My Daughter's Birth Story

Right before heading to the hospital for my induction. My Mother in law and I on October 17th, 2010.

       

Just arrived to the hospital for my induction on October 17th, 2010.

I chose to write about the birth of my daughter because it was the greatest day of my life and a learning experience that I will never forget. There are not enough words to describe how I felt that day. My daughter’s due date was October 16th, 2010. At my 39 week appointment there was no progress as far as dilation/effacement so my Doctor scheduled an induction for October 17th, 2010 just in case she did not come on her own. Needless to say, she did not come on her own. I was induced at 7:00 P.M on October 17th, 2010.  We got to the hospital to find out that I was already in labor and I didn’t even know it!! Who knows how long I was actually in labor prior to that but I was glad that I had progressed some on my own. At 8:00 P.M, I was given Misoprostal (Cytotek) which is a pill that was placed near my cervix to help with induction. With the pill being inserted, I was asked to lay flat on my back for two hours without moving. Talk about being uncomfortable!! (Not to mention this caused a lot of back labor for me.) About 30-45 minutes after the pill was inserted I started having really painful contractions.

Having contractions...

      The first time that the Doctor checked me for dilation was a little over two hours after the pill was inserted and I was 1 ½ CM dilated at that time. Contractions began to increase in intensity. I was given an injection of pain medicine into my IV to suppress pain. The medicine only last one hour. Around 1:45 A.M on October 18th, 2010 my contractions became unbearable. I decided on the epidural. I was in labor over six hours before I decided I wanted to get the epidural. I was asked twice by the nurse if I wanted it before I even started hurting and I told her no. (I wanted to be brave and see if I could do it without the epidural) I waited as long as I could and then finally decided that it would be best to go ahead and do it. At the time that I decided I would get the epidural, all the anesthesiologists had gone home for the night. They called one that was on call and I waited about 45 minutes for him to arrive. (It felt like forever!)

     After I got the epidural, I was checked for dilation. At this point I was 3-4 CM dilated.  By 3:45 A.M, I was feeling some pain but at the same time I was able to rest comfortably. At this time, I was unable to go to the bathroom by myself so I was catheterized. By 6:10 A.M, I was a good 6 CM dilated. My water bag was bulging by this time too. At 7:55 A.M, I was 9 CM dilated. At 8:15 A.M, the Doctor decided to go ahead and break my bag of water for me. This is when I found out that the baby had a bowel movement. The Doctor told me how my daughter would have to be suctioned really good when she entered into the world. At 10:10 AM, the Doctor told me that I would be able to start pushing in 30 minutes. I started pushing at 11:15 A.M. Due to the epidural, I did not feel any pain, just some pressure but it was definitely bearable compared to what I was feeling before I got the epidural.

My husband and I... he was a trooper through it all!

     Towards the end of my delivery we had a frightening emergency. The Doctor had told me to stop pushing. She had to do an internal rotation. She reached her whole arm inside of me and was trying to pull the baby’s body out. Her head had been out at this point but her body had gotten stuck. (Especially her shoulder) I noticed that the Doctor was moving really fast trying to get the baby out but it wasn’t working. The nurse applied suprapubic pressure steadily for a few minutes and had applied rough downward traction on my upper abdomen to try and get the baby to move to a different position. Even after this frightening ordeal, Lailie Nevaeh Perry was born at 11:51 A.M.   She weighed 8 pounds, 9 ounces and was 20 inches long. Her head circumference was 14 CM. She was purple when she entered into the world; the Doctor says that she was stressed out due to having shoulder dystocia. Her left shoulder was lodged pretty good up above my pelvic bone. Shoulder dystocia often causes fractures, breakage of bones, brain damage and sometimes even death along with several other life long complications. Lailie didn’t suffer any of the above. Her shoulder ended up being okay and she was perfectly healthy!! What a blessing!! Keep in mind that my husband Ryan and his Mom Sharon accompanied me at the hospital the whole night and they were both in the delivery room with me.

Our little girl arrived at 11:51 AM on October 18, 2010.

     I had a wonderful pregnancy and I can’t complain about my labor/delivery either. The hospital staff took such good care of me, everyone was so friendly and made me feel really comfortable. I couldn’t have asked for a better Doctor to deliver Lailie and my nurse was so helpful. The Doctor told me that if Lailie would have been one ounce more that she would have had to do an emergency C-section. Thankfully I was able to give birth vaginally and was out of the hospital the next day. We were able to take Lailie home between 9:30-10:00 P.M on October 19th, 2010. This was her first time sleeping at home.  

1 day old...

        The first couple of days at home were really rough because Lailie had Jaundice and her numbers kept going up. We feared that she would have to be hospitalized and be put under the lights. She had several Doctors appointments within the first few days and kept having to go back to the hospital to have her heel pricked. Thankfully by the third or fourth day, we were told that her numbers had drastically decreased and she no longer had Jaundice. What a relief!! When Lailie was just a few days old she had to have the bottom of her tongue clipped. She was what is called “Tongue tied” meaning her tongue was a little too short. If we didn’t get this clipped she would have experienced problems with feeding and speech later on down the road. Her tongue is now able to reach her lips and is a normal size.     

On the way home for the first time...

      Lailie’s umbilical cord fell off on November 1st, 2010 when she was exactly two weeks old. In her one month of life the only problem we have had so far is dealing with umbilical granuloma. Umbilical granuloma is a small piece of bright red, moist flesh that remains in the umbilicus after cord separation when normal healing should have occurred. It is a small piece of scar tissue, usually on a stalk, that did not become normally covered with skin cells. It contains no nerves and has no feeling. Depending upon when they are more flat or berry-like, these things are either cauterized with silver nitrate, tied off with a suture and allowed to wither and drop off, or just plucked off with a clamp and cauterized. At her one month appointment, her Pediatrician went ahead and used the silver nitrate on her belly button. It took a few weeks to clear up but it did improve.

Taking her for a walk- her first Thanksgiving... a few days after she was born.

One of Lailie's one year pictures...

       Lailie Nevaeh is now 14 months old and the smartest, most beautiful girl I've ever met! 

Lailie at 13 months old... one of her Christmas pictures.

There’s a little about my personal childbirth story of delivering my daughter who is such a blessing and we are currently in the process of trying to conceive another baby!!


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GIVING BIRTH IN ALASKA

Before giving birth in Alaska there are a few things you should know: 

1.)  "Explore your options. Did you know that in Alaska you have the choice of using a midwife in the hospital, a free-standing birth center, an O.B. in the hospital or even a home birth?  Did you know that Denali Kid Care (Medicaid) will pay for a birthing center or home birth?  Most people are surprised to hear that there are 7 free-standing birthing centers in Alaska.  Some communities in Alaska have a wide variety of birth options while others have very limited care."  ("New Book “Birthing in Alaska: A Modern Woman’s Guide”")

2.)  Choose your Doctor wisely. In Alaska, your birth outcome depends on the provider that you choose and the location of your provider. If you choose a high intervention Doctor, you are at a higher risk of a complicated birth. If you hire a low intervention O.B, general practitioner, or midwife, you will have a much higher chance of having a normal birth.

3.) Make your memories of your birth last a lifetime!

4.) "Hire a doula! Doctors, nurses, and midwives don’t have the time to give you all the support you need in labor.  A doula is a labor support professional that gives you emotional, physical, and informational support throughout your labor, start to finish.   Women who hire doulas enjoy shorter labors, experience less pain, end up with less surgical births, and have more success in early parenting and breastfeeding." ("New Book “Birthing in Alaska: A Modern Woman’s Guide”")

5.) Relax!

The good news: Fewer teens are giving birth in Alaska!

Reference:

. "AlaskaBirth." New Book “Birthing in Alaska: A Modern Woman’s Guide”. N.p., 12, 07, 2011. Web. 12 Jan 2012. <http://alaskabirthnetwork.org/archives/tag/alaska>.