Camisha, our doula and my friend from high school wrote Liv's birth story and took some great pictures while providing labor support. I didn't include many of the photos since they were way too graphic. Brett and I spent many hours (years?!) planning and preparing for Liv's arrival so we feel very fortunate that everything went as planned and our baby made it here happy and healthy.
Marissa had been experiencing surges off and on for several days in the afternoon hours, so on April 14th, when her pattern began to seem a little more consistent, she was sure that she was on the cusp of her labor starting. By 11:00 pm that same night, she was certain of it and texted her doula Camisha to let her know to expect updates on her progression. Another text was sent at 2:30 am stating that things were consistently moving forward.
By 3:00 am, on April 15, 2010, Marissa and Brett decided that it was time to make the trip to Riverton Hospital where they had planned to have their baby. Becky, their nurse, checked them into triage so that they could monitor the baby and confirm that Marissa was in labor before admitting her to the hospital. Marissa’s first check revealed that she was 90% effaced, dilated to 3+ centimeters and that Liv was sitting at -2 station.
Camisha arrived an hour later to find Marissa’s family excitedly waiting in the lobby. Teri, Marissa’s mother, joined Camisha as they headed into the room to see how things were going. Marissa was found relaxing in the bed, listening to a steady stream of Hypnobabies affirmations on her iPod while Brett sat nearby in a chair. The mood was light and chatty. Marissa’s surges had slowed a tad since checking in, but she and Brett had already discovered that her body was very responsive to movement and acupressure and so a birth ball was requested.
Soon Marissa was seated at the end of the bed, rocking and rolling enthusiastically on the birth ball. She kept her headphones in, occasionally pulling them loose to hear what others in the room were saying. However, it was readily apparent that she was using the time wisely to focus on her breath and relaxation in order to establish a positive coping pattern for the upcoming labor. Brett was attuned to Marissa and responded quickly with counter-pressure when a new surge began. Between surges he consistently applied pressure to the tops of her shoulders, the point that Marissa found stimulated her uterus the best.
By 4:45 am, Marissa decided to be checked again. This time she measured 4 centimeters and so she was admitted and moved into a room. While setting up the new space with music, cold cloths, and the birth ball, Camisha asked Marissa what she thought of labor so far. “Labor is what I expected. Not painful per say, but very intense!” Marissa replied. It was during this time that Marissa’s father and mother, Carl and Teri, her little sister Mallory, and Mallory’s friend Sara, decided to join Marissa for a short visit in her room. They sat on the couch quietly observing while Marissa and Brett worked together through each wave.
At 6:00 am, Marissa, Brett and Camisha headed to the halls where they walked for the next ten minutes. Marissa maintained a power walkers pace, committed to using gravity and motion to keep her hips nice and loose and her pelvis open and free. However, Marissa felt that the birth ball had made the surges feel stronger and so by 6:10 am she was back on the ball. Soon, the surges were coming every 3 minutes and lasting a solid 45 seconds. Another 10 minutes passed before the family headed back to the lobby so that Marissa and Brett could continue their work together.
The baby’s fetal heart rate (fhr) was a solid 135 beats per minute (bpm). Marissa’s blood pressure was a healthy 115/82. This prompted Brett to share a story about them competing for the lowest blood pressure wherein Marissa had won by a landslide. The mood was light but the work serious. Brett or Camisha continued to apply acupressure to the shoulders while Marissa focused on her affirmations and breathed her way through one surge after another.
At 7:30 am, Marissa was greeted by her new day nurses. Lisa was the primary nurse and Andrea the student nurse by her side. Andrea was asked to perform Marissa’s third check. She determined that Marissa was 8+ centimeters, 90% effaced and that baby Liv was sitting at -1 station. They left to call Paula, the midwife, while Camisha and Brett stayed to support Marissa.
Marissa was very surprised by the news of how far dilated she was, as was everyone else. “I don’t feel that far dilated.” she said to no one in particular. It did seem a little strange. Camisha had guessed that she was sitting at 7-8 cm because Marissa wasn’t yet showing the emotional sign posts of being that near to transition, then again, she’d been doing an incredible job of handling each surge, quietly breathing through each one while steadily keeping her hips in open fluid motion, so anything was possible!
Mallory and Teri had both come into the room again with the news that Marissa was on the precipice of transition. They sat nervously on the couch watching as Brett applied the hip squeeze over and over again. The midwife, Paula, arrived at 8:30 am and upon doing another internal exam, decided that Marissa was dilated to 8 centimeters. This wasn’t bad news. It was great news in the grand scheme of things but considering that an hour had passed since Andrea checked her at 8+, the news did seem like a small step backwards. While not showing any disappointment, Marissa continued to forge ahead as though the discrepancy was of no significance.
She rocked and rotated on the birth ball; she stood and swayed with Brett holding her supportively and carefully from behind. She kept her eyes closed and her jaw slack and loose. Every cell in her body focused intently on allowing the combination of movement and gravity to assist the progress of her labor. Together, like one, they moved and swayed and groaned through each wave. Marissa’s face was beginning to flush, evidence of the work her body was doing. Nausea began to hit, and Brett hurried to assure her that he was there, ready should she need to.
At 8:50 am, the squat bar was set up on by Andrea and Mallory. Leaning forward hurt and Marissa naturally preferred to lean back every time a new wave would hit. She had been doing this consistently throughout the labor and it was time to start focusing on pushing through that pain, so Camisha urged Marissa to take the opportunity to do some small pushes to determine if it felt good to her body or if her body wasn’t ready for that yet.
At 9:00 am, Paula returned to the room and let Marissa know that she felt it would be a good time to break the bag of waters that was still holding intact. Because she was at the ending stages of labor Marissa decided with the support of her husband and doula that she was ready for the intensity that would likely follow having her membranes ruptured. She was feeling ready to have this baby and prepared for transition. Once the membranes were released Marissa felt the difference instantly and shared, “I’m feeling lots of back pain now.”
At 9:30 am, Marissa was 9.5 centimeters dilated with an anterior lip. Her contractions were beginning to slow down now which provided a welcome opportunity to rest and restore her energy reserves for the pushing stage. With the support of everyone around her, Marissa turned to her left side in the bed, so that the baby could be monitored while her labor continued. Teri and Mallory stayed near, touching softly and whispering supportive statements while Brett held her hand and allowed Marissa to grip it tightly whenever another surge would come.
During this lull in labor, Camisha took pictures as Teri and Brett offered Marissa a loving foot massage while Mallory protectively stroked Marissa’s arm and face. Marissa’s was gentle and relaxed. Her face was slack and loose. Her body was completely molded to the bed and her breathing easy and slow. She had the appearance of a woman in sleep, not one in late stage labor! Music played lightly in the background while sips of water were offered regularly to ensure Marissa was hydrated. Cold cloths were placed around Marissa’s head and chest as they had been for hours to help draw the heat from her body out.
By 9:45 am, Marissa’s labor had now nearly completely stalled. The surges were spaced to about 5 minutes apart and lasting a short 20-30 seconds. It’s not uncommon to have a segment of time known as “rest and descend” but this seemed to be something different. However, as Marissa seemed to be greatly enjoying the respite, everyone did their best to provide her with lots of loving support while honoring the break her body was taking.
Another hour passed quietly. Marissa’s vitals were looking great, her blood pressure was hovering at 122/88 and the baby’s fhr was a healthy 150 bpm. However, labor was still not showing an active pattern so Camisha urged Marissa to be open to the option of taking some homeopathy and changing positions to reinvigorate her labor before using the Pitocin that was being suggested by Paula. Wanting to ensure that Marissa consciously chose her path, Camisha quietly reminded her that she did not have to do the Pitocin if she didn’t want too. However, after being near the pushing stage for nearly two hours, Marissa determined that if it would help, she wanted to try it.
At 11:15 am, Pitocin was started at the lowest level possible, 1 unit. Marissa continued to focus on her mantras and affirmations. Marissa kept her voice nice and low and each surge was greeted with a deep guttural groan. With Brett’s assistance, Marissa motivated herself sit upright so that she could have her hips manually rocked from side to side by Camisha and Brett while acupressure was being applied to the tops of her shoulders. Marissa’s entire labor had already demonstrated that her body really responded to movement and pressure points and sure enough, within a few minutes her labor was beginning to pick up in pace and intensity again.
At 11:50 am, Paula announced to the room that Marissa was complete. Hooray! She was now a full 10 centimeters and could begin the process of pushing her baby down and out the birth canal. With Teri holding Marissa’s left leg, and Mallory holding Marissa’s right leg, Brett held his wife’s hand as she began the first small pushes. Marissa and Brett requested that Paula provide perineum support during the pushing phase and so while Marissa was working to bring baby Liv down the birth canal. Marissa continued to push with each surge, making excellent progress because she was un-medicated and could feel her pelvic floor.
With Paula’s encouragement, Marissa was urged to place her hands behind her knees and pull them up to her chest while pushing. Her mother Teri was asked to hold her head and help push it forward every contraction. Paula asked Marissa to hold her breath and push as hard as she could. And boy did she! Over and over again, with her legs pulled back, and her head and torso curling over her full belly, Marissa would bear down with all her might!
As the baby came nearer to crowning, Andrea and Paula began to hold warm wet compresses to the perineum. Marissa was groaning in pain as she worked diligently to use every surge as effectively as possible. Brett stayed by her side continuously, telling her what a wonderful job she was doing. When it was time to push again, the whole support team would excitedly begin to call out, “Push! Push Marissa! You can do this!” and Marissa would bear down again with teeth gritted, pushing, pushing, pushing until finally the head was nearly out.
At 12:28 pm, Liv Lauren Johnson spilled forth from her mother’s womb into the world! Brett looked on with pure amazement while Marissa looked up at her sister Mallory who was crying with tears of pride and joy running down her face. Liv was placed upon her mother’s chest a minute after her birth and Marissa gazed down at her new baby girl with a look of amazement and wonder as she cupped her closely to her body. The whole family marveled at this new baby.
Shortly after delivery, Marissa was cleaned up and ready to try feeding this beautiful 7 lb 14 oz, 19” long baby girl. Liv latched with ease and soon was snuggled up to her mother, safe and secure, nourishing herself for the first time, while her proud new parents gazed down at her with pure adoration!
