Chandra Shares Her Birth Story

Brielle Cain Davis’ Birth Story

I first started feeling contractions on Wednesday morning, April 14, 2010 at approximately 3:30 a.m. I decided to get up and do some work until I had to get dressed and ready at about 9:00 a.m. I had a midwife appointment and a sonogram scheduled later that day. I went through the rest of the day not feeling any more contractions.

At around 8 p.m. I went into Brielle’s room to do some last minute finishing touches and I felt a little bit of water leaking out. I thought to myself that my water may have broken, but there was no gush like you hear about on TV/movies. So I realized I had a few last emails I wanted to send to my bosses, so I got on the computer and worked until about 9 p.m. The contractions started to get stronger and more regular. I admitted that I was actually in labor and thought that I better get focused on giving birth to Brielle. I went upstairs and asked George to start timing the contractions while I rolled around on my exercise ball. The contractions were about 8 minutes a part. I watched Glee and some other show we had on DVR. George went to sleep for about 45 minutes! Lucky him! When he woke up the contractions were about 6 minutes apart and getting stronger. I asked for my wine, which tasted pretty good, but it seemed to slow down the contractions, so I only drank about 3 good sips. In order to manage the pain, we danced, changed positions, and I sounded.


When the contractions got to be about 4-5 minutes apart I got into the tub (probably about 11:30 p.m. to 12 a.m. and got some relief. The contractions seemed to slow down so we decided to get out of the tub for fear that my labor was slowing down. By about 1:00 a.m. the contractions were less than 3-4 minutes apart. George insisted that when they got to 3 minutes apart we were going to the hospital. I said 3 minutes apart for an hour and then we should go. He compromised and said 3 minutes apart for 30 minutes and then we would go. I acquiesced. We called our doula, Persis, and asked her to meet us at the hospital.

We arrived at the Atlanta Medical Center’s labor and delivery floor at 1:47 a.m. We had to wait approximately 30 minutes for a room to be prepared for us, so I had to labor in the hallway. Lots of sounding and dancing went on in the hallway. My midwife checked me at 2:30 a.m. and said I was 3-4 centimeters dilated. For those familiar with birth, that meant I had 6-7 centimeters to go until I would be ready to deliver Brielle. Suffice it to say I was crushed. My contractions were 3 minutes or less apart and pretty strong at this point and I could have more than 6 hours to go! I cut George a dirty look and lamented that we had come too early. Everyone assured me that I had not come too early and that everything was going to be fine. My midwife also advised that she wanted me to wait until I was 6-7 centimeters dilated before I got into the tub. George and I wanted to have a water birth if possible.

We spent the next 2 hours laboring between the hallways of the labor and delivery floor and our room. We had a great view of Atlanta’s night skyline. I used that view to distract me and manage the pain of the contractions. I knew she was moving down the birth canal and I was pushing a bit during each contraction. At about 3:30, I asked the nurse if she could get my midwife so she could check me to see if I could get into the tub. I needed pain relief which I knew the water would give me. The nurse suggested I wait an additional 30 minutes since I had just been checked at 2:30 a.m. I agreed, but about 10 minutes later the contractions were so intense and coming so closely together that I just knew that I had to have progressed to at least 6 centimeters and I really needed the tub! My midwife came and said I was definitely 6-7 centimeters and that I could get into the tub. I asked, “can I get in while you fill it,” I was a desperate woman. She said yes, so they wheeled in a deep inflatable tub and began to fill it with water. I got into the tub and continued to have strong contractions every 2 minutes or less. I began to feel the intense need to push. My midwife said then it is time to push. During transition I doubted myself and my body’s ability to push out my baby without harming myself. My midwife assured me that I could do it and George gave me lots of encouragement and told me I was doing it and doing a great job. I gave 2 pushes and delivered Brielle’s head. The third push delivered the rest of her body. I was never so relieved as to have her out.

My midwife caught her under the water and told me to grab her and bring her up. I did just that and she landed on my chest making the screaming face with no sound. Once she caught her first breath she began to cry, with sound. It was a great smooth birth. We were very excited that we were able to have a second healthy baby via a vaginal birth with no drugs. She was born April 15th (Tax Day!) at 4:47 a.m. My labor was approximately 8 ½ hours. I dilated 6-7 centimeters in 2 hours. Brielle weighed 7.65 lbs. and was 21 inches long. She is a great baby. She sleeps pretty well and doesn’t cry a lot (well, that is compared to Carter).