Medical Science vs. Mama's Intuition

I knew, with my mama’s intuition, that something was wrong with her. Even as early as 22 weeks, during my first hospitalization for preterm labor, I commented to the doctor that she didn’t seem to be growing as fast as her sister, but the doctor wasn’t concerned. By my 31-week ultrasound, she was lagging behind her sister’s growth by quite a bit, her fluid was on the low side, and her umbilical cord pressure was increased. But the perinatologist reassured me that none of it was “too serious,” and we would just keep an eye on it all. By 33 weeks, I was so convinced something awful was going to happen, I was in tears during my non-stress test, telling the doctor I was afraid she was going to die before she was born. He assured me she was okay.

At 34 weeks, when I went into preterm labor for what seemed like the hundredth time, I made an intentional decision not to go straight to labor & delivery, knowing that if I did, my doctor would again put me on magnesium sulfate to stop the labor. I was equally as sure that if he did that, my daughter Mackenzie was not going to make it into this world alive.

Call it mama’s intuition, call it a gut feeling, call it divine inspiration, call it what you will – but I was as sure of that as I was that the sun was shining that morning. I knew I had a regular OB appointment later that day, so I waited to go in for my appointment, and when I got there, I told him I was in labor and asked him to check me.

He was rather angry with me for not going to the hospital, but checked me, and sure enough, I was 2 centimeters and 50% effaced. He still talked about mag sulfate, and we argued, and I pleaded my daughter’s case. He sent me to the hospital and told them to set me up to attempt a vaginal delivery.

I labored long and hard. At one point, after I’d been in labor for 21 hours and had only progressed to 3 cm, my doctor wanted to put me back on meds to stop labor. After 30 hours of labor, they finally broke my water, I got an epidural, and things started moving along a bit faster. Finally, after 37 long hours of labor, I was ready to push, and they moved me to the operating room – where they make all twin moms deliver, in case of the need for an emergent cesarean section.

Makayla was first out, after just 2 pushes, bright red and with a hearty cry. She weighed a healthy 5 lbs, 6 oz, and had good APGARS, though she soon had respiratory problems and they whisked her away to the NICU before I could even see her. And then my doctor tried to turn Mackenzie, who was breech. The minute he turned her, her heart rate fell into the 60’s, then the 40’s, and alarms were going off, and the doctor was cursing, and nurses were moving frantically and calling out times, and the whole world seemed to be moving in slow motion while I pushed with everything I had in me. She simply wouldn’t come down into the birth canal… she was just floating in all that empty space left behind by her sister, and she was tangled up in her cord. Ten minutes went by, the doctor was talking about a c-section.

Finally, at the moment when the doctor said he was going to start a c-section, exactly 15 minutes after her sister was born, Mackenzie’s head appeared and I pushed her out. Her tiny, pale, limp, 2-lb, 15-oz little body. My husband thought she was dead. My doctor’s first words – “Oh, honey, you’re such a tiny thing, it’s a good thing we got you out of there when we did.” There was no cry. He handed her off to the NICU team, while I kept asking, “Is she alive?” “Is she okay?” A nurse brought her to me. Turns out, all she needed was to be born. A little oxygen, and she perked right up. She was pink, and her eyes were open, and she was breathing on her own, and she was tiny, but she was just fine. Oh…and she had a cleft lip and cleft palate… which the doctor didn’t even notice when he delivered her… but that’s another story for another post. But she was alive, and she was just perfect.

Mackenzie spent 28 days in the NICU – never requiring any breathing assistance, never had an infection, never got jaundice – all she needed was time to grow. When my doctor finished the delivery and came over to hug and congratulate me, I told him, “I told you she needed to come out!” All he could say was, “I know.” Sometimes even medical science can’t beat mama’s intuition.

Jennifer is a Christian wife and mom of 3 young children, including 20-month-old twins, one of whom was born with a cleft lip and palate. They are dealing with the daily challenges of developmental delays and other health issues. She has an awesome network of mom-friends who support her, and she relieves stress by doing anything crafty – mainly sewing, knitting and paper crafts.