The story of my first homebirth as a doula
I went to my first homebirth on a hot August day. Don’t really feel like stepping foot to a hospital ever again, but that’s exactly the reason why it is so important to have a doula for a hospital birth. People who give birth at hospitals need so much more support than homebirthers.
This mom was using hypnobabies technique and a birth tub. It was all just so normal and natural. She had lunch with her husband and older daughter, and her water broke half an hour later. We filled the tub, closed the blinds, she sat in there for an hour before starting to push. The baby was out in 15 minutes, no coaching, no yelling, no screaming, no tearing! … completely peaceful and quiet. I have never seen anything like this before. And, an hour later the cord was cut and the whole family moved to the bedroom where they cozied up together. It was beautiful.
I also had the chance to see one of the most beautiful things: the placenta. Did you know that the cord and the veins form the tree of life? which totally makes sense now, by the way. It’s connection. The tree of life.
Induction and Pick Salami
I got hired by an amazing couple for the birth of their first baby. We connected on many levels: the use of aromatherapy, the relevance of one’s horoscope, yoga, reiki, and, most importantly: food. Coming from a European-Asian background, the mom (M.) is a conosseur, loves to cook, loves to experiment with new and interesting spices and foods. When I visited my home town, Budapest, I returned with a pack of Pick Salami, a special type of Hungarian salami. She said she’d keep it for after the birth.
This is a story of their daughter’s birth. M. went to the hospital for an induction in the evening. (Just a side note: most of my birthing moms hire me because they want a natural, low-intervention birth, and no Epidural. However, with a medically induced birth, it’s almost impossible: all hospitals use synthetic Oxytocin to induce labor, which produces regular, and often more painful contractions, than a naturally starting labor. This, in most cases, leads to and Epidural.)
M., however, was dealing with her contractions beautifully, and, by the time they called me (about 16 hours after the induction started), she was progressing very well. I used my essential oils to freshen up the room and give her energy, massaged her, did everything I could to help her cope with the sensations, and she did, beautifully. After a couple of hours, her doctor came in, and asked her how she was coping, did she want an Epidural yet. She opened her eyes, looked at him and said: “Well, I’m not sure…” The doctor seemed genuinely surprised, and said: “If you have to think about it, you don’t need it!”. This was a very important moment in her journey, giving her an extra boost of confidence and energy. However, a couple of hours later she looked at her husband and told him she might be ready for one after all. When a birth has gotten this far, and the mom asks for pain medication, it often means she is in transition, which is the very last phase of labor, before pushing starts. He started talking to her very softly, and all I could hear was “big a.s needle”. She decided she’d continue without the pain medication. I couldn’t help but smile, and, soon enough, she started pushing her beautiful baby out. Right after she fed the baby, she looked at me and said: Now, give me that salami! I was in total awe of her. She was so strong, so wonderful. Also, I heard, the baby smelled of Pick salami for days.
Homebirth of baby #4!
I was called to a homebirth on cold January evening. I was excited, as always, but especially because I knew this wasn’t a first baby and handling the older children during a homebirth can be sometimes challenging. Let me just say that this family was amazing. 2 of the 3 kids were asleep when I got there around midnight. The youngest one in the parents’ bed. The oldest daughter was too excited to sleep so she stayed up with us until 2am, taking pictures. The labor was progressing very well, and the mom was taking it in an amazingly calm and peaceful way. I massaged her back with every contraction, and made sure she was hydrated. At one point she wanted to get to the shower. Her husband went with her. They didn’t stay long, and approximately five minutes after she emerged from the bathroom, she knew the baby was coming. I keep reading about women ‘easing out’ their babies, but never seen it before. Well, last night was the night. She didn’t even really push. Baby was out in less than five minutes. The midwives were almost completely hands-off, which I’ve only seen in a homebirth setting, never in a hospital environment. Magically, all children woke up by the arrival of their baby sister. Even the youngest one, who, although sleeping in the same bed his mother labored AND gave birth, slept peacefully until after she arrived.
All in all, one of my best births. Grateful for the family who let me help with this truly special event.
