Fiona's Birth Story by Alice Duffy
Born on March 23rd at 11pm, 6lbs 0z, 19 inches

I was past my due date and 2 ½ weeks late, yet everyday I felt contractions thinking I was in labor. On the evening of March 22nd, I felt I was definitely going into labor. I called my midwife and she came to check how I was. My labor began at 5pm and she arrived at 7:30pm and decided it would be best to stay. My labor was slow and I was 1 cm dilated, but contractions were getting stronger. Once my midwife arrived, I began to settle in knowing I had a while to go.

I labored through out the night with prod Ronal labor. I continued to eat and drink as needed and tried to rest where possible. I was becoming very tired. The next day as the sun was coming up; I hit a gateway of great doubt. With no sleep, very little progress and still no baby feelings of doubt crept in. By dawn, I was dilated 5 centimeters and continued to move on and things looked good. The baby's heart rate was strong. To encourage the labor, I tried walking, lunging, taking a bath and walking again. I tried moving into different positions. As I labored, I continued to come up against moments of doubts. More tired and exhausted, I found it harder to keep my mental focus.

As I labored through the morning, my best friend came for support. Throughout the entire birthing process, my husband, Steve, was there by my side. He was my rock. Around 3 pm, my mother and midwife suggested that I take castor oil to help encourage contractions. It worked! My contractions grew stronger and it made me feel nauseous. I continued to labor and use the tools I learned from my yoga classes, birthing classes and midwife. I discovered that my favorite place to labor was in the bathroom and sitting on the toilet. I felt safe and it was private.

At around 7 pm I started over hearing my midwife and doula talking about the hospital. I did not understand because I felt my labor was still going well and making progress, yet slow. I was now at 7 centimeters. I began to question Why? Using my voice to grasp what was going on, I expressed that I did not want to go to the hospital, and as exhausted as I was, I wanted to keep going. At 9 pm I was given an IV to help with hydration. This really helped and encouraged my body into transition.

My midwife concluded that my babies head was turned on an angle. I was then asked to come into bed and lay down on my side which was very uncomfortable for me. My midwife had to manual place her head into position during contractions. Steve was by my side whispering loving things that I do not remember to this day. I knew I had to do this work and I wasn't aware of the time that was passing. I had to surrender my body and mind and allow the force of the contractions to take over.

The fog of labor began to ease, and I came back to reality a little bit. I rolled onto my back and I was completely dilated. I never imagined I would be in bed on my back, but there I was and ready to push. And as I prepared to push, my birthing team of came into the room and joined me around the bed. I used the energy, love and support of my birthing team. I was stronger than ever!! The strength of my body was incredible. I changed positions a couple of times and then moved to a birthing chair where I continued to push. I pushed for thirty minutes and the progress was rapid. After 3 pushes my midwife asked Steve if he wanted to catch the baby. With the next push, Fiona came out. Steve caught her and brought her to me immediately. This was a very special moment for Steve as he was the first person to hold her.

Huge relief poured over me. I was so pleased that this work was done. Holding her against my chest, I looked down into eyes. Experiencing how strong I could be in the face of the unknown and having incredible people believing in me and the process of birth.

We invite you to share your Birth Story with us!
Email Lisa Taggart at lisat@yogayoga.com