The Birth Story and The Rant

When Lotus first announced her Birth-Story Carnival, my heart did a little jump. There are very few things that get me going like the subject of birth. Birth is, to me, the most amazing gift that God gave us. It is pure and emotional and amazing and spiritual.

But birth also makes me incredibly sad, because I see so many women who suffer. From total fear of childbirth, needless interventions, convenience surgeries and far too often, tragedy, birth in America has become something very different than God intended.

So I am going to post my latest birth story. And then I will rant. Be warned!

I've posted Asker's birth story before. It was an atypical hospital birth (hey, Satan was there!), but amazing nonetheless. But as my last three births have been home births, and many women never have seen or experienced a home birth, I wanted to offer a glimpse into this wonderful, safe option.

The Birth Story

Having done this a few times before, I was not too surprised when I went into labor three weeks early in August 2007. I was measuring large, my previous son had been three weeks early, and my body had been telling me that birth was imminent. So when early labor started that Thursday evening, I told the kids their new sibling would probably be born by morning and put them to bed.

I had never had a night labor before, and was looking forward to the solitude that darkness brings. I encouraged Dave to get some sleep and started my early labor routine.

I prefer to stay active during the beginning of labor. I wanted my labor to progress and intensify, not taper off, so I walked around, cleaned the house and relished in the excitement that early (read: not painful) contractions bring. I ate a large dinner to keep up my energy and then prepared my bedroom.

I placed a large plastic drop cloth over most of the bed and the bedroom floor and then put another set of sheets over it. I brought the crockpot upstairs, filled it and turned it on. I unpacked my birth kit (chucks, peri bottle, gloves, cord clamps, etc.) and got out my other necessary supplies (old towels, baby hat, receiving blankets). My midwife would bring the majority of needed supplies, but I liked to have the birth kit with me, just in case she didn't make it in time!

I called my midwife before I went to sleep, to let her know I was in labor. My first three births had all been ten to twelve hours, so I anticipated the same with number four. My midwife happened to be at her second house, two hours away, so she encouraged me to call her back as soon as I felt that labor was moving into second stage.

As my contractions were consistent, but not truly painful (more like intense), I decided to sleep for a bit. I've not had the occasion to sleep through labor before, and it was a truly unique experience. The contractions invaded my sleep, causing some extremely bizarre dreams! Around 3am, I awakened to a very painful contraction and realized that my labor had definitely gone to the next level. I called my midwife and she and her assistant hurriedly headed in my direction.

I love to get in the shower during labor. The hot water directed onto my back really takes the edge off contractions. Combined with a hands-and-knees position (which facilitates the baby moving down), labor can really progress quickly. I spent the next few hours in the shower, hoping my midwife would make it in time.

And then.....my......labor........slowed......down.

And the kids woke up.

Previously, my mom or my sister (or both) have come to my house to help during labor. But as Dave was home and we had a midwife assistant this time, we chose not to call anyone else. The TV was a real blessing that morning! The kids stayed occupied, only coming to "check on Mom" every hour or so. It was nice to hear their happy chattering downstairs while I waited, upstairs, for my labor to start again.

My contractions had gone from every two minutes to every ten. They were more intense, but I could tell that pushing was still a long way off.

At some point, I asked my midwife to check my dilation. It was my first internal exam during the entire pregnancy! I hate to be checked in the impending weeks before birth, because it creates such a feeling of impatience (at least in me). I was almost fully dilated, but as with my previous pregnancies, my bag of waters was full and very thick. I tend to have incredibly thick membranes and artificially breaking my waters is the only intervention I prefer. She broke my water, and I waited for the intense contractions I knew were to follow.

Ten hours had passed. Twelve hours had passed. But even though my contractions were strong and consistent, I was feeling no urge to push. Close to the seventeen hour mark, I began to feel a little exhausted. I had eaten and drunk at will, firmly believing that a starved, dehydrated woman is not in the best position to do the hard work of labor and delivery. But still, my body was tiring.

My midwife asked me if I wanted to try a tincture to push me over that edge. She applied a blue and black cohosh tincture under my tongue several times in the next half-hour. She told me that labor would probably move quickly, but I wanted to get back into the shower.

I never made it back out of the bathroom.

A few minutes later, I felt that distinctive, amazing, my-heart-is-racing-just-thinking-about-it urge to push. I called for Dave, the midwife and the kids and climbed out of the shower.

She brought in a birth stool and I started pushing. My first push was completely useless as I was laughing so hard from the "Eew, Mommy just pooped on the floor!" comments coming from my left. (The one negative that comes from eating during labor!)

After a few pushes Superboy was born. I grabbed him and brought him to my chest, and marveled, once again, at the beauty of birth. It was not until several minutes later that I realized he was having trouble breathing, and while I was commenting on his wrinkles and hair color, my midwife was calmly suctioning him and massaging his back. When I compare this to the yank-the-baby-cut-the-cord-rush-him-for-tests approach of a typical hospital birth, I am so grateful for a professional, competent yet conscientious midwife.

We let Asker announce the gender and his cry of, "Yes, the boys are still winning!" was adorable.

It was quite a tight squeeze, with me, the midwife, her assistant, Dave and three little people in a rather small bathroom, so we moved into the bedroom where I began nursing.

I held him for about 45 minutes, waiting until I had delivered the placenta before cutting the cord. Eventually, we weighed him, measured him and cleaned him up. Although I always feel more relief that love directly after childbirth, those first few minutes of pure bonding are priceless and irreplaceable!

All the while the kids were kissing, touching and oohing over their new baby brother. They were able to hold him before he was hours old, and having them with us created beautiful family bonding moments that we will never forget.

Thus ends the birth-story portion of this novel. If you have read this far, bravo. If you keep reading, God bless you!


The Rant

Although I have had some amazing, wonderful and safe home births (and anticipate the same for this one), I do not believe that home birth is for everyone. Nor do I believe that completely natural labors are the best choice for every woman.

But I do believe that every woman should be given the knowledge and power to make the right choice for herself. Unfortunately, as birth in America has turned from a natural process to a medical procedure, the vast majority of women are undereducated and even deceived when it comes to their rights, abilities and choices.

God created our bodies to give birth. Our bodies do an amazing, complex and unique job of pushing a large (relatively) body out of a small place. But it works!

Of course there are women who cannot deliver vaginally. I am so grateful for the educated and highly-trained surgeons available to women who need C-sections. But with an national 2006 C-section rate of 32% (some areas of the country average almost 50%!), and the rates continually rising, it begs the question, "What is going on with birth in America?"

Unfortunately, the third highest international C-section rate, does not create a low infant mortality rate. Indeed, just the opposite. As America's C-section rate has gone sky high, our infant mortality rate has climbed. America has the second worse infant mortality rate in the developed world! And as this thoughtful post by Amy shows, our maternal mortality rate is unacceptable as well!

There are many factors that have led to the sweeping changes in American childbirth. From the incredibly high rate of pitocin-induced labor, to ridiculous policies that are more concerned with avoiding liability litigation (no VBACS, induction immediately following membrane rupture), labor and delivery looks nothing like it did for centuries.

I could go on, but this post is far too long as it is. I would like to encourage any woman who is pregnant, who is planning on getting pregnant, who knows someone who is pregnant, or who just cares about maternal issues in general to watch the movie The Business of Being Born. Produced by Rikki Lake, it is an excellent look into the "business" of birthing babies, in America.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have regarding natural childbirth or homebirth.

Also, please know that if you made it this far and are feeling burned for having a not-so-natural birth experience, that is not my intention. I know that there are good reasons for all interventions. I also know that knee-deep in labor is not the best time to think through decisions, and we trust our care providers to make those decisions for us. If you were encouraged to have an intervention, then you made the best choice you could at the time.

I just want to encourage women to take a step back and examine birth from outside of the labor room. Perhaps, next time, you will have the knowledge and understanding to make a different and/or better choice.