The Birth of Emma Jo | 4th Baby, Surprise Pregnancy, Breech, ECV, Elective Induction

Positive breech baby birth story from a doula and mom of four.

Emma Jo's birth brought unexpected challenges, but not without unexpected joys.

Emma Jo’s birth story has been the hardest for me to write. There are a hundred reasons why, most of which aren’t helpful to share here. I think the biggest reason Emma’s arrival has been hard to make sense of is because it was so very different than my three prior births. Expecting a fourth child was completely unexpected. Having the chance to plan a homebirth was unexpected. I built up a lot of hopes and dreams for her pregnancy and birth that were not realized, and so maybe that’s why it’s hard to reflect on. But, at the same time, through her journey to Earthside, I ultimately came to accept the difference between what I wanted and what I needed.

Even so, I want to share the hardness and the sweetness of Emma’s story. I want to be able to reflect on her birth in years to come. And I want all of my girls to know their mama wrote their birth stories.

Carson Anne’s Birth Story

Nora Heather’s Birth Story

Harper Joy’s Birth Story

Birth Photo Credits: @aboutbirthky | Meagan Thompson

Part 1 | HOPING FOR A HOMEBIRTH

We planned a Homebirth and had community-based prenatal care from the beginning of this pregnancy. After attending several as a doula and midwife assistant, I was so excited to finally get a shot at trying for a Homebirth! I valued having care right in my hometown. I was also absolutely beside myself with joy to welcome a 4th girl to our family. The queen team reigns!

We knew via ultrasound Emma Jo was Breech presenting at 20 weeks and 30 weeks. But trusted she had plenty of time to move head down. I didn’t think anything of it, but I did increase my Spinning Babies prep & bodywork. At our 36-week home visit our midwife was confident Emma had found a head-down position and we were cleared for a homebirth.

I remember my disbelief that she was head down. I don’t know if I ever really thought a Homebirth was going to pan out for me, but I did know I wanted to try. It seemed too good to be true that we were on track for a homebirth, but I continued preparations and wrapping my head around giving birth to a baby in my living room.

PART 2 | THE BIRTH PLAN THAT FLIPPED UPSIDE DOWN

Either because of my chronic anxiety or because in my gut I knew something was off, I couldn’t make peace with the fact that Emma was actually head down. I even scheduled a boutique ultrasound appointment one weekend because I was dying to know. The night before that appointment, I noticed Emma’s movements changed. Members of my husband’s extended family suffered a stillbirth that same week, I know I felt more on edge as well as the urgency of checking in on Emma. I chugged cold glasses of water and got very weak movement quite a bit after the fact, so I went to triage Sunday morning.

Emma had a strong and steady heartbeat. I was so grateful. Before leaving, I mentioned my concern about Emma still being in a Breech position and while at triage they confirmed via ultrasound she was, in fact, Breech.

After weighing options with our hospital team and Homebirth team, we settled on using that 38th week of pregnancy to intensely encourage Emma to flip on her own. And if she remained Breech, do an ECV at 39 weeks followed by an induction if successful–and a cesarean if not.

While writing this, I can already hear my birth colleagues say ‘what about a vaginal Breech birth!?’ And, in fact, many expressed their support of this option for my birth in real time. VBB is an option at home, and one my team was willing to provide. The plain and simple explanation is: I did not want to have a vaginal Breech birth, and I did not feel safe undergoing that process at home with my team.

So I spent a good portion of my last week of pregnancy upside down on an ironing board, warming my toes with moxibustion sticks, and receiving massages meant to make space for Breech babies to flip head down. (I looooved the massages!!)

A few days before 39 weeks, I went to our hospital midwife’s office for an ultrasound check of Emma’s position. Still Breech. That night I tearfully packed away my Homebirth items and we began to wrap our heads around this change in plans.

PART 3 | FROM THE OPERATING ROOM TO LABOR HALL

You have to understand, I was fully expecting to have a c-section. I knew that with my birth preferences, if the ECV was unsuccessful I would give birth via cesarean. I had watched other mothers go from home to operating room, but it felt like an out of body experience to be planning a surgery for ME. I opted to prep for surgery partially because I knew a c-section would be the mode of birth if Emma remained breech; and partially because I was persuaded by the evidence that having anesthesia during an ECV can make them more successful, since the uterine muscles are relaxed.

Getting prepped for a potential surgery was daunting. The spinal placement was clunky and painful. I remember cussing and crying into my midwife’s face. (Bless her.) The ECV went remarkably smooth and was a success. However, Anesthesia over dosed my spinal levels, so as I was ready to move back to labor hall my blood pressure began to drop. (“Dead / Over Dead” as a student midwife friend of mine jokingly put it.) It took two hours or more for my body to stabilize after that drop. I was violently shaking and disoriented, but I understood enough to know I didn’t need a c-section right away!

We began the induction with the placement of a Foley bulb and starting Pitocin. I remember laughing with the midwife because I couldn’t feel ANYTHING as she placed the Foley because I was still numb from the spinal.

Once I had movement back, I felt some light cramping and began moving around. The Foley came out a few hours after it was placed and I was 4cm.

Then, the waiting. Waiting for labor to begin. Waiting for those moderate cramps to become surging waves that would bring my baby girl to my arms.

For over 12 hours, not much happened. I was so impatient. My husband and doula encouraged me to stay in the moment—but I didn’t want that moment, I wanted the baby moment! I ended up watching nearly all four hours of the Harry & Meaghan documentary on Netflix to pass the time. I continued eating and drinking. And I remember my incessent need to pee was driving me bananas.

Overnight, I requested we stop Pitocin and give my body a chance to reset. We didn’t sleep well, but I slept enough to feel ready to resume in the morning.

PART 4 | RELEASE

We came to the hospital for our ECV early Thursday morning, and it was now late Friday afternoon. My doula had come, gone, and come back again. And I was still 4cm. OH! I was so discouraged by the slowness. This was my fourth baby!! Shouldn’t an induction go faster!?

Weirdly, my cervix moved from being anterior (when the Foley bulb was placed) to posterior. Very posterior. So posterior it was nearly impossible to do cervical checks. And totally impossible for my midwife to break my water.

I was confident as soon as my water broke, labor would kick in.

I had wonderful support people who encouraged me to be the mama and not the doula … but I couldn’t stop from ‘doula’ing’ myself.

“Is there anyone on the floor with really big hands? Maybe they could come in and reach far enough back to break my water.”

“You know. That might work. Landon is here, he might have longer fingers than me. I’ll go see if he’s available.” My midwife was a true angel.

In walked Landon, he had to be well over 6 feet. He and the midwife compared hands sizes and we all chuckled. Probably double the size; yes!—Landon will do!

He easily broke my water and almost immediately I felt the shift in my body. Deep, guttural labor sounds started to come out of me. The waves overtook my entire belly and my back. I was finally making progress!!!! We stopped the Pitocin, took off all the wires, and it was just me working with my body.

A couple hours later, I felt the urge to push. Little grunts at first, then more intense effort. It felt good to push. But I told our midwife something felt wrong. She encouraged me to go with my body. I love how she was reassuring me in my doubt! But I must have kept saying something didn’t feel right, and asked if she could check. (As I write this, I’m really struck by how many times my gut insticints came into play during her pregnancy and birth. Even if my inscints were contrary to the ideal I had in my head.)

We agreed she would check and not tell me the number. She told me I had made significant progress, but I had a ways to go, and there was a cervical lip. I silently did the doula math in my head and estimated myself to be 7cm. (I was right.)

I returned to the shower and tried to resist the urge to push. It was so hard! I was so fearful I would swell myself further and end up needing a c-section anyway. I couldn’t stop thinking about labors I had seen go wonky with swollen cervixes. Physically and mentally, I labored in the shower.

PART 5 | EPIDURALS ARE FINE

I called my team into the bathroom. “I want an epidural.”

They confirmed I was sure.

“No—not an epidural. I want a combined spinal epidural so I’ll get relief quickly. You’ve got to call anesthesia. I can’t keep doing this. I can’t stop pushing.”

Hearing myself talk, I knew these were classic transition signs. But I also knew Emma’s whole birth story up to that point hadn’t been anything like I expected. And I knew my main goal after having switched over to a hospital birth was: avoid surgery.

I also remember staring at the wall of the shower thinking to myself, “You’ve had three beautiful unmedicated births. You know what labor is like. You can do this.” And the after the next contraction I would think, “You don’t have anything to prove. You are suffering. You need to do what will preserve the best birth experience possible.”

In about an hour, I was flashing a huge grin at my doula and saying, “I see why people like these. I feel amazing.”

My epidural was placed around midnight. Our team took much needed rest. I’ll forever love my anesthesiologist because he knew how important retaining some feeling was to me. I felt Emma descend. I felt the urge to push. I was in control enough to to move my legs and feel my body.

Five hours after getting the epidural placed, I was pushing to meet my baby. I was even adjusting my own bed before my doula or nurse were able to do it for me. I loved feeling that control over my space. I delighted in the fact that I was getting myself into upright birthing positions with an epidural.

We were all so tired, but so happy to know Emma would soon arrive.

PART 6 | SHE’S HERE

For the drama of the weeks and days prior to her birth, Emma’s actual entrance Earthside was fairly straightforward.

In fact, she shot out so quickly our midwife barely caught her!

I burst into tears and wept with gratitude that this sweet bundle of joy was finally in my arms.

I knew if she had been born via c-section, I would have made peace with that part of her story. But-oh!-I was so grateful to have avoided one.

She was healthy, I was healthy, and I thanked everyone profusely for sticking with us through the process.

We enjoyed getting to have our children come to the hospital later that morning, though they didn’t stay long. I missed them terribly when they left and mourned the loss of the cozy family-centered, sister-assisted Homebirth I hoped for. I was so ready to get home and settle in.

My husband went home with the older girls and I stayed with Emma that night on the postpartum hall. I was weeping and miserable. It was a long, exhausting, excruciating night alone with a needy newborn and insane hospital routines.

The sun rose and I breathed a sigh of relief knowing we could go home that day. Our midwife rounded on us and, like the sun, she was a bright spot in the morning. We chatted about my birth and my expeirence. Seeing her lifted my depression for that moment. Around lunch we got discharged and I cried the whole way home over how overwhelming Emma’s arrival had been. How can you be so grateful and happy, yet so defeated and depressed at the same time?

Our first few weeks with Emma were a challenge. I can’t lie. But as the winter frost melted and spring came, I felt a renewed brightness in my heart as well. (Though there would be more challenges to come in her young life; those are stories for another time.)

This child is such a lovely gift to our family. Her birth story wasn’t the one I wanted, but it was the one I needed. We love you so deeply, Emma Jo. We’re glad you’re the beautiful bookend to our family!

Victoria Wilson CD(DONA)

Victoria Wilson CD(DONA) has practiced in Central Kentucky as a birth doula and childbirth educator since 2015. Past clients speak to Victoria's compassion, expertise, and intuition as a birth doula. As creator of The Birth Doula Client Workbook, Victoria has condensed her proven process with her clients into a succinct template for other doulas! She runs thriving social media accounts with the goal of educating and encouraging followers on related topics. Learn more at motherwelldoula.com or join the conversation on Instagram (@motherwelldoula).

Leave a Comment





This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Recent Blog Posts
pregnant woman watching laptop on couch

Wait, is this NORMAL in pregnancy!? Decoding common pregnancy symptoms!

Pregnancy…it can be a little weird, right? Our bodies go through so many changes in a relatively short amount of time and those changes can often have us wondering, “Wait…is that normal??” If you’ve ever found yourself asking that very question, this blog post is for you! We’re going to break down some of the…

Read More
pregnant woman on tablet

Is it safe? Answering common pregnancy safety questions!

Have you ever found yourself rubbing your baby bump and wondering, “Is this safe?” before eating a deli meat sandwich? What about dyeing your hair? It’s perfectly valid (and smart!) to be cautious when you’re pregnant, but there can be a LOT of conflicting information out there about what is and isn’t safe during pregnancy.…

Read More
birth books stacked

Birth Books and Tools We Use with All of Our Clients

In nearly a decade of working with expecting families, we’ve seen our share of books and products! On this page, you’ll find the favorite books and tools we recommend for birth doula clients. Best Books for Pregnancy For the Evidence-Based, Modern Mamas check out this suggested reading list! Those Holistic, Naturally-Minded, Crunchy Mamas might enjoy…

Read More