Rachel Roudik, BSN, RNC-EFM - Placental Abruption

[00:00:00] Track 1: today I have with me Rachel Roudik. Rachel is a labor and delivery nurse and she is the mother of two. Rachel is someone that I work with and we were kind of inadvertently a part of each other's birth stories. And she is here to share her birth story Welcome Rachel. Thank you so much for joining me.

[00:00:20] Rachel Roudik: thank you so much for having me.

[00:00:21] Track 1: So do you wanna go ahead and start with your first. birth story, even though it was kind of less 

[00:00:27] Rachel Roudik: Sure. 

[00:00:29] Track 1: Okay.

[00:00:30] Rachel Roudik: Um, my daughter turned four on December 6th. she was my first pregnancy. I had a relatively uncomplicated pregnancy. I decided to have an elective induction just over my due date because as a labor and delivery nurse, you know, all the things. And so I just decided to go ahead and get an induction. so I was 40 weeks and two days the night that I went in for my, in. I think 40 weeks in one day. I had her [00:01:00] when I was 40 weeks in two days. So I was 40 weeks in one day when I went in for my induction in the middle of the day. So I was a 1:00 PM induction slot. So what that means is I got there, they kind of, you know, asked me all my millions of questions, put my IV in, then they gave me a little pill called Cytec that you kind of stick in your cheek and it sits there and. Kind of let the process begin and right away my body kind of was like, okay, I guess it's time. Cuz I was contracting every minute or two, although I wasn't really feeling much in the beginning. And around 6:00 PM or so, I felt this little pup and was talking to one of my coworkers who is also a friend. I was like, I think my water just broke. And so we did the things where you. Pad on with some underwear to kind of see if that's your water or not, to see if it continued leaking. And the doctor came in and evaluated me probably an hour or so later and wasn't super convinced that my water had broken. [00:02:00] But seeing is how I'd been a nurse for. About six years at that point, I was kind of convinced that that's what it probably was. So they then decided to use a medication called Cervidil to proceed with my induction. They put the cervidil in and that's when things started to get a little bit more uncomfortable. I did continue to leak fluid. I did continue to contract. I thought I would take a little bit of a nap at this point. It was like 10 or 10 30 at night or so, so I put a movie on, laid down in bed. My husband had just switched jobs about a month and a half before we had our daughter. So he was trying to work a little bit extra to save more time for when we had the baby at home, since he wasn't gonna get a huge amount of. so I laid down thinking I was gonna take a little bit of nap, but I had started having a ton of back labor and just kind of cramping in my back and really uncomfortable. So I decided to like stand up, [00:03:00] use the birthing ball, just kind of move around. I think I went to the. Bathroom like every 10 or 15 minutes cuz it just feels good to get up and do that at that point in time. and it was around three 30 or so in the morning and the doctor was there cuz she was helping with another C-section or had a C-section that she was doing on another patient and came in and I was like, I think I'm ready for my epidural. And they're like, well, do you wanna try IV pain medication first? Probably still kind of early, and I said, no. I think I'd rather just go for my epidural. I have a tendency to pass out or get lightheaded with certain things. Even cold medicine makes me a little bit lightheaded, so I was very nervous for how I would feel with iv. Narcotic pain medicine, and knew my plan the whole time was gonna be for an epidural, so I decided to just go for the epidural. So they came in and did my epidural and I got very lucky cuz from that point on I felt almost nothing. [00:04:00] took a nice nap after that. just kind of labored on my own. The cervidil had come out at that point cuz I had continued to leak fluid since my water was in fact broken. And then they came in in the morning around eight o'clock or so and checked my cervix and I was like five centimeters dilated at that point. So my nurse. That took over is actually one of my good friends. and we had planned for her to take care of me that day. She actually picked up an extra shift, so she was gonna be there until about three o'clock. So I was on a deadline. I had to deliver before three, just since she had come in to help me. And, they started Pitocin, I wanna say around 10 30 or 11, just cuz I had kind of spaced out with my contractions. the doctors at the NR practice switch around 1230 or so. So when they came in at that point, they checked me again and I think I was like eight centimeters. So they continued to use the Pitocin.

I just labored in bed, obviously [00:05:00] flipping back and forth since I had that epidural. And around two 30 or so, they checked me and I was ready to push. So I still was feeling absolutely nothing. And since I'm a labor and delivery nurse, I was absolutely convinced I was going to have a C-section. So, you know, the whole time I was waiting for them to tell me it was time to go to the, OR waiting for them to tell me there was something going on with the baby, or just that I wasn't progressing. So even to get to 10 centimeters was kind of a shock for. So we started pushing and I think I pushed for like an hour and was like, okay. And I was talking to my friend who was my nurse, and I was like, when am I going to the or? Because I'm sure that this isn't doing anything. I can feel literally nothing. I don't feel like I'm doing anything. And she goes, Rachel, you are not going to the, or you're gonna have a baby very soon. And she actually went and got a mirror so I could. See the progress that I was making, which I wasn't really sure that I would've wanted at the time. But then [00:06:00] when she, had it for me, I was like, oh, I really am doing something.

Like, even though I feel nothing, these pushes are effective. And so I think I pushed for another, like 30 minutes or so after that and delivered my daughter around 4 0 3 in the afternoon. I had a pretty easy. Repair afterwards. So after she was born, my mom and my sister actually were at the hospital when I was laboring. and they had been in with me throughout the whole day. I kicked them out of the room when it was time to push because I was a little bit nervous and uncomfortable and anxious, and so I told my husband to text them and just let them know that the baby was here. And so he sent. To my mom and my dad and both of his parents and let them know that she was here while my mom and my sister were at the hospital. They were just in the waiting room, and so little did they know that the baby was born because my sister didn't [00:07:00] get a text and my mom's phone had died. So the next thing they know, my dad is calling my sister and saying, I'm coming up to meet the baby.

Rachel's had the baby and. She goes, what are you talking about? No, she hasn't. We haven't seen anything. And they're like, he's like, no, I got a text from Rob. The baby's here. So they then come in the room because they didn't realize the baby was here, cuz my mom's phone had died and came and met our daughter. And so they were probably in the room. Maybe 10 minutes after she was born and my sister started being my little birth photographer, which I love looking back at those photos. And she got the reaction of my mom coming in the room and my dad coming in the room and, everybody meeting the baby for the first time.

And that was just really special. especially now my dad actually died in May, and so every picture that we have of him is even more special. So him getting to see those first mu few moments of my daughter's life were even more [00:08:00] special because of that. so she weighed seven pounds, four ounces. stayed in the hospital for I think two nights, but it was like, We left the Saturday morning.

She was born on a Thursday evening, so we left Saturday morning after we had her and had a relatively normal, I think, recovery. My milk came in around day. Five, I think so like Monday or so. Maybe that's on day five. Maybe day four. she breastfed really easily. I didn't really have any issues latching her.

Thankfully. I worked with lactation consultants at the hospital and they were super helpful. she gained her birth weight back by two weeks, so we just kind of did our thing. And that was my birth story with my.

[00:08:47] Track 1: there's one part prior to your birth story that was pretty hilarious when you tried to have a gender.

[00:08:53] Rachel Roudik: Oh

yes, 

[00:08:54] Track 1: remember that?

[00:08:57] Rachel Roudik: so

when I first found out I was pregnant, I [00:09:00] wasn't sure. We weren't sure if we were gonna find out the gender. So they do have the blood tests now where you can figure out gender. And we opted out of that for her. because again, at that point we thought we wanted it to be a surprise. And then around 18 weeks or so when I was gonna have my anatomy scan, we thought we were gonna move. And so I told my husband, listen. Pregnant. Like if we're moving while we're having a baby, I wanna be able to plan stuff out a little bit better and figure out her room or it's room, whatever the baby shall be. And so he was like, okay, well I guess we can find out. And so I decided, let's do a gender reveal. So had my ultrasound, they put the information in an envelope. I thought it looked pretty sealed and I couldn't hold it up to the light and see anything. So they did a good job of keeping it hidden from me. And my whole family goes on like a family reunion on my mom's side at the beach every summer. And so we had decided to do it at the beach cuz it [00:10:00] was a great place when everybody was gonna be there together. My mom. That whole side of the family, and we actually invited my in-laws and my husband's family to come along so that they could be included.

But my father-in-law all of a sudden had to travel to Japan for work, and so they weren't gonna be able to be there. So we bought the flares that you can get at. Just Amazon or anywhere that have the color for whatever your gender is. And so to include them, we let them look at the envelope with the ultrasound photo and put the correct colored flare in the envelope that we took to the beach.

So we get to the beach, it's. The first day we're there. We didn't realize we were gonna do it on that Saturday, but it was windy and gross and we couldn't do anything anyway, so we figured we may as well have fun and do the gender reveal. So I made my dad check with the lifeguards to see if we could light these flares on the beach, cuz I am a little bit of a rule follower and was afraid they were gonna come arrest us or something. And so my dad asked them and he said, no, it's [00:11:00] fine. Go. So my sister had gotten these cake pops and everybody was huddled around and everybody made their guesses and was holding the colored cake pop they think it was. And I had my cousins light the flare, which was a little bit tricky cuz it's super windy.

We're on the beach, it's not raining, but it's just, there's saltwater and water in the air because. Wind. And so they finally got this flare lit and we see blue smoke. And so we all were like, yay. It's a boy. That's so exciting. so for a week, my husband and I were back and forth on names and what are we gonna name him?

And I can't believe we're having a boy and all the things, and we're driving home the following Saturday. and I was talking to one of my really good friends and was telling her it's a boy and all the, and everything related to that. And she goes, that's so exciting. How do you feel? I was like, I mean, I'm very excited.

It just, I was not expect, I, I thought I was gonna have a boy, but was not expecting to have a boy. I kind of figured I [00:12:00] wasn't going to have a girl. I had another good friend that's pregnant and we knew we weren't having the same gender, so I was like, oh, I guess that means she's having the girl. If I'm having the boy, and something just felt a little bit off. So we went over to my mother-in-law's for dinner to kind of celebrate. My father-in-law was still out of town, and I asked her for the envelope that had the ultrasound photo so that now I could see it since we knew it was a boy. And I opened up the envelope and I'm actually standing in her little foyer at this point in time, and I looked at the photo and I just go, Rob, it's a girl. And he goes, what do you mean it's a girl? This photo right here, it says, girl on it. And my mother-in-law runs in the room and she goes, no, it's not. And pull opens the envelope a little more. And there was a piece of paper in it in huge letters that said, it's a boy. And so my, my in-laws are not from this area.

So, aren't used to looking at ultrasound photos or anything like that. And if you've ever looked at an ultrasound photo, they're [00:13:00] tiny. They're like a, I don't know. Kelly, what do. two by two or three by

three size, and it's like size six font that's written on there. So it did say

girl with four exclamation points, but why would she ever have looked at that when there was a big piece of paper that said it's a boy on it?

So I actually went to work the next day, very unconvinced as to what gender I was having, and Kelly was there and called one of the

high risk doctors where I had gotten my. Normal 20 week anatomy scan and said, um, there was some confusion with the gender, what is it? And he runs downstairs Now, this is a Sunday, mind you.

So he was here to see another patient, but graciously ran downstairs, pulled up the photos on the computer, printed an eight by 11 and said She is sitting on the probe. There is no way is a boy baby. And so I was still. 15% unconvinced that it was a girl, but super [00:14:00] excited. Nonetheless, my husband and I did not care the gender.

We were just very excited to be pregnant and having a baby and everything. So it was quite a surprise. But I did say right before she was delivered that it would be no longer be funny to joke that it was a boy. Cuz that point I was not gonna be thrilled and laugh about it like I did. You know, 20 weeks earlier,

[00:14:22] Track 1: That's fair

[00:14:22] Rachel Roudik: But it quite a surprise because we were at the beach. My whole family thought it was a boy, and then I did my little gender reveal post on Facebook and said, baby girl, Roddick coming December, 2018. And I had texted people, but I couldn't reach everybody. You know, the chain of talking goes so quickly.

And so I did get several texts. Like what girl? We thought it was a boy. Are you tricking us? And so it was a little joke for a little while with the family, but she definitely is a girl and the name was easy cuz it's just our grandma's name. So that [00:15:00] little question of what are we gonna name her or him went out the window and so yeah, now she's four and thriving and awesome

[00:15:07] Track 1: Yes, she is . And then I had my son in the same room the next day, . 

[00:15:14] Rachel Roudik: about 24 hours later.

[00:15:16] Track 1: yeah. Thanks for keeping it warm for me.

[00:15:18] Rachel Roudik: Yeah, It was funny cuz um, one of the, the nurse who was in charge the day I went in for Molly was I think the nurse that delivered you. And so

she had to close the door of the room cuz there were some people kind of stalking the hallway trying to say, can we switch to this room?

Our smells a little bit, or nothing was wrong, but they just had to pretend there was a patient. So it was good. We kept it occupied because

[00:15:44] Track 1: Well, they had it all set up and they had the little Harry Potter theme stuff in 

[00:15:48] Rachel Roudik: Exactly. 

[00:15:50] Track 1: So

they're taken Right, . Yeah. Cuz I think we both just agreed on which room we wanted we're just like, this is the, we, this is our [00:16:00] weekend, this is the room we're gonna do and this is, this is I remember, cuz, cuz I clocked out, I came in and clocked out, and went and had a baby. But the day before I worked like I. a full shift and that's when you delivered

[00:16:13] Rachel Roudik: Yeah,

[00:16:15] Track 1: I remember

[00:16:16] Rachel Roudik: like, okay, thanks for having this room. Now it's my

[00:16:18] Track 1: right.

Bye. 

See you 

[00:16:21] Rachel Roudik: a great day. So,

[00:16:25] Track 1: I remember sending one of our doctors in there who notoriously would always like yell to get moms to push and. The nurse that was in there with you had said, had come out saying she thinks she's gonna have a C-section. She's nervous, she doesn't think she can push this baby out. And so this doctor was like, should I just go and like yell at her a little bit?

And I was like, I dare you. . I don't think he even heard 

[00:16:47] Rachel Roudik: I

[00:16:47] Track 1: to the 

[00:16:48] Rachel Roudik: the hallway, but I don't

[00:16:49] Track 1: Yes, it was in the hallway cuz he was scared. was just cracking up at the desk. He's like, she's gonna be so mad at me. I was like, no, she's not

[00:16:57] Rachel Roudik: That 

same come in earlier in [00:17:00] the morning and say, thanks for the bagels eating a bagel as I was not

[00:17:03] Track 1: I

remember that 

[00:17:04] Rachel Roudik: epidural 

[00:17:06] Track 1: I remember that too, but he was like, come on Rachel, get mad at it. Everybody just at the desk just cracking up.

[00:17:15] Rachel Roudik: I know it's I had my whole little cheer squad behind me, but didn't even know it because nobody was in the room except the nurse that was taking

[00:17:22] Track 1: Right. Yeah. We are all out there cheering for you watching the didn't wanna come in and like break your concentration or anything.

[00:17:29] Rachel Roudik: You could have. I felt nothing. So

[00:17:31] Track 1: right? Yeah. At that point . Well, okay. So that was a pretty straightforward delivery. The next one got really exciting. so you had a couple years to decide your boy name.

[00:17:41] Rachel Roudik: we did. Yeah, so I actually had a miscarriage between my daughter and then my son, who was my second

[00:17:49] Track 1: I'd 

[00:17:49] Rachel Roudik: Yeah. So right in March of 2020 when the world was shutting down, I actually was in

the middle of going through a miscarriage. So it was interesting to see how everything changed [00:18:00] in the real world and like the doctor's world, cuz you went from nobody wearing a. To going in weekly for blood draws and no one being there to now, maybe we should wear a mask to now masks are required. So it was, you know, a hard time. I had horrible anxiety just because of everything that had been going on in the world and at work and with my body. And then, So I went in weekly for blood draws, and then right as I got all my levels back to normal, I actually got pregnant with my son.

So I was very fortunate that even though that happened, we were able to get pregnant. Uh, Third time pretty easily. so I had a rather uncomplicated pregnancy with my son except for the fact that I was pregnant working in labor and delivery in a hospital in the prime of Covid. When. Things were changing on a daily basis on what you do if you have a covid patient or what should you do here?

And you know, I wasn't really open about telling people I was [00:19:00] pregnant immediately, just since I had had the miscarriage between the kids and was very nervous that that would happen again. And was very nervous about taking care of covid patients cuz I didn't wanna get covid while I was pregnant. But you know, we all kind of just stuck together and did the thing and made our way through. so at the point in time when I had him was January of 2021, and at that point in time, Anyone who worked outside of the house had to quarantine for two weeks prior to delivery because that way they could, you know, do their best to ensure you wouldn't come in with covid. back when we still thought you needed two full weeks before you would get covid or symptoms, and most of the patients that we took care of, During Covid were asymptomatic and I think we just coincidentally found it cuz we tested everyone. But I actually worked in triage. So seeing any patient covid or no covid [00:20:00] up until I was about 34 weeks pregnant. At which point I kind of said, no, I think I'm done. I don't wanna put any risk towards me or the baby getting covid since that was the nurse who swabbed every patient coming into the unit. So I had my schedule lined up.

I was in charge quite a bit at that point, or on the floor since I wasn't in triage anymore, which was kind of my happy place. and so I was in charge on. I had two shifts left. I had a couple days of a break, and then I had three more shifts, and then I would be out for two weeks and figured I would have another induction just after my due date like I did with my daughter.

I hadn't even set it up yet because I figured I'd do that when I got to like that 38 or 39 week appointment. And so I was at home the night before. I ended up delivering, talking to my husband and just saying how much stuff we had to do. Still, I can't believe I'm like, I was 37 and one at that point. I'm so close to delivering.

There's so much to do. We need to get [00:21:00] his room ready. And we knew it was a boy. We found that out early with the blood work since the little snafu. That was the fun part of the story the first time. and I had, we had the crib set up. We had a carpet on the floor, but I had no clothes ready. I literally think that was all we had done.

There was a chair coming for his nursery that wasn't gonna be delivered till um, the weekend I believe. And so I was just like, I need to get stuff ready. And my husband's like, Rachel, don't worry. Everything will be fine. You'll go to work the next two days. You have a couple of days off. Your mom is also off on that Friday cuz.

Doesn't work every other Friday, you guys will go through all the clothes. We've been gifted so many, hand me down clothes from friends and coworkers for boys. So you'll go through all those clothes, you've already washed them, you'll put them away and get stuff organized, and then you'll work your three days and just get to hang out until you delivered. So my naive self was like, okay, great. That sounds perfect. Went into work the next day. [00:22:00] I was in charge and it was incredibly busy, cuz of course it has to be really busy, in the end of January and we had a lot of scheduled stuff, but it was just, I think almost every single room on the unit was full.

And because it was in the middle of Covid, we actually saved two rooms for if there was a covid. So there was one room where they would labor and one room where they would deliver. And I think at that point those were the only two rooms that were open. and so I was actually helping in a delivery, cuz as the charge nurse, you are the second nurse in almost all of the deliveries, unless somebody else goes instead. And the baby had come out. I remember I was getting ready to start Pitocin, which is normal for people to. After delivery to help with bleeding. And I felt this little pop and I was like, oh, this seems familiar, thinking of, maybe that's my water breaking. And so, you know, thankfully I was on my unit, I [00:23:00] was in a room that was towards the end of the hall, not close to the supply room, so I just, um, left the delivery and told them I'd be back in a few minutes. They were okay for me to leave at that point. It wasn't like a. situation where I wasn't able to leave. So I stepped out of the room and I stopped in the supply room and got a couple of things and went to the bathroom and figured I would just see if it was my water that had broken. And I remember. This may be gross, but I remember pulling my pants down and it was just blood. So I was definitely not expecting to see the bleeding that I saw at that point. So I was a little bit shaky, but I kind of got myself cleaned up and had put a pad on and I went into triage to talk to, one of our coworkers who was the triage nurse that day.

And I have done the schedule on our unit since. I think it was like May of 2020. So I planned really well that if I was in charge, that there was a backup [00:24:00] charge nurse every shift just in case something happened. And so the nurse that was in triage could also be a charge nurse, and she was the backup that day.

Just she didn't know it yet, nor did I think that gonna be needed. 

[00:24:13] Track 1: she was about to find out

[00:24:16] Rachel Roudik: Very much so. And so I just went in and I said, so I'm bleeding. And she goes, well, what do you mean? I just said, well, I think I thought my water broke, but I'm bleeding. And she goes, Rachel, did you call your husband? I said, no. She goes, Rachel, did you call your doctor? I said, no, I came and found you. So she goes, so this is what you're gonna do.

And it's things, you know, as. You know, at this point I'd been a labor and delivery nurse for eight years now. So it's things, you know, as an experienced labor and delivery nurse, or just a. You know, patient who's been pregnant before in general, but when they happen to you, you just kind of pause and freak out a little bit.

So I, knew which doctor was on call for my practice and [00:25:00] I called her first and I went into a room and closed the door and it ended up, it was the only room that was open on the unit, but I just wanted a little privacy. And I said, so, I. I, I know I'm cheating by calling you directly, but I just wanted to let you know that I thought my water just broke, but I was actually bleeding. And she said, okay, well have you been contracting? And I said, well, to be completely honest, yes, but I haven't sat down or eaten. And at this point, I think it was like three o'clock in the afternoon all day cuz it's super busy. And she goes, okay, no problem. She goes, is the baby moving? And. Honestly, I don't know because again, I've been running around like crazy and at that point I felt like a horrible mother, cuz I was doing everything I could to make sure the unit ran smoothly.

And I had some new nurses that were getting things ready for like a twin C-section that they'd never done. And I. Promised them I'd be there and all the things, and was trying to make sure everybody had the help they needed. And here I was not even paying attention to if my baby was moving. Cause I was so [00:26:00] busy. And I said, I honestly don't know. And she goes, it's okay, Rachel. We're just have you go onto triage and we'll put you on the monitor. We'll probably get an ultrasound and we'll see what's going on. So I was 37 weeks in two days, super unconvinced that I would be having the baby that day just thinking they were gonna kind of check me out. So, I had had my 36 week checkup the Friday before, so this was a Thursday. So I had my 36 week checkup the Friday before, and they had checked my cervix and I was closed. So I get into triage and they check me in and they put the monitors on me, and the baby looked super flat on the monitor, which as a labor and delivery nurse, you don't wanna see your baby looking like that And then the contraction Monitor showed that I was contracting like every. And the nurse who now was in triage and in charge, cuz I had to give her that phone goes, are you feeling these? And I said, I mean, I'm kind of crampy and I've been feeling my stomach get [00:27:00] tight but no I'm not uncomfortable. And I was like, and by the way I didn't take my underwear off cuz I'm still bleeding.

And I was like, a little uncomfortable to do that. And she goes, no worries. So she opted to put an IV in right. to just start giving me some IV hydration, just cuz she knew I hadn't eaten or drank anything really all day. She knew that I, she saw that what the baby looks like on the monitor. And so she went ahead and at that point the doctor called her just to check in and they were like, well, did you check her cervix?

And she goes, no, because she's still bleeding quite a bit. But just so you know, the baby looks pretty flat on the monitor and Rachel is contracting like every. And so she said, okay, well I'm on my way. I should be there within like 20 minutes. So in the time it took for her to get there, they had gotten my IV in, they were giving me some fluids.

You looked a little bit better on the monitor, but I still was contracting and still was bleeding. not like running down your legs like a period, but still just like when you think your water breaks and you keep leaking instead of, [00:28:00] you know, clear fluid. I just kind of had blood and So the doctor comes in and checks me and I was like, two centimeters dilated. I had like a bulging bag of water and she said, so Rachel, it's just it's baby day. so we went ahead and kind of changed gears from getting an ultrasound and seeing what was happening to letting me labor slash moving things along a little bit quicker just because of the little bit of bleeding that I was having. so I called my husband who was at home with our daughter. Because this was one day that our childcare was a little bit funky. We had a nanny that would watch her when I worked, but she was actually out of town. And, So we had family alternating watching her, but this was a day where he was gonna just watch her in the afternoon, let her nap, and then, you know, finish his day early, finish working when I got home from work type of thing.

So he kind of freaked out, got confused as to what the plan was gonna be for her. [00:29:00] tried to get creative and I was like, no, just take her to my mom's house. They're two minutes away and just come to the hospital. So he did that and he came in and, At that point, I had moved into the only room that was left on the unit since I decided I needed to go into labor in the middle of my shift and took that room. And, right. So at that point, it's like five or five. You know, the only birth plan I had clearly had already gone out the window because I thought I was getting induced. But the only other thing I was adamant on was that I wanted an epidural. So there's this one specific anesthesia provider that all the nurses really liked, and I wanted to know what he was there that day so he could do my epidural because the anesthesia provider that was on the unit that day, there was nothing wrong with her, but I just, you know, was

afraid. 

[00:29:52] Track 1: gotta have your 

people You 

[00:29:54] Rachel Roudik: thank you.

And so the actually called him and said, Hey, Rachel's here. [00:30:00] She's in labor. Can you come up and do her epidural? So I was still contracting. I was not feeling very many contractions, but he went ahead and came up and put my epidural in. I was nice and comfy, at which point she then broke my. And when she broke my water, a lot of times you wait for them to tell you the color of the water to know, you know, did the baby poop before? Is it clear fluid? Should I expect NICU to come if the baby passed meconium prior to delivery? the shifts had changed already. So there was a night shift nurse taking care of me who I love, she and the.

doctor were just, like Rachel, we can't really see the color of the fluid. It just, it looks a little bit bloody. And I was like, okay. I was like, well, is he okay? And they're like, yeah, he still looks good on the monitor. So, About an hour and a half after they broke my water, they came in and checked me and I still wasn't quite ready to push.

I think I was like six centimeters. now this was kind of all I think on my own. I [00:31:00] don't really think they started any medicine. like Pitocin or anything like that. But at that point, they decided to just give me a little Pitocin to keep things progressing just since I had bloody fluid, I had been bleeding before and, you know, they didn't wanna risk anything with me or the baby.

So they started a little Pitocin. She came back an hour later, checked me and I was fully dilated and ready to push, and I had like a little window in my epidural that, made it really uncomfortable, like in my left lower. Abdomen, like right where your thigh meets your stomach. And so I remember saying, I think we might need to get like a little extra medicine.

Like, I can't decide. But then at the same time I started feeling a ton of pressure. that was kind of that signal that maybe the baby's coming. And I didn't feel anything with our, my daughter, so this was very surprising to feel what this pressure was gonna feel like. And so, like I said, they came in and checked me and I was ready to push.

And thankfully once they got everything set up, I only pushed like one or two times. And my son was born [00:32:00] and he was six pounds, six ounces. Um, he

had a lot verex on him, cuz he was a little bit early, so he was

a little guy smaller than my daughter, but came out feisty and crying. And when the placenta delivered, the doctor was like, so I definitely think you had a little bit of an abruption, which was. The cause of the bleeding and my nurse mind had already gotten to this point like, oh, maybe I'm having an abruption. Maybe that's what's happening, but why am I doing this? Like, I didn't hit my stomach, I don't think anything happened. I was grateful to be able to have another vaginal delivery because a lot of times if people are having a placental abruption, they don't get to have vaginal. But I think the fact that it was my second baby, things moved along pretty quickly. The baby was reassuring on the monitor.

[00:32:48] Track 1: you were in the hospital when it 

[00:32:50] Rachel Roudik: correct? it probably helped. To get me to that vaginal delivery. But I think if I had had to have had a C-section, I [00:33:00] wouldn't have cared. I just wanted a healthy baby. The doctor who delivered my son was actually the same doctor that delivered my daughter, just coincidence. And she actually was the doctor that I had seen that had helped me with my miscarriage. So it's kind of like a full circle. She was there for my

daughter. She helped me through my miscarriage, and then she helped deliver our little rainbow baby.

So it was very special to have her there for.

[00:33:22] Track 1: Yeah, she's a great 

one 

[00:33:24] Rachel Roudik: She is. Yeah.

[00:33:26] Track 1: They all 

[00:33:27] Rachel Roudik: they are.

[00:33:27] Track 1: Well, so did, did we ever have any kind of, thoughts on what may have caused the abruption?

[00:33:33] Rachel Roudik: I don't think we ever had any thoughts. You know, I have a, had a toddler at home, so I'm sure she, you know, Kicked my stomach unintentionally. Who knows if that did anything. That often doesn't mean a thing. But

could she have done that? Yes. Could it have just been a coincidence? Probably. but yeah,

there was 

[00:33:51] Track 1: had nothing to do with it,

[00:33:53] Rachel Roudik: nurse curse. so 

[00:33:57] Track 1: Well, I mean, just the physicality of it. I mean, all [00:34:00] the stuff that we're doing, 

[00:34:01] Rachel Roudik: true So yeah,

no cause, but they did send the placenta to like a pathologist to kind of look at, and it did come back with just a partial abruption. So thankful that it was not as big as it could have been. Again, thankful for that healthy baby that I got to bring home at the end.

[00:34:17] Track 1: Yeah. So I ask, every mom. , if you could go back and talk to yourself and tell yourself anything prior to either of your pregnancies, what do you wish you could say to yourself?

[00:34:29] Rachel Roudik: I think with my daughter's pregnancy, I wouldn't really go back and say anything different. It was my first pregnancy. I was really, really lucky. Everything went smoothly. I think with my son, I was just so nervous because I'd had a perfect. Pregnancy as much as you can say that, you know, I know that's not a great word, but as much as you can say that with my daughter, and then I had that miscarriage in between and I never really thought I'd be that person. You know? You know, it's one in four, you know, it happens.[00:35:00] Very frequently, you never really think it's gonna be you. So I think something to give myself a little bit of the breather that he was gonna be here and I was gonna bring him home. Because you always wonder if that's gonna happen when you've had a loss. and especially when you work in the field that we feel there's always that thought in your mind, unfortunately. And so I think it was just to, you know, know, we wouldn't have him if we hadn't have had that. Not that it makes it any better or easier, but I

think, you know, I can't imagine not having him be here cuz he's the funniest little two year old now who has these crazy facial expressions and

is amazing

[00:35:41] Track 1: Yeah, yeah, for sure. The other thing that I wanna ask, because you know, as a labor and delivery nurse, that sometimes it's the hardest thing in the world to try to teach someone how to push, and everybody has something that just clicks for them at some point that helps them realize, oh, this is how I need to.

So was [00:36:00] there anything for you that made you kind of click in and realize that this is what I need to do?

[00:36:05] Rachel Roudik: Well, I think with my daughter, I had an amazing epidural where I felt literally nothing. So I just kind of had to keep thinking, what did I do? What do I teach my patients? What do I tell them?

And kind of like had to focus on that and focus on not using my face to push and just. That one. You

know, focus on pushing where you need to push.

And I think the fact that my, friend brought in the mirror for me to see that

I was actually making progress with her, with her was really helpful. Cuz again, I felt nothing. with my son, I had this uncontrollable pressure and I think that was what was really helpful to push with. So I think if I could tell anybody something, it's just to trust your body. listen to the nurses cuz they really are. Helping you and have done this before and have taught people how to do this before, and even if it takes 30 minutes to figure out [00:37:00] how to push, they're gonna tell that to your provider. If they're itching to say, this has been too long, they're gonna be like, well, she didn't really get to the right. Point in pushing for 30 minutes. So don't count that as 30 minutes into her push count if that's what they're

doing, you know? And, use a mirror if it doesn't freak you out, even if you don't wanna see the delivery. Use it to show yourself you're powerful and you can do this and it's working. so that's something that I would, you know, tell people

[00:37:26] Track 1: Yeah, I have, if they don't wanna use the mirror, which, you know, it does freak some people 

the, if the dad can look, sometimes his reaction

[00:37:35] Rachel Roudik: That is a good.

[00:37:36] Track 1: the best thing ever.

[00:37:38] Rachel Roudik: I people to touch their baby. You know,

that sounds kind of gross to some people, but for some it's that little bit of encouragement. If they're so exhausted to be like, no, it's, it's really right there. Like, you're so close to meeting

this baby. You can touch it. Just touch it.

And, know, I'll offer them something to wipe their hand with after [00:38:00] if they feel

like that's really gross. But it

helps people. 

[00:38:03] Track 1: yeah. They go into beast mode after that.

[00:38:06] Rachel Roudik: Yes. You're like, you felt it. Now just go

[00:38:09] Track 1: Yeah. Well, is there anything else that you wanna share? Anything else that you were kind of itching to tell?

[00:38:14] Rachel Roudik: I don't think so. You know, I love listening to birth stories and birth journeys, and

I love telling my story, so thank you for listening.

[00:38:24] Track 1: Yeah. I think, I mean, I feel the same way, and I think also when we first had our daughter. My husband had said we need to like sit down and do an interview, and I still haven't done it. I've interviewed a lot of people, , but at the very least, everybody that I've interviewed has their birth story recorded so they can go back and listen to it.

So that's super fun.

[00:38:43] Rachel Roudik: no, thank you for that and you totally

should do it for yourself.

[00:38:46] Track 1: I will, I just need to find somebody to interview me. that, I don't wanna just sit and talk to a computer, you know,

[00:38:53] Rachel Roudik: makes sense.

[00:38:55] Track 1: All right. Well Rachel, thank you so 

[00:38:57] Rachel Roudik: Thank you, 

[00:38:59] Track 1: I appreciate you telling [00:39:00] your birth story. It was fun to relive that

[00:39:02] Rachel Roudik: I thank you

again for listening. 

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