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COURTNEY AND CHRIS' BIRTH EXPERIENCE AT WOMAN'S HOSPITAL

Our daughter, "Queen" Elizabeth Allyn Hilton finally decided to grace us with her presence on Friday, August 24th at 9:54pm (4 days overdue). She was 9lbs 7oz, and 22 inches long!!!

I was able to have her completely natural (with Rene's help as our doula), as planned, and I would not have done it any other way. It was definitely the most wonderful experience of my life.

I had been having some on and off pains which started on Thursday evening. The pains were very minimal (really just light cramping), and they were very sporadic. I woke up Friday morning still feeling the occasional cramp. I shrugged it off to Braxton-Hicks contractions.  I had a doctor's appointment scheduled for 2 p.m. that day, and was hoping the contractions I was feeling would help me to progress a little further than the 3 cm dilated that I had been since Monday.

I went on in to work. I actually got a lot done, and tie up several little loose ends. I left work shortly after noon, drove home to meet my husband, Chris, so we could go to the appointment together. While at the house, I told Chris that maybe we should go ahead and pack the car, just in case the doctor tells us some good news.

We packed the car, picked our daughter, Kristen, up from school, and went to the doctor's appointment.  He said that I had not progressed any further (still only 3 cm dilated).  I told him about the feelings I had been having, and asked him if I could be in labor.  He said he didn't think it was labor since the pains were so sporadic, and since I had not dilated any more.  He said for us to go on home and call him if anything changes.

I told Chris that I didn't think going home was a great idea.  It was already 3 p.m. by that time, and I had the funny feeling that I really was in labor.  If we drove home and had to turn around and come back we would have hit rush hour traffic.  Since it takes a good 45 minutes to get to the hospital from our house in no traffic, I didn't want to risk being stuck on the Interstate and have the baby in the car.

So we decided to go have an early dinner.  We went to a Mexican restaurant near the mall where I chowed down on the chips and salsa.  After dinner we went to the mall.

I did all of my laboring at the Mall of Louisiana.  We walked around from shop to shop. Whenever I would feel a labor pain coming, I would just lower my head and breath through it. No one would have ever know that I was even in labor if it wasn't for Chris clicking the stop watch every time he saw me lower my head!

We stopped in Brookstone, the store with all of the massage equipment, where I sat in one of their back massaging chairs and put my legs in the leg and foot massager.  It was awesome. I stayed there about 20 minutes, but could have stayed much, much longer! Woman's hospital needs one of those things in their labor and delivery room!

Once the pains were 3 minutes apart, we got back in the car and headed for the hospital. Rene' met us at the door.  She was able to go back with me to the assessment center where they checked me out before sending me up to labor and delivery.  I was already 7cm dilated!

We informed the nurses that we were interested in going natural.  They were all so supportive.   Having Rene' there was wonderful.  I was not hooked up to anything...no IV, no epidural, no constant monitoring equipment...nothing!  It was great because I had the freedom to move around the room as I pleased.

They would hook up monitors every once in a while to check the baby's heart rate, but then take them right back off once they got the readings they needed.  To keep myself hydrated, I drank a lot of poweraid and water, which prevented them from having to hook me up to an IV, at first.  As the labor progressed, I needed to focus more on the contractions and wasn't as interested in drinking, so I allowed them to hook up the IV as needed.

I got in a hot tub of water for a while and Kristen sprayed the hot water on my back with the shower head.  Once I got tired of that, I got out and sat on the toilet for a while.  Rene' was right; the toilet is a very magical place!  Then I sat in the bed "Budda Style" as my brother called it, while Chris massaged my back.

Then the pushing sensations started.  Chris really took over at that point (with Rene's direction, of course).  He coached me along with encouraging and calming words. He was GREAT!

Rene was AMAZING! She basically walked us thru the whole pushing process, step by step. She knew exactly what was going to happen.  At one point I had about a 2 minute break from contractions.  Rene' said to enjoy the break because the next contraction was going to be very hard.  She was right on target.  It was wonderful having her tell me what to expect.  It helped me to know that everything was ok, that what was happening was normal.  It helped me and Chris to stay as calm as possible.  I pushed a couple of good times and Elizabeth was out!! It was all so wonderful.

Within an hour or so after having Elizabeth, I was up walking around and started breastfeeding. Chris and I both agree that going natural is the way to go!

I want to HIGHLY recommend using Rene' as your doula.  She was a very important and unforgettable part of our Elizabeth's birth!

MALINDA AND MARK'S BIRTHS AT BATON ROUGE GENERAL HOSPITAL

When I found out I was pregnant with my first child, I began to search for the resources for a natural birth. I had friends who had doula-assisted births that were very positive. I read information on the Doulas of North America (DONA) website and other sources to determine what qualifications I should expect in a doula and what questions I should ask in an interview to determine if the doula was qualified and had a birth philosophy that was compatible with my desires. When my husband and I met Rene’ and Karen, I found that they exceeded all of the expectations I had. They were very professional, but also very warm and engaging. Karen was in training at the time with Rene’ and after our first visit, my husband and I felt that Rene’ had the experience, knowledge, and birth philosophy we were looking for. Thus began our wonderful partnership with Birth Help.

The birth of both of our sons (Zane in October 2004 and Devin in May 2007) were assisted by Birth Help doulas. Rene’ was our primary doula for Zane’s birth and Karen attended as part of her training. For Devin’s birth, Karen was our primary doula.

When I told my doctors that I was using Birth Help doulas, their reaction was positive. Dr. Hollier had never had a patient who was a doula client, but she had heard many positive things about Rene’ from other physicians and she was quite supportive of our choice. Likewise, when I told Dr. Puyau that I would have a doula-assisted birth, she was happy to hear that I was working with Birth Help and she had many positive things to say about working with Rene’ over the years. It was a great feeling to know that Rene’ has built such a positive relationship with medical professionals.

Both of my doctors were very happy with the way that our doulas interacted with us and the medical staff. When we were at Baton Rouge General for each of the births it was a great comfort to see Rene’ and Karen recognized and welcomed by the nursing staff. It was clear that they have cultivated a friendly and professional working relationship with the nursing staff, and that made communication easier and made us feel much more at ease. Rene’ has worked very hard to build such a positive professional reputation and Karen embodies all of the same professional qualities

I experienced a lot of pre-labor with both of my pregnancies. My cervix started dilating and effacing around 32-34 weeks in both cases. After 36 weeks, I started experiencing contractions that would often become more intense and regular. Because my cervix was so dilated (4 cm +) this was often a stressful time of determining if this was the “real thing” and if I should think of heading to the hospital. Rene’ and Karen were a great help and support during this time. They understood my emotions and their advice was always consistent with the most in depth and up-to-date information I was receiving from a friend who was a high-risk OB specialist. It was very reassuring to be able to call Rene’ or Karen or send an email whenever I had a question.

Our goal was to have a healthy and positive birth experience and I believe that avoiding medical intervention when it is not necessary is part of the formula to achieve that goal. I also strongly believe that medical intervention can be a positive thing and a woman should not shun all intervention because she believes that only by having a completely natural birth is she doing the best thing for herself and her baby. As each of my pregnancies reached the 41 week mark, my cervix was 4-5 cm dilated and almost completely effaced. I was up most of the night with contractions and feeling pretty tired. Both of my doctors were happy to let my pregnancy go to 42 weeks, but they then wanted to monitor the baby daily if I chose to continue to wait for real labor to kick in.

After a great deal of thought and consultation with my doctors and with Rene’ and Karen, I decided that an intervention was the best choice for me. I agreed to have my doctor break my water so that my labor would progress to completion. Rene’ and Karen were excellent with making sure that I knew what the procedure would be like and what my options would be if my labor did not progress. That allowed me to talk with my doctors in a much more informed way about the procedure, how long after having my membranes ruptured would they be willing to let me labor before birth, and what interventions they would want to try at that point. While I had not wanted to have any uneccessary intervention, I felt good about my choice as I knew that I was in a very favorable state for this type of induction, that my baby was over 40 weeks old, and I would not be facing labor in an increasingly exhausted state. Rene’ and Karen never told me what I should do, but gave sound, factual, advice that helped to make a clear and informed decision and properly prepare myself for the induction.

There was no need to worry that I would need additional intervention in either case. My first son, Zane, was born 8 hours after my membranes were ruptured and my second son, Devin, less than 1 hour after. In both cases I did not require any further medical intervention and I credit Rene’ and Karen a great deal with my relatively rapid labor and positive experience

My labor with Zane initially progressed rapidly. The nurse checked my cervix for the first time about 2 hours after my labor had become intense and found that I was fully dilated. I thought “hooray!, that was easy”. My doctor was called, a group of nursing students came to witness the birth, everything was set. Then, as I tried pushing, my doctor discovered that I had a small lip of cervix left. As I watched her remove her protective gown and leave I thought “Wait! Won’t this happen pretty fast?”. It was a frightening moment when I was completely unsure of what this all meant and how much longer I might be experiencing this very intense labor. As it turned out, it was about 4 more hours before Zane was born. Rene’ and Karen were wonderful, they calmed my initial fears and once again created a relaxed atmosphere. Rene’ had listened to the doctor say which side the cervical lip was on (neither my husband or myself had paid attention to that), and she encouraged me to find positions that would put the pressure of the contractions on that side of the cervix to speed things along. Those four hours were difficult, but never once did I feel that I was not in control or that I desired any sort of pain medication. The calm atmosphere that Rene’ and Karen created along with the techniques they suggested really helped me through that part of my labor. Our birthing class (taken at Woman’s Hospital) had certainly not prepared me for anything like that and I was grateful for how Rene’ and Karen were able to help me adapt to my changing circumstances.

The birth of my son Devin was a water birth. We rented a tub from Karen and while the labor was short, I feel that it was worth every penny. This time, labor became very intense very quickly after my membranes were ruptured. I was having a hard time staying in control and was surprised at the intensity of the contractions; they were far beyond what I had experienced with my first labor. Getting into the tub was a great relief. I had not been able to relax well in between contractions and the warm water helped me do that. I did find the contractions even more intense in the tub. After about 5 contractions in the tub, I started to become worried that I would not be able to stay in control through this labor. Then, Karen reminded me that when I felt a lot of pressure, I should tell her because that probably meant I my cervix was completely dilated. Sure enough, with the next contraction I felt a real increase in the pressure. Karen ran out to get the nurse and found my doctor suited up and ready. The baby crowned with the next contraction (without any pushing!) and I changed from a kneeling position at the side of the tub, to being supported on my back, gave a push, and out he came. So, that was why those contractions were so intense! They were incredibly productive. I feel that the tub helped me a great deal by aiding in relaxation between contractions and the weightlessness of the water allowed me to let my legs float up slightly behind me and this allowed the contractions to put a lot of pressure on my cervix and thus cause it to dilate rapidly. I was really pleased with the tub birth itself and with all of the counsel that Karen gave me prior to the birth on the most effective ways to use the tub, how the different medical staff might respond to the use of the tub, and in what cases I might be asked to deliver outside the tub even if I labored in it. About one hour after Devin was born, I walked out to the elevator and then down the hall to a postpartum room and left the hospital about 24 hours after he was born. I felt great and I think that the short labor in the tub had a lot to do with that.

All in all, I cannot say enough positive things about Karen and Rene’. The are the most professional and experienced doulas in the Baton Rouge area and they are wonderfully caring people who clearly have a great love for supporting families through the birth process. They have established a positive reputation with the medical community and I know that among the nursing staff at Baton Rouge General and many doctors in the community, they are viewed as a part of the continuum of care that can be provided for patients and their families.