A Home Birth Story
Natasha surrounding by her dream team, moments after Mila was born, at home
My doula and birthing philosophy is simple: the more information you have, the more confident you are about the birthing process. It is also incredibly important to know who will provide the best care for you (midwives, OB-GYNs), what types of prenatal screenings and procedures you may or may not want to have, what your birthing options are in your community (birth centre, hospital, home birth), what types of pain management options are available for you both while in early labour and in active labour. And it’s s my absolute pleasure to walk through these choices with the evidence to back it up.
Birthing at home may be a good option for a mom if they are a low risk pregnancy, have a supportive family, a strong birth team (which in Nova Scotia would include two midwives, an educated birth partner and maybe a doula), an interest in non medical birth with minimal interventions, want a birth without an epidural and have confidence in their body’s ability to give birth. There’s also the consideration of a traumatic or lengthy hospital birth that have some second time mom’s consider trying a home birth. Some of these moms have recanted that they felt they laboured best at home and arriving at the hospital either stalled labour, increased anxiety or they felt they lost some control over the labouring process. All of the above factors can play a huge part in having a positive birth experience, which can be a crucial part of a mother’s mental health during the first year of parenthood. The labouring best at home is echoed by many birth workers.
Nurses and hospital midwives in labour and delivery always encourage parents- to -be to stay at home and labour as long as possible and most nurses prefer labouring folks to come in when active labour is well established, which usually means contractions are 4 minutes apart, lasting for 1 minute and the body has been able to maintain this for about 1 hour. For the amazing mom, whose story I share today the labouring at home in a comfortable, supportive and loving environment was her motivation a home birth for her second child. Natasha briefly shares her first birth story and why she chose her second birth to be at home. In her own words, here’s Natasha;
I had my first daughter Leia when I was 26. I didn’t know much about birth or babies. I was the oldest of 3 girls. My Mom never really educated us on any of the details of childbirth. I remember taking a prenatal course through the hospital but really didn’t retain much from it. My OB seemed to always be on vacation so I never really felt supported by my doctor. The morning Leia decided to come my OB wasn’t in the country. I went in to the hospital on January 1st at 6am. New Year’s Day! The hospital was empty. I remember telling the first nurse I saw that I needed to use the bathroom and she blurted out “you better not be ready to push, my shift is over in 30 min”. I wasn’t ready but her reaction put such a damper on my initial excitement. When the time came I was heavily drugged with an epidural that I couldn’t even feel where or how to push. 2 hours of pushing and my Mother was pleading with the nurse to call the doctor or do an episiotomy. My mom had been a nurse years before having me herself. The intern replied “we don’t do that here.” I tore. Really bad. In 3 places. It took a long time to heal. I was a good 6 months before it started to feel normal again. The entire experience felt so unnatural and cold and painful and slow to recover. I actually didn’t think I would have anymore children not only because of the experience at the hospital but also my deteriorating marriage.
Mila and Mama at home hours after birth
In my mid 30’s I divorced and remarried and was fortunate to gain a step son and together with Kevin my super supportive partner decided to blend our family with a baby. Kevin knew how traumatic my first birth was and so when I expressed my desire to have a natural home birth he was completely on board. I did some research and found a mid wife who from my first meeting made me feel right at ease. With my midwife came a team of women who supported me through my entire pregnancy. They always explained every scan and test and why the medical field normally does certain things and why I may not want to. I made informed decisions all the way through. I learned breathing and birthing techniques and prepared for worst case scenario’s. At the same time together with my mid wife, doula and Kevin I created a dream birth for my babe, with diffusing oils, a warm bath and beautiful music. About 2 weeks before her due date Mila decided to come. I remember waking up at 1:30 in the morning and telling Kevin I was having contractions. He helped me time them and they were 2 min apart. Kevin in his sleep assured me we had to wait 45 min to call the mid wife. He was wrong, and by 1:45am my water broke. A feeling I always wanted to experience. It actually sounded like a balloon pooped and then a gush of warm water. It seemed I was instantly having to push. Kevin shot out of bed and called our mid wife who could here me loudly in the background. Thankfully she didn’t live far so she arrived in 15min. As soon as she arrived with our doula she check me and we were ready to push. A quick makeover of my bedroom to prepare for baby and no time for a warm bath, music or oil.
I started to push. I have never felt so supported and taken care of and loved in my life. By 4:30 am Mila had arrived. It was so beautiful and so fast I didn’t feel the pain, or at least I don’t remember it. Our ten year olds had no time to leave the house so they heard the entire thing and when Mila had finally arrived we all got to experience those first moments together as a family. The kids were there as she was cleaned and weighed and it was magical. I remember Leia my eldest voting on a name and saying “if it’s Mila Rose put your hand in”. Everyone’s hand was in and she was Mila Rose from that moment. Having the help, guidance, expertise and care from those two incredible women truly made my birth experience magical even if it wasn’t completely as planned. It felt as though that was the way birth was always meant to be. It was this experience that truly showed me how strong we are and what our bodies as women are truly capable of. We were made for this.
Adorable Mila!
Natasha wanted to share her story with future parents- to- be who may be considering a home birth for some of the reasons that she chose to have a home birth in hopes that she breaks down some of the walls around home births and that it can truly be an empowering experience. She has commented on how amazed she was as how quickly she healed afterwards. Thank you so much Nat for sharing your birth story on the blog today, I’m grateful you’ve entered my life and shared your journey with me.
Natasha is an amazing mother and entrepreneur with a brand new all natural hair care line called Boheme hair care, check her out at @bohmem_haircare or bohemehaircare.com.
