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Gavin's Birth

Being pregnant for the first time was so exciting. I wanted to give our little angel the best start in life, so within a few weeks of finding out I was pregnant I began to read books about pregnancy and childbirth. I knew right away that I wanted to have a natural childbirth and I was like a sponge soaking up information on gentle child-birthing methods, I probably read over 15 books related to the topic. Between six and seven months into the pregnancy my husband was given a reference for a doula. Sarah was to become one of the pivotal forces in the birth of our son Gavin.

At 41 weeks and 1 day I had an appointment with my OB. Everything had been going well, but because he knew I did not want the typical 41 week induction, we decided to take a peek on the ultrasound to make sure the baby was okay and leave the talk of inductions until the following week. To my disappointment the ultrasound showed a significant reduction in amniotic fluid, placing our baby at risk. My doc began explaining what this meant and what he felt needed to be done. He gave me so many options that my head was spinning. As an NICU nurse, and a well researched patient, I was educated in everything that he was saying and yet I was beginning to panic. I had spent the last 9 months reading, researching and devising my birth plan. I knew exactly what I wanted and I had shared that with everyone that would be involved in the birth of our baby. I was devastated that all my plans were starting to crumble away. After gaining control of my emotions I called Jeff (my husband) and Sarah (our doula) to let them know what was happening. Within a few hours we had made the decision that, in the best interest of our baby, we needed to start an induction. Because I had spent months talking with my OB about my birthing preferences we had built an excellent relationship, and he knew that it was extremely important to me to keep the birthing process as natural as possible. We decided to start the process with a foley catheter over night and then come back to the hospital the next day and continue from there.

After the doc inserted the catheter I began to have more contractions. I had been having contractions 10 minutes apart for the past few weeks, but I could never seem to get past the 10 minute mark. With the catheter in place I was having them between 5 and 10 minutes apart. I tried to get a good nights sleep because I knew that sometime in the next 24 hours I was going to be having our baby. Around 1:30 in the morning the catheter broke, from what I had been told this was a good thing. Unfortunately, after the catheter broke my contractions slowed down again.

We woke up early the next day and we were at the hospital by 9:00am. When we got there I had a fabulous support system surrounding me. Not only did I have Jeff and Sarah, but I also had a second doula, Michelle, who was there to gain experience. I felt like I wasn't alone in making the decisions we were about to make, and it really helped to calm me.

When the doctor arrived we began to discuss our options. Breaking my water was an intervention that I had really wanted to avoid, however so were all the other things he was suggesting. I thought back to all the research I had done. I was so happy that I had spent a lot of time learning about all the options we were facing because I was able to make an educated decision. I quickly prayed to God to ask him for his guidance, and just as quickly I got the answer. I decided to have my water broken first, rather than starting with the Pitocin. My water was broken around 10:00am. It was quite scary because normally there is a big 'gush' of amniotic fluid that comes out, however with mine there was a very tiny 'splat' on the bed. That was the minute that I knew this was the right thing to be doing. I knew that the birth plan I had been envisioning needed to be adapted to the situation, and I was finally at peace with that.

Following my rupture of membranes, Sarah suggested that I use a breast pump to start my own oxytocin flowing. I think that, combined with my water breaking, is what sent my into labour. Within ten minutes of having my water broken I started having contractions that were 1-2 minutes apart. What happened to a slow start to labour??? I'm not really sure, but I was so blessed to have my husband, Sarah and Michelle at my side for the next 7 hours because it was an intense experience.

I was very blessed to have acquired a portable fetal heart rate monitor because it allowed me to be mobile. I began my labour by walking up and down the hallway, breathing deeply and constantly trying to relax my shoulders. After awhile Sarah suggested going into the shower. The shower felt so good on my abdomen. My husband came right in the shower with me (jeans and all) and held the shower head over my belly. I was in the shower for over an hour until our baby's heart rate started accelerating to upwards of 180-190 beats per minute. I was extremely reluctant to leave the shower because it felt so good, but I knew that our baby was not tolerating the heat of the water. I got dried off and tried to lie down but I could not get comfortable, so I stood up and hooked my arms around anyone who would hold me. Everyone took turns, holding me while I swayed and moaned with each contraction. Most of the time I felt like I was going from one contraction to the next without any breaks in between. The encouragement that I received from Sarah, Michelle and Jeff was essential to me continuing on. At some point I was feeling nauseous and I went to the sink to be sick. I stayed hanging onto the counter for a couple more hours, because it felt comfortable. I remembered reading about a woman who had done some belly dancing while she was in labour because it helped with the discomfort. I began to do my interpretation of belly dancing by slowly turning my pelvis in circles, all the while continuing to softly moan with each contraction.

After about 5 hours of standing I was totally effaced and dilated to 5 cm, but I had started to slow my dilation and our baby's heart rate began decelerating with the contractions. Sarah felt it would be best for both me and our baby to lie down but I did not want to because my discomfort always escalated each time I did. With a lot of encouragement from my supports I lay down and began to refocus on my coping mechanisms. While I dilated much more rapidly (3 cm in 45 minutes) the baby's heart rate continued to decelerate with the contractions. The doctor suggested an IV for fluids because I had been vomiting throughout the labour and he felt that perhaps my dehydration was affecting the baby. I realized that my request to avoid an IV needed to be changed because the circumstances had changed. I accepted the IV in hopes of helping our baby. When I reached about 9cm the contractions slowed down, giving my body a break. I slowly started to feel my body pushing the baby down without any help from me. It was such an exhilarating experience to know that my body knew what it needed to do to get the baby out and that all I had to do was listen to it.

As labour continued the baby's heart rate continued to drop into the 70's and was slow to recover. It was frightening to listen to the monitor, because I knew our baby was in distress but I didn't know why. The nurse put an oxygen mask on my face and Jeff and Sarah reminded me to take really deep breaths with each contraction. We talked to our baby with each deceleration, asking him to come back up, telling him we loved him and that it was time to come out. We also tried different positions to see if it helped. We started with squatting, then all fours. Nothing was helping his heart rate and it continued to go lower and stay down longer. I could hear the nurse calling the nurses station to get the c-section room ready. I started to pray. I hadn't come all this way (7 hours) to have to get my baby cut out. I was stuck at 9.5cm. The rim of my cervix would not dilate any further so the doctor did it with his hand! He was also able to turn our baby around, who had at some point during the labour turned posterior. During the labour I hadn't realized I was experiencing back labour but looking back it makes sense because I had to have someone rubbing my back at all times. If anyone took there hand away for even a second I almost panicked.

Within 3 contractions of the doc opening my cervix I could feel my baby's soft wet hair on my hand. The burning sensation I felt on my perineum was the most beautiful feeling because I knew his head was there and that I would be able to push him out myself. At 4:52pm on September 16th 2005, Gavin Keith Colledge was born. Jeff excitedly told me that it was a baby boy and we began to rub him down on my stomach until he was bright pink. He remained skin to skin with me while they piled warm blankets on him. Within ten minutes of his birth Sarah helped me latch Gavin on to my breast, which he did with great pleasure. He was so alert, looking at everything around him and sucking deeply. I didn't let him out of my arms until over an hour later when they needed to weigh him (7lbs 5ozs). It was such an incredible feeling to finally be holding our baby in my arms.

I felt so blessed to have had the support that I did. Michelle may have been a new doula but she has the touch already. She was awesome with her encouraging words and an expert at keeping me comfortable. My husband was absolutely amazing, at my side at all times, rubbing my back, speaking to me softly, encouraging me and telling me he loved me. Sarah was my rock. When I felt like I might falter, or that I couldn't do it anymore she told me I could. Her knowledge of natural birthing methods was invaluable to our first childbirth experience and I hope to have her at my side for all of our future births. Thank-you to everyone who was involved. There are times that childbirth is not problem free, it is during these times that a well researched family can quickly and easily make educated decisions for what is best for their baby. All the time I put into reading and researching our possibilities paid off in the end with a beautiful, healthy baby boy.

Maureen Colledge