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Anna's Story - Homebirth

"Anna Joy" - Born at home

A had practice labor for several days, and on Sunday around 10 AM the surges were about 5 minutes apart and lasting about a minute. A and B took a walk up the canyon (they live in the foothills of the Montana Bitterroot Mountains) and came back about 2 hours later. After a lunch of chicken, salad and rice pudding, A took a nap and awoke with surges about 3 minutes apart. They went out for another short walk. The midwife was alerted at about 4 PM, and after we all ate a good soup dinner the midwife arrived. A asked to be checked and was found to be about 5 cm. open with a bulging bag of waters in front of Anna's head. A's blood pressure was high, so the midwife decided to stay for awhile. We had A lie down (she was more comfortable being up and around) and did a deep relaxation and a BP-lowering script. The BP remained fine throughout the rest of the labor. I saw A place her finger and thumb together many times, as she was remembering the anchor from the script.

A spent quite a bit of time in the labor pool, and her partner and two children remained close by throughout the evening. She ate frequently: soup, fruit, homemade deer jerky, and a big bowl of sorbet as she gently labored. B smudged the room with sage and sweetgrass and played his guitar.

A noticed that when she was in certain positions, or if her bladder was full, her surges would slow way down and the baby would become very active--seeming to work hard to change positions, though she was always head down, occiput anterior. About six hours after her first check, A was getting pretty tired and asked to be checked again. Still only 5-6 cm., but the cervix was back behind Anna's head. Surges were strong, but with the position of the cervix, not very productive. The midwife pulled the cervix a bit more forward during the next couple of surges and labor went on. The midwife declined to rupture the amniotic sac, even though A wondered if it might help move things along, saying that Anna moved down well during each surge, and got her head firmly down onto the cervix, but then floated back up a bit again. The amniotic sac offered protection for Anna and was not slowing the progress. As the night moved along, A had a couple doses of herbs when the surges became less frequent and and very short. She also had a couple of naps, after which the surges became more frequent again. The midwife thought that when A was tired, she mostly needed rest, not stimulation.

Around 7:30 AM, A was very tired and the midwife suspected that there was just a lip of cervix that might be easily coaxed back. A had been breathing down for quite some time, just following the lead of her body. The midwife was absolutely correct--with one surge, the midwife was able to easily push back the cervical lip.

Anna immediately began her descent. A called for her dear partner to be ready to receive Anna. The midwife stepped way back, and A birthed Anna into B's hands in about two surges. A was between her very high bed and a twin mattress on the floor, positioned on hands and knees, butt close to the bed. There was no time to move into a different position or coach B--he followed his own instincts and just allowed Anna to ease into his hands. Needless to say, I didn't have time to grab the camera, not that I could see anything anyway. There was only one very small light in the room and a few candles. Dawn was just breaking. Ruby (8 1/2), Levi (7), and Daniel (15) watched in awe as their sister was born. Levi later cut her cord.

The cord was quite interesting, in that it had a couple of section that were very thin with little or no Wharton's jelly. One vessel also inserted into the membrane, rather then the placenta itself. The midwife pointed out that it was likely that Anna stayed high and active to avoid compression on these cord sections, and that when A was in certain positions or her bladder was full, Anna would get very agitated and the surges would slow or stop. Baby and mom's body knew what to do to keep Anna safe. Eventually, Anna got comfortably situated and birth followed. Throughout the entire labor, Anna showed no signs of distress, except for one brief check when the midwife had Amy lie on her left side. Through the last months of pregnancy, Anna was adamant that she wanted A to lie on the right, not left side.

Anna is quiet, peaceful, nursing vigorously--just what you'd expect with a HypnoBirthing baby. A was tired yesterday, after working all night, but feels great today. No perineal tears, not even a skid mark. Even after that long labor, the placenta birthed easily, with minimal bleeding. After Anna's birth, I suggested that A relax and release the placenta, closing off the blood vessels to just the right amount. She instantly went "Loosey limp," breathed slowly, and there was the placenta.

Wow! Aren't mother's and babies just brilliant?? I can't imagine how many drugs and procedures they would have had to refuse if this were traditional care!

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