James’ Birth Story

In this series we share birth stories of all kinds from mothers around the globe — with the hope that they inspire, educate and inform expecting mothers. Interested in sharing your birth story? Email us at info@themamanotes.com . Read more birth stories here.  

MAMA: Mary
BABY: James Anthony
BIRTH DATE: January 10, 2017
BIRTH SIZE: 7LBS 1OZ
BIRTH LOCATION: Hoboken, NJ

James’s Birth Story

On January 7th, a snowy Saturday evening, we arrived at the hospital for our scheduled induction. I was exactly one week past my due date. It felt so strange arriving to the hospital and not being in labor. We were brought to a delivery room, which would be our home for the next 3 days. Shortly after arriving, the doctor on duty checked to see how far along I was. Being only 1cm dilated and 0% effaced, I knew this baby was not ready to come out and was so nervous, especially since this was my first. The doctor decided to give me Cervidil a vaginally insert mediation that’s supposed to help jumpstart labor by softening the cervix since I was “thick and high”. The nurse hooked me up to an IV drip along with monitors to track contracts, and mine and baby’s heart rate. Then the doctor inserted the medication, which was quick and painless. The nurses suggested we get some sleep, so my husband and I started watching a movie and shortly after fell asleep. I woke up a few hours later in the middle of the night with intense pain. I looked over at the monitor and saw large mountains on the graph. The pain was steadily getting stronger, and I felt the need to stand to better cope. A nurse came in a few minutes later, a little frantic, asking if I was ok and said they needed to to take out the medication immediately. The main risk to Cervidil is that the medication can cause too many contractions, which can affect baby’s heart rate. This is exactly what happened to me. At around 3am the doctor removed the Cervidil insert and the pain subsided about an hour later. I was then able to fall back asleep. 

I woke up Sunday morning feeling OK, but anxious since the medication clearly did not work and I had no idea what would be next. The nurses brought me breakfast and advised I eat as this might be the last opportunity. Shortly after breakfast, the doctor now on duty came in to tell me she heard about my reaction to Cervidil, and explained that they would try another medication. This time Cytotec, a pill taken every few hours for 12 hours. I took the first dose and felt absolutely nothing, then the second, and third but still nothing. Every hour or so I checked the monitors- no contracts or changes to the baby’s heartbeat. I was given lunch and advised again to eat while I had the opportunity. The day crawled along, and my husband and I both started getting nervous as hours passed and nothing seemed to be happening. Each time the nurses came in to check on us, we would ask what the next course of action would be. Each time we were told it would be up to the doctor, but maybe Cervidil again or maybe Pitocin. At around 9pm we asked to talk to the doctor to find out what the next course of action would be. The doctor came in and told us that I could actually continue to take Cytotec for 24 hours (not 12 like we were originally told), and I would continue to get a pill every few hours until 10am the follow day, Monday. We both felt a bit uneasy as I continued to be given medication and nothing seemed to be happening. The nurses brought in dinner then shortly after I fell asleep and slept a solid 8 hours. 

On Monday morning, my husband and I woke up early and extremely nervous as the Cytotec didn’t seem to make any progress overnight. I literally felt nothing- no contractions, no pain, nada. I sent my husband downstairs to Dunkin’ Donuts for an egg sandwich and chocolate glazed munchkins as I was afraid of what was next and not being allowed eat breakfast. I was also so sick of the hospital food at this point and needed something good to get me through this labor process that hadn’t even started yet. The doctor came in around 9am to check my progress. I was still 1cm dilated, but now 1% effaced and a little softened however still nowhere near where I needed to be to deliver this baby. Because my cervix wasn’t soft or opened enough, a membranes sweep or breaking my water weren’t options. My husband bumped into the doctor whose decision it was to do induce me and thought I should try Cervidil again. We both felt extremely uneasy about this given what happened the first time I was put on it. The doctor on duty that morning, recommended that we try a foley balloon, a catheter inserted into the cervix to help open and soften. She explained that it would be uncomfortable going in, but it was a drug free option and if it didn’t work, we could always revert back to medication. My husband and I both agreed with her recommendation and felt the foley balloon was the best next step. It was extremely uncomfortable going in, but relatively quick. Immediately after it was placed, I felt strong cramping pain. The doctor said that was a good thing and meant it was working. The plan was to keep the foley balloon in for 12 hours then she would remove and recheck my progress. The nurse and my husband stayed by my bed coaching me through the pain, which were contractions. We watched them come and go on the monitor. After about an hour of laying down and switching from one side to the other, I tried standing which provided immediate relief. The pain was still there, but much more manageable. I spent the rest of the day and evening coping with the pain of the contracts switching between standing and sitting on a birthing ball (we brought our own thank god as the hospital didn’t provide one). My husband and I watched the contracts come and go on the monitor, which steadily became more intense as the day went on. By 7pm, I really needed him to hold me to get through the pain. I wasn’t sure if I would get an epidural, but the the pain was getting close a 10 out of 10. I managed to hang in there until 10pm, when the doctor came back to remove the foley balloon and check my progress. She examined me and shrieked with excitement. She said I was now in active labor at 6cm dilated and 3% effaced. The nurses thought removing the foley balloon might relieve some pain, but it didn’t. At that point I asked about an epidural. I was afraid of the whole process and that it would slow down or even worse stop the progress made over the course of day. The doctor said I was 100% far enough along to get one and recommended I do so now before it was too late. At that time, a whole new set of nurses were swapped in. My new nurse was absolutely amazing and able to get a full two bags of IV fluid through me quickly so I could get the epidural done almost immediately. I was very worried about getting an epidural, but the pain was just too comfortable. My husband had to leave the room during the procedure, but it was relatively quick and my nurse was so kind and coached me through the process. Within minutes, the pain was gone. It was such a strange feeling going from unbearable pain to none at all. I could see the stress on my husband’s face melt away after the epidural went to work. As I expected, the epidural slowed down my contractions. They had gone from being consistently 4 minutes apart to 7-10 minutes with no regular pattern. At first I was disappointed that labor slowed as I had now been in the hospital 2 days now and very anxious to deliver this baby. I was also disappointed in myself for not being able to delay the epidural, but it ended up being a blessing as I was able to get 7 hours of sleep that night.

On Tuesday morning, the doctor on duty (who happened to be my OBGYN) came to check my progress. She decided to break my water and give me the minimum dosage of Pitocin. She hoped this would help speed up labor, but explained there was always the possibility of a c-section. Every doctor and nurse I met the past three days thought a C-Section was a very strong possibility given my situation. The epidural was still working and I didn’t feel anything when she broke my water. My contracts soon after became consistent and closer together. I delivered a healthy baby boy about an hour and a half after later and only pushed for 30 minutes. James was born at 11:35am weighing 7.1 lbs and 21 inches long.