On the night of September 7th, 2023 a mother welcomed her second child into the world.

Albeit, it wasn't as she had planned (as birth rarely goes "as planned"), but it was a story. One I was so privileged to bear witness to (well, sort of).

After going in for an induction early morning, mom labored until around midnight before suggesting I come in. I arrived to a dimly lit room where mom was trying her best to get some sleep (a rarity in the midst of labor, but oh so needed.) Her husband sat on the small couch next to the bed, and her doula on a stool on the opposite side. It wasn't long after I arrived that the midwife came in with news that she didn't like what she was seeing concerning baby's heart-rate and if things didn't make a change soon mom wasn't going to be able to go for her VBAC after all. The doctor recommended placing an intrauterine pressure catheter (IUPC), which is a device placed into the amniotic space during labor in order to measure the strength of uterine contractions, as well as introduce some fluids. It wasn't long after mom agreed that she began to feel a sharp pain. Her doula quickly called in the doctor and they immediately prepared mom to take her back for an emergency c-section.

Due to the emergent nature of the situation, I was unfortunately not able to go back and capture the moment of birth for mom.

Dad and baby BOY (they had kept baby's gender a surprise until birth!) finally arrived back at the room while mom was still in the operating room. It would be 2 and a half more hours before she was finally wheeled back in and able to officially meet her newest love. While we waited, baby received his newborn exam, and dad gave him his first feeding- colostrum mom had meticulously collected in the weeks leading up to his birth.

While we were waiting we learned that mom had experienced one of the rare risks of VBACs - a uterine rupture! During a cesarean the surgeon normally has to cut through 7 layers of tissue before arriving at baby....however, in this particular situation, they reached baby after cutting through layer one! Astonishing, and absolutely terrifying.

This mom did more than birth a baby that morning. She braved a series of unknowns, and was walking not even 5 hours later.

She is a warrior.

A fighter.

A mother.