Homebirth

Owen: May 17, 1999

By Kim Stolte

When I was pregnant with my third child, my husband and I decided to have a home birth. It wasn’t a quick decision. We had two previous births in hospitals in California 7 and 9 years prior to this pregnancy.

The decision was made even more difficult because I was a labor and delivery RN at the hospital where I could give birth. It came with complicated choices as to what co-worker I would want to be my nurse or what room was my favorite. I was planning on bringing an air mattress so that I had a larger place to labor then the hospital bed, I was thinking of ways to re-arrange the room and who or who wasn’t allowed to know I was there laboring. I even had visions of what signs I would hang on the door telling people what they could and couldn’t say or do when they entered my ‘sanctuary’. All of this over analyzing helped me come to the conclusion that I should have my baby at home.

As soon as we made the decision, all the mental work and worry that I had been doing stopped. This was the right choice for our family. We chose a local midwife and friend. Ironically, she had been a labor nurse and I worked with her when I was first training at the local hospital. She had the same trust in birth that I did. She also had years of experience as a midwife, nurse, doula and newborn nurse. I felt completely comfortable with her training and skills. She also had emergency supplies that may be needed for the newborn or myself.

Preparing for birth: Home birth doesn’t have that many more pieces of preparation then a hospital birth. I needed to wash and “sterilize” towels and blankets that would be used for the delivery. I put the blankets and towels in a hot wash, dryer and then the oven. I prepared the room where I would probably labor and give birth by lining the bed with a waterproof liner, taking up the white carpet and having candles, cd/tape player, flowers and other nice things available. We moved the hot tub onto the deck and hung shades so the neighbors didn’t have a show during the labor and birth. I made plans for my two older children to stay during the labor and birth by having them watch videos of birth, talk about sounds that I may make and the ‘work’ of having a baby come out of my body. They had their uncle available in case they wanted to leave or wanted to get outside, not knowing how long my labor may be.

My previous two births had been faster and relatively easy. So I was expecting this birth to be similar. When I woke up Monday morning having contractions I called all the birth team. My sister and brother-n-law drove out from Portland, two nurse friends from Hood River and my midwife. The boys were excited because they didn’t have to go to school! I happily set about taking care of the house, making muffins for the guests all the while having contractions every 5 minutes or so. My water hadn’t broke, but I was dilated to 4 cm! We enjoyed the day, went on walks in the neighborhood, hanging out. I even had pizza for lunch! Around 3 in the afternoon, things weren’t as fun. I was having strong contractions that stopped me in my tracks. I enjoyed the shower and the warm water helped the contractions. I also spent time in the blue (painted) room, which was our guest room that was set up for birth and laboring. My family and friends’ alternated helping with massage, breathing, suggesting position changes and provided great encouragement during my longest labor yet!

When I was ready to get into the hot tub we discovered that it wasn’t very hot. The circuit breaker must have turned off probably the day before. Oops we didn’t remember to check that. Well, we boiled water like in the olden days! When I stepped into the hot tub, it was wonderful! Finally, I could squat, lean forward, hands and knees and MOVE! I was so frustrated in the shower, because I wanted to lean forward, but it hurt to lean forward. So being in the hot tub was a big relief. At the time I went into the hot tub I was probably 8-9 cm dilated at about 4 in the afternoon.

Throughout the day my midwife had been listening to the babies heart rate, taking my vital signs and writing down notes. She was available as needed for assessment and support, but found the balance when other people were providing support. My husband was always available, but was able to work on projects as he wanted around the house.

After awhile I chose to move to the bed and begin to push. I never did get the urge to push. I also felt overwhelming pain when I did push. I found that pushing at the beginning of a contraction and at the end of a contraction let me get used to the change in sensation and pressure in my crotch/butt! If I pushed throughout the contraction I would pull back and tighten up and stop pushing because it hurt too much. I could have stayed in the water, but mentally I needed to get serious and push this kid out! It was now about 6:30 pm.

I remember lying on my side, with Heidi my sister holding my hand on one side, John my husband on the other side, Summer holding one leg, Mary and Kathy midwife and assistant/friends preparing for birth, and the older boys looking intently at my bottom! Finally they get to see their baby brother that they have been waiting for. After telling my brain that I just needed to push and ignore the unbelievable pressure and pain in my butt to get the baby out. One hour or so of serious pushing and he was out! Up on my belly surrounded by family and friends!

Adam, who was 8 years old, cut the umbilical cord. Eric and John very close by, touching looking and loving this new little boy to our family. Owen started nursing right away. I enjoyed a milk shake that the boys had been sent out for hours ago. And we just hung out.

I am sure my midwife was assessing all the signs of my bleeding and newborn assessments, but we didn’t really notice as we were in baby heaven!

While laying in bed my placenta was happy to stay inside, so after awhile I handed Owen to his brother Eric and walked to the toilet. Thanks to gravity, the placenta easily came out. I got cleaned up and headed back to the fresh bed that my friends had straightened up.

After a couple of hours, friends and family headed home. My midwife did one last check before she went home with clear instructions of what concerns to look for and to call her if we needed ANYTHING. She would return early in the morning or earlier if needed. The boys were tucked into their beds and John and I snuggled in with our newest member of family.

The best part of the homebirth was when I woke up the next morning in my own bed! I was able to sleep, feed Owen, rest without going anywhere for a couple of days. My midwife came over and did a load of wash after checking over Owen and I. She stopped by about twice a day the first couple of days and did routine postpartum visits until we passed with a good bill of health.

Now Owen is proud to tell his friends when the conversation comes up, that he was born at home in our guest room, that we call the blue room. We are happy to have this wonderful experience together as a family.

By Pam (Doula for Nancy and Wes)

Nancy and Wes had a great birth team. It consisted of one of their best friends, Craig, their midwife, Mary, friend and family doctor, Helen, and their doula, Pam.

Nancy and Wes desired to have a baby and helped start the process by taking a trip to some Micronesian Islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Island of Yap is where they believe little Zan Miray was conceived. What a beautiful start she had in life. Nancy was fit and healthy throughout her pregnancy.

As they prepared for Zan’s arrival they researched the best environment for their baby to be born. After some thought they decided upon birthing her in their own home where Nancy would feel most secure and at peace. Nancy’s doctor, Helen, would be in attendance along with a midwife that Nancy and Wes felt very confident in. They learned about water births and thought it would be a great option to deliver in a water birth pool. A pool was ordered and arrived in time for Zan’s birthday.

Nancy read a lot about labor and birth and of course heard birth stories from the women in her life. What she wanted was her own birth experience, to remain open to whatever that may be, and to focus on the positive energy of birth.

The days prior to Zan’s arrival were passed with much anticipation. Nancy’s friend, Pauline, came to to help her ground her Chakras. Nancy felt that this had been very helpful to her. Long walks were taken and on Friday, October 22nd, Nancy was having fairly regular “expansions”. Wes chose to use the word “expansions” instead of contractions. He was accurate that the uterus was “expanding” and the word expansions sounded nicer. That morning Nancy and Wes had their usual hearty breakfast of oatmeal, currants, apples, blueberries, pecans and soymilk. Nancy worked online, showered, took a nice long walk and then had a birth pressure point massage and listened to a birth CD. Her expansions were regular and consistent. They were between 5-10 minutes apart. Nancy decided to call Helen and let her know what was happening. She arrived at 5:30 PM. An exam at 6:00 PM found 1 cm of dilation, 75 % effacement and the baby was at a -3 station. It seemed that baby Zan was preparing to meet her family.

A picture was taken of Nancy as she sat on her birth ball wearing the necklace that was made for her at her “Blessing Way” ceremony. The many thoughts and prayers of the women in her life were with her at this most intense time of labor.
Nancy’s expansions continued throughout the night and became very strong in the early morning hours when they were 3-5 minutes apart. An exam at this time found a dilation of 3 cm, effacement was now 100% and baby Zan had moved
down to a much lower station of 0. It had been a long, intense night of labor. Nancy felt somewhat overwhelmed at the length of time it was taking for dilation to occur. She was doing wonderfully and had begun to vocalize with her labor. Mary, their midwife, had arrived around midnight. It was said that the coyotes were heard to be howling in the mountains as Nancy labored early that morning.

Nancy was comforted by the warm water of the birth pool. She used a hands and knees position and then she also rested back in the arms of Wes. Through her entire labor, Wes was an immense support and encouragement. He was excellent in helping Nancy use the dive breathing techniques they had learned together. It worked well for them. Music was played to bring a sense of peace and calm. Nancy threw up several times during her labor, which is often helpful for dilation. She continued to stay hydrated as she labored. It was an amazing process and Nancy was going totally into herself which is the best place for a laboring woman to be.

At 10:00 AM an exam found Nancy to be 6 cm dilated, she was 100% effaced
and the baby was at a 0 station. This was excellent! She had been working so hard and things were beginning to open up. Nancy began to feel some low pressure and some urges to push with these expansions. Mary, her midwife, gave her some belladonna to relieve this urge until dilation was complete. It did the trick. Nancy continued to labor in the birth pool and when she was up and out of the pool she felt comfort in sitting on the toilet.

Another exam at 12:15 PM found Nancy to be 9 ¾ cm dilated. She was almost complete. Nancy said she wanted a hard boiled egg. She would eventually have her hard boiled egg once Zan was born. At this point all her concentration was being put into bringing her baby into the world. Nancy began to have grunting expansions. She was feeling Zan’s head pressing on her perineum. Nancy was on her hands and knees in the birth pool when during an expansion she felt the release of her membranes in the water. She gave a strong push and the baby moved down to a +3 station. There was some lowering of Zan’s heart rate in the birth pool and the decision was made for Nancy to sit on the birth chair for some expansions. Once on the chair Nancy felt “where” to push. Someone told her to tilt her pelvis and when she did, that was it. She knew just where to push and shortly after that Zan made her appearance into the world. During this time Nancy had some extra oxygen administered and Wes continued to do the dive breathing with her, which was of great help in getting more oxygen to the baby. Zan was born at 2:02 PM and her 5 minute apgar score was an 8. This was great! Her daddy cut her umbilical cord. Zan’s head was a nice size, measuring 13 ¾ inches. There had been quite a bit of meconium released just prior to birth, but all was well and Zan was breathing fine.
It was found that Nancy’s placenta was a unique heart shape. Vitamin K was given to Zan by mouth and she received eye drops as well. Nancy did not tear
in her perineum at all. This was wonderful and would make her postpartum time
very enjoyable. It was not long after she was born and Zan was suckling at Nancy’s breast. Craig took some awesome pictures of the labor and delivery. Nancy and Wes had prepared well for this wondrous birth experience. They made an awesome team and this was a great start for their journey into parenthood. They had set the scene for Zan’s birth. Nancy had done an incredible job though out her labor. She is a strong woman and this will be a great encouragement to her as she nurtures her baby girl. Congratulations and best wishes to Nancy, Wes and Zan for a job well done!