An RN’s Natural Hospital Birth {The Birth Story of Natalie Jadis}

My estimated due date was Dec. 3, 2012.  That came and went.  My 3 year old son, “W” and I found lots of activities to keep us busy, since I was officially on maternity leave from work.  We played in the fresh foot of Wisconsin snow; we went swimming and even went sledding December 12th.  I was okay with being “overdue,” because I knew my daughter would come when she was good and ready.

December 13th I had a biophysical profile ultrasound in the morning with a visit to my doctor after.  During the ultrasound, the tech was looking for a few important things, which my baby girl wasn’t doing; practice breathing or moving, so she scored a 4 out of 8.  Also, she was measuring about 36 weeks in size.  When my doctor came in to my appointment I knew he was concerned.  My doctor assisted as I naturally delivered my son 3 years prior, and I trust him and respect him.  He is a very “midwife” minded family practice doctor and his wife is actually a midwife.  As we discussed the ultrasound, I told him that my daughter had been moving all night in my belly, but had stopped moving after a two hour run/boxing match at about 6am.  Also, I hadn’t gained weight for the past 3 weeks and my belly measurements were not increasing (measuring 36 inches at 41 w. 3 days) We decided that induction would be the best since there was a chance of placental growth retardation.

I went home to pack for the hospital and on the way I called my husband and started crying because I didn’t want to be induced and I was scared that something was wrong with our baby.  I also called my mom, because she would be watching my son while we were in the hospital.  I told my mom to start praying! (I guess she told a few other people to start praying too)

My husband and I arrived at the hospital at 2pm; I got hooked up to the monitor and found that my contractions (which had been random for the past 2 weeks) were regular about every 4 minutes.  I originally wasn’t planning on going to the hospital until my water broke (because my labor with my son was quick and straightforward once my water broke).  I had been ignoring the “random contractions” and hadn’t timed anything for the past week.

My doctor came by to talk to us at about 3 pm. He told the nurses to not start Pitocin and just see how my contractions played out.  So my husband and I walked the halls, chatted with the nurses (I’m also an RN) and ordered in spicy Mexican food.  During supper, my contractions were getting closer together and stronger so I bounced on the birthing ball, continuing to talk with everyone.  I called my mom at 5:15 to make sure everything with my son was okay, since she picked him up from daycare.

My doctor came by after clinic and checked me and I was 8cm dilated!  He broke my water at 5:45 and said he’d stay at the hospital until this baby girl came.  I continued to work through the contractions on the birthing ball, with my husband behind me.  He was wonderful and knew just what to do without either one of us speaking; cool rags on my forehead, counter pressure on my back, and moving my hips during contractions.

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At 6:30 I started transitioning, and before I knew it, I was grunting and starting to push.  My husband struggled to find the call light while holding me up on the birthing ball.  He pressed it and my doctor and nurse came in (they said they were listening in the hall, and knew I was getting close)  They told me to get on the bed, I refused…so my dear husband picked me up and put me there!  My doctor didn’t get a chance to put on his gown because I was already crowning.  Two pushes later Natalie Jadis was born sunny side up.  At  6:47pm on December 13th I was officially a mother of two.

It all happened so fast. We waited until her cord stopped pulsating and my husband cut it.  I was so happy, she was perfect, APGARS of 8 and 9, my doctor checked her over while she laid on me.  Natalie went to my breast right away, so my nurse went to eat supper and when she came back I was walking around, dressed and ready to check her weight, height and give her a bath.  My nurse couldn’t believe that I was out of bed!  I felt amazing; I had just brought a beautiful baby girl into the world naturally, with a quick labor (under four hours) and no complications.  That night my husband went home to be with my son, and I snuggled my little “Natalie Bug” all night long.

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7 Comments

  • Meg

    this story came with perfect timing for me – i’m at 42w+4d and am facing induction tomorrow. we’ve had several BPPs which have shown the baby to be perfectly healthy, but i just can’t handle waiting anymore, and my midwife is getting nervous. i am devastated about the prospect of delivering in the hospital instead of at home as we had planned, and of having to be induced. your story reminded me that i’ve got a great team of support people in place and that whatever happens, i’m still the one who makes the calls (eg to labour on my birth ball which i’ll be bringing in for sure, to order in the food i want to eat, etc). thank you for this wonderful birth story, and congratulations on your beautiful little girl! xo

  • Katlin S

    Great story! I’m currently timing contractions while sitting on my ball, 39+3! I have a great OB, 2 awesome doulas, and my loving husband. I remind myself throughout the day that God will send me this baby WHEN He wants, HOW He wants, and WHERE He wants. I will be at peace with whatever direction this birth goes because I will be making the decisions, not the nurses or doctor.

  • Jenn

    Thank you BWF for showing a story that shows that a natural birth can occur in the hospital setting. You only hear the horror stories of how bad the hospital was or how horrible the nurses are. I am a L&D nurse and I 100% support any mama that wants a natural labor and delivery. I think we get a bad wrap most of the time and it causes a lot of mamas to come into the hospital setting with a negative perception. I hope that you have more stories like this one soon. Maybe it can help alleviate the fear of hospitals for some mamas and show them that they can have a wonderful birth experience even in the hospital.

  • Kim

    What a great birthing story! I think I’m going to try a birthing ball with my next baby. I had a natural delivery (in a military hospital) and was uncomfortable being in the bed for 11 hours. My hospital and nurses were 100% supportive of a natural delivery. They were so proud of me and bragged to all the other nurses on the floor when they moved me to the antepartem room that I had done it naturally. They called me a Warrior Woman.

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