Taking the Plunge: Aedan’s Gentle Waterbirth

Aedan Robert Murphy Rickman, 7 lbs 6 oz, 20 ½ inches, January 27th, 12:42 AM

By Suzanne Rickman

When I found out I was pregnant with my second child, I was overcome with excitement and hope. But I also felt a great deal of anxiety because I feared the possibility of complications. I needed renewed faith in my body and spirit to heal from the terrifying birth experience I had with my first son. Keiran’s premature birth, complicated by necessary medical interventions, was excruciating. After birth he was taken immediately to a NICU far from my home where he stayed for the next 36 days, his tiny body repeatedly stressed with painful tests and procedures.

Providentially, I met Tori Dennis, a certified professional midwife, at a La Leche League meeting. She is an encyclopedia of knowledge about prenatal care, womb ecology, nutrition, and natural childbirth methods. I trusted her immediately when she promised she’d do everything possible to help me have a healthy pregnancy. When she told me about waterbirthing, I knew that was my ticket to the birth of my dreams.

I wanted my pregnancy to be closely monitored both by an obstetrician and by Tori in case of an emergency or abnormality. My luck continued when I found Dr. Mary Robbins, and her nurse practitioner, April Luke! They are very knowledgeable and skillful, gentle in nature, always taking the time to listen. I never once felt like a patient; I felt comforted to be cared for in such a holistic manner.

At the beginning of my third trimester, Tori hosted my Blessingway, a traditional Native American ritual to celebrate a new mother and to help her conquer past fears. In attendance were April Luke, doulas Chalyn Myers and April Howton, and intern midwife Amy Elliott. Dr. Robbins was unable to attend, but sent her blessing and bead along with April Luke. They each gave me a bead for my birth necklace, drew birth art, wrote special blessings for me, painted my belly, and shared a delicious meal. Each woman had a candle that she would light when I went into labor. My circle of friends created an unforgettable ambiance of safety that day.

Until the beginning of my 37th week, my pregnancy had been progressing without a hitch. My baby was healthy, and I was getting really big. Tori and Amy came to my house for a routine prenatal exam; we were shocked to realize that he was lying transverse. Normally that would mean I would have to undergo a painful external version procedure, and if that failed, a cesarean. However, Tori put me into a hands-and-knees child’s pose on the floor for a half hour, during which the baby moved head down, all by himself! She saved me from the pain of an external version and from cesarean!

Tuesday, January 22nd was my husband’s birthday and a full moon; I’d been having some contractions. At my prenatal visit with Dr. Robbins that afternoon, baby was still head-down. Tori and I went directly to Trowbridges, where I devoured a huge banana split with extra hot fudge, a pimento cheese sandwich, and potato chips to celebrate! Over the next few days my body was quietly telling me that the time was coming soon.

On Saturday the 26th, I woke up to remarkable contractions. They were strong enough to count, but they were irregular. Just as we had been doing, Kieran and I cuddled together and read some picture books. I took an Epsom salt bath to calm myself down and to focus with my body. I sent my husband to work. He insisted on taking a hospital bag with him (a manifestation of his new dad anxiety). I kept Kieran at home with me; he helped by pouring water on my belly while I was in the bathtub.

Tori arrived at my house at 2:15 with two of her three daughters. I sat on her Birth Ball in my kitchen. We enjoyed timing my contractions, which were strong but still irregular, and we just hung out. Chalyn arrived at around 3:00 to assist with my pain management. We turned the lights off and lit several candles, creating a sanctified labor environment out of my otherwise unremarkable kitchen. As the afternoon progressed we snacked on crackers, cheese and peanut butter. By 6:30 when Tori returned after taking her girls home, my contractions were stronger but still irregular. We used the birth rope for several of them, which helped the contractions get regular. Amy Elliott arrived at my house at around 7:00.

My labor at my house had been like a party and I didn’t want it to end! It was such a quiet, candle-lit peacefulness. But our plan was to go to Eliza Coffee Memorial’s Women’s Pavilion for my waterbirth, and eventually I had the urge to get to my birthplace and into the special waterbirthing tub that Tori’s would set up there. We left my house at 9:45 PM.

April Luke met me at the hospital door! We walked slowly together through the lobby and chatted. I declined the offer from a hospital staff for a wheelchair. When we arrived at L/D Room 5, it was too bright; the tub’s water pump was too loud, and it seemed like there were too many people around. Tori and Chalyn set up the birth tub as Brian and I went over paperwork. It was a shock to be out of my element and in the hospital. I was relieved when Dr. Robbins walked in, and I immediately calmed down a bit because I knew that she would protect my birth space, and make sure that everything went according to the birth plan.

I wasn’t told to lay down on the hospital bed for an examination nor for fetal monitoring. The nurse checked my blood pressure while I remained upright, fetal heart tones were checked with the Doppler, and I sat on the Birth Ball as my blood was drawn. Dr. Robbins agreed for me to be without a saline lock in exchange for allowing a shot of Pitocin after the delivery of the placenta to prevent the possibility of hemorrhage.

I read my sister Cindy’s blessing that she sent in the mail while I sat on the ball, waiting for the tub to be filled, and felt the reality of active labor through every inch of my body. Soon I heard Amy say, “Sue, Your Chariot Awaits”. Ah, it is true when they say a laboring woman is instinctively drawn to water. The lights were turned off.

Tori and I got into the tub. She wore her swimsuit, and I took the plunge in a sportsbra covered by a tank top. I wore my birthing beads from my friends and the rose quartz from my mother around my neck. As soon as I got into the water, BAM! I was in transition. I got into my zone, and floated on my back with my legs around Tori. Tori kneeled in front of me and performed a double-hip squeeze which we called the clothespin technique. Its physiological purpose is to open the sacrum and help the baby descend; however it also developed a spiritual purpose of keeping me grounded.

I heard Tori say repeatedly, “Sue Breathe. Breathe for baby.” “No mind.” “Ok to let baby out now; no one is going to take him from you.” She continued to make me feel safe, focused and calm, as I lay floating in the water on my back. When my vocalizations became high, she encouraged me to make low sounds, so I would stay strong and open.

I immersed my total self in the water, to cope with transition. The water was very warm, and with each contraction I was healing from Kieran’s birth. I believed in myself completely. I accepted with abandon what was happening, contraction to contraction. I fully gave in to my body and was able to “hear” my baby and react to his needs. I moved freely in the water, which supported my body as Tori continued to compress my lower back and encourage me. Much of the time, the surface of the water was covering my open eyes, and only my nose was out.

Not once did it occur to me to beg Dr. Robbins for pain-relieving drugs. Rather, every time I looked at her, there she was – smiling at me confidently a few feet away from the tub – happy to witness a waterbirth for the first time. She, and all of my friends who were at my Blessingway, were like candles burning for me in my safe birthplace. I was free from fear and inhibition. The privacy of the tub gave me complete modesty. I was surrounded by love.

Brian and Kieran were in and out of the delivery room. Brian simply watched Kieran and followed his lead. Sometimes Kieran wanted to be in the room to either watch me with curiosity or to sit quietly and color. Other times he needed to run around the Women’s Pavilion. It was just natural for Kieran to be there; I couldn’t imagine my family being anywhere else that night.

Midnight passed. Suddenly, my water broke with a loud POP! It was the only time I felt scared because I didn’t know what it was. I yelled “What was that!” Dr. Robbins quickly used a flashlight to make sure that there was no meconium, then reassured me that everything was okay. April Howton explained that now things would happen faster, and my contractions would probably be even stronger.

Amy and Chalyn took turns putting cold compresses on my forehead. Tori and Amy occasionally checked the heart tones with the waterproof Doppler. If I held my breath, the baby’s heart slowed, which I could hear; this kept me breathing deeply and calmly. My two Aprils knelt beside the tub on both sides, holding my hands, encouraging me: “You’re doing great!”

Tori saw me do a snake-like movement which indicated to her that baby was coming very soon. Then something strange happened, at the end of my transition: I flipped into a squatting frog position. This was the only time the pain struck an unbearable level. Tori quickly convinced me to go back to floating on my back. Baby’s head was coming! I was already in second stage, and had the urge to push as he crowned. I gave in to my instincts.

Immediately when I returned to my floating position, my hand was there along with Tori’s hands. In a magical moment we touched his hair. She angled his top shoulder and told me to give one good push. I did – it wasn’t difficult – and he was born into my midwife’s expert, loving hands. She gently and swiftly turned his body under the water to face me so I could grab him and bring him out of the water. She said, “Sue, get your baby”… but I was in a birthing trance! So right away Tori knew she needed to place him on my chest. She lifted him out of the water with his face down so that he wouldn’t aspirate any water with his first breath.

In that moment my beautiful baby boy was in my arms at last! I breathed in the beauty of my sweet, cuddly, and adorable baby. Tori rubbed his back and made him cry. I asked Dr. Robbins if she’d like the honor of clamping and cutting the umbilical cord. I really wanted her to do something important because she’d cared for me so wonderfully all nine months and gave me so much confidence. Then I proudly announced his name, “Aedan Robert Murphy Rickman.” (Murphy is Gaelic for “sea warrior”.)

He was (and continues to be) perfectly characteristic of a sweet water baby: easy, calm, never knowing trauma or fear, having entered the world gently and in his own time. Dr. Robbins gave me the birth of my dreams, and I will forever be thankful for her generous support. I also appreciate ECM hospital for allowing this nontraditional birth to happen!

To find out more about natural waterbirth and birth tub rental, please visit the websites www.birthwithhope.com and www.waterbirth.org. Also read Barbara Harper’s book, Gentle Birth Choices.