Birth Story: What it’s like to have a scheduled…

October 8, 2020December 11, 2024
by Jessica Whitney

A lot of people are excited about the prospect of sharing their child’s birth story. Yet, considering the idea of birth and the sheer definition of it, always leaves me feeling a bit unsure about the story to share.

You see, I didn’t have to birth my child. I was never officially in labor.

My first born came via a pre-scheduled C-section. It wasn’t an elect a day out of convenience sort of situation. It was a mandated eviction by my OBGYN. You see, I had a high risk pregnancy.

Birth Story: What it’s like to have a scheduled C-Section because of Hypertension

Reminder that these are personal experiences and do not substitute the medical advice of your physician. Always talk to your doctor about your unique situation!

I was a 29 year old with hypertension. I’d been on medication for hypertension since before I was married, so it wasn’t a situation brought about by pregnancy. But having hypertension can definitely throw a wrench in the development of a baby.

Having high blood pressure is definitely a challenge for pregnant mommies who face preeclampsia. I was put in the high risk category early on in my pregnancy and charged to go to weekly appointments early on. I had to visit the hospital each week in addition to my OBGYN for weight checks, heart rate monitoring of my baby girl, extra sonograms to check grown, and stress tests.

So although some people share memories of where their water breaks and being in labor at home for hours/days, I don’t have those memories to recall. I have memories of sitting in the hospital recounting anything I’d eaten pre-appointment, sharing how much fluids I’d had that day while working on a tight school schedule, and feeling guilty for any stress I was under from balancing a teaching career with taking time to go to appointments multiple times a week.

My first born was supposed to be an early June b-day. Doctors had different plans based on my body and out of concern for my health. Baby girl was breech with no hope of shifting into position. She was literally stuck with her hips between mine.

So a plan was set up to deliver her via c-section for everyone’s safety at 37 weeks and 3 days.

The idea of surgery was scary.
– Kimberley

I’ve only had surgery for wisdom teeth removal. I wouldn’t say I’m afraid of blood or needles, but I also don’t jump at the chance to go to a hospital for minor injuries. Willingly signing up to be drugged and cut open is not something I preferred.

I remember not sleeping well the night before her birth. I woke up at one point to go to the bathroom and thought my water had broken. We called the OBGYN and headed to the hospital to get checked. It was a false alarm.

Rather than let me stay until my scheduled surgery, they sent us home to “rest”. When it was finally time to get ready for the hospital, I showered and changed. My mother in law, father in law, and my mom met my husband and I at the hospital to be there for our daughter’s birth.

Learn About When Is the Right Time to Go to the Hospital from a Labor and Delivery Nurse

With a pre-scheduled c-section, we had a hospital suite to wait in before surgery. I was hooked up to machines to track contractions (wasn’t having them), fetal movements, and fetal heart rate. I also had blood pressure monitoring.

Doctors checked in on us. The anesthesiologist explained the procedures to us before entering the operating room. The nurses explained who would be with us in the operating room and what the timeframes would likely be. Everyone was extremely kind and respectful.

To prepare for the surgery, an epidural was administered to numb everything below my waist.

To get this epidural, I had to sit in the operating room on the edge of the bed/table leaning forward to the point of almost falling off the surface with the support of a nurse I’d just met.

Tom had to wait until everything was ready for surgery before joining me in the operating room. The feeling of the epidural needle was described as pinching a bit like a bee sting, with the requirement to not flinch or move while it’s in your spinal column. It felt like being stung by a wasp with a burning sensation around the entry point. Then, the feelings all faded away.

I was assisted into the bed by the nurses. Then they prepped everything – from placing my arms in certain positions near me with warm blankets to sterilizing and testing my stomach for numbness. Once prepped and before any incisions occurred, they fetched my husband to join me.

I had a blue hospital shield in from of me, so I couldn’t see anything. I could hear everything happening around me, but the actual delivery was just happening to me. Suctioning of fluids, tugging at my abdomen, the OB propped up trying to get her out.

When she was tugged/lifted out, Tom focused on what they were doing with her. I couldn’t see her at all. She didn’t breathe right away. She wasn’t reactive right away. They took her into a separate little area to suction her and check her Apgar levels.

When she finally cried, relief passed over us.

Ryleigh was born at 5lbs 12oz.

Hospital Stay Post C-Section

We were in the hospital for the next couple of nights. Family visited us, bringing snacks, coming to snuggle her, and checking in on us.

Staying at the hospital was exhausting. My milk didn’t come. She lost weight. There was a chance she would have to stay in the NICU because of her weight loss. I didn’t sleep because I was in such awe of the tiny human I now held…

She latched, but it wasn’t enough.

We made the decision to supplement with formula to try to help her. A lactation specialist worked with us to attempt to get her to latch while simultaneously getting formula. We had to use this insane tubing system to drip formula into her mouth while she was latched to my breast. It sucked!

Tom and my dad helped me feed her. They had to hold the formula dispenser up in the air while I attended to her latch and ensured the tube stayed in her mouth.

When we finally got approval to go home, we left with tubing to continue the insane feeding regimen at home. We also had to do extra weight checks with the pediatrician to ensure she gained back the lost birth weight.

She was at 5lbs 2oz when we headed home.

Ryleigh is now a healthy kindergartener.

We are incredibly thankful to those who helped deliver her safely and helped us in our first adventure into parenthood.

I can’t tell a labor story of natural birth methods, but I can share that her birth was incredible.

This is a guest post submission by Kimberley W. Kimberley is a mom of 2 beautiful girls.

These are her opinions, experiences, and thoughts and do not reflect professional medical advice. Always consult your physician about your own medical situation!

3 Positive Birth Stories from Real Women to Read…

September 29, 2020December 11, 2024
by Jessica Whitney

This post is part of several birth stories submitted by REAL women looking to share their experiences with other women. If you’re interested in submitting a birth story, please visit my contact page. As a reminder, these are experiences and opinions of real women, but you should always consult your physician or midwife for your particular situation.

From natural labor in a birthing tub to pitocin to a C-section, three women share their incredible personal birth stories that uniquely reflect the miracle of giving birth to their sons and daughters. I love sharing positive birth stories (no matter the type) with others because I believe they offer hope when you are nervous or scared about the unknown.

Birth stories make me cry every time, what about you? Why do I do this to myself and read them? hahaha.

Oh wait, it’s because I LOVE ishy-squishy babies. Also, I’m overwhelmed with emotion as I think of all the hopes and fears and dreams that overflow in that tiny moment in between when a new mom takes a labored breath followed by the cries of a newborn.

Grab your tissues and enjoy these amazing birth stories shared by real women. I am so inspired by the strength of these women and mamas!

There are affiliate links in this post. This means if you click on a link and make a purchase, I might receive a commission at no additional charge to you! Thanks for supporting the blog.

3 Unique Labor and Delivery Stories from Real Women for First Time Moms

A Second Natural Hospital Birth with Pitocin and a Doula

Thanks Liz for sharing your birth story and all the deets!

Ok, I know they say that each birth is different and man, can I say that this rings SO TRUE to my story? My second daughter had a due date of December 18, 2019.

Because my first baby was two weeks overdue, I really was not expecting to be due on time, let alone early. Well, the week before her due date I started doing this 7 minute exercise I found on YouTube of squats and hip shaking to help move baby into place. I honestly didn’t think it would work, considering the first time around I tried EVERYTHING to go into labor.

Well, I couldn’t be more wrong.

December 16 is my husband’s birthday, and since that was a Monday we decided to celebrate with family the Sunday prior (the 15^th). I was feeling weird all day, super tired, sorta “off” but honestly I didn’t think much of it.

By that time in pregnancy you feel all sorts of things, so I just wrote it off as an “I’m almost due hence the discomfort” feeling. Well, my body was actually trying to tell me something.

That evening, at 2 am I woke up with heartburn (my nemesis the whole pregnancy) and rolled over to use the restroom and get a tums. Eric popped awake and said “Is everything OK?!” I said, “yes, just heartburn, ugh.”

Well, then as I stood up out of bed I felt that famous warm feeling of water running down my leg. I said, “Uh, I think my water just broke.”

I proceeded to the toilet, where, yes indeed it was my waters breaking, as it was super clear and odorless (phew, I did not pee myself!).

I didn’t know what to do at this point, honestly. I did not expect my water to break first, as that did not happen with my first labor. I also was bummed because I knew the 24-hour clock started ticking and I wouldn’t be able to labor in my warm bath at home. Bummers aside, I needed to call my doula because I needed help deciding what to do! She calmed my fears and told me to feel for contractions and movement with the baby.

What is the evidence for inducing labor if your water breaks at term?

Well, contractions officially started at 3 am and were mild but regular. Eric was awake, all giddy because we didn’t think the baby would come early, let alone on his birthday! I tried to get some rest because I was thinking I’d be in this for the long haul. So, I didn’t sleep much but was able to close my eyes until Maddison woke up, about 6 am. We got her ready for daycare and let her know her baby sister was on the way!

We took our sweet time getting to the hospital. At around 9 am, we arrived and the nurses were NOT happy I waited 6 hours to arrive, but my doctor called in direct admit orders so they couldn’t stay mad.

Once we got settled in my labor room, that’s what I did…labor, walk, labor, bounce on the ball, labor, inhale clary sage, labor more. Around 12pm my progress was checked and I was only dilated 3-4 cm. I was totally deflated knowing that I was on a 24 hour timeline per hospital policy.

We were faced with the decision to start Pitocin to get things moving. Now, I am doing this labor thing without pain killers and I had not heard very many positive things about Pitocin. My nurse was super sweet and promised we would start at the absolute lowest dose and increase as slowly as possible.

After laboring for a couple more hours, I only dilated to about 5 cm. I had to make the decision to go for Pitocin. At about 4 pm, they started the drip. Man, contractions DID change. They were HARD.

I was able to rest in between (which I was worried would not happen with Pitocin), but once they came they came on strong. After a couple hours of intense focus to get through each painful contraction those invasive thoughts of “I don’t know if I can do this” crept in my mind.

My doula was right there, coaching me with, “Yes, you have done this before and you can do it now.” It’s just what I needed to get me through. Another difference between this labor and the first was that I experienced nausea. Ugh, that was terrible. This essential oil helped a TON though.

So, through this time I was laboring, I would take a few contractions on the toilet, as that opens up the hips more and progresses things. Well, at about 7 pm I decided to sit on that porcelain throne again and 3 HARD HARD contractions came.

I walked back to the bed, facing the back of it, one leg on the floor and verbalized “I don’t know if I can do this for another two hours” (thinking I still had that much time).

Well, the Big Man upstairs must have heard me, because then my next thought was, “Man, I feel like I have to $**t!” (pardon the explicative)

So, baby decided she was coming. No time to waste.

I was facing the back of the bed with my hands on the guardrails, on my knees yelling “She’s coming! She’s coming!” Now, back up one sec, it was 7 pm at this point. For those in healthcare, we know this is “shift change” and that is exactly what was happening.

The nurse coming on duty said, “Well, let me check you.,” and I think at this point I said, “NO, I’m a 10. SHE IS COMING”. It was sort of a blur because she was coming FAST.

So, with me kneeling on the bed, my husband ripped my panties off and they were wheeling me 20 feet away into the delivery room. Right as they got me into that room, I couldn’t stop myself, I pushed all of two times and baby girl came out!

Eric tells me she came so fast the nurse almost didn’t get there to catch her. Also, the doctor never arrived in time to deliver. My doula says she texted the doctor at 7:21 that I was ready to push, and by 7:26 MacKenzie Avery was here, all 8 lbs and 20.75 inches of her!

I have never felt such a sense of relief as I did holding that baby girl in my arms that evening. Its an odd feeling, birth is. So much pain, so much suffering, but so much sweetness.

Even more sweet, though, getting to watch her big sister fall in love.

Wyatt’s Birth Story: A Grateful C-Section

Thanks Teara for sharing Wyatt’s unique birth story!

I truly think everything happens for a reason. And well Wyatt decided that he would take after his own mother and provide me with a great birthing story.

I was told by my OB and a specialist that Wyatt was measuring big and that for my safety it would be best to be induced. I went in on Sunday night thinking that soon I would be holding my baby boy. Both my doctors and nurses warned me that being induced would not allow for my body’s natural endorphins to be produced and it would hurt a little more (and being a stereotypical redhead I knew my options for birth were natural or with an epidural).

So after the initial pain of labor I opted for an epidural (also might have puked my brains out a lot).

Well, my progress was slowed because of the epidural. But after almost 26 hours Wyatt was in my pelvis, and well it was time to push. And push I did, for 4 hours. (Now this is the part of the story where he takes after me).

After 4 hours and two epidurals, I asked my nurse if what I was doing was working. I felt the need to push, but my son had a LARGE head. And when asked my nurse laughed and told me no.

If I could have jumped off the bed I would have. It had been almost 32 hours since I was admitted into the hospital. I wanted to hold my son, and I was tired.

So we called for my OB and she came in and saw me and saw me push and agreed that Wyatt was being stubborn and that he would not fit through my pelvis. So it was time for a C-section.

Finally after 33 hours of being induced, labor, and major surgery, I finally got to see my son. And it is a good thing that we had the C-Section because he had somehow wrapped his umbilical cord around his neck.

If I had given birth to him vaginally it would have harmed him more.

So I do think everything happens for a reason.

Learn the #1 Way to Prevent Unecessary Visits to Labor and Delivery

An Overdue Mama Shares Her Birthing Tub Labor and Delivery

Thanks Marissa for sharing this beautiful story!

On 3/6/2020 I was 41+2 weeks. At 1:15 am I woke up to go to the bathroom and saw that I had my bloody show. I laid back down in bed but started having a contraction. I went to the bathroom and then had another contraction so I decided to get in the shower to help with the pain.

The contractions were intense, lasting about 30 seconds and coming every 3 minutes. I didn’t want to get out of the shower but knew this was it and needed to wake up Chris.

As we were getting everything ready for the hospital I was continuing to have contractions for 30 seconds 2-3 minutes apart. We load up the car, drop Wyatt off at my cousins’ and headed to the hospital. We got to triage around 3 am.

My blood pressure was good so I was cleared for the birthing suite. The midwife I was hoping for was on call that night. She checked me and we were all shocked that I was 8 cm, almost completely effaced, and -2 station.

They rushed to get the birthing suite ready and started filling up the tub. I got in the tub as soon as I could and it helped a lot with the contractions. The midwife also showed Chris how to do counter pressure on my hips and he did that with each contraction which was a lifesaver.

The contractions stayed the same 30 seconds long 2-3 min apart until about 5:30 am. Then they started getting more intense and more frequent. I was feeling more pressure and the midwife did a quick check and I was 9 cm, completely effaced, and my water bag was bulging.

About 20-30 minutes later my water broke in the tub. The contractions became more intense, and I had the urge to push. I pushed for about 30 seconds with each contraction. Hospital policy was that I couldn’t have her in the water so as I was crowning I had to stand up.

Her arm was in front of her face so the midwife delivered her hand next to her face (nuchal hand), then shoulder then head. She was born completely at 6:29 am.

The midwife gave her to me between my legs and then I sat in the tub with her for a few minutes taking in her precious face. She started crying right away.

Then I got out of the tub and laid on the bed with her. We let the placenta finish pulsating and then Chris cut the cord. The placenta was beautiful and her cord was a beautiful spiral. The placenta was delivered a few minutes later.

The midwife checked and I didn’t have any tears. Ada took to the breast quickly and had a beautiful pink coloration. Ada’s birth was everything I imagined it would be. I am so thankful for my wonderful midwife Rebecca and the labor and delivery nurses.