Victoria Midwifery Care - Deanna Wildeman, Registered Midwife

Birth Stories

Anita ~ Astra ~ Beth ~ Elizabeth ~ Heather ~ Jane ~ Jennifer
Jessica ~ Josie ~ Kristine ~ Marlee ~ Marlene ~ Shannan

MELANIE Z

Melanie Z The birth of our baby boy was a wonderful experience. Tai was born December 19th, 2001 at Victoria General Hospital with the help of our midwife Deanna Wildeman. All the preparations were done and we felt like we were ready. Deanna's pre-natal care was essential for our peace of mind. We knew our birth plan, that the baby was doing well and now it was just a matter of going into labour!

Labour began 5 days after our due date around 10pm. We expected possible back labour, as Deanna warned us that the baby was lying posterior despite all efforts to get him to flip around. The pain was very intense all night, I phoned Deanna around 2am and she suggested a bath to calm me. That did help slow down contractions for a while.

After a sleepless night for my partner Todd & I, our Doula arrived at 8am and helped us through several more contractions. Deanna arrived shortly after my water broke sometime around 9:30am. We had discovered that there was meconium in the water, so Deanna arranged for us to be at Victoria General Hospital where a pediatrician would be available just in case. She checked the baby's heart rate, and my cervix. I was already at 5cm!

My back REALLY hurt, and I managed to communicate this to Deanna and the doula. She offered to give me an injection of sterile water to help. I was warned it would hurt like a bee sting, as my partner witnessed when I screamed in his face it was injected into my lower back. Seconds later, the intense back pain that I had since 10pm the night before was GONE!

I told Deanna and my doula that I felt like pushing....They knew it wasn't time yet, and Deanna showed us how to breathe through contractions to avoid pushing. It was REALLY difficult, but with Deanna's instruction and looking into her eyes, I managed to do it.

We then tried to head off to the hospital, after Todd threw the rest of our stuff in our hospital bag and tried to find me some clothes (What ARE pants?) Another check of the cervix and a listen to the baby while this was going on revealed that we were dilated to 8cm! My doula came along in the car helping me BLOW and not PUSH! As I leaned over the front seat looking backward, I could see Deanna following in her car. As soon as we arrived at the hospital labour room, I was checked again and Deanna gave me the okay to push! Yay!!

This was a powerful experience, with Deanna, our doula, a nurse and my partner Todd all coaching me. I felt exhilarated and wonderful, like I had a great support team helping me run a marathon to the finish line! I was confident that Deanna would help my baby arrive safely without any unnecessary medical intervention. After an hour and a half of pushing, Tai was born 7lbs and 10 ounces! He was beautiful! This was the birth I had been hoping for with no drugs, medical intervention, not even any major tearing. I felt great, just real tired!

Unfortunately my son had inhaled some meconium and had to go into the special care nursery. I was confident that he would be fine, he looked so strong and healthy. Tai spent 6 days in special care recovering. Each day, Deanna came to the hospital to check on us, provide support and help us breastfeed. After we went home, Deanna visited us a number of times until we felt confident to come to her office if we had questions. I was thrilled with the postnatal care provided by our midwife! I couldn't imagine having a baby any other way. Today, Tai is a healthy, happy 3 month old baby!

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