Ana Yacopino
A Bradley Birth

Ana was born on Sunday, February 21, 1999 at 2:35 in the afternoon at Special Beginnings Birth Center in Arnold, Maryland.  Her weight  was 7lbs/8ozs, height 22 inches.  Her APGARS were 8 & 10.  The birth attendants were her father (certified Bradley Coach!), Mairi Rothman(mid wife), Maggie Green(mid wife) , Susan Leibman (Bradley instructor, Doula & friend!) & Maureen (RN).

In order to preserve our birth experience to share with our daughter we have included as much detail as possible in this record of her birth story…if some portions seem a bit too personal or familiar to you please just skip them!

Our Estimated Date of Delivery was 2/14/99..but being the good Bradley students that we are we ‘waited’ 7 extra days to deliver!  On Wednesday, 2/17 we went for our weekly appointment with the mid-wife.  We had asked not to be told the status of dilation  in order to avoid being discouraged…but were told that everything ‘looked good’..but there was no pinning down our delivery.

On Friday 2/19 I had contractions all day at regular intervals.  Since they were not painful or difficult I really did not pay attention to them or time them…by Friday night they had diminished if not stopped completely.  I was under the impression that these were just Braxton Hicks/practice contractions and did not get excited about them.

On Saturday, 2/20 at about 9pm (probably the last time for the next few years that we will actually  get to watch an entire movie without having to stop and change a diaper!) I began to have contractions about 15 minutes apart..not painful but stronger than those on Friday..I was announcing them with great amusement..and did not take them seriously at all. We went to bed after the movie and by midnight I was asking Rich to rub my back..I still don’t think that the contractions were painful.  They were similar to very strong menstrual cramps..and were concentrated in my lower back.  We did not keep track of the exact timing as there was no pattern or consistency at that point.  At 2am the contractions were an average of 5 minutes apart and between 30 to 60 seconds long ..I got into the tub to see if the warm water would make my back feel better..and if the change of atmosphere/relaxation would alter the timing at all.  I ended up staying in the tub for 2 hours with no change in the contractions..they were a bit stronger but not difficult if I just floated and relaxed. At 4am I woke Rich up since at this point I felt that there was a pretty good chance that this was the real thing and I wanted some company to help me work through them!

Around 5am after spending a bit of time with me and timing some contractions Rich called our Doula and the mid wife to report in..  Both felt that based on my level of seriousness( I was quite chatty in between contractions) and the length of time that we had been in labor  we should wait a bit and call back in 2 hours.  (For those of you not familiar with the approach taken by Bradley Natural Childbirth …  it is standard practice to labor at home for as long as possible before going to your birth center or hospital as this is the most comfortable place for the mother to be and also reduces the chance of medical intervention in a lengthy labor. )  the contractions continued on the same time frame , strong but manageable , I spent some time out of the tub but was much more comfortable in the warm water and got in again . Rich called back at 7am to report no change…The mid Wife said to come in at 9am for an exam if nothing had changed before that time.(keep in mind that our Birth Center is one hour away from our home.)

As soon as Rich got off of the phone there was a huge change in my labor pattern..the contractions became much stronger and although most of them were still 4 to 5 minutes apart there were also many that were double peaking.  I was out of the tub by now  … I no longer felt comfortable about being alone through any contraction..I needed Rich to be there for each one and got panicky several times when he would leave the room to start loading the car and other misc. chores that had to be done before we could leave.  I remember calling out ‘starting’ each time another contraction would come so that he could get back in the room and be with me.  I don’t think that he really realized how much of a change had occurred in the strength of the contractions.  I spent about an hour on the couch…Rich tried to get me to eat..even running to the corner market to get peanut butter..which was the only thing that sounded good..I never did get to eat my peanut butter sandwich!  At that point ..somewhere around 8:30 or 9am I had to move into the bathroom and spent the next hour on the toilet..the only place where I could get into a comfortable leaning position..Rich kneeled in front so I could drape myself over his shoulder…rocking helped a lot..and I couldn’t make it through a contraction without vocalizing..something I never would have imagined..In the meantime Rich kept trying to get all of our things in to the car and get us out of the door..at least half of the contractions were now 3 minutes apart but we were not spending much time looking at the clock!  It was almost impossible to get me to the car..each time a contraction would end and Rich would try to help me into some clothes another would start.

Finally after what seemed like forever I was dressed (enough for the ride anyway!) and out of the bathroom..I had one more cluster of contractions which (I will never forget) I spent on my hands and knees on the kitchen floor.  At this point I can say that my labor had a very ‘twilight zone’ feeling to it…I knew what was going on but my body had such a hormone flow going that it was like I was outside of myself watching…really amazing to think back on it and see it so clearly..I had no idea what time it was at that point..but we left our house at about 11am.

My recollection of that cart ride is not so great..although I am glad that I was able to spend most of my labor at home I will always remember that 45 minutes as some of the toughest , most unpleasant of my entire life.  Because my labor was all in my back the only thing resembling a comfortable position was for me to ride on my hands and knees..rear end facing the windshield and draping my body over the back of the seat facing the back of the car…Rich did his best to talk me through each contraction but he had to focus on the road.  (He was definitely exceeding the speed limit and after passing at least 2 state troopers was hoping for a police escort to the birth center..no such luck!)  The contractions were about 3 minutes apart on the average but almost everyone was double peaking and about 1 out of every 5 was only 1 minute apart…I can only imagine what the folks in the cars we  were passing thought when they saw us!

We arrived at the birth center at 11:45am..I did not even stop to put on my shoes..I don’t know if I ran..but I think it was as close to a run as I could get..into the building..and into Mairis arms (midwife)…She wanted to do an intial exam so that she had some idea of our progress but I had to get into the tub(jacuzzi)…it would take a while to get it filled so I ended up on the toilet again..I vaguely remember Mairi asking us specific questions about the contractions and how the labor had progressed but I could not focus on answering her. I think that right around this time Susan (our doula, Bradley coach and now friend!) arrived..and was very surprised at our progress since I had been so chatty just a few hours earlier!    As soon as the tub was filled I got in…this was the part where all inhibition was thrown to the wind..and thing that I could never believe would happen to me…but as soon as I knew the tub was full I just dropped my clothes in a path from the toilet to the tub..unfortunately the warm water was no longer the great relief that it had been at home in earlier labor..the temperature did not feel warm enough..the parts of my body that were in the air were really cold..the jets felt too strong and I could not relax without sinking under the water..we tried several positions..with rich supporting me so I didn’t sink and Mairi and Maggie (2nd mid wife) pouring warmer water over my body but it was no good..I could not relax at all and it was making the contractions harder.

Rich had brought the cd player into the room and turned the lights out for me…but this was the only time during our labor that we had time to give any thought to using relaxation ‘aids’.  The most important thing for me was just Richs presence and his constant guidance in helping me maintain normal slow (level –headed) breathing.  There  were many times during the labor that I had to ask for help to remind me how to get my breathing under control.  My head knew that I was letting myself get out of control but I just needed that extra moral support to slow myself back down..I remember talking out loud to myself many times..”ok kate..slow down ..just slow down..”  for some reason this helped me to act on what I was trying to tell myself.  It was also very helpful to have very hard circular back rubs..on the area where the baby was pushing..but the rubbing had to be in pace with my breathing..the rhythm helped me..I remember being so grateful when I was trying to explain this to the mid wife and really couldn’t get the words out and Rich jumped in and told her..’you have to match her breathing’..it was so great that he knew and was able take care of it for me!
 

Mairi needed to do an exam and I think I fought her thru one more stint on the toilet..and then into the bedroom for the exam..I don’t remember how long we were there..but somewhere right around that time I started to feel the urge to push..and it was not just a thought..my body pretty much took over from there and I was just along for the ride..I got back into the bathroom (most of my labor was there!) and at 1pm my water broke.  For a few wonderful seconds all of the pressure was gone..it felt great! I remember being surprised at the amount of blood that came along with the bag of waters.  Contractions continued …even stronger and at this point Mairi pointed out to Rich where you could see the bulge in my back from the baby’s head traveling…for one brief moment I wanted to see it too..and then another contraction came.  I needed to eat and drink more..we had sort of forgotten about that part so I drank a bottle of water..reluctantly and ate a few spoonfuls of honey.the thought of eating was completely unappealing!

I think Mairi had us try the birth stool at this point. . I had a few moments of panic…and I remember Mairi asking me..’do you know what this is called..?’ I had no idea what she was referring to but it distracted me for a few seconds..and then she said ‘this is called transition kate!’  That was a great thing..it made me realize how close I was to having our baby…(transition is the time during labor between cervical dilation contractions and pushing contractions when the mother can lose her confidence, think that she can not continue or feel the need to give up)

From then on I was not able to stop the pushing..every contraction felt like a push..so Mairi had to talk me into another exam..I was fighting these because the thought of having to lay down was really awful..the back pain was really bad by now and I just didn’t want to have a contraction in a horizontal position.  We had an agreement with Mairi before hand that we would not know that status of dilation until we were fully dilated to 10 cm and ready to push..so at this point she told me I was 9 & ¾ cm  and had a small anterior lip(an edge of the cervix that has not dilated evenly with the rest causing an uneven opening) possibly caused by spending so much of my labor in the leaning position to relieve my back pain.

We tried  different positions for  a few groups of contractions to try and get the lip to diminish but I was really not able to hold back on the pushing and Mairi said not to fight my body..we attempted the birthing stool in place of the toilet..but it was not helpful think I made some trips back and forth to the toilet during that hour..and finally Mairi asked us if we were comfortable with having her help to manipulate the lip while the baby’s head was coming down…normally this would be considered an interference but we really trusted her not to do anything inappropriate and we were so close to delivering  that we decided to give that a try.  We knew that if Mairi felt that it was not helping or was harmful in anyway she would stop and we would try something else.

Somewhere around 2pm I ended up on the bed …but on my left side .  This way we took the pressure off of my back and were still able to work away from the lip..I was still able to pull my top leg up with my arm and curl my body down around the baby to get the same full push effect that the partial squat position offers..Rich and Susan stayed up on the bed  with me..and took the brunt of my vocalizing, and a lot of ‘vice-grip’ action during each push..I was holding onto those two with strength I never knew I had… during each push  I would think that it was taking a long time and that I couldn’t push anymore..I was able to get three good pushes out of most contractions but it never seemed like enough..

I remember Mairi saying ‘push past the pain Kate, push past the pain’..this really helped me…it gave me a mental picture of a place past the hurting where it would be less painful.  Rich was fantastic..he kept telling me how great I was doing and how much he loved me ..and I think he told me I was beautiful a few times..which seems silly but it was so great to hear!

The crowning was much less painful than I had anticipated…there was the burning sensation but it was very brief..I think thru two groups of contractions…Maggie eased me thru the crowning using massage and lubricant to avoid tearing of the perineum.  Before labor I had been worried about not being able to slow down my pushing enough at this part but it was quite easy to listen to Maggie and let the baby come on at her own speed.  A few minutes later Mairi asked me if I wanted to see the top of the babys head..I was so focused on giving birth that I was not interested.  Susan says that I said ‘I just want my baby’.  A few seconds later Rich was saying ‘ I can see her ear kate’ and then he started to cry and laugh at the same time..I will never forget looking up at his face as he leaned over me..it was really incredible.

After a few more serious pushes her shoulders were out and and she was on my belly…it was 2:35pm.  She seemed so big and so tiny all at the same time!   I had imagined this moment for a long time..and always thought I would be crying like crazy but no tears come then…I think I was completely amazed and in shock at what we had just done..and I just wanted to look at her..I think part of me could not believe that we had just had the exact birth that we had planned and practiced for without any complications

We left her on my belly to try and root around on her own and latch on to nurse..we had to give her some help but she got there eventually..she just wasn’t very interested in nursing right then.  We left the umbilical cord  in tact until all of the blood had passed through.  Susan cut the cord for us. It took me 45 minutes to deliver the placenta..I was afraid to push because I thought it would hurt..but it actually felt great..like the last of the weight disappearing…and certainly much easier then what I had  just done !  I could not believe how huge the placenta was.  I had no tearing or damage to the perineum but did  have a small laceration to the labia from delivering in the side position so I did get a few stitches.  We stayed at the Birth Center for about 5 hours..long enough to eat and shower and have my stitches..and  by 8:30pm we were on our way home with our new daughter.  Other than being really exhausted..and  a bit sore we were fantastic!

This was an experience that has changed us forever..I will never forget it..and will always be grateful that I was able to be alert and aware of every part of the birth of our daughter!