A Most Unnatural Birth

We finished our final (Bradley) natural birthing class at 9:30pm Thursday. Mama had another routine prenatal checkup Friday morning. At 7 months, mom and baby are healthy and all is well.

The first hint of any trouble came as mom started to feel nauseous and just genererally unwell. Could this could be normal 3rd trimester discomfort or maybe something else? By Friday evening we called the birthing center and went in to meet the midwife. The fetal heart monitor looked good as usual but mom was having some slight but regularly spaced contractions. The midwife on call wasn't sure what to make of it so she sent us to get checked at St. David's Medical Center just to be sure. At this point we thought it was just something that mom ate and a little I.V. rehydration should do the trick.

Now things start to get interesting. We are sitting in a hospital room in the early hours of Saturday morning when the nurse comes in and mentions something about elevated liver enzymes, platelets and further tests. Our hopes of hoing home are dashed: we are handed a stack of worst-case scenario consent forms to sign and mom is admitted. We wait anxiously for another hour before a doctor comes into the room flanked by a couple of nurses. Based on upper abdominal soreness, elevated liver enzymes, and rapidly falling platelet count it was his diagnosis that mom had HELLP syndrome. The only treatment is an immediate emergency C-section. Any delay could put Mama at great risk. Holy sh**t!

Samson W. B. was born by emergency c-section at 2:51am on Saturday, September 30th.


At 32 weeks gestation, the incidence of most common complications related to prematurity is low. In the NICU he is considered an "older" preemie. Measuring 3lbs, 14 oz and 17 inches long with long limbs and wavy light-brown hair, he has already developed a reputation as being among the most feisty of the patients.


Samson (meaning "like the sun", after the Biblical warrior known for his strength and luxurious locks of hair) is receiving great care at the St. David's Medical Center NICU and he has already made wonderful progress for a preemie. He is breathing regular warm moisturized air with minimal assistance from the Fisher-Paykel high flow nasal cannula and he is already receiving some of his nutrition through mother's milk via gavage oral feeding tube (until he learns to suck better in a few days and can try nursing). We are hopeful that he'll soon graduate to an isolette and we'll have him home in time for Thanksgiving, or maybe even before then.

Mama was released from the hospital on Wednesday evening, having returned to normal health for any woman who has undergone c-section delivery. She'll be on restricted physical activity for 4-6 weeks and unable to drive for a couple of weeks, but is expected to make a full recovery. Her main jobs at this time are sleep and spending quality time (20 minutes every 2-3 hours!) with her new constant companion, the hospital-grade breast pump.



We can't thank our friends and family enough for all of the concerned calls, prayers, visits, and offers to help. We are overwhelmed with how much love is out there for our new little family! As you may imagine, mom and dad are exhausted after the big scare & 5 nights at the hospital. We are just now getting some much-needed uninterrupted rest between calls and visits to the NICU to check on and be with Samson.