Parks' Birth
Parks’ story began on Friday, February 13, 2009 when my mucous plug started to loosen. This continued for 3 days without any contractions and I began to question whether it was really my mucous plug and wondering if our baby was going to make an appearance after all. Finally, Monday, February 16 (Family Day) at 10:30 am, my waters released. Let’s just say what got Parks in helped to get him out that morning. At first I was not sure if my water really released because I was not having any surges. I was pain-free and obviously in very early labour so Tanner and I decided to bake cookies to bring to the hospital. We had a theory that a fed labour and birth nurse would be a happy one and consequently more cooperative with our birth plan.
At 11:30 am I called my Doula, Karen Nistor, and told her my waters had released. I explained that I was a bit sceptical that this was really happening because I was not having any surges, but she told me that they might not start for 5-6 hours and to just relax or go for a walk. I went through the whole day without any surges, then at 4:00 pm the action started. I began having frequent and consistent surges that were about 10 minutes apart. At this point I laid down in bed and put on my Hypnobirthing relaxation CD’s and started my focusing and birthing techniques. The surges were not painful at first, as I was feeling more downward pressure starting at the top of my uterus, some rectal pressure and a bit of cramping. At 4:30 pm my surges were 5-8 minutes, so I continued my relaxation techniques and the pain was still quite minimal. However, the surges were lasting longer and were closer together, so I called Karen and we decided that she would come to our home in one hour.
Karen arrived at 5:30 pm, and by this point my surges were more frequent and much more intense. It was our plan to stay at home as long as possible, so at 6:00 pm I had a bath where we did effleurage to help ease the pain. At 6:30 pm my surges were 2-3 minutes apart and we decided it was time to go to the hospital. We got me out of the tub and started getting ready to go. Thinking back on this, I realize that I did something really silly by, refusing to get dressed without putting lotion on my body first (one of my after-shower routines). This is not an easing task when you are in active labour. At 6:40 pm we made our way to the hospital. I was unable to sit down properly because the contractions were so intense, so I knelt on the front seat facing backward. Tanner ran 2 red lights trying to get us to the hospital as fast as possible - I think he was scared we would deliver in the car.
At 7:10 pm I was assessed in the triage room at the Regina General Hospital and was 5 cm opened. I was then admitted to room 8. During my labour I had a wonderful support team, which consisted of my husband Tanner, my Doula Karen, my mother Paulette and my nurse Michelle. We tried a variety of labour positions for comfort and I had my relaxation CD playing in the background. However, at this point we were in active labour and I was having a hard time concentrating on using self-hypnosis for pain management because the surges seemed to be one-on -top of the other. I found it hard to focus on anything else and could not believe how hard and fast the surges were coming. At 8:05 pm my nurse checked my progress and I was 9 cm opened. My support team and I were shocked at how fast everything was happening, as I had dilated 4 cm in one hour. My nurse could not believe this was my first baby and that we held out at home as long as we did.
At 8:15 pm I felt the urge to breathe the baby down so I started birth breathing, a technique I had learned and had been practicing in the last 5 months, for the next hour. At 9:00 pm I was almost fully dilated. At 9:15 pm Dr. Kothare arrived and I began pushing. At 10:02 pm Parks Matthew Kaufmann was born weighing 9 lbs even and measuring 20.5 inches long. Due to the speed of the labour and the size of Parks, I was unable to deliver with an in tact perineum and ended up with 3rd, almost 4th, degree tearing and extensive blood loss. These factors lead to post-partum anemia, hypotension and an extended hospital stay. I was told that this is quite common with fast deliveries.
For the most part, our birth plan was followed and respected by our nurse who consulted with us before doing anything that was not a part of our plan. I am very happy to report that we did have a drug-free labour and birth, which was a very important part of our birth plan for Parks. Tanner was the one to announce that we had had a baby boy and to cut the umbilical cord, which was also a significant part of our birth plan.
Throughout the labour and birth Parks remained calm with a heart rate of 118-122 bpm. He was born calm and alert, and was placed on my chest where he breastfed within 20 minutes of being born. Parks was born with a full head of dark brown hair, was strong enough to hold his head up for a few seconds and was singing to his Dad within minutes of being born. While I delivered the placenta, Tanner held Parks in a dim corner of the room where Parks made singing sounds. This is a characteristic of his that he still does while he sleeps (he actually kind of sounds like a ghost). It is very cute and his nickname is now “Squeaks”. Parks is a strong, healthy, happy and calm baby who only fusses when he is hungry, naked (he hates being cold) or gassy.
Overall, I believe that the Hypnobirthing relaxation and breathing techniques I learned from Marie Berwald’s Hypnobirthing class contributed greatly to the speed of the labour, facilitated in quick opening and can be accredited for the birth of a calm and alert baby. Lastly, I feel that the breathing techniques in combination with my Doula, who was extremely knowledgeable and supportive, helped to keep us focused on having the drug-free labour and birth that my husband and I wanted for our son. These are definitely tools we will utilize for any other children we have in the future.
My husband, Doula and mother were an integral and special part of our labour and birth and I could not have done it without them and for that I am forever grateful.
Alyscia Kaufmann, written March 2009 |
