My Birth Story: The Good, The Bad, and Everything In Between

I was in my first trimester and gearing up to give birth to my daughter. I was terrified out of my mind. I had always known that giving birth was not going to be pleasant for me. I have a very low pain tolerance and extreme medical anxiety, and I felt like I had no idea what I was doing. The one thing I did take comfort in was reading other birth stories from women who had successfully already birthed their babies. So, now that my baby is a happy, crazy toddler, I figure it was time to share my birth story!

My Birth Plan

Going into my pregnancy, I had a clear idea of what I wanted my birth to look like. My mom had given birth to me and my 3 siblings at The Midwife Center. She had no pain meds, and even had a home birth for my one sister as well. She always raved about the experience and I knew that was where I wanted to get my care as well.

Throughout my pregnancy, my prenatal care was amazing. I felt heard, I asked all my questions, and I felt totally supported. I wanted to do exactly what my mom did – no drugs, no hospital, just me and my baby. Boy, I had no idea what was coming. Everything was progressing fine and it got to the point where I was just waiting on baby to want to come out!

My Water Breaks?

On Wednesday, sometime in the morning, I felt like what I thought was my water breaking, but I was not sure. I had been told that it could come out very slowly and almost feel like you were peeing yourself, and that’s exactly what I felt was happening. So, I called my midwife and they asked me to come in and get a swab done. The swab came back negative, and I was sent back home. I was a little disappointed, but continued to prep for baby’s arrival.

That night, we went out to dinner with my family and I could tell something was definitely happening. I had a pad on just in case something did happen – by the end of dinner I had completely soaked my pants. By the time I got home, I had also soaked the emergency pants I bought at Target.

Throughout Wednesday night I started getting contractions that were consistent but not too intense and pretty far apart. That continued until about 2 am when I stood up to pee and the floodgates released. It truly felt as if time froze and I stood there for a good 10 minutes while my waters rushed out of me. There was no denying this – my water had definitely broken now.

We gave the midwives another call and they said to come in when my contractions were three minutes apart. We lived about an hour from the center at the time so I showered and we headed to my boyfriend’s mom’s house to labor until it was time to go in since she lives closer.

At The Midwife Center

When we got to the midwife center around 6am, they got us all checked in and checked my cervix as well. They determined that although my water had broken, I was only about 3 cm dilated. So, they set me up with a breast pump and a set of stairs. I was instructed to alternate between pumping for 30 minutes and walking for 30 minutes to try to get my cervix opening.

Since we didn’t know exactly when my water had actually broken, we worried about infection if it got to be over 24 hours since it had broken. They told me I could try to labor there for 6 hours, but if nothing happened by then, I would likely need to be transferred to a hospital.

I alternated pumping and walking for about 6 hours while my contractions got increasingly worse – but not necessarily closer together. At around 1:30 pm, she checked my cervix again. I was still only 3cm dilated. I immediately burst into tears.

Everything that I did not want to happen was happening, and I knew I was not coping well. I was tired, I felt defeated, I was in so much pain, and I just wanted my baby. Nonetheless, I got all my stuff together and we drove over to UPMC Magee Women’s Hospital.

At The Hospital

When we arrived at the hospital, I was immediately taken back and checked again – surprise, surprise, still 3 cm. At this point, I was not coping well at all so I was given an injection to try to help calm me down so I could hopefully get some sleep (I had been in labor for close to 24 hours at this point).

Immediately after getting this injection, I knew it was not going to be enough. I asked for an epidural then because I had heard stories of people waiting too long to ask and not getting them. The nurse definitely seemed shocked but agreed.

Getting The Epidural

It did take about 2 or 3 hours before the anesthesiologist came, and getting the epidural placed was probably the most uncomfortable I’ve ever been. I tried to stay perfectly still while someone had a needle to my back and I was in life-shattering pain. Not my favorite.

After I got my epidural, I took the greatest nap of my life. When I woke up, it was around 8 or 9 pm. At this point, a doctor came in to check me again. To my complete shock, I was still only at 3 cm. They discussed with me that since they did not know exactly when my water broke, there was a risk for infection. I was advised to get started on Pitocin to try to move my labor along.

I felt so defeated. Nothing was going the way I wanted it to. I knew that I was exhausted, and did not want Pitocin. Who knew after I got it how much longer I would be in labor, or if I would beat the countdown of the infection clock? Knowing that I would have to possibly go through that and then end up with an emergency C-section was too much for me.

My C-Section

Instead, I asked if it was possible to elect to have a C-section. They told me that was absolutely something I could do. However, all emergency C-sections would have to come first, so they didn’t know exactly when I would be able to get in.

I ended up staying up and laboring until about 2:30 am when they finally came and told me it was my turn!

During my C-section, all I remember is not being able to control the fact that I was violently shaking. I had about 20 blankets on me, my boyfriend right there, but I could not stop shaking. I was very surprised by how fast the whole process was. 15 minutes of tugging and shaking later I hear, “Oh wow, she is a chubbers!”

My Baby

At 3:17 am, I got to see my 9 lb 3 oz for the first time. It made the past 30 excruciating hours completely worth it. She is now my whole world, and I would do it all over again if it meant I got her! So, no matter how scary birth may seem – because it is. I promise that it is 100% worth it!