The Birth Story of my friend, Rachel
I met Rachel last winter in a friend's kitchen. Pregnant with her second child, I was so happy to talk to her. I just crystalized the idea for my new business OMazing Birth and was excited to share my ideas and knowledge with anyone relevant. Rachel and I connected immediately. I invited her to be my prenatal yoga student and for the next few months, we practiced yoga together in my living room or at her house. Rachel's local midwife wrapped up her career in the middle of Rachel’s pregnancy and she was not sure who or where she was going to deliver the baby. But she loved her doula Robyn Carter and completely trusted her. Rachel felt confident that as long as Robyn was at her birth, she was would be fine. She jokes that the best thing that she ever did was marry her husband Justin. The second, was to hire Robyn! I completely understand as Robyn is my teacher, mentor and friend. She is the best!
I woke up on Labor Day and Matt (my husband) asked me if I had any work to do. “Labor Day, get it?” Ha….What do you know?? My phone rang later that day at 3:45p and it was Robyn Carter. She needed my help as she was stuck in Labor Day traffic. Could I go to the Park City Hospital to support her client, Rachel Bieber? “Yes, I replied! I know her and I’d love to help” I changed my clothes quickly and hit the road. I called Robyn back at twenty minutes later from the hospital parking lot and learned that Rachel was 8cm dilated and begging for an epidural. Robyn would be there shortly but I was instructed to go upstairs to the 2nd floor and look for the two nurses on call, Robin and Sarah. I smiled at our birth team: 2 Robins and 2 Sarahs.
When I arrived on the second floor I heard Rachel laboring and walked into her room. Rachel was draped over the back of the bed and Nurse Sarah rubbed her back. Her husband Justin held her hand and repeated encouraging and positive words with every contraction. Rachel was coping without any medication.
I hopped right in with my support. Justin gave me a quick hug, thanked me for coming and we went to work. Rachel knew she wanted pressure on her hips so I squeezed her hips. She was moaning, breathing hard and throwing F bombs, typical for a woman in transition. About 10-15 minutes later, Robyn walked in and Rachel was “complete” meaning she was 10 centimeters dilated and ready to push.
“How much longer will this take? I want an epidural!” Rachel said. The doctor on call, Dr Falk explained that the baby would be here before the effect took place and to hang in there. We turned Rachel over on her side and then back on her hands & knees. Rachel’s contractions subsided as her body took a break. For several minutes Rachel closed her eyes. It is natural for there to be a break in between the 1st and 2nd stage of labor (dilation & pushing) Justing wiped her forehead with a cool cloth and we waited.
Rachel turned over on her back and she felt extraordinary sensation. Robyn reminded her of her strength. I reminded her of her breath. Justin encouraged her to “get this done". Dr Falk patiently waited and rubbed oil on her perineum, something I have only seen midwives do. Oil helps to stretch the perineum to help avoid tearing.
Once Rachel had the urge to push she worked with her contractions and used her power to “bear down”. It wasn’t long before we could see her baby’s head and hair. At that point and for the next few minutes, Rachel gave all that she had and pushed. The sensations were intense. She felt everything and used her mindfulness to focus.
Her baby boy arrived at 5:15pm and immediately went to Rachel’s chest for skin-to-skin bonding. Rachel closed her eyes. She was exhausted and relieved. Nurse Sarah wiped the baby off and Justin asked to keep some of the white “stuff” on him - vernix is what is called. Justin cut the umbilical cord after it stopped pulsing. I over heard Justing tell his son that they would take good care of him which made me tear up.
The final stage of labor is delivering the placenta which Rachel did a little while later. Without any medication, this too was sensational. Robyn and I tapped her shoulders and reminded her that this was the end. She was no longer pregnant. Rachel did not have any tearing nor need stitches. I was truly impressed with how Rachel followed the intuition of her body to birth her baby boy. She stayed in the hospital over night and was home the next day. She said that Park City Hospital was a positive experience.
I visited with Rachel last week to meet Parker and check in with how she was feeling. Her recovery has been great although she is exhausted. Babies can confuse night and day making it hard to function in a world that sleeps through the night. I was really interested in how she ended up at the hospital since I thought she was planning a birth center or home birth.
She said that she had been going to the doctors in Park City for well-checks and had to really push back on being induced at 39 weeks. That is the protocol for her age and anyone over 35 years old. She knew that she did not want to be induced and was able to go to her due date. She was still considering a home birth with a midwife, but due to her intense labor she ended up at the hospital.
On Monday morning, the day her son was born, she hiked up the PC Hill which is pretty steep 45 minute hike. She came home and her husband wanted to go on a bike ride. She had a feeling that was not a good idea and asked him to stay home, and he did. It was a good thing because she started contracting. Rachel took a bath and the contracts became more severe. Laying on the bathroom floor, she told Justin to call Robyn, their doula. At that point, they decided they needed to go to the hospital and Rachel decided at that point she was going to have an epidural.
However, her body labored so quickly and so the story goes, there was no time for an epidural. Instead she had the support of two doulas, two fantastic nurses, a caring doctor and her loving husband Justin. It was all the comfort that she needed to birth her baby boy.
