Birth Story: Giving Birth During Cancer Treatment

Having been diagnosed with cancer while pregnant, I know the desperation that comes in searching for other stories similar to your own. I was diagnosed with cancer in early pregnancy and started chemotherapy at 17 weeks pregnant. I had a healthy baby girl at 35 weeks and finished chemo after she was born. This is my story and I would be honored to hear your story, too.

My daughter’s whole journey to earth felt unique. Finding out we were pregnant again after the loss of our first child came with a lot of emotions to navigate. Soon after we became pregnant, we also learned that I had cancer. Inside my womb, this baby girl survived my own sepsis, three surgeries, and six rounds of chemotherapy. God has shown us that she is meant to be here.

Why we Chose Induction

After four rounds of chemotherapy, I had a PET scan so we could make sure my treatment plan was working. To be clear, PET scans are not safe for pregnancy. As in, it’s standard procedure to sign a ton of paperwork about how you’re not pregnant and you know when your last period was and then you’ll still be asked about it to be sure. But I was still pregnant at this time! My high-risk pregnancy doctor (shout out to Dr. Wilkes!) had to contact the diagnostic center and give special permission for me to have that PET scan.

I promise this is related to the induction. That PET scan showed that I still had cancer remaining. So, after my sixth round of chemotherapy, I needed another PET scan to see what progress was being made. This baby had already been through one PET scan. To put her through another would be exposing her to even more radiation. With our doctors, we decided to be induced before the second PET scan. This would protect her from further radiation exposure.

Starting the Induction

Our induction was scheduled for June 11. I was exactly 35 weeks pregnant on this day. I was prepared for this induction to be a long process. The doctor had told me that since it was early, it was likely that my body wouldn’t be ready for labor. It could take some time to respond to the induction medication. We came to the hospital prepared to be there for a couple days. This was happening during a pandemic after all. We had a cooler full of food, a suitcase full of clothes, and a mindset ready for lots of waiting. We were used to waiting in hospitals at this point.

We checked in at 9 am and my medication began at 11:30. It was called Cervidil, a 12 hour medication that sits behind the cervix, preparing it to soften and dilate. We hung out in the hospital room, waiting for the medication to do its job. It was incredibly uncomfortable, and Caleb was a champ in helping me get through the pain.

The Cervidil was removed at 11:30 pm and I was dilated to a 3. Wahoo! The medicine had done its job! (But why didn’t anyone tell me that cervix checks are the actual worst thing in the world??? I hated it SO much.)

I had a break between medicines where I could walk around and eat food before they started me on Pitocin. Finally, at 2:30 am, they started the Pitocin. I requested an epidural at the same time as the Pitocin. I was already having incredibly painful contractions and my body was so very tired. 

The nurses reminded me that fully dilating would likely take awhile, so I was looking forward to getting a full night’s rest before labor the next day (hopefully). At 5 am I was dilated to 5 cm. Awesome! I was excited for the progress! At 7 am I woke up to my water breaking and I was fully dilated to a 10. I repeat: Petocin started at 2:30 am and I was fully dilated by 7 am. I was so not expecting that!!

The Birth

A doctor from the NICU came to our room and talked with us. Even though they could never be sure what to expect, he predicted our baby would be in the NICU anywhere from a couple days to a couple weeks. We were ready for her to spend time in the NICU, even though we weren’t sure how long that would be. 

Dr. Wilkes arrived around 9 am and got ready for delivery. I pushed through two contractions and our daughter was born at 9:09 am. She was laid on my chest and I couldn’t help but cry. I was so happy that she was OK!

She was crying loudly and Dr. Wilkes said, “You have no idea how incredible it is that she was born this early and is crying that loudly.” Two members of the NICU team were there and started testing her right away. She was 5 lbs 3 oz and 19 inches long. Incredibly, it was determined that she did not need the NICU. She went to the nursery, passed all her tests, and was able to stay in our room with us.

My Thoughts on our Hospital Stay

Something I didn’t expect was how hard it was to be in the hospital. Even though Caleb and I were there together preparing to meet our child, that first day mirrored many other hospital visits for us. We both agreed that it felt very triggering. It was me in a hospital bed, feeling so much pain, with Caleb in the room supporting me- neither of us sure how long we would be there.

It brought me back to Uriah’s birth, and the time I was hospitalized with sepsis, and the many times I was hospitalized with a fever during my chemo treatments when they couldn’t figure out what was happening. Emotionally, it was very difficult to relive those experiences as we, yet again, stayed in a hospital room together.

Miracles

Despite the challenges, I believe there were angels there with us. We were all prepared for our baby to spend time in the NICU. She did not need to go. The staff was worried she wouldn’t eat well since she was born early. She had no problems eating. She received an echocardiogram after she was born (chemo causes heart damage, so our baby’s heart was monitored throughout the pregnancy to make sure her heart wasn’t damaged as well. She did have one small issue that resolved itself before her birth). We were told by one of the nurse’s that after the cardiologist met with us and did his assessments, he told some of the staff there, “I can’t explain what I just saw. There is no way the mom was on all the medication she was on and that baby’s heart looks as good as it does.”

When it was time for us to leave the hospital, our sweet nurse pushed me to the entrance in a wheelchair while Caleb went to get the car. While we were waiting for him she told me, “I know I don’t really know you guys, I was just with you for one 12 hour shift. But I can tell that what’s happened here with your baby has been really special and that you are very special people.”

She’s right- what happened with our daugther’s birth was very special. I don’t believe it’s because Caleb and I are special people, but I have seen that for some reason we were chosen to be a part of this miracle, as well as so many others.