I'm excited to say, I had two natural childbirth families/births, two days in a row! YEAH!!! Both were beautiful births. Both moms were totally in control of their bodies, and very peaceful.
One of the moms had a "dysfunctional" type of contraction pattern, and the provider wanted to start pitocin. However, mom didn't want it. Not a problem! She did some nipple stimulation now and again, and that got her contractions to pick up the pace a little bit - on her own time schedule. Mom was worried that she was "stuck" at a certain dilation, after requesting and receiving several cervical checks that showed the same dilation. I told her that she's not "stuck", but rather, she's at a plateau. Her body will eventually break through that plateau and increase dilation.
I offered several position changes to help rotate her posterior baby, and it worked very nicely! I encouraged her to listen to her body, and move the way her body was telling her (aka: do what feels good). She had her hips swaying and rocking from side to side (doing the "labor dance") while leaning forward into her husband.
She was getting a little discouraged with the slow progress of labor, so I suggested moving to the bathroom. Well, that sure jump started the rest of her labor! She birthed her baby into my waiting hands in a very rapid fashion. (That would be catch #16 for me, if anyone is counting.......) I totally did not expect her to progress so quickly in such a short period of time.
What amazed me is how calm I was during this birth. I called out for assistance when she was precipitously delivering, and when another nurse came in, I calmly stated "we're having a baby". She didn't realize that I meant - mom is having her baby right NOW and that the head is already out!! The nurse did a double take, and realized what I meant :::big smiles:: Kind of humorous, looking back on it now!
Since mom wasn't in a traditional position on a bed, it made for a slightly awkward "catch". My concern was shoulders getting stuck, so I asked mom to squat down a bit more to birth the rest of her baby. Baby slid out very easily, and I lifted the little boy into his momma's waiting arms.
Baby stayed attached via the cord, on mom's chest, for quite some time. I'm not a cord cutter, unless baby needs resuscitated. (The midwife came in shortly after the birth, and I deferred to her for the remainder of the birth.)
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One of the moms had a "dysfunctional" type of contraction pattern, and the provider wanted to start pitocin. However, mom didn't want it. Not a problem! She did some nipple stimulation now and again, and that got her contractions to pick up the pace a little bit - on her own time schedule. Mom was worried that she was "stuck" at a certain dilation, after requesting and receiving several cervical checks that showed the same dilation. I told her that she's not "stuck", but rather, she's at a plateau. Her body will eventually break through that plateau and increase dilation.
I offered several position changes to help rotate her posterior baby, and it worked very nicely! I encouraged her to listen to her body, and move the way her body was telling her (aka: do what feels good). She had her hips swaying and rocking from side to side (doing the "labor dance") while leaning forward into her husband.
She was getting a little discouraged with the slow progress of labor, so I suggested moving to the bathroom. Well, that sure jump started the rest of her labor! She birthed her baby into my waiting hands in a very rapid fashion. (That would be catch #16 for me, if anyone is counting.......) I totally did not expect her to progress so quickly in such a short period of time.
What amazed me is how calm I was during this birth. I called out for assistance when she was precipitously delivering, and when another nurse came in, I calmly stated "we're having a baby". She didn't realize that I meant - mom is having her baby right NOW and that the head is already out!! The nurse did a double take, and realized what I meant :::big smiles:: Kind of humorous, looking back on it now!
Since mom wasn't in a traditional position on a bed, it made for a slightly awkward "catch". My concern was shoulders getting stuck, so I asked mom to squat down a bit more to birth the rest of her baby. Baby slid out very easily, and I lifted the little boy into his momma's waiting arms.
Baby stayed attached via the cord, on mom's chest, for quite some time. I'm not a cord cutter, unless baby needs resuscitated. (The midwife came in shortly after the birth, and I deferred to her for the remainder of the birth.)