Hi Jessica! Thank you for sharing your home birth story.
What made you want to have a home birth?
I just always knew I would feel more comfortable at home and I always wanted to experience childbirth as long as everything progressed normally throughout the pregnancy. I trusted that everything would be fine.
Was your family on board with it? How did they react?
I think some of my folks didn’t necessarily agree, like my grandmother for example, but I definitely got a lot of support from my family.
My husband is one of three and he was actually a home birth baby which is kind of neat.
Where were you when you went into labor?
I was 5 days past my due date. We had just seen the midwife that morning and I realized I just had to get my mind off of the ‘when is this going to happen!?’
I took a walk in the woods and picked some hawthorne berries and later in the middle of the night, around 2:30am my contractions started and I pretty much stayed in bed tracking the contractions and trying to rest.
I didn’t get up and start moving until around 7:30 or 8 in the morning and I think we called a midwife around 9.
I believe the midwife got there around 11 and I had him at about 2:30 so the midwife was here for about 2 or 3 hours before it was time to push!
Everything really worked out just how I visualized it and I couldn’t have imagined a better experience.
Who helped you during the labor?
My midwife was here with her apprentice and my husband was really there for me, playing the music, getting me water, and letting me squeeze his hand.
What was the most challenging part of the home birth?
I think the biggest challenge was after the first couple of appointments with the midwife, realizing how empowered I was and that this was up to me to do.
I was expecting more direction but they were going to be taking direction from me. They were ready to do what came naturally to me during labor and I think that responsibility made me realize that birthing my baby was up to me.
What did you find surprising about having a homebirth?
That’s a tough one, because the whole act of bringing a child into this world is surprising.
The hour after the baby was born, they checked me, made sure I was safe, and then they left and 14 hours ago we didn’t have a child and now we have a child in our hands it’s pretty amazing.
Yes, It is a miracle!
Do you have any advice for women contemplating a homebirth?
I think the best advice is to trust yourself and your body and your relationship with the baby before it’s born because the act of birth is a total relationship between you and the baby.
Many women want less intervention…yet it seems harder to maintain control when in a hospital setting. With a home birth, you are not only in control but empowered to believe in yourself and in the process. As long as you have trust in your midwife and in your own body, you cannot go wrong!
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