Hannah's Induction

Here is the birth story from this post.   First time mom being induced for low fluid at 41 weeks.  I am going to break it into 2 posts.  First the simple birth story, without my doula input.  Then I will do a follow up with some doula details.

Hannah and Doug called me Monday afternoon after a NST.  Hannah’s fluid level was 3, so they were going to induce.  They were going to start with the Foley Bulb and then do pitocin.  I told her to call me with updates and let me know when she needed me.  Doug called at 2 and said she needed me.

I arrived around 2:30.  They had put the foley bulb in around 1:00 and she did ok at first, then started getting really crampy and had a really huge pain in her back and freaked out a bit.  But Sierra (her sister) got her into the shower and that really helped her relax.  So when I arrived she was in the shower, Sierra and her mom (Kelly) were helping her out.  Her Nana was there too.  So all in all we had Hannah, Nana, Kelly, Sierra , baby Oliver (Sierra’s baby), me and Doug.  He was a little out numbered, but seemed used to it.  :0)

Hannah came out of the shower around 3 and looked great.  She was feeling fine, having pressure waves occasionally and felt them mostly in her back.  Doug headed home to get some things they forgot.  The women all hung out until I suggested everyone go and let Hannah rest.  They went to get dinner and Hannah rested a bit.  Doug came back around 4:30 and I read the Change of Plan and Come Out Baby Script.  I was counting her to center just as the nurse was coming in.  Perfect timing.

They started pitocin around 7.  They were going to keep it really low until the bulb fell out.  The pressure waves picked up a bit (they had been slowing down.)  She was still managing them easily.  She liked standing up or being on the birth ball.

8:00 I had Hannah pee again.  She got in the shower for a few minutes.  The nurse didn’t know, so we had her hold her arm out of the shower, so her IV wouldn’t get wet.

We watched the Batchelor for a bit (per Hannah’s request).  The ladies went on a walk to get snacks.  Hannah rested to the Batchelor.  The ladies headed to a nearby hotel around 9.  About 9:15 Hannah said she needed something new.  So we turned off Batchelor and put on a script and tried a new position.  She started feeling nauseous around 10:15.  She was standing by the bed at this point.  Suddenly at 10:30 she violently threw up and then the bulb fell out.  Wow, it was impressive. J  There was throw-up everywhere, some blood, a bulb thing hanging out attached to her leg.  The nurse came and we helped her get cleaned up.  Into the bathroom we went, she peed, and we helped clean her all off.  We got her all situated again on the ball and relaxing.

Things were starting to get more intense so Hannah asked to be checked at 11:40 and she was 7cm!  We were so excited.  I called the ladies and they hurried back.  (They came back into the room with Hannah’s permission on the condition they couldn’t speak!)   She was still just handling everything so very well.  Lots of back labor, but she took one pressure wave at a time and was amazing.  I did ask the nurse to turn down the pitocin at this point, as the pressure waves were really close and it was obvious she was progressing.  So the nurse did turn it down and I think eventually turned the pitocin off.

12:40 Hannah was starting to say she didn’t want to do this anymore.  She wanted to get checked and the nurse said she was 9cm and she called the OB.

When the OB arrived Hannah was still 9cm and they suggested AROM.  Doug and her were so great, they asked the pros and cons and then said, “yes, let’s do it.”  So her OB broke her water at 1am.  At some point she said, “I should have gotten an epidural.”  But she didn’t ask for one and she stayed in control and calm and just took the pressure waves one by one.  She started pushing around 1:20.

The OB came in and sat on his stool between her legs, closed his eyes and kept taking cat naps.  When she was pushing the nurse kind of made me mad because she would say, ‘If you push hard then the baby can come out next push.”    So then Hannah was frustrated and worried because the baby wasn’t coming out.  She thought that she wasn’t pushing well enough because the baby wasn’t coming out.  I reassured her that it took time, that she was doing great.

At one point Hannah said, “Never mind.  I just want a cesarean.  What if the baby is too big?”  I reassured her she was doing fine.  The baby was good, she was good, her baby was the perfect size for her!  She could do it!    Lots of positive affirmations!

She was doing so well, you could see more and more of the babies head.  The OB was good at this point, talking her through it.  He was very encouraging to her.  When the baby’s head came out the OB told me calmly, “You move back.” The nurse moved up and put the bed down.  “stuck shoulder”  he said. The nurse started pushing on her stomach and had Hannah’s mom push the call button.  She said, “Shoulders room 35”  I was a little dumbfounded.  It seemed like he didn’t even give the baby’s head a chance to rotate at all and he was pulling on the baby and the nurse was shoving on her stomach.”  But then the baby came out.  Probably within 20 – 30 seconds after the head coming out, just as 2 nurses showed up in the room.

He suctioned the baby and Hannah was worried.  But he reassured her baby was fine.  She started crying and went right onto Hannah’s chest.  A few seconds later Hannah announced, “That wasn’t too bad!”

We all laughed.  Hannah did awesome!  Except for being made to push in a position she didn’t find comfortable and the scary last few seconds she had an incredible birth.  She overcame great odds, hospital, pitocin, posterior baby and did it un-medicated and was calm and did amazing!