Friday night, September 2nd – I fell asleep around 12:30-1:00 AM, then woke up at 3:10 with a contraction that sent me to the bathroom. I went back to bed and tried to sleep through the rest of the night, but couldn’t sleep due to contractions. During this time I listened to my Birthing Day Affirmations, and went to the bathroom several times. I finally got up at 6 AM and went downstairs for awhile. I read birth stories on the internet until almost 7:00, then went back upstairs to try to sleep again. I thought maybe the baby wasn’t in a good birthing position, so I lifted up on my belly during contractions to try and help baby position better. The contractions were strong in the back and crampy, but not consistent in timing or length.

At 7:15 Nelson’s alarm went off and I asked him to check me – he measured his fingers and we decided that I was over 4 cm dilated, maybe close to 5 cm, and quite a bit effaced although he couldn’t tell how much. I called my midwife, her instructions were to eat a meal, take 2000 mg calcium, take a shower, and then try to take a nap. The calcium would either let me take a nap or help me go into active labor. I also called the rest of my birthing team – they are all going to go to church but be on call if I need them to leave.

At 8:15 AM I ate 3 fried eggs and a glass of milk. I had to force myself to finish the eggs because I didn’t feel like eating. I listened to Birthing Affirmations again while typing and eating. Nelson went to get calcium from Mom because we’re out.

After eating, I went upstairs, took a shower, and then asked Nelson to start getting the room ready for the birth. I wasn’t sure how soon the baby would be born, but I knew it could go fast once labor got started, so I felt better having things done. Nelson cleaned the bathroom and rearranged the bedroom for the birth pool, then blew up the birth pool in its place. I also had my daughter Courtney fetch several things for me and make the bed with our extra sheets. Courtney was very happy to be asked to help! I had her time contractions for about 45 minutes starting just after 9:30 AM. They were only 2-3 minutes apart, but not very long and sporadic in strength. However, because they were pretty close together, and because I was using Hypnobabies and felt it was really helping, I decided to call Alisa and the rest of my birth team at about 10:10 AM to ask them to come. Alisa said she would come soon, but we decided to wait to have Jennifer come until Alisa got here and could check my progress.

People started arriving at about 10:30 or so – every few minutes for over an hour. Alisa called to make sure I was okay, because she had been delayed slightly, and then arrived at about 11:45 or so. During that time I also had my 3 sons come up to say hello to me, and told them I probably wouldn’t see them again until after the birth. My daughter Brianna also came up to join us after Mom arrived to take care of the other little ones downstairs. Because of all of this commotion, my contractions got even more sporadic and spaced out somewhat. I began to worry that I had jumped the gun in calling everyone, and apologized to all of them as they came up to greet me. Of course they all said it was okay, and not to worry.

For all of the above time period, I had felt better walking around my bedroom rather than sitting or lying down. During contractions I lifted my belly, which felt really good and made me feel very comfortable. I was not feeling any pain during the contractions, just pressure which extended around to my back, which I recognized from my previous births. I had not had any bloody show earlier in the morning, but I did start having that sometime in the midmorning. Also during this time, I was listening to the Birthing Affirmations track in my headphones, but oftentimes in only one ear so that I could hear and interact with the others in the room.

After Alisa arrived, she took her time in filling out the paperwork and asking me the necessary questions. There wasn’t any hurry since my contractions had spaced out to anywhere from 2-6 minutes and weren’t strong at all. Somewhere around 12:30, I had her check my cervix to see if I was making any progress. I was 4 cm dilated, completely effaced, soft & stretchy cervix, and the baby was at a -1 station. Alisa said that I was right on the edge of active labor, and she suggested that I lie down and try to take a nap. I had already been wanting to have some quiet time to get back into my Hypnobabies tracks, I felt that my labor had lessened because of all of the visitors and commotion. So everyone went downstairs to eat lunch and left me by myself for awhile.

I laid down on the bed and started listening to my Easy First Stage track. It was very relaxing and brought a lot of peace back to my mind. I was not able to go to sleep, and after a few minutes I noticed that the contractions were picking up in strength again. After awhile I had to go to the bathroom, and Nelson came up to check on me when he heard me walking around. I asked him to stay and he laid down next to me. My back was to him, but he kept his head very close to my head and his closeness was very comforting. He started using the massager on my back during the contractions, and that felt really good. Later he told me that he was praying for my labor to get going, he knew that I was anxious and felt bad for everyone waiting on me downstairs. He told me to say “Peace” at the beginning of each contraction to give me the comfort I needed as well as give him the signal to start massaging. He informally kept track of the timing and length of the contractions by watching our digital clock. They started out only about 45 seconds long, but after awhile they progressed to well over a minute long, and they were also getting more intense with much more pressure. I asked him to go and get Alisa, and she came back and asked if she should call Jennifer to come. I could barely answer her at this point, they were getting very strong – but I told her yes. It turns out that it was a good thing she called then, or Jennifer wouldn’t have made it!

I had been ignoring the need to get up and go to the bathroom again for a few contractions, because I knew that the trip would be hard and make it more difficult to maintain my relaxation and hypnosis. So just when a contraction came and I thought to myself “I have to get up right after this one” I lost control of my bladder! I was very embarrassed and apologized several times. Nelson was right there with me and assured me that it was okay, and everyone in the room also told me that it was okay for me to go in the bed. I hadn’t even realized that they were all back in the room yet. Once my bladder was empty I noticed immediately that the contraction intensity lessened and I was much more comfortable again. I kept listening to Hypnobabies and after 2-3 more contractions my bladder emptied itself again. I had been very well hydrated! During this time Nelson had been filling up the birth pool, and thankfully said that I could get in.

I got in the birth pool about 2:30 PM, and it felt so good! I asked someone to start my Easy First Stage track on the CD player rather than the headphones. Nelson, Courtney, Brianna, Keyla, and Alisa gathered around me, and starting affirming what they heard the lady saying on the CD. I really appreciated hearing each one of their voices. Nelson kept talking me through each contraction like I had been asking him to do for awhile. Courtney held my hand and quoted several scriptures for me. Brianna also quoted Philippians 4:13 and touched me softly. Keyla prayed out loud for me. I was saying “Ooooh” softly through each contraction. I continued saying “Peace” at the beginning of each contraction, and everyone said it along with me.

The contractions built up in intensity again after a few minutes, and I started feeling the familiar desire to escape. Right at the end I said a few things like “I just need a break” and “I want it to be over.” I knew that feeling this way meant that it was almost time to push the baby out, but I didn’t realize how soon it really was. Jennifer arrived sometime during the last few minutes, and when Alisa told me she was here I felt glad and said “Good.” During one contraction I felt a little urge to push, and then I asked Alisa if I could push next time. She said I could if my body told me to, and sure enough, in the next contraction I got a strong urge to push, groaned, and the water broke – followed by the baby’s head and body coming out all in one big push! Nelson and Keyla had switched places a few minutes prior to this, because Nelson wanted to catch the baby again. The time of birth was 3:08 PM. I saw Nelson peek under the umbilical cord as he brought the baby up out of the water, and I wanted to know right away what he had seen. But the cord was very short, so I reached down underneath the cord and felt with my fingers. What a surprise – it was a girl! I was really expecting a boy this time, because of all of the patterns I thought I had developed with the previous babies. We didn’t have out hearts set on a boy, but it was just what I expected. I looked up and said “It’s a girl!” in surprise to Nelson, and he said “Are you sure?” with a big smile on his face. Then he helped me look and confirm what I had felt.

She was crying loudly right from the moment of birth, and was covered with lots of vernix. They helped me sit up in the pool better so that I could hold her, and then covered me with a towel so that everyone could come in and see her. With our whole family in the room plus Mom, Pat, and Granny, we told them that we had a girl and that her name was Harmony. We hadn’t chosen a middle name yet. Matthew cut the umbilical cord after a few minutes and then we had everyone leave the room again so that I could get out and breastfeed her on the bed. What a perfect little girl – and now we have 3 girls in a row for the first time!

My reflections on this birth: I had used some Hypnobirthing techniques with my last 2 babies and thought they helped me a lot with relaxation during my births. This time I chose to use Hypnobabies, after reading a lot about how much better it was. I went through the home study course starting at about 30 weeks or so. I gained a lot of confidence through the techniques I learned, but my biggest worry was whether or not it would really work when the time of birthing came. I alternated between excitement and apprehension during the last few weeks of pregnancy. So once my labor started, I was unsure of myself but I had committed to following the instructions and continuing to use the techniques all through the labor even if I didn’t feel like it. I was very happy that the first several hours of labor didn’t feel like labor at all, and it was very exciting when Nelson checked me at 7:30 AM and found out how much progress I had already made. Alisa and the others commented on my demeanor as well, saying that this was the most peaceful birth they had seen me have.

So did I feel pain? Well, I can honestly say that I really didn’t feel any true pain until right at the end, maybe the last 10 minutes before the birth. The pain I did feel was mostly in my lower back right at the end when Harmony was moving down. And even then, a lot of my feelings were in my mind as I was feeling a need to escape and didn’t keep control of my relaxation as well as I could have. I did not feel any pain as she was coming out. For the rest of the labor, I think that my Hypnobabies training helped me to reframe the sensations I was feeling. With each contraction I remember asking myself, “Is this pain?” And each time, I was able to honestly answer “No, it’s just pressure, it’s not pain.” And because of Hypnobabies, I really felt it that way! It was a very peaceful birth, even though it was my longest one yet, and it was also the first one that I didn’t scream right at the end when the baby was crowning. I am very happy with my Hypnobabies experience and will recommend it to others!

My due date was January 18^th. I felt good right up until the end, so I wasn’t anxious to have the baby early like has happened some other times. People told me I was “tiny” for most of the pregnancy, even both of my midwives said that I carried small and once they felt the baby they both said that I hid the baby very well. But during the last month I did gain a few pounds, and could tell that the baby was growing a lot – and then I had two people tell me in the last couple of weeks that I looked like I could be having twins! I also noticed for the first time ever that my belly button was sticking out, which should have been a clue to me that this baby was going to be big. I enjoyed my round pregnant belly more than ever before, because I didn’t have quite as much fat hiding it this time. And although I was very glad to get to meet my baby, I was almost sad to give up my pregnant body, and that felt very strange!

On Wednesday, January 20^th I visited my midwife for a checkup, and asked her to check my cervix. I had had my husband check it for me a couple of times, and I was curious because he seemed to think that I was dilated between 3-4 cm, which was farther than I had ever gone before the beginning of labor before. My midwife said that I was 3 cm, but then she did a little bit of massage, and at the end she said I was about 4 cm dilated. I was really expecting my labor to be short because of this, at least I was hoping! I also had a chiropractic adjustment after my midwife appointment that day, and then we got groceries at Costco before coming home. After coming home my daughter and I took a walk with my mom, and then came back home and ate dinner. While sitting at the table I had a few Braxton Hicks contractions that felt a bit different, and once I even had to run to the toilet because the contraction was making me feel incontinent! This had never happened to me before, and I started wondering if something was going to happen that night. After dinner I took a short nap.

Every night the children kept telling me that they hoped we would wake them up that night for the baby’s birth. I tucked them all into bed that night with the same prayers, that God would send our new baby to us very soon! And because I had taken a late nap, I didn’t feel tired and wanted to watch a movie, so we watched Love’s Enduring Promise together. This was fun, since we haven’t watched any movies together in several months. I was still feeling BH contractions, but nothing that indicated any progress as of yet.

At midnight after the movie was over, I decided to go take a shower and try to get some sleep. I remember praying for peace during my shower, I had been praying a lot for God to give me peace and take away any fears about my labor. I also noticed a small amount of bloody show when I went to the bathroom, and I came back downstairs to tell my husband. I knew it might just be a result of the exam though, so I didn’t get too excited yet. After showering, I laid down and listened to my Hypnobirthing CD. I stayed in bed until about 2 AM trying to sleep, but the contractions were just strong enough and distracting enough to keep me from sleeping. My bowels were also cleaning out, which I knew could be a sign of labor. At some point I began watching the clock, and they were coming about 5 minutes apart for at least 30 minutes or so. Looking back, I decided to count my labor as starting somewhere around midnight.

Right after 2 AM I got back up and came downstairs, I just couldn’t relax enough to go to sleep, and I had decided that I was definitely in labor. I talked to my husband about calling the midwives and our support team, but he said something that made me decide to wait awhile, and I’m glad I did. Later on he said that he hoped that he hadn’t made a mistake by encouraging me to wait – he didn’t want to deliver the baby without help! I spent about 2 hours working on paperwork at my desk and doing a few things on the computer. I wrote in my daughter’s journal, and also wrote my son’s birthday letter which I hadn’t done yet. It was good to distract myself, although I also kept track of the contractions on a piece of paper during this time. They were not extremely regular, but somewhere around 4-6 minutes apart, and I was starting to feel the need to stop what typing and concentrate through them.

By about 4:15 the contractions hadn’t gotten any closer or much stronger, so I decided to go back upstairs and lie down. My husband hadn’t been to bed yet, and I also wanted him to try and get some sleep if he could. So I laid in bed again until 5:30, trying to relax and watching the clock while he slept.

The contractions spaced out some for a short time, and went from 10 to 8 to 5 and then finally to 3 minutes apart by 5:20 AM. At this point I knew it was time to call everyone, because I could tell they were progressively getting stronger as well as closer together. So I woke my husband up and had him call our birth team. I requested that my midwife come right away, I was still anticipating a fairly short labor once it really got going and wanted her to get there soon. I paced the bedroom floor for awhile, and then sat down on the birth ball and leaned against the bed, reading my book of scripture verses and meditating during contractions. My husband did a few things, but then he sat down behind me and started using the vibrating massager on my back during contractions, which felt really good.

From here on I didn’t time any more contractions or pay much attention to the clock, and eventually I totally lost track of the time.

I was still sitting on the ball when Mom arrived somewhere around 6:15 AM, and then my midwife came shortly after. My husband had been filling up the birth pool but we had both forgotten about it, so it was nearly full and way too cold! This was a disappointment to me, I was afraid it wouldn’t be ready soon enough for me to get in. But I didn’t have time to worry about it, because the contractions were getting stronger all the time. My midwife took my husband’s place with the massager for awhile, and then suggested that I get up to use the bathroom. My friend/doula arrived just as I was getting up, and I remember feeling bad that I didn’t greet her, but I needed to get to the toilet before another contraction came. I called my husband to come in the bathroom with me, and he hugged me and talked to me through several contractions on the toilet. The other midwife also arrived while I was in the bathroom, and I was happy that everyone was there who was supposed to be there.

I really wanted to get in the pool at this point, but it wasn’t ready yet, and it took me a few minutes to decide what I should do. But eventually I went back to my bed and laid down on my left side with the body pillow for awhile. My midwife came and talked to me through some contractions, and my husband came and went during this time because he was still working on preparing the birth pool. I asked about my friend/doula a couple of times, but she was working on getting the video camera ready. When she came, I asked her to hold my hand and right away I felt really good about my decision to ask her to be at my birth. I also asked her to pray for me, which she did several times during the next couple of hours, and I loved hearing her voice and feeling her touch. I remember being concerned about her being comfortable, and wanting to know if she had found a good place to sit and if she was comfortable.

After awhile my midwife (I think) came and told me that the birth pool was ready if I wanted to get in. Part of me just wanted to stay in the bed, the contractions were getting very intense and I was hoping that the baby was nearly ready to be born. But after a couple more contractions, I decided the pool sounded really good after all. I don’t know what time I got in, but I do remember looking at the clock not too long after getting in and it was almost 8:00, and my midwife offered to go and wake up the girls (I thought they would already be awake but they weren’t) to come in and be my doulas too.

The water took the intensity out of my contractions for a few minutes, but then they started really building up again. My daughters came in and my strength was renewed by seeing them and their beautiful excited smiles. I asked one of them to hold the picture of all 6 children for me to look at, and at some point my husband asked her to recite some scriptures for me. The girls both rubbed my arm a lot, and I really appreciated seeing both of their faces now and then when I opened my eyes. I kept them closed most of the time, for some reason I drew a lot of strength from hearing everyone talking to me, but I preferred to keep my eyes closed. One thing that I think is funny now is that my husband started rubbing my ear lightly during one contraction, and I actually liked it and asked him to do it again the next time! For some reason it was a really good distraction for awhile, I guess just because it was a different sensation than I was used to.

My time in the birth pool seemed very short in some ways, but in other ways it seemed like an eternity. I didn’t want the midwives to check my cervix unless truly necessary, so we didn’t know how far I had progressed, but I feel like my transition period was longer than most of my previous births have been. I could have easily been distressed by this, but I had so many people giving me their strength and support through their words and touch, and I was focusing so much on my scriptures and prayer, that I didn’t take much notice of the time that was passing. I started vocalizing through all of the contractions at some point, it really seemed to help to make some noise.  I was briefly tempted a couple of times to ask them to check my cervix, but as soon as another contraction came I would forget about it, and now I’m very glad that I didn’t ask, because it would probably have been discouraging to know. I also remember at one point my friend/doula telling me that the video camera was set up (the battery had been low and I think she felt really bad about it) now. I was glad to hear that, but to be honest, at that point I didn’t really care whether it was there or not.

The contractions kept getting stronger and closer together, and I almost felt like I was outside myself at times, watching my labor and being my own doula, trying to determine how far along I was and how much longer it would be. When I started feeling more pressure during the contractions, I knew the time was close and I wanted so badly for it to be over with, that I started talking about it and saying that I wanted to push the baby out. I think I was hoping that by saying it out loud, I would cause it to happen faster. But when my midwife suggested that I could try a little push during a contraction, I could tell right away when I tried that it wasn’t quite time yet. I even put my own hand down there a few times to see if I could feel the baby, I felt it moving down so much that I was expecting it to be right there. I could feel something, but it wasn’t the baby’s head, and I was confused by what I felt until they told me it was probably the amniotic sac bulging that I was feeling. I knew she was correct right away, and although I was slightly tempted to ask them to break the water, I also knew that would make the contractions even more intense, so I didn’t ask.

I kept trying a little push during several contractions, and finally I felt a true urge to push, and almost immediately my water broke. I started screaming as I usually do at that point, and pushed out the head very soon, it seemed like it was right after the water broke but I’m not sure. Then I actually took a couple of breaths and someone told me to reach down and touch the baby’s head! This is very unusual for me, because I usually push the whole baby out in one push. I didn’t take long though, I was very anxious to get the baby out – so I pushed again and then felt the baby in my arms and heard my husband telling me to hold the baby. I opened my eyes, and heard everyone exclaiming about how much vernix there was, the baby was totally white with it and surprised all of us because I was 3 days past my due date. I took a minute or so to catch my breath, and then checked to see if we had a boy or a girl – and was so happy to see another girl! The umbilical cord was very short so I couldn’t bring her up on my chest too far, and also needed a little bit of help to move the cord out of the way to see that she was a girl. Everyone was laughing and happy, and the baby was crying loudly! She was born at 9:21 AM. I looked up and saw my mom standing there with a big smile on her face, and she was so happy that she had just walked in the door to check on me and saw her being born! I was really happy that Mom got to be there for that too. My husband caught the baby all by himself, with my midwife standing back to watch. He shared with me how neat it felt to have her face come out in his hands, he said it felt incredible to have the little squished face come into his hands and then take shape once it was out. He then felt for a cord around her neck (there wasn’t one) and caught her once I pushed again. I’m so glad that he was able to catch his own daughter without any help!

The midwives covered me up with a towel in the water, and then we invited our other children to come and meet their new sister. Our oldest son got to cut the cord, and they all stood there and watched us in the water for awhile, I was happy just to sit there holding her, I was so happy that the labor was over and so happy to have another daughter, just like we had hoped for! After the placenta was delivered they suggested that I get out of the water and onto the bed, the water was getting a little bit cold and she wanted to nurse. So we asked the boys to leave again, and I laid on the bed bare chested and we tried letting her lie on my chest for awhile to see if she would crawl up to my breasts on her own like I had read about and seen pictures of in a book. She did crawl up on my chest and was trying to find the breast, but then she kept stopping and finally seemed like she had given up. So when she was about 1 hour old we decided to give up on that idea, and I sat up in bed and helped her get latched on. She nursed for a long time on both sides.

After nursing, my midwife weighed and measured her and we couldn’t believe that she was 9 lbs. 4 oz, 22 ½ inches long, and had a 15 inch head! She said that she had only had one other baby with a bigger head, it was 15 ¼ inches and it was a 12 pound baby! I only had a little tiny tear, not big enough to need any stitches.

This labor was actually a bit longer than any of my other labors had ever been before, almost 9 ½ hours. Active labor didn’t start until about 4 hours before she was born though. And although I was wishing for a short labor, I was able to stay very peaceful and calm until almost the end because of the support I had around me. I am so thankful for God’s peace in my heart as well, which kept me from being concerned about the clock.

Lara with Baby #2 immediately after birth

After two frustrating and traumatic experiences with giving birth in hospital settings, I knew that there had to be a better way to give birth.  While pregnant with my first baby, Isabella, I sought traditional medical help—an OB in a large practice.  I read everything I could get my hands on about birth, and my research told me that having a natural childbirth was best for both mother and baby.  I bought a birth ball, did a hypno-therapy program for birth preparation, and wrote a birth plan.  However, when I got to the hospital, once labor became challenging, I was offered an epidural which I agreed to.  There were no other comfort measures offered to me, and since I had no experience with labor and birth, I thought that the pain I was feeling was a failure on my part to not relax properly—something that my hypno-therapy course led me to believe would eliminate the pain.  I felt unprepared and scared that the pain would become unmanageable.

The decision to have the epidural caused me to not feel anything at all when I was told to push, and it also made my daughter drowsy.  Since I was confined to the bed on my back, I felt completely powerless and when the staff took my baby to the “well baby” nursery for “observation”–I was helpless to do anything about it.  I was told my blood pressure spiked dangerously after the birth, so I was unable to leave the delivery room for 8 hours.  I did not even get to hold my baby before they took her!  Needless to say, this was a complete nightmare.  I did not get that precious hour after birth to bond with my baby, and this negatively effected breastfeeding.  I was completely stressed out and upset—not anything like I pictured giving birth to my baby would be.

When I became pregnant with my second baby, Andrew, I knew that I did not want a repeat experience.  I had read a lot of natural birth stories that included a doula, and since I could not afford to have a birth at a birth center with midwives (our insurance did not cover any of the over $3000 cost), I felt that having a doula in the hospital would be my best chance to have a natural birth.  That’s when I met Brenda!  I felt instantly comfortable with her, and she really got to know me and my desires for a natural birth.  We went over my birth plan that I wanted—to see the placenta before it was taken away, and to hold my baby immediately after birth, my desire for a natural birth and no separation of baby.  I encountered a combative doctor, and without Brenda there advocating for me, it would have been a totally negative experience.

With my third pregnancy, I started researching how to have a birth without bending to the hospital staff’s rules for their own convenience—and I found that it is very difficult to have a hospital birth the way I wanted it—freedom to move around in labor, choosing the birth post ion—and in San Antonio there is no way to have a water birth—something that I intuitively felt I wanted.  I read everything I could get my hands on about Unassisted Childbirth (UC), and I made the decision to have this baby at home with my husband.  It turned out to be the best experience!  I bought an inflatable kiddie pool so I could have a water birth—something I’d always wanted.  I had all my supplies set up, and spoke to Brenda often about the birth. My husband was with my 2 other young children at his parents’ home when I stared having cramping and mild contractions—very mild and nothing like the labor contractions I’d felt with my other two babies.  I was feeling uncomfortable and irritable, so I got into the bathtub.  I started having more of what I thought were Braxton-Hicks contractions, and then things started moving.  I knew that I was going to give birth in the tub!  Since I had watched so many births on DVD and on YouTube, I had a good idea what was happening as it happened.  I gave birth to my beautiful daughter, Liliana, in our bathtub.  She latched onto my breast right away, and I delivered the placenta soon afterwards.  I was too shaky to get out of the tub, so I kept draining and refilling the tub with warm water.  Needless to say my husband was shocked to come home to mother AND baby!

Liliana is such a calm, happy baby—she got to bond with her mommy immediately after birth—not with an OB nurse.  My recovery was phenomenal—such a big difference from my 2 hospital birth experiences.

Lara with her 3 beautiful children

Why are families having homebirths? Though each couple may have individual reasons, most plan homebirths because they believe that most of the time pregnancy and childbirth are normal functions of a healthy body — not a potential life-and-death crisis that requires the supervision of a surgeon.

Six Myths About Childbirth Exposed

Myth #1 — Hospital births are statistically safer than homebirths.

Myth #2 — You can get more professional attention in a hospital than you could get at home.

Myth #3 — The more modern technology you have on hand, the easier the birth will be.

Myth #4 — A hospital is a more sanitary place to have a baby than at home.

Myth #5 — A hospital is the most comfortable place to have a baby.

Myth #6 — It’s impossible to find any qualified person to assist you in having a baby at home.

Click here to read more about each of these myths about home birth.

I guess it all starts with Henry arriving at 39 weeks. Even though I KNEW that I could go past 40 weeks (Keith was born at 42 weeks), I didn’t really believe it. Boy, was I wrong. So 39 weeks came and went. So did 40 weeks. And 41. AND 42. It was a long month, to say the least. A couple of days after my car accident I saw the midwife to check in. I was 6-7cm dilated, so we tried some homeopathics to get labor going. No go. They gave me some contractions, but those contractions didn’t end up in a baby. So the weekend came… and went… Monday night I had contractions all night, but the didn’t get any stronger or closer together. Tuesday around 10am I called the midwife, and we decided she’d come down and we’d evict this baby. If you know me you know that I’m not a fan of inductions, but sometimes the risks of staying pregnant outweigh the risks of the induction. I was pretty much at that point. Postdates, baby wasn’t moving as much as I’d like, the car accident… time to have a baby. I’d probably still be pregnant if we just waited for Miss Caroline to get her act together. So I called Ed (who was working at the Jersey shore – way to stay in the area in case your wife has a baby Ed!) and my doula and told them that the midwife would be over in an hour or two and we’d be having a baby. I called my mom to get Henry, and the midwife showed up around noon. She broke my water and gave me a dose of cohosh tincture, then my mom came to get the kids. We convinced Keith to go with her to lunch and then come back, because babies take a little while to show up. He’d be fine – get some lunch, come back and see a baby be born! So the boys left around 12:30 or so, and the midwife gave me another dose of cohoshes. Two contractions later, I changed my mind about the whole having a baby thing. I called Ed and told him to hurry up and come home, and called my doula. Contractions were 2 minutes apart, lasting about a minute. The second midwife showed up around 1 and got me into the shower so I’d cope better. At 1:30 I started pushing. I only pushed a couple of times with Henry, and for 20 minutes with Keith, so after a few pushes I was done. Unfortunately baby had different ideas! I ended up pushing for about an hour. Ed and the doula showed up a little bit after I started pushing, and were HUGE helps! I hate pushing with a passion. Finally, she was born at 2:28pm – two and a half hours after the midwife showed up at my house, and less than two hours after I felt the first contraction. She was a bit slow to adjust to outside life (is THAT a surprise? Why do I think my Caroline is going to be consistently late in life?!?), but after a bit of oxygen she was fine. My doula told me it was a girl, and I didn’t believe it until I saw her. I still don’t really believe it! Ed called Keith to apologize for him missing the birth, but it was all made better when he was told that he had a baby sister. He dropped the phone and Ed heard him say “I finally got what I wanted!” Mom and dad brought the boys right over to meet their sister, and they’ve been over the moon with her since.

Click here to visit this family’s blog.

State of American Childbirth

Pregnancy and childbirth are normal, healthy processes for the majority of women and babies.

SCOPE AND SCALE OF MATERNITY CARE — EACH YEAR IN THE UNITED STATES:

1. Over 4 million Births
2. 99% in Hospitals
3. Over 90% Attended by Surgeons
4. Second Most Common Reason for Hospitalization
5. Most Common Reason for the Hospitalization of Women
6. Care for Mothers and Babies combined Rank 4th in Hospital Expenses
7. Over 6.8 million Obstetric Procedures Performed – 2nd Most Common Category of Surgical Procedures
8. Three of the Four Most Common Surgical Procedures Performed in the United States are Obstetric

Nearly all women giving birth in hospitals are subjected to some level of technological or medical intervention.
THE MOST COMMON INTERVENTIONS ARE:

1. Over 31% (1.3 million) Cesarean Surgeries – Has risen over 50% since 1996, HIGHEST EVER
2. Vaginal Birth after Cesarean (VBAC) rate has fallen over 50% since 1996, ACCESS DISAPPEARING
3. 34% (1.4 million) of Labors Medically Induced
4. 41% (1.66 million) Need Vaginal Stitching (episiotomy, tears, vacuum extraction, forceps)
5. 47% (1.88 million) of Labors Artificially Stimulated
6. 60% (2.4 million) of Women Denied Fluids
7. 76% (3.04 million) of Women Restrained In Bed
8. 85% (3.4 million) of Women Denied Food
9. 86% (3.44 million) Given Drugs For Pain Relief
10. Over 90% (3.68 million) of Women Attached To Electronic Fetal Monitors

What do we have to show for all this intervention?

OUTCOMES IN THE UNITED STATES:

1. High Infant Mortality Rate – Stayed Flat over the last 6 years, 29th in the world – Twice as High for African American Babies
2. Maternal Mortality Rate – Not Improved in 20 years, 25th in the world – Four times as High for African American Mothers
3. 12.8% (over 546,000) of Babies Born Preterm – has Risen 21% since 1990
4. Over 8.3% (over 354,000) of Babies Born Low Birth Weight – has Risen 19% since 1990
5. 44% (1.76 million) of Mothers have Emotional Or Physical Impairment after Birth Interfering with Ability to Care for their Babies
6. Over 25% (1 million) of Mothers have New Health Problems after Birth
7. 63% (2.52 million) of Mothers have some symptoms of Postpartum Depression
8. 18% (720,000) of Mothers show symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress with 9% showing all signs of PTSD.

With all the money we spend, why aren’t our outcomes better? Countries with lower costs and better outcomes for mothers and babies rely on midwives to attend most births – and many support out-of-hospital births.

The Midwives Model of Care & The Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative
www.cfmidwifery.org/mmoc www.motherfriendly.org
Promote Wellness, Education, and Individualized, Motherbaby-Centered Care.
Midwives are Key to Effective, Affordable Mother-Friendly Childbirth

Reprinted with Permission from Citizens for Midwifery

Click here for this article along with references.

This video is amazing – and she has a beautiful voice!

When they are well prepared, women are inherently capable of giving birth and have a deeply rooted instinct about what they need to do to when giving birth without medical intervention. This is the essence of the philosophy of natural childbirth. In natural childbirth, there are no drugs that alter the pace or nature of the labor process. The idea is that women need to be mentally strong and physically well-nourished so they can give birth using the natural powers of their bodies, and with little risk of complication. Women who take on the challenge of a natural childbirth typically do so under the care of a midwife. San Francisco is home to a number of fantastic midwifery services. If you’re thinking about a natural childbirth, San Francisco couldn’t be a better place to live–providing easy access to many well-trained, dedicated midwives.

Many people ask, “Why would a woman want to have a natural childbirth?” Some women get a sense of empowerment from being able to endure such pain, and it makes them feel more closely bonded to the newborn. Many women also feel it’s safer and healthier for both them and their babies to experience the labor process without doctors, drugs or any sort of unnecessary medical attention. People who profess the benefits of natural birth strongly believe that through this method, babies are born into a more peaceful environment, and because their mothers aren’t recovering from the side effects of narcotics, they’re able to hold and breast feed their babies almost right away.

 Advocates of natural childbirth argue that the natural process of labor is really quite simple and efficient. After all, this is how it has been done since the beginning of mankind. Women want epidurals because of their fear of intense pain. But ultimately, that often excruciating pain that is caused by contractions is what guides a laboring woman through the moves she needs to make to facilitate delivery. How she responds to what she feels actually increases the efficiency of the contractions and encourages the baby to move down the birth canal. When the mother feels little or no pain at all, the body’s system of feedback is interrupted and labor can slow down and, well, become quite laborious. When pain increases during natural childbirth, endorphins (which are, by the way, much stronger than morphine), are released in increasing amounts. Acting as nature’s narcotic, endorphins naturally relieve some of the pain.

Not only do many women choose to give birth naturally, but some also opt to have a home birth. San Francisco, or wherever you live–there are experienced midwives all across the country–has midwives who specialize in supporting women through a safe and natural home birth. Midwives often recommend this setting to the women they support, as their experience has shown that the home provides a comfortable, warm, and safe place to bring a baby into the world. When you find the right midwife (San Francisco based or not), you will have at your disposal a compassionate source of reassurance and knowledge that is needed to get you through a safe and healthy childbirth without medical intervention.

By: David Tang

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Written by Kacy Suther. California’s holistic midwife: San Francisco. Angelika Nugent provides natural childbirth San Francisco and services for home birth; San Francisco pre-natal and post-partum care.