Ariel, a self-proclaimed birth nerd, prepped for labor by taking a Bradley Method Class and was prepared to labor at home for as long as possible in hopes of avoiding interventions and having an unmedicated labor. Early labor felt like cramping so neither Ariel or her husband realized what was going on. Ariel took a shower and two baths to help relax what she thought was cramping from overdoing it and being a little dehydrated. After Ariel took her second bath and was beginning to hum and rock through “waves of pain” they finally processed that Ariel was in labor.
Ariel became nauseous and started throwing up and planted herself on their bathroom floor. Eventually Ariel asked her husband to start timing contractions only to realize that contractions were 2 and a half minutes apart. After about 45 minutes of intense and powerful contractions Ariel’s water broke as she was throwing up. Unsure what to do, Ariel and her husband called the OB around midnight who instructed them to head to the hospital.
Knowing his wife had expressed wanting to labor at home for as long as possible, Benjamin was hesitant to head in so soon as Ariel had only been having contractions for about 2 hours. Ariel was feeling very overwhelmed and even scared, so she insisted on going to the hospital right away. Ariel climbed in the car while her husband packed their bags and drained her tub water from earlier. While in the car waiting, Ariel began to feel the urge to push. They eventually arrive at the hospital around 1:30am. Once Ariel made it up to L&D the triage nurse informed her she was completely dilated and it was time to have a baby. 15 minutes and 4 pushes later, to their surprise, their baby boy was delivered at 1:56am. He was so precious, at just 5lbs and 14 oz, and fit perfectly into their arms and hearts right away.
Ariel D’Souza Bio
Ariel D’Souza is 30 years old and lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband Benjamin and their son, Caleb. She works as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner at the local Children’s Hospital. She loves birth and can remember watching shows like ‘Birth Day’ and ‘A Baby Story’ when she was just a young girl. In her free time she enjoys reading, listening to podcasts, traveling, and baking. You can connect with Ariel on Instagram @goarielgo.
Resources
- The LA County Department of Public Health is leading a broad African American Infant and Maternal Mortality (AAIMM) Initiative to combat the disproportionately high rates of Black/African American infant and maternal deaths countywide. Doulas are part of the solution. “Black women experience higher rates of poor birth outcomes, including cesareans, preterm and low birth weight infants, and infant death, than other racial groups (Thomas et al., 2017). The AAIMM Initiative is committed to eliminating preventable Black infant and maternal deaths.” https://www.blackinfantsandfamilies.org/doulas
- Webster Certified Chiropractor https://icpa4kids.com/training/webster-certification/webster-technique/?gclid=CjwKCAiAgvKQBhBbEiwAaPQw3HIbY_JiIo_iMStW8IdlJ0rh3d1-0nlEc2Ckw-gGu-_1JJ_Rl4DIExoCkXwQAvD_BwE
- Bradley Method https://www.bradleybirth.com/
Betterhelp
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