The Miracle of Childbirth

Having c-sections for all 3 of my pregnancies left me in the dark about the miracle of childbirth. All of my children are miracles and blessings from above, what I am talking about is how the body can endure and make a way for new life.

My youngest daughter had asked me to be in the room with her when she had her first child this year. I was excited, nervous, and was finally going to see, hopefully, the real deal. The time came in the early morning hours, and I entered her room with caution. She was at a 3 and just hanging out and not making a big fuss about her steady contractions. By the time she reached a 5 she was in steady pain and was trying different positions to try and ease her back pain. I did all of the things I remember from tv, my vbac experience, and other people's experience to help. I finally asked her if she needed some pain medicine. She said yes. So, from about a 5-6 she would go to sleep in between contractions and was left alone for those tiny phases of rest. When 7 hit, we had actually just ordered a coffee from the shop in the hospital when my son in law called his mother who was with me. "The Dr. just came in!" So, my daughter's mother-in-law and my friend I can say tells me to go ahead and she will wait on the coffee. I scooted real fast to the elevator and boldly went into the room. The Dr. was gone but that she was making good progress, and she was about a 7. Thats when everything changed........My baby daughter was moaning in agony, trying to breath without holding her breath, her modesty is out the window, and she is dealing with it until it would go away for a few seconds it seemed like. When the next contraction would come all of us would try something new. Ice chips, cold rag, rubbing the back, and then the fan would be her favorite. I would recommend a fan to anyone after this experience. My daughter looked like an Egyptian princess with all the hands trying to sooth the process, but she wasn't feeling like one. She was committed to not having an epidural and we stuck by her through the hard part although I do not know if I could ever be that strong. The nurse had come in and said she would come back in about thirty minutes. The next contraction she had a strong urge to push, and she was ok with us calling the nurse back. Sure enough, the nurses checked and decided it was time to page the Dr. She started the pushing process with oxygen on her face, her body having to contort to a very hard position when you are tired, in pain, out of breath, and doing this in sessions of 10 counts of a long sit up x 3 every time there was a new contraction! I am actually looking and helping with a leg and all I see is this nickel size space and I am thinking she has so long to go, and she is going to wear down. At this point my daughter is determined and with just another push here comes this little life. She is crying immediately! They put this little miracle on my daughter's chest, and she is stops crying instantaneously. I witnessed the miracle of childbirth! It was beautiful. I looked back to my own children's births and even though I did not have the same process, the feeling I had when they were placed on my chest was the same.