Nevaeh- A Birth Story

Denali is a bubbly happy girl whose smile can light up a room. However, do not be deceived, behind the bubbly exterior lies an intelligent, strong, “to the point” kind of a woman. She educates and advocates for herself, and always speaks her mind. She is in her last year of school for a degree in Professional Preschool Education. Family is a big priority in her life, especially now that she and her supportive husband, Jared, have a baby of their own. This is the story of, not only the birth of a baby, but the birth of a new little family.

Denali had a beautiful pregnancy and relationship with her spouse. Photographs of her picturesque belly and laughing images of she and Jared line the walls of their quaint little home. The exquisite road map of stretch marks across her belly decorate her body even better than the photos decorate their home.

This couple was so excited. They did everything in their power to educate themselves and prepare for the arrival of their little girl. They researched and took classes. Jared was the first dad I’ve witnessed reading “The Birth Partner” by Penny Simkin in preparation to support his wife through what she hoped would be an unmedicated delivery. However, this devoted Daddy to be was on his way to the next state over for a business trip when Denali’s labor began.

Denali’s labor began like that of a Hollywood drama. She was on her way to the store with a friend (Shannon) when her water broke before contractions began at about 8:30pm. Denali could see her abdomen deflate as fluid flowed onto the seat of her car. The pair of friends made the necessary phone calls before gathering the birth bag and heading to labor and delivery. Denali first thought that she would head home after her initial check, but Jared was still an hour away, so she decided to stay in the hospital and wait for contractions to begin. Jared arrived to the hospital and the couple got some rest for a few hours before labor really began. At ~2:00 am, the nurses woke the excited parents and began a small dose of pitocin to speed labor along. Doula and parents circled the halls as things began to speed along fast.

When contractions became more uncomfortable, Denali took a lovely shower. The hot water soothed her muscles. On the pitocin, labor flowed fast, but Denali flowed right along with it in the intricate dance of birth. The water ran over her skin and down to the floor, every drop moving her baby closer to her arms. During the dance, nurses began to request vaginal examination to check her cervix. Denali at first denied this interruption of her labor song, but on the fourth request and under the pressure of the nurse, she agreed to an exam. This exam was excruciating. Her cervix was paper thin and open to 7 centimeters over this short stretch of time. The exam took nearly 5 minutes during which time, her body screamed in agony. The first tears of her labor began to escape the corners of her eyes as screamed desperate for them to stop. She would have labored forever before enduring this pain again.

“Just blow” they told her. “It will be over soon”

When the exam was finished, her body shook, her teeth clenched together, tears rolled down her cheeks as contractions rolled in again and again and again. Her body was coming off a surge of pain and adrenaline and did not have time to recover. The couple requested stopping the pitocin and letting her catch her breath, even for a short time, but their request was denied. Denali fought to manage her pain and as a result, her body fought back with wave after wave. This labor song was out of tune. Denali tried to get her dance in rhythm with a small dose of IV pain medication. This helped her to relax. She was able to work with her body again, but the unfortunate effect of this medication was to make her very tired. Far too tired, she knew, to push out her baby. Denali made the hard, but best, decision to get an epidural, not for her pain, but to give her energy for her baby.

After its administration, she was able to get some much needed sleep. Not long after she woke, her cervix was fully open. Neveah was still fairly high in her pelvis, but the team decided to give pushing a try. Jared counted aloud and encouraged his wife. She pushed with Herculean strength. Upbeat music pounded the background of her enormous workout. She pushed for one hour, then another. As the second hour passed, the restless night began to wear on her endurance. She was tired and there was more work to be done. Her doctor recommended a little bit of help. At first, the thought of an instrumental delivery after all her hard work and determination was devastating. Nonetheless her strength persevered. She decided that a little help would be the best thing she could do for her baby.

After she was prepared and the equipment in place, Denali took a big breath and gave one massive push to bring her baby’s head into the world. Only minutes later, the anticipated little girl made her full arrival. All the pain, all the distress, all the fatigue that this little family had been through melted away with the arrival of that baby girl. A bigger smile has never been seen than the one on Jared's face as this little family grew by one.

Epilogue-

After the delivery, the hardships continued to fall. Early life for this little family was not easy. Jaundice was a struggle. Sleep was a struggle. Breastfeeding was nearly impossible.

After supplementation, shields, and endless sleepless nights, Denali was on the verge of giving up. With help from an amazing lactation counselor, Monica Smith, this mamma was able to ditch the shields and feed her baby. It was a day to celebrate. Just one more victory in a well of triumphs this family has and will continue to fill.