L & D nurse Lauren made my labor experience the best it could be. Expecting an almost 9-pound baby, I was fearful that my small size and frame would not allow me to achieve a vaginal birth. With Lauren's expert coaching I did just that! This proved to be critical as, just 2 weeks later, I was diagnosed with an early stage cancer requiring a surgery that I could not have had if I was still recovering from a C-section.Lauren's ability to troubleshoot almost certainly saved me from a C-section.
When I was finally dilated to 10 cm after 10 hours of laboring, it was finally time to push. Then, after almost an hour of pushing the resident physician had me take a break to 'labor down' and allow the baby to drop a bit more into the birth canal. When it was time to start pushing again Lauren explained to me that first babies often have difficulty getting past the pelvic bone. For the next 1.5 hours, she worked with me to 'rock this baby out' passed that pelvic bone. We tried a number of different pushing positions using gravity, including the squatting bar and lots of different variations there. She also encouraged me to use the mirror to watch my baby's progress with my pushes, something I had adamantly refused before. As a result of constant repositioning and watching the mirror, I was able to make major progress.
While I pushed, Lauren fiercely encouraged me but also gently reminded the resident physician that I needed his encouragement and coaching as well. They worked together to help me but it was Lauren who took notice and made an important decision to change my pushing strategy. Understanding that time was running out before we needed to change the birth plan, Lauren could see that I was not making the progress I should on my third pushes with each contraction. She noticed push 1 and 2 got my girl out a bit, but she didn't stay out with that third and final push each time. As a result, she instructed me to take a much needed 4-second 'pause to rest and recharge' in between my 2nd and 3rd pushes. Though brief, these pauses recharged me and allowed for very effective third pushes allowing me to push with all my might, feeling recharged instead of exhausted with each. This changed everything as my baby girl finally stayed in the crowned position instead of rocking back up out of sight!
Lauren got excited, telling me 'you did it' and told me to stop pushing while she called in the rest of the crew. Moments later, we were surrounded by the rest of the team who got things ready for baby. At this point, I knew I would not need a C-section and felt victorious even before my baby was actually born. The next few minutes pushing her out were the easiest. Lauren had gotten me through the hardest, longest part. I'm forever grateful for her intuitiveness, quick thinking, and her ability to anticipate my every need. I'm forever grateful to her!