Drew's Birth Story

Tom and I both agreed we were more comfortable going through the birth at a hospital rather than at home or a birthing center. We learned in Boulder 50% of hospital births occur without medication compared with 10% nationwide, therefore many doctors are familiar with natural childbirth in this area.

Why pursue a natural childbirth?

There are many decisions one can make with regards to childbirth; to have a baby with or without medication, to have the baby in a hospital, at home or in a birthing center, to wait for labor to start naturally or to be medically induced, to have the membranes artificially ruptured or to allow them to rupture spontaneously, to have the fetus monitored continuously during labor or intermittently, and the list goes on and on. Many of these decisions are controversial regarding what is best for the baby and mother. In my opinion, I don't believe there are absolute "right" or "wrong" decisions that apply to all women and babies. These choices are personal choices, based on what is right for an individual mother and baby.

When it comes to making decisions about labor and birth, many people I talked to would focus on the potential pain level, and are under the impression that if a medicated birth is painful, a natural childbirth is even more painful. Based on the things we learned, it seems this is a myth.

The main reason natural childbirth appealed to me starts with an attitude a woman nurtures throughout her pregnancy about the birth experience. Looking at labor and birth in a positive manner, and seeing it as a wonderful, privileged experience can have a powerful effect on what that experience will truly be like. Learning to accept there will be pain, to even welcome it, and to work with your body through contractions are important. It not only helps with the mental experience, but evidence says it can also help physically with the efficiency of labor and birth.

On the other hand, looking at labor as something that will be painful, long and difficult can create feelings of anxiety which will have a direct effect on the level of pain. Women who tense up during labor and "fight the pain" generally experience more pain (even with medication) than women who practice relaxation during contractions and welcome what their body is going through.

In deciding whether to pursue a medicated or unmedicated birth, a key question Tom and I asked is what is healthiest for our baby? There are strong opinions all around about whether medication affects or does not affect a baby. Some studies have shown that babies born to mothers receiving no medication are more alert, and are born with a stronger sucking reflex to nurse than babies born to medicated mothers. These studies claim this is significant in establishing breastfeeding, and can lead to a more successful start as well as less soreness for the mother initially. Others studies claim medication has absolutely no negative affect on the baby or mother.

Who is right? I certainly don't know. In making this decision, both Tom and I tend to be more conservative. In weighing the risks, it seems the chances of a natural childbirth with no meds potentially harming a baby is less risky than asking for anesthesia and later finding out it really does harm the baby or the mom.

An interesting thing we learned that influenced our decision is that sometimes medications are approved by the FDA but are later withdrawn from their approval when more comprehensive data is compiled on the effects of the medication. A great example of this is many moms who were pregnant from 1938 to 1971 were advised to receive DES (diethylstilbestrol), a synthetic estrogen believed to prevent miscarriage. It turns out that women who received this as well as their children became at increased risk for cancer, infertility and other adverse medical consequences. After 1971 the FDA removed their approval, and doctors no longer advised it to pregnant moms. This is just one example of many drugs that were previously approved and widely popular but are no longer approved by the FDA. With this in mind, Tom and I felt an unmedicated birth was simply a safer and healthier choice for our baby.

Another reason natural childbirth appealed to me is through our research we learned many people who went through both medicated and natural childbirths later say the natural experience was so much more positive and they would make that choice again after experiencing both. With no medication, women claim to experience more control over their body and testify this is beneficial throughout labor and birth. We also learned labor tends to be shorter for those who choose not to receive medication, and recovery is quicker.

In addition, an argument against medicated births is that by choosing to receive an epidural, spinal block or other forms of anesthesia, it can lead to a chain of events requiring more and more medical intervention. For example, choosing to be induced with Pitocin can lead to more painful contractions (natural contractions start at the top of the uterus and generally work their way down, whereas Pitocin causes the uterus to contract all over, and to contract much harder and faster than natural contractions). If Pitocin is administered, the mom will likely be hooked up to an I.V. and a continuous fetal monitor before labor kicks in. This can limit her mobility, preventing her from doing things such as switching positions, walking and so on, that make labor more comfortable and efficient. If the pain level is high, this can lead to her wanting an epidural to endure the pain. The epidural can then prolong labor, increasing the risk for complications. It therefore seems the more medical intervention that is required, the greater the challenge it is to pursue ones specific natural childbirth goals.

There are many additional interesting facts about natural childbirth, and I would encourage anyone who is pregnant or considering having a baby to read the book Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way. Although some of the opinions are extreme, its a great clinical reference and an easy read.

With all that said, on with the birth story...

Drew's Birth Story:

On Monday, March 17th I had an appointment to get the baby's heart rate checked as well as my level of amniotic fluid and blood pressure. At this point I was 11 days past my due date and was advised to see a doctor twice a week. Tom came with me to my appointment and everything checked out fine. Normal amniotic fluid levels range from 5 to 25 centimeters. My level was a little over 8 centimeters. We learned I was still 1 cm dilated and 70% effaced (during the first stage of labor the cervix dilates to 10 cm and becomes 100% effaced or "thinned out," but sometimes this process starts weeks before labor and without the mom feeling it).

Being that I was almost two weeks past the baby's due date, I had an induction scheduled for that Thursday. I strongly did not want to be induced and my doctors were supportive of this, but thought it was wise to schedule an induction just in case my amniotic fluid dropped below 5 centimeters or signs of fetal distress showed up during the monitoring. The baby's health and safety were our primary concern and Tom and I would do everything it took to ensure that, but I was hoping and praying labor would start naturally before Thursday. I was a little discouraged I was not more dilated, but glad the baby's heart rate was doing well and encouraged by the strength of my contractions that showed up on the fetal monitor.

It was raining outside as we left the doctor's office. We got home around 5pm, and I noticed some cramping. This was not unusual as I had mild cramping since the last appointment four days prior, after my OB stripped my membranes (what this means is when a woman is partially dilated, her OB can separate the membranes containing the amniotic fluid from the uterine wall around the cervix area, which in turn may encourage labor to start).

As the evening wore on, the cramping gradually got more intense. By 7pm it was so uncomfortable that I couldn't sit still, so I got up and slowly walked laps around the kitchen, living room and dining room. Tom was very curious about this development and kept asking me if I was alright and if he could do anything for me. At this point, I didn't think this had anything to do with going into active labor as the cramping was a continuous throbbing, not something that came and went over time intervals like contractions.

I debated taking a warm bath to relieve the discomfort. I was concerned that if this was labor, I didn't want to do anything that might slow it down as we had learned in our childbirth classes a bath too early in labor could stall things. On the other hand, if this was labor I thought it might be good to relax in a bath, get a good nights sleep and maybe things would pick up the next day. After grappling with this decision, I decided to go ahead and take a bath around 8pm. The warm water felt good, but after soaking for a bit I noticed the cramping was coming on in intensity, then would subside after a short period of time. This happened twice, so I mentioned it to Tom. We didn't know what to think about this as it didn't feel anything like the Braxton-Hicks contractions. The cramping was mostly felt in my lower back. Tom and I debated if we should call the hospital and ask them what they think. We decided to hold off, and just see how I felt a little later on.

At this point Tom called our neighbors, Todd and Lura, to let them know I might be going into labor. We had made plans ahead of time for them to take care of our dog Jake when we go to the hospital. Tom explained my symptoms to Lura and she asked him to call her back and let them know what was going on.

I then got out of the tub and laid down on the floor in our bedroom, practicing the relaxation techniques we learned in class. Tom got me some water and encouraged me to drink to stay hydrated. Meanwhile, he decided to get the hospital bag ready. We had laid out mostly everything in advance, so he just put it in a bag and packed together some last minute things which were on a list.

As all this was going on, the rainstorm outside had turned into a pretty big snow storm.

At this point I decided what I was feeling definitely were contractions, even though they were in my lower back, not my abdomen. I had Tom time them. They were coming roughly 12 minutes apart and lasting about 40 seconds or so. The pain was not bad. I focused on breathing deeply and just relaxing my whole body.

Around 9:30 Tom called Lura back and let her know we were timing the contractions. He also called some friends from our childbirth class, John and Jean, to let them know I might be going into labor and to ask them to pray for us.

After laying down on the floor for awhile I was getting a little uncomfortable and decided to move to the bed. As the contractions came on I experienced increasing pain in my lower back, so I asked Tom to apply counter pressure to that area. We did this until about 11:30pm. It was getting very difficult to feel comfortable, so I moved down to the floor and stayed on my hands and knees next to the bed. When the contractions came on, Tom continued to apply counter pressure to my back. This was a huge help as it made the contractions much easier to manage. I asked him how far apart he thought they were, to which he replied about 10 minutes. I thought they were much closer than that and felt somewhat discouraged. Tom was feeling pretty groggy as he had been battling a cold and had taken some Nyquil earlier in the evening, hoping it would help him get a good nights sleep - Ha! Because we had different perceptions of how far apart the contractions were, Tom got a piece of paper to write down the times the contractions started. It turns out they were more like 5 minutes apart and now lasting up to two minutes long. It was hard work at this point and I had to focus on breathing deeply through each contraction. I could no longer talk while this was going on.

At 12:30 a.m. Tom suggested that in half an hour we should call the hospital and start to head down there. Half an hour sounded like a really long time to wait, so I suggested he call right away. As he was on the phone downstairs, I was still on my hands and knees, breathing through some pretty intense contractions. After Tom got off the phone I think he was still putting things together to pack the car. Sometime around 1 a.m. my water broke. At first I wasn't sure if my water broke as it just felt like a slow leak, but when I stood up, there was no mistaking it! I alerted Tom to this new development which seemed to kick him into gear. We learned in our childbirth classes that the water typically breaks on its own when the cervix is dilated around 7 or 8 cm. We also had some friends who recently had a baby, and in their situation the mom felt a great urge to push right after her water broke.

Tom informed me I need to "move it" and get in the car so we can get to the hospital. I didn't feel I was anywhere near the urge to push, but didn't argue with him. He helped me downstairs and into the car. It was very uncomfortable to be sitting in an upright position, trying to manage the contractions, but again I just closed my eyes and focused on breathing deeply.

Tom pulled out of the garage and drove down our street, only to find we were slipping and sliding everywhere in our Honda Civic. He was definitely feeling anxious about the snow storm, and turned the car around to go back home. He had made several comments in the past few days that if I went into labor during a bad snowstorm, he was comfortable with me having the baby at home and he would just call 911 and have someone walk him through it. His intentions for turning the car around though were to borrow our neighbors SUV.

As we were driving back up our street, Tom mentioned maybe the main roads were plowed and once we got out of our neighborhood, we would probably be fine. So, he turned around and ventured out again onto the street and through our neighborhood. We probably drove about 100 feet when we came to a very small incline and the car was not handling it well. Tom commented we probably weren't going to make it in this car and he wanted to borrow our neighbors car instead. I was going through a pretty bad contraction at the time and pleaded with him to just keep driving, that we would be fine. He disagreed, and turned the car around. In hindsight this was a smart move on his part! So, back home we went. Tom jumped out of the car and sprinted next door to wake our neighbors up. Todd came downstairs in his underwear and just threw the keys to their new Nissan Xterra to Tom, wishing him "good luck." Meanwhile, I was on my hands and knees on the floor of our garage trying to get more comfortable as I managed the contractions.

Tom had to move all our stuff from the Honda to the Xterra, running back and forth in the quickly accumulating snow. After what felt like a long time but was probably close to 5 minutes, Tom told me we were ready to go and helped me get into our neighbor's car. We got back on the road and headed to the hospital. My eyes were closed, but shortly after we pulled out onto the main road I felt the car glide in an unnatural way. I opened my eyes to see we had spun out and were in the opposite lane sliding to a ditch. Tom was calm as can be and assured me everything was okay. He quickly recovered control and we got back in the correct lane. Good thing there was no traffic this time of night (1:30 a.m.). I felt every bump and dip on that ride to the hospital. It was definitely hard sitting upright, just waiting to get there. I remember wanting to ask Tom to stop while I ride out the contractions, but I couldn't talk.

There was a lot of road construction and snow as we drove through downtown Boulder, but the Xterra handled it all beautifully. We finally made it to the hospital with no more spin outs. Tom pulled up in front of the lobby, and got me a wheelchair. He helped me into it, then left the car and rolled me to labor and delivery on the 2nd floor. As we pulled up to the main desk, Tom told the nurses I was in labor and they quickly showed him what room to bring me to. One of the nurses asked me what my birth date was, but other than that they had no administrative questions or paperwork (we had pre-registered with the hospital).

The room they brought me to was quiet and dimly lit. All the nurses spoke in soft tones and moved efficiently to get me into a gown and settled in the bed. They took a sample of my blood, as well as my blood pressure, and put a fetal monitor around my waist. The monitor felt tight and was very uncomfortable while I was going through contractions.

Dr. Kelly Isbill came into the room to check on us at this point. I was so glad she was on-call. My primary OB, Dr. Sally Boero, would have been my first choice but I knew ahead of time she was not scheduled to work in the hospital anytime around those dates. I had met Dr. Isbill twice before and instantly liked her. She is young, probably around my age, soft spoken and had a way of leaving both Tom and I very confident in her skills as a doctor.

I told Dr. Isbill the fetal monitor was uncomfortable and asked if she would take it off. She just looked at me and said yes, after they got a good read on the movement of the baby. She examined my cervix and quietly reported I was still 1 cm dilated and 100% effaced. I was surprised I was not more dilated as I had been experiencing strong contractions 3-4 minutes apart for about two and a half hours. The head nurse, Michelle, was extremely nice to Tom and I. There were times the contractions were so strong I would forget to breathe and Michelle would just remind me and encourage me, telling me how great I was doing. Tom learned that she had six kids of her own and had four of them naturally, with no meds.

Michelle asked me if I'd like to get in the tub after the monitoring gave them a good read on the baby, and I told her yes (all labor and delivery rooms had private bathrooms with large bathtubs). It seemed they were having a lot of trouble getting a good read as it felt like the nurses were constantly adjusting the belt around me. At some point, they told me I could get in the tub, but I needed to have the monitor stay on me. I guess they had a wireless device, as I could move from the bed to the tub with the monitor on.

The warm water felt good, but it was challenging to manage the contractions in my back. I kept moving around trying to get more comfortable, which apparently kept messing up the monitor. After being in the tub for 20 minutes or so, Dr. Isbill told me they just weren't getting a good read (I interpreted this as their equipment wasn't working well, but now I'm not so sure what she meant by that...). She wanted me back in the bed so she could run a fetal stress test. The nurses hooked me up to a different machine. Tom was great through all this. He stayed by my side and spoke encouraging words to me through each contraction. I was barely aware of nurses coming and going as they mostly spoke quietly to Tom.

I'm not sure how long I was laboring in the bed when I became vaguely aware something was wrong. One of the nurses (not Michelle) had come into the room to work on one of the computers. With the storm going on outside, the computer was randomly rebooting although it did not seem to be a critical piece of equipment related to my labor. I don't remember this, but Tom said this nurse was really loud and not being sensitive to what I was doing. He spoke in very quiet tones to her, but she didn't seem to notice and was complaining about the computer not working.

Shortly thereafter, I heard her shout into an intercom for others to get in there NOW! She then ripped an oxygen mask off the wall and fumbled to put it around my nose and mouth. I was so focused on trying to manage the contractions that I didn't have it in me to worry about what was going on. It was almost like an out-of-body experience. Tom had no idea what was wrong, and we he asked her she did not reply. The nurse filled up a syringe with something and as Michelle came into the room, told her if she verifies the amount she will inject me with it. This nurse seemed to be in a panic, but Michelle handled her great, and told Tom she wasn't going to inject me with anything and told her to put the syringe down.

It turns out the cause for alarm was due to the baby's heart rate plummeting down to the 60's during a contraction (normal is around 130 beats per minute). Once the contraction passed, his heart rate resumed to normal. Michelle called Dr. Isbill in and they explained all this to Tom. Dr. Isbill said a heart rate that drops to the 80's and 90's is something to keep an eye on, but if it drops below that it is concerning that the fetus is not tolerating labor well. After watching the fetal monitor over a period of time, the baby's heart rate was consistently dropping low during my contractions. Dr. Isbill inserted an internal fetal monitor through my cervix and somehow attached it to Drew's head. This type of monitor gives a more accurate read than the monitor they had around my waist.

Dr. Isbill explained that since my water broke, it is likely that the fetus and umbilical cord are being compressed during the contractions, depriving the baby of oxygen and blood. She suggested that having me change positions might help relieve the pressure on the umbilical cord, so Tom gently talked me through rolling over from my right side to my left side. Dr. Isbill then suggested putting a saline solution in my uterus to "float" the baby and that this may help him with tolerating the contractions. Tom and I agreed to this procedure, so she went ahead with it. She then told Tom that they would watch the monitor for an hour or so and see how things progressed. She gave Tom a heads up that if this didn't help, it may benefit the baby to pursue a C-section.

Tom stayed right by that monitor and watched it like a hawk. As the contractions came on, I silently counted the number of deep breaths it took to get through them (it was always 15), which helped me focus. Tom could tell by the monitor when the contractions were ending and would encourage me by telling me what a great job I was doing. I couldn't talk or respond to anything he said, but I remember feeling at peace by the sound of his voice, just knowing he was there with me and looking out for me.

After about half an hour or so, it seemed apparent the saline in my uterus was not helping the baby tolerate the contractions any better. Tom sat down close to me, and gently explained everything that was going on. I told him I wanted to do what was best for the baby, and if that meant having a C-section I was 100% okay with it. In all our preparations for a natural birth, I never anticipated I would have anything but a healthy labor and birth. I would have been anxious about going through with an induction, but when this situation came up, oddly enough I was feeling a complete peace.

Tom then talked to Dr. Isbill and told her we'd like to go ahead with the surgery. She was very calm, and told us if we wanted to wait another hour or so and see how things go, she felt that would be okay. She examined me again, but I was still only 1 cm dilated, so we decided it didn't make much sense to wait. We told Dr. Isbill to go ahead and prepare for the procedure.

Things were kind of a whirlwind after that. Dr. Isbill asked if I would like to receive medication to slow down the contractions. Since it seemed they were hard on the baby I told her yes, so a nurse injected me with it (I forget the name of the medication but it started with a T).

Then an anesthesiologist came to talk to me. Tom was changing into some scrubs the nurse had given him and he asked the anesthesiologist to wait a minute, but the man sat down next to me and tried to explain anyway what kinds of meds I was going to receive. I could hardly focus on what he was saying, and was relieved when Tom came back. The anesthesiologist told us his shift was ending and he would not be the one to administer the medication. I think Tom was glad about this. When he left, Tom was asked to sign a number of consent forms, which he did.

Meanwhile, a number of nurses were prepping me for the surgery. I don't remember much of what they were doing. I was then wheeled into the operating room and moved to the operating table. I was surprised how small and narrow the table was.

A new anesthesiologist introduced herself to Tom and I. She was very nice. I wish I remembered her name. She had me sit up while she gave me a local anesthesia in my lower back. Once I was numbed up, she had me curl my backbone like a cat and got out a much bigger needle to administer the spinal block. I was holding on to Tom while she did this. She had to poke me several times to get the right needle position. I kept asking if she was done, although I don't remember it hurting at all. Once she finished, she had me lie down on the table and strapped my legs and arms down. I remember shaking uncontrollably, but I wasn't cold or anxious. I think it may have been due to the medication they gave me earlier to slow down the contractions.

A curtain was put up by my chest so Tom and I could not see the doctors doing the procedure. With the medication, I was numbed from my chest down to my toes. At this point I was completely coherent and relieved to not feel the contractions anymore. Tom sat by my head, and he and I talked and laughed about how soon we would get to meet our son. I felt nothing but excitement at this time. It seemed they started operating right away. The anesthesiologist also sat by my head and explained to us what was happening on the other side of the curtain. When the baby's head was out, she told Tom he could look, which he did. He quickly sat back down again. I told him he could watch if he wanted to, but I don't think he was up for that. Soon after, the anesthesiologist told Tom not to worry, but warned him he could see the doctor from over the curtain kneeling on the table, pulling the baby out. Apparently Drew was tough to get out because his shoulders were so wide. I couldn't feel a thing, but Tom said my whole body was moving as the doctor worked on wrestling the baby out.

Then finally at 7:46am I saw the nurses carry our little Drew over to a small table, where they wiped him down and gave him oxygen. After a few seconds, I heard him start to cry and saw him flailing his arms and legs around. I just started to cry - it was the most amazing moment! Tom asked if I was okay, which I told him yes, and then he got up to get a closer look at the baby. The nurses quickly wrapped Drew in a blanket and handed him to Tom. Tom then brought him over to me so I could see him. I couldn't talk, I was so choked up.

When babies are born, they are assigned an APGAR score after one minute and again at five minutes. This score rates a newborn's activity, pulse, grimace or reflex irritability, appearance, and respiration. Each of the five categories has a score ranging from 0 (not good) to 2 (as good as can be), with a total potential score of 10. Drew's APGAR scores were 9 and 9!

Tom and I had agreed earlier if they needed to take Drew anywhere that Tom would stay with him. Tom kept asking me if I wanted him to stay with me, but I assured him I was fine and I would rather have him go with the baby. They all left at that point to go to the nursery to weigh and measure Drew. Shortly after, a nurse reported back to me he weighed 8 pounds, 7 ounces and was 21 inches long. I was also told he had been facing "sunny side up" inside my uterus, which means he was head down facing my belly instead of my back. This position makes the diameter of his head larger, which would have made a vaginal delivery more difficult. This also explains why I had back labor. In hindsight, there were definitely some advantages to having a C-section!

The doctors then worked on stitching me back up. I couldn't feel a thing, and drifted off to sleep for a while. I think it took them about 45 minutes or so to finish (much longer than it took to deliver Drew). I was then wheeled into a temporary recovery room. Tom and Drew were already in there. A nurse, Lisa, was there to keep an eye on me. I got feeling back in my arms fairly quickly. Lisa then gave Drew to me and got us started with nursing. Drew was hungry and nursed well, but I don't remember for how long. It was amazing holding him for the first time. Even though he was a big baby, he seemed so tiny to me. He was very alert for several hours after he was born. He hardly fussed at all, and just looked around with his big eyes. I fell in love with him instantly! After nursing him for awhile Tom took him so I could rest.

Lisa checked me periodically to see how the medication was wearing off. It was a strange sensation to not be able to move my legs or wiggle my toes at all. We were in that recovery room for about two hours then we were moved to a more permanent recovery ward where we stayed for three days.

We are now home with little Drew, and everything is going great. I am happier than I have ever been. Even though we had planned and prepared for a natural childbirth yet ended up with a C-section, the whole experience could not be more positive. Both Tom and I feel great that we made it through twelve hours of intense back labor with no medication before the surgery. We made a good team, and have no doubt that we could have gone the distance if no complications came up! We are thankful that everything worked out the way it did. We later learned that the storm that night was the worst storm to hit Denver since 1913. Something close to 40 of snow fell in our area. I just thank God we didn't try to have the baby at home where we might not have known what was going on with Drew's heart rate during my contractions. Since his birth Drew has been thriving, eating well, sleeping well at night (oftentimes five or six hours at a time!), growing like a weed and completely captivating our hearts. Tom and I look forward to all that parenthood has in store for us!