My Home Birth Story...

It was about 4:00 PM on a Thursday when I felt like I had lost control of my bladder. "Is this my water breaking" I thought to myself. I knew that if it was I had 24 hours to have a baby at home as I desired. (This is a rule midwives must follow under law) I was not sure at the time, but in fact this was my water breaking. I contacted my midwife immediately who told me to start counting contractions. I had trouble with this because I really couldn't feel any. My Braxton Hicks were unnoticeable all throughout my pregnancy. It wasn't until about 6:30 PM that I felt a contraction. I did what my birth training told me to do..."ignore early labor and go about your business". I needed to make dinner so I did and when my husband got home he helped. We ate dinner, cleaned up and then Max blew up the pool. My contractions became more noticeable and were all over, anywhere from 7 to 15 minutes apart. I was in contact with my midwife throughout this time who was at another birth. She sent the back up midwife to come check up on me. Jacqueline arrived around 10:30 PM as my contractions became more intense. I lied in bed so I could get comfortable and relax as much as possible. This is where I did most of my labor throughout the night. I put to use my birth training by using the relaxation techniques I learned. I went to my "happy place", relaxed every muscle in my body and reminded myself of how God created me to do this.

As morning came my contractions became harder. I moved to the stability ball for a while which provided temporary relief, then back to the bed. It was about 7:00 AM when my primary midwife came. Sheila checked my cervix which was dilated 7cm. My contractions were getting more and more intense and I was about ready to get in the pool. By 8:00 AM they had the pool filled and I got in. YES! A feeling of instant relief came over me from the warm water. Then shortly after the contractions changed in quality. It was like a jolt of energy going towards my bottom. Soon I would need to start pushing.

I pushed for a while with my back against the edge of the pool until the midwives noticed I was not making much progress and suggested I change positions. This was so uncomfortable, but necessary. I squatted in the pool with my arms holding on, faced towards the edge. The midwife told me I could feel her head. As I felt her head I felt inspired to continue. I changed positions in the pool a few more times with not much more progress so it was time to get out of the pool and use gravity to my advantage.

I remember this point more vividly than any other. Max helped me in getting out of the pool. I remember thinking how great full I was to have my strong loving husband to help me. I leaned my head on his chest and took a few breaths. He held me with his strong arms while I squat down and pushed with everything I had. After a few hard pushes my baby's head began to emerge. I felt her head with my hand and became extremely determined. I got back into the pool for the final few pushes. This was it, I knew it was time, I gave it all I had, letting out a loud cry each time. She was born at 10:01AM on July 19, 2013. A flood of emotions hit me all at once.


What an amazing experience that was! I would recommend that every woman experience a natural birth if she can. The thought of needing pain medication never crossed my mind throughout the process. I just knew in my mind that I was designed for this, that women have been doing this from the beginning of time. I am so thankful to my team of midwives for guiding me through pregnancy and my daughter's birth, and also for all of my (Bradly) birth training. I thank the Lord for this precious miracle of life!