Vegan Birth Stories

Please read our collection of birth stories. If you'd like to submit your own, please submit your story here. Vegan or vegetarian birth stories are welcome.

Esme

I need to start out by saying the moment I found out I was pregnant I thought for sure I would have our daughter early. My original due date was December 31st then after our first ultrasound it was changed to January 6th. My doctor, the best doctor in the entire world, laughed when I declared my due date would mean nothing. For sure I would have her early.

Around Thanksgiving I was ready, nesting, Braxton Hicks, everything was telling me it was getting close. My entire last trimester was plagued with horrible acid reflux and heartburn. I couldn't even smell spicy food or anything I had eaten would come right back up. Sleep became an enemy. Now, I'm a small person, I weighed 110 lbs before getting pregnant, and at this point I weighed a whopping 152 lbs. There was absolutely no room for my stomach. My sternum was digging into my uterus and my lungs, forget about deep breathing. For sure I would have her early.

Then Christmas came, still pregnant and huge, horribly uncomfortable and very whiny. I started having contractions on Christmas day. They were pretty subtle, like severe menstrual cramps. For sure I would have her early.

Then came New Years. Still having irregular contractions. I had my weekly checkup and the doctor said I was 100% effaced but not dilated. It was only a matter of time. There was no way she was going to wait for the due date.

Well, my due date came and went. I was feeling exhausted and frustrated. I thought I would be the first person to remain pregnant and never have a baby. I was convinced I was a medical freak. I had cramps all the time but nothing progressive. I had my other weekly checkup. The night before I thought I would wrap my wrists real tight with a bandage so when I woke up they would look swollen. I read somewhere that if your limbs swelled your doctor would induce your labor. I decided the bandage was a bad idea. After confessing to my doctor and waiting for his laughing to stop he said if I didn't go into labor by the 16th, they would induce me. It was scheduled for January 16th. He proceeded to 'sweep my membranes' to see if that would help. Whoa! Cramps and then nothing.

Let's backtrack here for a moment, I wanted nothing more than to have a natural birth but my impatience and hormonal imbalance took over. If someone told me if I jumped on my right foot for 10 hours straight that I would go into labor, I would have jumped for 11. On January 15th my husband and I decided to go to dinner to keep my mind off the next days events. Once we got home I started to have this cramp in my groin every time I took a step or moved. It was so painful I thought my leg was going to fall off. I had never read anything about that and was a little concerned so I called the hospital. They said it was normal and if anything got worse to come in. But since I was going to be there first thing in the morning I decided to grin and bear it.

I tried to sleep, yeah right. Try to sleep knowing you are about to experience one of the most amazing events of your entire life the next day! Finally, I fell asleep only to wake up every hour to see what time it was and how long until I was going to get up to go to the hospital. I had so many things running through my head. I was afraid, I was excited, my throat was experiencing our dinner for the millionth time. Then it was finally time to wake up and go.
Now everything I had read about inducing labor said it would take about 5 hours to progress enough to start pushing. So, in my head I knew I would have a baby that day. We got to the hospital @ 7:30 am, I got changed into a very unattractive hospital gown. Why you have to wear those god-awful things when you are supposed to be comfortable and supposed to feel like a goddess is a question that will always plague me. But, I did it and got ready for action.

They checked my cervix and I was dilated to 2 centimeters. I guess those groin cramps were something (it's about time). They wanted to wait to give me the pitocin to see if maybe I could get it going on my own (with our daughter's help). A few hours later with lots of cramping, no dice. My doctor decided to break my water and see if that helped. Now, cramping lead to out and out severe pain! I was having some serious contractions and nothing I did or the nurse did or my husband did helped. The nurse kept saying try the shower. Lady, the last thing I want to do is be in the shower. I know that helps some people and I am all for it but it did not sound like anything I wanted to be a part of! I had hit my brick wall breaking point, it was time to give in, I asked for an epidural. Then I had to wait another 2 hours for the anesthesiologist. By the time he arrived I was ready to write my will. After receiving the epidural I announced to the room that the anesthesiologist was my new boyfriend. I was still feeling the contractions but they were not as wall climbing.

A few hours after that my doctor says it's time to start pushing. I had a nurse, my doctor, my husband and two medical students at my beck and call for the remainder of my delivery. My spirits were up and I was the one-woman comedy show. At one point, having two women (one med student and one nurse) after a particularly painful contraction and push, I yelled while pointing at them "NO BABIES FOR YOU AND NO BABIES FOR YOU". Three hours into pushing my doctor says 'it looks like she is caught behind your pelvic bone, we can either use a vacuum or forceps to help her out a bit'. I had talked to my doctor previously about not wanting to use a vacuum or forceps that if it came down to it I would rather have a C-section. At this point I had already begged for the c-section during some painful pushing, and as always he laughed. I was exhausted but I looked at my husband and he said "you can do it, you've come this far, we'll help".

So I told the doctor I wanted to push more. At this point I had the nurse and one med student on my right leg lifting when I whimpered preparing for another group of pushes, I had my husband and the other med student on my left leg doing the same, and my doctor in the middle. My doctor suggested the mirror to see if that would help with my progress. Well, that just frustrated me even more. I was ready to reach up inside and pull her out by her hair. It was time to start really getting down to business. I will let you in on a little insight about me, I am from a military family and my dad was a sailor, so you can imagine the vocabulary I have been exposed to. Well, let me tell you it all came out between grunts and screams. I never knew the "rim of fire" (crowning) could last an hour. We had a team of pediatricians in the room waiting for her (to suction her lungs of meconium). My audience had grown. Finally, after another 2 and half hours of that she came gliding out like it was no big thing. She was received with applause from the pediatrician staff and tears from my husband and myself. Now, after being pregnant for over 10 months, 31 hours in labor and 5 and half hours of pushing I am convinced she wanted to be her daddy's birthday present (his and now both of their birthday is January 17th). I would definitely do it over again in a heartbeat!

She weighed 8 lbs 9 oz, 21 � in�the poster vegan baby. She latched on perfectly the first time and asserted her independence from that moment on.

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