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    Birth Stories
    Birth Stories
    Birth Stories
    Ebook151 pages2 hours

    Birth Stories

    By Midwifery Today

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    About this ebook

    This e-book is comprised of birth stories that were previously published as articles in Midwifery Today magazine. This volume covers homebirth, hospital birth, twin birth, breech birth, VBACs and waterbirth. Birth Stories is full of personal accounts written by mothers, fathers and midwives, and is sure to be a treasured read, especially for the expectant parent.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMidwifery Today
    Release dateJul 10, 2012
    ISBN9781890446192
    Birth Stories
    Author

    Midwifery Today

    Midwifery Today publishes a quarterly print magazine for midwives and other birth professionals. We also put on two or more conferences each year, publish books, e-books and offer a free e-mail newsletter.

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      Book preview

      Birth Stories - Midwifery Today

      Birth Stories

      A Collection of Articles from Midwifery Today Magazine

      Edited by

      Nancy Halseide

      Copyright 2012 Midwifery Today, Inc.

      Published by Midwifery Today, Inc.

      Smashwords Edition

      *****

      Cover photo by Alicia Elliott

      www.gypsyfyre.ca

      *****

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this e-book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this e-book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work that went in to compiling this e-book.

      Disclaimer

      This publication is presented by Midwifery Today, Inc., for the sole purpose of disseminating general health information for public benefit. The information contained in or provided through this publication is intended for general consumer understanding and education only and is not intended to be, and is not provided as, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

      Midwifery Today, Inc., does not assume liability for the use of this information in any jurisdiction. Always seek the advice of your midwife, physician, nurse or other qualified health care provider before you undergo any treatment or for answers to any questions you may have regarding any medical condition.

      http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/MidwiferyToday

      *****

      Table of Contents

      Chapter 1: Homebirth through a Mother’s Eyes by Mary Kury

      Chapter 2: Enoch’s Home Waterbirth after Four C-sections by April Bailey

      Chapter 3: Father’s Experience of Birth by Ervin Beachy

      Chapter 4: A Midwife’s Gift: Olivia’s Birth Story by Laura Thompson Shive

      Chapter 5: Selah’s Beginnings by Ian Penwell

      Chapter 6: Caleb’s Birth by Nikki Dauphin

      Chapter 7: Husband-Assisted Homebirth by John Paul

      Chapter 8: There and VBAC Again by Kelcey Boyce

      Chapter 9: The Waterbirth of Maggie Cate by Traci Coburn

      Chapter 10: Footling Breech: A Midwife’s Own Birth Story by Veronica Wagner

      Chapter 11: Late in the Game by Kelly Martin

      Chapter 12: Six Days, Two Healthy Babies, One Extraordinary Birth by Lana Shlafer

      Chapter 13: Touched a Nerve by Linda Magid

      Chapter 14: ‘Home Away from Home’ Birth by Krista Cornish Scott

      Chapter 15: From Fear to Peace: Jeremy’s Birth Story by Sarah David

      Chapter 16: The System That Worked by Jenna Hull

      Chapter 17: The Perfect Mantra by Kristin Love Nemzer

      Chapter 18: Pascual’s Beautiful Home Waterbirth in Malaysia by Vanessa Beyer

      Chapter 19: Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds by Michelle Vlad

      Chapter 20: Faith’s Birth: An Amazing Blessing by Christa Bartley

      Chapter 21: The Power of Story by Sister MorningStar

      *****

      CHAPTER 1

      Homebirth through a Mother’s Eyes

      by Mary Kury

      Copyright 2009 Midwifery Today, Inc. All rights reserved.

      Editor’s note: This article first appeared in Midwifery Today, Issue 91, Autumn 2009.

      ~~~

      Never in my wildest dreams did I consider that one day I would have my babies at home. I felt that homebirth was fine for people who were a little more on the natural side of life, but I wasn’t a person who ate organic foods or had plans to use cloth diapers. It is amazing how things change!

      In June 2006, my husband and I got married. We had no intention of having children anytime soon, and the birth control pills I was taking had only a 1% failure rate. However, we became one of the statistics and I was pregnant by our third month of marriage. After our initial shock, we were ecstatic. I had wanted to hear a little person call me Mommy ever since I was a little girl playing house.

      I spoke with many different women about their views on childbirth and decided that my husband and I needed to take some sort of a birth class. When I was about 20 weeks pregnant, we decided on the Bradley Method because it was a comprehensive 12-week course that would educate us on all aspects of pregnancy, labor and birth.

      At 32 weeks, my husband and I had finished our birth plan, which I presented to the obstetrician. She systematically crossed off all of our requests, saying they were either against hospital policy, were unreasonable or were incorrect. She said that I could walk during labor, but it was pointless because I would be connected to the electronic fetal monitor that had only a three-foot radius because it was attached to the wall. She said that I would hemorrhage and need a blood transfusion if I refused the routine shot of Pitocin after the baby was born. She said that intermittent fetal monitoring was against hospital policy. She said that episiotomy was not routine, but when I asked her how often she did that particular procedure she said, Most first-time moms need them. I left feeling confused and concerned about my chances of having a drug-free, intervention-free birth. Then I met someone new.

      I was directed to a slender wisp of a woman in my Bible Fellowship class at church after being asked for the third or fourth time when during labor I would ask for my epidural and exhaustedly replying, I just want to go natural. She had had her first baby at home. I knew for a fact that I didn’t want that—it was too far-fetched, too strange. I’d never heard of anyone like me having a baby at home. But I did have some questions and she was happy to answer all of them. When I asked for her care provider’s name and phone number, she gave me her midwife’s information.

      After two or three days of digesting the content of our conversation, I called the midwife. A calm and gentle voice answered and we set up a time to meet. I arrived at her home the following day with my husband in tow. He was definitely against this potential course of action. I had brought along a typed list of 92 questions, having decided that if any one of them wasn’t answered to my satisfaction, we would continue with our obstetrician. As I entered her home and she greeted me, I was taken aback. I don’t know what I had anticipated, but she was beautiful, and above all, normal.

      It didn’t take much to convince my husband that midwifery care was our only option to secure a non-medicated birth. I was scared to go to the hospital, where my wishes would potentially be thrown out the window if my labor didn’t progress in a standardized fashion, with a likelihood that they would create a need for an unnecessary cesarean. After we talked about the options and my husband read several books, including The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth, by Henci Goer and Robert Bradley’s Husband-Coached Childbirth, he consented to my request, and we contacted Linda again.

      Linda agreed to take me as her client (I thought that was so strange to be called a client) when I was 34 weeks pregnant, because I had had excellent prenatal care and had been well-educated in the natural process. I had complete faith in my body and its design, knowing for a fact that it had been created to give life. I found out later that I wasn’t considered a patient because I wasn’t ill, just pregnant. At 38 weeks, the process began.

      At 2 am, I had the first of what would be many contractions. I woke up excitedly and tried to return to sleep. At 4 am, another set of contractions came and I got out of bed. While using the restroom, I looked out the window and saw a tree full of fireflies and had to wake my husband to see this lovely sight. It looked just like a Christmas tree, twinkling and flickering in the stillness of the early morning. We returned to bed and decided that we would sleep as long as possible. By 9 am I realized that we didn’t have our camera or the crock pot to warm wash cloths; we had recently moved into a new home and had not finished moving all of our things from the old house. So my husband left to retrieve those items.

      The drive was approximately 30 minutes each way and by the time he returned, labor was established and we needed to call our midwives. Even though contractions were eight minutes apart, they were lasting over a minute. We left a message and Linda called us back within the hour. By the time the midwives arrived, I was unable to speak during the contractions and also wasn’t talking much in-between. I was walking around the house in a nightgown and resting during the peaks of the contractions over the counter in the kitchen or on the sofa.

      Eventually I wanted to move to the bedroom to lie down. As I got into a side-lying position, the contractions got harder and stronger, and I was very uncomfortable. Linda came to my side and began stroking my legs with the palms of her hands, first one and then the other, continuously in contact with some part of my hip, thigh or calf—moving the discomfort down and away from my center. The technique immediately took away the pain, but as soon as she stopped, it returned. She recommended that we try an alternate position, so my husband helped me to the restroom. I sat on the commode for the next few hours, leaning into my husband’s lap as he sat on a barstool. He rubbed my back and my hands and spoke lovingly into my ear, telling me how proud he was of me, how excited he was that we would meet our little girl soon, how strong I was, how beautiful, how amazing. Then I felt nauseated and vomited into a small trash can. One of the midwives, named Amy, quickly took away the receptacle and when she brought it back, I just knew that the smell would make me vomit again. As I took a deep breath, my nostrils were filled with the soothing scent of peppermint and the rolling of my stomach dissipated. The kindness of that act has imprinted itself on me.

      As transition continued, I remember thinking that I couldn’t do it anymore; it was too hard. But a few thoughts got me through that difficult time. First, if Sarah, of the Bible, could have Isaac at the age of 90, then I could birth my baby at the age of 27. Second, I was thankful that I wasn’t in the hospital because I would be begging someone for pain relief. And third, I was confident that my midwives were going to take proper care of me. After all of this went through my mind, I finally let go. I stopped fighting with my body, stopped hindering the process and just let it happen.

      After about 40 minutes of transition, the peaks of my contractions brought on deep groaning. I noticed subconsciously that this particular noise caused a flutter of movement in the other room. I could see the midwives getting things out of bags and hanging things on our closet door. But I didn’t understand what was happening. However, things became clearer, and I was calmer, more focused.

      A few minutes passed and I felt the need to have a bowel movement. I told Linda so and she said, That’s wonderful! See what it feels like if you push a little during the next contraction. I did, and it felt good in a way, but a little painful. She decided to do a vaginal exam and discovered a cervical lip. That’s when we did something called a rotisserie. I hauled myself onto the bed and breathed through two contractions on my left side, two on all fours, two on my right side and two on my back. Linda checked my cervix and found that the rim had resolved and I was free to push out my baby.

      She and my husband helped situate me on a birthing stool. My bag of waters had yet to rupture, but was bulging from my vagina. Linda was seated on the floor and asked if it would hurt my feelings if she covered herself with a chux pad in case the bag burst. I looked

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