Giving Birth in a Pandemic

Well folks, I survived. Four weeks ago (yes… I know I’ve slacked in keeping people updated) I gave birth to a healthy, beautiful baby girl.

This was the most different delivery we’ve ever experienced. With every other one of my children I’ve gone naturally into labor. For three out of the four I was in labor for more than a day. Like… constant contractions, twenty minutes apart… for several days. No joke. And they all came before 39 weeks of pregnancy. This time I got to 40 weeks and my body was refusing to naturally go into labor. And there were no signs that labor would be starting on it’s own any time soon.

Now… I totally looked this up, because I know people personally who were pregnant for ten months before giving birth (by induction). It turns out that a pregnant woman can actually prevent herself from going into labor due to stress. I know I said that I’ve been fine. And I am. I was. We are fine. But, regardless, the world is going through tough times, and I was kind of terrified of bringing a newborn into a potentially virus ridden hospital at a time like this. I was also kind of nervous about giving birth.

Here’s the deal. Women have been having babies since the beginning of time. It seems that most of the time, all goes well. When I first became pregnant with our eldest, I was determined to do everything in my power to have a “natural birth.” Meaning, I wanted to give birth in a hospital, but I wanted the least amount of hospital interference possible. I didn’t want an IV or to be told not to eat anything. I didn’t want to be told to stay in bed attached to a monitor. And I especially did not want an epidural. No way was I having a huge needle in my spinal cord that could cause all kinds of irreversible damage. No. I was going to do this myself.

And I did.

It was the hardest thing I have ever done. I was so intensely proud of myself. As I was holding my first baby in my arms, I knew for a fact that I could do that again. Baby number two entered the world without complications as well, and without a needle to my spine. Fist pump! But something changed with baby number three. I no longer had anything to prove. I had done what I set out to do… twice. With Winnie I was in labor for four days before going to the hospital. I had hardly slept in that time and I was really tired. She also came into the world in a very intense way, without an epidural. But this time… I started to question if I could do that again. Adrie’s birth was also “natural” because of our nurse. Honestly, she was so supportive and I just couldn’t let her down.

This time however… was very different. I was going to be induced. I’d heard horror stories of pitocin. And honestly… I couldn’t find a reason for myself anymore to try and go natural.

Ben and I arrived at the hospital at 5 am on the morning of April 10th. We grabbed our bags and donned our face masks and headed into the hospital in the middle of a pandemic.

At the door we had our temperatures taken at the door and given hospital face masks to wear. We were asked to keep them on at all times. After checking in, we headed upstairs. The hospital seemed quite empty, but I guess at 5 in the morning that should be expected.

If you’d like to hear the entire birth story, let me know in the comments. To sum up… Ben and I wore hospital masks the entire time the nurses/doctors were around. We were able to take them off when we were alone. And I decided to get an epidural. I honestly didn’t have the mental stamina this time that I would have needed to make it without one. I didn’t feel like I had anything left to give. I have been keeping a household together in the midst of a pandemic. I have been keeping my anxiety at bay. I have been trusting that God will get us through. But the idea of adding an unmedicated birth to the load I was already relying on Christ to help me carry, seemed like too much.

And you know what… it turned out fine. I wasn’t severely maimed or rendered paraplegic (which of course my anxiety told me could happen). In fact, the recovery from this birth was probably as fast or faster than with the other births. We were released from the hospital 24 hours after our little one was born. The doctors want to get people home and away from the hospital as much as possible. Lucky for us. The hospital food was pretty terrible and we missed our girls.

Our little girl is perfect. I’m a bit biased, but our five little ladies are the most beautiful people I’ve ever seen. This little one has been so loved by her sisters and by us. Ben and I snuggle her constantly. I’m so grateful that everything went as smoothly as it did. I’m grateful that Ben was able to be there for the birth of our baby, as I’ve heard not all hospitals are allowing the husbands in (or at least that’s the rumor I had heard). I’m grateful that we’re safe and healthy.