More Babies Prefer Home Birth

"The number of babies born at home in Maryland has increased dramatically since 2001. According to..."

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:05:49 -0600

“The number of babies born at home in Maryland has increased dramatically since 2001. According to MarylandReporter.com, 291 babies were born at home in 2001, compared to 409 in 2010. At-home births accounted for just 1 percent of all births, and while the trend does not appear to have taken hold in Allegany County as dramatically as in metropolitan areas, several mothers here have given birth to their children in their homes with great success. Jamie Bailey, 32, of Grantsville is the mother of three children. Her first two children were hospital births but she wanted to do things a bit differently with her third child. “The hospital births were not the worst experiences, but I wanted better. I wanted to labor and deliver my way — without an induction, dangerous labor-augmenting drugs, pain meds and constant monitoring — all which raise the risk of C section,” she said. “I didn’t want to be on a time schedule; if it was going to take two days, then I was up for the challenge. I wanted my family there, including my other two children. I wanted to bring my new infant into a quiet, dim and warm environment, where bonding and breastfeeding could begin immediately.” Delivering her child at home not only met Bailey’s expectations, but exceeded what she had hoped to be the outcome of her home birth. “I found that it wasn’t just the amazing birth experience that I had received. In actuality, I received an amazing pregnancy experience, too. I had a caregiver who listened and gave advice and was experienced enough to refer me elsewhere if a problem arose.” Bailey and her midwife met regularily for her checkups and the midwife also met with Bailey’s husband and other children prior to delivery. “It was amazing. I progressed a lot faster in my own home and warm tub than I anticipated. My midwife actually missed the birth by five minutes. I caught my own 8-pound, 15-ounce baby boy, Blake. I felt on top of the world — tired and sore — but on top of the world.””

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At-home births not necessarily a thing of the past » Local News » Cumberland Times-News

"Bonnie Pascal’s son drew his first breath on his mother’s bed, surrounded by women. It was seven..."

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 17:33:27 -0600

“Bonnie Pascal’s son drew his first breath on his mother’s bed, surrounded by women. It was seven years ago, and Pascal was in her 40th year. The birth, attended by her husband and three midwives, was bloody, wrenching and joyous. And baby Aaron? The picture of health. Nine months earlier, Pascal had never envisioned she would be delivering a baby in her home. The freelance designer and artist had always wanted children. She met her husband and married at 38. When she found out she was pregnant, her family doctor asked if she preferred an obstetrician or a midwife. “I said ‘I’m almost 40 years old. How can I go to a midwife if I’m high-risk?’””

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Home birth after 40 - Parentcentral.ca

(via Erykah Badu Says Home Birthing is An Ancient Art | Madame...

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 10:35:33 -0600

(via Erykah Badu Says Home Birthing is An Ancient Art | Madame Noire | Black Women’s Lifestyle Guide | Black Hair | Black Love)

"The Grand Isle town clerk was a little nervous when Marada Cook and Ryan Redmond brought their..."

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 18:34:34 -0600

“The Grand Isle town clerk was a little nervous when Marada Cook and Ryan Redmond brought their infant to the town office to be registered July 23, 2007. “Seems we were all three a little nervous,” Clerk Marie Sirois recalled recently. “It was a first-time experience for me.” In her years as clerk, she had never been asked to record the birth of a child born in the town. “I called Augusta to guide me,” she said. “They were very helpful in Augusta, guiding me on what documents to use, what forms to fill out.” Marie gave the appropriate forms to the new parents to look over while she called Augusta again for the answers to their questions. It’s no wonder the procedure was unfamiliar. The couple learned later that their firstborn, Eli, was the first child born at home in the town of Grand Isle in 40 years.”

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Home birth was first in Grand Isle in 40 years — Maine News — Bangor Daily News

"In stark contrast to TLC’s “A Baby Story,” laboring at home exuded a quiet..."

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 12:14:15 -0500

“In stark contrast to TLC’s “A Baby Story,” laboring at home exuded a quiet comfort. The fire crackled as autumn rushed in with October’s arrival, and the birthing tub sat beneath the mantel adorned with homemade Halloween decorations. She had no IV, no internal fetal monitor and no Pitocin drip. Instead, she had tea and toast at the window seat, smiling between contractions and discussing a range of topics, from old television shows like the “Newlywed Game” to influential parenting styles. Eventually, labor slowed and we agreed to come back when things quickened and as late afternoon turned to dusk, she asked me to return.”

- Home birth shows woman at her most powerful | The Poughkeepsie Journal | poughkeepsiejournal.com

(via Ancient Images of a Mother Giving Birth Found :...

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 18:02:09 -0500

(via Ancient Images of a Mother Giving Birth Found : Discovery News)

In Pangasinan, birthing homes give ‘personalized services’ | Inquirer News

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:27:35 -0500

In Pangasinan, birthing homes give ‘personalized services’ | Inquirer News:

Midwives used to go on house calls to help women give birth at their homes. Now, they are establishing centers where women in labor can avail themselves of home-like comfort and a clean environment equipped with modern medical facilities. Fourteen such birthing homes exist in Dagupan City and other towns in Pangasinan, says Villa Payag, 51, one of the midwives who pioneered the project. A mother herself, Payag says giving birth is a “natural process” and midwives are trained to help women who want to give birth naturally. “Hospitals are for sick people and pregnancy and birthing are not diseases. Unless there are complications when mothers need medical attention, midwives can efficiently handle birthing. Because we are trained, we know if the mother needs to be taken to a hospital,” she says. Payag’s birthing home in Bonuan District even renders “personalized services” that no hospital offers. She serves “malunggay” (Moringa) soup and rice broth to those who have just given birth. “I have plenty of malunggay trees in my yard. I just boil some leaves with some ginger and seasoning and give them to the mothers. When you just gave birth, a hot soup is very welcome,” she says. One time, a woman who had just given birth could not sit down by herself because she was so heavy. “I just propped her with pillows and spoon-fed her. She was so happy she cried,” Payag says.

All My Babies: A Midwife's Own Story - Watch the Documentary Film for Free | Watch Free Documentaries Online | SnagFilms

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 16:18:00 -0500

All My Babies: A Midwife's Own Story - Watch the Documentary Film for Free | Watch Free Documentaries Online | SnagFilms:

Watch more free documentaries

'Cord Around the Neck' Shouldn't Mean C-Section | The Stir

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 18:24:58 -0500

'Cord Around the Neck' Shouldn't Mean C-Section | The Stir:

“He could have died if I’d had a home birth — his cord was around his neck.” You’ve heard that, right? Heard people also say that their baby wasn’t breathing at birth, because the cord was there, or that their baby had medical issues, even anemia or brain damage due to the cord? However, it appears that we shouldn’t be as terrified of this. A cord around baby’s neck is actually very, very common. As in, 1 in 5 babies are born with the cord around their neck, and rarely is it ever a problem. But despite that, many doctors are still doing c-sections or manually yanking the cord over the head, which actually is risky for both us and our babies. Yikes.

The politics and magic of childbirth - Ethan Andrews - Belfast - Waldo - The Republican Journal

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 11:53:36 -0500

The politics and magic of childbirth - Ethan Andrews - Belfast - Waldo - The Republican Journal:

“Home/Birth” is structured as a fragmented succession of thoughts, recollections, slogans, facts, poetry, stream-of-consciousness riffing on pregnancy, on birth and sometimes on the state of the world. On any given page, the pieces appear only loosely connected, but throughout the book a number of themes recur at intervals, creating a number of interwoven plot lines around the larger theme of childbirth. Much of the text involves a conversation between Greenberg and Zucker, exerpted from their actual conversations, conducted by e-mail. Zucker, who had three children of her own, the first two born in hospitals and the most recent a homebirth, was in New York at the time, but committed to becoming a doula (someone who helps the mother during labor) for Greenberg’s birth, and in the initial chapters of the book, the friends appear to be trying to figure out how it will all work. The style and point of view are both unusual among homebirth literature, Greenberg said. The lyric essay style was inspired by the author C.D. Wright, who used a similar montage of observations, snippets of dialog and other ephemera to write about prisoners in Louisiana in her book “One Big Self.”

"I’ve had a lot of people ask me what the biggest difference between hospital birth and home birth..."

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 20:12:05 -0500

“I’ve had a lot of people ask me what the biggest difference between hospital birth and home birth is, and while the birth it’s self is more relaxing and comfortable in your own home, I think the biggest difference is the postpartum.”

- Cora’s Home Birth Photos « The Lazy Homesteader

"For some pregnant Long Beach mothers, the first signs of labor don’t sound an alarm to grab an..."

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 12:21:46 -0500

“For some pregnant Long Beach mothers, the first signs of labor don’t sound an alarm to grab an already-packed suitcase and head for the nearest hospital. Instead, they call their midwife, set up a birthing tub, play some relaxing music and let nature handle the rest. “When you do a home birth with a midwife, it’s all about you,” said Jenna DeRosa, who had two of her four children at home. It isn’t that she had traumatic experiences with her first two births that have since kept her from the hospital. Rather, she said, home birth is all about the comfort of the mother and the baby. Everything is done on the mother’s schedule instead of the staff’s.”

- Read more…

Long Beach Mothers Go All Natural - Long Beach, NY Patch

The Swazi Observer

Sat, 23 Jul 2011 18:37:04 -0500

The Swazi Observer:

Many rural Swazi women are still not satisfied with the treatment they receive in hospitals while giving birth, which explains why a lot of them still prefer giving birth at home, a new research conducted in the northern Hhohho region suggests. The study was presented at the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) triennial congress held in Durban recently and it drew the attention of participants who were eager to know why Swazi women living in rural areas still prefer giving birth at home. The research was conducted by University of Swaziland (UNISWA) faculty of health sciences lecturer S’phiwe Thwala. The research paper has been published in leading journals of international acclaim. Key findings show that rural Swazi women are still fond of traditional antidotes, and that when pregnant, the practice of using traditional herbs alongside western style medicine is common amongst pregnant women. “Rural Swazi women utilise biomedical maternity services whilst still strongly adhering to traditional practices and beliefs during labour,” it was established.

Home Birth Story: The Birth of Sage

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 13:30:09 -0500

Born July 6th 2011 7:56AM At home.

7lbs 8oz and 20inches

Birth Story
7-5-11
BEFORE
I had a midwife appointment, we had been having trouble finding my cervix at previous appointments, but this time we actually found it! My cervix was hiding all the way to the left and was 2 centimeters dilated! I was so happy! My midwife swept my membranes at my request, and manually stretched it for a bit. I was getting kind of crampy in my hips, so I massaged them while this happened. Later on I took some homeopathic labor encouraging wonderfulness (cimicifuga and caullaphyllum) that my midwife brought. I expressed to her my fears of going over 42 weeks and how stressed out it was making me. I really wanted a home birth and was getting worried that the clock was ticking. At this point I was exactly 41 weeks pregnant, but to me it meant only 7 days left to go into labor…tick tock…tick tock… My midwife made me feel TONS better just by talking with me about how she highly doubted I would go past that, confirming that I was dilated, and talking to me about what a hospit! al birth would look like if I went past 42 weeks. I was so soothed by that.
Earth Mom showed up at the end of the appointment, got to hear the heartbeat, and grabbed my belly and said: “I am here now Sage, you can come out now!”We went to the mall to do some walking and buying dresses. At this point I only wore dresses and boxer briefs because I was worried that waistbands of pants would stop Sage from moving down.
That night I started feeling kind of crampy right inside my hips, but I figured it was just because my cervix was played with so much. I drank a cuppa Raspberry Leaf Tea, took two Evening Primrose Oil capsules (vegetarian), expressed some colostrum, and dozed to some Nova documentary about extreme cave diving.
7-6-11
DURING
3AM
I woke up and my crampy feeling in my hips was still there. There was a definite start and end to them, and lying down was no help at all. I woke my mom up. I told her I wasn’t sure, but that I was having to breathe through them a little bit. She came downstairs and brewed a pot of coffee and I walked around a bit. I timed them with my cell phone and we watched the clock. They were only about 20-30 seconds long, but they were happening every 2 minutes. I called my midwife. She kept me on the phone through two contractions so she could time them and listen to how I was handling them. She said that this was definitely labor, it wasn’t going to go away, but she was worried that I would get too worn out. She suggested I brew some “sleepy time” tea and try to get some rest. I brewed the tea, my mom and I turned on the tele to some show about a guy who was really into wolves or something. The tea didn’t help, I couldn’t sleep, and I started to really have to pause and ! breathe through what we now knew were contractions.
Then I vomited. The contractions got stronger. I vomited some more.
We called the midwife back (my mom had to call her as I was throwing up and saying “gross”). She called back in a little bit and talked to me through two more contractions. After hearing my heavy panting she said she was packing her bags and would be over in about an hour. This was around 4:30? 5:30?
After throwing up I felt a bit sweaty and gross, so I decided I should shower. While getting undressed to shower I had my bloody show, to which I responded “gross” and threw up a couple more times. My mom sat on the toilet while I showered. The hot water felt good during contractions, but I was feeling everything right inside my hips. The shower head didn’t reach that far unfortunately. But I managed to shampoo/condition my hair and wash my body between contractions. During contractions I would sway back and forth with my hips, but toward the end of the shower I was mashing my face up against the shower wall and kind of humming. The contractions didn’t hurt. They were definitely a curious sensation, and I was so excited about them that I was really calm the entire time. At the point that I started moaning I asked my mom to call my Pillows (grandma). She hardly had time to say “labor. Bring doughnuts,” because my contractions were getting heavier and closer togeth! er. I knew from Ina May that moaning meant heavier labor. I made sure to keep my lips loose and my voice low. After getting out of the shower things really sped up. We went downstairs and I asked my mom to hold my hips through each contraction.
At around 6? My Pillows showed up. Somehow my yoga ball ended up back in my room and I got on my hands and knees, threw my upper body on top of the ball, and rocked front to back. That felt really good. I asked my Pillows to put my hair up because it was in my face. We made small talk between contractions. I felt really good.
About 6:30? my midwife showed up and saw me deeply moaning and swaying. She got a little worried and said that a bath might help me out. (I later found out that she was panicked and frantically set up her supplies while I was in the tub) I squatted in the tub, but it didn’t feel right. I tried to lay back in the tub but that felt horrible. I shot up while I was lying down and scrambled to get to where I was sitting on my feet. (we think this is when my water might have broken, we have no idea). Again, it didn’t hurt it just felt not right. Being upright helped. I said I was done and we went downstairs. My midwife checked me and I was 6cm dilated and fully effaced. This was around 7?
I labored standing upright with my hands on the back of a couch while my mom grabbed my hips and my Pillows blew in my face to remind me to breath. This was SUPER helpful; I was remembering to keep my voice low, but not really to breathe deeply. My Pillows said at this point I was “purring.”I was still pretty calm and enjoying myself. My biggest complaint was that I couldn’t find a comfortable resting position for in between contractions. We put my yoga ball on my bed so I could stand up and sway front to back easier. This felt fantastic!
Then I had to poop. I sat down on the toilet, went a little, but sitting down felt wrong. Wipe, flush, back to work.
Around 7:30-7:45-ish I felt a bit pushy. I looked over at my midwife and said “I’m feeling a bit pushy..”I had another contraction and said “I’m going to go ahead and push.”She calmly asked me if I could pant through my push feelings so she could check me again. Fully dilated and ready to go.
I reached down and could feel the head. I also pooped a little, to which I responded “gross.”
(Apparently my midwife had been frantically texting/calling her assistant at this time)
So with just me, my mom, my Pillows (3 generations) and my midwife, I started pushing. I continued standing upright, I was feeling a little tight at the top of my perineum, so my midwife put a warm washcloth there, and rubbed me with olive oil. My legs started to get a bit shaky between contractions. I climbed onto the bed and layed down on my left side, holding my right knee all the way up by my ear. I felt myself opening up and was ecstatic! In between two pushed I asked my Pillows if she would grab my hand mirror out of the drawers in my bathroom. I wanted to see. I needed to see this.
I looked in the mirror and saw the head and smiled. My midwife was holding the top of my perineum and quickly sloshing me in olive oil. I pushed again and looked down and the head doubled in size! I pushed again and WOOSH Sage was born! All of him, all at once! Head and shoulder knees and toes! I pulled him to my chest and cooed “Oh hello!”This happened at 7:56AM. 5 hours of labor, that was it. Ten minutes of pushing, that was it. My mom had to act as the birthing assistant because the one I chose was not there yet.
AFTER:
Immediately after Sage came out, so did a waterfall of blood. I started shaking and was freezing cold. My mom kept throwing blankets in the dryer and tossing them on top of me. I could not stop shaking, but I also did not let go of Sage, who had pooped right after he was born. We waited until the cord stopped pumping blood, and my midwife started handing me the scissors. I had really wanted to cut the cord, but I was too shaky. I asked Pillows to do it, who was thrilled. I discovered Sage has a penis. The warm placenta came out easily, but with more blood. According to my midwife, about 750cc’s of blood was lost. She gave me a shot of Pitocin to help stop the bleeding. Sage latched on and started eating! I didn’t even have to direct him to the boob; he squirmed there on his own and dove right in! I was so relieved!
After a little bit my midwife explained that I had a tear on the left side. She said it wasn’t too bad, but I could use a stitch. I asked if it was necessary and she said not really, I would just take longer to heal. I said I didn’t want the stitch. Then it was time for me to pee. Pillows held Sage while I slowly inched to the side of the bed and tried to become upright. I fainted. I was still really shaky, my pulse was high, and my blood pressure was low. I got set up with an IV of fluids and some oxygen. After a while with the fluids and air, we tried again. Instead of trying to walk, I slid onto the floor. An enormous clot oozed out of me, to which I responded “gross.”My midwife said it was about 220cc’s. I was quickly approaching the borderline of needing to be transferred to a hospital because of blood loss and Sage had a really low temperature and slow breathing. I asked if we could just wait a bit and see if things got better or worse, and my midwife gave he! r OK. I asked for Sage back. We hung out naked for quite a while and he ate again, which lifted my spirits a lot. I drank some coconut water for energy and electrolytes. We kept checking vitals and both of ours were increasing.
At 9AM the birthing assistant showed up. She looked at me and said “wow! You look really calm for being in labor!”I smiled and pulled the blankets back to show her Sage. She was shocked, but helped with taking vitals and cleaning up.
I started feeling much better, so my mom got to hold Sage while I tried to pee again. I got numbed up so it wouldn’t sting and successfully peed! My midwife stayed until about 4 PM to make sure our vitals were all in the clear. I felt great, Sage was happy and healthy, and I felt proud!

{If you’d like to share your own home birth story, please use the form at right to submit it.}

Call for more mothers to give birth at home « Express & Star

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 16:40:42 -0500

Call for more mothers to give birth at home « Express & Star:

Anthony Falconer, college president, claimed politicians had a “moral imperative” to make the case for national reform. Official figures show another rise in birth rates, with 723,165 babies born in England and Wales last year – 22 per cent more than a decade ago. Dr Falconer said the current maternity system was “not acceptable nor sustainable” and argued that women should no longer think of hospital as the default option when giving birth. “Roughly a third of women need doctors, roughly a third need midwives, roughly a third might need both,” he said.

Home birth on the rise by a dramatic 20 percent - Yahoo! News

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 12:44:49 -0500

Home birth on the rise by a dramatic 20 percent - Yahoo! News:

One mother chose home birth because it was cheaper than going to a hospital. Another gave birth at home because she has multiple sclerosis and feared unnecessary medical intervention. And some choose home births after cesarean sections with their first babies.

Whatever their motivation, all are among a striking trend: Home births increased 20 percent from 2004 to 2008, accounting for 28,357 of 4.2 million U.S. births, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released in May.

White women led the drive, with 1 in 98 having babies at home in 2008, compared to 1 in 357 black women and 1 in 500 Hispanic women.

Home Birth Story: A first birth

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 19:17:13 -0500

The Birth of Myles Kade Johnson - My first birth!

February 9th, 2011 3:50am

7lbs 2oz and 21in

On Tuesday, February 8th, I woke up and was feeling a little “off” and kind of crampy, not a big deal or something out of the ordinary when your 41-43 weeks pregnant! Around 11am went to the bathroom and discovered I had lost part of my mucous plug. I texted my midwife to let her know but did not think much about it since you can lose it multiple times and it really had no indication of when labor will start. A little after lunch my crampy feeling started getting more intense and figured it was my body preparing to start up labor. I went outside at 4pm and fed the horses grains so I was up for about 45min walking around in and out of stalls and riding on the bumpy ground in the Gator going from barn to barn. I went inside and started doing some laundry and realized were pretty regular and started wondering if my “crampin” was easy contractions. They did not feel like the contractions I had been feeling for weeks with prodromal labor so I just brushed them off all day.

Around 6pm I decide to time them even though I did not think they were contractions, I did noy want them to be contractions and them get too close before I relized it. I sat on my birthing ball and rocked my hips during my “cramps” and it relieved some of the preasure I was feeling. Between 6pm and 6:30pm I had 7 “cramps” putting them at 5-6min apart and lasting about 40 seconds. I decided they were really contractions but that since they were so easy that nothing was happening anytime soon or that like they had in the past several weeks that they would stop.

Mark came in from work and we decided to go to the Chuckwagon to eat dinner. We shared Jalapeno & Rib Meat Potato “Nachos” for an apitizer and I had a Chicken, Onion & Pepers Quesadilla. I had contractions all through the meal and they stayed pretty consistant and seamed to get a bit stronger in intensity.

We got home a little after 9pm and jumped in the bed and tried to encourage my contractions (if ya know what I mean)… of course having to stop every few min for contractions!! After we were done I went to the bathroom and lost more of my mucos plug and had some bloody show. It was around 10 and I decided to start timing my contractions again, 4min apart!! I was trying not to get too excited because for weeks I had contractions (some as close as 4min apart) and these were not as bad as those so surley it couldnt be labor, right? I also figured if it was labor it was just starting and this being my first child it would be a while before my labor was in full swing and he was born. We went to bed to try and get some sleep and I was guessing that everything would cool down a little bit. I was having trouble falling alseep so a little after 11pm I decided to get into the bath tub and try to relax to help me go to sleep, I listened to a few of my hypnobabies tracks and started fe! eling tired so I went back to bed hoping to get some sleep because at this point I knew I was in the begining stages of labor and needed to rest up.

That did not happen! At midnight I started feeling my contractions MUCH stronger and quiet often so I woke Mark up and told him he needed to wake up because I was in labor for real and I was not going to be up all by myself! For some reason it was irritating me seeing him asleep peacefully while I was having contractions. It took a good 15min for him to get up and he was a bit annoyed! My contractions were 3min apart at this point so we pulled out the birth pool to get it blown up, I totaly forgot we did not have a wall plug for the air pump so Mark had to take the birth pool outside to his car and plug it into the lighter plug in the freezing cold to blow it up. While he was blowing up the pool most likely was the most stressfull part of my labor because all I wanted to do was get into the water. I was going back and forth from laying in the bed, being on my hands and knees leaning over my birthing ball, snugling my pillow on the floor, and walking from room to room. He st! arted filling up the pool around 1:30am and I texted one of my midwifes because I couldnt talk through my contractions and they were right at 2min apart from begining of one to the begining of the next. They both live about an hour away so I knew it would be a little while before they got there but I had no worried because I thought I was still at the beginning stages of labor because the pain was not that bad at all. I decided to wait until they got there and we saw how things were going to text any family members and let them know he was coming.

I got into the tub and it was instant relief on my back, the water felt so good! Our hot water from the house ran out and we started boiling more on the stove. I wanted to be completely submerged in the water so we kept adding more. During contractions I got on my knees and leaned over into the water, in between them I leaned my back against the birth pool and stuck my legs straight out. I was talking with Mark and laughing in between contractions.

My midwifes, Aimee & Desiree, got there at 3:10am and I was in the pool and decided to get out to let them check me, I was going to ask not to be told how far dilated I was. The minute I got out I felt like I had to go poop so I sat on the toilet and tried to use the bathroom but nothing was happening, got on my hands and knees and tried, squated and tried but no poop! My midwifes told me it was the baby I was feeling so I stopped trying to poop and layed on the couch for Dessire to check me. My contracting were so strong and often that before she could check anything I had to roll off the couch and get on my hands and knees because my contractions were coming so strong. I kept telling them, “I seriously have to shit so bad” and they said no that it was babys head making it feel like I needed to. I continued to go through contractions on the floor hugging my pillow and leaning forward onto Marks chest. I was pushing in different positions (trying to go poop) for about 10min.!

They then told me if I wanted to have a water birth Id better get back into the tub so I started crawling back into the kitchen and on my way back to the tub my water broke and there was a huge decrease in pressure. I got back into the tub and got on my knees leaning against the edge of the pool holding onto Mark and biting his hand with every contraction. I kept telling (im not sure who) that I wanted pictures and videos, my exact words were “Im not having a water birth and not having video proof”. But things were moving too fast for anyone to worry about getting video or pictures! When I felt his head starting to crown I said something about was this seriously it, I couldn’t believe he was about to come out! I told Mark to hurry and grab my phone to text my Mom and Dad because they would be mad if I had him before calling, I promised my Mom I would not wait to call until after he was born, oops! He sent a text that said, “Kade is on his way, dont call please” because I kne! w she would be calling and we were a little far into labor to be talking on the phone. My body then took over and started pushing itself and after 5min of being in the birth pool his head emerged, I was so excited for the pause in between birthing the head and the body that I always heard people talk about but my midwifes said to keep pushing because he had opened his eyes and was looking like he was about to take a breath and they did not want him to breath the water in. I gave two pushes and his body was out. I started pushing at 3:35am and he was born at 3:50am.

I think my mind went blank for a second out of shock that he was here because I was in my own little world and it took me a second to capture my thoughts, they told me to reach down and bring him up out of the water. I pulled my little boy from the water and snuggled him to my chest and was speechless. It took him seconds to cry but his eyes were open and looking at me, it was a wonderful quiet moment where I connected with my son. I sat back but could not sit down because his cord was too short to keep him out of the water unless I was squating. Mark came behind me and had his arms around us and I was in pure heaven. My first words were “That’s it? Im ready to have another one”. I had to get out of the water after a few minutes since I could not keep him out of the water and did not want him to be cold. We layed on the couch and he latched on wonderfully and nursed for a good 30min before I got on the birthing stool to deliver my placenta. After it was delivered we wrapped ! it up in a chux pad and laid back down on the couch and he continued to nurse for at least another 45min while I got checked out. I had a tiny tear but nothing bad thank goodness! After about an hour Mark cut the cord and they did newborn vital checks and Mark held him for the first time while I used the bathroom and used a sitz bath in peri bottle to help with the slight stinging and swelling.

My labor and birth with Kade is by far the most amazing thing ive ever experienced. I can not believe how easy and natural it was. My body knew what it was doing and I believed in the ability I have as a woman to give birth. I feel very lucky to have felt what I thought was the “easy part” beginning of labor when I was in my last two hours and what ive always heard to be the most painful part. My birth was very minimal pain and Kade had such a beautiful passage into the world.

{If you’d like to share your own home birth story, please use the form at right to submit it.}

"This birth starts at 6:30am Sunday morning. I am laying in bed feeling each surge come and go,..."

Tue, 31 May 2011 18:46:48 -0500

“

This birth starts at 6:30am Sunday morning. I am laying in bed feeling each surge come and go, thinking “these feel different?”. I eventually get up and start getting ready for church stopping every 10-15 mins to breath through a surge. I get the girls and hubby up and start getting them around, make breakfast and have a cup of joe. Sit down in the living room and watch the girls play, waiting for time to go before we leave for church. Thinking as I sit there, “these feel different?”. I share this thought with Shane and we go about our day joking about having a labor day baby. On the inside I’m thinking “If I have to go through another day of labor and have no baby I’m liable to completely lose my mind!”. We get to church and our youth pastor is giving a sermon about “Facing Your Giants”; a fantastic sermon. However good, I really didn’t expect it would hit me like it did. At the end, while Burnie is praying and I am going through another very different and strong surge, I start balling me eyes out. Shane starts holding me closely and I just cried, he’s looking at me very confused and I’m now thoroughly embarrassed so I excuse myself to the restroom. But alas when I cry I tend to get extremely red faced and swollen so I can’t hide it! This sermon made me realize I am facing my giant! It’s making me realize that I can’t give up and get frustrated, I have to wait on God’s perfect timing! This gives me strength and more patience for the day I felt sure was going to be another day of labor and no baby.

Read the Whole Story

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- Daily Surrenders: The Breech Birth of Annaka Faith

Twin home waterbirth (video) (by doulasarah)

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 14:44:42 -0500

Twin home waterbirth (video) (by doulasarah)

Home Birth Story: Chapter Three

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 15:15:21 -0500

I posted back in oct 2009 about my previous 2 homebirths right after I found this website. Now I want to add my third homebirth story.

http://morebabiespreferhomebirth.com/post/221323105/home-birth-story-two-home-births

My Third Homebirth

This story begins with a surprise, a disappointment and devastation, then a renewed joy. We had felt that our family of 4 was complete and were not trying for another child when we were pleasantly surprised.
Surprise
The day that I had tested positive on that little home pregnancy test, I thought that I’d break the news to the family at dinner that night. I invited my dad over and made a nice dinner and even had placed an open Corona in front my husband at the table (something that I have never done by the way, so he was a bit suspicious and reluctant to touch it). Well, dinner barely started and I couldn’t contain myself with the news. Everyone was excited and a lively discussion ensued at the dinner table and finally my husband drank the beer.
Disappointment and Devastation
Since I wasn’t planning another pregnancy I didn’t have a clue what date was my last period so we went for an ultrasound. It showed that we were very early and the tech couldn’t accurately date it yet. It was a bit disappointing but still ok. Then about 4 weeks later, I started spotting blood. I called my midwife and we discussed a plan. A few days later, I had a miscarriage. The ER experience was horrible. I was devastated. I knew that I didn’t want to go through that again but I was not sure what I wanted.
Renewed Joy
After a couple of months, out of the blue, I told my husband that I wanted another child. At first, he thought that I was joking, but when he saw in my eyes how serious I was, he was overjoyed. A couple of months later, we got that big fat positive home pregnancy test.
Pregnancy
It was a pretty normal pregnancy so I won’t dwell on it too much. I met with my midwife that had for our second child and she was just as awesome as before. We did however have a slight moment of uncertainty in the beginning. Our midwife was not able to hear the fetal heartbeat on the first visit. She knew how insecure I was since having gone through the miscarriage and kindly told me that I could just drop by anytime after the 14th week, no appointment necessary, and she would take another listen. Well, I got a bit busy and didn’t come back until week 15. She checked again and still could only pick up my pulse on the Doppler. So she quickly ordered the ultrasound at the local hospital and arranged an appointment as soon as they would get me in, which was 2 days later. Those were agonizing 2 days. The ultrasound went well and we saw the heartbeat and baby moving around. It was such a relief that I could not hold back the tears. My nearly 6 year old son wanted to know w! hy I was crying and I told him it was for happiness and that sometimes moms do that and it’s ok. The rest of the pregnancy, I didn’t want to know the gender so it was exciting as time got closer to the end.
Due Date
My other 2 were born rather close to my due dates so I naturally expected that this one would also. It was rather amusing listening to all of the complete strangers and friends and family that I would run into that had all kinds of predictions on gender and when I’d give birth. All of them were wrong. I did however expect to have back labor this time, since I had it with both of my other 2 and during the miscarriage. That prediction was correct.
The Next Day
The day after my due date, at about 3am, I started to have contractions, in my lower back. They were quite painful right from the start so I naturally assumed that baby would be here soon, perhaps later that day. I made some calls to the midwife, my sister and my mother and then tried to go back to sleep to get some rest knowing that this was going to be a long day.
I was relieved to know that despite the back pain, I was able to get some sleep. I laid on a heating pad and let my husband sleep after I let him know what was going on. I knew that I would need his help later. All through the day, the contractions were quite sporadic. I tried timing them several times and each time I was disappointed when they were not consistent or getting stronger or longer. They did reach a point when I needed my husband to massage my lower back to get through each one. So all day long, he helped me get through them and we tried to have a semi-normal day.
As evening approached, I had the feeling that things were going to pick up so I called my friend that was going to watch the kids. I timed the contractions for an hour and still no pattern. We watched a movie for a distraction. When the contractions still had not changed, the midwife called for an update, she recommended rest and suspected that things would pick up later that night. So, I sent the kids to bed and our friend home for some rest and she promised to return when we needed her.
I decided to lay down in bed in kind of a lunge-like position, half on my left-side, half on my belly with my right knee up as close to my chest as my belly allowed possible. I labored through a few contractions when suddenly, I had an uncontrollable persistent pain and had my husband come in and help me up out of bed. I went to the bathroom and then to the living room to sit on the exercise ball. Since my husband was at the computer I sat near him so that he could massage my lower back through the contractions. It didn’t take long and they were coming one right after another. He barely had time to make the 3 phone calls in between my contractions to get our friend, my sister (the doula) and my midwife to come.
Our friend was closest, so she got here first. I never bothered to time these contractions because they were so strong and fast and long that all I could do was rock on the ball and lean onto a chair in front of me with my husband behind me massaging. Then, I felt a small gush of water and the membrane moving down the canal. I stood up bent over and screamed, “The baby is coming now!” I asked my husband to help me get my pants off, but they were stuck. After he tried a bit to get them off, to no avail, I told him to just cut them off. He did and then went back to massaging me. I went to my knees and leaned on the computer chair. Our friend called the midwife to update her on this new development and she said that she was only 5 minutes away. I knew that I had to start pushing and prayed that the midwife would get here in time.
The midwife, her assistant and my sister all arrived at the same time and they quickly worked together to get the birthing supplies together and ready. My sister then took over the massage with counter-pressure right where and when I needed it most. That almost took the pain away, well, at least the back pain anyway. The baby’s head was quite large so it took a few contractions to get it out and when it hit the half-way point, the contractions paused long enough to allow the perineum to stretch naturally. Once the head was all the way out, just one more big push and the whole body came out. Not a single tear. Only 27 minutes of pushing out of 1 hour and 17 minutes or active labor. Our big baby was lying behind me while the midwife suctioned out his lungs so I couldn’t see what we had until I asked. My husband said, “It’s a boy.” I could tell that he was big but it wasn’t until we were settled in bed and the midwife weighed him that we got the shock. He was 10 pou! nds and 4 ounces, 22 inches long and head circumference of 35cm. Somehow I knew that he was going to be that big. At some point near the end, I don’t recall exactly, I gave our friend the OK to wake up our son to be a part of things and we let our daughter sleep until baby and I were in bed.
The kids were quite excited and had lots of fun taking pictures of the baby and everyone there. They almost didn’t want to go back to bed.
Out of all 3 labors, this one was by far the hardest and the easiest. I know that doesn’t make much sense, but I feel wonderful and grateful and blessed to have had the support and love and the strength to carry out this one life-altering event in the safety and security of my home. This story is just the third installment of my homebirth journey that began several years ago. I cherish every moment of it and the family that we have become.

{If you’d like to share your own home birth story, please use the form at right to submit it.}