Birth As It Should Be

I just got home from a lovely birth. It was as close to a "perfect" birth as it gets. It was the kind of birth where it would have been a shame for it to have happened in a hospital, where the medical machine just screws up a thing like this.

The woman I served today came to care early in her pregnancy. I had the pleasure of going to 8 of her 10 prenatal visits, and 7 of those 8 were in her home. I got to know her, her kids, her husband, her friends, and her home long before I showed up at her birth this afternoon. I became friends with her on Facebook, and we each learned even more about each other's lives. Her placenta is in my fridge right now awaiting encapsulation (a whole other blog post!).

This woman had a picture perfect pregnancy. She exercised and ate well throughout. She had a history of fast labors, so one of her greatest hopes for this birth was to be able to experience labor, to be more present and aware of what was happening during the birth. So, she hired a photographer to document her birth experience.

Since she had this history of fast labors, I knew I needed to act quickly once I heard she might be in labor. I got the call this morning from Peggy that the woman was showing some signs of early labor, so I asked my husband to stay home from work in case I needed to leave in a hurry. I followed her updates on Facebook, made sure I got everything done I needed to get done before leaving home, and waited for the call to leave for the birth. Finally about 8 hours after the first call from Peggy, I got the call from her that our lady's water had broken. Yay!!! Time to go! I practically didn't let Peggy finish her sentences as we wrapped up the call.

I arrived at the house to find our mama just hanging out and making Lego creations with her kids. She said the contractions were about every 5 minutes but were still light. I checked the position of the baby, running my hands along her tummy, feeling her baby's body with my hands instead of looking at it on an ultrasound machine. I listened to her baby's heartbeat with my Doppler through a contraction and afterwards, and was assured that all was well with her baby. Since her membranes had ruptured, I didn't want to do a vaginal exam unless the mom asked for it. No sense in risking infection. In fact, we never did a single vaginal exam during the labor at all. I checked mom's blood pressure, pulse, and temperature. Picture perfect.

Peggy and I worked on getting the supplies ready for the birth. The mom had taken great care to be sure that she had gathered the supplies we requested. I set up the heating pad with blankets and an outfit to keep warm for the baby. I put some water in the crockpot to heat in case we had time to do warm compresses. We got a tray ready with supplies we might need in a hurry. Meanwhile, the mom spent time with her family, chatting, eating, drinking labor aide, and contracting every few minutes. The photographer, friend, and grandmother arrived. Peggy and I charted and spent time talking on the couch, checking on our mama from time to time.

After a short while, the contractions had built in intensity enough that the mom wanted to retreat to her "birth nest." We knew birth was imminent and didn't leave her side. Once she got up to her bedroom, she knelt by the side of her bed, and we knew we were moments away from meeting this new life face to face. After a few gentle pushes, the mom reached down to feel her baby's head emerge, and in another push, the shoulders and rest of the baby slid out of her body and into our waiting hands. The baby, a beautiful vernix covered boy, opened his eyes and looked at his mother right away. He made quiet sounds to let the world know he was breathing, and he pinked up right away.

The baby's cord stayed intact until it was done pulsing, giving him a nice bolus of cord blood. He stayed in his mama's arms for a long time. He stayed there nuzzled up to his mom's breast and soon started nursing. He transitioned into the world, surrounded by the love of family and the caring hands of his midwives and his mother.

The photographer captured the beauty of these first moments of this baby's life. I heard the camera in the background as she caught special moments that can never be replayed -- crowning of the baby's head as it was born, mom receiving her baby into her arms, baby meeting his older brothers, dad cutting the cord, midwives weighing him for the first time...

It was a birth as it should be. It was beautiful and sacred. It the type of birth that could only happen at home.

I feel honored to have served this family today. I had an opportunity to see something today that only rarely happens in America. I saw a beautiful, natural birth, free of unnecessary interventions, allowed to unfold in its own time and space. I can never thank this woman enough for including me at this special moment in her life. It is the type of birth that fills me with hope and reminds me of why I chose this unpredictable life I live.