Kacey has experienced a wide range of births, including a planned C-section for Breech presentation and three VBACs, 1 medicated and 2 unmedicated.
Kacey’s first pregnancy was smooth and uneventful until 32 weeks, when they discovered her son was in the breech position. The next 7 weeks were spent researching at home ways to encourage a breech baby to turn over as well as discussions with her husband and doctor to weigh their birth options. She and her husband eventually agreed on a planned C-section as the best option for them with the expectation that any future births could be delivered vaginally if they had a better presentation. Her son was born safely into the world on March 15thu, 2012 via caesarean section. Everything was smoother than he could have imagined. She was able to hold her son in the delivery room while it was closed, but she didn’t get a chance to do skin-to-skin or try to breastfeed until a few hours later, after spending some time in post-op recovery. Other than that, everything was very smooth and her recovery, although longer than a vaginal birth, was pretty quick and smooth.
Two years after the birth of her first son, Kacey became pregnant with her first daughter. She was hoping she would be able to have a VBAC (vaginal birth after caesarean section). Although she was optimistic, she and her husband did not do much preparation for the birth, as they had taken a childbirth class at the hospital when she was pregnant with their son and felt that it had not prepared them much more than what they already knew about the birth. birth. Kacey was hoping for a drug-free VBAC with her daughter. Her daughter was head down at the 32 week ultrasound, so the plan was to go ahead with a VBAC. She went into labor 2 days before her due date, but because of the high frequency of Braxton’s Hicks contractions, she was sure she was in labor and she and her husband went into labor that night. Her waters broke in her husband’s truck on the way to the hospital and then the contractions got closer and stronger. She arrived at the hospital at 3cm and labored for a few hours. The contractions alternated between manageable and unmanageable and after being checked again and told she was 4cm, she opted for the epidural. Looking back on her labor afterward, she realized that even though she knew what to expect about the stages of labor, she wasn’t prepared for how to handle the pain of contractions. She was too afraid of the pain and stretched the tension of the contraction again, instead of relaxing and letting her body use the contraction to help her body expand. After the epidural, she was able to relax and quickly dilate to 10 within an hour or two. Her daughter was born early in the morning on December 11, 2014. Her recovery was much smoother and shorter than her C-section and she loved the fact that she was able to have the postpartum skin-to-skin time she missed outside with her son.
Kacey got pregnant with surprise baby #3 (a girl!) when her daughter was just one year old. After getting over the shock, she saw this birth as an opportunity to redeem her attempt at an unmedicated birth and overcome the fear she experienced during her last birth. She and her husband took the preparation for this birth more seriously and decided that the only way to have a successful unmedicated birth was to bring their faith in God into every aspect of their lives, including the delivery room. They took a faith-based childbirth class through First Birth Services and hired a sister in Christ, Shelley Williams (The Salty Doula), as their doula. Not only did they learn more about how God perfectly created the female body to bear babies, but they were able to see how even in pain, there was purpose in pain and that because of this perfect design there was nothing to fear. Kacey went into labor around 39 weeks pregnant and was once again in early labor for most of the day before she realized it was real labor that had started. On the afternoon of January 10thu, 2017, the married woman came in to help care for her two older children (as the contractions were getting stronger) and it was while preparing lunch for the next day in the kitchen that her water broke. She knew she wanted to give birth at home as much as possible, but after her husband rushed home from work, she was convinced to go to the hospital as the contractions were rapidly intensifying. The contractions quickly increased in duration and intensity on the way to the hospital and she was sure she was very far along by the time she got to the hospital. After getting settled and checked for dilation, she found out she was 3-4 cm and was very discouraged based on the intensity level of the contractions. She began to doubt her ability to give birth without the drugs she desired. Her husband turned on her worship music playlist and read Bible verses out loud to her from birth between contractions. With his support and the steady presence of their doula, she was able to ease into the contractions and within 30-45 minutes felt her daughter coming down the birth canal. Her nurse checked her and realized she was already at 10cm. Her doctor was able to enter the room and everything was set up in time for her daughter to be born a few contractions later. She was able to have extended skin-to-skin time and her daughter started breastfeeding right away. It was such a change from her last birth, and although it was hectic in part because of how quickly everything was moving, she was so grateful to have the unmedicated birth she had always wanted.
Kacey’s final pregnancy came in 2020 after the COVID lockdowns allowed her and her husband to reflect and determine that maybe their family wasn’t complete. After being pregnant with her last son, she knew what it was like to have a liberating birth without the fear of childbirth, and she knew she wanted the same this time. Knowing that this was going to be her last birth, she hoped and prayed that this birth would be a little slower than her fast and furious birth with her daughter so that she could really enjoy the whole experience. After a difficult first half of her pregnancy with illness, the second half of her pregnancy went smoothly. On the morning of March 5, 2021, she woke up in the early hours of the morning with what felt like Braxton Hicks contractions and the urge to use the bathroom. She was able to go back to sleep, and when she woke up in the morning, she was having more consistent Braxton Hicks contractions. She reached out to her doula and went for a walk, drank some blackberry leaf tea, and while her daughter relaxed for her afternoon nap, she did the Miles Circuit (per her doula’s suggestion as she had some back pain with contractions). On the third round of the circuit, while sitting on a birthing ball, she had a very strong contraction and felt her water begin to break. She called her husband home, let her doula know the situation, and jumped in the shower. By the time her mom arrived to watch their other children, the contractions were every 5 minutes and lasted about a minute. This time they headed straight to the hospital because of Kacey’s quick previous labor and the fact that this time she was positive for B Strep and wanted to give as much hospital time as possible for IV antibiotics. After settling in at the hospital and letting the nurses know they wouldn’t need an epidural, Kacey and her husband labored together until their doula arrived an hour or two later. Labor was slower this time (just as she had prayed it would be!), and after alternating between waves of contractions while standing and being held by her husband, squatting at the foot of the bed and leaning over the bed, she felt known urge to push a few hours later. She settled into bed and continued to labor on all fours (she hates her back hurting!) until her doctor was ready and her son was about to be born. He was born after a few contractions and can still vividly remember every moment. It was truly a dream birth and an answer to prayer. She had some retained placenta after the birth that required her doctor to manually extract it, but other than that, it was a smooth recovery.
Kacey Ratcliff Bio
Kacey is a mom of 4, ages 2-11. She and her husband, Reagan, have been married for 14 years and are raising their family together in their hometown south of Houston. Kacey is a stay at home mom while her husband runs his own Optometry business (Twenty20 Vision Center).
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