Madison’s Hypnobabies Hospital Induction
“I caught my own baby in the natural morning light of the hospital room and brought him to my chest after my induction. He cried right away, and my baby nurse handed ME a receiving blanket to dry him myself. The doctor walked in the room seconds later and said “Wow you were right! You know what you’re doing!”
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Ry‘s birth story started completely unexpectedly. Ry is my third boy and with both of his brothers I carried to 41 ½ weeks.
Monday morning (9/13) at only 36+1 weeks, I met with my sister to run some errands. We had been driving for a couple hours when I stopped at the gas station to fill up and take my two-year-old in to use the potty. After coming out of the restroom he and I browsed the snack aisle when suddenly I felt warm fluid running down my legs. Thank goodness I was wearing black yoga pants Feeling embarrassed and confused, I waddled back to the restroom, but my bladder was empty.
As a doula I knew either my pelvic floor was much weaker than I thought, or my bag of waters was leaking a month early. I never thought I’d “hope” to have peed my pants! I sent a quick text to my birth center midwives asking if I could come in to check the fluids, then proceeded to pump gas. As I was standing there more and more fluid kept leaking.
We got to the birth center, and it was a pretty busy day for the staff. After a little more than an hour, the midwife was able to step away and check my fluids. I also work as an assistant at this birth center, so everyone there kind of feels like family. Right as the Midwife walked into my room, I could tell by the look on her face I had tested positive for amniotic fluid. The only problem was that I was 36+1, but the cut-off to birth at the center is 36+4. I was just 3 days too early, which meant a hospital transfer for me.
Although my waters didn’t start gushing until about 1 PM, I’d had a trickle of fluids earlier that morning that I had written off, so at this point my waters were being calculated as ruptured for about 10 hrs with little to no pressure waves (Hypnobabies term for contractions), and the midwives recommended I begin the induction process sooner than later. I’d never been induced so this was quite the whirlwind!
After supporting births in my town for about 8 years, I’ve definitely acquired a list of preferred doctors in town and began calling each hospital to find out who was on call. We dropped the kids off with my in-laws, got some dinner and went home to pack our bags. By 8:30 PM my husband and I checked into the hospital. Up until this point of the day, Fear Clearing (Hypnobabies track to release fear) had been my track of choice.
Despite helping hundreds of other women advocate for themselves during birth, I must admit, I was nervous speaking up for my desires at first! I even felt myself shaking from adrenaline while talking to my favorite hospitalist doc! I knew exactly what I wanted, but also didn’t want to be too much of a “discomfort” in the a** , because everyone was being so sweet and kind. I explained that:
– I would be wearing my own clothes
– I wanted intermittent monitoring while on Cytotec, with hopes my body would take over and from that point preferred doppler monitoring -they agreed! (Doppler use is very rare in our hospitals)
– Wanted the option to enjoy the tub
– That I probably wouldn’t want to push on my back
– And that I would be catching my own baby. I told my doctor(s). “I’d really just love to have you there standing by as a lifeguard in case anything comes up that requires intervention. I caught my last baby and I’d like to do it again!”
I feel so blessed that my team was so accommodating and understanding of my wishes, as I also worked with them on a few compromises that I felt comfortable with. From there the induction process was quite smooth!
I was 1cm, 50% effaced and -2 station when I arrived and received one dose of Cytotec around 10:30 PM and again at 2:30 AM. While intermittently on the monitors I laid in bed with a peanut ball listening to Birthing Day Affirmations and my Deepening Track (Hypnobabies track to deepen the level of hypnosis) and actually got some decent chunks of sleep! During my time off the monitors, I would sit on the birth ball, the toilet, walk around my room and cuddle on the plastic couch with my husband. It was dark, quiet, peaceful and intimate. I felt supported by my nurse and felt so at ease. A couple times I asked her to help feel my belly for baby’s position so I could work on some Spinning Babies techniques accordingly.
The sun began to come up and I could feel my pressure waves were getting stronger and feeling a bit more active. They were coming about every three minutes lasting about 30 to 45 seconds. Around 6:30 AM my nurse performed another cervical check to determine the next steps in the induction process. At this point I was 5 cm and 80% effaced! Just as I’d hoped, my body took over and I was med free!
7:30 rolled around and there was a shift change, my new nurse was amazing and was actually in midwifery school. The new doctor historically wasn’t my favorite but was so respectful on this day. My baby nurse came in to say hi and just happened to be a familiar face as she works part-time at the birth center!
Around 9 AM I could feel my waves coming pretty back-to-back and getting stronger, so I suggested my doula make her way over. (Yes, I have been a doula for 8 years and have hired a doula for myself for all three babies!) She arrived around 9:30 and within probably 20 minutes I was in very active birthing time (Hypnobabies term for labor).
My last birth was a pain-free Hypnobabies birth and this one was pretty darn close as well! I put my earbuds in while listening to Easy First Stage (Hypnobabies main birthing time track), closed my eyes, and went completely in the zone, tuning everything out. I look pretty calm on the outside thanks to Hypnobabies, so I don’t think anyone knew how close I was to meeting my baby!
After some time slow dancing with my husband, I began feeling immense pressure in my pelvis and was continuously whispering my PEACE cue (Hypnobabies cue for instant physical comfort) which kept me focused and comfortable. My doula put a heat pack on my sacrum and squeezed my hips which felt incredible as I made my way onto the bed leaning over the back as my baby’s head moved down.
This next part was pretty funny. My waves had spaced about 5-6 min apart and during each wave I breathed my baby down. The Birth team wandered in the room waiting for something exciting to happen, but just saw me just lying there and breathing through a pressure wave… so they walked out! With the very next wave my baby had a full crown. My husband pushed the call button on the bed, but apparently it wasn’t working, and by the next pressure wave his head was out! My doula popped out into the hallway telling the nurses it was time. With his head out I wanted to push right away and birth the rest of his body, but I waited patiently for his final rotation with my hands ready, and his shoulders just slipped out.
I caught my own baby in the natural morning light of the hospital room and brought him to my chest. He cried right away, and my baby nurse handed ME a receiving blanket to dry him myself. The doctor walked in the room seconds later and said “Wow you were right! You know what you’re doing!” She waited for my placenta and evaluated for repairs – I had no tears!
Ry Maxwell Lopez was born 9/14 @ 11:15am at 5lbs 15oz and 18.5 in long with no NICU time My birth was a complete change of plans but was beautiful and so empowering. My takeaway message is to advocate for what you know you want, build a good support team and practice, practice, practice!
