Roeby Jane’s Birth Story
Roeby Jane
42 weeks
July 3, 2020, 8:35 am
8 lbs, 21 inches long
When I first found out I was pregnant with Roeby Jane, I was SO sure I was going to give birth before her due date. I was planning for an early delivery and believed without a doubt it was going to happen that way. Well, my due date came and went, discouragement and unmet expectations set in, and the last two weeks of my pregnancy quickly became the hardest for me mentally and emotionally.
In the two weeks leading up to delivery, I slowly lost my mucus plug and in the final week, I began having braxton hicks and minor contractions. On July 2nd, my contractions began progressing into more painful and intense contractions, which woke me up around 10:30 pm. I felt sure it couldn’t possibly be the real deal and tried to fall back to sleep. The contractions continued to wake me up so I went to the bathroom to begin to cope as they were quickly increasing in intensity. I was able to talk and breathe through them and utilized lots of movement to cope. As they continued to intensify, I turned on my labor playlist, sat on my birth ball, and leaned over the toilet as that’s what felt most comfortable for me. I wanted to make sure and shower before going to the hospital to freshen up, not knowing when I would be able to shower next, so I jumped in, in between contractions and noticed how much easier it was for me to work with the pain while using the hot water pressure directly on my back and stomach. I ended up laboring at home until around 1:45 am using a variety of different positions, continuing to bounce on my birth ball, sniffing peppermint oil for my nausea, and getting in and out of the shower. My labor progressed and got to the point where my contractions were intensifying and during them, I needed to pause to focus and breathe. I tried laying down to rest, with every intention to sleep but was unable.
I ended up calling the on-call doctor to talk through what was happening and she recommended hanging out at home until the contractions were showing a consistent pattern, becoming closer and stronger…all of which was already happening. My contractions didn't necessarily show consistency with time intervals, but they were intensifying quickly. In my head, I was thinking this was just another false labor situation and was in strong denial. As John and I packed up our last-minute hospital items, I looked at him and told him that I was sure they were going to send me home.
We left around 2 am with a short 2-minute drive to get to the hospital where I would be delivering. When we parked and arrived at triage, contractions seemed to stall a bit, which I knew could be typical when the pace and environment changed. When our triage nurse checked me for dilation, I was 7.5 cm and fully effaced, and felt a deep sense of relief knowing I was already 42 weeks and my body was in spontaneous labor. I knew I was close to holding my girl in my arms for the first time.
Once admitted, I was coping with pain pretty well and felt focused with controlled breathing. I declined the wheelchair to get to labor and delivery and chose to walk myself back to room 8 because, for me, movement truly felt best. Once John had gotten our belongings from the car, I got my oils diffusing and lights dimmed just the way I had planned and imagined my birth space to feel. As my contractions continued, I attempted to lie down and rest but was unable to get comfortable. Movement is truly what works best for me, so I got in the shower to work through my contractions with water. The most comfortable position was to lean up against the wall of the shower with my hands supporting me while having John hold the shower head on my lower back.
Around 4 am, everything began to pick up when the nurses checked me and decided to inform my doctor how far progressed I was. My physician ended up coming in at 4:30 am to check my cervix, and I was at a solid 9cm. I reluctantly let her break my water and things grew very intense as I could feel my daughter drop deeper into my pelvis and pressure began to increase. I was in full-blown transition and it truly felt like game time. I went back into the shower to continue breathing my daughter down as each contraction came and went, with a lot of roaring and moaning through each one. I was progressing quickly and was offered the birthing tub, but we felt we did not have enough time to set up the tub, specifically because the water has to reach a certain temperature for me to immerse in water, so we decided the shower would work for us.
Once out of the shower, I began pushing with my body and getting on top of contractions instead of giving in to them. Deep moaning helped me to make the best use of the contractions and my favorite position outside of the shower quickly began standing on the side of the bed with my elbows on the mattress for support. With a towel underneath me to catch any leakage, I pushed like this for two and a half hours. I couldn’t stop my body from pushing, which was one of my favorite things about unmedicated labor. My body was doing the pushing for me and it felt natural to truly lean into what was happening.
In the final half hour of my labor, my nurse encouraged me to try some different positions to get more comfortable and to optimize my birth canal. I used a peanut ball in a side-lying position to keep my pelvis open and to allow myself to rest during the last bit of delivery. For my final pushes, I laid on my back. They offered me the mirror to be able to see my daughter coming out as I pushed, but I chose to decline because for some reason, seeing what was happening and feeling it physically as well was not a good combination for me. The ring of fire was the most intense of it all, and I pushed powerfully a few final times.
My beautiful daughter, Roeby Jane Thompson, was born at 8:35 am after 3 hours of my body spontaneously pushing. It was intense and it was beautiful.
She was immediately placed on my chest as I breathed deeply, in and out, to catch my breath from pushing for so long. I recall feeling the deepest relief and I couldn’t control my emotion and tears. I was happy, relieved, and felt so incredibly fulfilled.
Following Roeby Jane’s birth, it was time to deliver my placenta. It all felt natural with no pulling or tugging on the cord, and it was delivered after the cord stopped pulsing. Letting the cord stop pulsing was something incredibly important to me, which I had specified in my birth plan. The room quickly changed because as my placenta was delivered, my uterus inverted and also came out. I felt pressure and a giant relief as both were leaving my body. My OB caught my uterus and held it there for a moment as she thought through the next steps. This was considered a true emergency and the next thing I knew, her eyes widened as she said, “Emily, I need you to listen to me”. She then calmly walked me through what was happening and what was to come.
My daughter was quickly removed from my chest and that’s when I felt myself step into panic mode. I knew something wasn’t right and started to hyperventilate, immediately in need of oxygen. The hospital staff put an oxygen mask on me as my OB explained that my uterus had been inverted during the placental delivery and she needed to perform some major interventions to save it. John remained calm and held my daughter while the doctors and nurses dealt with the situation. My delivery room quickly turned to chaos as it became flooded with 10-15 people from several different units.
The next thing I knew, I feel my physician's hand push up into my cavity as she began trying to get my uterus back in place, taking advantage of my still-dilated cervix. Moving quickly and efficiently was incredibly important in this situation. While my OB was working on me, the nurses and other doctors were placing several different iv lines as well as pitocin in my leg to get my uterus to harden back up. Anesthesia was also in the room giving me medication to put me under.
I finally woke up around 10:30 am, about 2 hours after giving birth, with the same damp towel I had used on my forehead during labor draping down over my eyes. I noticed my mom, who had not previously been there, in our room and I am grateful the hospital staff had allowed for an exemption to the COVID visitation policy because of what had taken place. I remember while under anesthesia, I could still hear the conversations and rushing happening around my hospital bed. I remember specific conversations between my husband and the care providers, and more specifically, the providers discussing how rare what had happened to me was. I could feel the pressure from tugging, pulling, and stitching my 3rd-degree tear, but I couldn’t move my body. Later on, I found out I was being prepared for the OR for the possibility of hemorrhaging or needing an emergency hysterectomy.
After what seemed like forever, I finally got to have endless skin-to-skin and nurse my daughter. It felt like heaven, and as I look back, I feel that some parts of our story led to unexplainable fulfillment. There were certainly parts of my daughter's birth that led to disappointment as well, but the Lord’s provision was evident in every detail. I truly feel that all the moments leading up to the uterine inversion was such a dream delivery for me. My first birth experience has allowed me to trust my body, and to understand how to effectively process what happened. And the best part of it all, this story gave me my sweet Roeby girl, which makes everything worth it.