Home Birth- Welcome Avalon-

Birth Story Day!  This is an amazing home birth- I love how it shows how different the outcome would have been had she been in the hospital.  Birth is amazing, and where it happens makes a huge difference in the interventions received.  


Enjoy-

So here is basically how it all went ♥ (be prepared… this is long! LOL)

About 5am Saturday (3rd) morning I started getting cramps every 30 minutes for about a minute which lasted all day, and were fairly light (by 10pm they were 20 minutes apart and then things really got started at 2am where they were consistently 7 minutes a part)… I just sat around watching TV with Grant during the day and by midnight I was needing to breath through them and I slept as much as I could along with checking the clock every so often and Grant slept soundly (I was surprisingly relaxed considering I thought I would be quite anxious but I felt so ready.) By 5am that Sunday, they were about 5 minutes apart so I started using the TENS. Helen, our midwife was arriving at 9am for a scheduled appointment so that was great timing…

Grant set up the pool and all in all that took about 1 hour to assemble and fill. When she arrived, she asked me whether I wanted to be checked or not to see how far I was… I ummed and ahead but decided to go for it… I was 2 cm dilated when I had seen her the previous Thursday so felt things were moving along… and what do you know?

I was 6cm dialated!! This felt so good and meant I could get in the pool… The pool was absolute BLISS and even more effective than the TENS (for me anyway)… I would recommend it for ANYONE! After 9 months of feeling so heavy the weightlessness and warm water was amazing…

we also lit candles and listened to classical music.. Grant just sat beside the pool while I wallowed… we chatted… I ate pineapple and the midwife stayed in the dining room… writing notes and drinking coffee… I loved how hands off she was!

(On a funny note re: The Classical Music: Grant had made a compilation for the DVD which included film themes… Helen said she will always think of me when she hears the Star Wars theme from now on as in my haze, that was playing as I pushed! hahaha) I guess as the contractions got closer things get a little hazy from here… but I just breathed through them when they came…

I just counted through each contraction as a distraction when it felt a little too much… Grant was brilliant with reminding me of my breath… and that after each contraction to ‘forget about that one…’ I cannot underestimate how good it felt to be at home for me… I was so much more relaxed than I would have been in the hospital and I think this contributed to my feeling of ‘No Fear’ through out… honestly… in a different setting I do not doubt my memories in terms of pain and experience would have been so different…
I always say I am ’such a baby’ when it comes to pain and ‘things outside my control’… but this was so different ♥ Helen checked me again about midday and I was 9cm dialated!! Wahoo!!… Ironically enough…this is where I started to have my ‘I cant do this moment’… and I gave it to the Entinox… The contractions felt on top of each other though and it just gave me that little reprieve I needed. Looking back at my Labour Notes I realise I only used the gas and air for 25minutes before it was time to push! I wont lie I would love to say did without that after coming so close The second midwife from the hospital arrived at this point… ….and then I had the urge to push… At this stage my waters still had not broken… I had a lot of difficulty with pushing –I should say- I wasnt getting the hang of it… I know that I had difficulty ‘feeling’ the contraction at this point… (and we would soon discover why!) Because of this I kept changing my positions in the pool… including trying to push on the toilet for awhile… at that point Helen broke my waters and I could feel the babies head with my hand… I got back in the pool and finally she arrived at 2.15pm.. ♥

All in all I had been pushing since just before noon (over 2 hrs) so I was exhausted! I just shut my eyes and pushed and pushed… Oh the relief when her head appeared… All I kept hearing Grant say was ‘Oh my God… Oh My God!”… I wish I had looked but I was so in the zone to get her in my arms… When she slid out… Oh the sweet relief! LOL… The midwife brought her up to my chest and Grant and I just cuddled her… I think it was a good couple of minutes before we even knew if we had a boy or girl…
We discovered that when she was born she was transverse…we knew she was doing things in her own way as every time the midwives listened for the heartbeat they had to keep moving around my stomach as she kept changing her position… Helen described it as she was ‘corkscrewing’ her way down and of course, she never turned as she came through the cervix… She was born on her side with the biggest part of her head coming through, luckily I only had a very small tear and didn’t need any stitching- I think the water and massage I had been doing may have helped…

I do feel so proud of myself as Helen even said to me today ‘I don’t know how you got her out!’… she said that I would have been a definite forceps/ vontouse delivery in the hospital.. possibly even a section.. (I ♥ being Home!)
So I guess if you do not count the day of cramping, I was in labour for 12 hours (that is the official record)… Because of the tear there was a lot of blood in the pool and unfortunately we needed to see what was happening so I was given the injection to get the placenta out ASAP… then waited for the chord to stop pulsating and Grant cut the chord … and The Placenta has pride of place in our freezer… hmmm…. not sure what to do with it… but I didnt want to throw it away… I am sure there will be some future tree in our future garden with its name on it Grant held Avalon and had a cuddle while the midwives had a look at what was happening with me… I am so glad that I didnt need stitches either (and am healing well.) I was pretty dazed… maybe a little from losing the blood and the lack of food over the past 24 hours but I think I went into a bit of shock… I was shivering quite a bit and when I was feeding her (Oh I love it!) I was getting quite blurry vision… so I had lots of sugar (sweet tea and honey on toast) and the midwife also decided to return later that night to check all was ok …

And then there were 3 of us ♥ … I chilled out with Avalon… making calls to family and Grant had the fun task of emptying the pool Cheers

Don't Birth Like A Dummy

My newest hobby is finding obstetric training  products for sale online.  Maybe I am reading into things a little bit too much, but it scares me how birth is taught.  Check out the product  picture and description for this "teaching tool."




From the product description:

"This comprehensive teaching system combines the best of our patient care simulators with the Advanced Childbirth Simulator. It is designed to provide a complete birthing experience before, during, and after delivery.

NOELLE Maternal and Neonatal Simulator with PEDI® Blue Neonate Features:

articulating full-body female manikin intubatable airway with chest rise IV arm for meds/fluids removable stomach cover practice C-section and forceps delivery"

Even if I ignore the c-section and forceps delivery practice stuff (yes I realize that they do in fact need to practice these things in order to do them properly) what is most disturbing is the second sentence which I highlighted.

This one sentence is most telling because it shows how commonly it is believed withing medicine that birth is just a physical act.  And, since it is just a physical process, it can be practiced on a mannequin.  Yes, a silent DUMMY can "provide a complete birthing experience."

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHAT?!  You can learn about the complete birth experience with this "tool"?  I think not. 

Any woman who has given birth knows that the body is just a tiny part of the experience.  Birth is the ultimate mind/body/spiritual experience.  It is sacred and powerfully emotional.  And when it goes wrong or is forced to go wrong, the effects are not gone when the physical body heals.

Yes, one of the biggest problems in obstetrics today is that the act of birthing is not held in reverence.  Instead this powerful and beautiful journey is viewed just like this picture and product description describe.  It is just something to get done with the least amount of fuss and noise.  Is it any wonder that they want women to just lay back and get an epidural?

Mama to Mama Wisdom: The First Birth, What You Need to Know

 On occasion  I like to ask for words of wisdom from Mama Birth's  Facebook community.  From the ladies themselves, here are some tips for preparing for a natural birth.

Enjoy! 

Hide in a bubble.  Work through fears placed on you by society, family, media, doctors, etc.
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Make a birth plan, choose the ones attending carefully, be prepared for things not going the way you dreamed them.
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Don't be afraid by all the things that 'they' say 'could' go wrong. Trust in your bodies ability to birth. Research the hospital's procedures and your OB or midwife's preferences, ask the c-section rate, when they induce, when they start pushing amniotomy, IV protocol, episiotomy rate and what circumstances they feel warrants needing one. Research research research, decide what you want, make a birth plan, and find out if they support your birth plan before you show up in labor.
 ~

Simple - go with your instincts. If it doesn't feel right then don't do it. I don't regret a single decision because of that. 

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EDUCATE yourself!!! that is your best comfort in birth! KNOWING what's going on.... and hire a doula in case you forget cause your pushing a baby out... that does happen so don't be surprised when it hurts! it's normal!! your body is not the only one in labor! YOU ARE!! and if YOU are active in your labor your body will be able to do a better job!
 ~

Trust your body. The process is intense, amazing, powerful, and personal. Enjoy it for what it is :)

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Do your research!
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Choose a midwife..and birth at home.

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Start your research BEFORE talking to a doctor... they may have your best interest at heart, but much of the teaching they receive is flawed & can set you up for failure.
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Get all the back issues of "Mothering Magazine" and empower yourself to have the kind of birth that you want. Takes wisdom and confidence to go against what "conventional" doctors want you to do. I birthed my first daughter at home 25 years ago this summer (frank breech at that). You can do it!!
 ~
Educate yourself on ALL aspects of pregnancy and birth. Knowledge is power. Know your rights. Personally, I think that anyone who fully educates themselves would choose a midwife attended home birth. Home birth is just as safe - if not safer than a hospital birth.
 ~
Read. See Business of Being Born. Check out Gentle Birth choices from library. Don't circumcise. Open your jaw and moan Ahhh during labor, helps open pelvis. Take 5W two weeks before due date. Have Coconut Water on hand at home or hospital to drink.
 ~
(An explanation of what 5W is:  5W is a traditional herbal tonic taken during the last five weeks of pregnancy - to help tone the uterus, help prevent excessive bleeding, help to make the muscular tissue of the uterus more "elastic" to help prevent tearing.
Facilitates child birth. It is reported to give elasticity to the birth canal and vaginal area. It helps aid in the control of postpartum bleeding and helps speed the delivery of the placental afterbirth. It eases stress and the duration of labour and delivery. An excellent formula for expecting mothers to take during the last 5 weeks of pregnancy.
Black cohosh, Squaw Vine herb, Dong Quai root, Butchers Broom root, Red Raspberry leaves.)

Warning, bad pun to follow) Go with your gut! Do your homework and go with the ideas that YOU believe in and trust your body to do what it needs. If the practitioner (whom you hopefully have chosen because they share your beliefs) says one thing but you have a really strong feeling to the contrary, voice it.

~

Your body knows exactly what to do. Don't let your head get in the way. 

~

The Venus- Women Actually LIKED Their Fertility!?

Long ago, back when I went to the bathroom alone regularly (before kids you know) I went to college. I took a class in Anthropology (the study of humans). My teacher mentioned something that got me hooked on Anthropology forever. It was the Venus.

The images of the Venus are prehistoric art figures that are actually very common. In fact it is probably one of the earliest art forms. They are found all over and nobody actually "knows" what they mean.

They are characterized by a shapely female body (shall we even say, chubby...) with small head and small feet. My professor mentioned that though it is not know exactly what they are for or who they were created for, people often think of them as some kind of fertility image. But what caught my attention was when he mentioned that a female Anthropologist interested in the Venus figurines was pondering on their meaning one day while she was in the shower.

She looked down at her nude form and realized that from that vantage point, she could see her curves, not her head, and her feet and legs looked very small. She postulated that perhaps the Venus figurines were actually SELF PORTRAITS, done by women. Of course back then there were no mirrors as we know them today, and so the view from one's own eyes looking down would have been how all women viewed themselves.

I love to think of the Venus figures like this. It makes me think that perhaps this art was created by women for women or even for themselves. Perhaps women long ago loved their shapely bodies. Since offspring would have been so precious and important to survival of the people as a whole, their round breasts, heavy hips, and distended abdomen would not have been something they hated as we do, but instead a thing of beauty, to be celebrated.

When I become pregnant for the first time I was overwhelmed with the feeling of sisterhood I suddenly felt for all mothers everywhere. It seemed like this experience of pregnancy and birth was one thing that bound us all together, no matter what other things separated us.

Birth and creating life do not just bind women of today together, but women throughout all time. How tragic that we now shun our curves, our fertility, our "fat" and our heavy softness. How sad that instead we strive to have bodies more like the ones we had BEFORE we ever gave birth.

I too am one of those women who tries so hard to erase the marks that pregnancy and birth have left on my body. But I love the Venus, because she reminds me that those marks are also universal. They tie me to women everywhere and throughout time. They tie me to my children. They prove my fertility, my femininity and my power. I too am a Venus.

Animal C-sections, Bottle-fed Tigers and Upside Down Plants, We Just Don't Get It, Do We?

Notice anything wrong with these pictures?

Are tomatoes supposed to grow like this?

Yes, that is a rodent, getting a c-section.


Don't worry, they did a great job.


We can do a better job feeding animals than their mothers can too....

(Are men amazing or what?)

If we can grow tomatoes upside down, why not give birth upside down?
After all of that, this almost makes sense.

Almost...


The things happening in obstetrics today not only defy nature, they defy common sense. Maybe we should stop thinking so much, and just start listening to our bodies.

There Is A Reason People Hate Obstetricians

(Disclaimer- I fully realize that not all Obs are bad and that not all midwives are good. There are empathetic, kind , gentle, and totally fantastic medical doctors who catch babies. There are also rude med wives who muck with the natural process or who are just poorly trained. But the story below is very illustrative of a common trend I see repeated over and over.)

Picture a first time mother. She is receiving midwifery care through a local hospital, preparing for a natural birth, and all seems well.

Then, one day, while waiting in the office for her midwife to do her checkup, completely on accident an OB walks in and takes over the appointment. (Just a room mix up).

Mom's X is slightly elevated and her Y's are within normal but slightly low for her gestational age. But, because of the slightly elevated X and the slightly low end of Y she is labeled high risk. Massive constant testing ensues. The Doctor warns mom that she will be "allowed" to go to 40 weeks but not any further. She doesn't want anything horrid to happen to her baby does she?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I wish this was just a story I made up. But it isn't. This is true, and it happens every day. When I talk about women being prepared by their care providers for medical birth, induction, and c-section I am not kidding. This is how it happens.

What is particularly galling to me about this is that it was caused by a simple mistake. But what is particularly telling about it is that it shows the huge difference in care received from a medical doctor verses a midwife. The midwives were not concerned at all, not because they didn't care, but because they recognize that mom is fine and that every woman is different. They view birth and pregnancy as a process. The OB obviously views birth and pregnancy as a disease to be prevented and treated.

We must choose carefully. We must research. Most of all, we must find our voices and walk away from those that prepare us for bad births so that they can save us from ourselves and our pregnancy. We must remember that we choose what is "allowed".

An Accidental Freebirth- BEAUTIFUL!

I love this beautiful birth story! I think it highlights the difference between a pitocin induced forced labor and an amazing and natural home birth. I hear women who have only been induced and then have a natural birth comment on how "easy" it is so much so that they don't even realize how close they are to having the baby! Thanks for sharing mama-

Enjoy!

I had been getting contractions in the evenings for a few days prior to real
labor. They would come every 10-20 minutes apart but never increased in intensity or really hurt.

On Monday the 29th, I started out the day
feeling really cranky and out of it. I started getting contractions
around 2 PM that quickly sped up to 4-6 minutes apart. They still felt
like BH, so I didn't know if I was in labor or not, but I was bound and
determined to get the house cleaned up and ready for birth if it was
actually imminent.

After dinner we eventually called my parents to come and get our three-year old DS because dealing with him was starting to get really stressful for me. Contractions still had not gotten moreintense, but I was getting a lot of shooting cervical pains. I called
the midwives to give them a heads up, and they told me to try to get
some rest and to call when I got serious about the contractions. DH and I rented a movie, and as I relaxed, things started to peter out, although they moved farther down and felt less like BH.

They continued intermittently throughout the night and finally stopped around 4 AM (my
best guess since I was asleep and only woken intermittently by them).
The next morning, I felt stupid that we had shipped DS off to my parents house, but my mom told me to take it easy and try to finish up my nesting. I was getting contractions once every hour or so, so I was feeling a bit discouraged.

I ate some pineapple and DH and I DTD, hoping to get things moving again. We decided to go walk around the local "Towne Centre" even though it was raining to see if that would
speed things up as well. I was starting to feel heavy and I felt what I was fairly certain was my first obviously real contraction right after we started walking, around 2:30. We walked around for a while and I started to feel like I needed to be at home.

I felt like things were just beginning, so I tried to finish final cleaning around the house and then set up the tub. DH went out to run a couple of errands and I was all alone. I started to "get serious" about the contractions and finally realized that I needed to call the midwives around 6:45.

I was really wanting to get in the tub and was waiting impatiently for it to
fill up. I got some snacks together because I was suddenly ravenous and I heated up my RRL infusion and put some honey in it. I carried all of this stuff up the stairs and got the rest of my birth supplies together and got in the wonderful, wonderful tub. My contractions weren't that
bad in my estimation (compared to my posterior, pit-induced, stressful,
pain med free hospital birth), but boy did that water make everything much easier.

I was just starting to worry that DH wouldn't make it home in time to turn the water off for me when I heard him come in. He came up and started doing a few last minute things for me when I suddenly felt pushy during a contraction.

This was very confusing to me because I'd only felt really serious about this labor for a little over an hour. I wrote it off and ignored the urge as much as possible. I had DH massage my lower back and press my illia together during the next two contractions, and then
he left to do something. I decided to check myself and could feel the
baby's head not too far away.

I was shocked and called out to him "I don't want you to panic, but I think that we're going to have to do this ourselves." He started rushing around and called the midwives to let
them know and I was barely keeping the baby's head inside as I called
for him to come to me. He ran in the room and saw that the head was out and I yelled for him to come and catch the body.

We flipped him up on my chest and everything was perfect. He was born at approximately 7:40. The midwives showed up about 10-15 minutes later (the traffic was
really bad because it was raining) and checked us both out and said
everything looked wonderful.

I only really pushed for three or four contractions, which again is in
stark contrast to the six hours I pushed with DS1. I didn't tear or
even get a scratch. My "real" labor was only 5 1/2 hours long compared
to 18 hours with DS1. It was so peaceful and empowering and I'm so
grateful for how everything worked out. ____