Patient Stories
Sutter Women's Services
Heidi – From Natural Childbirth to Emergency C-Section
"I had a healthy, normal pregnancy," says Heidi, age 30. "But the delivery didn't go according to plan."
Heidi and her husband were thrilled about having their first baby. "We were so prepared. We attended the 'Ready, Set, Deliver' classes and I had a wonderful obgyn, Dr. Jennifer Spiegel," says Heidi. "I was looking forward to labor, and planned to give birth naturally."
At 39 weeks, Heidi began to have back pain. "I didn't think too much about it at first, but then it got worse," she says. "I remembered learning about back labor in our class and realized that's what was happening. I figured the spasms were contractions so I started timing them."
After calling the doctor, Heidi was convinced she needed to go to the hospital. She and her husband arrived at Sutter Memorial at 4a.m. Heidi was surprised to learn that she was dilated only 2.5 centimeters, considering all her pain. "I had been at 2 centimeters all week. I thought for sure I'd be further along," she says. "I had the nurse re-check me and that's when my water broke."
Soon after that, Heidi was dilated 6 centimeters. "The pain was unbelievable. It was hard to do, but I gave up on my drug-free labor and asked for an epidural," she says. "And I was bleeding a lot, I could tell because of the look on my husband's face when he saw how much blood there was."
Heidi was relieved and grateful learn that Dr. Spiegel was on call that night. "She told me that a C-section was a real possibility," says Heidi. "I was devastated to hear that, but I trusted Dr. Spiegel and ended up delivering in the OR via C-section."
Heidi's C-section went well. Her son, Andon, was born healthy. "I was impressed with how coordinated and smoothly the C-section went," Heidi says. "My anesthesiologist was with me the entire time. She and Dr. Spiegel were telling me what was happening, which I really appreciated. Everyone was so calm and in control. They even had a NICU team there in case Andon needed special care, but thankfully, he was perfectly fine."
Dr. Spiegel informed Heidi that her placenta had significantly ruptured, which explained the excess bleeding and need for a C-section. "Looking back, I am really lucky that I delivered at Sutter Memorial," Heidi says. "Dr. Spiegel and everyone else there are exceptionally skilled in their jobs; they were ready for any scenario. And I can't say enough about my wonderful recovery nurses, they were extremely accommodating and helpful. I knew I was in good hands during every part of my stay."