What began as a routine delivery quickly escalated to my worst fear: Code Purple.

In a delivery room, Code Purple can mean you’re having an obstetrical hemorrhage, emergency delivery section, or eclamptic seizure. My baby and I were in a bit of distress and all of the nurses, interns, and a resident came rushing in for what could have been a horrible outcome.

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The beginning of this pregnancy had mixed emotions as I’d found out my grandmother died the same day I’d found out I was pregnant with my second daughter. My husband and I have been together for 13 years now and we were together 7 years before we were able to conceive our first little girl, so this pregnancy was a shock as our little was just 8 months old. An 8 month old, new pregnancy, and the matriarch of my family that I loved so much is gone. My emotions were all over the place, I didn't know if I should grieve or rejoice. In the end I chose to rejoice as this baby was a blessing to our family.

Once I was able to grieve, I accepted my pregnancy with open arms and thankfully it was a breeze. Every appointment I’d gone to had been routine. No issues or concerns at all except that I was measuring an entire 4 weeks bigger than anticipated. My husband is quite tall, 6’4’ to be exact, and my first little girl measured at 22.5in upon delivery so I wasn't shocked at how I measured. 

 Toward the end of my pregnancy I had an ultrasound to determine her weight because my measurements were still quite large. Measuring large for your baby's gestational age means that the fundal height is more than 3 centimeters larger than expected for your due date. My little weighed around 6 pounds. The only person that seemed concerned about the size and weight was the nurse practitioner at my doctor’s office. She asked if I was being induced but none of the doctor’s I’d seen that day thought I needed to be, so I went about my days and weeks as usual. 

Five days away from my due date I decided I would take off of work as I’d begun having contractions. My husband put an offer down for a home and we were excited about starting our family of 4 in an entirely new space. We celebrated by getting pedicures and helping me relax throughout the contractions that would come and go.
Birth: 

My previous labor was difficult, it was 25 hours of hard labor where the doctor ended up using the vacuum (which fell off and was put back on) and left my daughters head with a cone shape (it returned to normal shape after a few days) and scalp wounds.  I was already traumatized from that experience and was praying for a safe precipitous birth.

My husband, mom, sister, and mother -in-law joined me in the delivery room for this birth. I felt surrounded by love and so much support. Honestly, having women by my side coach me through birthing my baby girl made me feel so strong and powerful. It was everything! This labor lasted around 13 hours - shorter but so much harder, emotionally and physically. 

When it was time to push I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience. I could feel something was wrong, my doctor was constantly pushing on my stomach while simultaneously pulling my little girl from my womb. When I heard the words, “CODE PURPLE,” I froze; my 9lb 12oz 22.5in (Same measurement as first baby girl!) baby was purple and unresponsive. Nurses rushed in to work on both her and myself. I looked at my doctor - who had tears in her eyes, my husband -paralyzed with fear, my mother - praying and calling out the Lord’s name, my sister and mother-in-law were both rushing to leave the room. No one told me it would be ok, no one said anything to me. For those few moments I was terrified. It was horrible looking around the room at everyone, and they all had fear in their eyes.

How am I supposed to react? 

I don’t remember how long it took or what all the nurses did but I finally heard her wail. Her cry was just the comfort that I needed. God blessed me and comforted me with the spiritual love only my grandmother could provide. My little girl was perfectly healthy and so was I. At my 6 week check up, my doctor told me I took years off her life and while everything went well it could have easily gone the other way and that she recommends I don’t have another vaginal delivery.