Jerica and David welcomed their second son, Whitman Keith on November 11, 2021, which also happened to be his due date! Jerica was motivated to have an unmedicated birth, even though she was birthing in a hospital that didn’t have a reputation for many births like that. She birthed her first with an epidural and it was a very long process, particularly after the epidural. This birth would be different. And advocacy and solid support would be key components in this birth experience.

The text came in at 8:50 pm on November 10: “My water just broke!!!! No doubt about it…it was A LOT.” Jerica had suspected her water might have broken several days before but the wetness subsided and well, this time there was no doubt. Jerica carried on with her evening plans and eventually went to bed in the hopes that her body would initiate contractions. But she woke up with very little happening. She approached the 12-hour post rupture mark and her providers wanted her to head to the hospital for labor induction. She was disappointed and a bit nervous since she had hoped to avoid the whole hospital intervention rigmarole.

To do all she could before going to the hospital, Jerica walked a mile, ate a protein breakfast of eggs and sausage, pumped, and even did an enema to bring on labor, and walking some more. She had mild contractions but nothing too significant by the time they left for the hospital.

On the way to the hospital and in triage, contractions were intensifying and growing more consistent. Jerica was dilated 4.5 cm, 90% effaced, but her baby was at -2 station. Something must have been keeping her baby high and once we figured it out, his head would drop down and her labor would take off.

Soon after she was settled in her room, Jerica requested a breast pump to try to bring on contractions before using Pitocin. After some pumping rounds, we walked the halls of the labor and delivery unit from 2:00 to 2:30. Jerica paused with each contraction and grabbing the arm rail did posterior pelvic tilts to encourage her baby’s head to come down behind her pubic bone, should that be what was holding him up.

Back in the room, Jerica lay back in the froggy walchers position to encourage her baby to get more centered in her pelvis so he could descend. And after that she resumed a pumping regimen of 10 minutes on, 20 minutes off, and walked the halls again. And her contractions were different. She felt more discomfort in the front, and they were stronger and closer. After walking, she did another round on the breast pump. Her contractions were consistently 3 to 4 minutes apart and Jerica started to dread the pain that was yet to come.

David placed a warm pad on her back which helped, and she did another round of pumping for good measure. It seemed to be working well to bring on good solid contractions. She swayed through contractions in David’s arms as the waves grew within her. Jerica was working harder and leaned over the cub for some rest. Around 5:15 pm she felt a particularly strong and long contraction that required the most attention and focus thus far. She was tired and thought to lay on her side for a bit in an effort to conserve her energy.

At 6:00 that evening her doctor came in to see how she was doing. Jerica consented to an exam and was excited to learn that she was dilated 8 cm. There was a forebag and her doctor recommended breaking it to continue the trajectory of her labor. Then Jerica went to the shower to labor through transition. “Why doesn’t everybody get in the shower?” she asked. “I never want to get out. We should have done this with our last birth.” It was a stark reminder to Jerica of how important it was to know your options and have the support to see them through. She remained under the warm water another 25 minutes. She might have stayed in longer, but she was feeling lots of pressure in the shower and she got a little shaky.

She returned to her side in the bed, and we played some hypnobirthing tracks at her request. Counter pressure helped with the back pain she felt as her baby moved lower in her pelvis, and she labored on her hands and knees over the cub to finish her dilation. She felt pushy soon after and breathed through intensifying sensations. Cold cloths on her neck and back, and a fan nearby helped to cool her as her body heated up.

Jerica was pushier by 7:30, and was bearing down more intensely. In fact, we saw her baby’s hair at 7:40! She pushed very calmly on her side, so calmly that her doctor kept commenting on how they never see women labor that way. She pushed with a yell, which helped to birth his head gradually. There was a tight cord around the neck so the doctor clamped and cut the cord right then, freeing things up so Jerica could push him the rest of the way out. And Whitman Keith was born at 7:52 pm! He got a lot of attention at first because he was a bit stunned, and when aggressive rubbing didn’t elicit a cry, he took a stop at the warmer. We heard him cry after a brief pause, and he was back in Jerica’s arms a few minutes later.

“That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever done,” exclaimed Jerica as the details of what happened ran through her mind. David was amazed and astounded as well, albeit a bit shocked and freaked out by the first moments of his son’s life. It can feel a bit frantic when there is any delay in that first cry. It was a different beginning than with their first son. But it was a different birth too. Whitman was nursing eagerly by the end of his first hour of life. And he weighed 8 lb. 3 oz.

Jerica gave her body what it needed to move headlong into active labor. She remained patient, rested when appropriate to do so, and was active as well. She though outside the box and used tools like breast pumps, enemas, and well thought out positions, to encourage her body and her baby to work together. She was powerful and empowered as she advocated for her wishes and was met with supportive providers who said things like, “We never see births like this.” Perhaps Jerica’s birth planted seeds that day in every person present, and maybe, just maybe, minds have been opened to consider that in birth, less can be more and usually is.

The Birth of Whitman Keith 11/11/21