When I found out I was pregnant with Naomi, I knew I wanted my labor experience to be different. When I gave birth to the twins, I didn't do much research on educating myself on child birth because I assumed all twins are born via C-section. After speaking with a MidWife during this pregnancy, I found out that wasn't the case at all. I do want to say that I am so blessed and happy that all of my babies and I are healthy and happy, but there are some aspects of this labor and of my twins delivery I am just not happy with and some parts I loved. I think a lot of women go into labor not really knowing what to expect and not knowing how to advocate for themselves when a doctor is calling the shots.
Here is the story of the birth of Naomi Jean Belliston via Vaginal birth after C-section.
It was the early morning of July 9th, the boys' 3rd birthday was that day and my mom and I were planning on running some last minute errands for their birthday party. Little did I know my water would break at around 3 am that morning. Luckily Wade was home and I texted my doula, Charissa, letting her know what was going on. She advised to see how far my contractions were apart before heading out to the hospital. So I took a nice shower, Wade made me breakfast, and I started getting my last minute things together. Once my contractions were about 6 minutes apart we decided to head to the hospital. Once we got there, I was told my Doctor was not on this weekend and another OB would be attending the birth. I didn't really freak out about it since I felt pretty mentally prepared after reading a few books on VBACs, having my doula and husband there, and feeling good about my birth preferences.
Little did I know that OB would be the worst doctor I have ever met.
Once I was able to go back to the room I would Labor in, the nurse began writing goals for my delivery on the board. (I find it funny that the goals aren't discussed with the person who is giving birth, but rather goals the hospital's staff has for me.) She wrote on the board: Pitocin and Safe Vaginal Birth. I could tell my doula was about to interject because she knew I did not want Pitocin at all, but I spoke up and told the nurse that I would not be taking Pitocin and wanted to try dilating on my own. She began to explain that's what all doctors start their moms on to speed up the labor/contractions (I was there for only 3 hours at this point). She reluctantly erased Pitocin off the board and said ok with a shrug. At that point I was determined to get to 10cm without any interventions to speed up the process. VBACs can be tricky especially if interventions are made too early in labor. So my doula had me squatting, walking, & doing the Captain Morgan pose through my contractions to help get me to progress. When the nurse came to check me I had gone from 2cm to 3cm in an hour. I felt a bit defeated and anxious that I needed to speed up the process or they were going to try to intervene again.
I've learned that labor is driven off of the oxytocin your body produces and Pitocin is a synthetic form of that. Because I was having a VBAC, I knew that an intervention could possible send me on the path to an emergency C-section so I was holding off as long as possible. The funny thing is, the hospital staff wanted me to progress faster, but the constant stress and mention of giving me Pitocin DID NOT help my process of producing Oxytocin to move my labor along. Being afraid during labor and anxious will cause your labor to slow and even stop at times. At that point my contractions seemed so far apart and not too intense as well, it was a mental game that I had to overcome.
The Doctor/OB enters the room now and he looks at me sitting on my yoga ball trying to move around to help the baby lower into my pelvis and proceeds to tell me that I should get an epidural. Mind you, my contractions aren't too bad yet (the monitor is reading 48+ on the contraction scale), but he proceeds to tell me that I am clearly in pain and needed it. I looked at him and told him I am fine and don't need it now. I wanted to be able to feel what my body was telling me felt good and being numb from waist down wasn't apart of that plan to get me to 10cm. He proceeded to discuss the issues of Uterine Rupture because I was attempting a VBAC and if I needed a C-section it would be best to have the epidural going. I still told him no and that I will let him know when I needed it.
I was a very overwhelmed at that point and stressed out. Wade had to head out for a bit to deliver a load from his truck so my sister came by the hospital to be with me. We continued to do all the things that would help progress my labor. I walked, bounced, swayed, and used a peanut ball to help bring baby girl down. The next time the nurse checked me I was at 5cm, then my contractions started getting really intense. Luckily Wade was back from his delivery and was able to hold my hand through it all. Charrisa/Doula had some really helpful techniques to help with pain. Every time I would have a contraction she would push my hips together which really helped with the intense pressure in my pelvis. She also played some hypnobirthing music, had LED candles going, and essential oils to help me relax. The contractions started get closer and more intense and by this time I had been in labor for over 6 hours now. The nurse decided to check me again and I was at 10CM! I went from 5cm to 10cm in less than an hour and the contractions were coming less than a minute apart. They were so intense I could barely catch my breath at this point. Now that I was at 10cm I decided I wanted that epidural now. I desperately needed a break and if there was an emergency where a C-Section was necessary I wouldn't have to be intubated during the surgery. I was able to get the epidural and I was able to relax a bit before I needed to start pushing.
Dr. Webbeh, the OB, enters right before it's time to start. It's hard to know what is really happening once you are numb, so I did my best to push down with every contraction. The OB was getting frustrated with me and yelled "you're not even pushing!". I can tell you that I was indeed pushing and I was so exhausted at this point. I tried pushing a few more times and the heart monitor was showing her heart was dropping after every attempt. It was pretty scary at this point, I had to be put on oxygen and get on all fours to help baby girl's heart rate. I then tried pushing a few more times and the OB asked if I would like to tear naturally or have him cut me to help get her out. I told him I would like to tear naturally, but he pushed for the episotomy. I said I don't want to be cut, but he then says that if he does it I wouldn't have to push at all to get her out... (that was a lie), but he proceeded to cut me. I began pushing again and the OB decides that he needs to now use a Vacuum to help get Naomi out. I told him I don't want to use a vacuum on her and would prefer to continue to push. He then throws up his hands and says "You have too many rules..." At this point I'm pissed off and tired. He then steps back from me saying look her heart rate is dropping with his hands up like he was going to walk out if I didn't let him use the vacuum.... He used the vacuum. Baby girl was out after a few more pushes and NICU needed to come down to examine her because... A Vacuum was used.
Oh and by the way, the fetal monitor had an issue and her heart rate was actually fine during labor too. I felt so bullied, belittled, and pissed off with how this doctor communicated with me. I'm so glad me and baby girl are ok, but he has tainted this happy memory for me.
Let's look at the bright side of it all though: Baby girl was doing fine, she breastfed almost immediately, I got to hold her as soon as she was born (I didn't get that experience with the twins), and I had successfully completed a VBAC and dilated to 10cm without interventions! I am proud of myself for making this decision. It wasn't the perfect birth I had envisioned but I accomplished the majority of what I wanted. With my C-section I was in the hospital for 5 days and with my VBAC I was able to leave the very next day! I will be filling a complaint with the hospital about the way the doctor treated me during labor. He did come to see me in my hospital room after Naomi was born and tried to make a joke about how stubborn of a baby she was. I made sure that meeting was cut short.
After everything, our family is complete and all of our kids have the same exact birthday which is pretty wild. Naomi is such a sweet baby too. She sleeps really well at night and barely cries. The boys are starting to warm up to her and I'm hoping I can get a picture of them all together soon. If you have any questions about my experience with a VBAC please let me know, I am more than happy to answer them. Also, if you are in the Vegas area and are expecting, I highly recommend Charissa as doula to help advocate and support your through your delivery. Having her and my husband there was a great support system for me and made a lot of my labor experience extremely positive.
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