The Parenting Corner: Ciana's Birth Story
Ciana's Birth Story
On January 2, 1996, just one day after my 20th birthday I noticed something
odd. I was 8 1/2 months pregnant, and the baby inside me was not as frisky as
she usually was. As other things got my attention, I went through the day as
usual, and did not take any special notice.
The next day was the same. I didn't notice much movement, but I didn't really
give it much thought. That evening, I thought to myself "has she moved at all
today?" I dismissed the thought, and went to bed.
The following day, there was again no movement. I was one of those new mothers
who drove the doctor crazy with every ache, itch or pain, so I thought to
myself "I'll give it until tomorrow, then I'll call."
The next morning, after I had spent several hours cleaning, the baby had STILL
not moved. I called the doctor. When I told the nurse I was calling because
my baby had not moved in 60 hours, she almost dropped the phone. She told me
to come in IMMEDIATELY to see the doctor.
When I got into the doctor's office, he was furious that I hadn't called him
the same day I had noticed the baby wasn't moving. He sent me in for an
ultrasound. The baby had a normal heartbeat, but try as they may, they could
not get her to move. They poked and prodded, to no avail. Then they tried
another method. They strapped a belt to my stomach, and sent electric shocks
into my uterus. Strangely, not only did the baby not move, her heart rate
remained steady. They were baffled. The doctor told me to come into the
hospital the next morning, and he would induce labor.
I could not sleep at all that night. As prepared as I thought I was, I could
not fathom that the next day I was going to have a child, that would be
dependant on me for the next 18+ years. I cried, I wished I could change my
mind, I prayed, but when morning came around, I packed my bags and checked into
the hospital.
They induced me at 7:00 am on January 5. Almost immediately labor began. It
hurt, but not a lot at first. They kept checking my dilation, but I was not dilating. They increased the dosage on my pit-drop. After 11 hours of labor,
I had dilated to only 3 cm, and my cervix was beginning to thicken. The doctor
ordered an epidural, and told me I was going to have to deliver via C-section.
They allowed about 30 minutes for the epidural to take full affect, and then
wheeled me into the operating room.
As they cut, and tugged, and pulled on me
I was unaware of my surroundings, and my thoughts were as loud as bombs. My
blood pressure dropped to a dangerous level, and I began to go into shock. The
nurses beside me asked me over and over again if I was alright, and they
believed my feeble "yeses". Suddenly my thoughts were pierced by a faint cry.
Ciana was born at 8:00 pm. As I listened to her cry, tears welled in my own
eyes, and flowed down my cheeks. I was a mother, and there was no turning
back. I asked to hold her, and they told me no because I was not in stable
condition (with the shock, and the low BP). They gave her to her dad, and let
him hold her to my lips to kiss her. She was so tiny, and so purple. They
told me she had began to suffocate, and if they had waited another 5 hours to
deliver, she would probably not have lived. They could not, however, explain why. Her umbilical cord was NOT wrapped around her neck, the
placenta had been fully intact. I was just glad to have her alive and well.
Thank you Crystal!
© 1997 Monica Emery
Back to Pregnancy and Childbirth
Back to
Want to submit something? Then go to The Parenting Corner's Submission Form.
This page hosted by 
Get your own Free Home Page