Baby Keira

Keria Ann
March 12th at 5:52am
6lbs 9oz, 19.5inches

Our Birth Story:
After we called Tracey on 03/10 with the low amniotic fluid reading, we decided that our best course of action would be to check into the hospital for an induced labor, taking everything one step at a time. We decided that we would ask whether they would be willing to perform another ultrasound before induction started. The nurses were great, very receptive, and they asked Dr. Craig whether she would be willing to do it. The readings were much the same as in Dr. Soffici's office almost 12 hours earlier. Although I'm still not fully convinced of the value of the method, and Sara remains conflicted about inducing labor, the consistency of readings at least reduced our anxiety and convinced us that we were probably doing the right thing by proceeding with induction.

From that time forward, we had a great experience overall. The interactions with most of the nurses were first class - they were respectful of our wishes, and of our "lines in the sand" (no Pitocin, no IV fluids, plenty of time for Cervidil to work). We did have one nurse that was very critical of our wish to move slowly and avoid Pitocin, but after we stood firm and explained the reasons for our stance, another nurse took over our care. What helped a lot was Tracey's excellent advice on how to discuss options and procedures with the nurses. I think we were able to talk about procedures and alternatives from an informed position while being respectful of their knowledge and experience.

Apart from cervix-ripening induction, we got exactly what we wanted. Once Sara, went into active labor and had her waters break (about 30 hours after starting with Cervidil) the delivery came very fast within about 3 hours. Sara was fantastic - she had a lot of back pain and pelvic pressure, but was able to deliver with no pain medication. She had an IV lock in place from the start, but nothing was ever hooked up. We were allowed our wishes of clamping and cutting the cord only after it stopped pulsing and to have no post-delivery Pitocin (that is supposed to help prevent hemorrhage). We were extremely lucky that Wanda was on call and assisted with the delivery - she thoroughly deserves her great reputation. The main nurse present, Lindsay, was also really outstanding - she knew of our wishes from the shift change and, in addition to being very caring and hands-on until Wanda
arrived, she asserted our post-delivery wishes to the other nurses. We were also lucky that the baby's vitals remained stable during the whole process so that further interventions were not pushed more aggressively.

We both would like to thank Tracy sincerely for her advice and guidance. Considering the circumstances, we are happy with the
experience we had delivering at Cottage, especially the great set of nurses and Wanda assisting us. Our experience may be atypical because of the baby's stable vitals and fast delivery, but we found it to be possible to have our wishes respected in Cottage Hospital. It is undoubtedly important to be informed, prepared, and calm.

Kris