A beautiful homebirth requiring patience, trust, and loving support.
I hope by sharing these photo's we can remove some of the fear associated with child birth for both women and their partners.
After our loss last year, Dean and I wanted an experience that would help us heal. The home birth of our Maple did just that!
Birthing at home with Dean beside me was where I felt safe to be vulnerable and completely myself.
To prepare for this epic event, we connected with beautiful people and built strong long lasting relationships. We put in the time and effort to educate ourselves because birth is a team effort and knowledge is power. We built a sacred space at home that we both loved.
The birth was emotional and intense and beautiful. 20 hours of active labour and 4 hours of pushing. And yes I had moments that I felt I couldn't keep going- I was so so tired! But my beautiful birthing team stayed with me, holding my hand in silence, respecting my space. They all trusted me and trusted the process...
"My body and baby are working together." "My body was designed to do this" "I can do this!"
And no, I am not saying it was painless. My senses were heightened and I definitely felt EVERYTHING! The new sensations were scary at first as I tried to understand what they meant.
Maple took her time to come into this world because she wasn't in the 'ideal position'. Her heart rate was good and normal because I was calm and working with her. That sweet oxytocin (love hormone) was getting us through.
She eventually wiggled her way into a position so I could birth her. As she descended, her heart rate dropped but we didn't panic. She was safe and I was safe. Her head was MASSIVE! 37.5cm- Yep!
As she crowned it burned, but guess what... no tears! I was never coached on when to push. I breathed when I needed to and pushed down when my body told me to.
If I was in hospital, she would have been an instrumental birth and possibly even a c-section.
Too often I hear woman describing their traumatic birth stories when it could be avoided.
I hope by sharing a glimpse of my experience, I can inspire other women to trust their bodies and have the experience they deserve either at home or in hospital.
Do your research. Learn about how amazing the female body is. Engage people you trust. Involve your partner.
Credit to my birthing team:
Birth partner- Dean
Primary midwife- Mae't Pearson (It Takes A Village Midwifery) Secondary midwife- Meg Clein (It Takes A Village Midwifery) https://www.ittakesavillagemidwifery.com
Photographer/videographer- Emma Nolan https://www.emmajeanphotography.com
Hypnobirthing Australia Practitioner - Jessica Spackman (Mother Moon Hypnobirthing)