When I met prenatally with Casey and Scott, an induction for high blood pressure had already been discussed at her appointments. Of course, Casey had hoped to go into spontaneous labor. She had taken my childbirth class and chosen providers who were less prone to induce. But blood pressure was a deal breaker and so she and Scott quickly wrapped their heads around the new direction her birth would go.

Then they got the call. Casey’s labs were not optimal, so her midwife recommended she be induced. They readied their bag and Casey ate lunch. And the plan was to stay in touch. While the circumstances around her birth had changed, it wasn’t completely unexpected, so they were able to wrap their heads around the induction.

Her induction began with a foley catheter that evening at 5:45. And within the hour she was having contractions she could feel every 7 minutes. Casey had seen contractions on the monitor prior to the foley, but she hadn’t yet felt them. But as she labored a couple of hours, her blood pressure remained consistently high, so they decided on magnesium to help. This was another turn in the road and would require Casey remain in bed for her labor. But she took the changes with grace knowing the goal was a healthy outcome for both her and her baby. And to that end, an epidural was another consideration as a second line of defense for her high blood pressure.

Casey got through the night without a lot of action. She tried to rest as much as one can in a hospital. Then just before 6:00 am during a cervical check, Casey’s water broke. The balloon was removed at that time, and she was dilated 4 cm. It was baby day! Casey’s blood pressure was maintaining at a safer level, and she was managing the magnesium better than most with no nausea. Pitocin was bumped up gradually to encourage stronger, longer, and closer contractions.

Just past 9:30 that morning, Casey was having to really focus and breathe through her contractions coming 3-4 minutes apart by then. Scott did counter pressure on her back to ease the pain, which helped. Things really felt like they had escalated to Casey requested another dilation check to see about possible next steps.

And she was dilated 6 cm! This was progress and landed her into active labor. She chose an epidural to help with her blood pressure but also to aid in pain management. It didn’t take too long, and by 10:15 that morning she was feeling more comfortable. Scott managed to grab lunch by then as Casey tuned in to the pressure she felt in her bottom with each contraction.

Casey was moved into various side-lying positions in the bed and in two short hours her cervix managed to dilate to complete! It was 12:35 pm and with the epidural working well, Casey labored down for a few hours. And it worked beautifully for her! At 3:13 she began pushing and it didn’t take long at all. Her baby was right there! And in 10 minutes we could see her baby’s head starting to crown. Ten minutes after that they broke down the bed, and in 5 more minutes Gage Anthony was born at 3:32 pm on August 30, 2021!

Gage was smuggling a hand right by his chin when he was born, but thankfully it didn’t slow him down too much. He was still a peanut, weighing 6 pounds, 10 ounces, and measuring 19 inches long. He got lots of skin to skin with mommy and daddy as he got acclimated to the big world outside of his uterine home.

Casey’s birth experience was different than she had imagined it would be, but in some ways was the same. She labored with courage, and she tuned in to her body. She had the steadfast support of her husband who became very skilled at counter pressure! Casey had providers she trusted who tried to balance her desires for less intervention with the need for a healthy outcome. And she and her baby were brought together in a vaginal birth surrounded in loving support. It’s a great start, that’s for sure.

The Birth of Gage Anthony 8/30/21