My Childbirth Experience

My experience giving birth to my second son felt like a roller coaster ride.  There was not a dull moment during the entire thing.  My due date was September 11.  It was August and I had already tried to go into labor twice.  The second time the doctors stopped the labor and sent me home on full bedrest.  Two days later, on August 12, my water broke.  It was 5:30pm.  My husband was at work 45 minutes away.  Our hospital was 90 minutes away.  My husband rushed home and around 6:30 we headed for the hospital.  On the drive to the hospital the contractions started and I thought I was dying.  When I had my first son I had an epidural before the contractions got too bad.  I had not felt much with him.  But this time I was feeling it and all I could think about was getting to the hospital and getting an epidural.  I was also scared before I knew from an ultrasound earlier that week that my baby was already over 8lbs.  My doctor had decided that I would have a C-Section with this baby.  I was very scared about that since my other son had been born vaginally.  We got to the hospital around 8pm.  I could barely walk and in tears from the pain.  The nurse got me settled in a bed and checked me.  I was dialated to a 6.  I couldn't believe I had dialated that quickly.  I asked again for an epidural.  I was told as soon as they got me upstairs to the labor and delivery floor I could have some pain medicine.  On the ride up the elevator I felt the need to push and the nurse told me there was no way I could be ready to push.  I was only at a 6.  When we got into a room I demanded that they check me again.  They did and I was at a 9.  This was all within 15 minutes.  I knew then that I wouldn't be getting an epidural and I was even more scared.  I do not like pain.  I had gotten an epidural with my 1st son when I got dialated to a 4.  I knew this would not be good.  There was no time for an epidural, no time for a C-Section, and I was about to have a big baby.  It was happening so fast I didn't have time to think much about it.  My doctor happened to be at the hospital on call and he rushed in.  I don't remember a lot about the events of having him because it all happened so fast.  I do remember the pain.  It was awful but I knew that I had to do it.  I remember several nurses coming in waiting and I was told that since my baby was premature that he would probably have to go to the NICU after he was born.  During the delivery, my son got stuck in the birth canal and the cord was wrapped around his neck.  My doctor had to jerk and pull to get him out.  When he came out, he was not crying and he was blue and bruised from head to toe.  My husband and my mother was in the room and they both later told me that they thought he was dead.  I don't rememer much about it other than my baby wasn't crying.  It didn't sink in at first that the baby wasn't placed on my belly immediately or that my husband didn't cut the cord.  I remember asking is he ok and all my husband and mom would tell me was that they were working on him.  They got my son breathing and soon he cried softly.  They put him next to me briefly so I could see him, then he was rushed away to the NICU.  He was born at 9:22pm and weighed 9lbs, 2oz, and 21 inches long.  All of this happened in four hours.  I am still uncertain if he was truely premature or if my due date was wrong.  He spent two weeks in the NICU.  He just recently turned 1 and is still doing great.  I picked to write about my son's birth because it was an experience that I will never forget.  I never dreamed that I would have a baby, let alone a 9lber, without any drugs.  I still worry about my son's development because he had problems when was born.  He is thriving and meeting all of the developmental goals so I think he will be ok.

I have decided to compare my childbirth experience to the women in Central Africa.  In developed countries 99% of women receive prenatal care and are attended by skilled health personnel during labor. In Burundi only 25% of births are attended by skilled health personnel. In Rwanda only 10% of mothers receive adequate prenatal care and only 31% give birth with a skilled attendant (Vanderlaan, J., 2011).  Most of these women in these countries will not deliver in a hospital setting, but will have their babies naturally at home.  I made it to the hospital (barely) with mine but, like these woman, I did not have any pain medication.  Natural childbirth is a way of life for these women.  It was not something that I chose for myself, but I am glad that it happened.  I have the experience of knowing what women in other parts of the world go through.  I have a new respect for these women.

References
Vanderlaan, J.  2011.  Birth in Central Africa.  Retrieved on September 7, 2012 from http://www.birthingnaturally.net/christian/africa/index.html