AI Summary
5 min readMeeting our Rainbow Baby: VBAC after loss
Abby's water broke at her 40-week appointment when her OB accidentally ruptured the membranes during a routine cervical check. "I've actually never done that before," the doctor said. Within six hours, Fisher James Howard was born — a successful VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) that Abby describes as redemptive after the stillbirth of their daughter Emerson the previous year.
A labor that moved fast
Abby went from her OB's office to the hospital, stopping home only long enough to eat a Jersey Mike's sandwich for fuel. By the time she checked in, she was already dilated to 5 centimeters with her water broken. No induction medications were needed — her body was doing the work on its own.
The contractions intensified quickly. Matt tracked them on his phone and the app told him to get to the hospital immediately. Abby labored actively, walking the halls with headphones on, leaning into Matt during contractions. "Your body was having an exorcism," Matt said. "There was nothing you could do to control it."
When the nurses checked her again, she was in transition. The epidural arrived just in time — 30 minutes after it was placed, Fisher was born in two pushes. The entire active labor lasted about four hours and 42 minutes from hospital arrival to delivery.
The complication they'd feared
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:00) **Introduction & Baby's Name** - Matt and Abby introduce their newborn son, Fisher James Howard, and share the story of almost changing his name at the last minute.
- 2 (03:19) **Water Breaks at the Doctor's Office** - Abby recounts how her labor began unexpectedly during a routine 40-week checkup when her OB accidentally ruptured her membranes.
- 3 (08:16) **Fueling Up & The Car Ride** - Matt and Abby describe the brief, practical moment of eating sandwiches at home before the reality of active labor set in on the way to the hospital.
- 4 (10:49) **Check-In & Rapid Progress** - The couple details the surreal experience of checking into the hospital while in active labor, including having to pay for the epidural upfront.
- 5 (19:37) **The Epidural Race** - Abby's labor progressed so quickly that getting the epidural became a race against time, requiring advocacy from her medical team.
- 6 (25:36) **The Birth & Shoulder Dystocia** - Matt and Abby describe the rapid delivery and the unexpected complication of shoulder dystocia, which prevented Matt from catching the baby.
- 7 (30:31) **Redemption After Loss** - Abby explains the profound emotional weight of giving birth at the same hospital where she delivered her stillborn daughter, Emerson, and how this experience felt redemptive.
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Show Notes
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