We are so glad we took the Confident Childbirth Class with all of you.  It gave us the tools we needed to have our baby naturally.  Here’s our story…

We had a visit with our midwife at the doctor’s office on January 3rd and I was already 4 cm dilated and 80% effaced so we knew labor would likely start soon.  Our midwife swept my membranes as well.  I continued to exercise and drink lots of raspberry zinger tea to move things along.  I was having mild contractions for several days now, but nothing consistent.

On January 5th around 2am I woke up with mild cramps/contractions and realized that I had my bloody show.  I went back to bed tried to rest, but neither one of us slept that well.  We got out of bed around 8:00am and got the hospital bag finished up and packed in the car just in case.  At this point contractions were every 8-10 minutes and very bearable.  We did some stuff around the house, Matt did a little work from home, I got dressed and ready for the day, etc. and the contractions quickly got stronger and closer together.  We called the doctor’s office just before noon after I had contractions 5 minutes apart that were 1 minute long for over an hour.  They knew I wanted a natural birth and they encouraged us to stay home a little longer, but I started to feel panicky since labor was progressing quickly and said that we would feel more comfortable being at the hospital.  I had some toast and a glass of cold juice on the way to the hospital.  The meditation cd was very helpful for the car ride.  I think it helped us both relax a little.

I labored in the Northside Women’s Center Atrium for about 45 minutes while Matt got us checked in and we waited on a room.  The exercise ball was a life saver.  I bounced and did lots of breathing.  Between contractions, Matt and I were still able to carry on a conversation just fine.

Once we were in our room a little after 1pm, I was 6 cm dilated and 80% effaced and labor came on strong.  We were clear about no meds and the importance of mobility and the staff accommodated us completely.  I got a heparin lock put in and labored around the room and in the shower all afternoon and into the evening while Matt gave me lots of ice chips and quiet encouragement.  Our nurse even held the heart monitor on my belly when we needed to check the fetal heart rate so I could move around. That evening, I was 9 cm and almost completely effaced.  I kept saying that I needed to rest and I got it!  I got on my hands and knees and for a while my contractions stopped and I just felt discomfort/pressure as the baby descended more and more.  The contractions came back, my water broke naturally and I pushed for about 20 minutes.  Saying words really helped during labor and delivery.  My midwife encouraged me to vocalize by saying the word “down” while I was breathing to tell the baby where to go and while I was pushing (and really felt the ring of fire) yelling “BABY COME OUT!” really helped.

I felt great afterwards even though it was by far the hardest thing I’d ever done, but very quickly Matt and I both learned that being a parent is much more difficult (but totally worth it).

I hope you all are getting a little sleep and enjoying parenthood.  Thank you for a very useful class, Gwynne.” Amanda C. 

My Birth Story:  Stephanie’s Unmedicated, Midwife-Attended Hospital Birth

My Birth Story:  Jane’s Natural Water Birth