One nurse...
Several nurses have taken Spinning Babies classes over the years. Nurses all along the East Coast are especially interested, as cesarean rates are high there, and many nurses still want to support women in easier recoveries and more empowering birth experiences (in general). One nurse is all it takes to begin the changes to protect the course of a birth. One nurse is all it takes to change a woman's life through the birth of her baby. One nurse writes:
Hi Gail
Thought I'd share another success story with you.
1st time mama 41 2/7 came in for induction with an unfavorable cervix. She had cytotec all day, then cervadyl overnight with min change to 1 cm so she was sent home to come back 2 days later. I talked in great length with her about getting her baby in a good position (I thought it was OP.) [My note, its not always easy to tell.]
When she came back, she wasn't my patient but the nurse that had her was open to my suggestions as she was making very slow progress (1 cm every 2-3 hrs & the baby was still -2) she was 5 cm with an epi[dural anesthesia] at this point. So we did the pelvic floor balancing on the side of the bed. Rolled back & forth every 15 min & 2 hours later she was complete & +1. She pushed 45 min & delivered a healthy baby with a 5 cm caput on the left occiput! [Baby had been asynclitic]
Thanks for all you do! I can't tell you how many women have & will benefit from your teachings. To those of us who have had unnecessary c/s it means a lot!
A rare peek into Labor and Delivery
This setting could be any hospital in the US--but not any nurse! She wants to be anonymous because she is talking about the privacy of, not only a birth, but of the workings of the Labor and Delivery culture. I've taken her name out of the story.
[She] has used the side-lying release, also called pelvic floor balancing, because of what it does. Use the side-lying release when labors have a long stall, baby is not engaged, or the baby is low but asynclitic. Here she helped another nurse help this mother with the side-lying release and then helped her change position every 15 minutes. The birthing mother needs help moving when she has an epidural since her legs and hips are numb and don't respond much, if any.
What may have happened here
This baby hadn't engaged well as labor entered active phase based on the description that mom was 5 cm and baby was -2 station, meaning 2 cm above the midpelvis or ischial spines (0 station). Lack of engagement when labor starts (whether naturally or by artificial means) is a high risk for cesarean section as time goes on and the baby doesn't enter the pelvis even with strong contractions. We must do something to help most babies enter the pelvis at this point. If they can't get into the pelvis they would have to be born by cesarean surgery. Here was a quick technique with a quick result.
The Nurse to the rescue!
Well, [Nurse], you say they are my teachings; Glory to God. Also, I learned this from Carol Phillips, DC, and pass it on in my workshops and Carol teaches this in her workshops.
The picture here is of this release from one of my workshops. We're using three chairs, which we wouldn't do in a real labor. [The nurse] used the side of the firm hospital bed. Both sides MUST be done to protect the balance of the pelvic floor. Other muscles are 'released' also, so we often call this the sidelying release, so as not to exclude those muscles.
