Aiden's Birth Story

My first child was delivered via C-section due to fetal distress. I was pumped and determined to have my second baby vaginally. The midwives gave me an 80 percent chance of successfully having a VBAC (vaginal birth after Cesarean) and I was under the impression that it was not unusual for mothers to attempt a VBAC despite the possibility of a major complication–a uterine rupture.

I began having contractions on Friday, December 29, a day before my due date, after the midwife stripped my bag of water. The contractions continued through the weekend with little discomfort. Sunday morning I woke up at 7 AM and began timing the contractions, which were seven to eight minutes apart. I decided to wait as long as possible before going to the hospital to reduce the time that I would be confined to the bed on monitors.

When the contractions were six minutes apart, I took my three-year-old to his grandmother’s and headed to the hospital, arriving there at 11 AM. I walked outside around the hospital until I couldn't take the contractions anymore. I went in and the contractions were now four minutes apart, so they checked me in and put me on monitors. The midwife checked me and I was not even two centimeters, which was a disappointment. An hour later, the doctor came in and offered me a repeat C-section. I declined and fought through more contractions. Two hours later, I was three centimeters, and begging for an epidural because of extreme pain in my hips and rear end.

At about 5 PM, the doctor and midwife ran into the room because the baby's heart rate was fluctuating. The doctor wanted to do a C-section right then but the midwife said that we could watch his heart rate closely since he had recovered from the quick period of distress. At that point I was five centimeters.

I prayed for two hours because I did not want to endure another C-section if it was at all possible. At 7 PM, the doctor and midwife came in because the baby was in distress again. The doctor told me I was almost 10 centimeters and that I had to push him out right then or have a C-section immediately. He told me to push a couple of times to see if I could do it.

I pushed my heart out and six minutes later with six pushes, a nurse jumping on my stomach, and forceps guiding him out, my precious seven-pound, two-ounce Aiden was born at 7:06 PM. He was delivered "sunny side up" which is why the forceps were needed. He was the last baby born at the hospital in 2006. The vaginal birth was a totally different experience from the C-section and the recovery has been 90 percent easier. I definitely plan to attempt a VBAC with my next baby as well.