a woman who was due next wednesday called my boss this morning around 7 telling of a broken bag of waters and pretty consistant contractions.
when i got to work, it was about 8:30, her husband called this time (that's when you know it's serious), letting me know they were heading over to the birth center.
they showed-up about a half hour later and strolled in, stopping once for a contraction. for the most part mom was relaxed and talkative. both c. (the midwife) and i chuckled as we agreed this wasn't serious labor if mom is still chatting & light-hearted.
they hung-out in the consult room for a while, then mom decided to go to the restroom. both c. and i started to notice a moaning coming from behind the solid oak door. she knocked on the door checking, 'is everything alright in there?' they told her to come in.
as she opened the door we both noticed mom squatting on the floor. c. said immediately, 'i think we can go upstairs now'.
i started helping out (no nurse yet) with getting drinks for mom and getting chart ready. then mom decided she wanted pictures taken and asked me to go get her camera. i was then officially their birth photographer.
keep in mind mom showed up at 9:15 and now it's about 9:45. she was in active pushing stage while wading in the warm tub of water.
once i started taking pictures i noticed a 'low battery' sign blinking in the corner. mom had more batteries in her bag. what is so interesting about birth is that you never know if the NEXT push will produce life, so you make sure you accomplish the necessities in the short minutes between contractions. i had a couple minutes to change the batteries....i was going as fast as i could.
mom at some point appologized for going 'so slow' with her labor...we all laughed. carey reassured her that the babies lungs need to be worked through the birth canal slowly to press out all the fluid from swimming for 9 months...also, babies that come too fast have bruised noses. she was taking her time, and it was good.
one beautiful thing about mom was that she almost sang through her contractions. humming a melody that fit her emotions with each push.
finally, head crowing, mom looking in the mirror, she became very excited. same with dad. one more good push and out comes the head. frenzy and crying and shouting, 'it's a girl.' made all of us cheer.
mom had more bleeding than i had seen at any birth. fortunatly the nurse and c. handled it flawlessly with pitocin and methergine. the uterus responded.an hour of serious pushing, i'm sure all moms out there are jealous. this woman handled her pain with strength and beauty. not once complaining of it.
another beautiful girl has entered the world and i had the privledge of witnessing it. days like these make all other struggles seem small.
4 comments:
An hour!? Is that normal? How long do most women push at the births you have attended?
Kennedy was by far my most difficult and I now I feel like a real chump. . . my OB looked at (whatever that thing is that measures contractions) and announced that I pushed for 13 minutes.
OY.
b- you only pushed for 13 minutes? you are a chump! :)
obviously it varies but 2nd stage can last for hours for some women. one woman pushed for almost 3 hours. she was small & almost gave up but she wanted her waterbirth & her waterbirth she got!
I love it when you post, Erica.
gorgeous story ecca. (oh and b i think i pushed for about 45 minutes. it felt like 1 minute and 5 hours at the same time)
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