Vaginal Birth with Non-Emergency Placental Abruption, with Alaina Gay

Alaina Gay woke up excited and happy, thinking her water had broken, only to discover it was blood. Her planned birth center birth turned into an induction at the hospital, but thanks to compassionate care providers, that focused on her wellbeing as well as on a respectful transfer of care, Alana had the healthy and empowering birth she was looking for. Check it out.

What we talked about:

• How the Business of Being Born shaped her wishes
• Reasons for wanting an out-of-hospital birth
• The excitement of waking up to wet sheets
• The realization that it was not amniotic fluid
• Trying to stay calm as the transfer to hospital is initiated
• The relief of feeling baby move
• The beauty and importance of continuity of care and collaboration between providers
• “I want to be that woman’s best friend!”
• Keeping an eye on the bleeding while supporting her birth wishes
• Shifting her mindset for a hospital experience
• Asking for what she needed (her clothes, portable monitors, and Cervidil instead of Cytotec)
• The Harry Potter marathon
• A break in the induction for normalcy and leg shaving
• Wrestling with the Pitocin
• Off to Laborland
• A disappointing vaginal check and a reassuring one
• “You can ride lions!”
• Feeling the baby do the cha-cha
• After two hours, then the baby flies right out!

Getting all the support

Resources mentioned and other helpful links*:

• Placental abruption
• The wireless fetal heart-rate monitor like the one used by Alaina
• Business of Being Born
• Mama Natural Birth Course
• The Mama Natural Week-by-Week Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth, by Genevieve Howland
• Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth, by Ina May Gaskin
• Kayleigh Minin, her doula
• Evidence Based Birth
• The Birth Hour Podcast
• “And your podcast of course!”

Post-birth smiles

Related Birthful podcast episodes:

• Weight Gain & Nutrition, with Genevieve Howland

Post-birth happy cries

About Alaina Gay

Alaina first became interested in birth long before she became a mother. She spent much of her time in grad school researching and writing about the rhetoric of the natural childbirth movement and birth and maternity in Renaissance plays. These days, she runs a freelance writing business from home and loves exploring her new home of Columbia, SC with her husband, Jonny, and daughter, Charlie.

Title music: “Vibe Ace” by Kevin MacLeod, from the Free Music Archive / CC BY (edited for length).

Sponsorship music: “Air Hockey Saloon” by Chris Zabriskie, from the Free Music Archive / CC BY (edited for length).