Empowered Hospital Birth: The Birth of Henry Wilde Scott
I am beyond excited to share this birth story! My friend Lauren Scott gave birth to her beautiful baby boy Henry Wilde Scott unmedicated in the hospital. She has shared her story with me, and I'm so happy to be able to share it with you now. I’ve already shared my own home birth story, however I know home birth isn’t for everyone nor is it an available option to some. Lauren’s birth experience is such a wonderful example that birth can be beautiful and empowering in many different settings with the right preparation and support.
Henry’s birthday
When I found out I was pregnant, I immediately started reading and researching all things pregnancy, labor, delivery, and motherhood. A few weeks into my pregnancy, I was reading a book on labor (called “Holy Labor” – I highly recommend) during a road trip with my husband, Peter, and I remember setting the book down, looking up and telling him I wanted to try and have a natural birth. He wasn’t so sure at first – but there was something inside of me that felt compelled to prepare for an unmedicated birth.
My goal was to ‘try’ and have a natural birth. I wanted to set sail in the direction of the little invention and no medication, but be open-minded and surrendered enough to change up the plan, if that was best for me and the baby.
So I knew I needed a good birth team around me that I could trust. This was my first baby and I knew I needed support! Enter, our amazing doula, Nikki Knowles. I had read a story about birth she attended and I knew I had to at least talk to her. At that time, I had no clue what a doula really was. After weeks of research and discussing the investment, Peter and I decided we meet her with me over coffee. We had seen my sis-in-law (who’s a midwife) that morning before our coffee with Nikki and she pulled Peter aside and said, “Get the doula FOR YOU, Peter”. Just minutes into our coffee, to my surprise, Peter told Nikki that she was hired! Even at that point, I still didn’t understand exactly what she would be doing or how she would help but I can honestly say, hiring her was one of the best things we did in my whole pregnancy. I am so grateful for Peter’s support – the more information I bombarded him with about birth, the more he came around to the idea of natural birth.
At 29 weeks, I did something crazy. After an appointment with my OB, I had an overwhelming feeling that I needed to use a different doctor. I hadn’t really connected with my OB and up until that time, he had yet to ask me about the labor I wanted and I truly just didn’t feel like he knew me (or even my name, to be honest). Pregnancy and birth are so personal and I wanted to feel 100% confident about everyone in the room. Nikki gave me a recommendation of one of her fave OBs, Dr. Stevenson at Park Lane Obstetrics, who also delivers at Baylor. By the grace of God, they were able to take me on as a patient at 30 weeks! Yep, I changed my OB at 30 weeks.
One way Nikki was instrumental in my birth was that she helped me prepare. She had me read several books, see a chiropractor weekly beginning at 34 weeks and insisted I take borage oil beginning at 36 weeks. That helped me dilate and efface immediately. She explained that the more dilated and effaced you are going into labor, typically the less work (and time) your body will need to labor. Five days before I went into labor, I was 75% effaced and 3.5 cm dilated.
Friday, April 5 — Even though Henry wasn’t due for 13 more days and I anticipated being at work the following week, I stayed at the office late. Something in me felt the need to wrap up my projects. I remember feeling sweaty and just like a hot mess that day. That night, Peter suggested we did “one last grill out” with our family before the baby came, not knowing it would be the next morning. I decided I would walk to meet Peter at dinner (just a few blocks to my brother-in-law’s house). After a steak dinner, I texted him from across the table around 10 pm that I thought we should “go home and rest.” Again, something in me just knew what my body needed. That night, I tossed and turned in my sleep. I felt a teeny bit “crampy” all night, but it wasn’t painful so my mind was racing trying to figure out if it was labor or not. (One of my biggest fears during late pregnancy is that I would “miss” my labor – which is hilarious).
Saturday, April 6 — That morning I woke up around 6 am still wondering if the cramps were early labor and I immediately felt my water break. To me, it felt like a capsule or water bursting. I went to the bathroom and when I stood up, more water leaked out. Even though I wasn’t having contractions, I woke up Peter and told him “I think the baby is coming today. I am pretty sure my water just broke. Let’s wake up and start the day”. He told me to call our doula and let her know (I felt horrible calling her so early on a Saturday).
Peter packed, showered + ran to grab my fave smoothie. I jumped in the shower, blew dry my hair and about an hour later started feeling and timing contractions. I was excited. I had read soooo much about labor that I was ready to actually FEEL it. Our doula instructed us to walk our block through contractions to get them to speed up and get my body to progress. Peter held my hand and let me squeeze his when they hit. We walked for about an hour even though it was sprinkling out (I had prayed the baby would come on a peaceful stormy day since the day I found out I was pregnant. I love rain.)
Nikki came to our house at 10:30 am. When I opened to the door, I was smiling and she said, “I don’t like that you’re smiling”. What she meant was that she wanted me to be progressing and far along when we got to the hospital to avoid induction. So, she had me do “pretzel” positions during contractions on my bed at home and that made the contractions REAL STRONG. Soon after, I was no longer smiling. I loved laboring at home, in the rain, with just my doula, my husband and my sis-in-law, Sarah, by my side.
We quickly packed up and left for the hospital. It was pouring rain at this point. When I got in the car was when I had my first “scream-worthy” contraction – poor Peter. I was able to text people between contractions to let them know the baby was on his way.
We checked into the hospital around 11 am and, after stopping and squatting a few times in the hallway, we checked into our room. Peter made us all cozy – diffusing oils and playing music. Honestly, most of my time at the hospital was a bit of a daze. The pain had me kind of out of it.
I wanted to be checked when I arrived. I was at 5.5cm but was feeling it all in my back. Turns out, Henry was “sunny-side up” which means his head was digging into my back. My doula had me labor in a variety of positions to keep me progressing and to flip Henry face down. They hurt but they kept my labor moving!
Peter applied counter-pressure the ENTIRE labor (he said he was exhausted by the end of it!). The next time they checked, I was at a 7 and I kept saying “I am ready for an epidural”, but my birth team believed in me - even when I didn’t! My nurse was also a doula and so she, Nikki and Peter were helping me fight to have the birth I dreamed of. They told me how great I was laboring and how well I was progressing. They also distracted me by having me first try laughing gas (nitrous). I’m not sure the laughing gas helped the physical pain, but it certainly helped me control my breathing. Before then, I was screammming (!!) through contractions. The nitrous made me slow down and breathe through them.
At around 2 pm, I was at 9.5cm - I thought I was so close to pushing. I knew at this point, there was no turning back. I was having an unmedicated birth, whether I liked it or not. Unfortunately, my body kind of got stuck at 9.5cm for a good while. I was standing, leaning and squatting during this part. Waiting, laboring in that intensity, with the contractions so close together was brutal. I kept noticing that everyone around me was calm and I didn’t see my doctor anywhere close. I knew I still had a bit to labor before I could push. I was so ready to “get on my back and get this baby out” (my exact words). I was doneeeee.
The sweet nurse let me get on my back (just to appease me and make me feel like things were happening). My OB wasn’t on call so her partner came in and I began pushing around 2:45 pm. I LOVED pushing because it distracted from the contractions and felt productive. Feeling EVERYTHING as I pushed him out was definitely a shock, but nothing compared to the contractions. I loved the action of pushing! Nurses, doctors, Peter and Nikki cheered for me, encouraged me and made me feel strong.
I couldn’t believe it was all over at 3:18 pm when Henry Wilde Scott enter our world in one final “half push”.
They put my warm, wet baby with a head full of hair on my chest and I kissed his head (best feeling ever that I will never forget). I couldn’t believe that I finally had my baby and that I had brought him there! Almost immediately, our close family flooded the room. It was super special having my baby on my chest and our favorite people in the world right there with us to welcome him. Baylor was amazing because they let me keep Henry on my chest as soon as he was born for over an hour before they wiped him down or weighed him. Our family was also there when he was measured and weighed and when Peter got to hold him for the first time!
We stayed at the hospital for 24 hours. The nurses were incredible – so helpful with swaddling, changing and helping me get the swing of nursing. It was so great going home, but I kind of missed the support of the amazing nurses that we had the night before. It was very surreal finally bringing our baby into the home we worked so hard to prepare for him!
It was truly a beautiful, seamless experience. Hard work, but so incredibly rewarding. I mean – our baby boy is pure perfection! And I think I tapped into a whole new level of (mental and physical) strength in myself that I didn’t know existed. It was very empowering. More than anything, we felt the peace and presence of God through it all. Call me crazy, but I can’t wait for round two (yes, even the labor part).
