Megan

Megan expected her second child on February 19th and was very anxious. Her first baby was born through a c-section and she really wanted a VBAC this time. In the end of the pregnancy baby was breech and her doctor already scheduled a c-section; but after a visit to the chiropractor at 37 weeks, the baby moved and she got the possibility to try the VBAC. We met for the prenatal visit with her and her husband on February 16th, where we discussed all their preferences, questions and worries. On February 17th, Megan let me know that she started having a few contractions per hour, but she was able to continue her daily routine. On February 18th, she texted me at 1:30 AM letting me know that her contraction were getting more frequent and painful. I came to her house around 4 AM; contractions were painful and about 6-7 minutes apart. I started counter pressure on the low back, used heat on the lower back and shoulders. She vocalized a lot with every contraction. We spent about two hours at home and then the couple decided that it was time to go to the hospital. Contractions were getting closer together and stronger, but the first exam gave Megan confidence and energy - she was 8 cm! The doctor offered her AROM to speed up the process and Megan agreed for that after the epidural. At 7 AM she was fully dilated and started pushing. She was very successful and at 7:36 AM the healthy baby boy was born. The baby was put on his mother’s chest for skin-to-skin. After about 30 minutes he started crawling, found his mother’s breast and started nursing.

My role as a doula at this birth was definitely a lot of emotional and informational support. Because it was a VBAC, the scariest thing for the mother was another c-section and that everything will be the same as the last time. During my initial visit, I explained to Megan that there is no research saying that all of a mother’s labors will go the same way, and that she has to think that this time will be different. This gave her peace of mind and hope for a successful VBAC. Her second labor was different from the beginning. Also, my role was to provide physical support; I did a lot of lower back and shoulder massage, I used heat for the lower back and shoulders, and I helped with positioning during the second stage of labor.

Megan was both nervous and excited about her labor. During the early labor at home she was focusing on every contraction and established her ritual. She was in control all the time. She agreed for epidural at the very last moment to give herself a break and pushed with a lot of energy. She felt the urge to push and was excited to be able to control the pushing stage. Overall, she was very satisfied with her labor. She told me that compared to the first time, when nothing happened as intended, this birth perfectly followed her birth plan; she thinks it is because of me, her doula. She was able to labor at home as long as possible, she came to the hospital being 8 cm dilated, she took the epidural at the very last moment, and was able to feel when she was pushing. She started skin-to-skin right after the baby’s birth and breastfed within the first hour. She was especially happy with the recovery process, when she was able to wear her clothes, go the bathroom and move around only two hours after the birth.