Shelby and Ryan welcomed their second child, Jeffery Clay, on February 4, 2021. (Fun fact: He was the third birth I attended on that exact day. It was a record-breaking doula day for me!) After giving birth the first time, Shelby realized what she valued in her birth experience and what she would want to do differently. Shelby prepared her mindset by reading many books that reinforced her goal for an unmedicated childbirth, and she took the advice of her labor and delivery nurse friend, and set up an interview with a doula. (I was the lucky doula she met.) And we soon began our client/doula partnership.

Shelby sent me a text just before 8:00 pm on February 4. She knew I had been up the previous night at a birth and then attended another one right after, so she held off texting me until she was pretty certain she was in labor. The first text came through at 7:51 pm explaining some signs she had been seeing and feeling. She developed contractions low in her groin that incorporated her entire uterus. And she was trying to decipher if they were labor contractions or perhaps her uterine response to a membrane sweep that had occurred at her appointment earlier that day. Then two minutes later she texted to say that she was 99% sure her water JUST broke. She called and spoke with her midwife and with contractions already coming 5 minutes apart and getting stronger, they left for the hospital within the hour. We decided to meet there and go in on the “early” side (so we thought), to allow Shelby time and space to settle in and labor.

We arrived at virtually the same time and were able to walk in together, all three of us. Shelby was triaged and breathed and swayed with Ryan through intensifying contractions. She declined an exam since she was dilated 4 cm at her appointment the previous day and her water had broken. Shelby also sang through her contractions until she was no longer able to, which was around 10:30. Over the course of an hour in triage where she got an iv setup for antibiotics, spent some time on the monitor, answered all of the admission questions, and also breathed through contractions, and finally got an exam by her midwife, Shelby was dilated 7 cm! 

Her labor had definitely taken off like a shot and she felt her son’s head deep in her pelvis with each contraction. There wouldn’t be time to use the shower like we had discussed. Instead Shelby was staying in the moment coping with one strong contraction at a time. After laying in the bed for the monitoring, she took a trip to the bathroom, and then we moved the bed into the shape of a throne for a more upright labor position. Shelby leaned forward with each contraction and felt immense pressure down low. We put cold wet washcloths on her forehead and neck as her body heated up with the work of labor. 

Shelby moved to her hands and knees upon the throne bed and that’s where her baby really moved down. Ryan used a rebozo to lift Shelby’s belly, providing some relief from the intense pressure. And something about that position and where Shelby was in her labor made for a perfect combination to send her headlong through transition. She vocalized with her contractions and with no time to even fetch the squat bar she requested, Shelby crawled higher in the bed and labored sitting in a semi-squat on the bed through her contractions. She breathed in some peppermint essential oil to stave of the waves of nausea rode in on transition. And in no time it was clear that she was about to have a baby and her midwife needed to get dispatched quickly.

Shelby was involuntarily pushing and it didn’t take long. She cried out her power as she brought her baby down, and she even reached down to feel his head for herself. That only motivated her to push again and when she did his head was crowning. Shelby paused and blew out air as her baby crowned and it would be the reason she didn’t tear too. She pushed as her midwife encouraged her, and after his head was out the rest of his body came into the world. Jeffery Clay was born at 11:29 pm in the unmedicated birth his mom had been hoping for and prepared for. Her face was the picture of such joy! She cried and then she was elated, exclaiming, “I can’t believe I did it!” So much emotion was felt by both Shelby and Ryan as they took in the details of their son. They even noticed that he had a flattened nose like his big sister did, the result of a baby whose face is squished up against the uterine wall for a long time. Clay weighed 8 lb. 2.6 oz. and measured 20 ½ in. long. But they wouldn’t know those details until after the magic hour was over.

Clay was latched to his mom’s breast not long after birth, and Shelby coasted on the euphoria of the oxytocin as she tried to remember the timeline of her labor. It’s a difficult thing to do in the midst of that hormonal haze whose purpose is to dull the details and heighten awareness for bonding, so we helped. All told, Shelby was in active labor a total of maybe 4 hours. It’s really quite remarkable and encouraging how different each labor can be. And sometimes when it goes the way this one did, it has mom already thinking of her next birth! I was so proud of Shelby and honored to be there to stand beside her as she realized her strength. I knew she could do it!

Christina and Sam welcomed their son, Sean Elliot, on April 19! They were students in my 8-week BirthWorks class as well. Christina’s labor was a lesson in the unpredictable nature of birth. It was confusing from start to finish. I got a text from Christina around 6:20 pm on April 18 telling me there was a good chance her water broke. With leaking here and there, after many hours had passed, she went in to the hospital as advised by her midwife, just to confirm that her water had indeed broken. And yes, it had, although she was not yet having contractions. Her cervix was 3 cm dilated, 75% effaced and her baby was at -2 station. She returned home to try and rest with the plan to call at 6:30 am with an update.

At 4:45 am, they had an update. Christina was contracting and they seemed closer than 5 minutes when Sam tried to time them. She had labored in the shower for an hour and was feeling significant back pain with contractions. Sam did counter pressure and encouraged Christina to labor in forward leaning positions. Her labor was intensifying and Sam recognized the change in Christina’s demeanor as her labor required more of her focus. She returned to the shower to labor and when she emerged it was time for me to come. 

When I joined Christina she appeared to be laboring very actively. She was feeling discomfort in one hip, which had me wonder if her baby was still a bit malpositioned. Christina labored on her hands and knees over a pile of pillows, side-lying, standing by the bed, all as her contractions grew stronger and stronger. She cried out at the peaks which had us suspecting it was nearing time to head back to the hospital. One more trip to the shower to labor, and then it was time to make the trek. 

When Christina arrived at the hospital around 8:00 that morning and was triaged, she was dilated a surprising 3 cm. She had not opened significantly from her previous check nearly 10 hours earlier. She was effaced to 90% though and her baby had moved down to -1 or 0 station. The unremarkable change in dilation was a shock to all of us. However, a tidbit was confirmed with the exam that shed some light on her lack of progress: her baby was in the OP position. There was still some work to be done. But Christina had been up most of the night with contractions that were closer than 5 minutes apart for much of that and she was tired. She opted for some iv pain medication in the hopes it would help her to relax and maybe get some rest. 

Things changed incredibly quickly after that because by 11:15 am Christina was dilated 9 cm! (Remember, she was only 3 cm dilated 3 hours earlier!) Things progressed so quickly once she relaxed! And when she rolled over to her hands and knees, her baby made his final rotation and was born OA! And you know when he was born?? Sean came barreling into the world at 11:34 am after hardly any pushing! He weighed 7 lb. 4 oz. and measured 20 in. long. He changed his parents’ lives in that moment, and proved that every bit of it was worth it. Christina was a warrior through an especially unpredictable labor. She followed the cues of her body and trusted that her decisions were always the best ones. You truly rolled with it and you did so during a pandemic. Congratulations to you both! You should be so proud.

Sean Elliot today!

These are unprecedented times. Have you heard? Of course you have. And you have probably
said that same thing yourself. We are throwing this phrase about so much with the COVID-19
pandemic that it is becoming alarmingly normal to be living in unprecedented times. Everyone
has been impacted by the adjustments that have been made to preserve health and safety. And
right about now, if it hasn’t already, it’s become a struggle. I’ve got to be honest, when I first
learned of the restrictions at our local hospitals, I was angry. I was upset that the women who
had chosen to have doulas at their birth would be forced to decide between having their
partner present or their doula. But when I took some time to reflect on the severity of the
situation, my heart was settled knowing that the restrictions were made for the health and
safety of everyone, including me. So I changed my thinking and jumped on board with my doula
sisters in being creative and inventive during the pandemic.

At the heart of the matter, my work as a doula is the same as it always has been. We have our
prenatal visit and our postpartum visit, only now it occurs virtually using Facetime or Zoom. It’s
important more than ever that we connect and discuss fears and worries about the upcoming
birth. It’s coming together as a team, and an opportunity for me to reassure and encourage
during what is such an uncertain and to some, scary time to have a baby. I am present for my
clients, offering reassurance and nonjudgmental support. And then postpartum, when stay in
place mandates have limited or eliminated the option of postpartum help from family and
friends, it’s critical that I check-in with my clients to see how they are doing and to answer any
questions or give any encouragement I can. It’s easy to feel isolated after giving birth in
ordinary times. In a pandemic, it’s pretty much a guarantee.

While the current situation has made it so I am not physically present in their birth space, I’m
still a presence at their birth. Let me elaborate. Some clients have chosen to have steady
support by way of video, using Facetime or Zoom. We are in touch in early labor same as
always, by phone or text. Then when their labor intensifies to the point that they would
summon me to join them, we setup the video connection and I am there. The words are the
same, the questions are those I would ask in person, and the recommendations are as the
situation warrants (cold cloth, position changes, comfort measures). Sometimes I am quiet,
assessing, watching and listening, ready to help when the need arises. But we know that
women are made to birth and as such staying silent is as important or more so, than speaking.
Some clients have preferred steady connection the whole way through with text and phone
calls and so I have honored that preference too.

I have been so very pleased with the reception I have received as a virtual doula in our area
hospitals as well. The nurses are working so hard to take care of their patients with the added
stress that comes with working in the medical field during a pandemic. And they have
graciously welcomed me to the birth space virtually. They have helped to incorporate me by
moving the laptop when the partner has forgotten, so I have a better view of my client. I have had conversations with the nurse, midwife, or doctor when there is reason to talk about options and to encourage the birthing woman as a team. We are all still connected, still have the same goal, and still have a job to do.

While the current situation has its challenges, I am grateful to still have the opportunity to
serve my clients. There is more need for doula support more than ever, with such a feeling of
uncertainty day by day, and the fear about bringing new life into a world that feels so unsafe.
As doulas we can still do what we do best—support our clients, offer reassurance and
encouragement, and to be a lifeline when they feel disconnected from the world. Hopefully, we
can return to being a physical presence sooner rather than later. But for now, this will work. We
have a job to do. And our clients are counting on us.