I’m Erica and I live in Chapel Hill, NC and I do research at UNC Chapel Hill. I got my PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology, and taught developmental and reproductive toxicology. I also like to stay on top of current research regarding drug safety for pregnancy, breastfeeding, and infants. My son Griffin was born at the end of March.
I’ve been a runner for about 4 years and was so happy to run throughout my pregnancy, even completing a half marathon at 13 weeks and running on my due date! My husband, Dan, and I can’t wait to run with our little guy in the stroller, and eventually sign him up for his first kids’ race! We have a private baby blog for friends and family, but you can follow me on twitter @sassysparky!
I’m happy to share my natural childbirth experience because it was so positive and feels like such a big accomplishment. When I first became pregnant, I had never given a lot of thought to the whole labor and delivery aspect of childbirth. To be honest, I was scared because of my grandmother’s experience when she gave birth to my father in the 60’s. She had a c-section that resulted in a hysterectomy at the age of 23. Fortunately, the women behind some of the blogs that I follow {Daily Garnish, (Never Home) Maker} were pregnant, and were posting weekly updates about their journeys. These were invaluable; through these blogs and others, I was introduced to the ideas of natural childbirth and midwifery. My husband and I watched “The Business of Being Born” and I became increasingly interested in a natural childbirth experience. I learned that I could be in control of the process and that I didn’t have to be caught up in the hospital routine.
Natural childbirth really appealed to me for a variety of reasons. For one, childbirth is normal, and women have been doing it since the beginning of time. Secondly, I’m terrified of needles and surgery, and I knew that the incidence of c-sections increases with the use of epidurals and pitocin. I also wanted to be “present” for the whole experience. Finally, I’ll admit to being competitive, and I saw it as a challenge for myself. I handle stress and pain well, and my husband and I are a solid team, so I knew it was something we could tackle together. I decided early on, though, that I also wanted to give birth in a hospital.
Based on my grandmother’s experience, and my own “worst case scenario” personality, I knew I wanted to have all of my options open. I’d hate to be at home or at a birth center miles away from emergency care for myself or the baby should the need arise.
In order to prepare, I first chose to see a midwife group at the women’s hospital for prenatal care. I am also fortunate to live near a hospital (NC Women’s Hospital in Chapel Hill, NC) that is “Baby Friendly,” which means that women are encouraged to labor at home for as long as possible, IVs and continuous internal monitoring are not required, breastfeeding is encouraged, and babies room in with the parents after they are born. My husband and I read “Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way” and took a 12-hour childbirth class (this was not a Bradley class, but it was extremely informative and helpful) where we learned about all possible interventions and how to determine their necessity. These preparations got us on the same page about what we wanted out of the childbirth experience. This way, my husband could make decisions if I was unable (which actually happened!).
Another way that I prepared for childbirth was to stay active. I was lucky to be able to run up until my due date, which was the day before I went into labor. I also did strength training and stretching throughout, so I felt strong and fit. When it came down to the final days of pregnancy, we felt excited and well-prepared for childbirth.
When I went into labor, many of the things I had hoped for happened. Contractions started around 5:30 on a Saturday morning, and I labored at home for about 26 hours. I got to go shopping, do some cooking, go on a long walk and finalize all the last minute details. When we arrived at the hospital the next morning, my favorite midwife was on call, so she was really familiar with my birth plan, and I got a great nurse. The nurse and midwife honored my wishes not to be offered any pain medication, though I did need a saline lock because I was Group B positive and needed to receive antibiotics. My labor at the hospital was intense; I was at 6 cm when I arrived so I was already in transition. The nurse and midwife got me into the bath tub to ease the pressure and I labored in there for 45 minutes. When I got out, it was time to push. My husband was the best partner I could have asked for, and between him, the nurse and the midwife, we tried every pushing position I learned, and more. Things went pretty smoothly until the end, at which point I was so glad to be in a hospital setting.
The baby’s heart rate began decelerating during the contractions, so I had to wear an oxygen mask. Also, I was tired - I had been awake since 5:30 the previous morning (at this point that was about 30 hours) and nearly 2 hours of pushing had left me physically exhausted. I hadn’t eaten in about 12 hours because labor at the hospital was so intense, so I didn’t have time to eat (even though that was allowed). So when the baby got stuck in my pelvis near the end, with his heart rate decelerating during each contraction, I wasn’t able to do any vertical pushing positions, like the squat, anymore. The midwife said it was time to get some help, and she called in the chief of OB/GYN, who needed to perform a vacuum or forceps extraction. This is also where our childbirth class came into play, because we had learned about both options and had already discussed what we wanted if this happened. I was too out of it to make the decision, and my husband spoke with the doctor about which option she was more familiar with and which had the least amount of risk. He chose the forceps extraction (less risk to the baby, she had done more of them). The room filled with an amazing team of doctors for myself and the baby.
Due to the forceps delivery, the baby needed to be examined by the NICU team to make sure they he was ok, so we were not able to have delayed cord cutting or immediate skin to skin contact. The forceps delivery went quickly, and my son was taken across the room to be examined, which my husband watched. My son cried right away and was quickly examined and brought back to me within two minutes of being born. There was one final moment when I was glad to have been in a hospital. When I got out of bed after delivery to use the bathroom for the first time, I fainted due to exhaustion (I like to call this my Lindsey Lohan moment). A team of nurses revived and took care of me so that I was able to take care of my son.
In reflection, I had a really positive experience and I think that all of my preparation paid off. It is possible to have a natural childbirth experience in a hospital setting, as long as you do some planning.
- Choose a good provider. I had a great midwife who was familiar with and supportive of my birth plan. When anything happened that required us to deviate from the plan, she informed me and made sure that we were ok with it.
- Try to go to a hospital that supports women and babies, and doesn’t require interventions (like IVs, continuous monitoring, etc). If you can’t, make sure you discuss your desires with your provider and see what kind of compromises can be made. For instance, if the hospital requires IV’s, see if you can have a saline lock.
- Practice and prepare. Be familiar with the childbirth process, plan ahead for dealing with pain, and make sure you and your partner are familiar with various labor and pushing positions.
- Discuss your plans and desires with your birth partner. It was invaluable that my husband was as familiar with the birth process as I was. He knew what to expect at every stage, and he was able to speak for me when I wasn’t.
We worked as a team to bring our son into the world in the fastest and safest way possible for both of us. Now when I think about childbirth, I remember how intense, physically demanding, and exhausting it was, but it’s not scary anymore. That’s part of the reason I wanted to share this story – childbirth isn’t scary, no matter how it is portrayed by movies, tv, and even our grandmothers!
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