VBACs

A great friend of mine is pregnant with her second baby! She hoped to have a natural birth with her first in a hospital and was disappointed when she was induced and ended up with a C-section. I am more than excited and honored to be able to help her have the natural birth of her dreams this time around!! I have been a part of several VBACs and am so excited to help my friend and many women in the future heal from the scars of their first birth.

CLICK HERE for some VBAC info for all wondering about the safety of VBACs, especially at home.

 

justine

 

Welcome Sadie

Here is the lengthy story of the birth of my second baby, Sadie.

It really was everything I hoped it to be, everything I asked and prayed for, but that doesn't mean it wasn't overwhelming and difficult, because it was.

My due date (from conception) was August 27th, from my LMP it was the 22nd. On Tuesday the 25th I took my usual yoga class and my awesome teacher worked me hard. She was definitely trying to help my baby come out, she knew I was ready. After that class I felt achy and sore in my back and low belly, and I had a little bloody show too! Then we went swimming at my girlfriends house, the pool was really nice but I definitely felt like something was going on. Jeff and I went walking on the beach that night with some friends but only a few contractions came of it so we went about our night as usual and went to bed. 

Wednesday morning at 4:50am I woke up having a contraction, which was not at all abnormal at this point, I had contractions during the night for about a week to this point. I got up to pee, laid back down and had two more contractions, 10 minutes apart.  At this point I was excited and wanted to see if the pattern was going to stick around. I got out of bed, leaving Parker and Jeff asleep and timed my contractions for an hour.  Around 6 I called my mom to tell her to get on the road, she wanted to be at my birth and had a 3.5 hour drive ahead of her. The contractions were bouncing around from every eight minutes to every two minutes, until at 6:30 they were every two minutes consistently. That's when I woke up Jeff, "I think I am in labor babe!" He got up and we tried to figure out if this was the real thing, I was in denial for some reason. I have seen several contraction patterns phase away as the sun comes up, so I guess I was waiting to see if that was going to happen to me. It didn't. 

I texted Tiffany, my wonderful midwife, around 8am, she said she'd come whenever I needed her. She had just delivered three babies between Sunday and Monday so I wanted to save her energy, especially if this was just going to go away. I had my awesome midwife friend Mary come around 8:00, she checked my dilation and I was 3cm, which I had been the week before too! That was discouraging news, but the contractions continued on and Mary was awesome at reassuring me that she felt this was the real thing. About an hour later I was 4cm, and the contractions picked up. I got in the birth tub my sweet husband set up to try to stay comfortable. I threw up a few minutes later, that's one of the beautiful techniques I use to cope with pain. And that is when we all knew it was show time. I told Jeff to call Tiffany, didn't need her missing the action! 

Contractions from then on were increasingly intense and every two minutes. I felt my baby's head getting lower with a few of them. And a crazy part of this whole experience was that in between contractions I was totally present and normal. I was chatting and smiling and then with each contraction I would go into the zone, and then I was back! Around 10:20 I was feeling some pressure and asked Tiff to check me, I was 8cm. That was such good news!! After hearing I hadn't hardly dilated from 5am-9am and now I was an 8! Almost done! But my mom had not arrived yet, and I really wanted her to be there this time. With each contraction I thought of her and told my body to wait till she made it. She was only 15 minutes away, I knew I could wait. I squeezed Jeff's hand with each contraction after that to try to focus and wait. 

She came rushing in and I cried for joy that she was there and also because I knew now I could be done. I moved in the tub from floating on my back to squatting against the side facing Tiff and Jeff. I told Tiffany I was going to push and break my water and that "this is going to suck". I just knew that the ultimate intensity was about to come after my water broke. Tiff said "You're going to break your water? Ok!?" With the next few contractions I pushed, my water broke, clear and perfect, and with the next I pushed, and pushed and pushed and my sweet baby's head was born. It definitely didn't feel sweet in the moment and I definitely was not silent as this occurred. The intensity and pain that overtakes your body as your baby comes out is like no other, a couple "ow"s and yelps are definitely warranted. The rest of her body was born seconds later and Tiffany brought her up onto my belly. (The video of the birth clearly shows she came out posterior, so did little Parker, I guess that's just how they fit best in me!) Oh and I can't forget to mention that Tiffany came swimming in the birth tub to catch my baby. I was pulling away as I pushed her out and Tiff got pretty wet! 

I was immediately overwhelmed with the intensity of such a quick birth that I cried out a few times as I held this amazing baby for the first time. The next item of business though was to determine whether we had a girl or boy. As I started laboring in the tub I told Jeff my final bet was that our baby was going to be a boy. So when we all looked down at this new baby in my arms and moved the umbilical cord to the side, Jeff announced we had a girl and I literally shouted for joy! What a sweet surprise that was! 

Every thing after that was cake, relatively so. The placenta came out minutes later and then the after pains took over. Ibuprofen became my friend every 4 hours. No tear, thank goodness. 

Little Sadie Elizabeth had joined our family and she was perfect. Seven pounds and four ounces. She nursed so well and hardly made a peep. She looks so much like her big brother Parker. We can't wait to see who she grows up to be. Parker came to meet her minutes after she was born, it was very sweet to see the look on his face as he touched her and heard me say she was his sister. He is definitely getting used to her being here, slowly but surely.  

Birth is shock to my system. I make intense amounts of colostrum and milk in the first few days, Sadie weighed seven pounds fifteen ounces a week after she was born. My little chunk. I think my body needs extra time to catch up with having such a quick birth and making so much milk because I got mastitis yesterday (so not fun). So now I am laid up in bed trying to recover. I have wonderful helpers and friends taking care of me though. 

I am so grateful how everything turned out and for everyone that was at my birth. It was perfect.

justine

Welcome Naiya

A little darling named Naiya entered the world Wednesday. It was so wonderful to be a part of her entrance and her mother's birth experience. Kristy did such a wonderful job though her labor and birth, I am so proud of her! We watched at least an hour of Jim Gaffigan in-between contractions and in no time at all, Kristy got in her birth tub and her baby was here very shortly after. Thank you Kristy for being such an example of how normal, beautiful and peaceful birth is. 

And of course, Mary ONeill is the best midwife-assist I could ask for! 

See a picture of Naiya 

justine

 

The Dreaded "Due Date"

When we get pregnant, one of the first things midwife, our OB or we figure out is our due date. When in the next 9-ish months is my baby going to be born? The main thing I hate....or dislike.....about the due date is that once its passed we freak out!! We've been told that there is a higher chance of stillbirth once you've passed the magical Due Date and that drugs need to be used for induction. Well.... that is not exactly true.

From Midwifery today- (a journal written by midwives about the science and evidence behind out of hospital birth) "Postdates, by itself, is not associated with poor pregnancy outcome. Extreme postdates (passed 43 weeks) or postdates in conjunction with poor fetal growth or developmental abnormalities does show an increased risk of stillbirth. But if growth restriction and birth defects are removed, there is no statistical increase in risk until a pregnancy reaches 42 weeks and no significant risk until past 43 weeks. The primary "evidence" of a sharp rise in stillbirth after 40 weeks seems to come from one study based on data collected in 1958.(1)

Modern statistics show an almost flat rate of stillbirth from 40 weeks to 42, with a slight rise at 43 weeks (all numbers being close to 1/1000).(2)" 

Now its up to you to decide if this is true; to decide whether or not to read the data from the studies-both recent and outdated. I decided to read them. It's true. Being passed your due date, "late", or postdates is not dangerous--when other factors like the baby's growth and placenta function are good, and from my (semi-limited) experience most of the time babies do just fine between 40 and 42 weeks. We use ultrasound to determine if the pregnancy is still healthy and well to decide to carry on without drugs or surgery to deliver the baby. 

The laws that govern what midwives can/can’t do are currently changing, for better and worse. In relation to this topic, licensed midwives like me are only supposed to deliver babies between 37-42 weeks. Just a bit of info...

What I’m really trying to say here is once your due date comes and goes, try not to panic (even if your OB is).  As long as your baby is growing and there are no other complications, continuing to be pregnant is actually the best thing for your baby. Hopefully knowing this will help us be patient as our babies decide when they are ready to be born, instead of deciding for them.

Reference this Midwifery Today article at:  http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/timely.asp

justine

A Midwife Huh?

in

We all get the question: "What do you do?" For me the answer is easy, I'm a midwife. But the reactions I get are not always so straightforward. Maybe this will clarify a bit...

For some reason, I've known what a midwife is years before I decided I needed to be one. My mom didn't use one, no one close to me in my family did. I am not sure where I first heard about midwifery but when I did, it immediately drew me in. I knew I needed to be a part of everything pregnancy, birth and babies. Pregnancy fascinated me and somewhere in me I felt a draw to the natural beauty of birth. 

A midwife is a woman that has been trained to help and guide women through pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period. We are devoted to helping healthy, low-risk women have their idea of an optimal birth. I am trained to screen women, through their prenatal care, for anything that would make it unsafe to birth anywhere but the hospital. Midwives know what to do in all situations that arise during birth--whether we treat it ourselves or transfer to the hospital to get medical help their depends on the situation and our training.  

Midwives have been used for thousands of years. Before birth became a medical event occurring in hospitals, everyone had home births with midwives! Babies have always been born and women--grandmothers, aunts, sisters, mothers-- have always been helping each other through the life-changing process of pregnancy and delivery. Midwives strive to preserve the traditional relationship of providing personal, warm, almost family-like care when helping pregnant women experience their births. 

To me, every woman needs the support of another to connect with, relate and open up to about everything their body goes through in the 40 weeks leading up to the birth of their baby. I am so pleased to be that woman for those who choose the path of unmedicated, out of hospital birth. I love being the one woman those around me ask questions to throughout their pregnancy. Mostly, I am able to reassure them that what they are going through is completely normal, and if it is outside of normal I am able to help resolve their problem or give them the resources to do so. I have seen the effects of women-centered care. I have seen that when a pregnancy is treated as a normal, healthy part of a woman's life and that woman is thoroughly and personally cared for she is much less likely to suffer through birth injuries, trauma or surgical birth. 

Luckily, I think the medical system is starting to realize just how safe, economical and practical out of hospital birth really is. In England, for example, women are encouraged to have their babies at home if they don't have any medical risk factors (diabetes, high blood pressure, etc). I can only dream about the day when OBs in California are telling their clients that "actually you don't need to birth in the hospital. Go have your baby with a midwife at home." That will be the day. Until then, I hope that blogs like this will help women to learn a little bit about what  midwife is and why we do what we do.

I will continue to blog as much as my life allows!

justine