To start, I am not one to cringe at the site of needles but the idea of anyone (professionally trained or not) poking around my spine freaks me out. It's not that I felt the need to prove how strong I am, but that I love walking. I know that the side effects may be minimal, and many people told me I was crazy for wanting to deliver without pain medication, but I knew that if I received an epidural and then ended up with chronic back pain or paralysis of any kind that I would regret the decision for the rest of my life.
That being said, I also knew that I had NO IDEA what labor would feel like, so despite my strong desire to go without an epidural I didn't completely write it off in case of complications or prolonged labor, etc.
I knew that if I wanted a chance to deliver without an epidural I would need to take some kind of class to mentally prepare myself for the experience of labor and birthing a child. Chavis & I attended one Hypnobirthing class, but decided that a home course would be the best option for us. I bought Hypnobabies Home Study Course online and started my 34th week of pregnancy.
One of the things that intrigued me the most about this class was the concept that in other countries people deliver babies and just go on with their day. They deny pain during the birthing process because they "didn't know it was supposed to hurt." It's an interesting concept, and valid point. Our society believes (dating back to Adam & Eve) that "labor pain" is part of Eve's punishement for partaking of the forbidden fruit. Which leads to the Fear of labor => which causes Tension => which increases Pain. So, the basis of this class gives one a positive view of birth and labor and gives one different relaxation and self hypnosis techniques to use during labor.
The Big Day:
I woke @ 11:30 pm on Sept 9th thinking my water had broke and feeling what I assumed to be contractions (unlike anything I had been feeling before). I stayed up for the next hour timing the contractions; they were 5-7 minutes apart and not too painful. At 1am I decided to wake Chavis because if my water had indeed broke then I figured I should go into the hospital.
We arrived around 2:30 to Labor & Delivery. The nurse did a test to check for amniotic fluid which she said was negative...This had me puzzled because I was pretty sure I hadn't peed myself..but what else could've it been??? They kept me on the monitor for an hour and rechecked my dilation, which remained unchanged from my arrival - 3cm. At 4am they told me I could go home, and at that moment I felt another gush of fluid. But since they told me it wasn't my water, discouraged we headed home.
Once home Chavis went to bed since he had to work the next morning and myself... I stayed awake because I kept soaking pads with what seemed to be my water breaking (but after being discharged I was not sure what was happening). I stayed awake for the next 4 hours trying multiple positions to ease the discomfort of my contractions. By this time I was so tired and confused at the idea that what I was experiencing wasn't labor, I started to doubt my abilities to deliver unmedicated. At 7:30 I asked Chavis not to go into work because there was no way I could drive myself to the hospital if my contractions got much stronger. Again, another hour of timing my contractions: this time they were 3 minutes apart lasting anywhere from 1-2.5 minutes. I called L&D and decided at 9am to go back to the hospital, despite my concern for being sent home a 2nd time.
We arrived back to the hospital @ 9:30am. The nurse assessing me was able to determine that my water had broke by observation alone. At 10 o'clock I was dilated to 5 cm and admitted. At 11 o'clock Dr. Lunt came in to check on me and I was dilated to an 8. By this time my pain is at a 5-6/10, and I ask the nurse if she thinks I should get an epidural; thankfully she replies, "I think you're a really good candidate to go without." These were the words I needed to hear, along with Chavis also telling me that he thought I could deliver without the epidural made me confident that I could.
To help ease the discomfort of the contractions, I got into the birthing tub to labor for a while. This took the edge off; I was so grateful to have the tub in my room. I stayed in there for 2 hours or so and then decided to get out to be checked. 2:30 ish, I am checked and am at an 8+. During the next hour I labor walking between my bed and a bedside table, where I would rest during my contractions. Chavis helped by applying counter pressure to my lower back during contractions, and it made them bearable. The nice thing about contractions is that they aren't constant..you get a break. One hour later I am to a 9, and at this point am hoping for speedy progression so I stay in bed. During this time the length between my contractions has spread to about 8 minutes, so I was started on pitocin to increase my contractions. Chavis put counter pressure on my knees for the next 30 minutes during contractions, and then at 4 was told I was 10 cm dilated but that the lip of the cervix was present. After talking with Dr. Lunt, I decided to do a trial push, and he was able to stretch me to be fully complete. for the next 40 minutes I pushed. Each push I knew I was that much closer to seeing and holding my little boy.
Chavis was right there the entire time. He helped hold my legs during my pushing and was more support than I could've imagined he'd be. As the baby descended I had to decide whether or not to have an episiotomy. I opted for the episiotomy so the direction of the tear was already decided; thankfully Dr. Lunt took his time repairing them, and our baby boy arrived healthy and safe.
I feel so blessed that I was able to deliver the way I wanted and that Chavis could play such a big role in the birth of our little boy. It really was an amazing experience, and I would not trade it for anything. On top of having a quicker recovery I was able to feel Knox moving (in the womb) up until he was born (I would not have been able to feel him move after the epidural was placed, had I received one).
Obviously, there are so many scenarios that can take place during birth, but I would recommend an unmedicated birth for anyone who wants to. I believe it takes preparation, but learning to look at labor in a positive light helps more than I could've ever imagined.
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| Born Tuesday 9/10/2013 at 4:43pm at Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George Utah. |
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| Daddy & Knox |
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| Knox with Dr. Lunt who helped deliver him. |
