an unplanned homebirth February 19, 2008
Posted by guinever in : birth, birth stories, birth story, home birth, homebirth, midwifery, pregnancy , add a comment
This is the birth story of Sarah’s second birth. With her first birth, she was sent to the hospital from her doctor’s office after they checked her and was found to be 6 centimeters. Overwhelming contractions started once they artificially ruptured her membranes. Both she and the baby required oxygen. She felt out of control. Sarah’s hope was to not be induced and to have a much more peaceful and gentle birth than the first time. Her birth story follows:
I’d had several episodes of pre-labor for a month, and began early labor eleven days before he was born. I’d never heard of prodromal labor before that, but became very familiar with the term after eleven days of contractions ten minutes or less, apart. We went to the hospital twice with contractions three minutes apart, and me in a very serious frame of mind. However, each time, no progress was made past three centimeters, and so we went home. I was very fortunate this time to have a doctor and midwife who didn’t believe in induction unless it was absolutely necessary. They just calmly kept telling me that he would come eventually, and boy did he.
Around 11 o’clock on the 16th my contractions got noticeably stronger, but I didn’t make a big deal over it, because they’d been there twice before. I drank a big glass of water and went to bed. I was extremely restless for the next six hours, finally getting up to walk around at 5:00. My contractions were five minutes apart when I woke Chris up at 5:30. My back hurt, and I needed a rub with each contraction.
We went downstairs so I could lay on my birth ball. After a few hard contractions I decided to go through the Bradley test for “real” labor. I got up to make a bagel w/ cream cheese. I took one bite, and a contraction hit me so hard and quickly that I thought I would throw up. The contractions had moved to three minutes apart. Chris suggested I get into the tub to help me relax. I told him I thought this was definitely it, and he should call the sitter to come get Judah. He says he was still skeptical because I was still being so nice to him, and smiling in between contractions.
I had three hard contractions while walking from the table to the kitchen door,(About five feet) and told Chris I thought I was going through transition. He suggested we leave. I told him I wanted to go to the bathroom before we left. It took me five minutes to get there. My contractions were double peaking at this point. Somehow, Chris managed to run around the house getting ready to go, and still be there to rub my back during every contraction. While on the toilet I had the urge to push, and pretty much knew at that point that we weren’t going to make it.
My poor mother, who had arrived the day before, was having a nervous breakdown, and kept saying we should call an ambulance. The hospital close to us was less than desirable for having a baby, and I ended up screaming at her that we were not calling an ambulance. That I would have this baby at home and we would drive him to the hospital further away if we had to.
Chris kept saying we had to hurry, and I kept saying we weren’t going to make it. I finally looked him in the eye and said, “Honey, you’re delivering this baby in the car on the way, or here at home, and I’m more comfortable here.” He still wasn’t convinced we didn’t have time, but helped me to the bathroom to change my pants because with the previous push I had peed on myself. Not my most dignified moment. While sitting on the toilet my water broke, and there was no holding back the pushes after that.
Chris just looked at me and said, “Well you can’t have him in the toilet.” He had to drag me into our office, because the baby was crowning and I couldn’t walk. The sitter whisked Judah away right about then. I was moaning quite a lot, and he was a bit scared. Ten minutes and a few pushes later Clark was born. Chris caught him of course. We placed him on my bare belly, and he nursed beautifully. He was so warm and toasty.
We wrapped him up with his placenta, and got to the hospital two hours after his birth. Everyone was buzzing. I had a second degree tear, mostly because of the speed of his birth, and from having to push on a carpeted floor.
Read the story of her third birth: this time a planned homebirth.
on homebirth: Ron Paul in favor of families having the option to choose January 15, 2008
Posted by guinever in : doula, family, health, home birth, homebirth, midwifery, pregnancy , 2commentsHere’s what Ron Paul said at a political rally in Greenville, North Carolina when asked about licensing midwives:
But if you can allow it with licensing, that’s slightly better, [than prohibition] the ideal is that people make up their own minds. I am not in favor of government prohibiting people from making private choices. I may have a medical opinion–well, you shouldn’t do this or you shouldn’t do that, but politically, people should make their own choices.
So you’re in favor of families having the option to choose.
Oh yes, definitely, said Ron Paul.
To watch and listen to this short video at a rally in Greenville, South Carolina, go to the clip at YouTube. What I have quoted above appears at the end of this video.
sing during labor: an inspiring, beautiful video especially for my pregnant friends January 14, 2008
Posted by guinever in : doula, health, homebirth, labor, midwifery , 14commentsa beautiful woman with a beautiful voice
a quiet birthing at home
a reminder that the Lord will help and guide us through labor
When I saw this, I immediately thought of Karla, Erin, Rebekkah, Kate, and Kellie who are pregnant now… and of every other woman
surely, surely goodness and mercy will follow me
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
close by His side
I will abide
in His lovingkindness
forever
looking for birth stories to be included on my website December 7, 2007
Posted by guinever in : birth stories, birth story, doula, family, health, home birth, homebirth, homeschooling, midwifery , 3commentsI am looking for more birth stories for my website. Since I have only birthed five children, I am limited in the number I have to offer, so I’m asking for yours. I will be choosy in the birth stories that I publish. This is a natural birth website. This fact doesn’t rule out births where drugs and surgery were involved if you were well-informed during your pregnancy and labor and made decisions accordingly.
- What I’m looking for: It doesn’t matter where you gave birth– home, birth center or hospital. Things to include would be what you did during pregnancy to prepare yourself for a natural birth, what techniques helped during labor and what things didn’t. If you chose medical intervention, tell me why and how it helped you (or not.) I’m looking for birth stories that will inspire other women to birth naturally. Keep it positive and upbeat.
- I’m also looking for HBAC and VBAC stories. If you don’t know what that is, then it doesn’t apply to you. In other words, I want to hear about your journey to vaginal birth after surgical birth.
- What I’m not looking for: standard induction, epidural hospital births. There are plenty of other places on the web who publish those. I don’t want to hear about how painful or unbearable your labor was until you got the drugs.
- Do not include the name of your hospital, doctor or midwife
- Guidelines for submission: Use a spell checker. Have someone else read it for grammar and clarity of thought. I don’t have time to do a lot of editing. Do not type in all caps. There is no word limit. It can be as long as you want provided that everything you include adds to the story and isn’t redundant. Absolutely no swearing or crass language will be accepted. Common birth language like “vagina” is perfectly fine when used appropriately.
- I do not want to publish your story if it already appears on the web somewhere else. But if you think it would be a good fit for my website, I will include excerpts from it and then link to it.
- You should probably explore this site including the birth stories to see if you want your birth story included here.
- How to submit: You can cut and paste your story into the comment section at the bottom of this article and it will be sent to me via e-mail (it will not appear on the website here). If accepted, it will be posted on this site in a separate article and be listed with other birth stories.
I look forward to reading your birth story.
the joy of natural childbirth: a birth in pictures November 28, 2007
Posted by guinever in : birth, birth stories, doula, health, home birth, homebirth, labor, midwifery, pregnancy , 7commentsWith permission from the couple, I am pleased to share with you a birth in pictures. I include these on my website so that you can see the joy of natural childbirth. I have decided not to caption the pictures below, but rather describe them here first.
The mom had been pushing for awhile and moved to the bathroom. Birth was close when I started snapping these photos. In attendance at this planned homebirth of a first baby, were a certified nurse midwife, the midwife’s assistant who is a midwife in training, and me–the couple’s friend, doula and childbirth educator.
The photos begin with the quiet stillness in between contractions, with mom blowing out. Notice how she has her jaw, open and relaxed. The next is the determination of pushing during a contraction. Instinctively, she holds her breath and puts her chin on her chest, pushing until she needs to breathe. She takes a breath and then pushes some more. The baby crowns and is about to be born so she stands up. The father looks on in eager anticipation as his baby is about to born. The midwife supports the baby’s head, protecting mom’s perineum. There’s a little bit more blood than usual because the baby has a compound presentation, meaning an arm is coming out with the head.
The baby is born into the hands of her daddy and lifted into the arms of her mother. See the joy, the adoration, the exhilaration of both parents. This is a tiny peek into the intimacy of the moment of natural birth.
This photo story ends with the babe wrapped in a towel, the new family still in the bathroom. Not pictured: the couple climbs into bed where the baby nurses and the placenta is born.
Enjoy. You are about to witness a birth in pictures.
