47. MyMaine Birth: Anna’s Two Hospital Birth Stories
Today's birth story guest is Anna and she shares her two hospital birth stories. The first involves an elective induction and a long hard pushing phase. During her second pregnancy and birth, she shares about tuning into her intuition much more and preparing in a different way than she did with her first... but when she began experiencing a precipitous birth, she called her doctors office and they suggested calling an ambulance. She did this, and as a result she experienced transition and the urge to push while strapped to a stretcher on her back in an ambulance. Fortunately her baby was born shortly after arriving to the hospital. While reflecting on her birth experiences she shares that if she were to have another child, she would be exploring her options for a home birth.
Occasionally on the podcast we are going to hear powerful stories that shed light on the challenges, the unexpected turns, and the emotional aftermath of a birth story that does not go as you imagined it would. I believe it’s important to create a safe space for these narratives, to raise awareness about the benefits of undisturbed birth, and to support those who have gone through difficult birth experiences.
To all the pregnant mothers listening, I encourage you to assess your emotional readiness for today’s episode. If hearing stories of birth trauma might not be what you need at the moment. Please skip this episodes and join me again in episode #48 for an empowering free birth story.
For those who have recently experienced birth trauma yourself, I want you to know that you are not alone. I see you, I hear you, and I am here to support you.
I offer a virtual service designed specifically for mothers who need to process their birth stories.
My Birth Healing Sessions over Zoom provide a safe and confidential space to explore your emotions, find healing, and work through any lingering feelings of disappointment, fear, or grief.
I am an experienced birth professional and I am ready to listen, offer guidance, and help you navigate the complexities of your birth experience. If you’re interested in scheduling a Birth Healing Session, click here to schedule your session https://calendly.com/mymainebirth/birth-healing-session
Remember, your story matters, and I am here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can heal, grow, and find strength in our shared experiences.
Episode 47 Angela: 0:00
I'm Angela and you're listening to my Maine Birth, a space where we share the real-life stories of families and their unique birth experiences in the beautiful state of Maine. From our state's biggest hospitals to birth center births and home births, every birth story deserves to be heard and celebrated, from the first feelings of pregnancy to the first cry of your newborn, we explore the journey of childbirth in all of its beauty, intensity and emotion. Whether you're a soon-to-be mom, a seasoned mother or simply interested in the world of birth, these episodes are for you. Originally on the podcast. We are going to hear powerful stories that shed light on the challenges, the unexpected turns and the emotional aftermath of a birth story that does not go as you imagined it would. I believe it's important to create a safe space for these narratives, to raise awareness about the benefits of undisturbed birth and to support those who have gone through difficult birth experiences. To all the pregnant mothers listening, I encourage you to assess your emotional readiness for today's episode. If hearing stories of birth trauma might not be what you need at the moment, please skip this episode and join me again in episode 48 for an empowering free birth story For those who may have recently experienced a birth that did not go as you imagined it would. I want you to know that you're not alone. I see you, I hear you and I'm here to support you. I offer a virtual service designed specifically for mothers who need to process their birth stories. My birth healing sessions over Zoom provide a safe and confidential space to explore your emotions, find healing and work through any lingering feelings of disappointment, fear or grief. I'm an experienced birth professional and I'm ready to listen, offer guidance and help you navigate the complexities of your birth experience. If you're interested in scheduling a birth healing session, visit my website, mymainphotocom. Slash birth support. Remember your story matters and I'm here to support you every step of the way. Together we can heal, grow and find strength in our shared experiences. Thank you for joining me today on my Main Birth and remember to take care of yourself and each other and, as always, let's keep the conversation going. You can always message me over on social media. You can find me on Facebook and Instagram at my Main Birth.
Angela: 2:39
Today's birth story guest is Anna and she shares her two hospital birth stories. Birth story guest is Anna and she shares her two hospital birth stories. The first involves an elective induction and a long, hard pushing phase and during her second pregnancy and birth, she shares about tuning into her intuition much more and preparing in a different way than she did with her first. But when she began experiencing a precipitous birth, when she called her doctor's office, they suggested that she call an ambulance. As a result, she experienced transition and the urge to push while strapped to a bed on her back in an ambulance. Fortunately, her baby was born shortly after arriving to the hospital. But after reflecting on her birth experiences, she shared that if she were to have another child, she would be exploring her options for a home birth. Hi, anna, welcome to my Main Birth. Hi, to get started, will you share a little bit about you and your family? Yes, sure.
Anna: 3:38
So my husband and I we've been together for 10 years high school sweethearts. We just got married a few years ago and decided to start our family like right out the gates. So we had our daughter in 2021. And that was like a regular I feel, like a typical first mom, like first birth experience with her, like induction, epidural, pushing for three and a half hours, so, um, and then I was actually working when I was pregnant with her. I was working as an RN and then I had her and I went on maternity leave and I was like I can't go back. So I've been a stay-at-home mom for over two years now, but in that time I to we decided to have another baby. So we started trying for him and got pretty lucky right away. So we decided to have another baby and here we are with him.
Angela: 4:40
So now tell me about when you found out you were pregnant with your daughter and a little bit about your thoughts in choosing your care.
Anna: 4:46
So as I worked as a nurse in the hospital, I feel like I just I wanted to go with the hospital route because that's what I was familiar with and kind of comfortable with at the time. So when I had my first, everything kind of I don't want to say it like went wrong, but it just didn't. I didn't have the experience that I had hoped that I was going to have. I didn't know that I was going to push for as long as I did and, like I didn't expect, I wanted to try to have a birth without an epidural and everything and it just it just didn't go to plan and it was a lot of lack of, I think, preparedness on my part.
Anna: 5:22
So with him I really I, you know tried to look up a lot of like labor strategies and pain management and stuff that I because I, with him, I really wanted to try to labor without any pain medication or intervention, like as long as I could. So I I think I prepared myself a little bit better, but I also wanted to go the hospital route again because it's what I was familiar with. I really liked my doctors, I delivered at Inland hospital and I just had a really good experience with all of them over there. So, that being said, did you go through?
Angela: 5:56
like the testing or ultrasound. Yeah, so that's another.
Anna: 6:01
That's another reason that I really like Inland is because they're a little bit more conservative in that aspect, like you only do like the, the dating ultrasound and then like the anatomy ultrasound, and they don't if everything's going right. They don't really do any other interventions like that. So I just you know, it was just I really liked them over there a lot.
Angela: 6:21
So how was the rest of your pregnancy with your daughter?
Anna: 6:25
So with my first I worked throughout the entire pregnancy as a nurse on a pretty busy floor on my feet the whole time I actually had to go on. It was an uncomplicated pregnancy but I did have to go on maternity leave like two weeks ahead of time because I had some really bad SI joint pain in my back and I just could not do the 12 hour shifts on my feet. That being said, that kind of encouraged me to go for an induction. I was 39 and four days and I had a membrane sweep and then I kind of walked around Walmart after that and I started feeling some light contractions and I wasn't sure. So I just went in just to get checked again, because I do live 45 minutes from the hospital I give birth at. So I didn't want to drive home and then have something start and then have to. You know it's scary the first time you don't know what it's going to feel like. So I went in and my blood pressure was high. So they were concerned about that and decided to admit me and I was going to go ahead with an induction anyways on my due date. So we just decided to start Pitocin that night where they were get any sleep and I was on the monitor and it was so uncomfortable I couldn't eat. And I mean the nurse, the staff was great and everything, but it's just it wasn't what I had anticipated and I just didn't realize that that could be common for a hospital birth for a first time mom, like I just didn't get that.
Anna: 8:12
So I, at eight o'clock the next morning they artificially broke my water. I was already like I was dilated three centimeters, like very like 36 weeks with this pregnancy, like pretty early. So I kind of I was progressing well, but they did break my water at 8 AM and then that's when things really like kicked up a notch and I was, like you know, starting active labor very uncomfortable. I tried so hard to labor through but I didn't. I hadn't like mentally prepared myself for like what that was going to feel like.
Anna: 8:46
So at 10 am I agreed I wanted to get an epidural and at that point I was just so exhausted because it was a sleepless night and I hadn't eaten anything and it was just I was so afraid of how long I felt like I could do it, but I didn't know how long I could do it for and that was what really frightened me.
Anna: 9:06
So I got the epidural and I took the most amazing two-hour nap that I've ever had and at that point I was progressed to 10 centimeters and I started pushing at noon. But I I didn't I mean they they call it like practice pushes and I pushed for three and a half hours before she finally came and she came out with like her hand up by her chin so that was like like a problem when why she took so long to. But it was so exhausting and I remember just feeling so depleted by the end of it and I was just so, it was just really hard and I knew a big part of that was because I hadn't eaten and I hadn't slept and I just wish that I had just that little bit more energy so I could push through it. So that was like a big drive for me to like kind of do things differently with my second pregnancy.
Angela: 10:07
So how was your postpartum with your first?
Anna: 10:11
With my first because I had pushed so long it was, I was so swollen and I bled for a really long time. And then when I finally stopped bleeding I got my period back right at six weeks exclusively breastfeeding. So that was just. I didn't. I didn't even know that some women could get their period back that early when they were breastfeeding. So that was a hard. It was just. It was rough. It was a hard postpartum but I had. She was a pretty easy baby. So you know she slept good and she wasn't very fussy. And in retrospect I mean first time it was hard then but like, compared to this guy she was an easy baby.
Angela: 10:51
Oh, so tell me about when you found out you're pregnant for the second time.
Anna: 10:57
Yeah. So the second time my husband and I decided to start tracking my cycles and we actually got pregnant on the first go. And we actually got pregnant on the first go. But I had been testing for a couple of days because I knew that it was like I could start testing. And then I woke up on a Saturday morning with some extreme like dental pain and I had to make an emergency dental appointment. And so I go to this appointment and I was just so uncomfortable I had ended up having an impacted wisdom tooth and they're like oh, we're going to take some x-rays Any chance you could be pregnant.
Anna: 11:33
And I was like, oh, maybe I doubt it, Cause I just took a test yesterday. I was negative. They're like okay, well, we'll, you know, put some extra lead on you to protect you, just in case. And then, when they sent a prescription in for me to pick up, they then, when they sent a prescription in for me to pick up, they made sure that it was something like, if I was pregnant, that it was safe to take. So I went to Walmart to pick up my prescription and I was like I'll take a test while I'm waiting. And it ended up being positive. So I'm like that's the most. I really wasn't even expecting it to be positive, because it was our first month trying and I was in. I was just thinking about my tooth at that point, so that was pretty exciting. We were pretty happy there.
Angela: 12:13
So then, what were your thoughts in choosing your care this time around? Did you go with sort of the same?
Anna: 12:18
plan, yeah, so I I felt like I wanted. I really liked the hospital that I worked with and I liked all the doctors that I worked with there, so I wanted to go there again. But I just wanted to approach it a little bit differently, now that I had experienced what I had experienced with my first not that it wasn't a bad birth, it was just it. It was an exhausting birth experience and I just wanted it to be a little bit more relaxed and empowering, guess, because I wanted to be able to labor as much as I could without any medication and I just wanted to just see what I was capable of, I guess without the fear that I had the first time around, because this time I would know generally what to expect.
Angela: 13:03
That's a huge thing really is getting past that fear and just surrendering to the whole process of what you're capable of Definitely so how was your pregnancy this time around?
Anna: 13:15
I was a lot more sick in the beginning and but otherwise it was very different because I wasn't working, I was staying home with my toddler so I wasn't on my feet for the 12 hours but I was also trying to chase or I couldn't nap whenever I wanted to. But otherwise, you know, once I kind of got out of that first trimester, it was a very good pregnancy. We did do testing like just some blood work, and we did the ultrasounds, but we only had two ultrasounds with him the whole pregnancy. So, yeah, that that was good I towards. So when I ended up delivering at 36 weeks and four days, I had planned to try to labor at home with him as long as I could and make my way down to the hospital, my water breaking and like all of that fun stuff, because with my first it was artificially broken and everything. We were kind of turning at that point where I would be having more doctor's visits, so I didn't get to do any of that this time around wow, so how did it all unfold?
Anna: 14:25
so at around. Well, right at 36 weeks I started. You know all those foods, dates and pineapple and that raspberry leaf tea that they say could help ripen your cervix. I didn't opt to have a cervical exam this time at 36 weeks, like I did with my first. I just wanted to wait and see. So I ended up. I had my 36 week appointment and, you know, everything's fine. We didn't bother doing the cervical check or anything. And then a couple of days later I'm eating all of these foods and I'm bouncing on the ball just to try to make myself ready, cause I just did not want to push for three and a half hours again. I just was not interested in doing that again.
Anna: 15:10
So I had a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions like very early in this pregnancy and I was carrying him a little bit lower than I did with my first, so I just assumed that was part of it. And I remember the Thursday before I had him I couldn't do anything without having those Braxton Hicks, what I thought contractions, and I ended up. I just had to rest all day that day and then the next day I remember texting my husband I'm like, wow, I haven't had like any contractions today and this was a Friday, and then that Friday night I was putting my toddler to bed and I'm laying in there with her and I'm realizing that I'm starting to have those Braxton Hecks again, but they're every 10 minutes or so. So I just kind of I put her to bed and then I went and, you know, got myself ready for bed and I was noticing that they were kind of uncomfortable and they were kind of consistent. But I thought, you know, everybody has different experiences Like I could be having these contractions like this for weeks and prodromal labor like it's. I'm only 36 weeks, this couldn't be anything. So I just kind of decided to. I started tracking them on my phone and they were lasting for about a minute every 10 minutes and I was like, well, they're not painful, I'll just try to sleep and see what happens.
Anna: 16:36
So I went to bed and this was about 10 o'clock and that they had been going on since about 830. And I tossed and turned for an hour. I like I probably turned, tossed and turned, like every contraction I had. I was just very uncomfortable. And then my husband comes to bed about 11. And I rolled over one last time and I felt the pop and a small gush of fluid. I was like, oh no. So I get up and I go to the bathroom And'm still in denial at this point because I'm like I'm so early, it can't be. I went late with not late, but I went a lot later with my first. I'm like I can't be in labor already.
Anna: 17:19
So I noticed that I was losing my mucus plug and I was indeed leaking water. So I kind of sat on the toilet and I called my OB and told them this. And then at this point my contractions are picking up a little bit more. So I am on the phone with them and they're like yeah, it sounds like you need to come in. And I'm like, okay, so I hang up and I'm telling my husband to get everything packed. And then they, they call me right back and they're like you actually sound like you're in a lot of pain. How far away are you? And I told them I was 45 minutes and they said I think you need to call an ambulance. So in my head I'm like no, no, no, no, no.
Anna: 18:02
I knew because I worked at the, the closest hospital to me, that they the ambulance would take me to that hospital, that I used to work at the hospital, does not have labor and delivery, does not have an OB, and so I was afraid that I was going to deliver my baby either on the side of the road or in an ambulance or at a hospital that doesn't even have my doctor at it. So the ambulance got there About. Actually four ambulance crews showed up like some volunteers. My parents showed up, my in-laws showed up. There were so many people in my house but I did before everybody started showing up. Really I did get to kind of labor at home a little bit, probably for 20 minutes or so with my husband and I got. I used combs for like pain and he did like a lot of counter pressure, but at the same time the um 911 dispatcher was telling me please do not sit on the toilet because she didn't want me to deliver my baby like before anybody got there. So they, they showed up and they all agreed that, yep, I definitely need to head to a hospital.
Anna: 19:11
Contractions were about every two minutes at that point and then I got up and I walked myself to the stretcher and got in the ambulance and I'm in there and like it's about a 25 minute drive and I remember the paramedic telling me. I was kind of like turning inward at that point and I was quiet in between contractions and I remember him telling me he's like, oh, contractions are now every four minutes. That's good, and I'm thinking that's because I'm in transition and I'm going to have this baby very soon. But I knew I was like I don't know if that's good. It depends on if you want to have a baby in this ambulance or not. But so then all of a sudden that lovely ejection reflex kicked in and I I could not stop pushing.
Anna: 20:05
That ejection reflex kicked in while I was in the ambulance and I could not stop pushing and I was. It was so uncomfortable because I was strapped into a stretcher so I couldn't get into the positions that I wanted to. And I just remember being so frustrated at that point because I again, I couldn't labor the way that I had hoped to labor and I just I wanted to be on my hands and knees and I or I wanted to squat and I just did. I couldn't lay on my back. It was so uncomfortable.
Anna: 20:38
But we were only like probably five, ten minutes away from the hospital at this point. So there was lots of screaming, lots of just fear at that point for me and then finally I could see out the back of the ambulance, like what, that we were turning onto the road to the hospital and at that point I'm kind of was able to catch my breath a little bit in between, like the pushing and the pain, and I made it into the emergency department and the staff that this was at Sebastopol Valley Hospital. The staff was so amazing. They had already called Eastern Maine and talked to a labor and delivery team out there to kind of get like a crash course, because they hadn't delivered a baby themselves ever and they had my OB on the phone with them and within 10 minutes of me pulling into that ER parking lot I had pushed and delivered my baby.
Angela: 21:51
I had pushed and delivered my baby.
Anna: 21:54
So it was very quick, wow. So how was the actual birth? So I can't, it's so hard to even remember because it happens so quickly. But I remember I had a team in there like everybody was in there, because they're not used to seeing babies, so I had everybody in there there. My husband was by my side I'm holding up one leg, I had a nurse holding up at the other leg and I I only pushed like a few times and because he was like I was crowning as I was getting off of the ambulance and I pushed and he came out. I didn't have a tear and he was healthy and six pounds eight ounces, and my OB was on the phone with the ER doctor and they she walked her through it and it was just great.
Anna: 22:39
And at that point I was just so as soon as I got off the ambulance I felt so much more relieved because I knew like, okay, this is all I had to get through. And now we're here and I actually one of the nurses that was in there had trained me to be a nurse when I was in school or fresh out of school, so I just was a little bit more comfortable because I was like at least there's somebody here that like I know and it's going to be okay and these are great nurses, so it was just perfect at that point. And then I got to like he latched immediately. We got to do skin to skin for an hour while we were waiting for transport to pick me up and take me to my hospital, like the birthing hospital, so it was just once.
Anna: 23:28
We got through the crazy part and it was just so intense, like it was just so perfect. Afterwards he like had no issues, he gained weight really fast, it was just great. So then postpartum has been going well for you. Postpartum this time was so much easier than it was with my first, because I didn't, I think because I didn't push for as long and I just I didn't have it an epidural and it was just. It was just perfect. I didn't bleed for as long this time around. My body kind of knew what to do at this point and it just worked out really great.
Angela: 24:14
So now, if you were to give?
Anna: 24:14
advice to someone who's expecting, or new parents, even what would you say? So I think and this is even advice for myself, I think because I, if I, I don't think we're going to have another baby, but if we did, I think I would definitely want to have a doula or a midwife and prepare myself for some sort of home birth. And I think it's just important to prepare yourself in like you might not end up with a hospital birth and you might not end up with the home birth that you are planning. So I think it's important to like kind of explore both options, and I didn't do that with either of my pregnancies. I just couldn't even fathom that I would have a precipitous birth like this. So I think it, you know, there's a lot of value in like preparing yourself or something like that.
Angela: 25:00
That's a great point that you just made.
Anna: 25:03
Yes, you really you think that you could know, know, and especially like your second time around, you're like, oh, I've done this before, like it could. I almost had like a more of a false sense of, like, I guess, knowledge and I really just had no idea that it I would have this experience this time around.
Angela: 25:20
yeah, it's really important to prepare, to kind of just let go of all the expectations and prepare for anything. Yes, definitely, well, thank you so much, anna, for sharing your stories today.
Anna: 25:32
Yeah, thank you so much. It was nice talking to you. Bye.
Angela: 25:38
And that's the end of another episode of the my Main Birth podcast. Thank you for joining me and listening. I hope that the stories shared here have been inspiring and informative to all of my listeners. If you're looking to capture your own birth story, I highly recommend considering my birth photography services. I'm a professional photographer and I'm very passionate about capturing the raw and emotional moments of the birthing process, and I designed a personalized and intimate photo album, creating a beautiful and lasting memory of one of the most special moments of your life. For more information, head over to mymainphotocom and schedule a call with me. Thanks again for tuning in and I look forward to bringing you more amazing birth stories. Don't forget to subscribe and leave me a review, and I'll see you back here again next week.