Jamie Howeth
August 2021
Jamie
Howeth
,
BSN, RN, C-EFM
Labor and Delivery
University of Washington Medical Center - Montlake Campus
Seattle
,
WA
United States
When Jamie noticed I was having a contraction, she would stop talking, wait for my contraction to pass with me, and comfort me. My contractions were quite frequent, but she always paused for me.
Jamie was an amazing nurse who made my birth experience (which could've turned out very negative) so positive. Giving birth has always been one of my biggest fears. I came to check whether my water had broken. It had not, but the doctor recommended I stay and get induced because they noticed very small delayed decelerations in the baby's heartbeat after contractions. I wasn't originally planning on getting induced because I was worried that some methods of induction would be painful like the Foley balloon. I decided to stay for induction because a cervical exam showed that I was 1cm dilated and 75% effaced, so I felt like I would be back soon anyway. I got a dose of miso at ~4 p.m. and started having regular contractions that were not too painful. When Jamie swapped in as my nurse, contractions had started to become more painful. Jamie was so attentive and caring. She would do the double hip squeeze during contraction peaks which gave me a lot of relief and also verbally talk me through contractions. She helped me mentally count through my contractions and also recognize when the contraction was starting to "soften." One thing she did that other doctors and nurses didn't always do was when she noticed I was having a contraction, she would stop talking, wait for my contraction to pass with me, and comfort me. My contractions were quite frequent, but she always paused for me. I really appreciated this because I didn't have to listen and think while going through a painful contraction at the same time. At ~8 p.m., a doctor came in to do a cervical exam. I was only 2 cm and 80% effaced. I was so disheartened that so little progress had been made since 11 a.m. because I was already in enough pain to consider getting an epidural. The doctor recommended a Foley balloon or Pitocin but was leaning more towards a Foley balloon with fentanyl to make it less painful. I needed some time to think because I really didn't want to insert a Foley balloon given how painful I found cervical exams. I asked Jamie what her opinion was, and she told me that honestly, seeing how painful the cervical exam was for me, she told me that she thought the Foley balloon would be very painful and cause more cramping and that fentanyl wouldn't help that much. She also said that Pitocin would just make my contractions stronger. I asked her how dilated I needed to be to get the epidural, and she assured me that I could get it at any time between 0-10 cm, and it was completely my choice. Jamie was the only one who made me feel ok about getting an epidural at 2 cm. Both my doula and my husband encouraged me to try laboring a little longer before getting an epidural. Ultimately, I decided to try laboring a little longer and try the bathtub. Jamie was so kind and drew a bath for me with little fake candles and dimmed the lights. The bath felt amazing at first, but shortly after, my contractions felt even worse for some reason. I tried to stick through a few contractions, but after just a few, I decided that I couldn't do it anymore. It was just too painful, so I got out of the bath and asked to call the anesthesiologist. Jamie helped dry me off while I was shivering and having very frequent, painful contractions. Unfortunately, Jamie had to leave right after I was dried off. The anesthesiologist came 20 minutes later, and literally right after the epidural was placed, it was time to push. I had somehow gone from 2 cm dilation to the pushing stage in just a few hours, and Jamie had unknowingly helped me through the most painful part of labor. My birth experience is one that I will cherish forever, and Jamie was a large part of why it was so positive.