624-125- or 095-86-1258
with any questions or to schedule an interview
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| Our Personal Birth Stories: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nicolas' Birth | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| With the birth of our first son, Nicolas, we were uneducated as to the entire birth process. Bud is in the United States Navy and was underway often and we were not able to attend childbirth classes together. The delivery was typical of the clinical view that hospitals have of childbirth. This, paired with our lack of knowledge of the type of birth we wanted, led to the many changes in our second birth. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| We went to the hospital the day before my due date, on Aug 2nd 1996, at around 5:30 am, at the first sign of contractions. I was only at 3 cm and was advised to take a walk and let things progress. We returned to Labor and Delivery at around 8:00 am. I was checked and, since I was at 4 cm, I was admitted. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I was placed on an IV and hooked up to the external fetal monitors. Unfortunately, this meant I had to stay in bed for what ended up being the next 12 hours. I had an epidural for pain and shots of medication (which I don't even recall.) Nicolas had an internal fetal monitor (I didn't even know what it was then!) I pushed for 6 hours and at one point my contractions stopped so I was administered more Pitocin. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I don't remember when but I had an episiotomy and still tore past the incision. We went through three shift changes of the hospital staff so nobody looked familiar. Nicolas was delivered by forceps (7:39 pm.) Bud counted 16 strangers in our room at the time of birth. (Balboa Naval Hospital is a huge training command for Navy doctors and we suspect that my birth involving forceps was the reason for the large number of people present.) Nicolas was 8 lbs. 12 oz. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The outcome of Nicolas' birth (as you will see when you read Thomas' birth story) is solely the result of our desire to become educated about the birth. We are not insinuating that the hospital or the doctors are responsible for us not having the birth we wanted. We didn't even know what kind of birth we wanted for ourselves. For our second birth, we decided to make decisions and formulate a birth plan based on our research and wishes, and to remain in control of the situation as it developed. Hiring a doula, taking Bradley classes and choosing a midwife were the most important controls that we implemented to achieve the birth we wanted. If I had a doula for Nicolas' birth, it would have been a very different experience. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Thomas being born at 7:19 am July 12, 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thomas' Birth | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| by Dana Mannering | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I had the good fortune of meeting Heather and Bud in May when they called to meet with me to talk about labor support. They were expecting their 2nd child on August 8th, 1998, and were taking special care in planning the birth. Their first birth experience produced a beautiful son named Nicolas whom I also had the pleasure of meeting. Although the outcome was of course beautiful, the road along the way was not what they had expected. Heather and Bud knew they could not control the birth but wanted to take steps to avoid interventions of medications and people that would or could change their desired experience. Some of the steps they took to prepare were to take a different type of childbirth class (Bradley), chose to have a doula, and chose the Best Start Birth center (San Diego, CA) as the setting. It was now just a matter of time.... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Well, the call came at 3:15 am on July the 12th. ;Bud called and said that Heather was having some contractions but they were sporadic. Some were 3 minutes part some were 5 minutes. When he said sporadic I though he was going to say some were 8 minutes some were 15 minutes. We decided to meet at the birth Center! I arrived at 4:15 am and the good news was that Heather had been checked by the midwife and was at 4 cm. The unexpected news was that Heather's dates were a little off and she was not quite 37 weeks which meant that she would have to transfer to Balboa. Heather, Bud and Nicolas were there was as well as Nicolas' support person Kelly and their friend Wendy. They were all waiting for me so that we could all make the trip to Balboa Hospital together. I first went inside and saw Heather. I could see the disappointment on her face, but yet she was very calm. I gave her a hug and told her I knew this was not in the plan, but that we would make it work. We all caravaned to Balboa and arrived just about 5am. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Our first encounter was in triage with a very strict and rigid nurse who said that only one person could be with Heather while she was being examined. Bud was now determined to make things right so he promptly requested that a Midwife be called. His request was met and things now were in place. Loreen Armstrong walked in like a breath of fresh air and assured Heather and Bud that all their requests would be met. Loreen checked Heather at 5:15 am and she was already at 6 cm and -1 station. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| We all moved on over to a labor room. When I say all, I mean all! The first nurse saw the whole gang walking toward the room and immediately stopped Kelly, Nicolas and Wendy and said they could not all be there. Again, Bud fixed it! He said he wanted to speak to the midwife again and that all these people would be in the room. And sure enough!! Everyone was present. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| From here on things moved quickly. At 5:45 am a hep lock was placed in Heather's hand which was uncomfortable but the only intervention what would be used. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bud jumped right in and supported Heather through each contraction. ;I used counter pressure on Heather's back and made sure that she was not lying down!! We re-arranged the furniture so that the monitors could reach Heather while she sat in a chair. Heather used breathing and good verbal sounds over each contraction. Bud and I helped Heather to change positions and provided physical support and a lot of reassurance. The whole room was filled with positive energy. Even Nicolas was breathing with Heather and through the contractions. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7:01 am | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Heather was now experiencing a lot of pressure and it was now time to push. Heather was able to be in a squatting position and was using all of her energy to push that baby out. 7:11 am her membranes spontaneously ruptured. (Bud got a little wet but didn't seem to mind one bit!) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7:19 am their second child arrived. A beautiful baby boy 7 lbs., 1 oz., and 20 inches long, with APGAR scores of 7/9. The room was filled with joy!! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7:28 am the placenta was delivered on it's own. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A Doula's Summary | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I was so thrilled to be part of such a beautiful experience. Bud and Heather showed such love for each other and such a determination to experience this birth in a positive way. Although the setting was not what they had envisioned, the experience and the outcome was inspiring. It proves that you can make informed choices and take responsibility in your life's experiences. Thank you for this experience it is a memory I will treasure and keep for always. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Your Doula, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| e-mail me or call 624-125- or 095-86-1258 with any questions or to schedule an interview |
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