My Four Births
Four kids, four very different birth stories! I've given birth by c-section, by induction with epidural, and by spontaneous unmedicated labor, all in hospital settings. Enjoy!
Summary:
After 29 hours of labor, including 2 hours of pushing, with an imperfect epidural and Pitocin augmentation, an unscheduled c-section is performed, resulting in a 9lb., 1oz., baby boy. Complications from the c-section include severe blood loss resulting in transfusion, breastfeeding difficulties leading to breastfeeding cessation, and delayed postpartum hemorrhage.
Read the full story here: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV
Read the story from a different perspective, in "Baby N's Birth from His Father's Point of View"
SB's Birth - December 17, 2008Summary:
Pregnancy-induced hypertension leads to an emergency Pitocin induction at 37 weeks, 6 days, leading to fears that my hoped-for VBAC would not become reality. Fortunately, a seven-hour labor with an excellent epidural leads to a successful VBAC after only 39 minutes of pushing, although an episiotomy is necessary at the end. There is an immediate postpartum hemorrhage controlled with medications but no further complications. Baby boy was 7lbs., 6oz.
Read the full story here: Part I, Part II
Summary:
A textbook pregnancy results in a spontaneous labor at 39 weeks, 5 days. After just four hours in the hospital, a drug-free birth (with just 17 minutes of pushing and another episiotomy) results in a healthy, 8lb., 3.5oz., baby boy. No postpartum complications.
Read the full story here.
YM's Birth - October 21, 2013
Summary:
A fourth pregnancy comes to a close on a tense timetable, with a spontaneous but stuttering labor at 39 weeks, 6 days that suddenly speeds up once we reach the hospital. After just an hour in the hospital, pushing in a rather unconventional position, a healthy baby boy is born at 8lbs., 6oz., in an unmedicated, surprising delivery.
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Attending A Friend's Birth: Me, the Doula?Summary:
I was asked to be a support person for a good friend of mine when giving birth to her second child. My view as a third party in a vaginal birth with an epidural, augmented by Pitocin, with a very fast transition and pushing stage.
Read the full story here.
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Reader Birth Story: A Precipitous Birth
Summary:
Snehal's number one concern during pregnancy was that she would be in labor and not know it. Premonition or coincidence? What's it like to give birth without feeling the pain of labor?
Read the full story here.
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Reader Birth Story: A Natural Birth in 1981
Summary:
Lynne was determined to give birth naturally and exclusively breastfeed her baby. After 26 hours of hard labor, her daughter was born and whisked off to the NICU, in need of a blood transfusion! Read Lynne's inspiring story of giving birth to her daughter, Jessica (yes, this Jessica) over 30 years ago.
Read the full story here.
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If you would like to share your birth story on my site, I would welcome guest posts. Please email me at jessicaonbabies (at) gmail (dot) com.
Hi Jessica,
ReplyDeleteCan you help an awareness project? Please make a public service announcement. April is Testicular Cancer Awareness Month. The media don't discuss it. They’re not interested in male health concerns. Some people find the topic too uncomfortable to discuss. This prevents the information from getting heard.
Please make a video on YouTube and an item on your website on testicular cancer and its awareness month. You can save lives. All men and boys need to know that they should perform monthly testicular self-exams, just as women check themselves for breast cancer. It's the most common cancer in young men, usually occurring between the ages of 15 and 35, but it can strike at any age. If it's not caught in time, it will kill. Babies and little boys have died of it.
Please tell people you don't need to be an expert to talk about it. You don't have to have testicles to talk about it – men and women (especially mothers of boys) both can spread awareness. If you can just tell people that anyone who does have testicles is at risk, and that they should perform monthly self-checks to catch it early, that's what counts.
There are videos on YouTube which teach testicular self-exams. They're rarely viewed. That needs to change! Tell people that these how-to videos exist, and that everyone should watch them.
Please explain that funding is needed for testicular cancer research and awareness, too. Men's and boys' health has been ignored by our society for far too long.
Thank You,
Scooter