A Door Number One Birth Experience

Sharing this wonderful birth experience with you all and while I know not every birth works out as this one, it seems sad if we can’t share the joyous ones for fear of offending, because another’s birth went in a different direction. In this case, these parents had one of the “other birth” experiences previously with their little five year old, so were ready for something different. Mom wasn’t too sure about waterbirth, or home births and how do you find a midwife?

This couple were having their second child and while the first birth was “ok” in hospital, with epidurals, interventions, slowed labour and eventually birthed after 2 days, mom exhausted, stressed and baby removed from mother for it’s first hours….so the second birth approached and they found me. I was training with Gloria Lemay, and referred them to her as their midwife as I felt they would appreciate her approach to birth, gentle, calm and little interference

Gloria held a “Birthing Way” for a second child at their place with 4 grandmothers attending and the small family! It was a lovely celebration attended by the local ravens! That was ten days ago and then this morning the call at 5:38 am from dad, baby was on her way!

I traveled the short distance in the early August morning, arriving at 6:45 am. Midwives were there, the tub was filling and everything was ready. Mom was in her bath tub working through each of the surges just as she had practiced for months! She looked at me and said, “Kathy I’d have had an epidural 2 hours ago if I was in hospital”….another surge was moving through her, and it was now time to really focus! Her tummy was becoming the flat “messa” I had seen so many times, which meant baby was on her way down, and her back and bum were tightening across her tummy.

Mom was in great spirits and ready to do it. I suggested to her it was ok to just go within, and stay there, she didn’t have to keep coming out anymore and she could connect to baby.

Gloria was delighted with mom’s presence and her ability to manage her body, breath, and her emotions. The surges were starting to string out together with little space between them. She was doing great remaining calm, relaxed and using her deep breathing to remain in touch with baby and her body. Her wonderful rolling whale songs reminded me of a few of the other births I’ve attended…a gentle calm sound that went through the water and I’m sure called and comforted baby too!

…candles glowed in the early morning light, dad took up his position beside her and they were in union the rest of the journey!

At 8:30am mom came out of the tub and felt the need to get back into the tub again..so we relocated her to the big tub in the dinning room. She had another surge and her loving husband lifted her like a feather, baby, mother and all into the warmth of the tub. It was very heart felt as we all witnessed the great love between them. Dad remained close to her, and shortly two strong surges as baby moved down and began to crown.

I suggested to both mom and dad to “see” baby leaving her body now, and making her way out into the world…Gloria announced shortly the baby’s head was there

Another surge and baby was emerging and dad moved to catch the little being in the water. Baby was born fully enclosed in her “sack” a beautiful Lotus Birth, as these are referred to. Another surge and baby emerged completely, mom relaxed in the water, and we moved her around and baby up onto her chest.

It was complete! Mom was grinning ear to ear! She’d done it, her feminine power, her faith in herself, in her body in her ability as a woman, to birth her child! She was delighted and we could see the grinning pleasure on her face as she looked up at us! Just delighted! Baby was in her arms, it was completed!

Her husband suggested that was “easy” and she said “no, not easy, and not orgasmic either…however, better”. Different, strengthening, no fear, lack of panic, feeling in charge of her body and her adventure into birth, knowing what to do, allowing her body, allowing her baby…

In what seemed a few minutes the placenta easily slipped into the water, and there was no bleeding from mom at all. Gloria placed the placenta into a bowl and floated it in the water, allowing all the baby’s blood to transfer into the little one. Mom and dad were bright, alert and delighted with their little daughter.

Baby was bright pink in seconds, and later we helped mom up and out of the tub, and into her bedroom, where Gloria had her resting quietly for about 2 hours.

This allows the uterus in the mom to slowly contract as baby nursed and we left mom, dad and baby to bond and connect with little quiet sounds in the early morning. It was so lovely while the midwives and myself did some laundry, made tea for mom, and cut fruit for parents, leaving them both to be with each other and the early intimacy between parents and their new born.

Gloria explained to us all how these first hours for the little one, allows her to gently unfold in the world, “baby would be aware, awake, nursing and getting to know her parents….finding them and being in their warmth and love” She encouraged both mom and dad to smell their infant, touch her, and let her get used to them both. She said in about two hours baby would go into a deep sleep for about 6 hours restoring herself next to her mother and father, then begin the ritual of feeding every two hours. Baby weighted 7.2oz and was just beautiful.

Dad cut the cord about three hours later, and baby released the organ that truly belongs to her, the placenta. As one midwife told me once, “it’s considered baby’s tree of life”, and Barbara Harper refers to it as baby's connection to it's Consciousness.

Now the placenta was relocated for examining by the midwives, and finally a little while later the midwives did the quick review of the mom and found the perineum intact as they knew it would be. Not a suture needed and swelling was going down already, just a few hours after the birth!

Not an aspirin passed through mom or baby, a Tylenol either! In a few short hours, the birth complete, baby receiving perhaps the very special gift of being born at home, in water, to the exclusion of the world, just her loving parents, welcoming her, allowing her, falling in love with her and she…unfolding into the world where she had created herself. After a time, it seemed her father could not resist kissing her little cheeks, mom laughing said “you’d better get used to that”

Another beautiful birth experience in under a few hours of gentle focused breathing.