Lisa tells us her beautiful homebirth story with her third child. Lisa trusted her body & instincts and went into labour naturally three weeks after her due date, and gave birth to a beautiful 10 lb 14 oz baby girl at home. Lisa explains how the experience of her first two births helped her realise her passion for educating birthers about how to make birth peaceful and safe. Lisa is from the United States, where you can choose to be under the care of an OBGYN or alternatively choose midwifery led care, either in a hospital setting or at home.
‘My husband and I became pregnant with our first born child when we were just 18 and 20 years of age. I had no idea about being pregnant and what it would have in store for us. I started with a OBGYN and knew right away that this was not for me and switch to a midwife. Needless to say I went with a group practice which meant the midwife I chose would likely not be the one delivering our baby.
My first labour was mostly positive, except for when the hospital sent me home because they felt I had a long way to go before baby would arrive! However, we were back in the hospital giving birth to our baby girl within an hour! With our second baby, two years later I went with the same midwives because it was easier than trying to find what was really right for me. Baby number 2 was born during 90 mph winds! My waters broke and within an hour and a half he was born black and blue and not breathing. He quickly came around and was healthy. The midwife had to run in to catch him.
So third pregnancy 6 year's later I knew what I wanted. I was a certified Doula and studying to become a lay- midwife by then. I knew after my first two babies that I wanted to help educate other women about one of the most important parts of our life's and having the coping mechanisms to make birth peaceful and safe.
With our third baby we chose to have a home birth with a nurse midwife. I went into labor three weeks after my due date. This was safely done with my midwife checking a couple times a week in the end on the amniotic fluid levels and babies movements.
I started labour around 4 o'clock in the afternoon. We went for a family walk then came home and had dinner. I was so caught up in taking care of our older children that it helped me be more relaxed and go with the flow of my contractions. We put our older children to bed around 8pm. It was perfect timing because my contractions became more intense at this point. We then called our midwife to come over and she arrived by 8:30pm. She was a strong quiet presence in the background, and let me do what was right for me in labour. It was so much more relaxing to be in my own home with my own tub, my own bathroom and nobody wanting me to be hooked up to a fetal heart monitor. My husband felt much more helpful and relaxed too. I could move around as much as I wanted to help my body do what it needed to do. At 9 pm I started to push. I was in a squatting position for this part which made everything go smoothly. At 9:30pm, a 10 lb 14oz baby girl was born. I swear she came out smiling. She was covered in dimple's and so chubby. We woke our older children at this point to come meet their baby sister.
Our children are now 30, 28 and 22. I am once again getting my certification as a Doula and excited to help other birthers!’
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