist, but unfortunately, the longer you're at the hospital (30 plus hours in my first birth), the worse off your chances of people staying out of your business and not rushing you along, right?
Congrats to your friend A!!!
I'm so glad your first time attending a birth was not too riddled with 'culture shock'. You remember my first few doula hospital births scared the bejeezus out of me (not as confidence inspiring as a labor support person ought to be...) This birth sounds very nice. How cool that she progressed this fast! Is this a mom/NCB-friendly hospital? The staff sounded like they knew who they were dealing with and what to do. Impressive.
Boy or girl? Or secret?
As for your midwifery aspirations, I'm not surprised you too finally caught the bug! Feels like I'm the only one holding out on that one...
Oops - it's a GIRL after 2 boys :) A healthy 9 lb 2 oz, 21 inch girl, to be exact. Born just one day past 40 weeks.
It's really no big news that I'd want to pursue midwifery...I've actually known that for a while, but it's hard to say when you haven't actually witnessed any real births! D's been telling me to go there for years; S that came to our birth has said the same to me...some day.
Well, you're certainly off to an *excellent* (if cautious) start to midwifery already!! I totally understand the 'someday' bit. I'm actually just waiting for 'someday' to come for me. Like not being the breadwinner would be a good start. And then I'll see if I still have this birth obsession!
You want to brainstorm things to do until then? besides idly reading midwifery and UC blogs :-)
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