THE NATURAL BIRTH OF MY TWINS during a Pandemic …A BEAUTIFUL LOVE STORY

It seems surreal to now be sitting here writing to you as a new mom. That’s right! Almost a month ago, I gave birth to fraternal twin boys (Forrest Gregory and Gabriel Louis) and I am living proof that you can do just about anything during a pandemic (Well, maybe not everything but you know what I mean). I had a unique delivery, one that will stand the test of time and go down in history as what I would like to call “the birth heard around the world.” These weren’t ordinary births (hence why it’s taken me a long time to ponder and write down my thoughts) but rather, one for the books to share for generations to come. I share my story with you because it’s important for you to understand what an emotional journey it was for me. Not only did I prevail against some odds that were standing in my lane, but also because it was the happiest of outcomes. I couldn’t have wished for a better ending. SO…bundle up, grab a glass of wine, and tune in to my classic love story of two beautiful boys who meet their Mom, Dad, and this crazy world we live within.

June 9, 2020-The Night of My Induction

It all started with a rather chilly Tuesday night and I was expected to check-in to the hospital at midnight to be induced. My local hospital is Cedars Sinai here in Los Angeles so that is where I delivered. Around 11:45pm, my father, who was in town anxiously waiting for the twins’ arrival, drove my husband and I to the hospital. I will never forget how anxious I was sitting in the passenger seat of the car, looking out the window, watching my life flash before my eyes. It seemed that the sand in my hourglass was running out on my married life and our new names were gonna be Mom and Dad. Crazy. We checked into the labor and delivery area and due to the increase in cases for COVID-19, we had our masks on, ready to surrender to the friendly doctors and nurses at Cedars. We settled into our room only soon to discover that the induction was going to start right away. This came as a surprise to me because all along, I thought I would have a solid night of sleep, and be induced the following morning. Wrong. They started the induction right away. At this point, I was 38 weeks pregnant (full term for twins) and these kids seemed like they wanted to stay in my womb forever. At first, they planted a vaginal balloon in my vagina to open up my cervix. I had only heard about this procedure a few times, but mostly remembered that it wasn’t the most comfortable. I’m the first to admit, I have a pretty low threshold for pain, so before they inserted the balloon, I requested an immediate epidural to get the ball rolling. After the epidural started it’s magic, they inserted the balloon which opened my cervix to 3 cm dilated. All I kept thinking was, “I have to get to 10cm dilated!?” Ouch.

I suppose I should let you in on a few things about my pregnancy before we go any further. When I found out I was having twins, my original OB was fully set on me having a C-section. Most twins are delivered C-section due to difficulties with the second baby, or both, could end up being breech delivery (turned upside down). Many doctors around the United States don’t really participate in breech deliveries anymore due to the dangers and risks involved during the birthing process. When I went in for my 32 week scan and found out both of my boys were vertex, I wanted to opt for a natural birth. My OB wasn’t very comfortable in doing so, (he was a younger, newer, doctor at the hospital so I understood his concerns). I found a doctor, within the same practice, that just so happened to specialize in twin natural deliveries and twin breech deliveries so I switched over immediately. Many people thought I was crazy for switching so late during my pregnancy but, let’s be real, we all dream of our birth plans and want what we want, right? So… Dr. Barry Brock became my new OB. He has been a resident doctor at Cedars since the 70s and I was fully confident that he would deliver my babies safely, happily, and in great health. I will never forget him saying “The thing you have to worry about the most is who is going to help you watch the kids after they come out?” LOL. I knew right then and there, I was in good hands.

After the balloon was taken out and my cervix started expanding, the pumping of the pitocin began. The next morning, I woke up having only dilated 5cm and stayed at 5cm throughout most of Wednesday afternoon. I was thrilled that I had the epidural early because I was contracting heavily well into Wednesday night.

June 10, 2020-The Night before the Twins Arrived

Wednesday night rolled around and my cervix was acting stubborn and didn’t want to dilate any more. Those cute boys just wanted to stay in there! The friendly nurse had broken my water and clicked up the pitocin once again to really get the labor moving. Just as I started to drift off to sleep, I was awoken by my doctor at 3am in the morning with a friendly smile and the words, “It’s time. You are fully dilated. Let’s go push.” By this point, it had almost been 48 hours since I had anything to eat or drink so I was pretty deflated to go push two babies out naturally, but alas, when it’s time… it’s time. They wheeled me into the OR and threw me onto the cold table to push. For the first twenty minutes or so, I pushed and nothing happened. I thought to myself, “How can I do this when I literally am running on no energy and no sleep?”

After an hour or so passed, the number of people in the OR had disappeared, including my own OB. I suppose they were exhausted and with nothing happening, they were tired of waiting around for them to come down the birth canal. At this point, it was nearing the wee hours of Thursday morning and everyone was exhausted. They decided to wheel me back to my room to practice pushing so that I wouldn’t waste time in the OR once again. A few of the unfriendly nurses at Cedars had come to my room that particular morning to let me know that because it was taking a long time to push the babies out, they wanted me to resort to a C-Section. I was pretty disappointed. After all, I had switched OB’s when I was 32 weeks pregnant, and had labored for 35+ hours at this point, and to throw it all away on a Cesearean section, I felt hopeless. I looked at my husband and we both had tears in our eyes but we just wanted to get our babies out safely at this point. We decided to go ahead with the C-Section because honestly, I felt no support and felt like I had no choice in the matter. The nursing staff also happened to mention that my OB who claimed to specialize in vaginal twin births, would be in a conference that morning and would miss the first half of my C-section. I was pissed, petrified, and all around angry. As they started prepping me for a C-section, a miracle happened. My OB came in thru the door and asked me if I was ok. “No, actually I’m not”, I stated. I deliberately switched doctors to try to find someone like you who would deliver vaginally and here I am after intense laboring for 35 hours, having my only choice as a C-section.” Right then and there, the doctor quickly gave me a pelvic exam and loudly said, “She doesn’t need a C-Section. She’s positive 3. It’s time to go push.” My world flipped upside down. After the emotional toll it took on my husband and I, we now found ourselves heading back into the OR to push. I looked at my husband and said “I don’t care if I die pushing today, I am going to push harder than I ever have before, even if my guts fall onto the floor.”

June 11, 2020-The Vaginal Birth of my Twins

They quickly wheeled me into a room that reminded me of a Tarantino film. Faded yellow-washed walls that looked like it was made in the 70s and had been untouched. This time, there were a ton of people in the room. A team of women (including the nurses who tried to coerce me into having a C-section) gathered around the table and cheered me on to push. Another group of people were in the back, on standby, ready to clean and help the babies out when they exited the womb. After a mere twenty minutes of pushing, Forrest Gregory Chertkow was born at 7 lbs 5 ounces at exactly 10:44am and twelve minutes of laboring after that, Gabriel Louis Chertkow was born at 8 lbs 1 ounce at 10:56am. That’s right! More than 15lbs of babies were birthed out of me that day. A nightmare of intense emotion turned into a beautiful dream, when out popped my beautiful twin boys. It truly was the dream birth I always envisioned. A team of women cheering me on, with my OB in the middle, I definitely felt victorious and a hero in so many ways. I had officially delivered the twins vaginally, successfully, and safely, despite all the obstacles that stood in my way. Now for the real test, MOTHERHOOD…..