SM - Birth Stories

A natural breech birth in a hospital with an Ob/Gyn.
By: Dad

      Megan and I are Muslims, “meaning those who surrender [themselves to the way of God]”. We believe that pregnancy and birth are natural events that should happen spontaneously, with trust in God. So when we found out that our first child was in a breech position as late as 36 weeks, we were not thrilled with the prospects of a C-section. Despite the plethora of exercises, chiropractic, acupressure, and external manipulation of the baby both by us and by trained 'experts', the child was meant to remain head up. In our city of Cincinnati, there are NO health professionals who attend breech births, so a C-section was seemingly our only option. Well, we decided we did not want a C-section and went to work looking for other doctors or midwives who would attend a normal birth.

      We found a doctor in Indianapolis who would give Megan a chance at spontaneous natural childbirth - though the thought of driving two hours during labor was a headache for Megan. A new wrinkle emerged as the due date came and went, to the tune of a week and a half. We decided to go stay in a hotel in Indianapolis to reduce the stress that may have been keeping Megan from starting labor. On our second day in Indianapolis, the doctor informed us that she thought the baby was getting too big, about 9 pounds, judging from the unwelcome yet mandated ultrasound. We thankfully persisted in our patience and trust in The Creator because the following night proved rewarding.

      At 3:25am, Megan was awakened by pressure and what felt like period cramps in her lower abdomen as her uterus tightened. I started timing and these 30-40 second surges were coming regularly at 5-minute intervals. After an hour of consistent contractions, we decided to go to the hospital. In triage, Megan continued with contractions, which she allowed to take over her body. She leaned forward on anything she could find, bending her body, swaying and rocking with the surging of the uterus. Three hours into labor, she was checked and was 5-6 cm dilated. We moved to a birthing room. Megan and I set up shop in the bathroom where we found some privacy and she could squat, helping the baby to descend through the pelvis.

      We had taken hypno-birthing classes and Megan had learned to relax herself into meditation and she was able to calmly handle the sensations of the contractions, which were becoming more frequent and longer lasting. Sitting on the toilet, Megan's water bag broke. She whispered to me that she felt the baby starting to come down and I relayed the news to the nurse who occasionally came to check on us, though she did not seem to believe it. Megan, grunting but calmly, breathed through each contraction, slowly crowning the child's butt to the outside world as she squatted on the seat. The nurse came in and upon witnessing a protruding hind end, freaked out and started exhorting Megan, “Do not push, the doctor is not here!” When Megan continued to breathe the baby slowly down and more of it emerged, the nurse was frantic, panicked, and begged Megan not to push. With the butt fully protruding, Megan calmly turned to the nurse and said, “Hey, don't stress out, calm down, its going to be OK!” THE quote of the year, I think.

      At 8:25am, Megan moved over to the bed, which she did with bowed legs and an occasional peak below. Holding onto the squat bars, Megan assumed a deep squat position and started to push as she felt the need to bear down. With two pushes, the body slipped out leaving only the head inside the birth canal. Megan pushed the head out with one grunt and with no interventions, our beautiful baby boy dropped down onto the bed at 8:31am, 5 hours after labor started. He weighed 7 lb. 13 oz. and was 20.5 in. long.

      Now, Megan & I are grateful to He Who deserves all thanks and praises and we both pray and ask all others to ask The Creator to guide us all, and our young son straight on the path of the great prophets of God--Noah, Ibrahim, Isaac, Ismail, Moses, Eesau, and the many others including the last, Muhammad--may God Almighty shower peace and blessings upon them all.