Jessica’s Birth

             I was with a large practice in the Louisville area that will remain nameless.  Through out my pregnancy I discussed my feelings about the upcoming birth.  It was known that I was taking Bradley classes, and I intended to have a natural birth.  I wrote a birth plan, which they placed in my file, but refused to sign stating that the things in it were common sense stuff.  On the day that I went into labor, I went to an already scheduled doctors appointment, and was 4cm dilated and 100% effaced.  I was ecstatic!

                 It’s was then that the doctor told me that he would not be attending my birth, and that another doctor in the practice would be there.  Up to this point I was told that they attended all of their own births, and I had only met with this doctor.   

                 I arrived at the hospital, and because my unsigned common sense birth plan was not signed I was bombarded with epidural question after question from the nurses while in active labor!!!! The nurse checked me, and oops broke my water.  My husband and I some how managed to get through the questioning, and started to regained a peaceful environment.  We did some side relaxation, and I got in the shower. 

                 When transition hit we both knew it, and with in 30 minutes my cervix had opened.  

                 According to the nurse I was ready to push.  Although I heard her mention to someone else that there may be a little lip of cervix. I also was not having a strong urge to push.  It was time though. ? . I pushed for approximately two hours.  The nurse would say that the baby was moving some, but she was also yelling at me to push harder!  I was checked frequently by the doctor, who stated very negatively that there was always no progress.  I also had the nurses hands continuously pressing around inside of me, while I tried to push in every possible position.  My calm relaxing environment was gone.  The relaxation I had practiced so hard was gone, and mentally I was a mess.  I didn't know what was wrong with my body, and why things were not working as they should.  When the doctor came in and told me I needed to have C-section I asked for more time.  He gave me 20 minutes and told me that the baby may get stuck, and he couldn’t guarantee how things would turn out. I crumbed.  Emotionally I couldn’t handle anymore.  I feared that my body wasn’t working.  I thought there may be something wrong with the baby, and I agreed to the C-section.  I was told that I couldn’t have more than a 5lb baby.  

                 The days after my C-section were filled with ANGER!!  I had a perfectly healthy baby, that was never in jeopardy!  I didn’t feel that my body was somehow broken, and I felt robbed of the birth that I could have had. 

                 I vowed that would never happen to me again.  I would never place myself or my baby in that kind of environment for birth. 

                

Samantha’s VBAC BIRTH