As a birth worker who has witnessed countless births, I had a very specific vision for my own. I’ve spent my entire life imagining the experience, and planning what my “dream birth” would look like. My ideal scenario involved contractions waking me in the night, allowing me to spend most of my labor in the comfort of my own home. Then, I would arrive at the hospital just in time to birth my baby, dodging any chance of intervention.

If you’ve experienced or witnessed birth, you likely know our bodies and babies have the ultimate say in how it all unfolds. So with that being said, here is how it actually went down.

A few days before I hit 41 weeks, my blood pressure (BP) started creeping up. My OBGYN told me to rest over the weekend and check it at home. 

It was even higher at home a few hours later, only worsening with each additional reading (hello anxiety)! I had a slight headache, so I called the on-call OB. He sent me to the hospital for evaluation. 

We checked on the baby, had labs drawn, and monitored my BP for a few hours. Everything looked good! My contractions were coming every few minutes. I felt them, but they weren’t painful. They discharged us, with instructions to rest and wait for labor to start. 

Over the next few days, I tried all the things to encourage labor. This included two membrane sweeps between 40-41 weeks, which I wasn’t too happy about. However, this was my informed choice, as I was hoping to avoid a medical induction. I experienced prodromal labor for several days. Each night I was sure it would be it! 

At 40 weeks & 6 days, I noticed I was starting to swell for the first time in pregnancy. We were booked for an induction the next day, but I debated if it was the right decision. I desperately wanted to go into spontaneous labor. 

Given the elevated BP, headache, and swelling, I decided to move forward with the induction. This decision included many tears and breakdowns. However, I wanted to avoid the potential for preeclampsia, leading to magnesium infusion, and more and more interventions. 

At 41 weeks, we arrived slightly after 0800 for our induction. It was extremely busy, so there weren’t enough nurses for me to have 1:1 care. This is the standard for a patient on pitocin.

We settled in, and they attempted my IV. It took three tries and ultrasound guidance due to my worsening swelling. I was 2cm on admission. 

Around 1300, I was placed on the monitor. I had been crying because I felt so defeated…this really wasn’t what I wanted. The longer I waited, the more I was reminded of this.

At 1400, pitocin was started; I was already having mild contractions. The pitocin was increased per protocol until my contractions were consistent. 

Around 1715, my sister-in-law came to visit and lift my spirits. My water immediately broke when she walked in. She was my good luck charm 🍀  

The contractions started to pick up, but weren’t painful. I used the birth ball, danced, had some snacks, listened to birth affirmations, and set my mindset straight. 

Things started to get more intense around 2100. It was difficult to find a comfortable position, so I decided to get in the shower. Hydrotherapy is always my go to for pain relief. 

The nurses helped me get comfortable (shout out to the best nurses)! I stayed in the shower for a while, and entered labor-land. 

I was getting very vocal and repeating the same phrases over and over during contractions (my mantras were hilarious looking back). 

My son kept coming off the monitor, and they didn’t have a good tracing for a while. My birth team wanted to make sure his heart rate wasn’t dropping. I briefly got back in bed so they could do a cervical exam. 

I was 5cm. Things were intense! I thought, what if this continues for another day?! The exhaustion was already setting in because I wasn’t comfortable in bed or without movement. 

I remember saying to my nurse and good friend, “I don’t want to get an epidural!” She replied something along the lines of, “then don’t! It’s either do or don’t, right?” That was exactly the tough love I needed in that moment. She was right. Mind over matter. I also repeated “the only way out is through.”

I got back in the shower, and soon felt the urge to push. So I asked to be checked again. I was 8cm. 

The pressure was SO intense, I couldn’t differentiate between sensations anymore. I labored on the toilet (dilation station) and was involuntarily pushing with each contraction. The nurses were worried I would cause trauma if I pushed too soon. But I felt my body was ready. 

This went on for a while, and then it felt like he was coming. FAST. I wanted to spare my nurse from a solo delivery on the toilet…so we made our way to the bed. 

The doctor and charge nurse got there at the last minute. Everyone worked to get situated because things were happening fast. The charge nurse (also a family friend) told me I needed to really focus for a minute so we could do things safely. That snapped me back into reality enough to push in a coordinated way. 

The doctor (my favorite!) turned to get his gown on right as I had another contraction. Baby was coming, ready or not! He turned back around, realizing there was no time for that! I pushed harddd and my baby boy came out fast and furious. 

He was placed right on my chest. Alert, screaming, and as healthy as can be, at 0007. 

From the start of the induction, to my son in my arms, was 10 hours. I went from uncomfortable (5cm) to birth in about 2.5 hours. Despite needing an induction, I achieved my dream unmedicated, (mostly) low intervention birth. 

We had our uninterrupted golden hour, and my son started breastfeeding right away. All of our wishes were respected and honored. It was a beautiful experience.