Full Circle Midwifery

This baby was our 2nd baby and 2nd home birth.

Why did you choose to have your baby at home? I wanted to welcome him into the world with all of his family around, including his 5 yr. old brother Felix. I knew my wishes would be respected by the midwives; I felt no pressure, no negativity and had no interventions.

Describe your labor and birth. This was my second labor and it went much faster than my first which lasted through two days. I started having mild contractions throughout the day on Saturday which turned into more painful contractions in the evening. I went to sleep about midnight and at 1:30 Sunday morning I got out of bed ¿ I was feeling too much discomfort to sleep. I timed my contractions at 5 minutes apart.

I called Patrice at 2:00 AM to get advice on when I should absolutely have her come. I decided to wait until my contractions were stronger (as I knew they would be!). At about 5:30 I called and said she should come. The contractions were very intense and I was just starting to feel like I might want to push. I had a lot of lower back pain which everyone helped me with by putting counter pressure on it. I had consistently strong and painful contractions while Patrice, Barb and Dorothy got things ready. I was hoping to use the birthing tub, but there wasn’t enough time to get the water warm after it was filled. Instead, they got the bedroom ready.

At that point I just wanted to have my baby. My husband, mother and Felix were there. Felix would check in every once in a while to tell me I was doing good and that he loved me. He was also watching a movie in the living room, so he went back and forth. It all seemed very normal to him. About 7:20 AM or so I was beginning to push. I squatted next to the bed so I could rest my head on the bed and I held on to my husband. My water broke while I was pushing. It was such a relief after that and after his head was fully out. Just when I thought I couldn’t take it anymore his head was out and then the rest of him was out with the next contraction. He was born at 8:00 Sunday morning. He was perfect and beautiful and I was so proud. We spent the rest of the day lounging, cuddling and glowing.

What was your favorite part of your baby’s birth? Holding him right after he came out- he was still slippery and so pink and warm. I loved looking at how beautiful and perfect he looked and thinking “Wow, I did this! I am amazing.” I was also very relaxed to be in my own home. My experience with OB docs made me even more relieved I was able to have my baby at home with women who cared about me, not just the end result.

What would you do differently if you had another baby? Not a thing.

How can we improve our services? I wish I would have known that the birth tub would take so long to warm up after it was full, but I think my birth went the way it was supposed to. Everything worked out just fine.