Re: Birth Stories
Aww Ramsha! I'm tearing up! I'm so, so happy for you!!! hug :)
Your birth story has me really excited and looking forward to my own iA, although with every passing week that I count off, I do get a little bit more nervous and afraid about the birth experience. Also, YAY for no tearing! My aqua bellies instructor told us about the perineum massage last week and said to start at 36 weeks, 1 minute at a time, a couple of times a week. Is that how often you did it too?
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Ramsha, your story is beautiful. May Allah swt keep you and your family safe and happy always. Ameen.
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Sparrow - Thanks - Its funny, wasn't really emotional during the birth but cry when I think about it.
SGC - Thank you - don't worry you'll do fine, your body just knows what to do, for the massage - I did it about a minute at a time 3 times a week for week 36 and 37 and then everyday for about a min for the rest of my pregnancy.....used olive oil
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im in my 36 week of pregnancy.. its my first time, having to read all thse wonderful stories.. i cant wait to hold my baby boy in my arms ISA... please pray for my baby and me that everything goes well in labor for us.. theres a chance of him having DS in 1 in 30.. we'll know for sure if he has it or not after he's born ... Please you guys keep my baby boy in your prayers that he doesnt have anything nd he is a healthy baby boy.. Ameen
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^- Ameen. Prayers for your healthy baby =]
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I read every single story and I absolutely enjoyed them. I can't wait to read more!!!!
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my prayers r wth u desigirl.... all the best :) waiting 4 good news :)
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im in my 36 week of pregnancy.. its my first time, having to read all thse wonderful stories.. i cant wait to hold my baby boy in my arms ISA... please pray for my baby and me that everything goes well in labor for us.. theres a chance of him having DS in 1 in 30.. we'll know for sure if he has it or not after he's born ... Please you guys keep my baby boy in your prayers that he doesnt have anything nd he is a healthy baby boy.. Ameen
Duas for you and your baby. may everything go smoothly and may your baby be healthy inshaAllah :)
also please make dua for me and my baby.am soon in week 36. 4 weeks to go for my due date...can happen anytime...am panicking big time cuz I chose a clinic that offers only acupuncture and water as pain relief...so no epidural etc....please make dua everything goes smoothly and fast and baby is healthy.thanks
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**How to prepare for a WATERBIRTH
Prepare Your MindExamine your motivations, incentives, and expectations. Ask yourself why you have decided on a waterbirth. Is it something you are doing for yourself, or because someone else expects you to? Are you strongly drawn to the idea of labor and birth in water? Can you picture yourself in that situation, feeling comfortable and confident?
It is best to remain flexible and let go of rigid expectations that you must birth your baby in any certain way. Examine how you might feel if, for whatever reason, your baby is not born in water, and try to find a way to be comfortable with that possibility. Plan and prepare for the waterbirth you want, and also allow yourself the luxury of making your final decision, about whether or not to be in the tub, at the time of birth. That way everyone stays flexible and knows that you plan to follow your instincts and do whatever feels really right to you.
Get in touch with your birth fears and work on diminishing them by gathering information and educating yourself as much as possible. Most important, develop and trust your intuition. Always remember that a woman’s body knows how to deliver a baby and that millions of years of evolution are on your side!
Modest?Some women are not comfortable with nudity. Since they may associate being in a bath with being nude, they may not feel at ease in the tub even though they might want a waterbirth. This situation need not be a barrier to having a waterbirth, since its very easy for a modest mom to just slip into an oversized t-shirt or nightgown before she enters the tub.
TubsThe tub should be big enough to sit in comfortably and deep enough for the water to come up to armpit level, so you can get a comfortable amount of buoyancy.
Make sure that your tap adaptor fits the faucet you will be using. Clean the tub with a non-abrasive cleaner, and then use a 10% solution of bleach and rinse very thoroughly.
Consider purchasing two hoses, of different colors, one for filling and one for emptying the water. Remember that the water rises by 1" to 2" for each person who gets into the tub and allow for this as you are filling the tub. Fill the tub to 9 inches from the top, then add more water as needed, being careful to avoid spillover.
Do a test run by timing how long it takes to fill the tub, so that you already know this when your labor starts. Depending on how quickly you are progressing and how quickly the tub fills, you may want to start filling the tub when labor begins.
SPECIAL NOTICE regarding tubs:
Very recently I have been contacted by a tub maker who believes that the whirlpool style tubs that have internal pipes (which produce the pulsating water jets) are not a good choice for waterbirth because, he states, the internal pipes cannot be reached to be adequately cleaned. I am looking into this and will post further information as I learn more about this issue. In the meantime, the best and safest choice of tub is probably one that has no internal pipes.
The WaterThe water should be clean: if it is pure enough to drink, it is pure enough to give birth in. The water temperature should be between 95-101 degrees F, depending on your preference. Adjust the temperature to what feels most comfortable to you. If the water is too cold, you will lose body heat as you try to keep warm and you may end up tense and shivering. If the water is too hot, you may feel drowsy and overheated.
The Birthing RoomThe floor should be strong enough to support the weight of the tub when it’s full. The room should be large enough for the midwife to set up her equipment.
What to Eat and DrinkDrink to thirst. Ask your partner to remind you to drink at least a half pint of water every couple of hours to avoid dehydration, which can result in fatigue and a poorly functioning uterus. Eating and drinking during labor has been shown to reduce the total length of labor by as much as 90 minutes. Eat light, easily digestible food.
When To Get Into the TubWait until you have a strong desire to be in the water. It’s best to wait until your contractions are strongly established. Some recommend waiting until you are at least 5 cm dilated, since you want to save the pain relieving effect for the time when you need it most - at transition.
If labor slows down when you are outside the water, try getting into the tub, since that might stimulate labor. If your progress slows down while you are in the tub, get out and move around a bit, to stimulate labor. Often it is the CHANGE of environment that gets labor moving again. Once labor is on track again, you can get back into the tub if you feel like it.
What About Debris in the Water?Use a fish net to remove any mucus, blood clots, feces, or vomit from the water as soon as possible. But don’t spend lots of energy worrying about this. Remember that Dr. Rosenthal says “The solution to pollution is dilution.”
Birth PositionsExperiment with a variety of different positions while in the tub. Try kneeling, squatting, sitting, or lying outstretched. Some women prefer to have their partner in the tub with them to hold them and act as an anchor, others prefer to be in the water alone.
How Long Should the Baby Stay Under Water?Discuss this with your birth attendants ahead of time. Many people feel comfortable with the time that it takes for the mother to reach down and pick up the baby herself (called rapid emersion). Any longer than that is not necessary. Although some people prefer slow emersion, remember that the great benefits of waterbirth are achieved as soon as the infant comes into the warm water.
How Does the Baby Breathe?The baby begins to breathe after its face comes out of the water and its skin and cord come into contact with the cooler air. Until then, the baby receives oxygen through the umbilical cord, as it has done throughout the nine months of pregnancy.
What About the Placenta?Some mothers want to stay in the tub after the birth and bond with the baby. Because of this, they may also choose to deliver their placentas in the tub. This should be discussed with your birth attendant ahead of time, since some are not comfortable with this approach. If the placenta is slow to come, then get out of the tub!
Will Mother Get an Infection From the Water?Dr. Michael Rosenthal reports that there have been no incidences of infection in close to1000 births that he has attended. This may be due to the fact that in labor and delivery the action is moving down and out, not up and in. The concentration of bacteria in and around the vagina is actually diluted by the water.
**
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beautiful read ramsha.
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November 12, 2011, Saturday
39 weeks 2 days
At 3:30am, I woke up to a discharge of mystery fluid with brown blood clot that I couldn’t control so I called the midwife, thinking I broke my water. She thought the same and had me go to L&D where she was going to see me soon. I didn’t have any contractions and it all felt so unreal , I took a shower, got ready and off we went to the hospital. The nurse put on the monitor and was about to start IV due to GBS being positive but I asked her to check n make sure I broke my water. She did the swab test that turned blue and assured me that yes I broke my water.. the midwife arrived and I asked her to confirm again, she did the microscopic test and told me that I hadn’t broken my water and it was just the bloody show, they sent me home after that.
Throughout the day, I had a bloody show and then around 4:30pm I had my first contraction followed by another one after 20 mins.. it kept going on until 7:30pm and then no more contractions until 10:00pm. I started to time them and they were 20 mins apart until 1:30am, later about 10-12 mins apart until 4:30am and by that time my back was killing me.. apparently I was having a back labor because he had turned sunny side up yet again.. husband was massaging my back on n off and I kept telling him to press it harder and harder.. At 7:00Am they were 5-7 mins apart and I was exhausted, so called the midwife and she told me to wait until they were 4 mins apart for an hour and then head to the hospital. She told me to have a breakfast, relax, take a warm bath and just be ready because he was going to be a Sunday baby.
November 13, 2011, Sunday
I had a nice breakfast in the middle of contractions where I would just get up, lean on the table and husband would massage my back and then all of a sudden, contractions stopped… I was a bit disappointed but decided to take a nap, Around 11:30am, I woke up with excruciating pain and had G press my back as hard as possible.. and then within 10-15 mins my contractions were 4 mins apart… husbamd was timing them on his phone and kept telling me to breathe through them.. In the meantime, Ammi made me eat lunch.. I had just couple of bites and felt like throwing up.. The contractions were still coming 4 mins apart so at 1:00pm, I called the midwife again.. I couldn’t even speak through the contraction so G took the phone from me and she told him to get to the hospital.
On our way to the hospital, my contractions were 3 mins apart and they were getting very painful.. we reached hospital in 20 mins, I was checked in, while waiting for the midwife to come in, I had a crying session. I was soo overwhelmed and just started to bawl, husband was holding me near him and I kept saying that I was so scared and in a lot of pain so I couldnt do it anymore.. Ammi was like.. look your sister did four of them, you can do it too.. and hubby was patting my head saying, “you are so brave, you can do it” etc etc… I felt good after that session. :-D
The midwife arrived and did the cervix check, I was 6 cm dilated.. at my 39 weeks check on Thursday I was only finger tip dilated so this was quite an achievement for me..the midwife and nurses were very proud of me and asked me if I wanted the epidural.. I told them to wait and watch how things go..they put the IV in, hooked me to the walking monitor just so I could walk through the contractions.. the midwife had me on my hands n knees to encourage the baby to turn and even though she wasn’t my favorite midwife throughout the pregnancy, I have to say she was the best coach ever.. she stayed with me all the time, putting hot compressors on my back, telling G how to apply pressure and the nurse was very helpful too.. I went to the bathroom and she stayed with me in there.. during one of the contractions in there, I pressed really hard on her arm thinking it was hubby but she just cuddled me and made me breathe through it.. Two hours later, my contractions were a minute apart and I gave up.. I just couldn’t take the pain anymore… I asked for epidural.. midwife checked me and told that I was 8 cm dilated and it was up to me to take an epidural or not at that point.. I chose to have it. The anesthesiologist was called in, he was there within 2 mins, went over the side effects blah blah and I just kept asking him.. people take epidural.. right? Everything geos fine.. right? They had me curled up in the fetus position with the nurse helping me with holding my knees, hubby massaging my forehead, midwife holding my hand.. lo n behold, I was given epidural.. didn’t feel a thing and within a few mins I was in heaven.. all I remember is being very very very cold, and shivering while they loaded me with warm blankets.. I even asked G if there was a cat in the room because I could hear a meow… rest of the story is what I was told mostly by hubby and Ammi since I remember very little after that.
Things had calmed down, Ammi left the room since it was about time to start pushing and I was in peace.. while she was leaving, midwife broke my water and that’s when things went south.. Ammi told me that as soon as she walked out of the room, she heard alarms going off and saw docs and nurses rushing to my room.. she ran back as well only to be told by hubby. “everything is okay- don’t worry” but she heard the midwife telling OB that, she broke water, my bp dropped and baby’s heart beat went flat for a few seconds and that he probably had the cord under his shoulder.. the ob came upto me and said, “ we may have to take you to the OR for c section since baby could potentially be in danger.. I just looked at hubby and asked if he was here yet.. he looked petrified but remained cool, i dunno how since he later told me that at one point he thought he was gonna lose us both and wanted to do something but didnt know what... he was running his hand through my hair telling me everything was okay.. everything was a blur to me but I do remember asking ob if it was due to epidural and the ob said, “I promise you it’s not because of epidural” I was feeling so guilty at that time and thinking what if I hadn’t taken the epi.. midwife also came closer to me and assured me that epi was good for me at this point because it meant they didn’t have to waste time to get that fixed… they started preparing for the c section and had hubby change into this weird outfit but soon after that they were like, oh he is recovering so we can keep trying.. the midwife checked me again and said that I was 10 cm dilated, ready to push.. ob was standing right there when his heart beat and my bp dropped significantly that I couldn’t even breathe.. they had me on oxygen mask for a while but I was having hard time breathing even with that.. so without a delay, they wheeled us to the OR…I asked for my husband and they told me that he will join us later, midwife was holding my hand reassuring me that everything will be okay and that she was coming with me.. I do remember being transferred from the bed onto this hard surface with bright lights right above me, with my arms stretched on my side and I was just shivering.. the anesthesiologist was sitting right behind me, the midwife wanted to put a blankie on my stretched arms but he said he was going to use something else.. I don’t remember what but it was like a balloon blowing hot air across my chest and arms.. later hubby was brought in and was offered to sit near me .. he was just running his hand through my hair while I was shedding tears and midwife was wiping my eyes and face.. a few mins later, I heard a whimper and before I could say anything hubby asked me if I heard anything, I nodded my head and wanted to ask why isn’t he crying hard.. lo n behold I heard a loud shrieking scream and knew my baby was okay.. his one minute APGAR was 8, and 5 mins was 9, Alhamdulillah. He was born November 13, 2011 at 7:25pm, weighing 7 pounds 6 ounces, 21.5 inches in length. MashaAllah.
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GTG .... lovely story....the meow made me laugh out loud. Congratulations, I hope you and the baby are doing well.
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Ur story made me cry GTG..... May Allah make your child a blessing for you and your husband. Aameen. And hope you have a speedy recovery.
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Ramsha.. Later the nurses realized that one of the monitors had that meow sound so I wasn't making things up. :D
Automne..thanks..we are both doing well alhamdulillah. :)
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awww honey!what a ride! rest well. loads of duas for you both. congratulations again and thanks for sharing your story.
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Ramsha.. Later the nurses realized that one of the monitors had that meow sound so I wasn't making things up. :D
LOL I'm glad you left with you sanity intact.
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thanx for scaring me ladies:(
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August 31, 2011, I was 40 weeks and 3 days pregnant. I and hubby drove to the hospital for my scheduled induction. They started me on Potocin by 7:30am and we were on our way. The OB was checking me my water to break. My little one had pooped in me and the water breaking was actually a good thing and prepared the doctors. But I was bed bond from the start of my labor because of my water breaking. :( I was only 3cm.
My contractions started within 20min of being on Potocin. In the beginning it wasn’t too bad. I was chit chatting with hubby n mom. But within an hour my contractions started getting really bad, on the same time the nurse noticed that the baby’s heart rate was decreasing. They decreased the amount of Potocin to see if that would improve the baby’s heart rate. It did, but my contractions decreased as well. They took me off the medicine and retried giving it to me little by little. But the same thing happened. This went on until 3:30pm; I was still only 3cm and in a lot of pain. My contractions were doubling, meaning one after another without a break :(
In the morning my OB had said she wanted to wait until I was 5cm to give me an epidural so I never asked, but now the contractions were horrible and I finally asked. I had the epidural by 4pm. I was still only 3cm and off the Potocin, my contractions had pretty much slowed downed (they weren’t showing on the graph.) girls who can’t decide about an epidural I am telling you it’s the best thing in the world take it!!! Back to the story…My 5pm by OB recommended we go for a C section because the baby’s heart rate decreasing, labor not starting naturally, and since the baby had pooped in me. OB said waiting to do the c-section or the labor to start might be dangerous for the baby and we might end up with an emergency c-section anyways.
My hubby was really freaking out, but I was ok…I think it was the effect of the epidural :) I had discussed this with my hubby beforehand and he had told me he won’t be able to handle seeing me all cut up, and won’t go in the room with me :O So I asked him again, and the nurse insured him that he won’t even see anything. After a lot of persuasion he said he will go with me :D
They prepped me, and in 15mins I was on my way to the operation room. My husband was on my side and anesthesiologist on the other. I love the anesthesiologist; he was half Indian, half Pakistan and didn’t speak Hindi/Urdu but knew few our desi stuff. In beginning my heart rate was really high, so he told me to relax and think about making roti. I laughed, he also kept me and my husband updated about what was happening.
At 6:01pm he was born. The nurses started to aww and ooo’s and told my husband to name the kid lucky. Turns out Ammar had his umbilical cord tied around his neck, his legs and had two knots on it :O One nurse told my husband that in 16 years this is the 6 baby she has seen that survived the double knots (called true knots.) My Allamdurillah Ammar was/ is a healthy boy. He was 8 lb 4oz and 21.5 inches and mashAllah a great baby.
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** correction its pitocin not potocin.
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