8cm for over 7 hours
I drafted a post here a few days ago asking for advice and shared experiences but chose to put my phone down and trust Gods plan.
I went to my 41 week checkup on Sunday, I’d been contracting every 6-8 minutes ranging from 25-55seconds for about 18 hours. They were very mild, almost painless not like period pain and I knew they were contractions because I’d feel the rise and fall.
I had 90 minutes of ctg and then a cervical check at 330pm that revealed I was 8cm and PEACEFUL. They got me a room and I organised logistics with the rest of my fam.
They offered to break my water and the offer was enticing and I said I’d consider it in an hour but when the midwife came back she said she’d spoken to the dr and if I’d made it this far it would be better off just letting nature take its course. There were a few moments I felt like I was taking up valuable space in a limited room because of my appearance of not being in established labour.
Around 8pm I requested another exam that said I was 8 and a little and told no rush, just relax. So I did my best.
I ended up with one contraction my in back and I was DONE. I already knew his head wasn’t in the optimal position and it’s why labour wasn’t progressing quicker.
I did an inversion on the side of the bath and then got in bed with the peanut ball and within a few minutes my water broke at 10.47pm.
I called the midwives in because they wanted to know if anything changed and we refilled the bath and I got in. Immediately my contractions got stronger and I could feel the difference. The pressure was instantaneous. I let my body do the pushing and with each contraction my baby moved further down, his little head partially emerged maybe 4-5 times and then would recede when the contraction faded. My midwife asked me if I could push on the next one but it would have been pushing on an empty tank, once that contraction was gone, I felt like an empty vessel. So we waited. I managed to assist with the next contraction and his head was born, the midwife did have her hand inside of me at this point and I remember telling her the only discomfort I could feel was from her hand. She was trying to avoid a shoulder dystocia (I had one during my last birth). The head was out for a minute or two under the water and I let them know the next one was coming and with it my beautiful son was born at 12.23am.
It was a silent birth besides the affirmations I spoke to myself and the final roar of the rest of his head and then body. He was my biggest bub at 4.18kg and 57cm although he felt like my smallest. We went home 5 hours later and have been in love since.
My previous 2 births were pitocin inductions at 42 & 42+2, 4kg and 4.1kg babies. First birth was similar to this one, contractions doing all the work so no pushing from me, silent labour, no tears, 1L PPH. Second baby was more intense with a SD, 1.7L PPH and 3rd degree tear I believed from forced pushing to get his body out(I had fabulous midwives who protected me from the system by coaching me to do so. They would have had to call an emergency if I didn’t get him out when they sincerely told me I needed to) and this time I wanted to experience labour and birth without the interventions.
I never went into labour land and instead stayed with the experience fully aware and in surrender to the miracle that was unfolding in and before me.
I prayed my whole pregnancy, handed my fears to god each time they arose and trusted that he would provide.
💓