Our Newest Student-Midwife - Jamie

Jamie comes to us to finish her integration experience through Vanderbilt University. During the integration experience the student functions in the full-scope midwifery role. This time gives her the opportunity to fine-tune her skills and experience the midwifery role, while remaining in a supportive environment. We are very excited to have Jamie here and feel that our clientele will enjoy her as well. She will be with us through the second half of November.

Sharon's Birth Story

The story actually begins about 3 weeks before Maxine was born. I had started to develop an itchy rash around my belly button area and it just went crazy after that. Before long my body was covered nearly head to foot with a PUPP (sometimes PUPPP) rash, which is common in first time pregnancies and mothers pregnant with multiples. Funny thing is that other mothers I've known in my time have never mentioned this rash. So there was one level of discomfort. Thankfully, it didn't last long. As soon as labor started, the itchiness went away.

The day before I went into labor I developed a soreness in my jaw. I thought that it was do to me clinching my teeth at night or stressing about being passed my due date. Thankfully, it didn't last long. As soon as labor started, the ache in my jaw went away.

Labor started at about midnight on August 31st. I was up for my usual trip to the bathroom, but was feeling some unusual cramping, more than te Braxtons I'd experienced before. I wanted to be sure this was labor so I waited an hour before letting my hubby know. When I woke him with the news he bolted upright and I pushed him down again. I told him to chill out and to get a little more rest before we rustled up the crew. At 2a.m. I was sure it was labor and called the nurse-midwife on-call at the midwifery clinic. She said I should head to the hospital when my contractions were 2-5 minutes apart. They were about a minute or two apart. I tried to eat a banana because I was hungry, couldn't hold it down. Phone calls were made and people started arriving at the house, including the best doula in the woorld, my SIL. Once the car was packed and we were sure about my contractions we headed to the hospital. Thankfully, it didn't take very long to get there. The hospital was only a mile and a half from our house.

My hubby, my SIL and I arrived at Phoenix Baptist Hospital and checked in through the emergency room at around 3 or 4 a.m. We were brought to a triage room where a nuse checked and found I had dilated from 1 to 2 centimeters during the examination. We were admitted to the third floor maternity ward and assigned a laborng room and there we waited for the midwife on-call. We thought it was going to be Lisa but she was just coming off her rotation. Then we were told it was Tiffany but she wasn't scheduled. It turned out to be Lylaine, but she was in a morning meeting until 10a.m., so we wouldn't see her until after that. Thankfully, it didn't make a difference when the midwife arrived. The baby wouldn't be born until nearly 9p.m.

The nurses who attended to me were all right for the most part, many I liked and I am grateful for their attention and support. Others I could have done without, but that's the way the evening went. Some moments were better than others. I was slowly making progress, stalled at around 4 centimeters, but then got stuck again at 6-7 centimeters. During the whole process my SIL/doula and hubby are helping my through everyone one of my contractions. I was blowing rasperries all night long. I got to labor in the whirlpool tub which was nice. Other times I was hanging from my hubby's shoulders, at the counter or on the birthing ball. The whole time trying to concentrate on blowing raspberries which helped process the toughest part of the contractions. But later my lips suffered from all that raspberry blowing. Thankfully, there is chapstick, Burt's Bees in fact. And in the end I have my baby girl.

So while the stalling was happening we had to move onto plan B - induction. I was not looking for to this part. My fear was that things would start to rollercoaster out of control and I would end up in a terrible position that required an emergency C-section. My water bag was broken and it turned out to have Meconium in it. This could spell bad news if Maxine stayed inside too long. I was hopefully then that the process would be over soon. Well, part of my prediction was right. I did end up with an emergency C, but it didn't take a rollercoaster ride to get there. It was more like a wild bumper car ride. The Pitocin made the contractions more intense, sometimes two coming one after the other. At one point I was contracting big time, trying desperately hard to concentrate on blowing raspberries and failing, tossed my cookies and pulled a muscle in my abdomen. After that I threw up my hands and said I'd had enough. I was done. Thankfully, the end was just around the corner and somehow I was laboring for another hour under the Pitocin. I knew things were ending, it was just going to take a bit longer to get there.

A Pitocin blocker was administered and I was getting prepped for a C-section. The surgeon and the midwife commented on how odd my belly looked, when Maxine was doing her peanut-yoga move and they didn't know what that meant. When I saw I was in the process of getting the C-section, I was less scared of that than I was of anything else. I felt like the end was finally near and I would have my baby soon. Sure, the deliver process wasn't what I had planned, but as long as Maxine was born and all right, that's all I cared about. The midwife stayed with me the whole time. The anesthesiologist was the best and when he gave me the spinal tap to numb me from the waist down, it was a breeze. Once the curtain was drapped before me, I was comfortable and somehow feel asleep. The next thing I remember was waking to see my husband in his surgical bunny suit taking pictures and video of the baby being born and the sounds of my daughter crying. She's got such as beautiful cry. My hubby got to videotape her being cleaned and her sinuses and lungs being cleared of the meconium. You could see in the video her color change from bluish to pink as she cries through the procedures (which I will post soon). When she was cleaned they brought her to me so I could give her a kiss and then she and my hubby went to the nursery for Maxine to get some more cleaning and attention. Thankfully, my hubby got to experience a lot of firsts with Maxine. He is very proud of this fact.

It took an hour after I was wheeled into the recovery room before I could see my daughter. I wanted to breast feed her right away but there a couple of complications. 1. The nursery nuse tried the football hold to feed Maxine from the left side and it just wasn't happening. So her first feeding was with her daddy and a bottle of premixed formula. 2. Both Maxine and I were tired. Thankfully, this gave me a chance to rest, but I so wanted to be the first to nurse her. I still get to and have been which has been a joy and definitely an experience that I know I'll never forget. Then something returned that I thought I'd gotten rid of or was gone for good, my tooth ache. Yeah, it returned. I thought again I was pressing my jaw at nght and creating the ache. No, it turned into a legitimate tooth ache. I needed to see a dentist as soon as I was released from the hospital. Everyone was making phone calls to different dental office to see if I could be seen right away. We found a clinic close to home, Encanto Dentistry, who could see me right after I was released from the hospital. They allowed me to nurse while waiting in the chair until it was time to get x-rays. X-rays showed that I had an abscess that needed immediate attention so they planned a root canal, but in the process they discovered there was no way to save the tooth and it would have been best to just extract it. Now mind you, I just had a baby, I was operated on, my hormones were crazy unbalanced and I was in pain from the tooth ache - queue to emotional breakdown. I just cried. But once the tooth was extracted I felt relief right away. Still, this just peaked all my stressors for the last few weeks. I'd honestly had enough and I was done. Thankfully, I was finally done. With the tooth out I could go home, relax, nurse and be with my new family.

It was an ordeal towards the end, crazy as could get and definitely not serene or how I had hoped or planned, but it is done. In the end, I have a beautiful baby girl who is loved by many and spoiled by all. I have a kind and wonderful husband who is attentive, funny and adores his little girl. I have a supportive and fun SIL/doula who I wouldn't trade for the world. I have family and friends who have helped us out beyond compare - we thank you!

*Aside from Tiffany - Turns out Sharon had a heart-shaped uterus! *

VBAC Restrictions 'Lighten Up"!

In the wake of the NIH conference on VBACs, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) updated their statement regarding VBACs and accessibility to them. This is great news and a step in the right direction.

Here's the main highlight...

"The College guidelines now clearly say that women with two previous low-transverse cesarean incisions, women carrying twins, and women with an unknown type of uterine scar are considered appropriate candidates for a TOLAC" .

S's Birth Story - Graphic pictures

I spent a good bit of time getting to know S and her husband during her pregnancy. I was thrilled when she went into labor while I was on call! The following is her pictorial birth story with some light commentary from me. I thought it was awesome that S's friend and family members were very interested in capturing every aspect of her experience so I asked permission to post, what turned out to be some wonderful photos. GRAPHIC PICTURES ahead!!!!!




The happy (or not-so-happy) couple arrived earlier for a labor check. After walking for a bit and being re-evaluated, it was decided that she should go home. If I remember correctly, she was a couple centimeters dilated at this point.

Once S returned, she got serious about laboring :) She was further dilated, admitted for labor, and tossed in the jacuzzi tub to labor further. She had great support from her husband, mother, and best friend. Her dad was also readily available with any assistance needed.

Fresh out of the tub...

Showing dad some different massage techniques....not the most flattering shot of me :P

Working hard! At this point she was around 8cms but the labor was starting to slow down, leaving her stuck at 8 for a while. S was becoming exhausted after hours and hours of labor. At this point we did have some discussion about pain management options.

S getting some rest once the epidural was in place.

Me and S's husband waiting for a baby to present herself.

Providing perineal support as S pushes the head out.

I assist the new daddy as he catches the baby. You can see the cord :) My finger is not in the baby's eye, just the angle :p

Good sized kid for a first baby. Momma did wonderful, pushing for maybe 45minutes.

A natural....

Colleen's Birth Story

My husband and I started trying to get pregnant in March of 2009. The first few months were unsuccessful, however being an A-type person, I started reading up on pregnancy/delivery even though I wasn't pregnant yet. Before doing this reading, I always just thought I would get pregnant, go to an OB-GYN and have my baby in the hospital with a heavy dose of pain meds. Once I started researching my mind changed completely! I began to form a strong opinion in the complete opposite end of the spectrum. I believe doctors have over-complicated the beauty of childbirth. Afterall, for centuries women were having babies without drugs, and they continued to have more than one so it had to be somewhat tolerable. Also, being a Christian, I began to realize God created my body to handle childbirth without any assistance and that He wouldn't give me any burden I couldn't handle.

In late July we discovered we were pregnant! I liked the idea of a midwife, but I had no idea where I would begin to look for one. Anxious and eager to see someone I ended up going to an OB-GYN office. From the initial visit I could tell they were not 100% behind me doing an all natural childbirth. When I asked what the practice's c-section rate was they said 25%! That was a little too high for my comfort. I decided I'd relax a bit, and take the time to find an office that had midwives. A girl at church recommended Bethany Women' s Center, so I made an appointment---the smartest move I made while pregnant!

My pregnancy, fortunately, did not have many complications nor did I really get seriously uncomfortable. The only hold-up I ran in to was my due date rolled around and still no baby! I tried everything--and I mean EVERYTHING- to spur labor: sex, walking everyday, spicy food, pineapple, massages, pedicures, etc. I went to 42 weeks, and my baby was still not coming on her own. Thoughts of wanting to be induced definitely filled my head, but my husband kept reminding me that the baby would come when ready, and induction would interfere with my plans for a natural childbirth. The midwives worked with me to get the baby to come out, using the most non-invasive plan as possible.

I ended up having a foley catheter put in and was sent home overnight. The idea was the catheter would help dialate me, and labor would start on it's own. The next morning I woke up, and the catheter was still in me and no contractions. We were told to come to the hospital since i was so late. When I got there at 8 am, I walked for an hour before the catheter fell out, but still no real contractions. They sent me walking some more, still nothing. Finally at noon they broke my water, and I had made it to 4cm. I began to feel tiny contractions, as I continued to walk the hospital hallways. Around 4pm I began to feel real pain. I was still walking which helped. But I was devastated when at 7pm, I was only 4.5 cm---I had only dialated half a cm!!! Diane, my midwife, assured me that I was still making progress; it was ok. From 7 pm til 5 am I was having strong contractions every couple minutes. At around midnight they checked me again and I was at 6cm. It was good I was making progress, but I felt like it was going so slow. I was getting very tired and was starting to doubt whether I could do it. I'd been awake for 24 hours and was losing energy fast--I just kept praying that when they checked me again I would be close to 10cm. When they checked me around 5:30 I was relieved to hear I was at 9.5 cms. I knew I could make it.

From there it all went super fast. Within a few minutes I was ready to start pushing. Diane told me the harder I pushed the faster it would go, so I just pushed with all my strength. Diane did an amazing job helping me push effectively. I know talking to friends who had drs. deliver their babies they felt like they didn't know how to push. I have no idea where the energy came from, but I was able to harness it and push her out. THe pushing was definitely the hardest part but also the best, because I knew I was that much closer. An hour and a half later I had a beautiful baby girl lying on my chest. I know every mom thinks her baby is perfect, but Madeline really was so beautiful (some newborns are kinda weird looking)---those extra couple weeks really paid off!! It was one of the most amazing experiences, and I am so proud of myself and thankful to God, my husband, the nurses, and my midwife, Diane, for helping me get through it. I'm not ready to do it again any time soon, but I know I*'ll be ready/capable. And the amazing part is you really do forget the pain you go through.

Mother of Many

My daughters stood and watched this with me, throughly absorbed. Thanks to Jill and crew at Unnesecearean where I found this.

Hospital Birth

I enjoy the blogoshphere. I spend a good bit of time reading blogs. Some of the blogs take a more scientific approach to their content, while others include personal stories of birth (good and bad). I sometimes find myself becoming frustrated and saddened though when I read about women's personal experiences when having a hospital birth.

I find it difficult to wrap my mind around some of the horrible birth experiences I have 'heard'. I didn't have wonderful birth experiences, but wouldn't describe them as horrible or bad either. But some of the stories I see on various blogs are almost unreal seeming. There are cases where legal entities were involved in the care of a woman's pregnancy, confining her to the hospital by court order and others where a woman had to travel 5-6 hours from home to have a VBAC (when she had one already at the very hospital that denied her!). Other cases are of hospital births where women were left feeling, at a minimum, dissatisfied but in some cases, traumatized.

I worked as a labor and delivery nurse for four years, in a tertiary center. This meant that we handled high-risk and low risk, shipping out only those whose babies would require immediate surgery after birth. I know bad stuff happens in the hospital. It can be factory-like, unpleasant, women made to feel powerless and not in control of bodies. I don't deny these things.

What I worry about is the focus on negativity around the hospital birth experience. Until homebirth and OOH birth centers are financially and geographically available to all low-risk women, hospital birth is it for some women. It's the only viable option for whatever reason. I make decent money and have health insurance. But I couldn't afford to pay for a homebirth out of pocket! So all the bad press surrounding hospital birth might be disheartening for those who are destined for the hospital as their birthing backdrop. You know how it goes - everyone's quick to share a bad story, but not a good story :p

There are hospitals....and Phoenix Baptist Hospital (PBH) can't be the only one. We midwives at Bethany Womens attend births at PBH and have been there for several years now. I have seen beautiful births - more than I can count. It is possible to have a wonderful, satisfying hospital birth. Look back at the archives for this blog and you will find a small portion of those stories. So this is why I get frustrated it can be good....even great, in the hospital. We do it all the time.

We encourage women to be a partner in their care. It's not our goal to be the dictator. Instead we want to establish a relationship with women and their families. This is the very first step in having a wonderful experience in the hospital. We truly care about our patients. We didn't become midwives because we wanted to be pulled away from our families and work long hours. No, it's about being with women, empowering women, changing their lives for the better. The five of us are very passionate about this. We RESPECT women. And at the end of the day, I think that makes a big difference. I will tell women when doing a consult for prenatal care. Find someone you trust....if it isn't us, I don't care.....find someone you trust, it's critical.

I hate to see women feel alienated by the very fact that they had a hospital birth. What happened to midwifery being about supporting women...all women... regardless of where they give birth? Who decied that it would be impossible to have a satisfying, enriching experience in the hospital? That this could only occur in the home environment? I think that time spent arguing which is better - hospital or home - is time wasted. Time needs to be spent improving options, educating women, improving hospital birth. The birth community needs to stick together. If we had nearly the coheisiveness of American Congress of OB/GYN (ACOG), we'd probably be a heckuva lot further along in our struggles for women's birth rights/rites.

This stuff with women being forced to abide by court mandates of hospital confinement, etc is outrageous and a slippery slope indeed. But it can be better.....and I see the proof of that all the time.