Filed under: birth, birthstories | Tags: birthstory, birth center, giving birth at the birth center, natural childbirth advantages, homebirt, hospitalbirth
Martin Spielman Writes about Alex, Brandon and Grace Spielman’s Births
Our first son, Alexander, was born at a hospital and it was a horror story that fortunately my wife cannot remember a lot of to this day, which is better, since I can. It involved a disinterested staff and a doctor who had better things to do
We were sent home twice for not progressing and when Cherie finally started to progress the tiniest fraction hospital policy decreed that all and food and drink were to be withheld. It had been a long 2 days and we had had enough and so we signed ourselves out. Finally we returned and Cherie was progressing slowly, but after several hours the staff decided there was a problem being reported to them by the fetal monitor
We were told that since the baby’s heart rate was not climbing enough during contractions that an internal monitor was necessary. When we protested the doctor said, “You don’t want your baby to die do you?” So the doctor broke Cherie’s amniotic sac, attached the fetal monitor and put Cherie on Pitocin. Within 10 minutes (2 contractions) Cherie had gone from 3 cm to 10 not, I believe, because of the Pitocin but more along the lines of what her family history had going for her (Cherie was born on the way to the hospital.) The staff was shocked but said it was OK to go ahead and push, they were not prepared for the result.
Within 5 minutes of starting to push Alex’s head started to crown. The staff rushed Cherie to the delivery room, demanding she not push (as if.) I tried to take some pictures of Alex being born, but the nurses starting yelling at me for being at, The “Wrong” end of the table. The doctor was busy fiddling and did not notice Alexander emerging, and ended up lunging and catching him with one hand. As soon as Alex was born the doctor panicked and called for the pediatrician “Stat,” because Alex was not “Responding properly.” The less panic oriented pediatrician gave Alex the once over and declared, “He’s sleeping.” Obviously Doctor Dopey, had not considered that Cherie was not the only one having endured the 60 hour labor.
Our second son, Brandon, was born at the Familyborn birth center and we were very pleased. I even got to catch the baby. Cool, a must for all real fathers. I was shocked by the lack of poking and prodding this time around. The best part of Brandon Michael’s birth was when Cherie’s water broke. Cherie had not yet broken her amniotic sac by the time she was ready to push so she had to do it while pushing which was very uncomfortable for her, and a great relief once it did happen.
Cherie was in the middle of a full blown pushing contraction when her water was ready to break, and it was quite a show! The amniotic fluid sprayed 6 feet, past the end of the bed and on to the floor. Actually it looked like we were at the bottom of a log flume when the spray erupted. 10 minutes later Brandon was born with the most beautiful blond hair.
As we approached the midway point of our third pregnancy the center told us that they were closing down their on-site birth facilities and that we were out of luck. And so we decided on a home birth. Cherie’s labor actually started almost a full week before Grace was born. Cherie called me to come home at 8:30 am Saturday, 39.5 weeks into her pregnancy.
We were sure this baby was going to be special because she had stayed in so long, both her brothers had been born at 37 weeks and were 6lb 10oz and 7lb 1oz. Cherie had false labor twice before, so we were so worn down that we did not get our hopes up. By Sunday Cherie was still going steady, but not too strong so her midwife came by for a check/cheer up and found her to be 1 cm and 50% effaced. So we unfortunately prepared for the long haul since both of Cherie’s previous labor’s had lasted 60 hours. Sunday night and Monday passed without much fanfare, although Cherie’s labor began to take its toll on her sleep, so that by Tuesday, during her weekly appointment, Midwife Louise and trainee Martha were concerned, and we created a plan of action.
By Wednesday stress had taken its toll and the midwives rushed up to check on Cherie’s now stronger contractions early in the morning. After setting up and determining that Cherie was now 3cm 60% they stayed expecting a prompt arrival, they were to be disappointed. Cherie continued to putter along the rest of the day, but since she had progressed Louise and Martha thought it best to let nature take its course. The midwives agreed that since Cherie was tiring, an understatement, that unless something happened that, in accordance with our plan of action Friday morning she would take castor oil to stabilize and stimulate her labor. On Friday at 9:30 am Cherie took the castor oil “Milkshake” as prescribed, and boy did it ever work.
By 12:30 Cherie was into a strong, stable contraction pattern. Cherie became restless and it was nice to be able to waddle her around our own block. By 4:30pm Cherie’s water finally succumbed and things became intense. With the first push I could tell this baby was bigger than we had imagined just by how high Cherie’s belly rose. Louise and Martha gave a constant stream of direction and suggestion, including having Cherie change positions twice. Shortly before Grace was born Louise brought in Alex who sat by his mom’s head and was the official baby hat holder and coach. As the baby’s head started to crown I warned Martha and Louise to watch out in case I lost my balance since Cherie had a tendency to “blast” babies out.
Alex had to be caught with one hand by the doctor as he turned to get something and Brandon had gone from crowning directly to being exposed up to his elbows with one mighty push. I knew this had to be a big baby when it ended up taking Cherie two entire pushes to expel the head and another one to get out Grace’s body, which I happily caught without incident. Grace arrived at 5:19 pm and weighed in at 9lb 4 oz.
Filed under: birthstories | Tags: birth stories, birth story, homebirth, natural childbirth blog, sharing birth story, water birth, waterbirth, waterbirth blog, waterbirth story
A proud mom describes her water birth:
Hello, everyone! Well, I did it!
Christian Spencer Taylor was born at 12:53 a.m. on Tuesday, March 30, 1999. He was born at home with just a few hard pushes and one big pull — a whopping 10 pounds 2 oz!! And no tears. Isn’t God good?
I will write as much as I can while he hangs out here on my shoulder sleeping. (He thinks he has to nurse constantly. I mean hours in a row!)
Ah he is awake again. I’ll try to type anyway; forgive the typos!
I saw the midwife Monday morning and she said I was ready — 100% effaced and 2 cm dilated. She gave the cervix some encouragement, pushing the bag of waters away from the edge all the way around and actually stretching the cervix to 3 or 4 cm. She sent me home and said “It’ll be tonight.” A 7 or 7.5 pounder she though. Boy, did we have her fooled!
Mild contractions started about 2 p.m. My mom and I went out to eat and ran errands. I called the midwife when I got home, and called my husband Derek. Everything was casual for a few hours. I could eat or drink whatever I wanted — a nice change from hospital routine! But I DO NOT recommend Krystals! They taste so bad later…..
At one point I felt really private and just went in the other end of the house and cried. I felt briefly that I couldn’t make it, didn’t want to do this, etc. Then I realized I was shaking and knew it was just a phase of the delivery. Hard contractions started at 10 pm. I stayed vertical in between contractions, and during I assumed whatever position struck me — sometimes squatting, leaning over the bed, on the toilet, hands on knees or just leaning on Derek. MW kept reminding to relax, let the baby press down, not tighten my buttocks.
At about 7 cm, I got in the tub. WOW, what a relief! Any part of my body that was under the water felt great. The only “pain” was in the top of my belly where the water wasn’t deep enough. Derek took a big plastic cup and poured water over my belly so it would feel good, too. The contractions were INTENSE, overpowering, huge, and frightening. But they did not “hurt.” I found that by controlling my breathing and movements, I felt like I was riding on top of them instead of being ridden over. With each contraction I spread my legs wide to welcome it, envisioned the cervix spreading, and breathed “hoo hoo hoo” at first fast and then slower, in rhythm with the contractions, and Derek’s water pouring, and it was all like a strange dance that everyone could feel the beat to.
I know these descriptions sound strange — they always did to me when I read them but now I know what they mean! There is a birth rhythm, something good and strong and intense but it isn’t PAIN unless we perceive it that way. I had to experiment to find what that rythmn was, which sounds made me feel the best, which movements, etc. I was in control and I felt good. It wasn’t long before I was completely dilated. I pushed for just 12 minutes. His head emerged slowly; I felt the “ring of fire” but not as intensely as I had in my previous births. I saw it in the mirror and realized he was HUGE! Suddenly the MW said “Get her out!” Everyone grabbed my arms and pulled me straight up out of the water. I didn’t know why, and was terrified something must be wrong. She said “hands and knees” and when I was on the floor on my hands on knees on some towels, she just pulled him out me, really fast. It felt like my insides were coming out, but it happened so quick, and then he was on the floor between my legs, kicking his feet and screaming. (His shoulders had been stuck, she later explained, and this position rotated him so that she could get him out and
breathing quickly.)
Derek was crying. I was in awe of the whole experience, and couldn’t believe how quickly it was over. The baby was wrapped in towels and I held him against me.
Unfortunately, I retained the placenta and ended up going to the hospital for a D & C. This was unpleasant, but it would have happened no matter where the baby had been born. (In fact, I had the same problem in my last birth, but it was manually retrieved w/o the D & C.)
So here I am with my little fat baby in my arms :-) The homebirth experience was GREAT. It was so nice to eat and drink and be cared for by my husband, my parents and my wonderful midwife & assistant. It was wonderful being in my own home. Every time I go to the bathroom, I see the place where he was born and I am just filled with awe. Above all, I feel really strong and brave and well, a little cocky. A 10 lb baby! I don’t know anyone who has done THAT! Especially without drugs, doctors, C-sections or even an episiotomy! Not even a tear, and I feel great! I told Derek “I feel like a REAL WOMAN.”
As for the water birth question, you will LOVE it — I will never birth on land again! LOL. I always thought it sounded goofy, but it was GREAT. We live in a strange society when something so simple and basic seems “unnatural” to us, but it seems “natural” that women BEG for 2-inch needles in their spine!
gentlebirth.org
Photo by Melting Mama
Filed under: birthstories | Tags: birtstory, empowered childbirth, healing birth, healing birth experience, homebirth, intimate bierth, natural childbirth, natural childbirth blog, rape and birth, survivor mom
Empoweredchildbirth
“Having been raped at 17, I knew that I needed my birth experience to NOT resemble rape in anyway. And to me Rape is being in a vulnerable position with a man that you do not trust or know, touching you in places you would rather not be touched telling you what to do, against your better judgement, and feeling like your not in control. For ME that meant staying as far away from the hospital as possible, where all the potential birth rapists convene.
I knew before I even experienced birth that I would be in the most uncontrollable, vulnerable situation in my life, and I not only wanted, but I NEEDED it to be a good experience, with the only person in my life I trust implicitly, my husband John. If it was not, or had not been the birth it was, I fear what my mental state would have been afterwards. I feel it would have been like being raped all over again, and being the basket case again, I was for 9 years in silence before I started to even admit to anther human that the rape had happened.
I can’t imagine not having UnaBirthed my daughter, my first child, Anjohli. I knew from long before she was ever conceived that gentle was the way to go, and that only I and John would be able to fully understand the process of MY birth, and what I and the baby needed, emotionally, as we had confidence that the physical just happens without needing to be guided.
Seeing that John and I are so close in our relationship and love for each other we feel each others pain and pleasure without the other one expressing it, I knew that the birth of out child HAD to be a good experience for all three of us. It was OUR inner wisdom that allowed us to have the best birthing attendants available to us for our Unabirth, us alone, sharing an intimate moment, trusting each others actions, without question.
There is something so feminine in giving birth that for me was enhanced tenfold by just being in the moment of the waves of the contractions pushing our baby out into the world, feeling the overwhelming urge to push and following my husbands directions without questioning his authority or knowledge.
Birthing his child into his hands, I, at that very moment trusted him so implicitly. I was probably the most vulnerable I have ever been in our relationship, and I didn’t shy away from it. I accepted it and embraced it, for the first time in my life, I just wholly trusted another human being. The first time since I was a small, innocent, newborn infant myself, before I had lost the automatic trust in my care givers. Before they had given me just cause to not ever trust another human being, which was reinforced at 17 years old.
Trusting completely was amazing. It was healing. Birthing my daughter was primal. I was woman, he was man, we were doing without words what women for thousands of years before me had done, yet it felt so much like I was the first woman to ever birth. There were no worries about shaved legs, or looking decent or worried about how I looked in the moments of strong contractions or worrying about my woman’s rights in our male society. There was no worry about what kind of sign it sent to my husband and the world that I was giving in to my husband’s directions and commands. No thoughts about the fight for power or to be leader in our relationship that happens on occasion. No fight over whose job was what. We were just doing.
We were two, and in love, with complete trust, we became three.”
By Ril G.
Photo by Glenn Bruynooghe
Filed under: birthstories, waterbirth | Tags: birth in water, gentle birth, homebirth, labor, labour, relaxed labor, waterbirth
When I became pregnant with my first child at the age of 19, I knew I wanted to have a natural birth. Nothing else made sense to me. Birth is such a sacred, holy event, with the coming in of a new soul, I couldn’t imagine exposing myself or my baby to the medical, very public birth experience found in the hospitals at the time. Because of this, our choice to have a waterbirth was easy to make and came solely from the determination to create a birth experience that was as gentle and easy as possible.
When we first heard about water labor and delivery, one week before our first baby was due, we were enchanted by the prospect of such a gentle birth for the baby, and I was entranced by the idea of a natural birth with less pain. Home birth always made sense; waterbirth just became a positive extension of that ideal and after that first birth, I knew I would never do it any other way. Now, eleven years later, all five of our children have been born in water. Whenever I say that, I always have to pause for a moment to recognize how very, very fortunate we have been. It is amazing in itself to have five children, but to have been able to give birth to them all in a way that was empowering, peaceful, and infinitely kind, makes the miracle greater, still. All five of their births are memories I treasure as some of the most joyous, wonderful, and fulfilling experiences of my life.
The reduction of pain I felt during the contractions while in water cannot be stressed enough. There is no comparison between a contraction felt out of the water and one felt in it. Relaxation, which is a wonderful ideal when you are lying on a bed, trying not to hurt, becomes a natural reaction when you are floating weightlessly in a warm tub of water. I believe that’s a big part of the reason why the length of labor can be reduced. A relaxed body functions better in all situations. With the pushing stage, and the consequent stretching of the perineum, the warmth and moisture of the water allows the tissues to expand much more easily. With babies weighing 8 lbs 14 oz, 9 lbs, 8 lbs 4 oz, 8l bs 11 oz, and another 8 lbs 11 oz, I had two small tears. One with the first baby from pushing both his shoulders out at once and one with the fifth baby, due to one shoulder getting briefly stuck on her way out. The tears were small enough not to require stitching and have healed nicely without residual discomfort.
And, of course, there’s the benefit felt by the babies, all five of whom were born into warmth and familiarity, gentleness and kindness, surrounded by love and welcomed sweetly into the world. What greater beginning to life could be imagined than this? In 1998 the midwife who attended my first four births moved away. When I became pregnant again with baby #5, I was faced with the task of finding someone new. I soon discovered no one in my area would attend a home birth. But, even in this, I was fortunate. There was a birth center in a town 45 miles away, run by midwives, who had birthing tubs and fully supported water labor and waterbirth. It seemed I was to have a new experience of waterbirth - a birth center waterbirth rather than a home waterbirth.
There’s a difference between birthing at home and birthing in a center. After giving birth four times at home, I found it really difficult to relax in a place that was not my own home. I spent an entire night there, just settling in before my labor began to really do anything. Once it did get going, though, and the tub was filled, I felt the familiarity of it. I relaxed completely and our atest little one arrived only a few hours later, after only five minutes of pushing. Once I relaxed, this birth was exactly the same as if we had been home. The midwives were wonderful and supportive during labor and, after the baby was born, they allowed us as much time as we liked, both in the tub and out, to rest, relax, and to get to know our baby. We came home a couple of hours later and our baby has been happy and peaceful ever since.
I’m not sure every woman would choose to have a waterbirth, given the option, but many would, knowing that choice is there; and it is a beautiful choice.
Best to you all,
Lakshmi Bertrand
Author of CHOOSING WATERBIRTH: RECLAIMING THE SACRED POWER OF BIRTH
from Hampton Roads Publishing Co., Inc.
Filed under: birth, birthstories | Tags: birth blog, birth stories, birth story, labour, natural childbirth, natural childbirth blog, pregnancy, pregnancy blog
Calder
A new member of the tribe arrived last night at 9:14pm but not without a fight.
Apparently, Calder liked his mommy’s womb so much, he was hesitant to leave it. Can’t say as I blame him. Karin labored for nearly 40 hours. She did not take any drugs for the pain, which was, at times excruciating. Karin took control at 9pm and taught Calder his first lesson - about who was in charge. She simply insisted he come out and meet his parents. Despite repeated attempts to scurry back up into the safety of the womb, Calder came out with his mouth open, screaming his presence to the world. He does not yet have the power of words, but I’m pretty sure he was saying HERE I AM.
Karin was simply amazing. She is the strongest person I have ever known. You have never in your life seen anyone so calm, so brave, so focused, so dedicated to her child. Karin was a hero last night, to me, to our baby, and truly to anyone who saw her struggle. It was the hardest thing she has ever done, and she stepped into it with power, with grace and with unfathomable courage.
In the last 30 or so years, Motherhood has taken a hit in some quarters, by some feminists, as something less than befitting a strong modern woman. While surely that attitude has resulted from the years of patriarchial oppression of women in modern western society, nothing - nothing- could be further from the truth.
Any woman who ever doubts the nobility, the beauty or the honor of motherhood, should have been in that room with us to witness what I saw - a woman in complete control of her body and her life, fully conscious and capable of ferocious, irrepressible love. And any man who ever doubts a woman’s ability to accomplish anything, anything, in this life has certainly never seen one in her finest moment. I was fortunate enough to bear witness to one such woman, in one such moment, and it was something to see. I plan on telling my son this as soon as he is able to understand the words. And he will understand.
<!–[if gte vml 1]> <![endif]–><!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–>He will understand that his mother is a warrior of peace. A warrior of love. Karin suffered pain and mental exhaustion to ensure that her son, my son, our son, would be born into his life fully conscious without any drugs coursing through his veins, and subsequently fully aware of his entry into the world. She fought for his health. She fought for his spirit. She fought for his life. And he appreciated it. Calder took to his mothers breast immediately. He hugged her tight in his first minute of life while the umbilical cord, still attached to his mother, pulsed gently between his skin and hers.
So Calder is born unto this world with a crushing, all encompassing love and respect for the woman in his life. Many men forget this. I will make sure this young man never does.
I have never had more faith in the human race than I do right now. I am joyful and hopeful for this world because of this baby, the woman I married, and the lesson I learned last night about how truly powerful human beings can be.
by Nick Raio
Filed under: birth, birthstories, empowered childbirth, labour | Tags: birthstories, joy of childbirth, labour, natural childbirth, painfree birth, painfree labour, painless childbirth
by Alice B. Stockham, M.D.
“I know of no country, no tribe, no class, where childbirth is attended with so much pain and trouble as in this country.”
Thus replied a traveler who had been many years in foreign lands, upon being interrogated as to the comparative sufferings of savage and civilized women. His occupation and sympathies had brought him into close relationship with all classes of people, and therefore fitted him for an intelligent and discriminating judgment in this matter.
Neither in India, Hindostan, China, Japan, the South Sea Islands, South America, nor indeed in any country do women suffer in both pregnancy and parturition as they do in this. Possibly among the higher classes in Europe there may be equal suffering; but the peasantry everywhere is comparatively exempt.
The usual testimony of missionaries and travelers is that the squaws of our own Indian tribes experience almost no suffering in childbirth, and the function scarcely interferes with the habits, pleasures or duties of life.
Mrs. Armstrong, one of the early missionaries in the Sandwich Islands, says: “With native women the labor was not long nor severe; the mother, instead of remaining in bed, arose, bathed in cold water, walked and ate as usual.”
Dr. Storer says: “There is probably no suffering ever experienced which will compare, in proportion to its extent in time, with the throes of parturition.” Dr. Meigs says: “Men can not suffer the same pain as women. What do you call the pains of parturition? There is no name for them but agony!”
It is too true that women go down to death in giving birth to children. Thousands of women believe that this pain is natural and that for it there can be no alleviation. “In sorrow shalt thou bring forth children” is thought to be a curse that applies to all women of all time.
If this pain and travail is a natural accompaniment of physiological functions - if it is a curse upon women, then why are the rich, the enlightened and more favored daughters of earth greater sufferers than the peasantry, the savage, the barbarian, and those who we call heathen? Is it not possible, by research and comparison, to learn the natural and true mode of life, so that motherhood may, among enlightened people, be relieved from this burden of suffering? May it not prove that our traditions and teachings upon this subject have been altogether erroneous?
American women in education and enlightenment, in freedom and progress, are the peers of the best and noblest of their sex. From individual, social and national interests, they ought to be conversant with all that pertains to this subject, so closely allied to the interests of the race.
We find in women of superior education and marked intelligence an exaggerated development of the emotional nature, and a corresponding deterioration of physical powers. Weakness, debility, and suffering is the common lot of most of them. Not one in a hundred has health and strength to pursue any chosen study, or to follow any lucrative occupation, and what is vastly worse, most are unfitted for the duties and perils of maternity.
Dr. Gaillard Thomas says: “Neither appreciation of, nor desire for, physical excellence sufficiently exists among refined women of our day. Our young women are too willing to be delicate, fragile and incapable of endurance. They dread above all things the glow and hue of health, the rotundity and beauty of muscularity, the comely shapes which the great masters gave to the Venus de Medici and Venus de Milo. All these attributes are viewed as coarse and unladylike, and she is regarded as most to be envied whose complexion wears the livery of disease, whose muscular development is beyond the suspicion of embonpoint, and whose waist can almost be spanned by her own hands.
“As a result, how often do we see our matrons dreading the process of child-bearing, as if it were an abnormal and destructive one; fatigued and exhausted by a short, walk, or ordinary household cares; choosing houses with special reference to freedom from one extra flight of stairs, and commonly debarred the one great maternal privilege of nourishing their own offspring. These are they who furnish employment for the gynecologist, and who fill our homes with invalids and sufferers.”
Understanding and following physiological laws, pregnancy ought to be as free from pathological symptoms, and parturition as void of suffering with American women as with any on earth, or even with the lower animals.
Dr. Dewees says: “Pain in childbirth is a morbid symptom; it is a perversion of nature caused by modes of living not consistent with the most healthy condition of the system, and a regimen which would insure a completely healthy condition might be counted on with certainty to do away with such pain.”
The great English scientist, Professor Huxley, says: “We are indeed, fully prepared to believe that the bearing of children may and ought to become as free from danger and long debility to the civilized woman as it is to the savage.”
The following paragraphs from one of the essays in Dr. Montgomery’s classical work on Pregnancy, give practical details of cases in illustration of the belief in painless parturition.
“In a letter to me Dr. Douglas states that he was called about 6 A. M., Sept. 26, 1828, to attend a Mrs. D., residing on Eccles St.
“On his arrival he found the house in the utmost confusion, and was told that the child had been born before the messenger was dispatched for the doctor. From the lady herself he learned that, about half an hour previously, she had been awakened from a natural sleep by the alarm of a daughter about five years old, who slept with her.
“This alarm was occasioned by the little girl feeling the movements, and hearing the cries of an infant in bed. To the mother’s great surprise she had brought forth her child without any consciousness of the fact. “A lady of great respectability, the wife of a peer of the realm, was actually delivered once in her sleep; she immediately awakened her husband, being alarmed to find one more in bed than there was before.
“I have elsewhere mentioned the case of a patient of mine who bore eight children without ever having labor pains. Her deliveries were so sudden and void of sensible effect that in more than one instance they took place under most awkward circumstances, but without any suffering.”
Dr. J. King, in his work on Obstetrics, speaks of attending cases where there was no sensation of pain.
He found that by placing the hand upon the abdomen, the muscular contractions were distinctly felt, and examination proved the progress of labor, while, excepting a suppressed breath, the patient experienced no change from the ordinary condition.
With Dr. Holmes, I believe it will take many years to eradicate diseased conditions which are the heritage of this generation, and thus to produce men and women of physical perfection. Science has proven, however, that any woman possessing sufficient vitality to make procreation possible, can do much, even during pregnancy, to alleviate the sufferings of that period, as well as the final throes of travail. Pain and suffering have so long been the customary attendant upon the maternal functions, that many are slow to believe they can ever be alleviated. Painless childbirth is thought to be an impossibility. The reader is begged to lay aside all previous prejudices, and it is believed that when this volume has been thoroughly studied he will be convinced that women in bearing offspring should furnish no exception to the laws of nature, and that pregnancy and parturition may and ought to be devoid of suffering.
Tokology: A Book for Every Woman
1911 by Alice B. Stockham, M.D
Filed under: birth, birthstories, empowered childbirth, labour, waterbirth | Tags: birth in water, birth stories, birthstories, water birth, water birth story, water births, waterbirth, waterbirth at home, waterbirth story, woman giving water birth
“My husband and I had done many test runs with the hot tub to see how long it took to fill and heat back up again, and it was a good 5 hours. Well my labor was going fast and it had maybe been 4 hours since we put the fresh water in. So the temperature was then about 83 degrees. Luckily it was a warm night. But once I got into the water the contractions slowed down a little. So my wonderful husband connected a garden hose to the hot water inside the house and started pumping it in. The water circled around my body like a warm blanket.
The transition stage came on fast. I remember looking up at the stars and letting out a scream that felt animalistic. I moaned and moaned while feeling the head making its way down. My husband was gently rubbing my back. The midwives only took the fetal heart rate a couple of times. When I was ready to push, they asked me to get out of the tub. They said they felt it wasn’t hot enough for the baby. Well I thought it was damn close enough. Nothing was getting me out. It wasn’t 98 yet, maybe only 92, but I wasn’t moving. I said, “Babies have been born in the Baltic sea in Russia, I’m not getting out.” They looked at each other and said “OK.” I knew my baby would be just fine, something deep inside told me. I trusted my instincts.
The pushing went fast. When the head started coming down I gave some really strong pushes. I remembered reading that many women enjoyed reaching up and feeling the head. So I did. Then I grabbed my husband’s hand and had him feel. The baby’s head was covered in hair. That gave me a lot of encouragement to push the head out. At this time we had the hot tub light on low so we could see. When he came out he had his eyes wide open. I looked down and there he was. Staring back at me. I rested then pushed the rest of his beautiful little body out. My husband put his hands underneath him and gently brought him up to the surface.
The cord was kind of short, so I couldn’t nurse him right away, so my husband and I just held him for a few minutes in the water. It was amazing to see this new person emerge into the world. We had in seconds gone from a family of two to a family of three.
We got out of the tub and walked inside. Our family room was quiet and warm, with soft music in the background. Just like a dream. We sat on the couch and got acquainted for a while. After several minutes with the lights very low, my husband said “so what is the sex of our baby???” We hadn’t had any ultrasound tests so we didn’t know ahead of time. I had been so caught up with everything until this point. I felt like I had just run a marathon. My adrenaline was pumping. But with it being so dark outside and dark inside we didn’t see. I said “I feel little balls, I�m pretty sure it�s a boy.” And it was. Logan James had been born. My husband cut the cord. About 25 minutes later, I got on my hands and knees and gave a huge push and out popped the placenta onto my floor. It was big and beautiful and totally intact.
The birth was more wonderful than I could have ever have imagined. It happened so fast. From the time I got into the hot tub to the time he was born was about an hour. With the total labor being about 4 - 5 hours. I know it was because of the water. The birth was wonderful, without interruptions and distractions. Just like I wanted it to be.
I didn’t want a circus of people around me. I love my family very much, but I felt that it was important to have very few people there. I believe we birth naturally like animals when we are left alone. Our bodies naturally take over. I think water is a miracle. It makes birth wonderful and enjoyable. I’d do it again right now and again tomorrow. I look back on the experience and I get excited to do it again real soon.
With this wonderful website out there and with the help of many books, I have come full circle. From years earlier thinking I would have a hospital birth with drugs and maybe not nurse, to a home birth (naturally), and being a proud member of La Leche League. Thank the heavens for the Internet, which brought me to this site. It literally changed my life.
I hope this story inspires someone somewhere like the other ones that inspired me. Having a waterbirth is a beautiful experience. Not to mention the benefits it has on the baby. Logan is stronger and healthier than many of his friends the same age. (The doctor even said so.) Logan also loves the water. He enjoys his baths and likes to be in the hot tub.
I am so thankful for the waterbirth. It has been a dream, not to mention an empowering experience as a woman. It has made me realize that I am strong and capable of anything. Well, almost anything.”
Sincerely,
Gayla
Filed under: birth, birthstories, empowered childbirth, homebirth | Tags: birth stories, birth story, birthstories, birthstory, empowered birth, free birth, homebirth, labour, natural childbirth blog, safe birthnatural birth vs medical birth, unassisted birth
Article from ‘Marie Claire’ magazine:
I gave birth completely alone
If you thought a homebirth was radical, prepare yourself for freebirthing - where there’s not even a midwife on hand. Allison Tait investigates the growing trend of pregnant women going solo.
Rixa Freeze, 29, a doula from Iowa in the US, endured a 10-hour labour with no medical assistance. She gave birth to daughter Zari on October 31, 2006.
“I was sitting on the edge of the toilet, supporting my baby’s crowning head with one hand, when it occurred to me that my husband, Eric, might like to witness the birth of our first child. Having spent the entire 10 hours of labour almost completely alone, I now wanted to share her arrival.
“Eric came in from our bedroom as I half-squatted on the floor, a pile of towels underneath me. Zari arrived with a swoosh and I gently lowered her onto the nest of towels. Her initial crying subsided as soon as I scooped her up to my chest.
“A few moments later, Eric took a photograph of Zari and me - and when I look at it today I realise what a raw and beautiful moment this was. It was just us - no strangers and no unnecessary noise.
“Two and a half hours later, when the placenta came out, Eric cut me off a small piece to eat; the mild taste was surprising. Later that afternoon, as the three of us relaxed together in our bed, a family for the first time, Eric told me I was right to give birth this way. Initially, he had expressed doubts, out of concern for the baby and me, but now he too realised it was the right choice.
“For me, it was the only decision. When I first heard about freebirthing, or unassisted birth as it’s also known, it was as an academic, in 2003. I was in the first year of a postgraduate degree in American Studies, researching birth-related issues, and a midwife I met mentioned it to me.
At first, I reacted like most people. The idea of giving birth without any medical assistance on hand sounded scary and a bit radical, especially for someone like me who didn’t exactly grow up in a particularly alternative family.
“My curiosity piqued, I read as much as I could on the subject and grew to really respect the women who had chosen this path. I discovered that we have such a culture of fear when it comes to birth. Look at how films portray it - a woman on her back screaming as a doctor comes to save her and deliver the baby. That makes it hard for people to imagine any other way than a medical birth.”
Photo by Chris and Jenni
Filed under: birth, birthstories, empowered childbirth, homebirth, labour, midwifery | Tags: birth stories, birthstories, birthstory, easy labor, easy labour, empowered childbirth, homebirth, homebirth stories, labor, labour, laughter in labour, midwifery, natural childbirth, natural childbirth stories, natural childbirth story, painfree labor, painfree labour, unmedicated birth, womencare
“She danced and danced throughout her labor. No noise, no fuss, just intense concentration and dancing. After many hours she looked up at me with a puzzled expression and said: ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ I asked if I could check her, and when she opened her legs, the baby’s head was crowning.
I told her that was why she felt that way, and she began to laugh, and laughing, birthed the baby into my surprised hands. Her partner took pictures: a baby born en caul to a laughing VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) mother. We must witness, talk story, tell the good stories to counteract our culture’s horror of birth. It is possible to birth in peace and joy.”
-Anne Stohrer, M.D. in Compleat Mother magazine, Winter, 2000
“I noticed that whenever Judith would laugh at something, she’d have a very good rush [contraction] right afterward, which would dilate her cervix a bunch more. So we all sat around and had a good time talking with each other, and after a few more rushes I checked Judith again and found that she was fully dilated and ready to push the baby out.”
-From Spiritual Midwifery, by Ina May Gaskin
“Even though I was still on my hands and knees, my hearing suddenly became very acute. I could hear Gordon on the phone in the next room: Glenn? This is Gord. Could you ask Elly to come over. I think the baby’s coming. You think the baby’s coming? I echoed to myself.
And suddenly, I laughed. I could not help it - the man’s hesitation struck me as funny. I laughed at the ridiculousness of it all.Suddenly, I was looking down a tunnel the long way around, as if a telescope inside me - that was somehow outside me - was turned backwards. As I laughed, the baby’s head popped out. I tightened my pelvic floor muscles and, turning my head, noticed Gordon at the doorway.
Imagining how ludicrous I must have looked, reared up on my haunches with a baby’s head sticking out of me, I laughed again. This time, the baby simply fell out into Gordon’s out-stretched hands.”
-From “They Don’t Call it a Peak Experience for Nothing,” by Ruth Claire (Mothering, Fall 1989)
[unassistedchildbirth.com ; Photo by John Carleton]
