Tracy had the birth of her dreams on Friday. She did this at our local hospital where such a birth, a VBAC, is banned! She came up with an amazing plan, and it worked out magnificently. This plan included hiring both myself and an OB. The result was an unprecedented collaboration between myself and someone who has been hostile towards me in the past. Let me fill you in on the details!
First, a little of Tracy's story... Tracy's first birth was the typical hospital induction that went awry and ended in cesarean section. Baby was posterior. She was induced with pitocin. She needed an epidural. The baby never rotated. She pushed for five or six hours, numb from the waist down and on her back. Not feeling the contractions, her team had to scream "Push!" for her when contractions showed up on the monitor. Rolled into surgery finally. The drugs from surgery gronked her little system so the first hours with her baby were just a blur, she can't even remember them. The first weeks were a misery of surgical pain, drug-induced fog, depression, and breastfeeding problems. She was shocked this had happened to her - her mother, grandma, and aunt all had easy natural births! She felt betrayed by her doctor, and upset with her husband and mother for not protecting her from this. She felt guilty for having such emotional turmoil around her birth experience, even though she got her healthy, beautiful baby. "My first birth was the worst experience of my life." She wanted her second to be the best.
