My baby was 5 days overdue when at 3 AM on January 30th, 2009 I suspected that (finally!) my water broke! I called Dr. Worth who advised that I go to the hospital at 8 AM to get things checked out. When I met with Dr. Mussalli at 8 AM I was admitted right away as he found that my water really did break.
Since my cervix was not quite dilated, Dr. Mussalli started me on medication to help start contractions and help my cervix dilate. It took 36 hours of waiting until I was finally fully dilated and ready to push. Throughout those 36 hours, I was visited by both Dr. Mussalli and Dr. Worth in turn who offered their support, advice, and encouragement. Not once did I feel pushed to make decisions that I was not comfortable with whether about pain relief or birth. I stayed at the hospital through four nursing staff shift changes, and every nurse I met was friendly, helpful, and professional.
Finally, I was fully dilated and Dr. Worth came to deliver the baby, which was ideal since she has been with me since month 2 of my pregnancy. With lots of help from Dr. Worth who managed to turn the baby from facing up to facing down during the birth process, baby S was born at 9:16 PM on January 31st, about 37 hours after I was admitted to the hospital.
A big thank you to Dr. Worth and Dr. Mussalli for all your support throughout my pregnancy and especially during my 37-hour stay at St. Vincent’s.
