Sarah's Birth Story

I'm 37 years old and my husband is 59 years old. After already having children from previous marriages we never thought that there would be problem having children. I have a 17-year-old son and my husband has grown children (also grandchildren). We have secondary fertility, which is where the couple has children, but want more children to love. In 1987, when I had irregular periods and weird hair growth, I was diagnosed with polycystic ovaries. I was told to lose weight and my husband began to wear boxer shorts, but still no baby. When my husband's insurance changed, we decided we needed more aggressive fertility treatments. So in 1995 I had a laproscopy and it was discovered my right fallopian tube had scarring and my husband's urologist said he had a low sperm count with poor motility. I thought "oh no, not another hurdle." I'll never take my fertility for granted again. First we tried four cycles with Clomid and artificial insemination, but no success. Then we resorted to in vitro fertilization with injection of the sperm into the egg. We used injections of Follisitim, did the blood tests, and follicle scans. The first IVF attempt in 1996 failed. The second attempt in 1997 was successful and we even had a second gestational sac, which disappeared, and progesterone levels dropped drastically so we nearly had a miscarriage in the first trimester. Our son was born with birth defects, which were mostly corrected by surgeries. Our third IVF attempt in April 2000 surprisingly went very well, no threat of miscarriage, the hormone levels were high, and morning sickness wasn't too bad. We still had to insert vaginally the progesterone suppositories. We even had enough embryos this time to cryoperserve.

During pregnancy I had gestational diabetes and was constantly watching my diet and monitoring blood sugars. In the last trimester I had to finally take injections of two kinds of insulin. In June 2000, I tested positive for the Group B strep. At 16 weeks we had an amnio done and revealed everything was fine and that we were having a little girl. After two sons I was glad to have a daughter to join them, but that wasn't the only reason. Our son' s birth defects are commonly found more in males than in females. His syndrome is called VATER association and is too complicated and long to explain.

At 38 weeks, my OB/GYN wanted to induce me because he didn't want me to deliver a large baby and the amniotic fluid was low. My second baby was a large baby and the doctor had to use vacuum extraction. I've delivered vaginally in both my pregnancies and had relatively long labors including the second one that was induced. I was due Jan. 17th, 2001. We were scheduled for the induction on Jan. 8th at 7:30 a.m. I had been having pelvic pressure and pain and also some Braxton-Hicks contractions. In the last trimester I had frequent nonstress tests and ultrasounds. On Jan. 5th, the sonographer said the baby was so low in the pelvis she couldn't get a head measurement. Upon arrival at the hospital I was given a pelvic exam and was told I wasn't even dilated and then I did not get another pelvic exam after this time. I was given Pitocin through my IV around 9:45 a.m. and the doctor applied gel at my cervix to help me dilate. Also in my IV was the antibiotic for Group B strep and insulin. Around 1:00 p.m. I was having extreme pelvic pain and pressure to where I had to use breathing techniques to relax. I perspired profusely so my husband would regularly apply a cool, wet washcloth to my forehead and the back of my neck. Around 1:40 p.m. I went to the bathroom to have a bowel movement. I returned to the side my bed and remained standing because standing was the most comfortable position.

Now everything went really fast. This would also be my third pregnancy without any kind of pain relief. The monitor showed her heart was beating fine. Around 2:00 p.m. I felt such an intense urge to push and thought it was either to pass gas or even have another bowel movement. I pushed once and I felt a pop feeling, a small gush of fluid, and a rush of baby to the vaginal opening. I reached down to feel the bulge of the baby's head and damp hair. I eased myself onto the edge of the bed sort of facing backwards. My husband ran to the door to get the nurses and they didn't believe him that the baby was on the way until I hollered. For some reason I felt apologetic and began crying. I felt another push and Sarah was born at 2:10 p.m. weighing 7 Lbs. 3 oz. I felt her warm body on my ankles and my bootie socks became bloody. The doctor gave her a little bit of oxygen. Another doctor delivered Sarah, but my doctor arrived and repaired where I had torn my old episiotomy scar from my second childbirth. I overheard my doctor ask if my contractions were being monitored. I also overheard a nurse say that Sarah didn't have any molding to her head and that "she shot down the chute." We could not hold Sarah right away because she had trouble regulating her temperature and had to have her glucose levels checked.

Despite the speedy delivery, which wasn't too bad after all because then I didn't have to have labor pains for very long, everything went fine. Sarah's grandparents and big brothers were anxiously waiting the time to hold and meet their "little boop" as my three-year-old son affectionately calls her. Now that she is home, breastmilk must be good stuff because she now weighs at 10 lbs. When she smiles her whole face lights up and each family member is forming a special bond with her. Babies truly are gifts of love and blessings from above.