Narrator: Dad cuts the umbilical cord, and the midwife collects some of the cord blood for routine testing. Narrator: Sami Sarrajj, a healthy boy, is placed immediately on his mother's chest. With just 11 minutes of pushing, Arvan and Samiyyah's baby emerges. The midwife made the right decision, listening to her body. Narrator: Her midwife uses her fingers to pull back her cervical opening as Samiyyah pushes.
Midwife: Okay now, take a breath and do it again. This is why each caregiver has to manage her patient's labor on an individual basis. Pushing before being fully dilated is uncommon.
Narrator: Her midwife agrees her body is ready to deliver. Narrator: Though most mothers dilate nearly 8 to 10 centimeters before transitioning, Samiyyah is only 5 centimeters dilated and is having trouble resisting the urge to push.Īrvan: Sam, do not push. Narrator: Transition can be the most painful part of labor - but usually the shortest phase. Midwife: The intensity of the contractions is increasing, and just a certain force is now really behind that baby coming. The muscles your body uses to contract are transitioning from dilating the cervix to pushing the baby down and out. Narrator: Her contractions now intensify as she starts to feel the urge to push. Midwife Julia Rasch: Large amount of clear fluid. Actually it was like a relief of pressure. Samiyyah: I thought it would be painful, but it wasn't at all. This is a common procedure and usually helps speed up the labor process. Narrator: Her midwife feels it's time to break her water with an amni hook, since she can feel the amniotic sac bulging. Samiyyah finds some relief by trying a combination of slow steady breathing, constant deep massaging and counterpressure, spending lots of time in a heated Jacuzzi, and trying different labor positions.Īrvan: She's doing great. Narrator: As her contractions pick up, she starts experiencing painful back labor, typically caused by the baby's head pressing against the lower spine. Samiyyah: My goal is to remain calm and try to stay level-headed. Narrator: As Samiyyah's labor progresses, her baby's heart rate is monitored every 15 minutes. Samiyyah: We've talked about, you know, what he's gonna see, we've shown him pictures, and I think he'll be okay. Her mother-in-law, Irena, and 6-year-old son Safi are there for support. Helping her through her first natural birth is her husband, Arvan. It's important to choose a birth center with nearby hospital privileges in case of an emergency. Samiyyah is 3 centimeters dilated, 100 percent effaced, and her water hasn't broken yet, which is common in the first stage of labor.īirth centers offer a more relaxed and intimate alternative to hospitals for women expecting uncomplicated births. At the birth center in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, Julia Rasch, a licensed nurse/midwife, performs an internal exam and starts an IV line to give Samiyyah a dose of antibiotics, since she's positive for Group B strep. Narrator: Seven days after her due date, Samiyyah's labor kicks into gear. So why not? I mean, women, we were designed to do this. It's healthier for the baby it's healthier for me. Samiyyah: Yes, I've been told that I am completely crazy for being, you know, for not having the drugs, but I've been there and I didn't like it, so I figured I would try this.
This time, she's planning a natural delivery - without pain medication and other medical interventions - at a birth center. Narrator: For her son Safi's birth, she was given pitocin to speed up labor, an epidural for pain management, and an episiotomy (a surgical cut to widen the vaginal opening). Samiyyah: With the first pregnancy, I delivered in a hospital, and it was very restricting, you know, being confined to the bed, not being able to, you know, move when I felt my body wanted me to do certain things. She is 38 weeks pregnant with her second child. Narrator: Samiyyah is the owner of a day spa in Philadelphia.
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