The birth of Coyote Midwife, Joni

By Cheryl Gile

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Joni wasn’t too eager to join the world. She was nine days past her due date.

February 26th came and went, 27th, 28th….March 3rd we went to our doctor appointment and he performed a stretch and sweep to help get things rolling along. 

On March 4th at 3pm I felt my first contraction!  We waited, dutifully counting the minutes between each one. After an hour my husband and I felt it was time and he called my mother.  We raced to the hospital, running red lights while my mother was tossed around the back seat each time my husband took a corner. 

At the hospital the nurse set me up in a bed and strapped a monitor around my belly.  After six hours of labor my cervix had only dilated to 3 cm. An x-ray was ordered to determine if I had enough room for the baby's head.

A nurse came into the room and said there was enough room and I would be given a shot of Pitocin to help with contractions. 

We labored 12 hours; after about 5 hours of intense labor my brain shut down and I don’t remember anything else.  My husband has never spoken about that forgotten time; it must have not been easy for him. I “woke up on March 5th at 8:00am, not realizing it was morning. The doctor performed an episiotomy and I was told it was time to push.  

30 minutes into pushing this tiny little being into the world the doctor said, if the baby was not delivered in the next 10 minutes he would use forceps. So I pushed. 

​Joni was delivered on March 5th at 9:02 in the morning. She weighed 8 lbs 6 ½ ounces, 20 ½ inches tall, and lots of dark brown hair; I am so blessed to have her in my life.