The Birth Story Series - Carrie’s Story
Welcome to the Birth Story Series! Sharing birth stories helps normalize birth and takes some of the fear of the unknown out of the equation. I am excited to share this space to honor birth stories from women in our community. Birth is transformative, beautiful, and profound no matter how it happens!
If you'd like to share your birth story send us an email by filling out our contact form here. All birth experiences and stories are welcome here; epidural, unmedicated, c-section, loss, home birth, however birth looked for you, this is a safe space to share!
I was induced with preeclampsia & HELLP syndrome at 37 weeks with my first. I was on magnesium, stuck in bed and had somewhat of a cascade of interventions. I did not feel in control whatsoever. This time around I was pretty anxious that it would happen again. We hired a doula to help ease some of that fear and anxiety which was a huge help.
In the evenings leading up to my 36 week prenatal appointment, I started to develop a little bit of itchyness on one single toe. I didn’t think too much of it until the morning of my 36 week appointment arrived and I was uncontrollably itchy all over my chest, belly, arms, legs, hands, etc. At that moment I knew I needed to mention this to my midwife. I had heard birth stories of women who had cholestasis and knew a major symptom was itchiness. Later that morning I went to my appointment. I had my final growth scan and routine midwife appointment. Everything was looking great with baby girl.
I mentioned the itchiness I had been experiencing. My midwife immediately ordered labs, though she was not overly concerned. My appointment was on a Friday. My midwife said my labs would take a few days to result and she’d call me on Monday if she found anything concerning. All weekend I kept checking MyChart to see if my results came back. Sunday afternoon I realized they had. They were slightly elevated. I called L&D. They told me my provider would call me on Monday. About a half an hour later, around 5:30 pm, I received a call back from the L&D nurse stating she had talked to the midwife on call and that I needed to come in that night for an induction. While I wasn’t overly surprised (the itching had really intensified over the weekend), I was panicked.
Suddenly, we were back in nearly an identical situation as we had been 2.5 years earlier with an unexpected, early induction. This time, at just 36 weeks. The nurse said that I could take a couple hours before coming in. I took a shower, finished packing up my bag, had a bite to eat and worked to get everything in order to leave our 2.5 year old with grandma and grandpa for a few days. My husband and son dropped me off at L&D around 7:00 before heading home to wait for Grandpa to arrive and take over the care of our son.
I got checked in and discussed my situation with the midwife. She made it very clear that while induction was recommended, I did have the right to decline and instead follow up with frequent scans. I was on board for an induction. I was given a steroid shot to help baby’s lung development and told if I was still pregnant the following night, I’d receive a second dose. The midwife checked me to determine our plan for induction. I was 0/0, and around 8:30pm. I was group B step positive. To help reduce risk of infection, I was given oral cytotec and no additional cervical checks. She told me that I would have another dose in 4 hours and potentially another 4 hours after that to get things ready before beginning Pitocin. I tried to get some rest. Between the nurse coming in and out, the hospital environment, etc, I was not having much luck. At some point during the night I accepted medication to help me get some rest. My goal was to give birth without an epidural this time around and I knew I needed to rest if I wanted to be able to do that.
Around 12:30 I was given my second dose of cytotec. I started to feel very mild back cramping shortly after. Though I was not even sure if it was cramping or the uncomfortable hospital bed. By 4:30 I was ready for my 3rd dose. I still wasn’t feeling too much, just mild back cramping. By 6am I was really starting to feel the cramping in my back. Nothing terrible, just annoying and slightly painful. At 6:15 my water broke. I stayed in bed trying to rest until shift change around 7. This is when things started to pick up a little bit and I wanted to use movement to cope. I got a portable monitor and was able to move freely throughout the room. I sat on a birthing ball for a little bit. Around 7:30am things started to intensify. I would put my hands on the edge of the bed with my knees on the floor and breathe through contractions. They were still not super regular. They were coming frequently, but lasted only about 30-45 seconds. I figured I had hours to go.
With my husband’s encouragement, we decided to let our doula know that we’d like her to come to the hospital that morning, but not to rush. We asked to her be there in about an hour. At 7:45 we FaceTimed with our 2.5 year old at home. While I was off camera breathing through contractions, I felt totally fine between to chat with him. Around 8:00 my nurse was giving me my routine meds, and I remember thinking I wanted her to leave so I could go to the bathroom. In hindsight, this is where things really started to pick up. After my nurse left I was about to try and eat or drink some juice, but instead decided to go to the bathroom. It felt good to sit through contractions on the toilet. A couple of minutes later, my husband came into the bathroom, and soon after, our nurse came back to check on me. Things had really picked up, and I started to vocalize. My legs started to shake uncontrollably and I told my husband I couldn’t do it. I asked for pain medication, knowing full well I wouldn’t be able to sit still enough for anything to work.
Seconds later I was screaming and the nurse went to call for help. At this point I think I was already pushing and I knew the only way through this was to get this baby out. Our nurse pulled the help cord and about 8 nurses and our midwife were in my room within seconds. The nurses kept asking me if I could move to the bed and I denied. I decided I wanted to get off the toilet and move to all fours. My angel of a midwife announced that we were going to have a baby on the bathroom floor. She sat on the toilet behind me and after just 6 minutes of pushing, our baby girl was born at 8:22am (on the bathroom floor)! She was passed up between my legs and I held her to my chest.
My nurses helped me to the bed where I delivered the placenta. After a traumatic delivery with my son, this delivery was incredibly empowering and redeeming. I felt in control of my body and the process. Just a few short minutes after my baby made her arrival, our doula walked in. Surprise! When my husband asked her to come less than an hour earlier, I thought I would maybe have my baby that evening. I didn’t expect her to be born within the hour! Even so, our doula was an incredible support during pregnancy and leading up through our induction. She was always just a text away, incredibly supportive and reassuring. In our visits leading up to birth, she was able to give my husband the tools he needed to better support me. Even after delivery she has been a blessing, checking in with me frequently and making sure things are still going well. My body might not like being pregnant, but I would go through the birth process over and over again if it could be like this one.
