Grey Ellis' Birth Story

*Midwife's name has not been included to protect her identity as home births are very sensitive in Georgia. 
On June 21, 2013 at 38.6 weeks pregnant, I started having mild contractions. As I was sitting on the couch at 9:00am, I noticed that the contractions started feeling "real" rather than just Braxton Hicks. My stomach was still tightening, but there was a downward force with each one. I just relaxed my cervix and allowed any opening to happen. I watched show after show getting up to eat occasionally and use the restroom. Lincoln was at school and Joe was working. I sent him a text and told him I was having inconsistent contractions. Throughout the pregnancy, I read Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. Since I felt like some of the material would come useful very soon, I read several chapters of that book that afternoon. As I sat on the porch at 3:00, I took a notebook out there and started tracking the contractions. Joe came home from work and started making fish tacos. I offered to pick-up Lincoln from school since the contractions were still irregular.

I had a couple during the drive. I still continued to let my body open with each one instead of holding my breath or tightening my stomach. I figured it would only help with dilation. Lincoln's teacher was in shock when I told her they were anywhere between 2-15 minutes apart right now. One of the employees carried Lincoln to the van for me. We ate dinner and I had a few while we were eating and started noticing a regular pattern starting. The contractions were spaced at 10-minutes apart now for an hour, which meant active labor had begun. I texted the midwife and doula and told them about the consistency and they both showered. Joe finished getting Lincoln ready for bed and I rested in bed continuing writing the times down. With one as I let my body open, I felt a pop. I got up to pee and my mucous plug came out. As I stood up from the toilet, the bag of waters started dripping on the floor. The liquid that came out was not clear though. It was brown which concerned me a little. That meant there was meconium in the water. I called Joe into the bathroom and told him. He put Lincoln to bed (7:45). I called the midwife and Lucia, our doula, and they both said they were leaving. The midwife said that the brown water didn't necessarily mean something bad and not to be alarmed. The doula was an hour away and the midwife two.

I sat on the toilet for a long time as Joe started blowing up the birthing tub. I moved into the living room and he cleaned the bathroom and put on the layers of bed sheets and waterproof liner from our birth kit. The doula arrived and helped get the tub filled with water. I listened to the radio on my iPhone for a few minutes and then we hooked up the TENS unit to my back. It is an electric shock/vibration device that helps manage pain. Its voltage distracts you from the back labor and I allowed my cervix to relax and I knew it was because gushes of fluid kept running out onto the floor. The doula said that meant the baby was moving down. That was encouraging to hear so I continued to focus on the vibrating in my back.

The midwife and assistants arrived. They said they wouldn't do any pelvic exams now that the bag of waters had released for risk of infection. They did make sure baby was facing down, checked my vitals and the baby's heart rate. I sat on the birth ball with the TENS unit drinking liquids in the living room. I had a bowl in front of me during waves of nausea in case I vomited. We also had a peppermint infuser going to take the nausea away. Fetal heart tones were checked frequently. I was offered Gatorade regularly. Monira, our birth photographer, arrived my then. She sneaked in and started taking photos of the people and surroundings. 

Lucia asked about going to the bathroom. Once I got in there, I never went back to the living room. I sat on the toilet into transition. I figured I was in transition because the contractions were longer while I was sitting in there. Lucia and I watched the baby move down and squirm around in my belly during the contractions. Lucia massaged my feet and legs, which became numb and cold. Joe brought me chicken broth for nourishment. I asked Lucia when I should get in the tub. She said, "Let's wait until your mom gets here." My mom arrived at 1:30am. I think her reasoning was she figured labor would speed up once she arrived because I didn't want them to miss it. We have control over how fast labor progresses. It is called the sphincter effect. It is like not being able to pee without privacy or not being able to have a bowel movement in a public restroom. Women can allow their cervix to open, close (yes, regression is also possible), or do nothing based on fears.

We made our way into the office with the birthing tub soon after. I changed into a black tank top for photography purposes. We disconnected the TENS unit and I stepped in the tub. I was nervous about my first contraction in the water without the TENS unit because it had helped manage the contractions so much. I started a low moan when I was in the tub. The midwife mentioned to Joe that she wasn't sure where I was in labor because I was so quiet. She could usually tell by the amount of noise the mom was making what stage of labor she was in. Joe told her that I was quiet up to 8cm with Lincoln too. Lucia poured warm water on my lower back with a pitcher and she asked if it helped. It did. Joe sat in front of me and held my hand during contractions and offered me Gatorade in between. My body started shaking and I remember my midwife telling me during one of her births that she shook during transition so I knew I was 8-10cm. I never started feeling negative or defeated or like I wanted to go to a hospital during this stage like I thought I would. I read that transition was the hardest part (but shortest part) emotionally and physically. With time lapse during labor, it felt like I had not been in the tub long before I had the urge to push. It felt like 30 minutes, but 2 hours had passed. At the end of a contraction, a felt myself push a little. I looked at Lucia and said I feel like I need to push. She asked if I wanted her to get the midwife. Joe asked if he should call Monira. I was confused because I thought Monira was still there. Joe told me that she left to nurse her daughter. Joe called her and told her I was getting ready to push. I remember thinking, "I need to stall so she doesn't miss the birth." From that point on, I pushed during contractions. Contractions occurred closer together and I pushed several times with each contraction.

I asked if my mom was in the room. I couldn't see who was behind me. They got my mom from the living room who was sitting in there by herself. My dad was sleeping in his truck. This was at 3:53am. I wanted my mom present for the birth since she had never seen a birth before and she didn't have to watch Lincoln since he was sleeping.

The midwife and assistants started making comments like "perfect" and "that's it" so I knew something was happening. It was so encouraging so it made me want to keep going. I asked for someone to make sure the head didn't pop out so the midwife administered counter pressure. I started feeling myself stretching and I slowly let the head emerge so I wouldn't tear.  Before I knew it, the midwife said, "There's the face, the chin is out." I remember thinking, "If the chin is out, that means the head is out!" One more push and I heard and felt a lot of commotion. Next thing I heard, "Rebekah, catch your baby!" Our baby was born at 4:11am. Baby came out military, which means the shoulders didn't rotate after the head was born. The baby's body just shot out. (I have pictures, but I won't post here.)

I leaned away from the edge of the tub and my baby was floating face down in front of me. The midwife told me during a prenatal visit to lift the baby out of the water so it wouldn't get a face full of water. I lifted "it" out and they threw a towel over the baby. I tried to look at the genitalia, but the umbilical cord was between the legs so I couldn't tell. I told Joe to look and he peeked under the towel and announced, "It's a girl!"

The pool started filling up with blood so I didn't sit in the tub for long because the midwife wanted to see what was causing the bleeding. I sat on the birthing stool and delivered the placenta into a bowl. We left the baby attached to the placenta for 3 hours before cutting the cord. This allowed the blood in the cord to go into the baby's body.

I was helped to my bedroom and in the bed. My legs were wiped down with a warm wash cloth and I begin trying to nurse my baby. My doula is also a lactation consultant so she assisted. I remember being relieved the birth was over. It was hard work! It's not called labor for nothing! My dad made me an omelet for nourishment.

My vitals were checked, I was told to use the restroom, I ate and drank, and I was checked for tearing. There was a small tear inside my vagina and I was given the option of getting 4 stitches to assist with healing. I decided to get stitches so my bottom was placed on a baking sheet for a firm surface and I was stitched up in the bed. Joe held Grey for the first time and then her newborn check was done after the cord was cut three hours later. By this time, the cord had shriveled.

                                                      I love this picture of Lucia assisting me!

Joe feeding me an omelet

Grey weighed 7lbs. 10oz. and was 19.75 inches long. Joe cut the cord and we put foot prints in her baby book. The assistant showed me the placenta and the membranes that Grey lived in for so many months. It seems like the placenta started detaching from the uterine wall sometime and the blood started to clot, which was the reason for the excessive blood loss. We paid the assistant to encapsulate the placenta. She was going to take the placenta home, dehydrate it, blend it into a powder, and put it in capsules for me. The placenta capsules are suppose to help with energy and mood after the birth. It is a controversial practice. We did research and found that most mammals eat their placenta after birth. They were brought to me on day 3 and they are kept in the refrigerator. My placenta made 88 capsules.

Lincoln slept through the whole event and woke up at his usual time with a new baby sister!

I felt empowered because I had a baby vaginally without medications and interventions. The birth happened like I'd hoped it would. I'm glad I followed my instincts and attempted a VBAC. The laboring and delivery took 10 hours. I just let it happen and it seemed like it happened so fast. That is birthing without fear!