Midwife Musings.....

I met the nicest couple having their first baby the other night.
They were in their early 20s. She was petite with huge dark eyes and beautiful full smile, he was tall and lanky, with hair drawn back into a black ponytail. 4 days past her due date, she'd arrived to the hospital in good, early, SPONTANEOUS labor. Sent to walk for a few hours, she made good progress and was admitted to L&D. Heploc started for the GroupB Strep antibiotics. Sore arm. Hate that. Into the jacuzzi with her...yes, you can be in the jacuzzi with your IV...aahhh, warm swirling waters, vasodilation....hmmm...the sore arm is now much better and isn't this jacuzzi the best thing for labor. Her light brown skin glows. Her eyes close with contractions. Her partner kneels over the tub, he is only focused on her. He tells her to breathe, to go limp, massages her hands, arms, back. He holds her and tells her how much he loves her. She says she has to push..no not yet..i can't stop she says...do this..i tell her "HOOOO...HOOOOO...HOOO..."blowing out hard and loud...she tries it, it works...for the next hour or so we hear them together...HOOOO..HHOOOO....HOOOO.HOOOO....their sounds rise and fall in a crescendo. they are loud and in sync and their noise mimics the start of this whole thing. we smile at the nurse's desk. A bit later, after some toilet time and slow dancing time...it's finally time. She easily delivers her more than 9 1/2 lb daughter, up onto her tummy and into her arms. Dad is ecstatic. He drops to his knees, hands raised, tears streaming. The pink chubby girl takes a wide eyed look around, then scrunches her face and screams her displeasure at this change of venue. Everyone beams. Everything works as it should and babe is happily on the breast minutes later. Seems it's been a while since I've had an unmedicated first-time mom. (Nothing wrong with that, i'm all about meds and epidurals and all and whatever it takes to have a positive, healthy, safe birth experience) Constant appropriate bedside support is a huge factor in helping moms through labor. Kudos to this brave strong young couple. They made my day.