Gabrielle Elise ~ Maryland Birth Photographer

Last Fall, I had the honor of being part of a mom’s journey in birthing her daughter that was unlike most. Jessica was very committed to a natural birth for her daughter and made plans to birth at Special Beginnings in Arnold, MD. Jessica patiently waited for her daughter’s arrival, but knew there was no telling when the baby would come. We even did maternity photos after her due date since they could 🙂 At two weeks overdue, Jessica consented to an ultrasound to measure the amount of amniotic fluid left. Devastatingly, there was none. Her midwife urged her to come to the hospital quickly to start an induction. For a mom who wanted everything to go naturally, this was a very emotional step in her journey, but Jessica rolled with it and went home to get her things. On that same day though a hurricane decided to hit the East Coast 🙂 So, now even if labor had begun, Jessica would deliver at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis since the birthing center had lost its power. That night they tried two doses of Cervidil, but alas it didn’t move labor along. Day 2 came and they tried pitocin. Jessica was having a lot of contractions and in a lot of pain so we made the call for me to make the drive to Annapolis. After 9+ hours of pitocin induced contractions with no pain medication, her midwife checked and there had been no progress. Jessica was exhausted from a day of hard contractions so they stopped the pitocin and let her get some rest overnight. Day 3 came and they started pitocin again as well as a slew of other labor inducing techniques throughout the day. Still no progress – so around 8pm on the third evening, Jessica and Scott asked everyone to step out of the room while they grieved the loss of the birth they had planned and then made the call for a C-section. Jessica was such a trooper. She was so disappointed the birth progressed the way it did, but in the end she had a beautiful and healthy daughter. I ended up being there for part of day 2 and post c-section. In their slideshow, though, I was able to get some snapshots her parents took to combine with my images making a more complete birth story.

Jessica & Scott – Thank you for sharing this journey with me. Your daughter is precious 🙂