Welcome to "Wonderfully Made"
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I'm Amy Wellard with the
Wildwood Lifestyle Center
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and today we're talking about
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labor and delivery
of your precious baby.
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With me in the studio
is Dr. Cherie Lou Fernandez
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Welcome Dr. Cherie Lou Thank you
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It's an exciting time, isn't it?
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The baby is about to come...
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You've got mixed feelings
of perhaps a little fear
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and trepidation
about what could happen
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because the
unpredictable is possible.
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So what are the BEST ways to
prepare yourself for the birth?
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Always preparation comes BEFORE,
not just on the event, per se
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So it is very important for you
to think who you are going to
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trust to deliver your
baby, and not only on time,
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but you would have
thought about it even previous
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when you were going to
have your prenatal checkups
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and everything and follow-ups.
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You would have already
then have chosen who is
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supposed to deliver your baby...
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Whether you would want a
doctor to deliver your baby
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or a nurse midwife or a
midwife or a doula or whatever,
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you would be thinking
of this already in advance.
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It's very important
because you need to have a BOND
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with the person who is
going to deliver your baby.
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You have to
TRUST, learn to trust...
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Trust doesn't just come
like split second, you know,
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it has to be developed.
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So you have to choose the person
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you are going to
put your trust in.
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And it's important, as well,
that that health care provider
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knows your
history so they know what
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possible
complications could arise... Yes
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And what are the different
options in front of the
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pregnant lady in terms of
hospital, birthing center...
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What's the
difference between those?
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Oh, there is a lot of
things going around like
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home births versus
birthing center births,
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versus hospital births.
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Well in the olden days, when
the hospitals weren't there yet,
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of course we can say that
there were a lot of mortalities
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from delivering at home.
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It's just probably
because people didn't know
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how to do delivery well
and they didn't have enough
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clean things to use...
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So women were dying from
delivery infections, whatever,
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because we just didn't know...
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They just didn't know yet.
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But, midwives
doing home deliveries,
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or nurse midwives doing
home deliveries now at home,
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they are fairly
doing very, very well.
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Delivering at home
would really be the best
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because you're delivering
under circumstances where
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you are comfortable.
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Your relatives are
there, your husband, your mom,
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your dad, your grandfather
or grandmother to help you.
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The home setting is the most
physiologic, if you would say...
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And I'm sure the mother would
have more endorphins as well
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being around her loving
husband. Yes, she's comfortable!
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Yeah but then they want to
make it a little bit more hybrid
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between the hospital,
which is more sterile,
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and everybody is
masked and you wear this gown,
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and sometimes the husband is not
there or nobody is there at all;
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you are in a labor
room or delivery room,
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a very sterile environment;
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then they make a
half bid between that...
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they have the birthing centers.
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So you have to see
where you would want to be,
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and know the pros and
the cons of each of these...
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And if I'm high-risk...
I'm probably going to take
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the advice of my doctor
to deliver in the hospital?
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The high-risk pregnancies which
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are those 16-year-old
and below pregnancies,
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and 36 and above - because the
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15 below does
not know what to do.
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The 36 and
above usually is sick,
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and all the other
medical conditions that might be
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accompanying the pregnancy
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because pregnancies
can complicate already
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existing diseases and
existing diseases can complicate
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the pregnancy -
making it high-risk.
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So definitely - you would
choose to stay in an area where
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you're easily
rushed to the hospital
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or already in the hospital
for high-risk pregnancies.
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It's like you already
know you have a problem,
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and you choose to stay
in an area where you live
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7 miles or 10 miles
away from the hospital -
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that's going to be hard.
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And just a word to our viewers,
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Dr. Cherie Lou is not suggesting
that just because you are
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over 36- means you HAVE
to have a hospital delivery.
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Of course, there are
MANY women that do deliver
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over that age -
myself is one of them...
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And you can deliver at home,
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you don't HAVE to go to
a hospital... That's right
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So with prayerful consideration,
the Lord will guide
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every decision which is very
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exciting and
comforting, isn't it? Um hm
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So what are the
physical preparations
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that we should
make... some of them
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Many women... it
comes by in cultures.
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Like for example, MY
culture, what I grew up...
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Women are SO sheltered...
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and don't carry
this, don't do that...
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You can't bend over,
you can't sit this way,
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you can't walk so far and
the woman is so restricted
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and she doesn't get
enough physical activity
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which is REALLY important.
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Again I say, we go back and say,
"pregnancy is not a disease"
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...therefore, it's NOT
supposed to limit your activity.
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If you're a sprinter, if you can
still sprint if you're pregnant,
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as long as the pregnancy
doesn't get in the way...
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That's just an exaggeration but
you know where I'm getting at,
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but exercise is
very much important,
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as the pregnancy becomes bigger,
as the baby becomes bigger,
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the angle or the
curve in your back changes,
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and this causes the muscles in
your lower back to go into spasm
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And so, many times this pregnant
woman would be complaining of
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lower back pain, so
then she could be exercising
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There are exercises...
you can go to a lot of books
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that they have for
exercising the back
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and the other
muscles of your body;
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also exercising
to enhance endurance.
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You're going to breathe the
biggest breath in your life.
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You are going to PUSH the
strongest PUSH in your life.
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You have to learn
how to make your chest...
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against this BIG tummy
here pressing on your chest...
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You have to learn how to take
deep breaths and psych yourself
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I always teach my patients to
pretend that the pain is coming,
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the pain is there.
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So as she is
exercising, maybe walking,
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and then she imagines in
her mind... the pain is coming
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The pain comes every 3
minutes, or every 2-3 minutes,
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then it becomes ooOHH and
it build up and it builds up.
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When it starts
building up like this,
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you're starting to take deep
breaths... okay DEEP breaths,
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and then when it's painful,
you take your BIGGEST breath,
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and then hold it.
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Of course, while you're not
yet in labor, you don't push.
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But you're fixing your
head, it's just like the Lamaze
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or the Bradley thing...
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They TEACH you to...
it's like a conditioning.
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If you want to, if you have the
means to go to a Lamaze class,
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or a Bradley, it's up to
you, but if you don't have the
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means to do it and you
would want to do it at home,
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you could always teach yourself.
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Again, always refer
back to the times when,
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even at present when we
have those people in the tribes.
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I think the important think is
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that you're psychologically
prepared in every way,
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and let's talk
about fear because
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fear can be such a
giant as you go especially
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for the first-time mom.
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You're going into
labor, you really don't know
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what to expect because you
realize anything could happen
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because the books tell you,
really, anything CAN happen.
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So how can we
prepare to face that one?
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The most... I mean at
least for me, I wasn't afraid
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WHAT my baby would become.
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Maybe some people would say -
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"What if my baby is
abnormal," whatever, etcetera...
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I didn't think
about those things.
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...You know, I didn't
think, but what was really
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in my heart was...
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"It's going to be painful,
it's really going to be painful,
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it's going to be
painful" because you see
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I deliver all the time
and I see these screaming
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and writhing women, you know,
because they're not prepared...
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But then so, you have to
understand that this pain is
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necessary.
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It is NOT an enemy; it is
supposed to be your friend
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When it comes - because without
the pain, you won't deliver.
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It's a Bible verse - "In
pain you will bring forth
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this offspring you have. "
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So there is a
pain, but it is helpful.
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Without the pain,
you won't deliver.
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So, it's something that you
have to fix your mind and accept
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because when you are
ready to accept something,
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it comes faster, easier.
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Now you're not saying that
it would be wrong to take any
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intervention so we
don't feel the pain.
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You're just saying the
pain there is an indicator that
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this is a natural
part of the process,
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and working with
the pain enables you to
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work with your body
rather than fighting it...
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Because if we actually
go into fear over the pain,
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the contractions can
actually stop because of fear,
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and that has
been known to happen.
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Many women just go
ahead and have their,
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what-you-call "the epidural"
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They put the catheter
into your back and then they
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inject pain anesthesia so
that you don't feel the pain
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or you sort of are
numbed, you can't feel the pain.
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The thing is... there are
statistics that will tell you
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that people with
epidurals have problems
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in delivering their babies.
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Many times it
becomes a C-section,
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an operative
procedure that happens because
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the woman can't push enough...
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Because, you see, the pain
is the one that makes you PUSH!
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You know, when you have this
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thing when you're
moving your bowels,
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and there is this thing
there, you HAVE to push,
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but this is MUCH
BIGGER than your bowels.
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And so, you need
EXTRA triggering thing to
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MOTIVATE you to push. Right
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It's the pain
that makes you push;
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without the
pain, you won't push.
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So that would mean
that with an epidural,
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you might need some kind of
inducing drug to make you...
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Yes and somebody has
to help you really PUSH it
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with more than you would
regularly think you should push.
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Okay, so let's go
back to the signs of labor.
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I used to hear stories of women
walking around the supermarket
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and their waters
break, suddenly they are
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standing in a pool of water in
an embarrassing public setting.
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Is that really the
first sign of labor?
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That's funny because we
have been so much affected
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by the media... not
that the media is wrong,
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but we go and watch
movies and you see a woman
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..."Hey honey, my BACK" and
she's rushed to the hospital
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and in minutes she delivers!
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It's not regulated that way.
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There is a process...
00:11:55.54\00:11:57.43
Of course there are some women
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who just
deliver... they're blessed!
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But that is the
exception to the rule.
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I have seen patients
and I have had patients who
00:12:05.59\00:12:08.49
just when they think
about it, it's there.
00:12:08.52\00:12:11.26
I had a close friend who
would only know she was in labor
00:12:11.29\00:12:14.28
because her baby
was there already.
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She didn't have any pain!
00:12:16.91\00:12:20.27
Most of us would
want it that way!
00:12:20.30\00:12:22.20
Not with her.. but it
doesn't happen that way.
00:12:22.23\00:12:25.31
There are steps that
will prompt you to know
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that you're going to
deliver and it's about time.
00:12:29.78\00:12:34.22
Okay, so let's
talk about that...
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What would be
something I can look for...
00:12:35.70\00:12:37.46
I'm 40 weeks, nothing
has happened and then boom...
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Okay, oh - WHAT?
00:12:40.43\00:12:43.09
You're
delivering right away now!
00:12:43.12\00:12:44.54
Again, I will say
it varies the process.
00:12:44.57\00:12:48.56
But you won't regularly...
if we'll say, this is a
00:12:48.59\00:12:51.74
normal delivery, of course
you can deliver before term...
00:12:51.77\00:12:55.03
Term means the
37th to the 42nd week,
00:12:55.06\00:13:03.28
and the average is 40 weeks.
00:13:03.31\00:13:05.11
So from 37 weeks
of your pregnancy
00:13:05.14\00:13:07.60
to 42 weeks of your
pregnancy - that you call "term"
00:13:07.63\00:13:11.80
If you deliver before
that, that's premature,
00:13:11.83\00:13:14.80
and if you deliver after
42, that is post-mature, okay?
00:13:14.83\00:13:20.14
You would want to deliver...
00:13:20.17\00:13:21.54
Let's say - we're not
talking about abnormalities,
00:13:21.57\00:13:23.31
so let's say from 37 to 42...
00:13:23.34\00:13:26.08
You will know what... You
see the saying in the Bible
00:13:26.11\00:13:29.73
"... Like a thief,
it comes in the night"
00:13:29.76\00:13:32.98
Your delivery of the
baby is ... will come like
00:13:33.01\00:13:36.17
a woman in labor...
like a thief in the night.
00:13:36.20\00:13:38.70
You don't know
when it's going to come.
00:13:38.73\00:13:41.03
But again it says that
you don't need to be ignorant
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about when I'm going to come
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because I have
signs and symptoms around.
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We will see the signs.
00:13:49.91\00:13:51.28
Well there are
signs, the first one is
00:13:51.31\00:13:53.10
not necessarily the
first one but one of them is
00:13:53.13\00:13:57.14
"lightening"
00:13:57.17\00:13:59.78
Many women would say,
00:13:59.81\00:14:01.18
"I felt my uterus go down"
00:14:01.21\00:14:03.70
It's like the head of the
baby now has finally entered
00:14:03.73\00:14:08.03
the pelvic cavity.
00:14:08.06\00:14:10.12
The head is usually is
floating above your pelvic brim.
00:14:10.15\00:14:14.89
Lightening means the
head enters the brim...
00:14:14.92\00:14:18.27
so that when your uterus was
high this way, now it goes down.
00:14:18.30\00:14:22.53
So when you have that,
you can be sure that labor
00:14:22.56\00:14:25.29
is coming soon because the
head is now PINCHING on your
00:14:25.32\00:14:28.45
lower uterine
segment and your cervix,
00:14:28.48\00:14:31.69
and then now it's going to start
00:14:31.72\00:14:33.14
to mature and
cause labor to come.
00:14:33.17\00:14:37.69
So actually, that
now you mention that,
00:14:37.72\00:14:40.23
I don't remember
that happening with me,
00:14:40.26\00:14:42.03
so that can happen without you
00:14:42.06\00:14:43.43
being aware of
it... is that right?
00:14:43.46\00:14:44.83
Yes, many are aware but
if you didn't know about it,
00:14:44.86\00:14:50.25
maybe you wouldn't notice it
00:14:50.28\00:14:52.05
because it is just
something that - it goes down.
00:14:52.08\00:14:56.30
It has to before
it can come out. Yes
00:14:56.33\00:14:58.50
Because the head has to
go into the pelvic cavity;
00:14:58.53\00:15:01.63
however, this happens
the majority of the time
00:15:01.66\00:15:04.66
ONLY in
primigravid, first pregnancy.
00:15:04.69\00:15:09.58
First pregnancy, the head of the
00:15:09.61\00:15:11.03
baby will go into the pelvic
cavity before you go into labor.
00:15:11.06\00:15:15.89
For multigravid or women who
have delivered before.. already,
00:15:15.92\00:15:20.13
the head is usually floating
until the cervix is opened
00:15:20.16\00:15:24.42
fully before
the head comes down.
00:15:24.45\00:15:26.51
Anyway, primigravid
- the head comes down.
00:15:26.54\00:15:29.23
Okay, so what other signs?
00:15:29.26\00:15:32.41
We have also bloody
show, you would call that.
00:15:32.44\00:15:36.29
There is the show -
it will show I'm coming!
00:15:36.32\00:15:39.30
The show is the
mucous plug of the cervix.
00:15:39.33\00:15:43.96
You see the Lord has
created the cervix to be closed
00:15:43.99\00:15:47.65
so that the
vagina is not sterile...
00:15:47.68\00:15:51.99
There is bacteria in the vagina
and the bacteria in the vagina
00:15:52.02\00:15:56.59
can get to the baby...
00:15:56.62\00:15:57.99
But because of this mucous
plug, this is a tenacious guard;
00:15:58.02\00:16:03.99
bacteria can go to the baby
but when you come into labor,
00:16:04.02\00:16:08.57
this mucous plug comes out.
00:16:08.60\00:16:11.31
So it's like the cervix
is now ready - ripening.
00:16:11.34\00:16:15.72
So this mucous plug comes out,
00:16:15.75\00:16:17.86
and this mucous plug, of
course, is mucous you know,
00:16:17.89\00:16:20.14
and it's blood-tinged;
sometimes it's brownish,
00:16:20.17\00:16:23.33
but the mucous plus
will come out and you know...
00:16:23.36\00:16:26.22
Oh okay, I'm almost there.
00:16:26.25\00:16:28.16
So should I call my
doctor as soon as that happens
00:16:28.19\00:16:31.51
or should I go
straight to the hospital?
00:16:31.54\00:16:33.07
Well because you don't
know really, you could...
00:16:33.10\00:16:36.91
You could call your doctor
but there are other things that
00:16:36.94\00:16:40.43
can come together
with it like, for example,
00:16:40.46\00:16:43.37
...some women have diarrhea.
00:16:43.40\00:16:45.69
It's because when labor starts
to come, your hormones change
00:16:45.72\00:16:50.83
and your gastrointestinal
tract "sympathizes" with you,
00:16:50.86\00:16:57.22
and so it starts... Woooo, so
then "Ah, I must be going into
00:16:57.25\00:17:01.25
labor because
I'm having diarrhea"
00:17:01.28\00:17:03.07
Of course, don't say - Oh
I'm going into labor because
00:17:03.10\00:17:05.36
I'm having diarrhea.
00:17:05.39\00:17:06.76
Sometimes the
diarrhea might be infectious.
00:17:06.79\00:17:08.24
You must be sure though
00:17:08.27\00:17:09.64
that it is infectious VERSUS the
one that just accompanying labor
00:17:09.67\00:17:13.31
Okay - they are two...
don't get me wrong here.
00:17:13.34\00:17:16.82
Okay, so when are the
contractions going to start?
00:17:16.85\00:17:19.28
This is when we start getting
00:17:19.31\00:17:20.68
into the full-blown
labor, as we call it.
00:17:20.71\00:17:23.21
The contractions will
come then, you know, soon.
00:17:23.24\00:17:27.58
But contractions do not
come straight-away fast.
00:17:27.61\00:17:30.87
You start first far apart,
maybe every 2, every 3 hours,
00:17:30.90\00:17:35.21
and then it
starts coming closer,
00:17:35.24\00:17:36.99
it starts coming
closer, closer, closer...
00:17:37.02\00:17:41.05
And then you will be -
when you're about every 15
00:17:41.08\00:17:45.47
...you have a persistent
consistent frequency increase.
00:17:45.50\00:17:51.93
The frequency is
closer to each other,
00:17:51.96\00:17:54.83
and the duration
is becoming longer.
00:17:54.86\00:17:58.74
First, it's starts as
a vague hypogastric pain,
00:17:58.77\00:18:02.58
lower down here, hypogastric
pain just up here in front,
00:18:02.61\00:18:06.10
and it's every 2 hours.
00:18:06.13\00:18:09.16
And then it becomes,
and it was only 20 seconds,
00:18:09.19\00:18:11.97
then it becomes 30 seconds,
then it becomes 40 seconds.
00:18:12.00\00:18:15.44
It becomes longer
and longer and then later
00:18:15.47\00:18:18.29
the pain will move to the back.
00:18:18.32\00:18:21.27
And then, later on you
will feel like you have to push
00:18:21.30\00:18:25.83
because the head
is already down there.
00:18:25.86\00:18:27.57
But then that's when the
pain is really close apart...
00:18:27.60\00:18:29.77
So when you see a persistent,
consistent frequency becoming
00:18:29.80\00:18:35.47
closer, maybe depends on how
00:18:35.50\00:18:37.75
far your house is
from the hospital...
00:18:37.78\00:18:39.93
then you call your doctor,
or you go to the hospital,
00:18:39.96\00:18:42.07
or you call your midwife
and you notify your caregiver
00:18:42.10\00:18:46.27
or the one who is
going to deliver your baby.
00:18:46.30\00:18:49.24
Okay, now something that
I really didn't want to do
00:18:49.27\00:18:51.88
when I was
delivering my son was vomit,
00:18:51.91\00:18:54.75
and I was told by my midwife
00:18:54.78\00:18:56.15
that that's what
every woman does in labor.
00:18:56.18\00:18:58.33
Is that really something that
00:18:58.36\00:18:59.73
has to happen to
empty the stomach?
00:18:59.76\00:19:02.37
Yes - you see,
because in the hospital,
00:19:02.40\00:19:07.21
I delivered most of my
babies in the hospital,
00:19:07.24\00:19:10.32
although I delivered outside
of the hospital in homes too,
00:19:10.35\00:19:14.52
but because doctors
usually don't let their women
00:19:14.55\00:19:20.80
in labor eat...
because we have the IV
00:19:20.83\00:19:25.30
But the midwife doesn't
have the IV and you don't know
00:19:25.33\00:19:28.19
really how fast
the labor goes. Right
00:19:28.22\00:19:31.31
So then in home deliveries,
they are permitted to eat.
00:19:31.34\00:19:36.56
In the hospital,
most of the time,
00:19:36.59\00:19:38.99
they are not permitted to eat.
00:19:39.02\00:19:40.45
So I have only
in my practice seen,
00:19:40.48\00:19:43.29
because of severe
pain, women vomiting.
00:19:43.32\00:19:48.32
It's because their
tummy is relatively empty.
00:19:48.35\00:19:50.95
But the ones who
have been permitted to eat
00:19:50.98\00:19:54.08
while they are in
labor, it's very common.
00:19:54.11\00:19:57.28
That's why you said your
midwife said that it's common
00:19:57.31\00:20:00.87
because they allow the women...
Well that makes sense - Yes
00:20:00.90\00:20:04.80
Now, is there any hydrotherapy
that you could recommend
00:20:04.83\00:20:07.99
for people that
are having a home birth
00:20:08.02\00:20:09.93
and they are experiencing
these intense contractions,
00:20:09.96\00:20:12.61
what can we do?
00:20:12.64\00:20:14.01
Oh, there is
hydrotherapy, definitely...
00:20:14.04\00:20:17.27
It's these hot packs
- or if you have this...
00:20:17.30\00:20:23.44
Hot packs - they
buy them sometimes.
00:20:23.47\00:20:26.51
They are these packs that have..
... Like a towel, a hot towel?
00:20:26.54\00:20:31.01
A hot towel if you
don't have the hot pack,
00:20:31.04\00:20:32.97
but you can buy the hot
packs and put them on your back.
00:20:33.00\00:20:35.03
But let's say we
don't have a hot pack,
00:20:35.06\00:20:38.10
we can get a towel and
maybe wet it and wring it,
00:20:38.13\00:20:42.22
and then put it in the
microwave and/or steam it
00:20:42.25\00:20:47.56
so that it becomes wet
or else soak it in hot water
00:20:47.59\00:20:50.62
and wring it.
00:20:50.65\00:20:52.02
And this hot towel, hot
enough for the mom to be able to
00:20:52.05\00:20:54.76
stand - you're not
going to burn the back.
00:20:54.79\00:20:57.17
So push it
against the lower back.
00:20:57.20\00:20:59.95
It helps alleviate or diminish
or increase your capacity
00:20:59.98\00:21:07.29
to take the pain...
00:21:07.32\00:21:08.69
Because you are sort of changing
where the pain is to the back.
00:21:08.72\00:21:13.12
Your attention is
brought to the hot pack
00:21:13.15\00:21:17.21
which is easier to
stand than the pain.
00:21:17.24\00:21:21.32
And, are there any
herbs that we can take
00:21:21.35\00:21:24.25
at this point in the labor?
00:21:24.28\00:21:25.65
Any herbal teas that
could help the uterus?
00:21:25.68\00:21:28.67
I wish I had a BIG
list, but I only am very,
00:21:28.70\00:21:38.33
very sure of red clover.
00:21:38.36\00:21:43.88
For the mechanism of action
is red clover is phytoestrogenic
00:21:43.91\00:21:48.97
Estrogens help the
uterus contract and prepare the
00:21:49.00\00:21:52.88
passage for easy delivery.
00:21:52.91\00:21:57.62
There must be others I
know, and many midwives
00:21:57.65\00:22:00.91
are very, very
knowledgeable in these to help
00:22:00.94\00:22:05.00
with labor and delivery.
00:22:05.03\00:22:06.72
Now what if the lady is
not progressing very well?
00:22:06.75\00:22:10.34
It's been several
hours in active labor...
00:22:10.37\00:22:14.49
What interventions
are available for her?
00:22:14.52\00:22:17.00
According to the
bible of obstetrics...
00:22:17.03\00:22:20.71
we have the bible which
is "Williams Textbook of OB"
00:22:20.74\00:22:24.87
There are limitations for...
you know, we have different
00:22:24.90\00:22:29.54
signs to know whether the labor
00:22:29.57\00:22:36.74
is not going any more further...
00:22:36.77\00:22:38.91
The cervix does not open
any further than it has opened.
00:22:38.94\00:22:42.90
Of course you start first from
00:22:42.93\00:22:44.68
zero closed cervix to
around 4 cm which is just
00:22:44.71\00:22:49.71
a preparation "latent
phase" you would call that.
00:22:49.74\00:22:52.86
You are not yet in active labor.
00:22:52.89\00:22:55.89
Sometimes you don't even need
to go to the hospital yet then.
00:22:55.92\00:22:59.08
It's a time when
you can still relax...
00:22:59.11\00:23:00.71
The uterus is just contracting
on-and-off, on-and-off,
00:23:00.74\00:23:03.34
not really
regularly, but when you start to
00:23:03.37\00:23:05.77
go on regular contractions,
especially when they are
00:23:05.80\00:23:08.40
every 3, every 2 minutes,
00:23:08.43\00:23:10.34
then your cervix
starts to open really fast.
00:23:10.37\00:23:14.90
And then from 4 cm
to 10 cm, it takes time.
00:23:14.93\00:23:19.44
It's not really
long, but from 4 to 10,
00:23:19.47\00:23:22.33
sometimes the cervix goes up
00:23:22.36\00:23:23.90
to 6 or 7 and it
doesn't open anymore...
00:23:23.93\00:23:27.96
And it stays there for
2-3 hours, 4 hours, 5 hours,
00:23:27.99\00:23:31.00
and for whatever reason,
the one delivering would know.
00:23:31.03\00:23:35.27
And sometimes the head
comes down just halfway,
00:23:35.30\00:23:37.99
and it stays there - you
have the arrest of the dissent
00:23:38.02\00:23:42.16
of the head and the arrest
of the dilatation of the cervix.
00:23:42.19\00:23:45.00
These things sometimes
can change, you know...
00:23:45.03\00:23:49.69
But in the hospital when
you go here or you go here,
00:23:49.72\00:23:53.17
it's a C-section
after a number of hours -
00:23:53.20\00:23:56.88
when the doctor sees that
it's not progressing anymore.
00:23:56.91\00:24:00.44
But in home deliveries
and/or birthing centers
00:24:00.47\00:24:03.08
where midwives and
nurse midwives are,
00:24:03.11\00:24:05.11
they have certain
maneuvers to move the head
00:24:05.14\00:24:08.95
out of position and fix it.
00:24:08.98\00:24:10.82
If the head was
malpositioned or whatever...
00:24:10.85\00:24:13.08
And sometimes even if
there are arrests of dilatation,
00:24:13.11\00:24:16.84
and/or arrest of
descending of the head,
00:24:16.87\00:24:20.40
they are able to
bring it to normal delivery
00:24:20.43\00:24:24.62
just by patient
watchfulness and taking time.
00:24:24.65\00:24:30.42
Now you mentioned
about C- sections,
00:24:30.45\00:24:32.08
let's just have a
brief word on that.
00:24:32.11\00:24:33.87
There are different types of
C- sections that you can have,
00:24:33.90\00:24:36.77
and some make it possible
for you to have a vaginal birth
00:24:36.80\00:24:39.94
after that... Can
you tell us about that?
00:24:39.97\00:24:44.50
Whatever the scar is in the
front, is not what is inside.
00:24:44.53\00:24:50.48
You have a
vertical scar on the uterus.
00:24:50.51\00:24:53.53
You have a
transverse scar on the uterus.
00:24:53.56\00:24:56.32
The vertical scar, you
call the classical C-section;
00:24:56.35\00:24:59.39
you cannot deliver
normally anymore after that.
00:24:59.42\00:25:03.12
The next baby
would be C-section.
00:25:03.15\00:25:05.10
But the transverse
scar, low cervical transverse,
00:25:05.13\00:25:08.00
or low uterine transverse,
these ones you can deliver again
00:25:08.03\00:25:12.73
Okay, now you told me earlier,
Dr. Cherie Lou, about an
00:25:12.76\00:25:15.46
amazing story - a lady that
technically or physiologically
00:25:15.49\00:25:19.71
wasn't going to be
able to deliver vaginally,
00:25:19.74\00:25:21.64
but she ended up...
Could you tell us that story?
00:25:21.67\00:25:24.00
Oh YES! This became a
sensation because she was a...
00:25:24.03\00:25:29.09
I'm not tall, I'm only
5'1" but this patient of mine
00:25:29.12\00:25:32.71
was 4'10" and she had a
really, really BIG, BIG baby;
00:25:32.74\00:25:38.53
the estimated fetal weight
was something like a 9-pounder.
00:25:38.56\00:25:42.05
So she was very small and she
00:25:42.08\00:25:44.16
had an estimated
fetal weight of 9 pounds.
00:25:44.19\00:25:47.21
We did an x-ray pelvimetry
00:25:47.24\00:25:50.85
which is an x-ray to see
the pelvis and compare it to
00:25:50.88\00:25:54.65
the head of the baby.
00:25:54.68\00:25:56.58
And the x-ray pelvimetry said
there is a marked disproportion.
00:25:56.61\00:26:04.00
The pelvis is too small
for the head of the baby,
00:26:04.03\00:26:06.68
and this wasn't
even taken at term.
00:26:06.71\00:26:09.85
But she said, "Doctor,
just watch me, I KNOW I'm
00:26:09.88\00:26:13.89
going to deliver normally. "
00:26:13.92\00:26:15.47
And a 9-pounder and a 4'10"
woman and a contracted pelvis
00:26:15.50\00:26:21.78
and a big baby!
00:26:21.81\00:26:23.55
Oh, I would just be
watching for whether she cannot
00:26:23.58\00:26:25.77
deliver or not.
00:26:25.80\00:26:27.17
Because if I was watching,
she was going to go into arrest,
00:26:27.20\00:26:29.71
the head is going
to stop coming down,
00:26:29.74\00:26:32.12
the cervix is
going to not complete...
00:26:32.15\00:26:33.79
BUT, miraculously,
because she had made up her mind
00:26:33.82\00:26:38.51
she is going to deliver
normally, she delivered NORMALLY
00:26:38.54\00:26:39.91
She delivered
NORMALLY, with a normal baby,
00:26:39.94\00:26:42.01
just like normal
labor and delivery would go!
00:26:42.04\00:26:45.73
It's just amazing the mindset...
00:26:45.76\00:26:47.93
Yes, how the mind can work!
00:26:47.96\00:26:49.33
How it can work in your favor,
00:26:49.36\00:26:50.73
and the Lord has really
given us strength of mind
00:26:50.76\00:26:53.48
so that we can
get through this...
00:26:53.51\00:26:55.30
What could be otherwise
a traumatic experience,
00:26:55.33\00:26:58.61
and make it beautiful,
make it really beautiful!
00:26:58.64\00:27:00.77
Just let's have one more
word about natural remedies
00:27:00.80\00:27:03.12
in the recovery period.
00:27:03.15\00:27:04.52
I'd like to
mention about tearing...
00:27:04.55\00:27:06.29
If we could just briefly
talk about when episiotomies
00:27:06.32\00:27:08.75
have happened, what
we can do in the recovery
00:27:08.78\00:27:10.93
to speed up the healing.
00:27:10.96\00:27:12.33
Oh you can have cold
in the first few hours,
00:27:12.36\00:27:17.87
and then hot and cold
afterwards... sitz baths.
00:27:17.90\00:27:21.78
That's actually what I did.
00:27:21.81\00:27:23.18
I was torn quite badly and I
used ice for the first 12 hours,
00:27:23.21\00:27:26.24
and then
afterwards in the shower,
00:27:26.27\00:27:27.78
just applying the hot
water for a minute or 2,
00:27:27.81\00:27:30.67
and then a little bit of
cold water and alternating,
00:27:30.70\00:27:32.67
and it was very, very healing.
00:27:32.70\00:27:34.50
So I encourage you, if
you are going through any of
00:27:34.53\00:27:36.58
those
post-situations, that sitz baths
00:27:36.61\00:27:40.39
can really help you.
00:27:40.42\00:27:41.79
Well Dr. Cherie Lou, thank you
so much for being with us today.
00:27:41.82\00:27:44.35
It was wonderful and
inspiring to hear about
00:27:44.38\00:27:46.77
birth and delivery again.
00:27:46.80\00:27:48.17
It seems no matter how
much we learn about it,
00:27:48.20\00:27:49.80
we can always be
encouraged by learning more.
00:27:49.83\00:27:51.60
And thank you
for joining us today.
00:27:51.63\00:27:53.40
I want to leave you with a
Bible promise that Jesus said,
00:27:53.43\00:27:55.99
...that a woman, when
she travails, she has sorrow,
00:27:56.02\00:27:58.91
but AFTERWARDS when her hour
has come and she is delivered,
00:27:58.94\00:28:01.98
she doesn't remember the anguish
00:28:02.01\00:28:03.38
for the JOY that a child
is born into the world...
00:28:03.41\00:28:06.27