Olivia’s Subaru Birth Story
Olivia was born at 4:10pm in my Subaru Forester going 100mph.
Early in the morning on April 6, 2021, I started having steady contractions. I was 38 weeks pregnant with my second daughter, and was having false labor each night, so I didn’t think much of the contractions.
When I got out of bed the contractions got stronger and came every 3-7 minutes, and at times were enough to stop me in my tracks to breathe. I decided to cancel my training client (I am a personal trainer) and reschedule my doctors appointment for baby to later in the day. I was thinking these contractions are not strong so they will fizzle out and then I can drive to my appointment.
Becky, Olivia, Mom and Nurse in the Subaru at the hospital
I carried on with my morning, walked my border collie, and played with my one year old in the backyard. I decided the contractions, although they kept coming regularly, were still false labor since they were not getting stronger. I had a 40 hour labor with contractions every 5 minutes and back labor in between with my first daughter, so the contractions I was feeling didn’t compare to my previous labor.
My husband’s mother, had been with me helping take care of my one year old, and by noon, I told her she could go home and that my contractions were probably going to stop. My husband came home from work at 1pm and I drove myself to my doctors appointment at 2:15. The contractions were still coming, and the nurse took my blood pressure as I was having one. She was alarmed how high the reading was, and I told her that’s because I was having a contraction. She didn’t hear me and took the pressure on the other arm, just in time for another contraction, so another high reading came up.
My midwife came in and checked my dilation: I was 2cm and the baby was set at 1; nice and low, ready to come. She told me once my contractions get stronger that I head to the hospital, which is a 40 minute drive.
I still was thinking the contractions were false, so I set up next week’s appointment before I start driving home. Two minutes into the drive, I get a call from the nurse who asks me to come back to retake my blood pressure. I said ok and turned back, got my blood pressure taken between contractions and got my normal reading.
By the time I got home it was 3pm, and I suddenly felt quite nauseous. Out of the blue, the contractions were quite strong and every two minutes. I told my husband, to call his mom to come to take care of my daughter, and I also asked my doula to come to the house. I had been texting her throughout the day about my contractions. She said she would be right over.
The contractions were so strong; I prayed out loud, breathed as best I could, and waited for my doula, Becky, to come. At 3:45, I heard a knock at the door and let Becky in, welcoming her with, “next one!!!”.
We went to the kitchen where I leaned forward on the cool countertop and yelled through three contractions within five minutes. Becky was rubbing my hips and asking questions, then calmly said, “We have a decision to make: we either call 911, or we need to drive to the closest hospital right now”.
The “closest hospital” was a hospital that was about 6 minutes from my house, although it was not the hospital I chose to deliver, so it did not have any of my information or any of the doctors who had been checking up on me the entire pregnancy. As soon as I could speak, I muttered, “Closest hospital”.
As soon as we were able, we all made our way to the Subaru when another contraction hit me and I yelled so loudly. Becky again suggested we call 911, and my husband answered promptly, “I’ll drive, I can get us there”. I completely agreed with him in my head- I didn’t want the stress of an ambulance taking me away. Thankfully, Becky trusted her instincts and got in our car to go to the hospital.
Becky and my husband were in the front and I crawled into the back: my right knee on the bench and my left leg straight on the floor. My husband took off down the 30mph road that takes you to the hospital. He was flying at 100mph.
I was yelling and pushing, which Becky noticed and said, “breathe through your mouth!” I tried my best, but any mom will tell you: once you feel the need to push, there’s no stopping it!
In one contraction there was a “pop!”. My water broke and gushed into the car. There was a 7 second calm, where I felt no pain and went silent as the car whizzed down the road. This was when Becky knew the baby was coming. Next contraction: I felt the baby’s head!! Becky then came halfway into the back bench, pulled down my pants to my knees, just as the whole baby came out! She caught my baby Olivia and gave her to me, still attached to the cord, and I saw her for the first time. She cried right away, so we knew she was breathing, and seconds later we were outside the hospital.
My husband ran like a mad man to get some nurses to the car. As they opened the side door, they saw me there holding my brand new baby!
I was taken into the hospital where we were taken care of without any complications, and we were back home in 24 hours!
Now, 12 days later, I continually praise and thank the Lord for my crazy labor, that it was so quick, and that the recovery went so incredibly well. I thank Becky Rohrback for making that decision so quickly to go to the closest hospital (anyone looking for a doula, she is phenomenal: Maryland Birth Services, LLC). I also thank my husband for getting us there so fast, and that there were no cops out to pull us over for speeding.
Story written by H.D. (Olivia’s Mom) and reposted by Becky Rohrback with permission