birthED Hospital Waterbirth Story - Unmedicated & Doula/Midwife Support

THANK YOU to this sweet family for sharing their story We are so thrilled to have this amazing documentation of your birth! If you are planning your first birth please join us for one of our upcoming birthED Lamaze Classes.

Baby Viggo’s Birth Story

7:15 PM - Water broke

Small gush (1/8 cup?) and slow trickle - Clear, colorless, odorless

7:30 PM - Diarrhea

I took a shower and got ready, in between contractions. My husband packed his hospital bag and the remaining items we needed for labor, delivery, and our hospital stay with baby. We expected early labor to take some time, so we started out doing these tasks leisurely, planning to wrap up and try to get some rest before active labor. During this time, we were tracking contractions and texting our doula, Jillian Carpenter. Contractions started ~10 minutes after my water broke. The first two or three felt like very mild period cramps, then they started increasing in intensity. I started timing them to see if there was any regularity - they began 4-5 minutes apart and quickly progressed to 2-3 minutes apart within the first hour. I was logging them as “mild/moderate” even though the intensity was clearly increasing - in my head, we were still in early labor and there would be a ways to go in terms of strength and intensity. My husband helped me get the TENS unit on once I was done showering. I could still talk during contractions at this point, though the conversation was breathy and interrupted.

9:00 PM - “Bloody show”

2-3 tbsp bloody discharge

9:15 PM - Called Woodwinds and Midwife

At Jillian’s recommendation, we called M Health Fairview to alert the on call midwife that I was in labor and to ensure there was a room and water birth tub available. She was at home but would come in when we were on our way. Even though my water broke, she supported us continuing to labor at home.

9:51 PM - FaceTimed Jillian

I was feeling a little panicky about how quickly things were moving - I felt like I wasn’t really getting a break in between contractions and they were getting more intense (I was going “inward” at this point). We FaceTimed Jillian - discussed heading to the hospital to get checked since my water broke, or continuing to labor at home. I made the call to head to the hospital. Something told me things were happening quickly.

10:40 PM - Car ride to Hospital

Had to sit in the back seat facing the rear window on my knees. Breathed through contractions and moved up and down on my knees. TENS unit was really helpful. Started to feel “pushy” - remember making sounds that Liz described as “pushy” in Lamaze class. The entire car ride was a blur and we were at the hospital before I knew it, despite the 30 minute drive. I was counting to “15 contractions” the entire time, since they were coming 2 minutes apart.

11:15 PM - Arrived at Hospital

Parked at the main entrance by mistake, as it was now closed. Had to walk around the building to the emergency room entrance. I insisted on walking, as the movement felt best. I had 2-3 contractions on the way there. Met Jillian in the lobby. Nurse who brought us up to L&D said, “my goal is not to have a baby in the parking lot tonight.”

11:20 PM - Triage

Fetal monitor + contraction monitor for 20 minutes - impossible, as I could not sit still. Only position I could tolerate on the bed was hands/knees. This did not work for taking blood pressure. my Nurse called the Midwife in, as there was a misunderstanding on our part and we did not call the Midwife ourselves. Declined cervical check, as I wanted to wait for the Midwife. Despite completing zero of the “checkpoints” in triage (cervical check, BP, fetal/contraction monitor), the nurse believed we were far enough along and found us a labor and delivery room.

11:30 PM - Labor Room

Got cervical check - 9.5cm dilated, 100% effaced. I had asked about an epidural - expecting to be 3-5cm and for the sensations to intensify 2-3x. As soon as I heard how far along I was, I knew I could do it unmedicated. Nurses immediately wheeled in the delivery cart and infant warmer (lol). Continued to labor while pacing back and forth in the room. Brie arrived - Brian gave her a copy of our birth plan. Tried to pee - could not do it, as I was unable to relax my pelvic floor. Sitting on the toilet intensified the contractions and I started bearing down. Got blood drawn in between contractions. Retried blood pressure - high. Nurse explained that she could not get any readings on me in triage - the Midwife said she was not concerned, as my BP had been healthy throughout pregnancy. They took baby’s HR using the doppler - 145 bpm. Asked for water birth tub - we would be inaugurating the pool that was (temporarily?) replacing the tub, as the water birth suite was being converted to an operating room. Used squat bar when I felt the urge to push.

1:30 AM - Moved to Water Birth Room

94 degrees Fahrenheit - felt warm but not too warm. Immediately, the water became a relief for the contractions that I was feeling from my ribs to my pelvic floor. I began pushing with my knees on the birth pool floor and hands on the side of the pool - alternating between knees in, knees out, and single leg side lunge. After about an hour, the Midwife and Jillian suggested a new position. They held a flat sheet and had me put my feet up on the wall of the pool. In a squatting position, I curled my abs for 3-4 pushes per contraction. This position intensified the sensations twofold - I was losing my breath by the end of each contraction. We did this position for 5-6 contractions before trying another. Next, we submerged a birthing “chair”. I sat on the edge and held my knees with my hands. My husband held me under my arms from behind while I leaned against the wall of the tub and curled my abdomen and tucked my chin into my chest with each contraction. While the pushing sensations were really intense in this position, too, I could tell we were going to make progress here. I stuck with this position from here on out, only taking a short break to be on my hands and knees once my lower back got sore. It was taking a long time for baby to get past my pubic bone. With each push, he would progress and recede. I was getting really tired after 2 hours or so. I was offered a cervical check to help inform our progress and decide on next steps. Baby was in +2 position, meaning 2 cm above the narrowest part of the pelvis. Crowning happens at +3 to +5. The Midwife suggested “guided pushing”, and Jillian agreed it would be worth trying considering my energy levels. I had some apple juice for quick sugar hit, but I was not interested in food. Guided pushing upped the intensity even more, but I could feel the progress we were making internally with small “pops” as baby moved through the birth canal. The Midwife told me to reach down and feel his head, which was only a few cm inside my vagina. I could feel his hair. Within 15-20 minutes, his head was crowning. The Midwife kept pressure on my perineum while we waited for the next contraction - it seemed like a long pause. The contractions came, and his head came out on the first push. It took 3 more pushes for his shoulder and body - all from the same contraction. The Midwife had to help maneuver his shoulder out a bit.

4:20 AM - Viggo Arrived

Born into water, the midwife caught him and placed him on my tummy/chest. He cried immediately. We sat in the water until the cord stopped pulsated and was white. My husband cut the cord and they clamped it off. Holding Viggo on my chest, I stood up and got out of the tub and into the bed with the help of my husband, Midwife, and nurse.

Elizabeth HochmanApril 15, 2026