Maya's Birth Story by Sveta
Born December 8th, 2007

It was 2:30 am on the 5th day of my 36th week of my first pregnancy, and I woke up in a puddle. And a muddle. Somehow it did not even occur to me that my water had broken. It was much too soon, I had not even packed my hospital bag! Also, it was not the kind of water breaking you see on TV. Not even my sheets were wet, and just the discomfort had woken me. Just to be on the safe side I called the doctor. She told me to come in to the hospital via the emergency room entrance. I asked her "And what should I tell them, that I feel liquidy?"

For some reason, as my husband Johann and I left the house, I felt I should grab my hypno-birthing CDs. He grabbed a couple of his things also. So it was, at 3 am we arrived at Seton Southwest Hospital with a laptop, a camera and hypno-birthing CDs!

As luck would have it, the labor and delivery rooms at SSW were all full, which is terribly ironic because one of the reasons I chose to have my baby there was because I liked the rooms. We were put in a tiny triage room. The nurse confirmed that my water had indeed broken and I was 3 cm dilated. I spent the next half hour arguing with her that it could not be the case. After all, this was the weekend that we were planning to finish everything! We did not have baby socks or wipes, the baby's clothes were not washed and the pictures not up in her room! But it soon became apparent that we would have to get this show on the road. I called my friend Kristen, who was the person besides my husband that I would allow to be in the room during the birth, and my best friend Jennifer. I gave them instructions on all the baby things I had not finished yet, knowing that they would take care of everything.

Johann went home to grab a few things. Before he left, he put the hypno-birthing "Birth Affirmations" CD into the laptop. It began with a reminder that this was going to be a glorious day…I was going to become a mother this very day! I relaxed and stopped making lists in my head. I said a prayer and became determined that I was going to have the best birthing experience that I could possibly have. Since the contractions were mild, I decided to rest and listen to the CD. When Johann returned a couple hours later I hardly knew he was there. I remember the nurse telling him that I was "in the zone." At 7 am when the nurses changed shifts, I heard the outgoing nurse say to the incoming one, "this patient is listening to the neatest CD."

Johann and I spent the next hours "laboring." We walked a lot, I got on the bed to squat and do pelvic tilts. A position I liked was "wall dog" with Johann massaging my lower back. I also spent a lot of time sitting on the toilet and reading Ina May Gaskin's "Guide to Childbirth," which my friend Nicole had lent me and which was full of positive birth stories. At 9 am the doctor checked me and told me that I was still at 3 cm. She offered Pitocin, but Johann and I decided that, at this point, we would still like to try for an unmedicated birth. At 2:30 pm, and after some much stronger contractions, I was still at 3 cm. Bearing in mind that it had been 12 hours since my water had broken, we decided to go ahead with Pitocin. Before this, we were moved to our "proper" room, at last! With the Pitocin, I labored for the next three hours, mainly sitting on the toilet. It was so private and peaceful and I loved it. I used a crucifix on the wall in the room as my 'focal point' for contractions. It really made me feel like God was watching over us.

However, by 5:30 in the evening I was still only 3.5 cm dilated. I knew it was time to increase the Pitocin, but I was getting tired, especially since I had not eaten since the night before. We decided to get an epidural before moving on. The greatest test of my endurance was getting the epidural during a contraction, but there was no avoiding this because the contractions were coming so fast. I remember Johann holding onto my feet as the needle went into my spine. The epidural was remarkable, because it was the antithesis of what I had expected. It took away the discomfort but not the pressure. Within an hour I went from 3.5 cm to 10 cm. At 7:05 the doctor told me, "We'll be out of here by 8." Well, Maya was born at 7:24! I pushed through just a few contractions, and I was surprised that even with the epidural I could feel exactly when I needed to push. I remembered what my friend Veronica told me about it feeling like: "It's the biggest dump of your life" and that's exactly right. I loved pushing! It was exhilarating and so empowering. After Maya crowned, with the next push I felt the rest of her body slide out of me. It was the most incredible feeling. When the doctor saw her she said, "This baby is itty bitty." Indeed, she was a tiny 5lbs 10oz, but just perfect with a head full of thick black hair and extremely long fingernails. The doctor told me that I had "pushed like a champ." That comment was extremely affirming to me! Johann cut the cord, and after I had delivered the placenta Johann (who had been just amazing this whole birthing time) asked to examine it. I decided to pass! I was too busy demanding that I be given some dinner!

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Email Lisa Taggart at lisat@yogayoga.com