The 5 births in 15 days

There is so much to write about. I have plans for so many posts, so here is a list. Maybe I'll get to them someday:

• The closing of St. Vincents/my GREAT birth experience there
• My thoughts on the relationship between pain management (medical or not) and birth outcomes
• A post that I already started, sitting in my drafts folder, about the NY Times article on Freda Rosenfeld, the lactation consultant
• Not birth related, but relevant to early parenting: the debate about babywearing, the safety of "slings", and where Metro Minis, my place of regular employment, fits in!
• The really groundbreaking Amnesty International report on maternal mortality in the US (I'm very proud because I helped work on it as an intern last spring)
• The recent NIH conference on VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean)
  

It's been a while, but for good reason. I attended my first birth since late November (had to take a break for health reasons) on Febuary 16th. Then another February 20th, five days later. Another February 26th, 6 days later. Another March 2nd, four days later. Another March 3rd, one day later. That is 5 births in 15 days.

FIVE births in FIFTEEN days. I'm birth-exhausted. Both of clients with due dates in March have given birth, so I'm just waiting on my April clients and I feel lucky to have this break (although I am on call for two of those April clients right now). I have five clients lined up for April, and I'm just praying, praying, praying, that they won't all give birth in 15 days. 30 days would be great. Could you do that for me, ladies?

I like giving stats on births, so let's recap the 5 in 15. All in-hospital. One had a midwife, four had doctors. One was induced (for low-fluids). All had epidurals. Three were c-sections: one was for "failure to progress", one was for "non-reassuring signs" in baby's heart rate, and one was scheduled in advance for breech presentation. Shortest (meaning my time spent at the labor, not the length of the labor itself) (and not counting the scheduled c-section, because that's about 40 minutes): 10 hours. Longest: 30 hours. Two tied at 30 hours.

But the most exciting birth by far, was one I was unfortunately unable to attend. On March 11th, one of my clients woke up to some mild contractions. Listening to both my advice and that of her childbirth educator, she went back to sleep, thinking her first-time labor would be a long one. She woke up two hours later, contractions still mild, and turned on a movie. She called me after the movie and told me, with great poise and lucidity, that she was in labor. Gauging her stage of labor by her voice, I thought "she's still in early labor" and said my usual "Great! Call me when anything changes or gets more intense" (among other things, I'm not that boring of a doula). I get a call from her husband one hour later and he says "We're going to the hospital, she can feel the baby coming out." I thought, "Yeah right. I spoke to her an hour ago and she sounded no where near this stage. She didn't even sound like she was in active labor. She probably just feels some premature pushing pressure." But, I leave for the hospital, and by the time I get above ground, I get a message from her husband:

"We didn't make it to the hospital, because she had the baby in the taxi! It's a boy!"

I learned a very important lesson. When a mom says, "I feel the baby coming out", ask "Do you feel like you have to push, or do you feel the baby's head literally coming out of your vagina?" Because later, she told me she felt the baby's head literally coming out of her vagina.

Full story here.

First, too many births at once, then a missed birth? Can't a doula get a break?