THE EXTRAORDINARY BIRTH OF E!

This birth story is written by CFYC's own Erin Rosenberg,  once a student and now a teacher!  I remember Erin coming to class when she was barely pregnant and now baby E is running the halls of CFYC! Erin is sharing her birth story with you in the hopes that it will inspire and inform you.  I love her story because it shows that sometimes, you find yourself dealing with the unexpected during your labor, but you can still find your beautiful birth experience in the midst of that.  I believe that yoga teaches us many great things for labor, but also for life.  Read on to find how Erin found acceptance and peace when her birth plan changed. 

Namaste,
Meliea

It was a Tuesday and I was overdue. I was ready for my baby girl to get here, make her appearance and let me start loving her in person. My mother was also in town… so off we went to the hospital to be “augmented” (my mother really couldn’t wait any more). 

The doctors had told me to get to the hospital around 6am and that the whole process could take 24-48 hours. I told my husband to go to work in the morning cause we would probably just be sitting there. So he helped get me checked in and then went to work.  I was hooked up to a monitor that charted my contractions at about seven minutes apart.  I was feeling nothing and had no clue I was even in labor.   A good friend came by and we chatted the whole morning, no big thing, entertaining guests and laboring at the same time.   All in a days work.  

My doctor had come in at 8:30am and we had decided to go ahead and break my water. It just felt like I urinated all over the bed and continued to for awhile. Around 11am my friend left and I was desperate to get out of bed. My contractions were starting to get stronger and more uncomfortable. My mom helped get me onto the birth ball  Oh the agony!  I just couldn't get comfortable.  Nothing was helping.  I finally found myself on all fours with my only relief being my mother’s hands massaging my low back. “This is back labor I’m in” I thought, "crap."  I remembered in my birthing classes that they talked about this. The back of her head was pressing against the base of my spine, causing immense back pain. I was doubled over a bucket, sure I was going to vomit from the pain.  

Let me back things up a bit. We had gone into this day with a very loose birth plan. I wanted a natural childbirth but was open to an epidural if needed.  If a C-section was medically necessary then I guess I was open to that too. What ever it would take to get her out safely we were on board for.  I had taken every birthing class I could, read books, and knew things were going happen the way they were supposed to and I was at peace with that.  I had started taking prenatal yoga when I was just 5 weeks pregnant and had kept myself in good shape during the pregnancy. I felt strong and capable going into that day. I had done all I could do to prepare myself for what was to come. 

But I didn’t plan on back labor.  My husband got to the hospital around 12:45pm and tried to take over for my mother, which I promptly shut down because he wasn’t massaging my back right. Poor guy. The nurse had come in once before and asked if I wanted an epidural. I turned her away. No, I could do this. My contractions were getting closer together, only two minutes apart now. I thought, “Any time, two minutes right, that’s like some magic number, I must be close to pushing.” My nurse told me it could be like that “for a long time”. What did that mean, “a long time” – minutes, hours, days? The thought of it was almost enough to send me over the edge.  I felt like if I only knew how long then I could get through it, but the thought of countless hours doubled over a puke bucket was more than I could take. “Please get the anesthesiologist in here as soon as possible”, I said. He came, he poked, he delivered the goods, and I was happy as a clam. My doctor came in to check me and I was only 3 cm. Despite all that madness I had only dilated 1 cm (I came into the hospital at 2cm). Thank goodness I had already had the epidural when he delivered that news. 

So we popped in a DVD and got comfy. I was relaxed, finally. And in an hour and a half I went from 3cm to 9.5cm.  I think the epidural was just what I needed to relax and let my body do the work.

At 4:30pm I started pushing.  I must admit, despite staying fit and all my yoga squats I was an inefficient pusher. I just wasn’t doing it right. When I finally got the hang on it (and they mentioned the vacuum), I started making progress. It took me an hour and forty-five minutes of pushing, and the help of a vacuum to deliver her. She was 8 lbs. 12 oz., 21 inches long and a big ole head. She was beautiful

Looking back at the process and my pregnancy I couldn’t have asked for either to go any better. I had a wonderful birth experience, it went relatively quick, and everyone came out of it healthy. I pushed for a very long time, but never felt tired if you can believe it. I owe that to the power of my yoga practice. All those malasana and goddess squats prepared me to push for that long. The best decision I made was to go into the experience knowledgeable about the type of birth I wanted, but open to the possibility that it may not go the way I envisioned, and to be okay with that, to not be hard on myself for getting the epidural.

Charlotte Family Yoga Center’s Prenatal Program gave me a community, a place to make friends, a place to ask questions, learn about the birth process, listen to those who had gone before me share their experiences, practice my birthing breath, be challenged, and de-stress all at the same time.  Pregnancy and the birthing process is such a magical time in your life, do all that you can to enjoy it. Because before you know it, your baby will be a toddler!