by Trish Wilkinson
I’ve been asked to share some birth stories, but is a delicate balance in sharing a beautiful experience and invading privacy. Therefore, every story I share has been approved and permitted by each mom and her support system.
Sarah Williams is now my postpartum doula partner, but we initially met as birth doula and client. Sarah had a healthy pregnancy, and she and Ryan had decided they wanted their baby “caught” by the certified nurse midwives at Carle. As she approached 42 weeks gestation, Sarah was encouraged to have some assistance in getting labor started with Cervidil overnight, then starting Pitocin in the morning.
While both were comfortable with the decision to induce, they wanted me to accompany them to the hospital to help them get settled. I went eventually left with the plan that if labor did not get going overnight, that I would join them in the morning when Pitocin would be introduced.
I arrived the next morning with Sarah and Ryan up, both having showered and breakfasted. Pitocin was started, and we began doing movement and activities that would hopefully facilitate the labor progressing.
Sarah had no difficulty using positions and gravity to help her labor along. She particularly liked the birth ball and the rebozo in relieving some of the discomfort she was feeling as the baby came down. Meanwhile, Ryan was nothing short of wondrous in his support of his wife — and that was as he was suffering from an awful cough!
Sarah was remarkable in the way she worked with each contraction, but as they became more intense and were exacerbated by the fact that she was vomiting, she chose to get a half dose of Nubain through her IV. She was able to lay down and rest in between contractions, and it helped her progress to 10 centimeters. The baby was down far enough that Sarah could feel the urge to push, so the birth team were there to cheer her on!
Sarah was fabulous at pushing, but also kept us in stitches. She would relax in between contractions, saying to herself “I can’t do this! I’m not going to be able to push out this baby!” Then, she would turn around and say,“Yes, you are! You can do this!” I told her later she reminded me of the Golem character in the “Lord of the Ring” movies, when his dual sides were arguing with each other. But it was incredible, and she really was her own cheerleader!
Another memorable moment came as Sarah’s baby was crowning. It is one of the longest marathons of crowning I have personally witnessed. That baby sat there for somewhere around 20 or 30 minutes. All through it , the baby was reacting wonderfully, so the midwife was patient and encouraging, using massage to support the area. There was a point where she offered to do an episiotomy if Sarah wanted to just get it done, but did not push Sarah to agre.. Sarah declined, and kept on her birth path.
Then we began to see more head, and that baby suddenly emerged — a beautiful baby girl! Ryan was even able to help the midwife lift her onto Sarah, and the new family was born, and Hannah met the parents who had loved her since her creation.
Married for 24 years and the mother of two boys ages 18 and 14 (first born by unplanned cesarean; the second was a VBAC), Trish was a child and family therapist for 15 years before becoming a doula in 2001. She started Tree of Life Doula Services and Birth Resources in 2005 and has attended more than 250 births, including cesareans. She is a certified doula through Doulas of North America, as well as licensed clinical social worker for the state of Illinois.