A fast one!

This was a fast and exciting birth:) At Mrs. A's 38 week visit she was 4-5 cm dialated, 100% effaced and a bulging bag of waters. The condition of her cervix was very good news because she had experienced a 4th degree tear with her first birth, so I was hoping that she would go into labor earlier and wouldn't have a bigger baby than last time (8lb 3oz).So that her chances of a bad tear would be minimized. Needless to say I told her,"baby would probably arrive any day." I fully expected her to go into labor that night. Open mouth insert foot...first lesson in midwifery NEVER tell them when you think they will have their baby. I can hear Kathy saying " You don't have a crystal ball and your not God." You'd think I'd know this by now;)...Her cervix just seemed so ripe...Needless to say 10 days later still no baby. We discussed options over the weekend as we were all getting more concerned that the baby was getting big and a minimal tear to the perineum becoming less and less likely. We agreed to meet Monday morning for a prenatal. Fortunately she had some contractions during the night...but by morning they had mostly pittled out. I met them at the Birth Inn at 9:30am..I listened to baby, palpated for size and presentation and did a vaginal check. Baby sounded great, she was in an anterior position, I estimated at 8.5 lbs, the cervix was 5-6cm dialated with bloody show and the head well applied to the cervix at 0 station. I had suggested breaking the water, which as I told her I had never done with a mom not in full blown labor. I just had a sense in this case it would work. I'd been praying, we all had and I felt God's peace. They agreed that it was time:) So at 9:38 we had rupture of membranes with clear fluid and a happy baby. They went out for a short walk as it was VERY hot outside. When she came back and she had some contractions with a few hard ones. She labored inside for another 15 minutes or so then hubby said they needed to get back out walking. I decided to run home and get my car as my hubby had dropped me off. It's now 10:30am...10 minutes later my assistant, Christy, calls to inform me that things had picked up significantly..at which point I start speeding back. She gets the tub going and has mom on her side who a few short minutes later informs her that she needs to have a BM. This usually means baby is COMING soon! My new assistant is now getting nervous so she text's me as mom throws up. Christy gets her in the tub..as I'm pulling up she says "it's burning". We get mom back to the bed because we want her on her side for a slow controlled delivery to help preserve her perineum, (otherwise a water birth would have been great)! I check her she is complete and plus 2 station. I apply the warm compress and arnica oil. We do a 4 handed delivery with mom in excellent control of her pushing, dad did a great job coaching her and she did so well letting just her body do the pushing. After a slow crowning the head appears then out pops a little hand. (Same thing happened with the last one.) I slowly deliver the shoulders. A beautiful baby girl emerges and I put her up on mom. Baby weighed in at 9lb 3oz! Good news is she only had a 2 degree tear! Praise the Lord! A full pound bigger and a smaller tear! God knows what he is doing.
posted by Deidre