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| Robin laboring with Owen 2007 |
I would love to share with you the last few birth stories and some photos of the amazing, inspirational families I meet! But the premise of doula work is that it's private. "It's Your Body, Your Baby, Your Birth" is not just a empty quote. It is her birth. Her's to process, grieve, celebrate, revel in, share intimately or with the world! It's the new Mommy's story. She made a baby, a whole new world, she made herstory!
If I attended your birth please let me know if you would like to share your birth story here (with my two readers) or share the birth story I wrote here. Or if I can link your webpage and your story ~ that would be nice too.
I will share just a bit, scattering the details so these stories could be anyone's. Labor Day is a good day to labour in childbirth, rightly so don't you think? Last year and again this year I attended Labor Day births. This year a first time mom had her baby in 6 hrs. 20 minutes. Her grace, her delicately selected, sweet, soft words were magical. At one point I was across the Birth Center suite as she labored in the warm tub, encouraging her baby, urging him with loving words to come into her arms. Only the midwife, who was by moms side, heard her words. I could see this midwife was moved. I only wished I'd been within earshot.
I attended a homebirth the next day. I got the call at like 4AM, arrived at 4:30AM and baby was born at 4:44AM. I am so glad that I had spent a day the week before listening to mom's fears and doing some prodromal, prelabor contractions with her. When her contractions did not change and it was getting late, mom took a hot shower, we did some side lying release and I tucked her in bed with a hot water bottle on her back. She slept through the night and I went home in the morning. A week later I barely had time to say a few words of encouragement and BABY WAS HERE!
I especially enjoyed interacting with the older sibling at this homebirth. The 3 year old big sister was such a delightful, sweet and busy birth attendant as the sun rose on her baby sisters birth day!
A few days ago I attended another first time Mommy. She gave birth in a Birth Center that does not do water births. The midwives do not have permission to catch babies in the water. They have nice labor tubs that women can use to labor in (Moms LOVE the warm water!). Then they move the woman to the bed for the birth. The birth should not happen in the water. Last night this FANTASTICALLY laboring woman surprised the midwife when her baby almost slipped out in the water - Oops. The midwife had stepped out of the room, thinking the mom would be pushing a little longer. I noticed a good size caput of baby slip out during the next contraction and called the midwife back. The mom stood up and the midwife caught the baby. The midwife handed the baby back to the new Mommy and Mommy sat back down in the warm water with her baby, cord still attached. Kind of tickles me that it was virtually a water birth.
Sometimes when I meet with prospective clients in the interview time or meet prenatally with families, I ask them to give some thought to the question, "if you could be born again how would you like to be born?" Some may think I'm silly to ask. Some go on a hunt for their original birth story and then their new birth story (imaginary of course) of choice. It's good to put the question out there. Then now, do you know for yourself how you would like to be born (where, when, with who, etc)? Ask your unborn baby how he or she would like to be born. Spend evenings, days, weeks asking and see if you don't get a sense of what baby is telling you. These three moms listened...listened to their own story and to their baby's story. It seems as clear as a clear crisp day that all happened just as it was supposed to. ♥
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