Rising Moon Midwifery

Patrick Francis Regan Jenney
Friday, December 10th, 3:15 AM
7 pounds, 12 ounces, 20 inches

Our journey to Patrick's birth began six years before he was born. I had a traumatic c-section in December 1998 with my son Paul. I had every intervention available, including forceps, vacuum, an episiotomy and a cesarean. Fortunately, I had no problem bonding with my son, but I donÕt remember seeing him until the next day, after he had been given bottles of formula in the hospital nursery. When I became pregnant again in 2001, I vowed not to repeat the experience and had a rewarding hospital VBAC with my daughter Isabella. Her birth wasn't without complications. Although I didn't have any pain relief medication, I had a hemorrhage afterwards and did not get to bond with her until hours after her birth and a trip to the operating room to stop the bleeding.

After months of contemplation, my husband and I sat down to list all of the pros and cons of a hospital birth versus a homebirth. Living only a mile away from a hospital, we couldn't come up with a reason to go there unless it was absolutely necessary. I found midwives willing to attend me at home, but they changed their minds when I was 37 weeks pregnant. I found a new midwife named Kate who would attend me at home. That turned out to be one of the best things that happened. I had my birth team all ready to go Ð my husband Paul, midwife Kate, doula Jane, my mom, sister, best friend, and all of my children (Paul Jr. and Isabella and my stepdaughters Celia and Hillary.) Kate brought the birth tub to my home visit before the birth and we were ready to go.

The night of December 9th, I was one day past my official due date. I'd been having irregular contractions for days, but nothing regular or painful. Around 10 PM, I began having contractions that I couldn't ignore. They became regular almost immediately and were about 5 minutes apart. I was in my bedroom and every time I would have one, I'd drop to my knees on a pillow and breathe through them. The kids were asleep and Paul went downstairs to get something to eat. I had a really strong one while he was gone, and when he came back I told him "Don't leave me again!" That's when we called Kate and Jane, and they were both headed over. I called my mom and my sister and let them know tonight was the night.

Things moved quickly from there. By midnight, we were filling the birth tub in the living room and we called my closest friend, Stella. Jane arrived first and immediately began squeezing my hips together when I would have a contraction. It felt so good - it almost made the contraction painless. Almost, but not quite! I got into the birth tub and continued to breathe through the contractions. They were coming really quickly, and I remember saying I couldn't do it. It hurt so much. During this time, Kate, my mom, sister, and friend arrived. My kids also joined us one by one. Isabella had been awake in my room with my mom for a while and they came downstairs. Paul and Hillary came over to the tub to give me a kiss. I was in the tub holding on to my husband's neck. It seemed like it went on forever. Jane would whisper encouraging things in my ear, remind me to breathe, and tell me to get on top of the contractions when I would feel one coming. Everyone kept giving me drinks of water after each contraction. I started to feel like I was going to push, so Kate checked me and I was 7 cm. She told me his head was right there. I put my finger in and felt the top of his head! I said, "Is that his head? Oh my God, that's his head!"

Next thing I knew, the contractions were back to back. I'd been in the tub for about two hours, and I finally got out. I couldn't find a good position, and I walked around in circles for a minute, trying to figure out what to do. Finally, I got on my knees and put my hands on a chair to steady myself. I kept my left knee on the floor, and put my right foot on the ground and pushed. It hurt so much that I started to climb up on the chair, trying to get away from the pain. Something went off in my head that told me if I didn't push the baby out, I was going to be feeling this pain forever! I pushed as hard as I could and felt his head start to crown. I think I yelled something, and then he came out! All of a sudden, the pain was gone and he gave a cry. I couldn't see him yet because I was facing away from him, but Kate handed him right up to me and he was beautiful. I looked at my husband, and over at the couch to see the smiling faces of my children and my sister. It was a moment like no other.

I leaned back with Patrick on my chest and took my tank top off so we could be skin to skin. I put him to the breast briefly. At this point, my mom was running up and down the stairs putting towels and blankets in the dryer so they would be warm. It was very dark in the room and someone turned on the closet light so we could see. Kate was feeling the cord and when it stopped pulsing, she told me I could push out the placenta. A big clot of blood came out and then I pushed the placenta out very easily. My husband cut the cord, but several inches were still hanging which gave the kids a chance to cut it themselves later.

Eventually, I got on the couch and Kate and her assistant Christy (who had arrived just before the birth) examined me for tears. I only had a small skid mark and didn't feel any pain! Then Paul Jr. and Isabella cut the rest of the cord with Kate's help and Celia and Hillary weighed him. He was 7 pounds, 12 ounces, and 20 inches long. Kate did the newborn assessment while everyone looked at the baby. Everyone took turns holding him. By this time, he was really tired and didn't want to nurse. He fell into a deep sleep.

A bit later, Kate and Jane helped me upstairs and into the shower. I was very weak and barely rinsed off because I didn't want to pass out. I got into bed with Patrick who was still sleeping. At this point, Kate and Jane were concerned that he hadn't nursed so they checked his blood sugar, which was low. We called the pediatrician and made an appointment for him to go in later that morning. Patrick still wouldn't nurse, so we began to express colostrum into a little container and Paul went to the drugstore to buy some formula to get his blood sugar up.

His blood sugar went up but we decided he should see the pediatrician anyway, just to be safe. I was still very weak, so Paul took him with Jane and Kate. They came back and Patrick was just fine. I was so sad that I had to be without him so soon after his birth and that he had to go to a germy doctor's office just hours old, but I was so tired that I was just lying on the couch with my mom and sister, waiting for him to get back. Stella had gone home earlier, but she came back and picked up my kids to spend the day at her house. They were all exhausted but exhilarated!

Patrick is now 20 days old. Sometimes I just look at him and I can't believe the miracle that he is. I love to tell people how he came into the world. I can't imagine having my child in a hospital with bright lights amongst strangers. My child was brought into the world in his own home, surrounded by his family and friends. My support was incredible. Every time I looked up from my labor, I saw a familiar face. Patrick's birth was, without a doubt, the most incredible moment of my life.

Dina Jenney
mom to Patrick, HBAC 12/10/04