I chose to go with a natural, out-of-hospital birth as a result of watching the Business of Birthing and More Business of Birthing on Netflix. These documentaries by Ricki Lake explore natural birthing and the medical system. They teach explicitly about midwives, birthing center and home births, doulas, and the basic ins and outs of natural labor. These documentaries, coupled with my own research on the rise of mental health disorders in children (which has been positively correlated with the rise of traumatic births) convinced me that natural was the way to go and the hospital was not the place for me. I heard many stories of women being pressured into things that they didn't want at the hospital as well as stories in which the women's birth plans were respected, but in the end, I didn't want to chance it and I wanted to be able to move freely around during labor, without an IV or monitor. I was lucky to be able to find a local birthing center that was just beginning, headed up by a certified nurse midwife with plenty of experience. I loved her laid back approach and how she would give me time at every appointment to ask her questions. She was very supportive while my husband and I took our time trying to decide on whether to give birth at home or in her birthing center and the other ins and outs of birthing. If you live in the southwest Michigan area and are interested in home or birthing center birth, I highly recommend her. This is her website. I was also able to find a fabulous doula that brought along (with my permission) her assistant who does birth photography. She is awesome and worked with me a lot to prepare me and the hubs for labor as well as providing comfort measures and support during labor.
My Birth Story
My estimated due date was April 14, 2014. The night before my due date I woke up with some contractions. They stuck around for about an hour and a half before stopping altogether. I was so disappointed, but went back to sleep knowing that my body was preparing itself for labor. Rather than call my midwife and doula (who were on call for me) in the horrible hours of the morning, I waited it out and timed them to see if they were legitimate contractions or just practice contractions. I'm glad I did because it would have been a shame to wake them both up only for the contractions to stop a little while later.
The next couple of days were spent drinking raspberry leaf tea, notifying my boss I wanted to start my leave now rather than waiting for labor to start (research suggests women who start leave before labor begins have a decreased chance of having c-section), eating pineapple, going for walks, and whatever else people said had a possibility of inducing labor naturally. People made jokes about him being late, but to me, he was going to be just on time whenever he decided to come, despite my impatience.
On the evening of the 16th at about 7:25 pm, I was finishing up cooking dinner for the hubs and I, when I felt a contraction and a tiny little gush of something downstairs. I went to check it out and it was the bloody show. I started to get a little excited and began to watch the clock. Another contraction started about seven and a half minutes later. They stayed consistent for the next hour. I sent a warning text to my midwife and my doula to let them know that it might be tonight and they advised me to go ahead and try to get some rest. I ate my dinner and went to bed, timing the contractions the whole time. I laid down in bed and turned on my hypnobirthing relaxation exercise and attempted to relax, but almost suddenly the contractions became much more intense and closer together. I couldn't relax through them and I definitely was not going to be able to get any sleep. I told the hubs he needed to get ready, so he took an online quiz that would be due for one of his classes and jumped in the shower. I called my doula and midwife and we all decided to meet up at the midwife's birthing center. We stopped at the gas station to get some gas, where my twin sister happened to be working at the time, and she came out to see me. Coincidentally, I got a contraction right at that moment. I patted her worried face and the husband finished filling up. At this point the contractions were only a couple minutes apart.
Upon arriving at the birthing center at about 10:45am, I got another contraction right in front of the door as the midwife opened it to greet us. We made our way to the birthing area where my doula was and I tried to find a comfortable way to deal with the contractions which had grown so intense I couldn't even think through them. My doula and the hubs both reminded me to relax my shoulders (my tension spot) and to breathe, but I had a very hard time getting myself to loosen up my muscles and allow the contraction to happen. I found myself calculating how long it would take to get me to the hospital and to the drugs. I started to fantasize about the needle that would deliver sweet sweet drugs to my body and take the pain away. My birthing team brought me water to sip on and rubbed my back or squeezed my hips, the hubs ran his fingers through my hair, but nothing was bringing my mind to the peaceful place I had planned on being in during labor. I didn't fear labor before it started, but it sure was kicking my butt once it got serious. I asked my doula to ask my midwife to check me (dilation). I was almost ready to give up and I needed to hear something about how far along I was.
We moved to the bedroom and my midwife checked me. She told me I was going to like this, I was already at eight centimeters and I could get into the jacuzzi as soon as it was ready. This was the news I needed to keep going. Suddenly, my contractions had a purpose, they were bringing my baby boy closer. By the time I got into the water, it was almost 12:30 in the morning. My midwife checked me again and I was at nine and a half centimeters. She gave me the okay to push if I felt the need. I had a hard time getting traction in the water and ended up hanging on to and pulling on my poor, sweet doula, who took it like a champ. My birthing team continued to offer me sips of water to try and keep me hydrated and provided encouragement the whole time. After a while, we decided that I was not productive enough in the water and should get out and try something else.
We moved back to the bedroom and moved around from position to position, trying different tactics each time. The strongest part of my body (my legs) had no support from my hips, making any squatting positions we tried very difficult. My husband had to hold me up while I hung on to his shoulders with all my strength and tried to push. Baby boy was crowning for quite a while, still in his amniotic sac, and I pushed with all my strength to help him find his way out. His head was a little bit tilted, making it a little bit harder to get him in the right spot. Between contractions, I concentrated on how to breathe while my birthing team instructed me to sync my breathing with theirs.
We allowed the cord to stop pulsating before cutting it. In the meantime, the hubs and I adored our little naked baby. After a while, my midwife whisked me away to get stitched up and deliver the impressive placenta (they said it was very healthy and maybe the best they had seen - I could be exaggerating, I don't remember everything perfectly). The ripping wasn't too bad and I definitely didn't care about it considering the little treasure that came from it. My little baby made all the pain worth it. We stayed in the bedroom for a few hours after delivery, taking a nap, adoring his little everything, and learning how to breastfeed him. My birthing team gave me snacks, grape juice, and water to help get me back on my feet, and helped me get dressed and learn how to take care of myself during recovery. At about 10:30 am, we were allowed to leave, right after my little boy had a nasty blowout and got his first bath and outfit change.
Santiago Rafael Suarez (Marquez). 7 lbs, 15 oz. 20 inches long, 14 inch head, 13.5 inch chest. He has blue eyes for now, and light blonde/brown hair.
