Birth story - how things don't go according to plan
I was in labor for 38 hours. Labor woke me up around 4 am on Wednesday April 2nd. When my contractions were about 6-7 minutes apart, I woke my husband Josh and told him I think this is the real thing. I took a long, hot shower and called the obstetrician's hotline. By 6 am, my contractions were over a minute long and five minutes apart. We got in the car to head to the hospital, a 45 minute drive made longer by morning rush hour traffic. We arrived at the hospital around 7 am and went into triage. Upon check, I was only 3 cm dilated, though still having strong contractions close together. The midwife determined that dehydration was making the contractions stronger and she recommended that I drink lots and lots of water and that we walk the hospital halls for an hour. We really hoped this would work because being sent home would mean another 45 minute drive back home, then yet another drive back to the hospital later.
We did as she said and when I was checked an hour and a half later, I was a good 4 cm and was admitted to Labor and Delivery. I was having severe back labor by this time due to occiput posterior positioning of the baby. I spent several hours in the jacuzzi shower, and when it was no longer helping, I got out and tried a number of different positions, none of which were particularly helpful with the back labor. A few hours later I was 5 cm dilated and there was no further change for another several hours. At this point, they offered to break my water, informing us that at this stage, doing so might help labor to start back up again. We consented and I made it a few more hours, but the back labor caused me constant pain to the point where I couldn't get any respite at all between contractions.
By this time, the twelve hour shift had changed and it had been at least 12-14+ hours (time becoming a muddled blur). I couldn't deal with the back pain anymore and requested pain medication. I was given a morphine drip, which barely helped take the edge off, but a few hours later it wasn't nearly enough anymore, so I requested an epidural.
The epidural got me to the point where I could at least breathe in between contractions and lie down, though I definitely was not comfortable enough to sleep or relax. I tried to drink apple juice and eat some jello but all it did was make me vomit a lot (now totally see why they only allow laboring women to have clear fluids and not food).
A few hours later, the epidural was no longer working on my right side. The intense back labor returned along with the painful contractions and my right leg regained sensation as well. The anesthesiologist was called back and he tried pulling the epidural out a little bit to help redistribute the medicine. This sort of worked for a few more hours, and then basically stopped working entirely.
At this point, I was 8 cm dilated. The anesthesiologist was called back again and said all he could do now was take the epidural out and try a new one, or I could finish labor/birth without pain medication. By this time, another 12 hours had elapsed and another shift change had come and gone and the nurse from our initial admittance was back. I was too exhausted and distraught to really think straight, so I asked my husband and he suggested trying another epidural. This turned out to be excellent advice because this time, the epidural was more successful. I was still stalled out at 8 cm for a few more hours, but finally I was fully dilated and it was time to push.
They gave me pitocin to bring the contractions closer together and I pushed for an hour or so, but the baby's heart rate was dropping precipitously during contractions, making the docs concerned that the umbilical cord was compressed or wrapped around his neck.
The doctor told us that due to my long labor, exhaustion, running a fever, and the baby's distress, she would not let me push on my own for more than three hours without intervening. We were offered three options for aiding delivery: forceps, vacuum, or c-section.
Of course, our wish had been to avoid any of these, and we discussed the risks with each with the doctor. She warned that a c-section this late would be riskier and cause more bleeding than a normal, scheduled c-section due to the long labor and the baby's position so far down in the birth canal. She personally advised forceps, given her extensive experience with them.
We took her advice and decided on forceps when the three hours had elapsed, and suddenly the room was swarming with people. The obstetrician, nurses, medical professionals to care for the baby immediately following birth, and god knows who else.
Somehow I'd had it in my head that the forceps were some kind of small, relatively friendly rubber-coated tongs or something. No. They are terrifying, huge metal tools, inserted one at a time and then attached to hinge together. She inserted the forceps and then I pushed through the contractions while they PULLED.
Despite the epidural, the birth HURT. It hurt worse than anything I could have imagined, and I am not ashamed to admit that I screamed bloody murder through it. I had my eyes screwed shut pretty much the whole time but Josh tells me that he was born with the cord around his neck. Josh didn't get to cut the cord because they swooped down on the baby, cut the cord, and rushed him over to the corner of the room where they had to give him oxygen and a shot of something. Josh gave me a hug and then, at last, we heard Orin cry.
Josh and most of the docs were all clustered over in the corner while the obstetrician and another nurse delivered the placenta and stitched me up. They marveled at how fortunate I'd been, I didn't even have second degree tearing (after they'd informed me forceps deliveries often resulted in more severe tears).
We were told that Orin would have to go to the NICU because he was born with a fever of 102°F, so they wanted to give him an IV and antibiotics to stave off any possibility of infection from the long labor. They promised he'd only be there for an hour or so and then they would bring him back to us in recovery. They let me hold him for about two minutes, but then they whisked him away to the NICU. Josh went with them, and suddenly, the room emptied. A minute later, it was only me and the nurse, and then she left too and I was left alone.
I remember being miserable during this timeâeveryone was gone, including my husband, and they'd taken my baby away. The nurse returned after a fashion and the epidural was removed. I waited and waited and after what seemed like an eon, they came back from the NICU and we were taken to Mother-Baby for recovery.
Orin had some bruising on his head from the forceps as well as a little blood in his eye and an Angel Kiss, but overall he was healthy and well. Despite the birth not going at all how we wanted, we were intensely grateful that our baby was delivered safely. They kept us in the hospital for 48 hours so that Orin could be given rounds of antibiotics every 12 hours, and he came back with a clean bill of health on Saturday and our little family was able to head home.
