Hi Girls-
I just had to share a bit about a birth on Wednesday. Usually people hire me when they want a support person who is a quiet, warm, loving, constant calming presence. I have a soothing touch and voice. I always rub backs, use aroma therapy, and suggest different positions etc but I'm not really a rearing to go lets-do-this type of doula.
This last birth the (young) primagravida came to me because she confessed to having no pain threshold and can't stand the sight of gore and blood, her mom lives far away but has 6 kids, and knowing her daughter's disposition advised her to "Get an epidural and a doula." She had been to excellent birthing classes which made her 100% against getting pitocin, yet she'd closed her eyes and not watched the birthing videos. Her birth plan was epidural, episiotomy (I talked her out of this and she had only a scratch!) no pitocin, and please clean and wrap up the baby before handing him to me. (What a mix for a birth plan!)

Anyhow, I helped her though 6hrs of labor before she was 4 1/2 cm and had her epidural. Within the next hour she'd dilated to 9 1/2 cm 2 station (she'd been very tense) but 2 hours later her contractions were less frequent and there was no more progress. The MW wanted to set up a pitocin drip but the mother begged out of it and got us a 1/2 hour reprieve to see if there might be more progress. Baby was OP.

When the MW left the room they turned to me and said 'now what' got out my clary sage oil, diluted it to a massage strength and gave her a hand massage (couldn't do belly with all those straps) using some gentle korean reflexology techniques to relax her and open her pelvis. Monitor showed increased, stronger contractions. I had her then sniff her hands every so often to get another hit of clary sage. Then I had dad do some nipple stimulation which he took to with gusto - and contractions got much stronger and closer together. During all this she was turning from side to back to side every few minutes, rotisserie style. Then baby woke up and started wiggling like crazy, and I saw his heartrate rising so I had the dad stop and mom go on her left side. We waited for baby to calm down. I massaged mom's back and 'shook the apples' as her epidural was patchy.

At this point the MW came back in the room, did her check, and announced that mom was 10cm and baby had gone back to 0 station and turned LOA! He soon settled down into the pelvis and mom started gentle pushing. Talk about results for clary sage and nipple stimulation! Mom was thrilled not to need pitocin, even pushed her placenta out without it. They did give it to her after because they weren't sure if she'd started bleeding out or not. (If you're not sure?) But never mind.

It felt great to be active and help mom achieve the birth she'd wanted. x