"Late" Babies
-by Augustine
Daniels
Trillium Perry Daniels
August 7, 1998
My first child Lily (as we call her) was 3 weeks
"over due."
I was refused care at 35 weeks by my OB because
of our desire to birth at home unassisted. I figured
it was better anyway. I developed edema, but didn't
know what to do about it, other than drink lots
of water and swim a lot. She kept going later
and later, while I in vain tried to "naturally"
induce labor.
A week after my due date my doctor called the
flight surgeon here on the Air Force Base we live
on and we were called in to a uniformed meeting
to warn us of the risks, as if we weren't aware
already. Needless to say this definitely added
to my stress level. My husband Barret was also
ordered to see the head OB/GYN at the Navy Hospital,
who gave him a long list of things that can go
wrong, among them, anaphylactic shock in labor.
Barret simply asked him if he delivered his own
children, he said yes, and that was it.
I had strong prodromal labor from July 6, the
full moon, off and on every couple days. A couple
times it even got down to 2 minutes apart giving
me contractions that I had to really concentrate
through: however, they would always dissipate
by morning.
On Wednesday August 5th I was feeling crampy
as always, went to my normal chiropractic appointment
at 4pm and had my first real contractions, it
blew me away, I thought this is hard, it has to
be soon. We stopped for pizza on the way home,
me feeling contractions occasionally. My Mom was
staying with us waiting for the baby and so she
insisted on timing them as it would give her something
to do, so we started timing them at 9pm. I went
to bed and assumed they would be gone by morning,
however all through the night I would wake up
and have my husband push on my back. I had very
bad back labor, and this was when I realized the
baby was sunny side up, or posterior.
Thursday I walked the house and yard and street
and neighborhood, for it hurt too much to sit
and I didn't know how else to ease the pain. By
that evening I was stripped naked in the oversized
kids pool in the back yard and howling through
contractions. Soon I felt that I needed more than
the tepid water of the pool and moved inside to
the hot shower. By this time, 8pm, I couldn't
make it through a contraction unless someone put
all their weight on my lower back, while I was
on hands and knees, or bracing myself on the shower
wall, or between door frames.
I hit transition at about 11pm and went totally
insane! My husband tells how I straight-faced
told him to go outside and get a brick and come
back in and knock me out. By about 1pm I was starting
to feel an easing of the pain, and didn't realize
that I was pushing through the pain. My husband
remembers coming into the bathroom and saying,
"are you pushing in the shower standing up?!?"
I guess I was. He hurried off to get a birthing
place ready.
Then he took me into the living room that was
all covered in blankets and chux pads and had
candles burning. It was lovely. I then began pushing
in ernest in the squatting position. My water
broke 30 minutes into pushing, with a little pop
and three drips of water, her head was obviously
so engaged that there was no fore waters. I had
no break between contractions and pushed nonstop,
except for a quick breath after every strain,
for 2 hours before the baby started crowning.
It was such an intense need to push, that I never
had time to even stretch my legs, or move out
of the squatting position.
She stayed face to pubes and never rotated. I
pushed her out from head to knees at 3:26 am on
Friday, August 7th, 1998. She breathed right away
and only cried once. She nursed right away and
5 min. later the placenta came out. It came out
and everything else came out behind it, all the
amniotic fluid and blood and clots and everything.
I believe that my placenta detached right as or
right before she was born as, nothing except her
came out, and the placenta was sitting over my
cervix. I bled quite a bit and actually passed
out a little while after the birth as I was trying
to get up into a chair. But my husband just laid
me on my back and put my feet in the air, soon
I came around and asked for something to eat,
so my Mom cooked a huge breakfast and then fed
me each loving bite, while I lay on the floor
with my feet in the air and my little one nursing.
I recovered quickly and felt like my old self
in about 3 weeks. Lily weighed 10lbs and was 22inches
long with a head circumference of 14 1/4 inches.
I had a daughter! I didn't tear at all, just a
few skid marks, I think it was because we did
perennial stretch starting at 35 weeks, also I
delivered squatting so her head pressure was evenly
distributed over my entire opening, not just the
weight on the perineum. However, I did suffer
a prolapsed urethra because she was posterior.
The pressure of her forehead as it came out pushed
the inner lining of my urethra out. This is a
very painful experience, it isn't treatable, and
the prevention is a c-section or not having a
posteriorly positioned baby. I have since researched
this and have found many interesting articles
and theories on the subject, and strongly recommend
researching this if you suspect or discover your
baby in the posterior position. It is not something
that you have to suffer through as there are many
effective ways of turning a posterior baby.
I was wonderfully pleased with my birth experience.
I felt an immense sense of accomplishment and
empowerment afterward and indeed to this day.
About seven months later I finally made it back
to my OB to have a yearly pap and the like and
was amazed after relating the birth story to her,
that she listed five reasons that she would have
performed a c-section. Why did I need that, I
didn't even tear?
Cooper Clark Daniels
May 5, 2000
Photo credits: Tracie Potillo
Cooper was 4 weeks past "due". At least
I expected to go late this time. However, I also
expected the labor to be easier than my first
as this was my second and I didn't gain as much
weigh this time, etc...
We planned a water birth, bought a 150 gallon
animal water tub, and sat back to wait. My due
date came and went, the full moon came and went,
April came and went, and still no baby. On weds.
May 3rd at 9 pm, same time labor kicked in with
first baby, I started having serious labor pains.
We were out to dinner at a friend's house, so
we made a hasty exit to go home and put our first
daughter, Lily to bed. Remembering last time and
how long it took, I went right to bed too so as
to get as much sleep as possible. Right before
I went to bed I had a good amount of bloody show,
so I knew this was it. I woke up through the night
with some good ones. In the morning they were
still coming strong, so I called a friend and
sent my 21 month old daughter out with them so
I could have some peace. We filled the birth tub,
and I went back to bed to take a nap. I slept
for 2 hours with no contractions, but when I woke
up I had two that sent me running for the birth
tub. I immediately felt better in the tub, and
didn't know if that was a good or bad thing.
Barret comforting me, but separated by tub.
Labor picked up fairly steadily and by five that
evening I estimated that I was at eight centimeters.
I was going into laborland and screaming through
every contraction. They were about 2-3 min apart.
My best friend who is a doula and was going to
take pictures showed up and so did the baby-sitter.
Transition was hell!!!!!! I had all front pain
and it was unbearable, no one could help me as
I had experienced with the last labor with the
pain in the back, and I thought I was going to
die. I told my husband that something was wrong
and I needed a c-section and I wanted to go to
the hospital. He just nodded his head. I told
him that I wanted an epidural (I have never had
an epidural, it just sounded like relief at the
time), He said OK I'll go get it, and went around
the corner, I really thought "OK I'm going
to get it and I will feel better". I really
lost it. Transition lasted from 5 pm until 1am.
I even had suicidal thoughts, just to make the
pain stop. Finally back in the tub after a while
in the shower at 1 am my water broke and I had
my first real urge to push. But as I felt up inside
myself for his hair, which gives me encouragement
that I'm having a baby and not a watermelon like
it feels like, I discovered that I was a full
ten centimeters dilated, but the contours of his
head still went a good inch beyond my cervix in
all directions. I tried stretching my cervix and
it would go but only on the side I was pulling,
so I got my husband to reach up with me and we
pulled my cervix apart during the contrax. I think
I ended up dilating 14 cm or something!!
 Finally
he started crowning, but as his head was presenting
it was stretching my rectum more than my vagina.
Again I got three fingers in and pulled my perineum
down to try to redirect his head. It worked although
it was excruciating. I was only able to make these
maneuvers because of the buoyancy of the water.
As he presented more I got the terrible stinging
and burning and so tried to keep his head flexed
by counter pressure on the top of his head downward
and on my perineum upward so I didn't tear. Finally
his head delivered and I felt myself tear a little
bit, but what a relief.
Mercifully, I had a little break and got to feel
his head rotate. That was really cool!!! I felt
his little ear move up to the top as he turned
his head. Then time for his shoulders, but they
wouldn't come, no matter how I pushed, so I suddenly
got the urge to stand, and so I did with his head
hanging out over the water and pushed with all
might. finally he flew out into my dear husband's
hands at 2:05 am on 5-5-2000. He handed him through
my legs to me and I sat back down in the water
to hold and love him.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
It's a boy! First breath captured on
film.
|
 The
water was turning awfully red, so I quickly got
out to a nearby chux-covered chair. Right away
I felt the need to push again, so I squatted over
a bowl and out it came. The biggest placenta I
have ever seen. It could easily have fit on a
huge platter, not a dinner plate as is the regular
size. All of this within the first 3 min. He breathed
even before Barret handed him to me. But he didn't
cry until 13 hours later when his big sister hugged
him a little too hard. I went right to work nursing
him and he loved it, then dad held him. Then we
weighed him: 11 lb. 4 oz. 23 in long. head circumference
of 15 1/4 inches and almost no soft spot or molding.
We figured since he was 4 weeks over his head
calcified a little too much.
When we cleaned out the birth tub later that
day, we realized how much meconium there was.
We knew there was some when the water broke, you
could see the cloud in the water as it flowed
out, but the rest must have been behind him. I
had a small 1st degree tear that has healed well
on its own. He is a happy healthy big boy who
at 5 weeks now is just under 15 lb. already. Good
old booby juice!!:))
The birth tub was alternately my savior and my
prison. I was really in favor of a water birth
prenatally, although open to spontaneity, however
now, I have mixed feelings about waterbirth. I
think that I placed too much faith in it to take
away pain, so I was disappointed even panicky
and hysterical when it didn't "work".
I think the water became like a physical prison
blocking me from my husband's touch. He wanted
to stay dry, and the water didn't provided enough
support, however it was just enough to not "let"
me get out. Maybe I got in too early, or maybe
women like me having such big babies just need
gravity to help with the dilation, either way
it wasn't what I expected.
On the up side, It allowed me to do manoeuvering
and position changes that would have been impossible
on dry land. In fact, had I not been as free to
move, it could have been dangerous for the baby.
All in all, I think I learned a valuable lesson
in over-dependence. In the future I think I will
choose to labor and maybe birth alone. I feel
like having anyone around is a distraction from
the inner work being done. Even my husband, who
is my and unassisted births most devoted supporter,
draws me out and away from my natural inclination
to go inward and downward in my journey to laborland.
My births are really hard for whatever reason,
and although I am really jealous of all the three
hour laborers out there, I have come to peace
with my experiences. I experience intense pain
for about 30 hours, I have beautiful children,
I have memories that are just mine, not a group
of strangers, and I don't have to contend with
weeks of a c-section recovery, which is the only
other option in my case, I believe. I am truly
blessed.
And although this way of birthing is not right
for a lot of people, it is truly the safest way
for me.
Augustine is a Childbirth Educator (the childbirth
classes that she teaches are "Birthing From
Within"), Doula, lay Breastfeding Counsellor,
and aspiring Midwife. She also sells slings. Trenton,
NJ (609) 324-7517 Her services are called Birthing
From The Heart . View her business
card and website.
|
