Positive Hospital Birth Story

Joelle’s birth did not go according to plan.

She and her husband eagerly anticipated the birth of their first baby, but like all new parents, they didn’t know what to expect.

She hadn’t really done any preparation. She believed that she could just trust the nurses to guide her and trust the process throughout. One thing she and her husband had learned was how he could counter pressure on her back for back labor. They did make use of this during some contractions.

Joelle received two membrane sweeps in hopes to get the baby to come early.

And the baby did…

2 days before her due date, Joelle was going to the bathroom. It was 5 AM. Suddenly, she felt a gush. Unsure what had just happened, she returned to bed and looked up what it felt like to have one’s water break. She read that it could be either a trickle or a gush and to lay down for a while then sit up and see if a gush came out. Joelle tried it, and sure enough, she had a gush. There were no contractions or pain, but she then knew that her water had indeed broken.

She woke her husband to tell him and then called the maternity ward at the hospital to see what she should do next. They said that because she didn’t have any contractions to wait until 7 or 7:30 when a doctor would be in.

They arrived at the hospital a few hours later, and they went through all the administrative procedures. The doctor came, but still, Joelle didn’t have any contractions.

Because she was GB positive, Joelle started her first round of antibiotics.

At 1 o’clock, she was induced.

Things seemed to progress quickly after that, as she had been given a high dose, but at around 4 PM, Joelle found out that she was only 5 cm dilated. Contractions were only 14 seconds apart, so she didn’t have time to catch her breath. She was given some things for pain management and then called to finally get an epidural.

The epidural kicked in as she was ready to push, though the doctor hadn’t returned yet.

At 5 PM, Joelle was fully dilated, but the doctor still wasn’t there. The nurses tried to subdue the need to push.

At this point, the only signal Joelle had to push was that her left hip would start to hurt. She simply had to tell herself to push. When the doctor returned, she and the nurses were really helpful. Both day shift nurses were actually Christians, and one of them had even taught Joelle’s husband Sunday school years before. They got her to try pushing in different positions, and she pushed for 2 hours.

At 7:15 PM, a baby girl was born.

It was shift change, and so there were lots of people in the room. The baby was perfectly healthy, weighing 7 1/2 lb.

They stayed 2 nights and were very cared for.

Joelle did have a hard time nursing at first, but she was able to meet with a public health nurse who really explained it and helped her a lot.

Joelle and her husband had a lot of support from parents after too.

They are so thankful for their precious daughter.

When asked what advice Joelle would give to new, expecting moms, she said to trust your body. She also said that if you have to get induced, it’s okay to get an epidural. The contractions came so quickly that she didn’t have time to recover between them. She said it’s okay to get interventions. Obviously, it’s up to you, but she would encourage someone not to feel bad if you do. She said to have a birth plan, but see it as a guide and not something written in stone.

FAQ With Joelle About Birth

1. Where did you see God’s provision during your birth?

Joelle saw God’s provision in at least two ways. First was that both nurses during delivery were Christians. She said it just made it feel calmer. Second was that the doctor who delivered her baby was the same one she had been seeing for her prenatal appointments. This made Joelle feel more comfortable with her.