We’d like to share our birth story with you, as it is a testament to Hypnobabies that we feel positive about how things progressed despite the many challenges we encountered.
We had quite an eventful birth - my birthing waves started on the 13th, and they were very strong from the start, but only got more intense as my birthing time progressed. When we made it to Willow birth center at 5:20pm and I was checked by the midwives, I was 3cm dilated, 80% effaced and Kira was at station 0. Things only got more intense then, and the next time I was checked at 6:40pm, I was at 10cm and she was at +2 station!
We had quite an eventful birth - my birthing waves started on the 13th, and they were very strong from the start, but only got more intense as my birthing time progressed. When we made it to Willow birth center at 5:20pm and I was checked by the midwives, I was 3cm dilated, 80% effaced and Kira was at station 0. Things only got more intense then, and the next time I was checked at 6:40pm, I was at 10cm and she was at +2 station!
Everyone was shocked things had progressed so quickly and I started pushing in the tub, holding onto Manoj. Soon, they could see her hair and we all thought we’d meet her soon. She had other plans, though. After 1.5 hours in the birthing pool and using many different positions - reclining, squatting, hands and knees and half lunging - we got out and tried using the peanut ball on the bed, the rebozo, birthing stool, pushing on the toilet and many other techniques, but she wasn’t coming out. At some point, my waves started to slow down to around 7 minutes apart.
(Students- you may want to strengthen your bubble of peace here.)
Throughout this whole time, Kira’s heart rate was strong and healthy and I was doing well too. By the time 10:30pm rolled around, we decided to transfer to U MN Fairview Riverside so I could get an epidural, rest (I was exhausted after over 4 hours of pushing!), and Pitocin to get my birthing waves stronger and closer together.
Luckily, the transfer was smooth despite the curfew in place (this was during the Derek Chauvin trial) and the snow coming down that night. At the hospital, the midwife checked me around 12:30am and confirmed I was 10cm - she could see Kira’s hair too - but saw that she had changed positions to left occiput transverse. The epidural worked immediately and I rested a bit, and did some practice pushes before they started the Pitocin. Everything looked good for a vaginal delivery until Kira’s heart rate decelerated and didn’t improve despite me changing positions multiple times.
A c-section was recommended by the OBs and midwives as Kira seemed to be in destress after such a long pushing phase and labor. The surgery was also eventful as the OB had a hard time pulling her out since I had been actively pushing for 4 hours and my body had been pushing for over 6. They inserted a balloon into my cervix to help push her back up the birth canal, but it didn’t help enough. In the end, Kira required 2 OBs to pull her out in addition to the NICU nurse inserting her hand up through my vagina to push her back up, which was quite intense for all of us. Luckily, Kira was fine - her first Apgar score was a 3, but after 5 minutes, she was a 9. She was born at 3am on the 14th and spent an hour on my chest nursing, which was wonderful.
We feel so fortunate to have taken this course and had the Hypnobabies resources to help us throughout our unexpected birthing time. Our doula kept commenting how calm we were throughout the whole experience, and the cue words, especially “peace”, kept me focused on my breathing and relaxed even when I had to get back in the car to transfer to the hospital. We credit all the birth education our Hypnobabies instructor and our fantastic doula taught us, and the wonderful care I received from the midwives and OBs. I felt safe and in good hands throughout. Thank you for your support to help bring our daughter safely into the world, we are very grateful!
(Students- you may want to strengthen your bubble of peace here.)
Throughout this whole time, Kira’s heart rate was strong and healthy and I was doing well too. By the time 10:30pm rolled around, we decided to transfer to U MN Fairview Riverside so I could get an epidural, rest (I was exhausted after over 4 hours of pushing!), and Pitocin to get my birthing waves stronger and closer together.
Luckily, the transfer was smooth despite the curfew in place (this was during the Derek Chauvin trial) and the snow coming down that night. At the hospital, the midwife checked me around 12:30am and confirmed I was 10cm - she could see Kira’s hair too - but saw that she had changed positions to left occiput transverse. The epidural worked immediately and I rested a bit, and did some practice pushes before they started the Pitocin. Everything looked good for a vaginal delivery until Kira’s heart rate decelerated and didn’t improve despite me changing positions multiple times.
A c-section was recommended by the OBs and midwives as Kira seemed to be in destress after such a long pushing phase and labor. The surgery was also eventful as the OB had a hard time pulling her out since I had been actively pushing for 4 hours and my body had been pushing for over 6. They inserted a balloon into my cervix to help push her back up the birth canal, but it didn’t help enough. In the end, Kira required 2 OBs to pull her out in addition to the NICU nurse inserting her hand up through my vagina to push her back up, which was quite intense for all of us. Luckily, Kira was fine - her first Apgar score was a 3, but after 5 minutes, she was a 9. She was born at 3am on the 14th and spent an hour on my chest nursing, which was wonderful.
We feel so fortunate to have taken this course and had the Hypnobabies resources to help us throughout our unexpected birthing time. Our doula kept commenting how calm we were throughout the whole experience, and the cue words, especially “peace”, kept me focused on my breathing and relaxed even when I had to get back in the car to transfer to the hospital. We credit all the birth education our Hypnobabies instructor and our fantastic doula taught us, and the wonderful care I received from the midwives and OBs. I felt safe and in good hands throughout. Thank you for your support to help bring our daughter safely into the world, we are very grateful!
RSS Feed
