Natural Birth Series: Firstborn Water Birth Story
Before I had even met the love of my life, and before I even wanted children, natural birth was something that has naturally interested me. So, when I discovered I was pregnant the first time I went straight for a midwife. I have been blessed to have 2 beautiful, healthy, and smart baby boys completely naturally and intervention free. Natural birth to me is a human rights issue, and where I am located a safety issue. I live in Texas, and in one of the most developed countries in the world. So, something is terribly wrong when the United States has the highest maternal death rate in the entire developed world with a rate of 27 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. This may not seem very high, but when compared to other developed countries it's appalling.
The great state of Texas, MY TEXAS, ranks in at a disturbing rate of 35.8 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. So, when people ask me why I choose a midwife, and why I've chosen homebirth, and birth center birth. I simply answer that I do not feel safe giving birth in a hospital. This answer is often met with laughter and strange looks, but it's the absolute truth. Women need to do the research for themselves, and stop relying on outside sources to tell them what's best for their bodies, and their babies. So, I am currently 9 months pregnant with my 3rd child, and I'm publishing my birth stories to help normalize birth. They were not easy or perfect births. But, I know I made the right decisions.
We lived in Eureka Springs, Arkansas during this time. I saw a CNM who was affiliated with the local hospital for this pregnancy. Eureka Springs in located in The Ozarks and is sweetly nicknamed “Little Switzerland”. So a very hilly terrain to put it mildly. I walked 5 miles everyday up and down hills, and also practiced yoga several hours a week during this pregnancy. Couple that practice with a vegetarian, whole organic, farm grown diet, and needless to say I was in the best health of my life during this time.
Woke up at 2 am to contractions 2 minutes apart. Drove the hour long mountain path to the hospital. Once there I got in the shower for about 20 min. until dilated to about an 8, then got in the tub. Leo was born in the water at 8:01 am. It took a little while to figure out pushing, and it was aggravating watching him crown at the height of a contraction then retract back in. This happened 3-4 times. I later learned that his head circumference was 13.5 cm at birth. Keep in mind a woman's cervix dilates to 12 cm at most! Once his head was born, the rest of him slipped easily out into my midwife's hands. His umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck 3 times, which she quickly unraveled and started rubbing him. We watched his tiny body quickly change colors from grayish blue, to bluish green, to whitish pink, to healthy pink. My midwife said it was one of the longest umbilical cords she'd ever seen! I delivered the placenta in a couple of large pieces. And I also lost a lot of blood. My midwife was expecting this however, because I had been slightly anemic and had low blood platelet count in the weeks leading up to his birth. There was talk about a blood transfusion, but I had reservations about it (spiritual beliefs), and it did not become an emergency situation where a transfusion was medically necessary. I had a small tear that required 1 stitch. I had very low blood pressure. The nurses inserted a catheter to keep my bladder emptied because of the loss of blood. This was an absolutely terrible experience. To my memory, the pain was worse than the birth. I literally had to be held down by two nurses to insert it, because it was so painful. We stayed the night in the hospital and were released the next afternoon. Leo's phrenulum was tight, and we had breastfeeding latch issues from the start that were never really addressed. I was given a silicone breast shield that first night in the hospital sometime around 2 am when I couldn't get my hungry baby to latch and his crying was waking up the entire maternity ward. I continued to use the breast shield to feed him for about 2 months, then switched to solely pumping breast milk. Through sheer determination and will power we made it to 12 months of exclusive breastfeeding.
I am forever grateful for this birth experience, and the sweet baby boy it produced. He is now 8 years old, and the best big brother I could ask for my other children. We affectionately call him Number One, and the Children's Prefect.
