A Doula's Perspective
7 pm my phone buzzed that I had a message. I checked to find out that Krysta's water had broken. A week past her due date, and we were all ready. This wasn't the first time we've been to the hospital to have this baby, either! A week earlier at a routine prenatal visit, her blood pressure was elevated and she was spilling protein in her urine. The doctors wanted to induce labor, so Krysta endured over 24 hours in the hospital. No labor. The decision was made to let her go home and rest, and return in three days.
I knew I had my chance. Pre-ecclampsia and ecclampsia or toxemia are serious complications of pregnancy. As pregnancy advances, blood volume increases quickly, taxing the liver. In modern mainstream medical protocol, the only solution is delivery of the baby. But traditional knowledge of midwives acknowledges that another solution lies in nourishment of the mother with a high protein, high salt diet with lots of vegetables and water.
I sat down with Krysta and Elijah and showed them clearly what she would need to eat to reverse her symptoms. I shared with them the Brewer Diet Guide and that this would make the difference between being allowed to go into labor naturally, and going through a difficult induction. They got serious and fed Krysta. Because her results were so good (her blood pressure and protein returned to normal and her swelling went down), she was able to pass through two more prenatal visits successfully.
After confirming that Krysta's water really had broken, I headed to her house. Upon arrival, I found that her contractions were still spaced far out, and very mild. We consulted together. Being that they lived 45 minutes from the hospital, we opted to head over to her sister's house, only 15 minutes from the hospital, where we could all try to rest until labor intensified.
The following morning, Krysta and I walked a lot. Inside, outside, upstairs, downstairs, trying to get contractions to intensify and increase in frequency. I was watching the clock, because I knew our time out of the hospital was quickly coming to an end. After discussing this with Elijah and Krysta, they decided to have lunch and then go in.
When we arrived at the hospital around 1 pm, they were a little miffed that Krysta had neither called nor come in, but they got over that pretty quickly. Seeing that Krysta was still only about 3.5 cm dilated, the advice was given to add pitocin and get labor moving. Krysta and Elijah agreed. Krysta labored for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. Around 7 or 8, she was getting quite tired and opted to try the tub for awhile. When she got into the tub, she felt like bearing down, saying that she had to use the bathroom. She had not been checked cervically since we arrived. when they checked at this time, she was 4.5 cm.
Krysta was overwhelmed! She cried and said she couldn't do this. When the nurse left, she and I went into the bathroom. i held her for a moment and then gently reminded her that i was there for her and that she needed to make a choice. I told her it was completely up to her what she wanted to do at this point. She could muster her strength and continue, or she could ask for an epidural and get some rest and let the pitocin continue to work. She chose the latter option.
Elijah and I took turns with her through the night, letting her rest and sleep as much as possible. In the morning, she had had not food since lunch the day before. Her blood pressure was climbing and I was worried she would end up with a cesarean, from complete exhaustion. So, we broke the rules a little. In addition to the clear liquids only that she was allowed to have, we had her drink some milk. The protein was just what she needed, and her blood pressure went back down.
Soon after, she was fully dilated and ready to push. As she got involved with the pushing, Krysta became very focused and determined and worked hard. And little Alma was born.
