Emily's Birth Story
DECEMBER 16, 2012
The Birth of Emily Faith
By Emily’s Mom and The Birth Center client, Kristine
My husband Jared and I believe that God puts certain people in our lives for specific reasons.
That was definitely the case for our daughter’s birth. Ruth, Sage, and Amy at The Birth Center were exactly the people we needed.
Enjoying pregnancy
Before I got pregnant, Jared and I prayed for a baby. After she was conceived, we prayed for her health and her life. I loved being pregnant and had no complications.
I always knew I wanted an unmedicated birth, especially a water birth. I had learned about interventions and how they can lead to a C-section. I didn’t want that. I knew women have been giving birth naturally for hundreds of years.
Each night before going to bed, I would sing “You Are My Sunshine” to the baby, and Jared would talk to her in my belly.
The beginning of labor
On August 5, 2019, three days before my estimated due date, I had a prenatal massage. The therapist hit pressure points that can help labor begin.
That night around 10:30 p.m., I lost part of my mucus plug. It wasn’t bloody, but I thought I might be going into labor.
Following Ruth’s advice, I took a bath. Within about 30 minutes, I lost the rest of my mucus plug. This time, it was all bloody. I was definitely in labor. I labored at home, mostly on the toilet, and timed my contractions.
At about 3 a.m. on August 6, my contractions were becoming closer together — about two or three minutes apart. I was getting tired, so I tried to lie down. When I did so, though, I felt very uncomfortable.
Back to the toilet I went. But as soon as I hit the toilet, my water broke in a gush of grayish-brown fluid.
That was when I woke Jared, and he called Ruth. She told us it was time to head to The Birth Center, which is about an hour away from our house.
During the car ride, I continued working through the contractions, holding onto the handle at the top right of the car.
Pushing and birth
To my surprise, when we made it to The Birth Center, I was already nine centimeters dilated. I thought, “We’re almost done. We’ll be out of here in just a few hours.”
But that’s not how it happened. The baby’s position meant that her head was getting caught in my pelvis. Ruth had me all over The Birth Center, doing squats, lunges, and leg lifts. I sat on the birthing stool and the toilet, and I laid on my left side, then my right side.
Ruth noticed that when I was on my left side, the baby’s heart rate dropped. Ruth and Sage said it was because the baby was on the umbilical cord. When I was on my right side, however, everything was good.
After several hours, my labor stalled and my contractions completely stopped. Ruth told me that I might not be able to give birth at The Birth Center. She said it was possible I needed some interventions that she didn’t have available.
Jared knew my desire to give birth naturally at The Birth Center. He tried to calm me down and prayed over me.
Then my doula Amy had a brilliant idea; she recommended nipple stimulation. Jared and I started the nipple stimulation and within three minutes, I began having contractions again. We kept at the nipple stimulation for almost an hour until the contractions continued on their own.
At that point, I started pushing — really bearing down. I pushed so hard that I threw up frequently.
Ruth and Sage continued checking the baby’s heartbeat. They figured that the cord was wrapped around the baby’s neck, contributing to the occasional low heart rate.
As my daughter descended, Ruth, with her experience, used her fingers to fishhook the umbilical cord, releasing the loop around the baby’s neck.
Emily Faith was born at 12:14 p.m. August 6, 2019, weighing in at 7 pounds, 10 ounces and measuring 20 inches long.
A scary situation after birth
After having been awake all night, I was completely exhausted from labor and pushing. I was lying on my back after Emily emerged.
However, I noticed my baby was not crying, not making any sounds. At first, I didn’t realize anything was wrong, but when I saw the look on my husband’s face, I knew something wasn’t right. I mouthed to him, “What’s going on?”
Emily was breathing, but she was having a hard time. Ruth said it was possible Emily had meconium in her lungs. Ruth and Sage attended to Emily, stimulating her feet, rubbing her back, and doing what I later learned is called positive pressure ventilation.
Sage called the paramedics almost immediately after Emily was born — at 12:15. We were worried and scared. There seemed to be no life in Emily. She was blue and floppy. But Jared and I had prayed over the entire pregnancy and this baby, multiple times a day. I thought, “There’s no way you can take this baby away.” I prayed for God to be in that room, to protect us.
During the uncertainty, Ruth and her team handled the situation so professionally with intention, poise, and laser focus. We were amazed. Even though it seemed to be a stressful, intense process, they were calm and knew exactly what they were doing.
Ruth encouraged us to talk to Emily. Jared said, “Daddy loves you.” And as I had throughout my entire pregnancy, I began singing, “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.”
Within seconds, Emily started screaming. Life came into her, and she got really pink. Everyone in the room started crying.
Ruth handed Emily over to me, so we could do skin-to-skin contact, which I knew would be good for her respiration. Emily latched on almost immediately and began nursing. Ruth continued to monitor Emily, patting her back, turning her, and suctioning her to help the fluid out of her lungs.
The paramedics got to The Birth Center at 12:22, but we declined being transported to the hospital because everything was good by the time they arrived.
Postpartum thoughts on birth and The Birth Center
Emily is doing well now and is super healthy. During one of our postpartum visits with Ruth, we told her that we understand why we chose her to catch our baby. We had interviewed two other healthcare providers.
Even though Ruth and her team in Sacramento were a little farther away from our home in Lodi, we chose The Birth Center. We picked Ruth because of her 30 years of experience and her knowledge. She is straightforward and presents the facts in every situation.
I am so grateful to the team I had at The Birth Center. Ruth never left my side, and I can’t say enough positive things about her. Sage was helpful and professional, and Amy was kind, patient, and encouraging.
They helped me achieve the natural birth I’ve always wanted, although I did have to let go of my dream of a water birth. There were no unnecessary interventions or drugs. Looking back, I believe things could have gone differently if Emily had drugs in her system after birth. She might have had an even harder time.
I wouldn’t go anywhere else but The Birth Center. I want Ruth to deliver all our babies.
Photo credit @cborbaadventures, #naturalbirth, #birthcenterbirths, #nursemidwives #sactobirth
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For more information about our prenatal care and birth services at The Birth Center, visit https://www.sactobirth.com/prenatal andhttps://www.sactobirth.com/birth-services
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