Our Birth Story

We originally were working with a midwife and planning on a home birth. Autumn‘s pregnancy was a very easy and healthy pregnancy aside from her first trimester where she had a lot of morning sickness. Autumn passed all the normal pregnancy test with flying colors and there was no cause for concern. On December 30th, Autumn noticed some leakage. At the time, it was not clear if the amniotic fluid was indeed amniotic fluid or if it was the mucous membrane.

On December 31st, Autumn let her midwife know that she had leakage and they tested the fluid and it showed that it was indeed amniotic fluid. Autumn was not having any contractions with the leakage so Autumn and Benjamin decided to try to get labor started at home with a specific protocol. This protocol worked and labor began the following morning and lasted through the night. Labor then stalled the next day, so Autumn and Benjamin went through with the specific protocol again and Autumn began to go into active labor Sunday evening, January 1st.

This is when Benjamin called the midwife to come to the house and monitor Autumn and the baby to make sure everyone was healthy. Autumn labored throughout Sunday night as she was monitored by their lovely midwife. The baby‘s heartbeat and Autumn‘s blood pressure and heart rate was good until about 5 o’clock in the morning, when the midwife noticed a drop in the babies heart rate and recommended a transfer to Baldwin Hospital. Autumn and Benjamin decided to transfer to the hospital. When Autumn and Benjamin got to the hospital, their midwife was able to stay with them and be their advocate for them during their stay. Autumn labored throughout Monday at Baldwin Hospital, assisted by amazing nurses and a highly skilled and wonderful OB, as well as supported by her midwife and Benjamin.

The Doctor assisting Autumn was very confident in a natural birth, as the baby looked good even though Autumn was continuing to leak amniotic fluid. Autumn was hooked up to an IV, as she had not eaten for the few days she had been in labor. She was also given antibiotics to help kill off any potential infection. Labor continued to progress and Autumn continued to show progress. Around 4 PM on Monday, Autumn was very tired and nauseous. She decided to get an epidural in hopes that that would help relax her muscles and allow her to get some rest before transition and pushing started. The epidural helped Autumn get some rest, as well as reduced her nausea so she could consume a smoothie and some soup.

Over the next few hours, the baby began to show signs of stress. Autumn continued to labor and have contractions up until 11 PM that night, when the doctor came in to check on her and told her that she had not made any progress over those past few hours.

The baby was continuing to show signs of distress and Autumn and Benjamin decided that the right thing to do for the health of Autumn and the baby was to have a cesarean. Autumn was wheeled into the operating room nervous and well as excited that they were soon going to meet Matteo. She was supported by her Midwife and Benjamin, as well as the lovely staff at the hospital in the operating room. Mateo was born via cesarean at 12:12 AM. He was the first baby born at Baldwin Hospital in 2022.

Matteo came out with respiratory issues and had to be given oxygen right away. He then formed a small air bubble in his lungs and had to be transferred to Children’s Hospital where he could be monitored, as well as receive the proper care to keep him healthy. Meanwhile, Autumn had to be wheeled back to her recovery room and was only able to see Matteo in an incubator before he was transported by ambulance to Children’s Hospital. Autumn stayed at Baldwin Hospital for two nights recovering from her cesarean while Mateo stayed in Children’s Hospital for two nights. Autumn and Matteo were able to both go home after two nights away and have been able to establish a healthy bond at home.

Matteo is breast-feeding and growing healthy, gaining weight and is very alert and active thanks to the wonderful care that he received. Autumn and Benjamin are so thankful to the wonderful staff that took care of them and made sure that both Autumn and Matteo came out of this birth healthy and well. They are also very grateful for all the prayers and support they’ve received from their friends and family.

Autumn says that, by the grace of God, she was able to feel God‘s peace during those few nights at the hospital when she was separated from Matteo and that peace allowed her to rest and recover so that she could be a healthy mom for Matteo. Praise God!

The hospital stay, ambulance bill, nicu, and operation is very costly! The couple’s health insurance is only covering a portion of the medical expenses. They are now praying for God’s wisdom and support financially to help cover the rest of Autumn’s bills, as well as Matteo’s extra medical bills. They are grateful for any extra financial support they get during this time. God bless.

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