THE BIRTH OF TREVOR DANE ROBERTS
By Deena J. Roberts
I found out that I was going to be a MOM in the restroom of a Dollar Rent A Car on a warm September day in 1992.
I immediately made an appointment with an obstetrician to ensure my baby would be properly cared for prenatally. My first couple of visits were rather unenthusiastic and routine on the part of my physician, and I felt rushed whenever I had questions. Needless to say, I thought I deserved more personalized treatment and forthwith consulted my Southwestern Bell Yellow Pages in search of a midwife.
DID YOU SAY MIDWIFE?!?! Yes, I did. I wasn't comfortable paying over five thousand dollars for a perfect delivery with no intervention whatsoever. My husband and I contacted Diane Barnes, CNM and owner/operator of WomanCare, Inc. in southwest Missouri. She was not staffed for a home birth, but we could feel free to come to her free standing birth center for an initial consultation.
She was very careful in taking my history to determine the amount of risk associated with my birth. Thankfully, she established that I was low enough risk to take me as a patient. I was honored!
As a Registered Nurse and a Certified Nurse Midwife, she was very skilled at every aspect of the prenatal care, and she encouraged me to ask questions and become more educated about pregnancy and childbirth so that I would be aware of what my body was going through in this mysterious process of making another human being. We became fast friends and I looked forward to each future visit. In my 9th month, I was introduced to another midwife named Jeanne Teel who would be helping Diane for a few months with the patients. She was very smart and professional when she examined me on May 27, 1993. She told me, "This baby is all of eight pounds!" and we laughed about how fun it was going to be to get this overwith. My due date was June 3, but I wanted him or her (we didn't know the sex) to be born in May because both my husband and I were born in May. Two days later, at 5:30am, I got out of bed to go to the bathroom. As I plopped back in the waterbed I heard this explosion! I said, "Did you hear that?", and Greg said, "No, what was it?" Then I realized my water had broken and our baby would be born in May!
We got up and showered, and my husband kept telling me to be calm, but I think he was talking to himself. We called Diane, and were told just to take it easy for awhile, and call in a few hours to report my progress. I was having serious contractions, folks. "I thought you got to start out with wimpy ones first," I pouted. My husband was running around trying to pack stuff and make my Jello at the same time. I was propped up in the papasan chair with pillows all around me trying to relax and let my body do its work.
Then he called...HIS PARENTS. They were advised that everything was under control, and we'd call them afterwhile. Well, two seconds later, the phone rings, and it's...you guessed it-HIS PARENTS.
Bless their hearts, they were so worried that we should get there NOW because it might come BEFORE we get there, etc... I ate some Jello and told him to unplug that freaking phone before I made him eat it! He saw his opportunity to call WomanCare back and ask if he could bring me now. They said yes, so we left, and I stopped outside to throw up in the trash can before our 45 minute trip to the clinic.
The contractions had been coming so hard and so close together, I didn't know where one ended and another began. Greg kept saying, "Tell me when another one starts," and I said, "The last one hasn't stopped yet!!! Please just let me sleep." So I semi-slept on the drive there. When I got there, it was Jeanne who greeted me. Diane was on Memorial Day vacation. Great. I hardly knew this woman who was going to help me give birth for the first time.
This woman was so wonderful, I don't have words to thank her. She immediately determined that I was dilated to a six after six hours of labor, and then helped me into the Jacuzzi. Another contraction began as she sat down to take my bloodpressure while I relaxed in the jubilant jetstreams. She said, "Just tell me when it's over," and left. Two minutes later she was back. Was it over yet? Not only no, but I didn't think it would ever end unless I got out of the water. By that time I was dilated to nine, so I lay down on the daybed, and tried to relax. All of a sudden I felt...THE URGE! You know, the one that tells you, "People, it is time!"
I waddled over to the birthing chair which was reclined about 60 degrees for optimum relaxation. Then, amazingly enough, I no longer had any contractions. This is great, I told myself! By this time, I was kind of worn out, so I at a tator tot from Sonic and drank some grape All Sport. Then I snorted a little oxygen through a mask my husband was holding. I just kind of pushed whenever I felt like it, and I kept hearing Jeanne and Debbie, Diane's daughter and assistant, shouting "Come on, Deena, you can do it!" There were constant words of encouragement during this time, and they kept telling me what a great job I was doing. Women really need this type of encouragement during labor and birth. Finally, at 4:45pm, after nearly twelve hours of active labor, I saw my baby's face. He had so much HAIR! Then, at 4:47 Trevor Dane Roberts was born. What a brick! This kid was solid from head to toe, and not a speck of vernix in sight! I only had a slight surface tear from his shoulder which required a couple of stitches. I can't imagine having an episiotomy when it just takes minimal time and effort to avoid one.
Here was our son, and I had made it through with no drugs of any kind, but just kind, loving support and a little self education. I would recommend the book Childbirth Without Fear by Dr. Grantly Dick-Read for any expectant parent to read. I think it could help a lot of women avoid the perceived need for pain medication.
Trevor had APGAR scores of 9 and 10 respectively, and he was 21 & 1/4 inches long. His weight? Eight pounds, of course!