“A Birth to Remember”

by Melissa Morrill, AAHCC

It was finally here…the long awaited arrival of my first birth had finally begun.  I have been waiting for this moment for a long time.  Well, actually just for a couple of months now.  A childbirth student of mine had asked me a few months earlier to attend her birth.  Besides my own experience of natural childbirth, until this point, I did not have the experience of seeing it with a clear mind.  Since I am a newly trained childbirth educator, I was happy to be a part of their birth and I was anxious to attend a birth as a participant and labor coach.  The couple was dedicated to achieving natural childbirth and had prepared an extensive birth plan, was planning a hospital birth using a Certified-Nurse Midwife, and also had attended eight weeks of childbirth classes.  They were well on their way to achieving their goal and they had their minds set with great determination.  I was very excited at the thought of attending but nervous at the same time, wondering what my role would be and if I would be helpful or not. 

The phone call came around 11:00 p.m. January 30^th 2004.  The father-to-be, Jeff, called to say Amber was at the hospital and was 5 centimeters dilated.  I needed to get my things and get my household settled and then I said I would be there.  I arrived at the hospital at 12:30 a.m. and it was just in the nick of time.  Amber, the mother, was sitting on the bed, lights dim, music on and she was very grateful to see me.  At first I was nervous of where my position would be in this labor and if they would really need me here.  After I got settled, I got caught up on how the labor was going.  She was 7 cm at the last check and contractions were fairly intense.  She was sitting up, moaning, and breathing fast and light during contractions.  I could see a look of panic and desperation in her eyes.  I knew we had some work ahead of us.  I reminded her that if she could relax it would over sooner.  So, she decided that maybe it was time to lay down and get serious.  Next, I reminded her to remember abdominal breathing.  We teach abdominal breathing in class to ensure relaxation, avoid hyperventilation, and increase optimal oxygen reaches the baby.  I could tell she was feeling anxious and scared during her contractions and I remember these precise feelings during my own labor.

She shifted her breathing to abdominal and she started concentrating on relaxation.  Within a few minutes, her contractions increased in intensity.  She was gracefully allowing the labor to take over her body and was no longer fighting it.  Her midwife came in to check her within 10 to 15 minutes after I arrived and said she was a “good 7 cm” dilated.  The baby was rotating from posterior, which he was previously aligned, due to some pelvic rocking they had tried earlier.  The midwife said she would be back to check her at 1:30 a.m. (it was about 12:45 a.m.).  Within only a few minutes, it seemed my presence began to affect her and she started to calm down and relax.  As her contractions came, I coached her through them by reminding how wonderful she was doing and how beautiful she was.  It was not until this point, even after my training, my own birth, and teaching classes for 6 months, that I realized how important verbal coaching was in labor.  I could see her relax more and more as I talked her through the contractions.  I saw her to begin trusting her body and giving into the labor.  As she relaxed, the contractions began stronger, more intense and completely overwhelming to her.  Another important aspect of labor and childbirth came to light for me at this point.  I realized the fight women have during labor is such an emotional and psychological one.  As soon as Amber relaxed more, the contractions became more and more intense, which made her want to tense up to stop them.  The battle was in her head and it was apparent to me now more than ever.  We had to keep the tension out of her body as much as possible, so the crusade was on.

Within 20 minutes after I arrived, I could tell Amber was in transition.  The physical signs were staring me in the face.  She was shaking, burping, felt nauseas and was definitely experiencing self-doubt.  I informed her that I thought she was in transition and that she was on the down hill slide.  I made a deal with Amber. I told her that if she could relax and let her body take over, that when the midwife came in to check her at 1:30 a.m. I thought she could be ready to start pushing.  She agreed and we continued to work on relaxation and abdominal breathing.  I continually reminded her of what a great job she was doing and that soon her beautiful baby boy would be here and she would be holding him in her arms.  That seemed to be the only glimpse of happiness for her.

We changed positions a lot, rubbed her back, gave her sips of water, wiped her head with a cold wash cloth, and repeatedly coached her through the contractions.  She seemed to improve when I could help her understand the pain and remind her of the reasons for her sensations of labor.  As a labor assistant, I put all of my focus and energy on Amber.  I knew that she needed us and that she wanted to have this baby unmedicated.  Shortly after 1:00 a.m., Amber began to feel the urge to push, which can also be another sign of transition.  I knew we were almost there and reminded Amber that the end was very close.

When the midwife came in at 1:40 a.m., Amber was almost fully dilated and ready to enter second stage. Amber had successfully given into her labor and dilated from 7 cm to almost full dilation within an hour of my arrival.  I felt relieved and glad her hard work had paid off.  She had done such a wonderful job of relaxing through those incredibly intense contractions and I was so proud of her.  The midwife had her push through a couple of contractions to help rotate the baby over and to help her cervix dilate completely open.  Amber had hip replacement surgery so she was unable to pull her right leg back for effective pushing so we were faced with a challenge.  She pushed a little on her side and a little on her back (much to my dismay).  Amber was in second stage for a little under an hour.  She was having a hard time pushing the baby out.  She finally had the baby crowned and then the baby was just not going anywhere.  The midwife did a quick episiotomy and out came a huge 9 pound 8 ounce baby boy.  He was perfectly healthy, happy, alert, and was placed on Amber’s bare skin tummy.  Amber was anxiously awaiting his arrival and started breastfeeding him within 15 to 20 minutes after he was born.  I was so thrilled at the sight of Amber and Jeff bonding with their new baby.

The entire experience was inspirational and changed my life.  I now knew, with out a doubt, that there is a good reason to have a labor assistant (doula), female family member, or midwife constantly with a laboring woman.  Since the introduction of hospital birth and obstetrics, women began missing out on the emotional support that women provided to each other.  Despite all of the books I have read and knowing in my brain that labor coach’s were important, to experience it in this capacity and in my heart was completely new!  We were able to provide Amber a few simple things that enabled her to focus on her body and her baby and allowed her baby the best possible start in life.  It also allowed Amber the immense empowerment of experiencing all of the wonderful, yet painful, sensations of childbirth.  With the success of her determination and focus, Jubal Dixon Whitlatch was born at 2:36 a.m. without drugs running through his body and with the warmth of a completely awake and emotionally available mother to nurture him right from the start.

I am truly grateful for this experience.  I believe it will help me to provide better education to my future students and I will be very fortunate to attend more births in the future and witness the absolute miracle of life.  For now I truly know the beauty and joy of natural childbirth.