birth story

To spare some of you the details, I present you a short version and a long version. Some people like all the gory details (I know I do). But I totally understand if you're only interested in the main points.

Short Version

Because my blood pressure was getting higher and higher, the doctors decided that I should be induced. I was given medication to help induce labor on Wednesday (June 13th) night. Thursday morning, my waters broke. After 8 hours of labor with no painkillers, the midwives determined that labor hadn't progressed successfully and so I got an epidural and a hormone to bring on more active labor. Four hours after that, I was ready to push. After 25 minutes of pushing, bambina was out. Born on the 14th of June at 9:24 PM. Fede cut the cord. We left the hospital two days later, but have had a midwife come to our apartment every day for four days. The midwives have been lifesavers--since we are brand new parents and haven't a clue as to what we're doing.

Very Long Version

For several weeks, the doctors considered me "high risk" because I developed gestational hypertension. The high blood pressure affects not only me, but also the baby. So I was being monitored closely, and would sometimes be at the hospital twice a week. They put me on some medication, and so long as my blood pressure was okay and the baby was growing fine, we were just waiting for labor to start naturally.

Unfortunately, a week before my due date, my blood pressure spiked, and the doctors decided it was time to induce me. Since the baby was considered full term, there seemed to be less risk in inducing than in waiting for spontaneous labor.

So, on Wednesday (June 13th), Fede and I went to the hospital to get the first induction method. We went to the postnatal ward--because that's where they do the inductions. We were in a shared room, with another woman who was also getting induced. I was a bit annoyed, because she was getting treated a lot faster than I was. I really wanted them to hurry up and put the cervidil (a substance that is intended to soften the cervix) inside me so I could walk around and try to help along the labor process. Instead, by the time they put the cervidil in me, it was 8 PM (we had gotten to the hospital at 2 PM), and Fede and I just had enough time to walk to a place for dinner. Then Fede had to go home, since partners are not allowed to stay overnight in a shared room.

When I got back to my room, I could hear the other woman who had also been induced, moaning in pain. She was asking for an epidural, but the midwives wanted to check her to make sure she was actually in labor. I guess she was, because she was taken out of the room, and I suddenly had the room to myself.

The next morning (Thursday, June 14th), I woke up with a ton of back pain. This had been happening a lot in the last few weeks. I was on the bed, stretching out my back by resting on my hands and knees, when suddenly I felt this gush of fluid. It was just like you see in the movies--water was everywhere.

I pushed my call button, and one of the midwives came to check on me. I told her that my waters broke, and she put me on a monitor to check to make sure the baby was okay. Thankfully, the baby was fine, and they took me off the monitor. Then, I called Fede to tell him to hurry up and get to the hospital. And I started walking around my room, in the hopes of encouraging the labor. The pain hadn't really begun.

Fede finally arrived, and the labor pains were getting a bit more intense. Unfortunately, right around the time when I was starting to moan in pain was also when another woman was admitted into my shared room. She had just had her baby--and now I was in this same room, groaning with each contraction. At first, I was embarrassed to make any sounds--but then, the pain intensified and I couldn't care less.

At this point, I was desperate to get into one of the delivery rooms because I knew those rooms had showers, baths and other things to help manage the pain. I remember begging with the midwives--but apparently they were full of women who were also in labor. I was basically waiting for someone else to hurry up and have her baby so that I could have mine.

Finally, at around 1 PM, one of the delivery rooms opened and I could go in there. One of the midwives, Jenny, came to tell me the good news and escort me down to the delivery room. I remember thinking she was my savior/angel of mercy. And I was happy to see that our delivery room was #8 (since Chinese people think 8 is a lucky number).

Unfortunately, the minute I got to the delivery room, they wanted to stick me on the monitor again--to make sure the baby was okay. It was so hard to manage the pain when I was chained to the bed--unable to move because if I moved, the machine wouldn't pick up the baby's heartbeat, and I would remain on the monitor for even longer.

Eventually, they determined that the baby was fine, and they let me go into the shower--which was heaven. I have no idea why, but having hot water spraying on my back was bliss and I could barely feel any pain. Of course, I was super annoyed when the midwife (Melissa) came to tell me that I couldn't be in the shower because I needed to be on the monitor.

Thankfully, my friend Brie, who had delivered at the same hospital, had told me that when she was in labor, she was able to have a shower and a bath even though they monitored the baby continually. So I knew there was a way to have the baby monitored without being stuck in bed. And I pestered Melissa until she finally admitted that there was a way--and she went to go looking for the machine for me.

I was so happy to be back in the shower--although the pains had gotten worse and the shower was helping but was no longer bliss. I was in that shower for 4 hours, moaning and groaning. Fede was great, and would force me to drink water or Gatorade and eat mandarin slices, and would massage my lower back when I needed it. But I was getting more and more exhausted.

Then Melissa came in to tell me that she needed to check to see how dilated I was, to make sure the labor was progressing well--since I was artificially induced. When I had entered the delivery room, I was 4 cm dilated. They expect labor to progress approximately 1 cm per hour--so they wanted to make sure I was at least 7 cm. She said she would come back in 30 minutes to check up on me.

I was so scared that they would drag me to the operating room if I wasn't 7 cm, so for the next half hour, I started chanting "open, open, open" during every contraction.

When Melissa came to check my progress, she said I was only 3 cm.

I was devastated.

I had really wanted a natural birth, but at that point, I was so exhausted and my blood pressure was going higher. So, I gave in. They gave me an epidural, and then they gave me syntocin (the synthetic hormone that causes contractions), and I rested in a state of exhaustion. Fede passed out too, in this uncomfortable chair that they have for partners. And we just waited.

It was strange to be so detached from everything. Since the baby was still hooked up to the monitor, I could hear her heartbeat go up--and I knew that I was having a contraction each time that happened--but I couldn't feel them. I felt like a machine. My body was just doing its thing, and I was an outside observer in the process.

At 8:45 PM, Melissa came in to tell me that she was going to check to see how dilated I was. She thought it would be surprising if I was 8 cm. And so she had brought in the midwife who would replace her after her shift ended at 10 PM.

But, I guess bambina really wanted her birthday to be the 14th of June, and maybe she really liked Melissa and wanted to be delivered by her, because I was fully dilated and was being prepared to push. When bambina's head started crowning, Melissa took out a giant flashlight to see better. And then she said: "Your baby has ginger hair." I just looked at Fede when she said that--I guess somehow his genes won that battle.

After 25 minutes of pushing, bambina came out, blue and screaming. Melissa immediately put her on my chest, and then clamped the cord for Fede to cut. I just stared at bambina, amazed by the color of her hair and the darkness of her eyes. For me, time seemed to stand still as Fede and I looked at our little daughter. I still couldn't quite believe that somehow we created this little being.