Kasie's Story of Her Unassisted Water Birth

The unassisted home waterbirth of Nikolai Francis~5/5/09

I knew I would be meeting my baby that day around 6:30 a.m. That's when the contractions started coming regularly. It was still early labor, so I was able to get Gabriel and Joseph off to school, and finish up some things around the house. I put in a load of laundry, and swept the floor. Once the boys left for school, around 8:00, Stephen and I got in the shower and I started to have more intense contractions, but still not too bad. We had been planning on going grocery shopping that day, and I briefly contemplated going along, since I'm kind of particular about certain things that I like to buy, but I quickly thought better of it. The contractions were coming faster, every 6-7 minutes, and stronger. This was around 9:30. Stephen, Bobby, and Persephone left for the store at that point. I did the dishes, because I knew that would be the last thing I would want to think about once he was here!

The birth pool was already inflated, so when I was done with the dishes, I started filling it. The water felt amazing! The hardest part was having to get out of the pool and walk to the kitchen to shut the water off when it went cold. I was on my hands and knees to keep my belly underwater, since it hadn't filled enough yet. I was having intense contractions at that point, breathing and moaning through them. Stephen and the kids got home around 10:30, and he was back and forth between checking on me, getting the kids settled, and putting groceries away. Once we had hot water again, he finished filling the pool. I lost track of time around then.

I stayed in the pool for awhile, and started to feel the urge to push. It wasn't constant, so I just went with it, and did what my body was telling me to. I reached in and felt my bag of water bulging, and the baby's head. What an awesome feeling! I continued to push when I felt like it, but after awhile of the baby not coming down at all, I was getting frustrated, and hot from being in the water. Stephen spread some blankets on the bed, opened the window, and helped me out of the pool. The cool air felt good, and I continued to moan through the contractions, pushing when I felt like it, and taking full advantage of the rest in between. In those few short minutes in between contractions, I felt like I was in another world, totally removed from everything around me.

I had expected my water to break on its own, but it hadn't, and it didn't feel like I was making any progress bringing him down. On top of that, I was experiencing very intense back labor, which led me to think that he was posterior (face-up), with the hardest part of his head pressing against my spine. I told Stephen if he did nothing else, I needed him to lay into my lower back, to put all of his weight into it. I told him not to worry about hurting me. The counter pressure was the only thing that brought any relief. I started to get cold then, so I climbed back into the pool. I alternated between moaning and being completely silent with each contraction.

I felt my water bulging again, but couldn't feel the baby's head anymore, so we decided to break it on our own. Stephen sterilized a pair of fingernail clippers and tried to do it himself, but said he couldn't feel what he was doing. I took the clippers, reached inside, pricked the sac, and immediately felt the fluid rushing out. I was on my hands and knees, so I asked Stephen if it was dirty or not, and he said no. All of a sudden, I felt a massive urge to push, and went with it. In between urges, I'm telling Stephen to get the video and digital cameras ready. I remember saying "He's coming, he's coming". and Stephen asking me if he was crowning yet. I was still on my hands and knees, but flipped over when I felt his head crowning. I eased his head out, and what a wonderful feeling! Once his head was born (he was face down, so he must have turned in the birth canal), I checked for a cord around his neck, but there was none. I was just in awe as I held his head in my hands. He was between worlds. His shoulders came in another few pushes, and his body just slid out. There was no pain in the actual pushing, crowning, and birth of his body. It felt good and such a relief!

I brought him up to my chest, and just wept. I'm crying as I type this. As much as I planned and hoped for a wonderful birth experience, I could never have imagined something so beautiful. There are no words to do it justice. I will carry this experience with me for the rest of my life, hold it close to my heart, and be forever thankful that I was able to bring my son into the world in such a peaceful, gentle way.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Informative Birth Story of an Emergency Cesarean

I discovered a blog called Doula Momma, on which the author posted her birth story. It's a very interesting story, with complications I hadn't ever considered before. I love to learn new things about childbirth, and this birth story was very informative to me. This woman had a baby who was presenting face first and unable to descend in the birth canal because his position wouldn't allow it. Please take a few minutes to read her story. While I personally prefer natural unmedicated birth, it's important to remember that we have medical interventions for very good reasons. I try to present all sides of birth because I feel it's important to know the possibilities and options so that you can make informed choices in your own birth.

Click here to read the birth story

The Birth of Baby Stephen - A Mother's Story

At our midwife appointment on April 14th, the day before my "guess date", my blood pressure was still high, so our midwife was concerned that pre-eclampsia was on the horizon. She didn't want to send us to the hospital for the 4th non-stress test in 2 weeks, so she suggested that we go to the hospital that night to start Cervadil to get my cervix to dilate since I was still at a 0, and then plan to start Pitocin the next morning to get things moving.

We went to the hospital at 7pm and by 7:30 they put in the Cervadil---it's like a suppository, but they have to put it behind the cervix to dilate it---NOT fun when your cervix is completely closed and high. Anyway, then Josh and I just played games and hung out til we got tired and went to sleep. As I'm sure most of you know, hospital beds are like ROCKS. I couldn't hardly sleep, so I listened to my "Come OUT Baby" Hypnobabies CD (our instructor suggested it as a way to avoid induction----it's like anything else used to induce---it won't work unless your body is ready for it). Well, I guess it was, because at 3am I woke Josh up because I was having pressure waves. I have no idea what stage I was in,

because the pressure waves were coming so close together I'd have like 5 in a row and Josh thought I was only having one. He was SO great supporting me and using Hypnotic suggestions and techniques to get me to relax. It was fabulous.

We really realized how important it is that birth partners get involved and how vital it is to practice together diligently. I didn't want to listen to any CDs (I thought the I-pod headphones would irritate me, so we put the relaxation music on on Josh's laptop), so Josh had to use scripts that he made up from what he could remember and what instinctively seemed to work from my body cues to get me to focus and relax. IT WORKED GREAT!

He called our doula, Cherylyn, and she came over, totally surprised to see me so relaxed and having so many pressure waves...it was nuts. The nurse came in and checked me and I was at a 2 and totally effaced. By 7:30am when they came to take out the cervadil and start the pitocin, I was at a 5, so they decided to just forget the pitocin because I was obviously progressing quickly on my own. By 8:30 am when the midwife came, I was at a 9, and by 9:57am Stephen was born. So total time was 7 hours. It was crazy and happened SO FAST. Josh was totally my hero, and Cherylyn was totally amazing.

Everyone kept saying that I was just glowing and so happy and were surprised that I could smile between pushes---the nurses were fabulous help too, and very encouraging. They never once offered me an epidural. Near the end I did get some Fetanol just so I could breathe in between a few contractions and they gave me oxygen to make sure that the baby and I were both getting enough. At one point they also had me stop pushing so I could let the last lip of my cervix finish dilating, which was SO hard, but when my midwife got there, she held back the cervix edge and let me push---it's amazing how your body just does it---it doesn't take any effort from you at all...you just have to go with it.

They also had to put an internal monitor on him shortly before he crowned because the pressure waves were so intense and close together that his heart rate was dropping and not going back up after each wave (he was also pinching off the cord- it was once around his neck, and one of his arms was tangled in it too), but he did just great and had a beautiful cry when he came out. I can't describe how I felt when his body came out---which is a totally amazing feeling too---I cried and laughed and was just...WOW....jeesh, I'm starting to cry now just thinking about it. :)

He weighed 7 lbs. 6 oz. at birth and was 20 inches long, so a perfect size. We love his fluffy brown hair and love looking into his eyes. He's so alert and just loves taking in everything he can hear and see. It's so amazing to have this new little life in our family.