Author name: Diane

Cherokee Women’s Health patient, Chelsea, delivered her first baby boy and candidly shares her personal pregnancy and labor journey. Chelsea is a rock star and shows, once again, that women can do anything! Induced with First Baby I was induced with my first baby, Piper, where I had a long, painful and unpleasant experience. I wanted so badly to be able to work closely with my midwives to do all we could to have this baby without being induced. They reassured me that if there was anything slightly concerning or if I end up needing an ultrasound, they could arrange it at the hospital. Real Contractions or Braxton-Hicks ? I was 39 weeks and five days pregnant and around noon on a Monday, I began experiencing cramping, which I assumed were Braxton-Hicks contractions. I timed them and they were 6-8 minutes apart and they kept happening so the possibility that they were real contractions definitely crossed my mind. The cramps were uncomfortable but not painful, so I proceeded to go about my day playing with Piper and doing chores. Staying busy, I barely noticed them so I continued to tell myself they were not real contractions. As the discomfort grew, I drank extra water, took a shower and layed down to see if they would go away. They slowed down but continued. I barely mentioned it to anyone, not even my husband Caleb. I was in complete denial. After I put Piper to bed, I watched a movie with my dad and grandma and continued timing the contractions. They were 30-40 seconds long and 5-6 minutes apart for one hour. At 10 pm that night, they were intensifying and I think I started to realize that these were in fact, real contractions. These Contractions are Real I assumed I would go past my due date so I wasn’t fully prepared to have a baby that night. I started getting ready just in case. I thought I had at least until the next day but I kept preparing. I threw in Piper’s laundry, finished packing the hospital bag, and got things ready for Piper’s grandmas to watch her. At 11 pm that night, I crawled into bed and was extremely uncomfortable. I told Caleb that I was having contractions. We timed them and they were 4 minutes apart. I got up and got in the shower. I draped myself over the yoga ball because I was too tired to stand and it hurt to sit. The hot water on my back felt great but nothing dulled the contractions at this point. I got out of the shower and called the on-call midwife at Cherokee Women’s. The contractions were back-to-back and often less than 3 minutes apart. “Oh honey, you’re having a baby tonight. It’s time to come in and see us.” – The on-call midwife at Cherokee Women’s I started panicking a little. I changed the laundry and then went to wake up Caleb. He started gathering things and I went to let my mom know. I asked my mom, “What if this isn’t labor and they send me home?” She said, “So what! It will be okay.” “But what if this is really labor and they don’t send me home?” I asked. She laughed, “Then you’ll have your baby!” These questions may not make much sense but the realization was setting in and I was honestly a little scared. Having My Baby at Northside Hospital We drove to Northside Hospital Cherokee, where the intensity of the contractions quickly increased. While checking in, I could not sit down. Once in the room I changed and went to the bathroom where I saw that I had lost my mucus plug and had what is called a “bloody show.” That’s when I knew I wasn’t going home. When the nurse checked me, I was only dilated to 3 centimeters, and they decided to have me stay. They started me on antibiotics because I was GBS+. GBS (group B strep disease) is a common bacteria that is present in one quarter of pregnant women. You can be positive with one pregnancy and negative with another. There is no way to cause or prevent it and it’s not harmful to the mom, but can be harmful for the baby. The goal of the doctor and nurse were to have two rounds of antibiotics given before the baby arrived. I grew incredibly uncomfortable and needed to get out of bed. They wanted to monitor the baby for 15 minutes before I moved around. Once that time was up nothing could keep me sitting there. My body ached with each contraction. There was barely a moment in between each of them, making it hard to function. I asked to get into the tub and I sat in there for five minutes. It felt great but at some point that didn’t even help. Epidural, Please! Caleb stood behind me and tried different pressure points on my back and hips to try and help me through. This is when I told them I wanted the epidural as soon as possible. I could no longer catch my breath because the contractions would not stop. As one would end the next would begin. We had been there for only 45 minutes at this point. I couldn’t stop shaking. They checked me and I was 6 centimeters dilated. They told me I was shaking because my body was dilating so fast. I couldn’t stay lying down so I spent the time waiting for the epidural as I leaned on Caleb or the bed. I’m Scared, I Can’t Do It! I remember telling my wonderful nurse to shut up at one point. I think she was explaining something to me in the middle of a contraction. I was definitely not my most pleasant. But Mandy, my nurse, was so good at centering me and reminding me to breathe. Caleb was such a rock star too and super supportive. “I’m scared. I can’t