From: gelman@imasun.lbl.gov (Frida Gelman)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: birth announcement (easy birth stories)
Date: 31 Aug 1992 17:41:18 GMT
Organization: Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
Distribution: na
Reply-To: gelman@imasun.lbl.gov (Frida Gelman)
NNTP-Posting-Host: 128.3.128.44

In article <l9sod9INNj44@news.bbn.com> ngivler@spca.bbn.com (Noelle Givler) writes:
>Christine's request - 
>
>>...I'll be a first time mom in
>>January, and have read and heard my share of horror stories, so
>>please do post your "easy time" birth story.
>>     Christine
>>     mom-2-b in Jan. '93
>
>After my labor, I found that I was not comfortable sharing my experience with
>others.  When friends talked about their labors, I listened to grueling horror
>stories and kept quiet about my own labor.  It seemed rude and insensitive to
>discuss my experience in the midst of such unanimous recalled suffering.
>
>By not speaking up, I'm afraid that I've only reinforced the perception that 
>labor is unremittingly awful for all women.  I do not mean to dismiss the pain
>which other women have experienced.  But I do think it's important to let 
>expectant  mothers know that labor may not be as bad as they've anticipated. 
>I was lucky - efficient contractions, baby positioned correctly, managable 
>pain - but you may be lucky as well.
>
	Boy, do I agree with the previous poster. I sort of suspected that
labor was not as painfull as so many horror stories would lead you to
believe. Also my mom claimed to have a very short and uneventful labor with
me, and an extremely short and painless labor with my brother (second born).
When I dared to mention her comments in my Lamaze class, the instructor
said that the women who expect to have easy labors go on to have 4 days
of torturous pain, etc. Great thing to say?! We shold have gone up and
walked...

	Anyway, for all you first time moms longing for an easy labor story,
here comes short versions of my two.

Bernie, baby #1:
	I was 5 days past my due date. At 12:30AM (for almost all of us
it begins at this time of the night, have you noticed?) we just got into
bed after going to a lecture and then to a bar with some friends of ours.
I only had Calistoga of course. My water broke just as my hubby was swinging
his legs into bed. I got up, got some towels to put under my tush and got
back into bed. We talked for a while and started timing very small contractions
around 1AM. The felt just like menstrual cramps but much better, because
they lasted only 30-50sec and then dissapeared completely. My menstrual 
cramps usually go on for solid 4-6 hours. My contractions started about
3-4 minutes apart and never really got any closer together, just more
intense. 
	We stayed in bed for a while, but then I felt I really wanted to
be alone. Hubby went to the kitchen and drank lots of cofee and I took a
shower, went to the nursery, sat in the rocking chair and just stared at
the empty crib trying to imagine a baby in there. I was breathing slowly
through the contractions and the only uncomfortable feeling was strong
pressure in my pelvic region. That made walking all but impossible, because
my thighs would cramp if I tried to walk. 
	We called the doc around 4AM and left for the hospital. I found
sitting uncomfortable, so I was laying down on the back seat during the
trip. At the hospital, they put on the external monitor, checked me out.
I was at 6cm and fully effaced. The contractions were more intense now,
but still perfectly manageable. I never did anything but slow breating
for them. The transition was very difficult, not because of the pain but
because I got extremely nosious(sp?) and was throwing up with every
contraction. The nurses got worried, and I had to have a saline IV. They
were affraid that I'll get dehydrated. The pressure was just unbelievable.
But I didn't really have that much pain. I also felt really high and
euphoric during the whole experience even while throwing up.
	I loved pushing, I was finally able to do something about what
felt like a bowling ball hanging between my legs. I pushed for 40 min.
I wanted to push on my side, but Bernie's hart rate really dropped, so
they flipped my on my back, gave me oxygen and did a small episiotomy.
He was fine, looked beautiful and I remained euphoric for the next few
days. My OB said that maybe the reason I didn't feel pain was because
I had so much endorphins running, and thus the euphoria. 
	5 minutes after he was born, while the nurses were cleaning him
up I said to my hubby:"My god, this was incredible. I want to do it
again!!!". All in all, the only thing I couldn't really deal with was
the constant vomiting during the transition. BTW, we got to the hospital
around 4:30 AM and Bernie was born at 7AM. The whole labor was 6.5 hours
non of it more painfull than some of my periods (I have pretty bad
periods though). I did get some anestetic for the stiching after the
delivery. I didn't get any drugs because the thought didn't even occur
to me. I don't have unusually high pain tolerance at all, BTW.


Annelyse, baby #2.
	One day before my due date at 1:30AM (what is it with these middle
of the night labors?) I woke up with a strange sensation. I really have
to describe it so those of you who'll be blessed with this kind of labor
will recognize it as such. It felt like a wide elastic belt (about 4-5 in
wide) was draped around my midbelly. Every few minutes the belt would
tighten severely. It would be difficult to breathe but there would be
no pain AT ALL. Then the belt would relax. So much for any breathing
exersizes. This was so much unlike my first labor! My water didn't break,
I had no pain and no pelvic region pressure. My hubby was still up in
reading in the family room. I walked down and mentioned that I cannot
sleep and have this weird knock your breath out sensation. He suggested
we time it. Wow, only 3 minutes apart... He said we should call the OB
and go to the hospital. I said that it cannot possibly be labor and I'm
not going to wake OB up in the middle of the night, get Bernie to the sitter
and drive all the way to the hospital just to be send home. Afterall,
it was my body and I would know if I was in labor, wouldn't I?
	Hubby called the OB anyway, who said to go to the hospital
right away. It took us a while to take care of our firstborn, dog, etc.
and we got to the hospital shortly after 3AM. I was still feeling exactly
the same was as I did at home. Take your breath away tightening, short
period of normal breathing, another tightening. Still no pain, no pressure.
Because these tightenings came about once every 1.5-2 minutes the nurse
suggested she checks me out before I even undressed (she seemed worried).
I thought she wanted to check me out because she realized I was in false
labor and she didn't want me to go through all the trouble of changing
clothes since I'm going to be send home shortly. I was calm and chatted
with nurses and hubby. She checked me out, barked "Linda, call the doctor
NOW" and said to me that I better undress unless I wanted to deliver
in my dress. She said I was at 9cm and my bag was bulging (whatever that
meant). Fortunately, the doc who was on call just finished a delivery, so
came in about 5 minutes after being called. He also checked me out and
decided to break my water so he can see the baby's head. I never got
an external or any other kind of monitor on.
	He broke my water and I finally had a recognizeably strong and 
painful contraction. I was told to push whenever I felt like it. I got
off the bed and was squating next to it, holding on the the edge. I had
2 more contractions and finally felt some pressure I remembered from
my first delivery. I was now 3:50AM. I said that I was not delivering
laying down on the bed, the doc said that he's not going to deliver the
baby lying on the floor. We compromised, he crouched behind me while
I pushed feeling for the baby's head and when she crowned he and others
helped me on the bed. I did have a small episiotomy. Annelyse was born
at 4 minutes after 4AM.
	The only noticeable pain I had was during the actual pushing and
delivery. Hubby called it a 15 minute labor. I truly had no pain at
all during the dialation. If not for my hubby this baby would be born
at home without any doubt. The whole thing was about 2.5 hours from
the time I woke up to the actual birth. Annelyse was not as cute as
Bernie at birth. She looked really beat up because her face was turned
slightly sideways in the birth canal and she got a little bruised.
She is a real beauty now, though!!!


	So, if you waded through all this: labors are not always 
excrutiatingly painful and prolonged. Yours might not be at all. If it is, 
there are lots of remedies and the labor/delivery nurses are incredible!
I hope all of you first time moms will have a wonderful experience and
a beautiful healthy baby.

					Frida Gelman


--
Frida Gelman 
All opinions are those of the author
gelman@imasun.lbl.gov