BOP (GBS+, causing minor interventions)
On Tuesday, May 29th, we had our 39 (+4) week appointment with our midwives. As we were close to 40 weeks, we had the option for a cervical check and while I know we don’t give birth by numbers, I was excited to see if there was any progress as baby was feeling really low. In addition, the midwife mentioned that a check now could lessen the need during admittance should my membranes rupture within a few days (a big positive being GBS+)! When she checked, I was 1 cm dilated, 50% effaced and Oliver was in station 0.
On Tuesday, May 29th, we had our 39 (+4) week appointment with our midwives. As we were close to 40 weeks, we had the option for a cervical check and while I know we don’t give birth by numbers, I was excited to see if there was any progress as baby was feeling really low. In addition, the midwife mentioned that a check now could lessen the need during admittance should my membranes rupture within a few days (a big positive being GBS+)! When she checked, I was 1 cm dilated, 50% effaced and Oliver was in station 0.
I had worked up until this point and decided to begin working from home on Tuesday instead of going into the office – and it was a good idea! Tuesday afternoon, I thought I was having more frequent practice waves, and I didn’t feel very well (nauseous) in the afternoon. Wednesday morning came and around 12 pm, I felt a bit of a gush as I stood up off my birthing ball, but it wasn’t enough to convince me it wasn’t urine. I continued working, as I had conference calls for the next two hours. Once those were finished I decided to end my work day, I walked into the baby’s room and felt another gush. At that point (3 pm), given that I was GBS+ and would need to arrive at the hospital for IV antibiotics, I called the midwives who thought we should at least go in and check things out. I called my husband home from work and we arrived to the hospital around 5 pm.
I was really pleased to be brought directly into a birthing room, not triage. They put the monitors on, and did a swab test to confirm it was amniotic fluid. Little did I know, I was having consistent waves 5-7 minutes apart! With our cervical check the day previous, the midwife did not want to check me again, as minimal checks are best to limit risk of infection with GBS + ruptured membranes. She then sat down to discuss options for moving forward, as the ‘ideal’ for the hospital was to have baby within 24 hours of rupturing given the GBS+ - though I will say, my midwife seemed to be on board with letting Oliver join in his own time. The options we discussed were: 1. We could wait it out, as I was already having waves on my own and see what happens, or 2. her suggestion was Cytotec every 3-4 hours to assist in the softening/effacement and see where I was in the morning. She gave Michael and I time to discuss and I opted to take the Cytotec.
At this time, I sat down on the birthing ball and listened to ‘My Birthing Time Begins’ and ‘Deepening’ (my favorite track). We then took a walk around the floor, and settled into bed around 9:30 pm. I fell asleep with Deepening on repeat, and only had a couple interruptions for vitals, and doses of Cytotec. At 11:30 I was able to get the ‘Monica’ wireless monitor and I was SO grateful to not be connected with cords. (continuous monitoring was needed given the Cytotec induction medicine)!
At this time, I sat down on the birthing ball and listened to ‘My Birthing Time Begins’ and ‘Deepening’ (my favorite track). We then took a walk around the floor, and settled into bed around 9:30 pm. I fell asleep with Deepening on repeat, and only had a couple interruptions for vitals, and doses of Cytotec. At 11:30 I was able to get the ‘Monica’ wireless monitor and I was SO grateful to not be connected with cords. (continuous monitoring was needed given the Cytotec induction medicine)!
At 1:30 am, I woke up in my active birthing time and was no longer comfortable lying in bed. I woke Michael up, and we ran a bath and called my sisters to come to the hospital. At this time I listened to Easy First Stage for the first time out loud in the bath – this became a new favorite track! My “Peace” cue was top of my mind for the rest of my birthing time and I really did say it with EVERY wave. My sisters joke that they will never hear that word the same way again. I truly don’t know what I would have done without Michael’s partnership during our birthing time. He was there with me for every wave – in the beginning, counter-pressure felt really good, but as they intensified it was too much. The ‘Relax’ cue came in handy at that point. When my sisters arrived, I got out of the tub and spent some time on all fours with the birthing ball, rocking with each wave and using my peace cue. Around 5 am I started to feel a lot more pressure in my bottom, and I was shaking/trembling (so glad I knew to expect that) and as a first time mom I thought that I was getting ready to push – every wave was so close together and very intense. At this point the midwife came in and we decided to do another check. She let me know that it wasn’t quite time to push yet.
Unfortunately, I overheard the midwife tell someone in the room that I was at about a 5 and this really got into my head. I started to say that I needed help, and that I couldn’t do it for ‘another 10 hours’. Michael stepped in and reminded me that my endorphins were on their way to help, that transformation can go much faster, and to just listen to my tracks. When he could tell I was losing my concentration he started using the birth prompts. I went back into the tub for a bit, then sat on the toilet. I told Michael to go ask for help. He admittedly stalled for an hour (felt like 10 minutes), then brought the midwife in to talk about options to manage the discomfort. By the time she got to the room, I had gotten back in the bed with Deepening and was in a much better place. I did opt to sign consent for Nitrous Oxide, and took 6 ‘puffs’ over the next 2 hours. It was much more mentally calming to know I had an option than actually used as relief.
By 7 am, things had changed and my body began bearing down – I progressed from 5 to complete within 2 hours. I was very much in my hypnosis, and not really cognizant of anything around me until my midwife came up, touched my hand and said – “Marie, it’s time to meet your baby!” I switched positions to lean against the back of the bed on my knees and Michael put on the Pushing Baby Out track, and started to bear down with the waves – pushing felt SO good! I was able to reach down and feel the top of his head, and Michael told me with tears in his eyes that he had a lot of dark hair! That was so motivating!
My midwife was repeating affirmations from the Pushing Baby Out track, reminding me to focus my energy down and out, and really sitting back and watching! As he made it fully into the birth canal, they started losing his heart rate with each wave/push, but never let me know and trusted he was on his way out. (Editor's note: It's common for it to be harder to hear the baby's heart rate as they are coming through the pelvis/birth canal and being born.)
My midwife had me lift one leg up to be in another kneeling position which was really difficult as he was crowning but ultimately helped him out! Within a few more pushes, Oliver’s head was out, and his body followed in just a couple more. Our baby arrived at 8:57 am on May 31st, one day before his guess date! I turned over, and Oliver was placed directly on my belly. I saw he was a boy and looked at my husband to announce the surprise! We waited around 10 minutes to cut the cord as the midwife and team continued working on me.
BOP – post-birth bleeding complication, using hypnosis
With Oliver on my chest, my midwife looked at me and calmly said that I was bleeding a bit more than they’d like, so they were going to be palpating my abdomen. When that didn’t work all the way to help my uterus contract, baby went to dad for skin-to-skin so I could go back to my hypnosis (lightswitch + safe place + peace cue) for the after-birth and stomach massage as it really was the most uncomfortable part of the experience. Finally, I was given a shot in the leg to assist the contractions and a Pitocin IV was started. At no point was I scared, I felt calm, safe and supported. I lost 3x the ‘typical’ amount of blood, but my hemoglobin was nice and high throughout pregnancy, so I didn’t require any follow up. Oliver came back to my chest, where he stayed for most of the day skin-to-skin.
End BOP
I credit my Hypnobabies preparation, the preparation and involvement of my husband through the course and birthing time, for my natural and peaceful welcoming of Oliver Michael! I am so grateful to the program, and Aileen – our instructor! And now, I cherish my connections with the mamas I met in class as we head out on the journey of motherhood together.
By 7 am, things had changed and my body began bearing down – I progressed from 5 to complete within 2 hours. I was very much in my hypnosis, and not really cognizant of anything around me until my midwife came up, touched my hand and said – “Marie, it’s time to meet your baby!” I switched positions to lean against the back of the bed on my knees and Michael put on the Pushing Baby Out track, and started to bear down with the waves – pushing felt SO good! I was able to reach down and feel the top of his head, and Michael told me with tears in his eyes that he had a lot of dark hair! That was so motivating!
My midwife was repeating affirmations from the Pushing Baby Out track, reminding me to focus my energy down and out, and really sitting back and watching! As he made it fully into the birth canal, they started losing his heart rate with each wave/push, but never let me know and trusted he was on his way out. (Editor's note: It's common for it to be harder to hear the baby's heart rate as they are coming through the pelvis/birth canal and being born.)
My midwife had me lift one leg up to be in another kneeling position which was really difficult as he was crowning but ultimately helped him out! Within a few more pushes, Oliver’s head was out, and his body followed in just a couple more. Our baby arrived at 8:57 am on May 31st, one day before his guess date! I turned over, and Oliver was placed directly on my belly. I saw he was a boy and looked at my husband to announce the surprise! We waited around 10 minutes to cut the cord as the midwife and team continued working on me.
BOP – post-birth bleeding complication, using hypnosis
With Oliver on my chest, my midwife looked at me and calmly said that I was bleeding a bit more than they’d like, so they were going to be palpating my abdomen. When that didn’t work all the way to help my uterus contract, baby went to dad for skin-to-skin so I could go back to my hypnosis (lightswitch + safe place + peace cue) for the after-birth and stomach massage as it really was the most uncomfortable part of the experience. Finally, I was given a shot in the leg to assist the contractions and a Pitocin IV was started. At no point was I scared, I felt calm, safe and supported. I lost 3x the ‘typical’ amount of blood, but my hemoglobin was nice and high throughout pregnancy, so I didn’t require any follow up. Oliver came back to my chest, where he stayed for most of the day skin-to-skin.
End BOP
I credit my Hypnobabies preparation, the preparation and involvement of my husband through the course and birthing time, for my natural and peaceful welcoming of Oliver Michael! I am so grateful to the program, and Aileen – our instructor! And now, I cherish my connections with the mamas I met in class as we head out on the journey of motherhood together.
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