My Birth Story with Twins

My Birth Story with Twins, C.M. and C.A., born on October 1, 2011

- written by Midwifery Group patient – L.C.

The time was around 6:30 pm. Dusk had arrived and sunlight was fast fading. Family members were in the kitchen of the home starting to eat dinner, while I was in the bathroom. I was getting ready to join everyone, when my body said otherwise. One of my water sacs had broken; a slow but steady stream started to flow. I was excited and frantic at the same time. I knew this time would come, but vivid memories of my natural VBAC with my previous birth came flooding back.

As soon as I composed myself and announced to my parents that my water had broken, I called my doula, Karen, who lives an hour away in Colorado Springs. By the grace of God, she was actually close by, finishing dinner with her husband at a restaurant in Littleton. She said she would be at my house in ten minutes. Meanwhile, I took a shower and made sure my hospital bags had what I wanted in them. During that time, I started experiencing active labor contractions. The pain had started. Soon after my doula arrived, my dad stayed behind with the girls, while my mom drove my doula and me to Swedish Medical Center. En route, I called the Midwifery Group at Swedish and spoke with the on-call midwife – Mary Wilterdink – to inform her that my water had broken and that I was heading towards the hospital.

Upon arriving at Swedish Medical Center’s Emergency Room, I was told I needed to answer some questions to complete my registration. The information I had submitted for pre-registration wasn’t enough?! This was torture; my contractions were occurring every five minutes or less, and each contraction was excruciatingly painful. I dreaded each subsequent contraction since each one brought me to my knees in writhing pain. After three contractions, the time between contractions narrowed to two and half minutes. The intensity and frequency of the contractions told me we didn’t have much time. How many freaking questions did this woman have to ask before we could head to Labor and Delivery?! Thankfully, the urgency was sensed by the staff, and I was soon wheel chaired towards Labor and Delivery.

Once in my room, I had to put on a hospital gown. The time was probably around 7:40 or 7:50 pm. I still had the ability to disrobe myself and put on the gown. Soon after attempting to empty my bladder, I was hooked up to some monitors (to monitor my heart rate and the heart rates of the babies) and an IV. I was depending on the hospital staff to work fairly quickly, since the labor contractions were out of this world and merciless. Inside I was again panicking like before; I must  be completely out of my mind to volunteer for an entirely natural delivery twice, back to back.

Yet again, my doula was superb at re-focusing me to think no further than one contraction, the next one. My midwife, Mary, was also a very calming influence. In what seemed like no more than five to seven contractions in the Labor and Delivery room, I felt a very strong urge to start pushing, of the sort where I could not necessarily stop from pushing. Mary calmly encouraged me to do whatever my body was telling me to do but to let her know the next time I felt an urge to push. In the state of Colorado, deliveries involving multiples, regardless whether vaginal or C-section, have to take place in the operating room. Mary needed to check me, and given the intensity of the contractions, I wasn’t sure how that was going to take place. Please, please, hurry!

When Mary checked me, I was complete: 10 cm dilated and completely effaced. I was ready to push with the next contraction. From there, everyone worked quickly to wheel me to the operating room. Moments later, I was in the OR, under bright lights, surrounded by people. I announced that my body desired to push yet again. One nurse, presumably an OR nurse told me to wait. Wait?! Wait for what?! My body is forcing me to PUSH. Mary, my midwife, told me to go ahead and push the next time I felt the same desire. A surge of relief hit as Mary gave me permission to push. Pushing would lessen the searing pain.

From there, a lot of the details and chronology of the detailed events blur. I remember balking at the suggestion that I had to put some of my own effort into switching beds. How was I supposed to muster the strength and coordination to do that when I was so huge and when the contractions were coming on so painfully hard and fast? Somehow we got it done. My bed and I were surrounded by people at every point.

My doula and my midwife, staying very close, gave me encouraging instructions, in breathing and in pushing. Baby A, the girl, was emerging. Mary (my midwife), in her comforting and reassuring voice told me when and how hard to push. At some point, Mary firmly but kindly told me I wasn’t pushing hard enough; and Karen (my doula) and Mary gently reminded me how to push. Awhile back, on one occasion at my house, Karen had me practice pushing. I was to bring my head and neck towards my lower extremities like I was doing a crunch and push as if I were having a huge bowel movement. Pushing with adequate force seemed impossible. I cried and wasn’t certain I was going to be able to push hard enough. I passed some stools and profusely apologized for doing so. None of the team seemed phased or bothered at what I had done. In what seemed like an eternity, but in reality five to seven minutes, I felt a quick and powerful gush of amniotic fluid fly out of me along with Baby A, head first. C.M. slid into the world at 8:10 pm on October 1, 2011, at 7 pounds 9.1 ounces, and 20 ½ inches long. I got to cut her umbilical cord; what a wonderful first experience that was.

Swedish staff laid sweet C.M. on my chest. My heart melted at the sight of her. Moments later, the obstetrician presiding over the birthing decided to break baby B’s water sac. Moments later, painful labor contractions started. Growth sonograms done in the weeks preceding the birth indicated that baby A was bigger and heavier than baby B. I was counting on that. I was exhausted from pushing C.M. out into the world. And now I had to push baby B out. Again, Mary and Karen offered instruction and comfort, letting me know when to push and that I was doing a good job. Like before, Mary was preparing to deliver the baby, while Karen was stroking my hair and gently coaching me. I had to convince myself I could do this: baby B was already descending and was smaller than his sister. Push, push, PUSH! Eleven minutes after C.M. entered the world, her brother joined her. Like the previous birth, a large gush of amniotic fluid flew out along with baby B, head first. C.A. was born at 8:21 pm on October 1, 2011, at 6 pounds 14.1 ounces, and 20 and ¼ inches long.

The work wasn’t done, yet. I still had to deliver the placenta for both babies. Thankfully, my body was allowed to take its natural course in delivering the placenta; so we waited. I was so exhausted I wanted to just curl in a ball and go to sleep. Not so sure how hard I was going to have to push to get the placentas out, I was a bit anxious. Not ten minutes after delivering C.A., my body was ready to deliver the placentas. With concerted effort and a bit of pushing, the placentas came out. They were huge and thick!

Soon, we left the operating room. My mom, my doula, my midwife, and a few other staff wheeled me back to my Labor & Delivery room, not twenty to thirty minutes after I had left that room for delivery. And the two babies, C.M. and C.A., came with me. Within the first half an hour to forty five minutes of life in the world, I had the pleasure of bringing the babies to my breasts. How satisfying that was to breastfeed the twins that soon.

The time from when my water broke to when the twins were delivered into the world was under two hours. Welcome beloved C.M. and C.A.. Each day, I am thankful for swift, complication-free deliveries.

- L.C.