PFB Student’s Empowering Hotel Birth with Nuchal Hand

“Through my whole pregnancy and into postpartum, I trusted my body and the Creator’s incredible design, which gave me all the confidence I needed to have a peaceful and calm birth.” – @regan_holm

 

Sunday, January 1, 2023, at 8:00pm – My water broke at an evening church service while my husband was playing on the worship team.

He packed up his piano equipment mid-song which made everyone start asking questions… Definitely not the private start to labor that I wanted! But they sent us off with prayers – God knew I needed it.

We planned a hotel birth an hour away from our house because midwives don’t service our area. I was so lucky to get a midwife. They are, unfortunately, very hard to come by here in Manitoba, Canada. We got to the hotel by 10:30pm.

By 12:30am I was in active labor and was really having to focus. I remembered to use my voice to stay relaxed (from the PFB E-Course). My midwife arrived at this point, but I don’t remember much from 1:30am-6:00am.

8:00am – There was a midwife shift change, and the one who came on shift was exactly what I needed. I was feeling very pushy, but she got down at eye level between contractions and told me I was only 7cm and had a cervical lip, if I pushed and caused it to swell, we’d end up at the hospital with a C-section. I used that as motivation to try and control my body’s urges because it took literally everything I had in me to not push.

The midwife stayed close and coached me through my breathing. This is when I started feeling like I was losing control (although I’d felt totally in control prior).

I labored on the toilet for 3-4 contractions. I was 9cm! I got back into the pool, and the midwife moved the last bit of the lip out of the way. I was finally free to push when my body felt the need!

I was coached in pushing, but I didn’t listen unless I was feeling the urge to push. However, I needed the encouragement of them telling me about my progress and feeling his head to keep me going.

Once his head was out, they noticed he had a nuchal hand which is why I was pushing for an hour!

I caught his flailing body as the shoulders and torso came out and brought him to my chest after they unraveled the cord from his shoulder. He was wide-eyed and started breathing on his own without making more than a couple cries. 

He was so peaceful.
– @regan_holm

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but God will make a way when there seems to be no way.

It’s easy to take the first “no” as a defeat.

  • “No, that’s not an option.”
  • “No, that’s not available.”
  • “No, we don’t accommodate that.”

Mama, don’t give up on your dream birth! Even if that means calling every provider in (or outside) your area. Even if that means getting a second – or third – opinion.

Regan drove an hour and planned a hotel birth to find a midwife who would support her! That’s a woman who doesn’t take “no” for an answer! 

“If you don’t know your options, you don’t have any!” -Penny Simpkin

Regan writes, “The midwives commented on how calm I was, especially as a first-time mom, which I attribute, in part, to taking the PFB course. I had a goal to redeem what my husband and I had grown up hearing about birth, and I succeeded, which makes me want to tell my birth story to anyone who wants to hear it!”

Shout it from the mountain tops, Sis!

 

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