The Birth of Jack
September 8, 2007
By Mary Ellen Cutting
Thursday, September 6th
I go to my 38 weeks checkup at my midwife's new office. My weight and blood pressure are checked. Fetal Heart Tones (FHT), fundal height, baby's position are checked. An internal exam is not needed. After the appointment, my kids and I go to the library. My oldest son plays chess there. We can spend hours at the library. All my children had to have a turn using the computers there. We borrow some books and a DVD.
When the kids and I get home, we eat dinner. Then we clean the house up. As a reward (for helping clean) the kid get to watch the DVD from the library.
8:00 p.m.
I place the DVD in the computer. I sit down. A Gush of Fluid! I reach down to touch my shorts. BLOOD! With blood trickling down my legs, I run to the kitchen. I call my midwife's cell number. I get her voicemail. My name does not come up on Caller ID. My midwife does not pick up the phone. I call my friend, Heather. She will come quickly. As soon as I get off the phone my midwife returns my call. She is on her way. I tried to call my husband Albert at work. Voicemail! I ask a neighbor if she can watch my kids if I need to transfer (before Heather gets to my home). I go home and write an email to Albert:
Subject: GET HOME NOW!!!!!
"I bled!!! Not too much. Hopefully, it is just the cervix opening. Not anything bad!"
My midwife's adult daughter, arrives first. She is training to become a licensed midwife. My midwife and another midwife arrive. Heather arrives. My midwife’s daughter cleans the blood up off the floor. Heather helps care for my children. My midwife does an internal check. She feels the head on the cervix. The placenta is not near the cervix. Fetal heart tones are good. Nothing is wrong. Everything is fine. The contractions are five minutes apart, though not strong. Braxton-hicks strength.
I put on a maxi pad to collect the blood, which at this point has slowed. I have no problem peeing in my pad. An empty bladder helps the baby to descend. I am also sipping lots of water (for hydration and to calm my nerves). Around 9:30 pm Albert calls. I update him and tell him to come home.
While I am still on the phone with Albert, I comment to the midwives that my water must have broken. There is no way this much fluid is coming from my bladder. Once I am off the phone, the other midwife follows me to my bedroom. She tests for amniotic fluid. The first test strip is negative. The second one starts off negative then turns positive. The third test strip is positive. This confirms that I am leaking amniotic fluid.
Unfortunately, I am now on the clock. We assume that my water broke at 8:00 pm. I think there is a 24 hour rule which means I should deliver by 8:00 pm, Friday, September 7th. I already meet the 12 hour rule, because I am having contraction five minutes apart. I am technically considered in active labor.
Albert gets home. Heather helps get the kids to bed. Now it is 10:00 pm, I have five kids who can't sleep. Their heads are sticking out of their rooms. We tell them that it will be hours before the baby is born. I decide to lay down with the twins (in their room). This helps to calm them down. This helps me to calm down. After they fall asleep, I go to my room and fall asleep. It is midnight. The midwives sleep on my living room floor. Heather goes home. Albert tries to fall asleep next to me.
Friday, September 7th
6:00a.m.
I wake up. The contractions are still five minutes apart and not strong. I decide to take a walk to help the contractions to pick-up. My midwife comes with me. Heather returns to my house.
The walk did little to help the contractions pick up. The contractions are doing something, because with each internal check, cervical changes are noted. (Internal checks are kept to a minimum due to the infection risk associated with Prolonged Rupture of Membranes, PROM). For a few contractions, the midwives put their hands on my abdomen and said they feel strong to them. I am just good at handling them.
To help the contractions to pick up, I try nursing one of my two year old twin daughters. This does not increase the contractions either.
Throughout this labor, I eat and drink whatever I want. The other midwife makes me scramble eggs. Heather makes tea. I don't have to lift a finger if I don't want to. I raid my fridge often. At some point, I realize that I haven't had alfalfa sprouts recently. I must have alfalfa sprouts. It is tradition. All my previous births, I had eaten sprout before going into labor. I need the vitamin K. Heather goes out and get alfalfa sprouts along with other fruits and vegetables from a local fruit stand. I have alfalfa sprouts and eat fresh pineapple. I keep my water near me. I sip often. The midwives brought ice. My water is cool and refreshing.
I allow Albert to attend a noontime meeting at work. That is if he is home by 2:00pm. His workplace is only 15 minutes away. If labor picks up, before he is home, we just have to call him. Heather offers to take the kids with her. My kid will spend the day with Heather's children.
After Albert gets home (along with some groceries he brought home), The midwives decide to go home to recharge. My midwife says she will be back around 6pm. Of course, I should call her if I need her sooner. Now, it is just Albert and me.
As the hours past, I start to worry about the 24 hour rule. If I don't deliver by 8pm must my midwife transfer my care to a doctor at a hospital? Am I willing to fire her mid-labor if needed? Yes, as long as I have zero signs of infection and the baby seem to be fine, I will stay at home. I have delivered some of my children unassisted. I sure can do it again. It was good to have the midwife there for the bleeding. I needed her to rule out any possible placental problems. If I hadn't hired her, (and had tried to birth unassisted) I would have had to transfer to a local E.R. But if I fire her, how can I keep track of the FHT? That is kind of important. Especially to watch for signs of infection/distress in the baby.
6:00 p.m.
Because of all the fluid I was leaking, I was going through incontinence underpads quickly. When I am standing or walking, I use maxi pads. When I am sitting or laying down, I use underpads. Now I am nearly out. I ask Albert to go out and get some. He doesn't want to go out. He doesn't know where in the store to find them. After trying to twist Albert's arm to get them, I decided I will get them ALL-BY-MYSELF. Bad Albert. Shame on him. Well, at least, he went food shopping earlier in the day. My last words to him as I was leaving: "You will be sorry when the midwife gets here and I am missing." He feels that we are paying the midwives a good amount of money. They can go out and get them for us.
As I am about to turn off my street onto the main road, my midwife turns onto my road. I see her and turn around to meet her in my driveway. I tell her I am going out to get some underpads. She offers to drive me. I get into her SUV and she escorts me to the store. I buy two packages. I keep the receipt in case I want to return an unopened package.
8:00 p.m.
The midwife will not transfer me. Though she is now treading on risky territory. I agree to preventive antibiotics, in pill form. Hey, this sure beats an IV with antibiotics in a hospital. Research says that once I walk though the hospital's doors the risk of infection increases. (Likely due to the fact that my immune system is more familiar with the germs in my own home compared to the ones at the hospital.) Oral antibiotics are a fair compromise.
Around 9 pm, Heather arrives back with the kids. They had fun. Heather helps get the kids to bed. Around 9:30pm the midwife gives me an homeopathic remedy to boost labor.
Around 10pm I start to get ready for bed. As I am brushing my teeth, I notice that my contractions are getting stronger. Hooray, this is what I call active labor!
As time passes the frequency and magnitude of the contractions also increase. Due to the increased intensity, I decide to sit in my bathtub. Heather sprays my lower back and thighs down with hot water from the shower head. This helps to relax my aching muscles. We plug the tub and allow the water to fill up to cover my thighs. Then we drain the water and plug the tub again and repeat the process.
Because of the Prolonged Rupture of Membranes, the midwife is not comfortable doing a water birth. She is also not comfortable doing internal check in the tub. For each internal check, I will have to leave the tub. Once completed, I can return to the tub.
As sit in the tub, I make comments such as:
"This is NOT fun anymore."
"I won't being doing this again for a long time."
"I just want this to be over with, so I can go to sleep."
I am getting tried of being in labor. The previous night, I only had six hours of sleep. It is nearing midnight. Albert is in the computer room. I send for him. He comes. Albert notices I am in transition. Albert wants to get the twins. I told him, "NO!" The last thing I need is two upset two year olds while I am in transition. Heather misunderstands and locks to door to the girls' room. I am fine with them being there during the pushing phase. The midwife wants to check me.
I leave the tub and move to my bed. There is a bag of waters in front of the baby's head. What! It appears the earlier break is higher up and the baby's head has resealed it. The midwife offers to break the waters. I allow her to do it. She measures the dilation. Almost complete, just a little bit of lip left. She offers to move it away with the next contraction. I give her permission. She does it, but it hurts. Now it is time to push! Albert tries to get the girls but the door is locked. The other midwife reminds me to push with the contractions. Once, I did try pushing between contractions, but that was a waste of energy. I am getting impatient. I want the baby out. At a certain point, I stop listening to the midwives and push whenever I please. Albert suggested that I switch to a squatting or hands on knees position. For all my unassisted births, I delivered my children in a squatting or hands on knees position. I deliver best in those positions. I was too tired to squat, so I went on my hands and knees.
Jack's head crowns. His head is out. The shoulders emerge. The rest of him sides out.
Jack is born at 12:50am on Saturday September 8, 2007. He is 20 ¼ inches long with 13 ½ inch head, chest, and abdomen and weighs 7 ½ pounds.