07/23/2025
Provided support for an incredible first time mom whose labor did not fit the standard of a textbook birth. With 18 hours of in person support, she completely rocked this unmedicated birth. Contractions started Sunday evening but labor didn’t truly begin until Monday evening. Mom was fully dilated for over 6 hours without a true urge to push and was laboring hard.
You never know what birth will bring.. which is why choosing your birth team carefully is so important.
Our nurse was incredible and was so intentional on sticking to mom’s birth plan. When the on call OB wanted cervical exams- she didn’t even ask my client to do one, she reported back to the OB that the patient had declined cervical exams. There was no added pressure to veer from her birth plan.
At shift change, my clients provider was on call and checked in immediately. Patient, calm, and so encouraging. She spent hours in the room with us, watching mom, talking through options, & stayed the entire duration of pushing.
Mom was incredible. When in active labor and having been awake for nearly 36 hours and laboring hard.. it’s so easy for our mindset to be affected. This is where birth preparation has a major impact- as always Purple Lotus Doulas played a key role in mental preparation, stamina, and navigating when your birth doesn’t go exactly as you envisioned it. Mom was willing to try every position to get baby in a better position and well applied to the cervix. Hands and knees, squats, side lying release, walchers, lunges, sitting on the toilet- you name it- she tried it & probably twice. Pushing through sheer exhaustion, she handled each contraction with peace and control. You would’ve thought she was in early active labor with how she handled every contraction, through to pushing. I could not have been more proud of this mom.
Some births are long, but there is no place I’d rather be than standing alongside my clients through the finish line.
