Elizabeth's Birth Story - Part 3

We had prepared for and anticipated a fully natural birth, but it became apparent that we would need to adjust our expectations. The general minimum guideline for the opening of the cervix is ½ cm per hour, or 2 cm every four hours. With Catherine only at 4 cm but nearing a “10” on the pain scale, 12 more hours of labor to get her to 10 cm was too much to handle. And with that, we sent for the Anesthesiologist and his “glorious epidural.”

Now, I won’t get into the gory details about what the administration of the epidural is like, but there’s something very sobering about watching a mini dagger getting jabbed into your spouse’s spine, followed by another set of needles and tubes. This was the first instance where I realized that life-altering complications had joined the odds on the table. Yikes. I offered another earnest prayer to Heavenly Father that Catherine and baby would be preserved and protected. I was still a little uneasy, but not so much that I couldn’t watch the procedure in mesmerized awe.

The epidural procedure, though sobering, was amazing to watch and went without a hitch. It wasn’t until later, however, that I learned how difficult this was for Catherine. She was heavy into her contractions, but she was forced to sit up, straight, and still for the entire procedure. It took all of her willpower to be still through her swelling contractions, but she knew that she had no other choice but to endure the pain.

By 11:45 AM, the epidural was in, Catherine’s vitals were strong, and you should have seen the smile on her face. Epidurals typically slow the whole labor process down, so Catherine decided that she would try to get some sleep. I sent out a text message to Mark and Beverly (the proud Grandparents) preparing them for an 8:00 PM arrival. Now we wait. I stayed with Catherine to make sure she was keeping hydrated and comfortable. I figured I would take my chances sleeping in the chair rather than the majlis this time around. However, not an hour passed before things started to get very interesting.

Around 12:45 PM, one of the nurses came in and informed us that they would need to administer an internal baby monitor because the CTG wasn’t registering baby’s heart beat. My heart sank again, as we had specifically asked in the birth plan that an internal monitor not be used. I was completely at peace about baby’s health, and this seemed like more a nuisance than an aid to the process. We reluctantly agreed and Aileen, a Philippina nurse came in to do another vaginal check in preparation.

As she performed the check, she muttered under her breath, “mash’allah,” which means “blessings from God” in Arabic. She smiled and told us that she wouldn’t need to put the monitor in because Catherine was not only fully dilated to 10 centimeters, but baby was in the birth canal ready to be delivered (which explained why they couldn’t get a read on her heartbeat). Wow! What was all that stuff about 2 cm every four hours??? Two hours from the last check, Catherine had dilated from 4 cm to 10 cm, or 3 cm per hour. Having endured nearly 13 hours of natural labor and well into her transition contractions, the epidural was the perfect capstone to help her body relax and prepare for the push.

The adrenaline started to rush as we realized that birthing time was right around the corner. At 1:00 PM, I called Mark and Beverly to let them know that they could expect to meet their grand-daughter way ahead of schedule. When I came back to the room, Catherine was already in the “push position” and it was go time. We were both exhausted, but the excitement in the room heightened as the veil began to thin.

Nurse Aileen

Midwife Minnie, Nurse Bincy

Anesthesiologist Dr. Singh