Jacob Ryan's Story

It was the morning of May 11, 1998 and I awoke with mild contractions that were eight minutes apart. I had my weekly appointment that day so I figured I would let my OB know what was happening when I went in. When I went to the bathroom, I discovered that I had lost my mucus plug and since this was my first baby, I wasn't sure what to do. I called my husband (who is in the Marine Corps and was stationed four hours away) and told him what was going on. He decided it was time for him to come home.

My doctor's appointment was at 11:00 a.m. but I got ready and went a little early. When my doctor examined me, he said my cervix was still closed and it might not even be until the next week that I would have my baby! I was disappointed because I didn't want my husband to come home and then have to turn right around to go back.

By the time my husband arrived home, my contractions were six minutes apart and I had started bleeding. The bleeding got worse with every contraction. I called my doctor and left a message and when my call was returned, my contractions were four to five minutes apart. The doctor told me to come to the hospital and have the bleeding checked out.

My contractions were getting even closer and more intense. When we got to the birth center, I was examined right away, only to find that I wasn't dilated. I was really frustrated and getting tired so the doctor said he would monitor me for an hour to see if I would progress; if I didn't, they would send me home. I thought there was no way they were going to do that! I was bleeding heavily and would soak a pad in a half an hour.

By 7:30 p.m. I finally got to two centimeters and I was so thrilled to know something was happening. The doctor suggested an epidural so I could rest. He anticipated that I would not deliver until the middle of the night or early morning. My husband was starving and went to get something to eat. As I waited for my epidural, my water broke and I was now at four centimeters!

My husband came back just in time to comfort me while the epidural was put in. I didn't feel a thing and was quite surprised! But now with the epidural, the baby's heart rate was not going back up after each contraction. They were moving me in all positions trying to get his heart rate back up. It was looking like an emergency C-section when all of a sudden the baby was fine! The doctor checked to see if the cord was wrapped around his neck but couldn't tell. He did say I was at eight centimeters and would be pushing real soon! What happened to the middle of the night? It was only 10:00 p.m. and I had just gotten the epidural and couldn't feel a thing!

They set me up with legs in the air and told me to push but I couldn't feel a thing to know if I was pushing. I was just going by what I thought was right. Then, after three pushes and the help of the vacuum cup, he was out and screaming! Our baby boy, Jacob, was born and on my chest! My husband could not stop telling me how beautiful he was. We both sobbed and smiled as we had just experienced the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to us–the birth of our son.