I’m Genna. I have three crazy children and three different and crazy birth experiences.
First Birth
When I was pregnant with my first child, I had no idea what I was doing. No one really does, it’s your first time! My husband and I did the birthing classes at Womack and I remember hearing many times about how you should create a birth plan, how you should try to make the hospital room a comfortable space for you and how you should sign the epidural paperwork even if you weren’t planning on using it. All of it sounded so surreal but I followed everything the nurse told us. I made a birthing plan that said I wanted to play relaxing music and I wanted the lights off, that I didn’t want an epidural and wanted to be able to walk around.
As my due date approached and then past, I was scheduled for an induction and had no idea what to expect. When I got checked in, I was 2 centimeters dilated, 0% effaced and my water was completely intact. To start my dilation and contractions, I was started with a low dose of Pitocin and the doctor suggested a mechanical dilator. I had no idea what that was, but was informed that a balloon covered catheter would be inserted into my cervix and inflated with saline. Gravity pulled against the balloon to stretch my cervix and begin dilation.
Once I hit 5 centimeters, the balloon catheter fell out and my water was broken. At this point, every half hour my pitocin level was increased with the hopes of contractions starting on their own. Unfortunately, as I was hooked up to a pitocin drip, I also was confined to the bed which made it hard to start contractions.
Slowly, contractions started as I hit 7 centimeters and at that point (being confined to the bed), I was struggling with labor pains. I began asking for an epidural. When the anesthesiologist came, I was told I needed to hold completely still or my epidural would be compromised. Trying to hold completely still at this point was pretty much impossible for me.
When the epidural kicked in, I realized fast that the anesthesiologist had missed the mark because only the left half of my body was receiving the numbing medication. I tried to explain this to the nurse, but I was told that it was just taking longer to get to the other side of my body. I was rolled over in the hopes it would spread, but it didn’t. When the anesthesiologist came back in to check on me, I explained to him how I was only receiving medication on one side and was told that it was because I hadn’t held still enough. He flushed the IV line and restarted the drip but it didn’t help anything and only numbed the left side even more.
At this point, I felt completely helpless and panic stricken. I was in extreme pain on my right side and stuck in a bed where I literally could not move. When it was time for me to put my legs in the stir ups, my husband had to lift my left leg into the stir up for me numerous times because it kept falling out. Also, up to this point I had the lights down low and soft music playing but as soon as it was time for me to push, all the lights were cranked on and there were multiple people running into the room that I hadn’t seen before. It all became very medical and “hospital” to me.
Another part of my birth plan was to have a mirror down there so I could see my son crowning and was thankful that my nurse remembered that part (as I was out of my head in pain). After my son was born and was placed on my chest, I was encouraged to try and get him to latch. All in all, from zero to birth had taken 25 hours.
Second Birth
I was pregnant with our second child and gave birth in Seoul, South Korea. My husband was
given orders for USAG Humphreys, Pyeongtek, South Korea and I ended up getting pregnant shortly before the long flight overseas. Our base did not have a hospital and rather than give birth in a Korean hospital, we decided my husband would take two weeks vacation and we would stay in the Stork’s Nest (temporary living quarters) on USAG Yongsan to give birth at 121 Brian Allgood Community Hospital.
My due date crept up and I was only dilated to three centimeters and 50% effaced. I had an induction scheduled for a day after my due date and on the day before my due date, my water broke. I was so relieved!
I was hooked up to an IV drip but could walk around, bounce on a ball and go to the
bathroom. As the hours went on, I failed to progress. I tried to communicate my concern about hitting the 24-hour mark after my water breaking to my doctor but despite being on an American base, my doctor was Korean. My husband and I had a very difficult time communicating with him regarding our concerns which made me very nervous. When we spoke with our nurse, she explained that he was probably the worst doctor we could have gotten which made us even more on edge. He kept telling us, “The baby will come on its own. We take this nice and slow, nice and slow.” When we finally got through to him that my water had broken 22 hours ago, he quickly ordered a Pitocin drip which I already knew (from my first birth) that meant I would be bed ridden.
Because of the previous ordeal, I chose not to have an epidural. Instead of being started on a slow dose and easing into the Pitocin, I was started on a high dose and I began having very painful contractions almost immediately. I also dilated very quickly.
In under an hour, I had gone from five centimeters dilated to crowning. My son was born so fast that when he came out, his face was all bruised and he was not crying. I instantly began panicking when I couldn’t hear his crying and the doctor and nurses told me he needed to be cleaned up and weighed first. I yelled for my husband to follow them as the doctor cut the cord and the nurses washed our son and put him under a warming light.
I had suffered such shock from the immediate birth that my body instantly began shaking. When my husband saw the amount of blood I had lost all over the table and floor, he passed out. He was woken up and taken down to the ER to be checked out (He has a history of closed head injuries) and I was left alone in the birthing room with my son, who I was not allowed to hold.
As soon as I was stitched up, I immediately got out of bed to stand next to my son
under the warming lamp. About an hour after birth, I was told we had to be moved to a Mother-Baby room and I walked while pushing my son in a bassinet and carrying my overnight bag. I was finally able to hold my son about an hour and a half after he was born.
Third Birth
By this time, I was over giving birth. I had gotten pregnant in South Korea and had to fly home at the end of my second trimester, my husband followed shortly afterwards. I settled into my best friend’s house in Kansas. She is a OB/GYN nurse and I felt much more comfortable knowing she would be there, that her doctor would be my doctor and I could trust that my wishes would be listened to. My daughter’s due date was October 29th and with my past two pregnancies going over their due date, we set an induction for October 26th .
When we arrived to the hospital, we were put in a private suite style room. I was measuring at three centimeters dilated, my water was broken and was started on a lose dose of Pitocin. I decided to get an epidural right away. At this point, I knew how much pain I had gone through in my last two births and with being on Pitocin I would be bed ridden anyway, I figured I might as well get it over with. And honestly, it was worth it. I didn’t feel any pain or complications with the medication. As we got to about 1:00pm, I began calling everyone to let them know I was only dilated to five centimeters and was setting in for a long night.
Both of my previous births had taken about 23-25 hours from start to finish and I was anticipating the same for my daughter. After I got off the phone, my nurse came in and suggested I roll to my side as that can help gravity pull the cervix open. As I was rolling over, I started to feel a lot of pain and pressure in my lower abdomen. I rolled back onto my back, spread my legs for my nurse to check my dilation and my daughter had begun crowning. My nurse literally pushed my daughter’s head back inside me as my husband called my best friend so she and the doctor could run to the room and deliver her. As each contraction pressed me to push her out, I had to fight against them to hold her in until the doctor could come.
When the doctor finally got there, I just let go and my body pushed her out on its own. She literally fell into my best friend’s arms. From start to finish, my daughter was born in six and a half hours. I felt so much better with my daughter’s birth. We did not have to change rooms and rolling beds were brought in so my husband and our two boys could stay in the room with me.
I know there is a lot about my first two births I would do differently but in the reality of it, there wasn’t many other options for us. Unfortunately, I feel like that is the reality for a lot of military families. You get stuck with hospitals where the nurses are overworked and the doctor’s see you as just another patient.
I did not educate myself enough about alternative birthing options while I was pregnant with my first son and looking back at the birthing classes, it wasn’t even mentioned. I always assumed you give birth in a hospital and had never heard of a doula before. I put so much faith in the doctors and nurses (who didn’t even know me) that I didn’t even know how to listen to my own body.
I am thankful that so much attention is being brought to women owning their pregnancy and delivery. There is no shame in getting epidurals, in birthing in hospitals, in going drug free or home births. It is your choice how your baby is brought into the world.
Genna Brong is a stay at home Mom of three crazy kids and two dogs. Currently, she is also a part-time assistant and going back to school for her Bachelors Degree in Business and Graphic Design. Last year, she checked running a half marathon off her bucket list and is training to make it a yearly tradition.
