THE FIRST WATER
Close to my first due date (Confused by what I mean? Check out my post on that topic here.) I woke up in the middle of the night with the feeling of my "water breaking." It wasn't a big gush, but more of an uncontrollable trickle, maybe a cup or cup and half.
There was a little blood and cervical fluid too, so I called the midwife and was told to lay down, relax, do a fetal kick count, and come in the next morning to see if it was indeed amniotic fluid. If it was, I would need to go into labor in the next 12 hours to keep things progressing well and lower my risk of infection.
The next morning, after a swab, cough, and conversation with my experienced midwife I learned that my Chorionic sac broke, but my Amniotic sac was still in place and good to go.
WAIT, WHAT?!? WHAT IS THE CHORIONIC SAC?
Here's a groovy animated video that takes you right through the development of the chorionic sac:
I really enjoyed researching during the journey of my pregnancy. My husband and I even took a 30-hour, 10-week class to prep for this and neither one of us really remembered, nor imprinted the possibility of False Rupture Of Membranes (FROM.) Premature Rupture of Membranes, YES, but False, NO.
Interestingly, FROM does not seem to be unusual. But the minimal documentation of it, the lack of awareness in mothers, and the anticipation of labor and fear of infection all seems to lead many Moms into early induction when this happens.
No big deal right? Well, big deal if you're wanting to the have a birth at a Birth Center under the supervision of Midwives. In Florida, if you don't go into labor by the day of 42 weeks then you have two options.
Yep, Midwives are legally prohibited from attending home births after 42 weeks in Florida.
So in addition to the exciting anticipation, (remember things WERE happening,) by the 48 hour count down to the 42nd week date, I was beginning to freak out. I'm already an emotionally open person, and in pregnancy, esp. when close to labor, you want to remain calm and stress-free. My baby was healthy (a fetal kick count champ) and I was healthy, good blood pressure, the works, so why did some legislators feel like they have a better idea of what my body can and should be doing?
Still no labor 24 hours later.
Castor oil and Talenti Chocolate Ice Cream are then purchased and combined into a delicious milkshake- a milkshake that tastes like lipstick.
The rumble in my bowels helped my little lady know it was time get the show on the road. By 4pm, I was having trouble focusing and feeling more intense contraction so I laid down and then felt another trickle. This time we went back to the Birth Center and the water was Amniotic.
So, no Hollywood gush. More water was released as labor started really progressing, but...
If I had been misdiagnosed and not as eager to let my baby lead labor, versus me, I would have been given Pitocin and gone into labor 9 days sooner than I did. I'm sure my baby would have been fine, she was well into term, but babies start labor because they are ready to come out. Nanette was 7 pounds and 13 ounces, not too big or too small, just right and ready to come when she wanted to.
It scares me to think what would have happened to both me and her if we had tried to rush things, if we had accepted the 40 week mark as gospel.
For those wondering, she arrived at 42 weeks to the day, by one of the due date estimates, and 42 weeks and 3 days, by the next, or 9 days late by another. Maybe I'm a slow cooker, maybe genetically that's how long our babies will take, but I'll tell you one thing about the next time I get pregnant, I will be a bit more mendacious when it comes to reporting the last day of my period.
THE SECOND WATER
Days go by, and no more water. Other early labor signs were beginning to happen (Braxton-Hicks Contractions, stopped gaining weight, the lovely bowel good times), but they were all so spaced out that for two weeks I felt like "today's going to be the day," and then maybe a hint at something, but certainly no onset of labor.No big deal right? Well, big deal if you're wanting to the have a birth at a Birth Center under the supervision of Midwives. In Florida, if you don't go into labor by the day of 42 weeks then you have two options.
- The legally preferred method is to go to a hospital and start the induction drip.
- The second and legally stupid option is to have a home birth, all by yourself. Who writes these laws?
Yep, Midwives are legally prohibited from attending home births after 42 weeks in Florida.
So in addition to the exciting anticipation, (remember things WERE happening,) by the 48 hour count down to the 42nd week date, I was beginning to freak out. I'm already an emotionally open person, and in pregnancy, esp. when close to labor, you want to remain calm and stress-free. My baby was healthy (a fetal kick count champ) and I was healthy, good blood pressure, the works, so why did some legislators feel like they have a better idea of what my body can and should be doing?
Still no labor 24 hours later.
Castor oil and Talenti Chocolate Ice Cream are then purchased and combined into a delicious milkshake- a milkshake that tastes like lipstick.
The rumble in my bowels helped my little lady know it was time get the show on the road. By 4pm, I was having trouble focusing and feeling more intense contraction so I laid down and then felt another trickle. This time we went back to the Birth Center and the water was Amniotic.
So, no Hollywood gush. More water was released as labor started really progressing, but...
If I had been misdiagnosed and not as eager to let my baby lead labor, versus me, I would have been given Pitocin and gone into labor 9 days sooner than I did. I'm sure my baby would have been fine, she was well into term, but babies start labor because they are ready to come out. Nanette was 7 pounds and 13 ounces, not too big or too small, just right and ready to come when she wanted to.
It scares me to think what would have happened to both me and her if we had tried to rush things, if we had accepted the 40 week mark as gospel.
For those wondering, she arrived at 42 weeks to the day, by one of the due date estimates, and 42 weeks and 3 days, by the next, or 9 days late by another. Maybe I'm a slow cooker, maybe genetically that's how long our babies will take, but I'll tell you one thing about the next time I get pregnant, I will be a bit more mendacious when it comes to reporting the last day of my period.
Here's an interesting study about the kinds of waters and types of leaks.
I did successfully give birth in water and it certainly was one of the most amazing, indescribable moments of my life. I'm still working on the full story of the birth but I do intend to share that with you all soon.
Links-
http://tinyhousetinyhuman.blogspot.com/2016/02/whats-in-due-date.html
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266402008_False_vs_True_rupture_of_membranes
