the following is a birth story contributed by one of our readers. Heidi has three children, and all three of them were breech. Each child had a very unique birth, and Heidi has graciously shared all three of them with us. This is the story of her first birth.
Brooke Elizabeth
I became pregnant with our first child in the fall of 2006. We were so excited to be pregnant & like lots of first time mom-to-be’s, I read all the pregnancy books I could – on what to eat, what not to eat, what to expect month by month & day by day. I knew I wanted a natural birth but never once entertained the thought that things would not go the way I planned as that just wasn’t going to happen to me. My mom also had 4 natural deliveries so I just assumed that I would have similar birth experiences. I did not research my birthing or caregiver options but went to see an OB/GYN & planned to have a hospital birth as that is what my friends had done & seemed to be what the majority of expecting women did. I didn’t question anything but trusted in the care of the medical system.
Looking back now I realize how naïve & uneducated I was. I had a really good pregnancy; no morning sickness but mild nausea in the beginning. I really loved my growing belly & felt as beautiful as I ever have. My mom was induced 2 weeks late when I was born and so when I went into labour 3 weeks early, I was not prepared or ready for what I would face in the hospital.
I had experienced a mild backache & found it difficult to sit at my desk at work that day. I came home and my husband and I decided to take our 2 dogs out for walk, which wasn’t really out of the norm as we took them for walks quite often. After trekking through the deep snow in our back yard, I felt like I could hardly breath and told my husband that we had to head home, I couldn’t walk any farther. We came back into the house, had supper & a bath & continued to get ready for bed as I did every other night. I could not get to sleep because of the nagging discomfort in my lower back and after tossing and turning decided to get back into the tub, which offered some relief. After my 2nd bath, I was still not able to get to sleep and after getting sick I realized that maybe this was the real thing.
We called our doula at this point as I felt like the Braxton Hicks I was feeling were not going away and I couldn’t feel baby moving anymore. To ease our worry, she suggested we head to the hospital to hear the baby’s heartbeat, as that would make us feel better. We agreed and headed to the hospital. Upon arriving at the hospital, it was confirmed I was 6-7 cms and in full labour. As soon as I was checked the nurse announced to the OB that she felt feet and not a head (my daughter was an undiagnosed breech) & things started happening really quickly around me as I was prepped for an emergency C-Section. I remember asking through my tears if there was any chance that the baby would turn or if I could still have a natural delivery as I had wanted & the Dr just laughed as she told me there was no way the baby would turn and I had no choice – a C-section was my only option. I will never forget the feeling of being strapped down to the operating table & having my baby ripped out of me as the OB on duty chatted with the nurses drinking her coffee. Or how sick I was from the anesthetic & how the staff separated me from my baby as she was taken to the ICN for no reason.
I still cry when I think about the way that the DR & nurses disregarded my feelings & the hostile way in which my daughter was brought into the world. Again I didn’t question the choices or decisions that the nurses/DR made in regards to my care & our daughters care. It was supposed to be an amazing time having just brought a precious little baby into the world, yet I felt like all that had been taken away from me as the hospital staff made decisions for us & really didn’t seem to care about our rights as parents. It was one of the worst weeks of my life – aside from having a healthy and beautiful baby girl to come home with.
Part II will be published tomorrow. Stay tuned!
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