Olivia's Birth Story
JUNE 5, 2022
The Birth of Olivia
By The Birth Center client, Rachel
I began my prenatal care going to a traditional OBGYN, but after I was shuffled between different care providers at every appointment, I started to feel uncomfortable and began Googling birth centers. I found Ruth and The Birth Center online and, when I met Ruth, I immediately felt comfortable with her. She was very straightforward but also caring, nurturing, and holistic.
Unlike the OBGYN providers I had seen, I knew that Ruth would support me in my desire to have an unmedicated birth, and I wouldn’t have to fight for the care and birth I wanted. Ruth always answered all my questions. Besides a little heartburn, I had a beautiful, smooth pregnancy.
The Beginning of Labor
The day before my due date on June 4, I was pruning apple trees all day. My husband and I went to bed at 10:30 p.m. and around 11:30 p.m., I went to the bathroom and felt my water break a little bit. I started to feel crampy and then went to the bathroom again. More of my water broke and around 12:15 a.m., I woke up my husband and said, “I think I’m in labor.”
I asked him to draw me a bath and soaked in the tub for a while, breathing through the contractions. I called Ruth around 1:30 a.m. and told her that I was in labor. Around 2 a.m., she called me to check in and said to come into The Birth Center. We live an hour away and, as the contractions were getting stronger and stronger, we decided we needed to get on the road.
The car ride was so uncomfortable. My contractions were 3-5 minutes apart and so strong that I had to sit backwards in the car, holding onto the back of the seat as I worked through each one. My husband was so anxious for me as we drove!
Arriving at The Birth Center
Ruth was all ready for us when we got to The Birth Center, and I discovered that I was six centimeters dilated! We immediately went to the birthing suite, and I labored on the bed on my hands and knees as my husband rubbed my back. I listened to Hypnobabies on my headphones to help me focus and relax. I labored through my contractions for two hours. Meanwhile, Ruth got the tub ready for me while the nurse, Amy, supported us in the background. The contractions were very intense, but I remember feeling so peaceful.
Soon after, I was able to get into the tub and labored in the water for a while, breathing through the contractions. Around 5 a.m., I started feeling the urge to push. However, the sensation of pushing was difficult for me to grasp in the water, so Ruth suggested I get out.
I did deep squats at the end of the bed, holding onto my husband’s arms. My baby started to crown, and I realized that I wanted to get on the bed. I pushed on all fours until her head came out. Ruth urged me to stop pushing. It was so intense! I wanted to get her out NOW!
But Ruth told me to lay on my left side and ease into pushing. She encouraged me to breathe into the contractions and focus my energy on pushing and not vocalizing. When she told me to stop, I stopped. When she told me to push, I pushed. It felt like it took forever, and I said, “I don’t know if I can do this!”
Finally, Ruth said, “One more push!” and my daughter, Olivia, was born at 5:24 a.m. on June 5, 2022. She weighed 7 pounds and measured 20 inches long. I was so overjoyed and excited. She was finally here!
Enjoying our Brand New Baby
I held Olivia on my chest, and we waited for 15-20 minutes to clamp and cut the umbilical cord. Then she turned towards me and latched on for our first breastfeeding experience. She nursed for over 30 minutes. My husband brought me peanut butter crackers and a Capri Sun. I was starving, and the snacks tasted amazing!
We stayed at The Birth Center for about four hours. While we were resting, Ruth checked on our vitals and massaged my belly. Then she left us alone so we could bond with our new baby girl. I loved doing skin to skin with her and looking at her face. She looked like a little old man, and one of my favorite memories is when my husband said, “She looks like my grandpa!”
He held her while I took a shower and then we went home as a family of three. He told me that the best day we had ever had together was the day our child was born.
A Challenging Postpartum Period
My birth was so beautiful, but my postpartum was incredibly challenging. At two days postpartum, when Ruth checked on Olivia, she discovered that Olivia’s pulse oxygen levels were low and uneven on both sides of her body. Normal levels for a baby are 95, and Olivia’s were 60-70. Because of Ruth’s RN knowledge, coupled with her years of experience as a nurse midwife, Ruth recognized the urgency of care for Olivia’s condition and sent us to the emergency room, where we discovered that our baby had a heart defect called transposition of the greater arteries and needed open heart surgery.
This news was so unexpected because we did not see anything on the three ultrasounds I received during my prenatal care. As terrifying as it was, we were so thankful for Ruth’s experience and care for us and our baby during this time. The Nurse Practitioner on the cardiology team even called Ruth to thank her and acknowledge the critical importance and value of her correct and timely diagnosis.
Olivia had open heart surgery on June 24. Though we had some complications and long hospital stays, she is healing and thriving now.
Reflecting on My Experience at The Birth Center
I am so thankful for my experience with Ruth and my birth at The Birth Center. I was incredibly proud of myself for laboring and giving birth without an epidural or any medications. I am not a very calm person, but I remained very calm during the birth. Listening to Hypnobabies really helped me, as did Ruth’s support and experience.
I’m now considered high risk as I have given birth to a baby with a heart defect, but when I asked Ruth if I could have my second baby at the Birth Center, she said, “There isn’t any reason you wouldn’t be able to.” I know I would be in the best hands for any future babies, and I would recommend Ruth and The Birth Center to any expecting parents.
For more information about our prenatal care and birth services at The Birth Center, visit https://www.sactobirth.com/prenatal and https://www.sactobirth.com/birth-services.