Thank you to this family for sharing their birth story with us and for joining us in our birthED Lamaze Virtual Class! We love hearing our students stories after they have had their baby and we LOVE doulas! Big birthy high fives to this whole team!

On September 8, I lost the mucous plug. Around 8am on September 10, my water broke right after a bowel movement. It started as a slow leak and transitioned to warm gushes. Thank goodness I had Depends on hand! We called our doula (Justine Temke) and Midwife (M Health Fairview) and both had us monitor progress and keep them posted. At that point, I felt mild cramps but nothing that felt like a contraction. Contractions began, and my husband and I went on a walk around our neighborhood around 11am. After that contractions intensified and we began timing them.

When we got home, I ate half a sandwich, showered, and laid in bed to try and get some rest. Soon, the contractions were strong enough that my body wanted me to be on hands and knees through the contraction, and a hard surface was most appealing. I moved to the floor. Pressing my fingers into the floor felt good as a way to balance the discomfort of the contraction. I also started vocalizing through contractions. Maybe it was simply a distraction, maybe it helped me relax and release tension. Whatever it was, it seemed to help. At this stage, my mantra was, “My body is opening for my baby.”

Around 1:30pm, contractions were getting more predictable (~50 seconds in duration, 3 minutes apart). Blake spoke with Justine, and she arrived at our house around 2:30pm. At first, she just observed the contractions. At that point, I was still on the bedroom floor moving from hands and knees during a contraction to laying down to rest between contractions. After a while, Justine encouraged me to move to the bathroom to sit backward on the toilet. A contraction in this position was much more uncomfortable. Very, very intense. Justine had me turn back around and go through three contractions facing forward. This too was intense, and my body just did not want to be in a sitting position. After maybe two contractions, I agreed to go through five contractions facing forward on the toilet. I only made it to four before I had to drop back down onto my hands and knees. It was around 3:30pm and time to go to the hospital (M Health Fairview - U of M).

The car ride was intense, and I could not stay seated through contractions and there was no way I would wear the seatbelt. When we finally arrived, I was offered a wheelchair, but could not imagine sitting down. The intensity and discomfort during contractions continued to escalate. Time and sequence of events were a blur.

When we arrived at the hospital, I opted to not have my cervix checked; I worried that if I was dilated and effaced only a small amount that it would discourage me. I figured I could hold out a bit longer before checking. Later, when my body felt the urge to push (probably around 5:30pm), I agreed to a cervical check and the student midwife confirmed I was fully effaced and dilated.

After a few hours of pushing, a nurse used a handheld ultrasound to check on the baby's position. It showed Baby was Occiput Posterior, and I was told this is why pushing took so long. Justine recommended we try the Walcher's Position to help the baby turn and progress through the pelvis. The team removed the bottom half of the bed, shifted me down so my butt was right on the edge, and had me dangle my legs to change the position of the pelvis. I did this through 3 contractions, and it was incredibly uncomfortable...the most uncomfortable feeling thus far.

What felt like soon after, the Midwife said she could see Baby’s head - what a relief! Justine held a mirror so I could see, and the care team had me feel Baby's head during pushing so I could feel what was most productive. This gave me extra energy to hold each push longer.

Baby’s head continued to move down and soon it felt like the head was almost halfway out. This was the most painful part, feeling the tissue stretch. After a few more pushes, Baby was out! The nurses immediately brought Baby up to my chest, and it was the most amazing feeling. A wave of emotion came over me, and I was mentally back – out of my internal state and back with the room. It felt so surreal to have our Baby with us and to have labor and delivery behind us. As we stared at him in awe, I delivered the placenta and the nurses stitched me up (3 sutures for a laceration near the urethra). After meeting our baby, we decided on the name, Theodore (Theo).

A few surprises:

• Labor was the most intense, uncomfortable feeling I had ever had. I would not describe it as painful though..

• I always felt that what I was experiencing was natural and what my body was designed for. I felt that labor was something I could get through. I never felt like I wanted an “out” or that there were any other options. The thought of pain medication never crossed my mind. I just pressed on. I think it helped that our doula and care team helped foster an environment where I could stay in a primal mode.

• I thought I would have moments where I would want pain medication. I thought it would be hard to follow through with my desire to have a medication-free delivery. I was surprised that the thought never came to mind. I never felt too much pain to bear.

• Any sense of modesty went out the window. For pushing, all I was wearing was a bra, and not once did I think about who was seeing what parts of me.

• Labor was shorter than expected (just over 9 hours between when my water broke and when I started pushing); pushing was longer than expected (5 hours!). We knew that if I had worked with an OB or even other Midwives in the hospital setting, they likely would have recommended a c-section after 3-4 hours of pushing and seeing little progress. I am so grateful to have had Justine with us and our amazing midwives!