Topic: Doula Talk
She knew what she wanted. . .she wanted to know that her body could work. She wanted to do it alone, untouched by monitors and needles. She wanted her baby to pick his own due date.
K had been through a previous tough pregnancy and birth. Tough. Hard. Long. She wanted this time to be different. She wanted a positive memory. She had asked me to help her reach this goal. . .be there to support her. I was honored to accept. I felt a connection with her. . .a connection I couldn't describe. An unexpected connection since we'd only known each other about 5 weeks. But we meshed. I understood her and she understood me.
K and I had enjoyed a nice long, three hour conversation together on that Wednesday morning, February 21. She was two days from her due date and we really got a chance to talk.
It happened to be a very busy day for me: her appointment, getting Cale fed and to school, my appointment, watching Easton, family pictures. Finally, I got some much needed "self" time that night. However, it didn't last long. K called me about 9:15 telling me it was time. . .she was ready.
When I got to the hospital, she was in pain, a suprising pain that she was trying to handle, but that scared her. She paced, crouched, paced some more. It seemed she was trying to get away from the pain, but she couldn't.
An hour later, she was begging to push. She was letting her body do the work. Her husband, watching with internalized excitement, talked non-stop. He was nervous, he felt helpless, but he knew her wishes. He knew she could do this.
And she did. She got her birth. A fast birth. A birth untouched by needles or monitors. A birth that showed her that her body could birth a baby without pitocin, without augmentation, without interference. And her words at the end stated it all for me. She looked at me, eyes glazed over with adrenaline and excitement, as she said, "Did you see that? I just pushed a baby out of my vagina. I did it!"
K did it. She birthed a perfect and gorgeous baby boy, a little over an hour after reaching the hospital. Fast and furious yes, but also miraculous and beautiful. It can be done and it's magnificent.
