3rd Time’s a Charm: The HBAC Waterbirth of Bryce

by Robyn Hustrulid

Before starting this birth story, I feel the need to mention my 1^st and 2^nd births.  They are the beginning of my journey and very much effected how I gave birth to my 3^rd child.  My first came a couple weeks early with my water breaking in the middle of the night.  I went to the hospital before contractions started and after walking around a bit, they started me on Pitocin.  It took the whole day for contractions to get strong, and after 2 hours of strong contractions, an epidural and a cervical check resulting in little progress, the OB recommended a cesarean.  Besides asking if we could wait, I didn’t know enough to fight this recommendation, so my first baby came to me via an unplanned, and what I have come to realize, an unnecessary cesarean.  The reasoning was “failure to progress,” or maybe we could call it “failure to wait.”

 

The cesarean wasn’t easy for me to accept.  I was happy I had a healthy baby, but not happy with how things went.  Breastfeeding started off rocky and recovering from major abdominal surgery was not what I had planned for.  I knew I wanted something different for my second birth.  I started asking about VBACs (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) at my 6-week postpartum visit.  And then two and a half years later when I got pregnant, I read more books, watched the essential movies, attended some parent topic nights, became a regular at Blooma, switched to a midwife, and hired a doula.  I felt prepared and knew that I could accomplish a safe and rewarding VBAC.  My labor started at 41 weeks, again with my water breaking in the middle of the night.  I stayed home and waited for contractions to get intense, and then went to the hospital.  There were a few hiccups of back labor, stalled progress and an epidural, but eventually I welcomed my 2^nd baby into the world via a VBAC!

After that experience, I fell in love with the role of the doula, because I knew my first birth would have been different if a doula had been with me.  I decided becoming a doula was the right path for me and dove in headfirst.  After 2.5 years of witnessing strong mamas welcome their babies into the world, I decided it was time for me to do it again.  But again, from all that I had learned and witnessed, I knew this time would be different.  I decided to have a homebirth.  I hired 2 midwives and 2 doulas.  I focused on eating healthy, working out and doing yoga.  I also went to the chiropractor regularly to make sure my pelvis was balanced and my body was in alignment.  After hearing amazing reviews, I decided to give Hypnobabies a try as well.  I was very committed to doing all of the homework and listening to the tracks daily.  I was a believer but wasn’t sure if it would work for me until my birthing time came.

On Mother’s Day 2013, my guess date, I decided I wanted to have a low-key day and spend some time with my own mom.  I took a nap and listened to the “Come Out Baby” track from Hypnobabies.  Then I went for a walk in the afternoon with my mom and a movie after.  I had been having Braxton hicks daily for weeks, but started to notice some waves (Hypnobabies term) coming more regularly during the movie.  Later I realized this was my early birthing time, but during I dismissed them because they didn’t seem to be getting stronger.  These waves continued on through the night as I ate dinner with my kids, did the dishes (while listening to Birthing Day Affirmations) and then put the kids to bed.  I went to bed thinking nothing was happening, but decided to listen to my “Deepening” track.  I wasn’t able to fall asleep because the waves were getting a bit stronger.  Around 11:30, I felt some fluid leak a couple times and thought I was peeing, so I decided I should go to the bathroom.  When I stood up, I felt a gush between my legs and knew exactly what was happening.  I sat on the toilet and felt a bit stunned, excited, anxious, and in disbelief.  I called to my husband that “my water broke.”  It took him a bit to wake up, but then he got up, and we started getting things together.

I made my phone calls; told my mom to come over to sleep, and I let the midwives and doulas know that it was happening, but I didn’t need them yet.  I could feel the waves but they weren’t very strong, so we decided to get everything ready and then go back to bed.  David set up the birth tub and got me some water.  I got the camera, some snacks, the Hypnobabies scripts and my iPod out.  My mom got to our house around 12:30.  I told her “this one is sure different.”  I had a few waves in the kitchen and leaned over the counter while breathing through them.  They still felt somewhat mild to me or just like pressure.  I was sure there was a lot of time left.

 

Around 1am, after we felt like things were gathered and set up, I asked David to do the rebozo for a bit.  I was feeling some of the waves in my back so we wanted to encourage baby to get in a good position.  After a couple waves, I got up and sat on the ball and David turned on the “Fear Clearing” track.  The waves started to get a little more intense, so I decided to call my midwife around 1:30am.  She asked how close they were, and we had no idea.  So she asked that we time a few and call her back.  After timing them and seeing that they were 3 minutes apart, I realized that things were moving faster than I thought, but I still felt like it was early in my birthing time.  My midwife decided they should come, so I also called my doulas to come.  My midwife also suggested we do an initial fill of the birth tub, because it would probably take a couple, and we would need time for the water heater to heat more water.

With every wave, I was leaking a lot of fluid, so I decided to get in the shower.  I let the hot water run on my breasts in between the waves and drew peace signs and hearts on the steamed up shower door.  During the waves, I leaned over and let the hot water run on my back.  My mom got me my water bottle, and I put it in the shower with me.  I could hear some of the Hypnobabies in the background, and I was saying, “Open, Open, Open.”  After the waves I would burp, and I smiled as I remembered my midwife telling me that was a sign of active labor.  I loved the shower and the routine/rhythm I had created.  But sadly, because we were also filling the tub, the hot water ran out.  I got out and sat on the toilet around 2:25am. My mom started to boil some water just in case.  I didn’t realize it at the time, but my mom and David started to get a little anxious for the midwives to get there.  My mom asked David if he could deliver the baby if need be.  He just grinned and put his hands out like he was catching a baby.

One of my doulas arrived around 2:30.  She took note that waves were about 2 minutes apart, and I was listening to Birthing Affirmations.  I remember using my peace cue during waves, and feeling like it was really helping.  My doula said relax, and I could feel my shoulders melt and my body soften.  Around 2:45 one of my midwives arrived, so my mom was able to relax.  My doula suggested I eat something, so David went and got me some yogurt and an Emergen-C drink.  The midwife in training arrived shortly after, and then my other doula.  One of my doulas came and put her hands on my shoulders and forehead and told me to relax.

My midwife tried to hear the baby with a fetoscope but wasn’t able to get a good angle while I was on the toilet.  My other midwife arrived and also tried to listen to baby while I was on the toilet, but it wasn’t working, so they asked me to stand up.  I stood up and leaned over my sink.  My doula did some double hip squeezes and massaged my back, which felt wonderful.  My midwife was still unable to find the baby with the fetoscope, so she asked if I wanted to get in the bed or use the Doppler.  I couldn’t imagine lying down, so I said Doppler.  She found my baby’s heartbeat, and it was perfect.  I remember hearing on the Hypnobabies track, “say your baby’s name.”  And I said, “I don’t know your name.”

 

At 3:24 I asked if I could get in the tub.  It wasn’t ready yet, so one of my doulas went downstairs and helped my mom bring the boiling water up to fill the tub.  David and my other doula were checking to see if the water was warm enough to start filling it with the hose.  Around 3:30, I started to feel like I needed to poop; my doula mind knew what that meant, but I wasn’t ready to admit it out loud yet.  As the pressure built, I asked again if I could get in the tub, but it still wasn’t ready.  One of my doulas suggested I sit on the toilet while I waited.  When my first wave came while on the toilet, I felt my whole body start to push and I couldn’t resist it.  I had about two waves like that, and heard my midwife say, “she is going to have that baby on the toilet.”  I said, “I NEED to get in the tub.”

Around 3:40 I got in the tub, and my mom was still dumping hot water in it.  When the first wave started to build, I got into a froggy squat position.  It felt like the rise of a roller coaster, excitement, nervous, anxious and joy in the anticipation.  I knew once I got to the top there wasn’t anything I could do.  This baby was coming down, and I was just along for the ride.  I felt my whole body start to involuntarily push.  It was such an unusual feeling, and I knew I had no control and needed to surrender.  The “Pushing” track was on, and I remember sending peace down and out in front of my baby’s head.  After the wave, I leaned over the side of the tub, rested my head on the edge and asked for cold washcloths.  David held one on my forehead and someone put one on my neck.  While pushing I could feel the baby’s head moving down and then rocking back up in between waves.  My midwives told me I could reach down and feel the head during the next wave, and it was then that I finally believed I would meet my baby soon.

Just before 4am, one of my doulas asked if I was ready for the kids to come in.  I said I didn’t know and asked if they thought the kids could handle it.  Everyone said yes, so I said ok.  My mom woke up Kyle and Jolie and they came around the corner sleepy eyed and smiling.  They got pillows and blankets and lied in the hallway.  They would sit up and watch as they heard me making grunting and pushing sounds.  Kyle asked my mom, “What’s all the drama?”  Apparently I was making more noise than the women in the movies I had showed them.  In between waves, I asked Kyle if he was ok and he said yes and didn’t look the slightest bit scared.

My midwife suggested I tilt my pelvis during the next wave so the baby could get past my pubic bone.  What a difference that made, I could feel the baby move down even further and stay down.  During the next wave I sat back and thought in my head I’m going to keep pushing even if I feel burning.  I reached down to feel the head coming out, and then the wave stopped.  I asked, “is this ok,” even though I knew it was.  My midwife assured me it was just fine and the baby’s color looked great.  During the next wave, I could feel the shoulder come out and then the rest of the body slide out.  I brought my baby up on my chest and felt the most incredible rush of emotions.  “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, this was awesome!  Everybody should do it!”  And then I heard my son say, “it’s a boy!”  My sweet little man, Bryce David Hustrulid, came into this world in such a beautiful way at 4:04am and changed our lives forever!

Bryce David Hustrulid born May 13, 2013 at 4:04am

8lbs 14oz, 21 inches

Birth Story: Emaline’s Home Water Birth under a Blue Moon

by Kerri Rivers

Editor’s Note: All photos in this birth story are from Megan Crown Photography. 

Kerri getting support from her partner and doula. (and doggie)

Our second pregnancy was accidental. Jason and I had been indecisive for several years about whether and when to have a second child. But we were thrilled when we saw the positive pregnancy test. We knew right away that we wanted to have this baby at home. The hospital birth of our son five years earlier was a lovely and natural water birth but we couldn’t help but feel that it had been unnecessary for us to be in the hospital. So we made calls to several home birth midwives. Our first interview was with Emme Corbeil of Trillium Midwifery and we felt an immediate connection with her. We didn’t end up interviewing anyone else.

Homebirth mama Kerri gets a hip-squeeze from her doula while her partner and son look on.

Our prenatal care was amazing. Our appointments were at Emme’s home and each one lasted an hour, giving us time to talk and get to know Emme and the midwife apprentices. We brought Eliot to each appointment and he loved being a part of the process (and playing with Emme’s great toys). Having our appointments at Emme’s home, always with a warm cup of tea, where there was intimacy and comfort,  was a blessing and wonderful preparation for birth. As I approached 40 weeks, I felt completely at peace and ready to meet the sweet baby in my belly.

Happy Birth Day, baby Emaline!

My water broke on Monday night a little after midnight. It was 2 days before my due date. I hadn’t yet gone to bed, but after a quick talk with Emme, I laid down to try to get some sleep. Jason stayed up and filled the birth tub. I had intermittent contractions throughout the night and didn’t sleep well, mostly due to anticipation. Neither of us got much sleep. The next morning I got up early and went for a long walk with a friend, hoping that it would get things moving along, but there was no change. Emme and Julie, a midwife apprentice, came over around 10am to check on me and the baby. Everything was great. Emme commented that her head was so low that she couldn’t really feel it. We agreed to touch base later in the day. Emme called while we were eating lunch just a few minutes later and told us that she couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe the baby was breech. She asked if we would be willing to go for a positional ultrasound and we agreed. I promised myself I wasn’t going to worry about the possibilities, but  it was difficult to keep my mind off the idea of not being able to have a home birth. The ultrasound took less than three minutes and the ultrasound technician was able to confirm immediately that the baby was head down. We were incredibly relieved.

After dinner that evening, Jason, Eliot and I took another walk. My contractions were becoming more regular and I was pretty tired. We talked with Emme and let her know that it was still stop and go. After making sure that our house was tidied up and everything was ready for the birth, we went to bed around 10pm. Around midnight, I felt like I couldn’t lay in bed anymore and I got up. I knew at that point that my labor had started in earnest. My contractions were still between 6-10 minutes apart but they were definitely getting stronger. I took a long shower and mentally prepared myself for whatever was to come. It was a Blue Moon that night and I spent a few minutes outside taking in the full beauty of the moon under which my daughter would be born (and getting a huge mosquito bite on my belly in the process).

A new family of four

After checking out the moon, I decided to sit on a birthing ball to see if it could help me get into a rhythm. I started my birth playlist and relaxed, while Jason and I chatted and kept track of my contractions. It felt so calm and peaceful and the birthing ball was definitely working its magic. Around 2:30am, we called our team and asked them to come over: Emme, Julie, Rebecca the second midwife, Margaret our doula, my friend Kristen who would be there for Eliot, and our birth photographer, Megan. Everyone showed up over the next forty minutes or so and we all got cozy in the living room. I was able to talk between my contractions and I continued to labor on the ball. I remember feeling incredibly comfortable, safe and surrounded in love at this point. We woke Eliot up around 4am to make sure he would have enough time to fully wake up before the baby arrived. It was important for him to see his sister’s birth. As my contractions started to intensify, Margaret suggested I try laying down in bed to rest for a couple of minutes. I agreed and we moved to the bedroom. The first contraction I had in bed felt so much more intense than all the others and I knew that I was ready to get into the tub. By this time, I was in a labor fog and had lost all sense of time. I got into the tub and remember that the water felt so warm and took the edge off the contractions, which were very intense at this point. I know that I labored in the tub for about an hour before I felt the need to start pushing, but at the time, it felt like only minutes to me. It is so incredible what birth hormones can do! I remember Margaret helping me through contractions and Jason and Eliot encouraging me. When I started pushing, I came out of the fog a bit and realized that Margaret was reading out loud a set of birth affirmations that I had written several days prior. I focused my mind on them as I allowed my body to open for my baby. After 4 or 5 good pushes, Emaline Ophelia was born at 5:55am. I distinctly remember hearing the song, The World Exploded Into Love All Around Me, playing from my birth playlist as she came into the world. Jason caught her while Eliot stood right next to him. The moment felt absolutely perfect to me, filled with so much love.

Happy big brother!

After the birth, Jason, Eliot, Emaline and I moved to our bed where we stayed while both Emaline and I were checked. She weighed 8 lbs and was 22 inches long. Emme guessed the weight exactly! By the time everyone left our home several hours later, everything was cleaned up, I had eaten, there were cold compresses in the freezer and perineal rinse in the fridge, and we were all tucked cozy into bed and ready to sleep.

Blue Moon Baby

Our home birth was everything we had hoped for and more. We were able to bring our daughter into the world in the most peaceful and loving way. Eliot was able to watch his sister’s birth. Jason was able to deliver his daughter. I was able to labor in my own home, surrounded by my family and a care team that honored and respected the normal and amazing process of birth. We feel so incredibly blessed, both to have had the birth we did and because of the precious life that joined our family that morning.

Kerri Rivers is a mama to Eliot (5) and Emaline (3 weeks) and wife to Jason. She is a Regulatory Compliance Specialist at Boston Scientific who likes to be crafty in her free time and is super passionate about natural birth.

Birth Story: A long labor and a Thanksgiving Homebirth

by Stacey Plasch

I wasn’t expecting labor to start anytime soon, despite being 40 weeks and 5 days. I was actually looking forward to spending Thanksgiving, a mere 3 days away, still pregnant. But labor came creeping up Monday morning, and by that evening we knew it was more than just Braxton-Hicks contractions. What we didn’t expect was that I would still be pregnant on Thanksgiving, if only until noon. Despite knowing that our baby was still ROP, the idea that my labor could stretch for another 60-plus hours hadn’t even crossed our minds. Baby had been stubbornly in the right occiput posterior position for weeks despite me doing inversions, side-lying releases, pelvic tilts, and many other exercises from spinning babies. I had read on the website  that having a posterior baby can mean a longer and more difficult labor, but for some reason that possibility had flown from my mind.

So, thinking our baby would be born by sometime the next day, we called my mom and told her to come over. Our friend also stopped by to pick up our dog, who was so attached to me he ‘helped’ the midwife with every prenatal visit by lying next to me on the couch while she used her fetoscope or hands. We thought it would be better for all concerned if he was somewhere else during labor and birth. Our friend also had to bring us a hose to fill up the birth tub which our midwife, Vanessa Stephens Coldwater, had dropped off earlier that day. Apparently our hose’s connection was broken and we didn’t realize this until my husband, Ryan, tried to attach it to the sink! So our friend had to go to two different stores at 8 pm in the middle of November to find an outdoor garden hose!

Then we called Vanessa who said I should try to sleep as much as possible and that she wouldn’t be coming over until labor was further along. Sleep!? Who could sleep with these contractions every 10 minutes?! With Ryan in bed beside me, I lay on my left side and was surprised to find myself easily falling asleep between every contraction. We had taken the Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth and I concentrated on fully relaxing physically and mentally during each contraction. It was sure a long night though!

Come Tuesday morning Vanessa stopped by to check on us and said that baby’s heart tones sounded good. Vanessa was very encouraging and supportive. She checked baby’s position and said she had finally engaged in my pelvis and that all the contractions I was having were “turning contractions,” getting baby to move into a more optimal position. Vanessa showed me a few more exercises to do to help this process along. I really hated the customized inversions. I had to kneel on the bed with my chest touching the surface and my arms at my sides for an hour at a time. I just wanted to keep moving around and staying still made me antsy. In a way, I believe I was trying to escape from the pain by keeping active. It was easier to ignore that way.

I ate and drank as normally as I could that day. Ryan helped by offering me water between contractions and my mom made food and cleaned. We watched a lot of bad courtroom tv shows (“Judge Joe Brown! Now it’s Joe Time!”) and I remember the commercials annoying me. One in particular was repeated several times throughout the day. It was advertising a culinary arts college and asked “Why are you still sitting on the couch? Call the Culinary Arts Institute today!” I yelled back, “I’m in labor!” I also spent a lot of time sitting and bouncing on my birth ball. The best $20 I ever spent at Target!

The contractions had spaced out to about every 20 minutes during the day, which Vanessa said was normal. She said they would probably pick up in frequency come nightfall and they did! I was very anxious to get into the birth tub this whole time and Vanessa suggested I take a warm bath or shower. I finally did get in the tub for awhile to try to help me relax before bed. That night was more difficult and I needed Ryan’s help to manage contractions. I was starting to need some counter pressure on my lower back as well, which was encouraging!

Wednesday was very similar to Tuesday. I ate and drank normally, watched a lot of bad tv, and did several different exercises to encourage baby to move from posterior to anterior. I needed counter pressure with every contraction now and my mother and Ryan would take turns. They would use a tennis ball or a heated up corn bag and I would simply yell, “BALL!” or “BAG!” at the start of each contraction, depending on what I wanted. I also started to lay over the birth ball while kneeling on the floor instead of just sitting on it. We talked to Vanessa on the phone a few times and she stopped by to check the baby’s heart tones and to see how I was coping. She reassured us that everything was going well.

Wednesday night was the most difficult for me, and it was sometime during this night that I moved into more ‘active labor.’ The only way I could get any rest this night was to sit on the birth ball and lay my upper body on our bed. Ryan or my mom then sat behind me to provide counter pressure during contractions and sips of water in between.

I kept wanting Vanessa to come over, as I had this mindset that when the midwife comes, the baby will be born! I remember wanting to call her several times but Ryan encouraged me to wait until morning. We finally called her at around 7am and she said she would be over soon.

When Vanessa arrived we mutually decided to do our first and only cervical check, since we wanted to make sure I was making some progress. That was especially painful and I was glad I didn’t have them hourly, like many hospitals require. I was overjoyed to hear I was at a 7! YES! Vanessa then had me lie on my left side with my arms behind me and my right leg stretched over the top of my left leg. She said this position will sometimes encourage the amniotic sac to break. I don’t remember her saying this and when my water broke a few contractions later I shouted out in surprise, “My water broke!!” Although there was meconium present the amount didn’t concern Vanessa as baby’s heart tones sounded good.

I went into transition shortly after this and accidentally tensed my body against the contractions which caused PAIN and lots of screaming! My mom was essential at this point. If she held my hands, breathed deeply with me, and looked into my eyes I was able to relax well. I moved to the toilet to try to urinate before getting into the tub, but was unable to do so. My body starting to push while on the toilet but I didn’t realize this until afterwards.

I got into the birth tub and Ryan put on his swimsuit as he was planning on catching baby. I was kneeling and holding onto my mom’s hands as she kneeled outside the tub. Ryan got in behind me and provided more counter pressure on my back.

I was very LOUD and I pushed HARD, because at this point I was so done. I was very eager to meet my daughter and I just wanted her OUT. A few months beforehand I made a bet with my uncle that I would not tear at all. He’s a RN and has very conventional views of medicine and childbirth. He adamantly said that “all first time moms tear if they don’t have an episiotomy” and I wanted to prove him wrong! However, at this point I no longer cared about tearing.

Between contractions I would often reach up and feel the progress of her head. I could feel that she had hair and also wondered how something that big could possibly fit through my vagina. After pushing for almost 50 minutes she shot out and Ryan tried to catch her, but she kicked away and swam up between my legs in front of me. I picked her up and she immediately started screaming! It felt so surreal that she was finally born after all those hours! She had a ton of dark brown hair and was very alert. Both her Apgar scores were 10, so a cesarean due to the long labor or meconium-stained water would have been very unnecessary.

Audrey didn’t want to nurse for a while; she was too busy crying. Her head was moulded to the left and she seemed to be fairly unhappy about her journey earthside. Ryan and I cuddled her, caressed her hair, and I double checked her gender (we had a 20 week ultrasound to find out ahead of time). I was very grateful that Vanessa or my mom didn’t “hat, chat, or pat” on Audrey and just let the three of us be for awhile in the tub. After the cord was done pulsing Ryan cut it and then we all got into bed where I pushed out the placenta and Audrey finally nursed.

I had between a second and third degree tear. Luckily I didn’t need stitches and healed great after a regimen of bed rest, sitz baths, and frozen herbal compresses. I had heard that stitches made for painful healing so I was grateful to avoid them. Audrey was born with a nuchal hand so I likely would have torn even if I had pushed more gently. I never talked to my uncle about it as I didn’t want to further fuel that fire, and luckily he didn’t ask.

My daughter’s birth was the most empowering, amazing experience of my life. I found an inner strength I never knew I had. To have such a great outcome after a long and difficult labor is a true testament to the capabilities of a woman’s body, and to the knowledgeable skill of my midwife who understands all variations of normal birth. I truly believe our outcome would have been very different if I had chosen a different care provider.

Audrey’s birth was the starting point of my incredible journey into natural birth and parenting, which I’m very passionate about. I’m also going to Bradley teacher training in a few weeks and hope to start teaching my own classes in St Cloud before the end of the year. Her birth lit a fire in me that will not be extinguished anytime soon.

Home Birth? Me? No Way!

by Liz Hochman, CD(DONA), LCCE

If you would have asked me, newly pregnant with my first baby at age 27, if I would ever have my baby at home I would have thought you were crazy. I mean, homebirth just isn’t safe! There are no epidurals there! Only hippies and crazies would do that kind of thing!

During my first pregnancy I read everything I could get my hands on, and I mean EVERYTHING. My bedside table was 20 books deep at any given moment. Being the type A, analyze-everything, trust-the-data person that I was, I treated preparing for my childbirth like I was getting a degree in how to have a baby.   I attended a standard childbirth education class and learned all about when I could get the epidural, how the epidural worked, and any other interventions and medications that were available to me. At no point during this learning did anyone ever mention to me, “Hey, you’re planning a natural unmedicated normal low risk birth? You might want to consider a homebirth.”

Fast forward to after that birth and into the first year of parenting my sweet new baby girl. I found myself questioning a lot about the whole experience.  I began my path towards becoming a doula and found myself pregnant with my second child. It was during this process that I realized homebirth was the logical next choice for me. I wanted to KNOW who my provider was going to be at my side during this very vulnerable day. I wanted to not have to drive anywhere during the most intense parts of my labor.  I didn’t want to try and negotiate and fight with the staff regarding tests, procedures, and monitoring.  I respected those people a lot, as I worked with them nearly every week attending hospital births as a doula. But I knew that I didn’t want them to have to “make an exception” on my behalf as I asked for fewer and fewer items I knew they were required to implement.

So I began looking into this whole crazy homebirth thing.  Me! The type A, ex-research-manager-turned-doula, suburban mom – having a homebirth.  My husband had many questions about safety so we reached out to a few midwives and interviewed them.  He asked all the “what if” questions he could think of. They were all so lovely and thoughtful in their answers. They had clearly done their work, studied, learned, and were qualified to be compassionate and competent medical providers.  Each question we asked about safety was answered in a way that made total sense.

Q. What if our baby needs help breathing?

A. We bring oxygen and everything needed to resuscitate a baby.

Q. What if there is a shoulder dystocia?

A. We would do the same thing at home as they would do in the hospital for a shoulder dystocia.

Q. What if I bleed too much after birth?

A. We bring the same medications they have in the hospital to help stop the bleeding.

The biggest selling point for me, came from the numbers – once again! The data and numbers person from my past just can not be ignored. So I found the research, and it was a clear choice.

The biggest selling point for my husband was that it was cheaper than the hospital birth and we could all sleep in our own beds after the birth.  Originally when we called our insurance company they stated that they did not cover any out-of-hospital providers for birth. So we decided we were just going to have to take this financial hit and deal with it. Turns out they ended up covering nearly 1/3 of the expenses and it was STILL cheaper than an unmedicated normal birth at the hospital.

As I lifted my second-born from the water with the sunshine pouring in my large window in my living room I exclaimed “I DID IT!”  In retrospect, I think I was talking about a lot of things when I made that exclamation.  Yes, I created and birthed this beautiful child, that part is definitely part of that “I DID IT” statement. The other part was the piece where I trusted myself, my body, my instincts, and my yearning to have birth happen a different way. A way that allowed me to be WITH my family, WITH my home, WITH support, and WITH safety.

I guess that means I’m one of the hippies and crazies now?

Liz Hochman is a doula, Lamaze-certified Childbirth educator, and mama of two sweet girls. She teaches childbirth education at Blooma. 

Citation:

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/330/7505/1416?ehom