Beating the Odds: Kelsey's Birth Story

March 22nd-28th is World Doula Week. As part of the celebration, I'm featuring a doula attended birth story each day.

I had the privilege to meet Kelsey at a Community Birth Circle meeting, and can tell you that the strength she speaks of finding at the end of her story is shown in her daily life. She is a fiercely strong woman, and an inspiration to many. I'm honored to know her, and so thankful she agreed to let me share the journey that led to her finding her strength, beating the odds of cesarean birth, and becoming a mom to a sweet girl!

Here is Kelsey's Story:

When I was pregnant with my first child I was terrified. With a family of women who had C-sections I pretty much thought I was destined for one. I attended a childbirth class put on by a nurse of a big hospital and she showed all the tools that could be used should an emergency occur. Let’s just say I was even more terrified after that.

My neighbor told me she had a doula when she birthed and said her doula was her "drug" so she was able to have an intervention free labor. I had never heard of a Doula before so I looked it up and found one that did birthing classes in our area. She did a wonderful job explaining the process and I lost a lot of fear I had because of her. I decided to go natural, switched hospitals and doctors, and hired our Doula.

When I went into labor my husband came from work around 1 in the afternoon. He was pacing and really a wreck, and he just kept asking, “When will our Doula be here?”. See, she gave him a book to read about how to be a supportive partner during labor, but our daughter decided to come three weeks early so he didn’t get a chance to read it. He had no idea how to handle any of this! Our Doula came a bit later when I started to progress and she calmed all the fears in the room. My husband became confident in his role under her guidance, and I calmed knowing he was okay. My Doula noticed every time a contraction came I would tense my shoulders and stop breathing, which made each contraction hard to get through. To this day if I get stressed or in pain and I feel my shoulders rising I remember her gentle voice reminding me to relax my shoulders down and just slowly breathe which was what got me through each contraction. Soon enough I was in transition and slipped into my own world. I didn’t talk, or offer any clues what I needed, and yet my Doula anticipated my needs and filled them. I still remember hearing my husband and her talking and her continual guidance on how he could be the best support for me. I was amazed at how she could read my body clues to know that I wanted to rest my head on my husband’s shoulder between contractions, but didn’t want to be touched during a contraction. My daughter came fast, I felt like I pushed twice, but I guess the reality was that I pushed for a half an hour. She reminded me to listen to what my body was telling me, that I would know if I needed to push or rest. When my daughter was born at 9:23 that evening I was at peace. The atmosphere in the room was tranquil. And best of all for the first time I thought, “I can do this. I can be a good mother to this little girl because we shared this experience.” I was confident, and that was because I had my Doula present reassuring me how well I was doing the entire time. And my husband was so grateful she was there to guide him because he really was concerned, but he did an amazing job too.

The next morning our Doula came to check on us. She held my daughter and said what an amazing job her mama did in bringing her into this world. I believe had I not had a doula I would have been C-section bound for a variety of reasons. I had courage to turn down Pitocin, I had a way to relax through each contraction, I had a husband that listened to her and by doing so allowed us to share in this moment in a special way, and when I stopped talking she was able to fill my needs so I didn’t give up. I am indebted to her for making me the woman I am today. She helped me realize I have a strength I never knew about. She was there for my next two children’s births as well. I couldn’t imagine delivering a child without her by my side.