Matthias’s Birth Story – Home Birth to Hospital Transfer

He’s here! Our baby boy was born a few days ago and we are so happy to have him join our family! After much debate, we named him Matthias.

This birth was very different from births in the past. Spoiler alert – he was born at the hospital and not at home like we had planned. For those of you interested, here is his birth story.

Matthias’s Birth Story – Home Birth Transfer to Hospital

Just like my other 6 children, I planned for a home birth with Matthias. His due date came and went, just like my other babies. No big deal. I’m used to that by now! I’d be having mild, Braxton hicks contractions for weeks, again, very typical for me. My body does not start to dilate, at all, until I’m in labor, and then things tend to happen pretty quickly.

On Monday (the 29th), with no signs of labor still, I took my kids swimming. I tried to spend time in the water floating belly-down to encourage Matthias into a good position. After an afternoon at the pool with 6 kids, I was pretty exhausted that evening and went to bed early (a little after 8pm)…only to have to jump out of bed about 10 minutes later when my water broke.

My water has broken 2 other times at the beginning of labor but this time it wasn’t clear like it should be. It was filled with blood. It continued to leak, still filled with blood. My midwife came to check on the baby and me.

He was still good, I was still good, but the blood was concerning. I’ve had a lot of babies at this point and have scar tissue from my recent D&C. The presence of that much blood in the amniotic fluid is a risk factor for placenta abruption (where the placenta pulls away too soon, which can cause the baby to not get oxygen).

We discussed the risks and I knew that a hospital transfer was the best option. We arranged care for our other 6 children, packed a hospital bag, and headed in. My midwife made a few phone calls and thankfully I was able to get into my preferred hospital.

The whole way to the hospital, while I knew I was making the best decision, I felt so discouraged. I was so worried I would spend hours in a difficult labor (with no pain meds) only to end up in an emergency c-section scenario.

At one point I remember even telling my husband that I felt like just giving up and just getting a c-section from the get-go. Then I was also concerned that if I did manage to still have a vaginal birth, I wouldn’t be able to handle an all-natural birth without an epidural in the hospital. Plus, my water had broken so I was afraid my labor wouldn’t pick up fast enough and they would start pushing for a c-section because of that.

I was basically just absolutely certain this would be the worst birth experience I’d had, by far.

We got to the hospital, got checked in, taken to a room, etc.

And this is where I have to stop and just say, God is gracious!

I had a wonderful nurse, just wonderful! I fully expected a negative attitude from the staff at the hospital because of my home birth to hospital transfer. Instead what I got was a nurse who was so extremely kind to me. She tried to accommodate me in any way possible. She expressed sympathy that I was not having the home birth that I wanted. She made notes of all of my requests for my surprise hospital birth.

We arrived at the hospital around 10:30-11pm. By the time we were all done getting checked in, talking to nurses, etc., it was about 3:30 am. Orin and I were exhausted and tried to get some sleep. I think I slept about 90 minutes before contractions started to wake me up too frequently to bother trying to sleep anymore.

I wanted to get out of bed and move around to hopefully work with my contractions to get the baby out sooner. Unfortunately, I was hooked up to continual fetal monitoring which limited my movements to right next to the bed.

Morning rolled around and with that came the shift change. Again, I was blessed with new nurses and the doctors arrived for the day too. I agreed to a round of IV fluids with the promise that when those finished I could come off of the continual monitoring and walk around the floor. Done!

When my IV fluids finished, Orin and I started walking. We only walked for 15-20 minutes before my contractions started picking up even more and we headed back to our room.

There were a few doctors who came in to speak with me but my main doctor, and the one who caught Matthias, came into our room then when we finished walking and told me, after looking over my chart and the overnight monitoring, that she felt comfortable sending me home to finish laboring and have my home birth.

I was SHOCKED that this mainstream doctor would be so supportive of my desire for a homebirth that she would discharge me. BUT she wanted to check me first to make sure I wasn’t too close to giving birth.

I knew I was getting closer but even I was surprised when she said I was 7-7.5cm. When I arrived that night I was only 1-2cm and about 50% effaced. It was decided we would stay put at the hospital. Hindsight, that was a good choice. Had we been discharged, I would have definitely given birth during the car ride home.

From that moment on, things moved pretty quickly. I had probably 5 – 6 strong contractions over a 20-30 minute period. Initially, when I had a contraction I would sing the Doxology in my head throughout it. As they picked up in intensity I switched over to just counting in my head. Having something for my mind to focus on during the contractions has always helped a lot.

For the first time ever, maybe because I was really trying to focus on how I was feeling, I felt Matthias moving down during a few contractions. It was incredible and encouraging! The next thing I knew, I was telling them that I needed to push. With that contraction, his head was out. I waited for the next contraction and pushed the rest of his body out.

Matthias was born just before 10am, less than 12 hours after we arrived at the hospital and only about 4-5 hours of active labor. He was (and is) perfect! There were no issues with placenta abruption.

Knowing we desired to be at home, the hospital discharged us that same day and we headed home around 5pm. It was so nice to be home and sleep in our own bed for Matthias’s first night.

My Takeaways for My First Hospital Birth and Hospital Transfer

• My top takeaway is that I did it! I was able to give birth naturally at the hospital, and with an entire medical staff, I didn’t know at all. I was so afraid that my mental state would prevent me from having a successful hospital birth. My home births felt empowering but in many ways, my all-natural hospital birth felt even more empowering.
• Even at a good, supportive hospital, you still need to advocate for yourself and your baby. And, don’t be afraid to do so! Had this been my first birth, I’m sure I would not have been as confident (unfortunately). But now I’m older and wiser and willing to ask questions, refuse unnecessary cervical checks, request extended cord delay clamping, etc.
• Counter pressure – I was SO thankful this was something my midwives had done for me in prior births. When the contractions got strong I asked Orin to do this for me and it’s a game changer! If you plan to have an all-natural birth, make sure you and your husband know how to do this ladies!
• Unfortunately, when you are at the hospital, you are still going to have to play by some of their rules. While I’m thankful my hospital experience was far better than I expected, I would still choose to give birth at home over the hospital if there were no signs of complications. That being said, my labors with my 5th and 6th sons were both tougher than with Matthias, so having a hospital birth doesn’t necessarily mean your labor will be harder or worse than it would be at home.
• Even though the hospital transfer turned out to be not necessary, I’m still glad we did it. Had I not, I know that both my husband and I would have been worried throughout the entire labor, which in reality, could have affected the ease of the labor and delivery. It was the right call for us and I don’t regret it.

What Do the Other Kids Think?

My kids were SO eager for Matthias to be born (and for us to choose a name!). They were so excited to meet the little guy.

People often as if the toddler is jealous of his new baby brother and all of the attention he gets. I can confidently say that no, he isn’t jealous at all. In fact, what he gets most jealous of is if one of his siblings is holding the baby instead of him. He LOVES Matthias so much and asks to hold the baby all the time. Here’s a picture from when the kids got to meet him for the first time.

Thank you for helping to welcome Matthias into our family!