When Chloe reached out to me I felt like we had an instant connection, I could feel her passion for Medical informed consent, her anxiety going into pregnancy, her fears and worries about child birth. I knew that my approach to education, advocacy and nurturing spirit would be the best match and I am SO glad and honored that they chose me to be their GPS.
As the weeks turned into months we continued to build our relationship, build our trust in each other and got to know her wishes for this pregnancy. She was like a sponge, absorbing all the information she could, asking questions along the way, advocating for herself and her baby with such confidence that she actually inspired me. Not sure if she knows that yet but GIRL you did! See Chloe lost her Mother after Childbirth when she herself was still a young girl and it was due to Medical negligence. Something we often read about, see or even experience so I knew going in that we would need to really work on Fear release exercises and making sure that she felt supported and cared for was my most important mission.
Her "Due date" came and went and she advocated to hold off on an induction to give her body & baby time to get ready on it's own and it DID!!! Friday she had texted me while she was working, letting me know that she was having cramping like her period and passing some of her mucus plug. There is no such thing as TMI when it comes to working with me, sending me pictures at two am sometimes comes with the job title haha. As the day went on I continued to check in with her and things hadn't stopped. I was leaving Nashville after a Postpartum visit and called her around 6 pm and I could tell by her demeanor she was definitely in labor but still the Early phase. I encouraged her to rest if she could or use her shower/bath for some relief and snack and I would check in a hour to see how we were.
I started talking to her husband Nick the next check in which is a good sign for me because if she needed to focus on breathing rather than talking that typically means we are in labor. Continued to guide them while they labored at home, sending Nick his Labor Support cheat sheet which includes words of encouragement, position change reminders and reminding her to. use the bathroom. Her pattern got more consistent with Active labor and her Mucus plug started to become bloody which is allllll good signs of labor progressing.
Since they needed to drive to Vanderbilt they made the choice to head in around 11:34 pm just incase because she didn't want to be in transition and stuck sitting in a seat. Anyone who has done that will tell ya...YEAH GOOD choice. HEHE. Once they arrived to triage I left my house around 12:30 AM, gut feeling told me I might need to go in and just as I passed exit 24 Nick texted me letting me know she was 4cm 90% and baby was in 0 station (nice and LOW with a paper thin cervix). She was DOING great and I figured she was gonna go fast so I am so glad I headed in.
I arrived at 1:30 am and Chloe was needing to be monitored because baby boy wasn't having the variables (heart tones going up and down) they like to see. It is common for them to sleep but they wanted to also rule out other things because it CAN be a sign that the placenta isn't working at it's 100% potential and giving Mom fluids or sugar can rule out that. She was still able to unplug and go to the bathroom freely which was sooo nice because with a baby as low as he was there was NO more room left in her bladder plus the toilet is what I like to call the (Dilation Station). Chloe and Nick worked together as a team, swaying, squeezing hips, applying heat and other counter pressure moves I had taught them.
Around 5 am Chloe went to the Bathroom and I heard a pop/gush and she called me in, I confirmed visually that I thought her Amniotic fluid had broken on it's own and saw no signs of Meconium. YAY just one more thing her body was doing all on it's own!!! Fun fact my water NEVER broke on it's own with all five of my deliveries. Midwife's confirmed it was her Amniotic fluid with a little PH strip and we were all so excited that things were progressing on their own.
Chloe at this point had been awake for 26 hours with no naps and I could tell she was exhausted, she tried multiple different position changes looking for rest but unable to find it. She used Nitrous oxide gas as well and it did bring her some relief but still she wasn't able to rest. She requested her Epidural around 6:30 am knowing that she wanted to get some sleep to have energy to push later on. She had already received all of the Pros & Cons and we came up with a plan to help her body still move and work together to keep labor moving forward. Around 7:15 she got her Epidural and found some pain relief, I tucked Dad & Mom in and encouraged sleep for everyone.
Just as I closed my eyes, I heard Chloe groan out and rock, then she did it again and again and I realized she was still feeling discomfort. I got up to off some counter pressure and watched her pattern along with baby's heart. Both telling me we might be close to complete. I informed Chloe that she has her little button she can push but this STRONG Mama wanted to feel some so she could keep moving and not have to push on her back. Soon around 10:30 AM her Midwife came in and asked if she was okay with a check as Baby was indicating he might be ready to be born (He was having some decelerations during her contraction and recovering quickly, which can happen as baby moves down into the birth canal). She agreed and she was COMPLETE, 100% effaced and +1 station!!
Now even though she was complete, we can still allow her to "Labor down" meaning allowing her body to move baby down further into the canal without her pushing the whole time. This saves Mom's energy as long as baby tolerates this stage, babies RUN the world...I am telling ya. So for the next two hours we rested when tired and moved her around like a perfectly cooked rotisserie chicken. I have never had a Mama so determined in all my years, she took every single suggestion, every position change I suggested, she is seriously one of the strongest humans I know! At one moment she shared with me that the anniversary of her Mother's passing was approaching and I realized she needed a safe place to release. I let her know that her body had done an incredible job keeping her & her baby boy safe but now it was time to release. Sometimes emotional blockages can stall labor, after her allowed herself to feel all of those raw emotions her contractions came in strong and hard. She felt the constant pressure we were waiting for. It was time to start pushing!!
One hour turned into two, that turned into three and that lead into four hours of pushing. Working with her whole team of her Midwife, Doula, two nurses and her husband, we tried EVERYTHING. We had space in between where we encouraged rest, talking about choices as the problems arose. There was so much peace in the room, there wasn't a sense of panic, there was no sense of being bullied or sense of failure. We all racked our brains with outside the box ideas. I LOVE working with providers and nurses collectively.
Hour FIVE we called in an OB so we can have a second opinion on what the Midwife was feeling. Dr. Connor was his name, he came in with such love and understanding and that compassion was exactly what was needed. We called in her whole team to discuss her options and we gave evidence based information and time to talk. Chloe was diagnosed Pre-Eclamptic while in labor, her heart rate was increasing, her white blood cell count was high and baby hadn't moved out of the +1 station even after ALLLLLLLL of the incredibly hard work Chloe put into pushing.
Chloe & Nick made the choice along with her entire team to move forward with a C-Section. I know, heartbreaking and scary and her biggest fear was here and she was going to be forced to face it. The room was buzzing around as the team got ready and I could feel her fear, her Husband's fear and I with the permission of Chloe let her team know about her Mom. The room stopped, they slowed down to remember that they are about to operate on a Human being with emotions. Her Midwife told her that she would hold her hand until Nick could go in, Chloe reached out for me with tears in her eyes and asked if I was going to still be here. I said of course, I am not going anywhere, I quickly adjusted my camera settings for an OR and handed over my camera and hugged Chloe and Nick tightly and watched as they left.
I waited around eagerly looking for shadows of feet under the door, listening for anything that would alert me to information. Soon they returned to the room and I erupted in tears seeing that she was okay! She told me that once they got to the OR each person working her birth walked over and introduced themselves, yalllll when I say that made me sob I am not lying! The 2 mins they took out of their time to comfort her will forever be something that sticks with me and I am so glad I spoke up for her to remind them she is human.
They brought in NOT so little man (9.7 LBS and 22 inches) and I grabbed some pillows to help Mama latch. He DIDN'T need anyone's help hahaha he latched right on! Perfect flared out lips, no pain, it was amazing to watch!!! He nursed for about 40 mins while I was there and then it was Dad's turn for some skin to skin. I made sure all was well with this amazing family and then slipped out of the room and made my journey home after being there for 22 hours. I sent some PDF'S on C-Section recovery so they could have some great information on healing and tips and tricks.
Chloe wrote me the next day saying "Things didn't go 100% my way, but I was advocated for, I got to experience a lot of the natural side of things and interventions when needed. And then when my worst fear happened I believed you and trusted you. And ended up with a great surgical team. I was scared and worried about the C-Section but I am still proud I did it! And proud I really tried my hardest. And when it is all said and done I still felt safe. I will always tell everyone that they need a Doula and if they can they need you."
Chloe & Nick and Chloe's family who I knew where holding their breath these last 41 weeks, THANK you! Thank you for trusting me with your Daughter, with your Wife, with your Sister and friend. Being a small part of your Birth Story was such an honor and I love you all very much!!!