Willow's Birth Story
Hi Vittoria,
Announcing the birth of Rowan Emil Solovitz!
January 2nd, 2010 at 12:34 pm
41 1/7 weeks gestation
8 lbs even, 21 1/4 inches long
We went into the hospital for monitoring on January first at 9:30 am because Rowan was a week overdue. Although we were expecting to go back home again, I brought my bags for the hospital just in case. It was a good thing that I did so, because I ended up staying.
I found out that I was having decent-sized contractions that showed up on the monitor every 8 minutes or so, although I was not feeling them at all. Unfortunately, Rowan's non-stress test (NST) was not reassuring--he had several late decelerations of his heart rate, which are drops in heart rate after contractions rather than during them. So, I had an amniotic fluid index (AFI) and biophysical profile (BPP) done, although the labor and delivery unit was so busy that day that these did not occur until 2 pm. When it finally did occur, we were diagnosed with oligohydramnios (low amniotic fluid), which was pretty severe. At that point, our midwife strongly suggested an induction.
We preferred to do a non-medical induction, because we were trying to avoid interventions as much as possible. In addition, we were really hoping to do a water birth, and being on pitocin would rule that option out. So, we tried a combination of nipple stimulation and mechanical dilation using a foley catheter. I started feeling some mild cramping, but nothing too bad.
At 10:30 pm, I was checked, and found to have dilated to 4 cm. We were advised to try to get some rest and let things progress on their own. So, I took a bath and went to sleep, expecting to be awoken at 4 a.m. to discuss whether or not to start pitocin. However, I was awoken around 12:30 am, with news that there were very concerning heart rate decelerations on the monitor. They had me change positions, which helped temporarily. They kept coming back in to have me try something different Eventually, around 1:30 am I decided to just stay up, and I rocked in the rocker. This seemed to help the heart rate on the monitor. I still felt very little in the way of contractions, although they were showing up regularly on the monitor every 3-4 minutes.
At 4 am, I was re-assessed, and found to have progressed to 5 cm. We decided to go ahead with the induction process, as labor was not progressing very fast on its own. Given the choice of nipple stimulation again vs. pitocin, I opted to try the nipple stimulation yet again, although my hopes of having a water birth were waning. 8 minutes into the nipple stimulation, I had a larger contraction, and a several minute deceleration occurred. The nurse came rushing in to stop me. The midwife then suggested an amnio-infusion, which would involve artificially rupturing the amniotic sac and placing a catheter to continuously infuse saline into the uterus. In addition, they put an internal fetal monitor in place, started my antibiotics (GBS+), and started pitocin at a very low rate.
Almost immediately, the contractions increased in intensity so that I could feel them. I tried to drink a juice beverage fortified with protein, and I ended up vomiting it up. With each contraction, I started breathing to a count, 4 in, hold for 3, 6 out. I held my husband's hand, and held the IV pole with my other hand. I focused on a light switch and tried to consciously relax my jaw and forehead. Unfortunately, because of the problems with heart rate with different positions and because of the various other interventions, I was confined to the bed for the remainder of labor.
The pitocin was increased bit by bit. One of the nurses suggested to Steve that he lightly trace circles on my belly, and this helped a lot with the pain. I changed my breathing to 4 in, 4 out, and then to 3 in, 3 out. I started moaning as the intensity increased, and I stopped counting. I did not hear from the nurse or midwife for several hours. Then, around 10:30 am, I felt the urge to start pushing. The midwife suggested that I "labor down," for about an hour to minimize the active pushing phase. Then, I started pushing around 11:30 am. Although I was tired, I apparently made good progress. There were more concerning heart rate decels at that point, however, so she had me try a couple of different positions to push, including hands and knees. She thought that perhaps his cord was being compressed. Also, he passed meconium, which was evident in the fluid that was continuously leaking out due to the amnioinfusion. Finally, due to the concerning signs, she ended up doing an episiotomy, which turned into a 3rd degree tear. It turned out that he did not have the cord around his neck, but he did have his hand up next to his head.
Rowan was delivered at 12:34 pm, with apgars of 7 at 1 minute and 9 at 5 minutes. He was 8 lbs, 21 1/2 inches, and healthy.
Overall, I was disappointed about all of the interventions that took place, which prevented me from moving about during labor and from doing the water birth. I was glad, however, to have avoided any pain medications during the labor, even though I was induced. I was especially grateful to have had the OHSU midwives on my team, because I believe that other midwives would probably have turned me over to an OB service due to the problems Rowan was having, and I am sure that if I were treated by an OB service I would have had a C-section fairly early on, given the concerning signs. I am thankful that I narrowly avoided having a C-section, and my recovery has been speedy. Most of all, I am happy to have a healthy baby, who is delightful.
Willow in postnatal yoga class 10 days later!I am looking forward to post-natal yoga, and I wish everyone well. If anyone has questions about any of the interventions I went through, especially what it was like to experience them, feel free to pass on my email address