Birth Story: Kristina L.
I own a maternity and baby consignment boutique in a small city in Ontario, Canada. I was pregnant with my fourth child, and was planning a homebirth this time around. I had heard of the BOBB, and was so excited to see it. I invited a friend of mine, Dr Tanya, a chiropractor who was also expecting to attend a screening with me. We were awestruck. What an incredible film! We decided the people in our community needed to see it, so we arranged for a screening here. It was well attended, and all the local midwives came out to support it. The exciting news was, that our midwives were swamped with phone calls that week, and that a lot of their clients who had seen the film, had decided on a homebirth! I was so inspired, that I now rent out birthing tubs to people in our community…and I am booked solid for the year!
Here is my birth story about the birth of my fourth little one, Sophie:
Sophie’s Birth Story
April 10th, 2008
I was due to have my baby on April 5th, 2008. At 4 days overdue, my midwife did a good stretch and sweep which brought on some great contractions (I was 3-4 cm dilated at the time.) I contracted all day long, then went to bed, then they stopped. Woke up next morning, and had on and off, non-timeable contractions. We went about our day, grocery shopping, cleaning etc….and the midwife called me at 2, and asked what was happening. I had told her that nothing regular, but that I was having some good contractions. She gave me the choice of coming in for another stretch and sweep, or waiting and seeing what would happen by the weekend. So, we opted to head down to the midwife clinic.
The midwife, and her student both did a stretch and sweep, and I was already dilated to a good 5cm. They sent me off walking, and told me to check in when contractions were timeable (she also suggested using a breast pump to help get things going.) So we went for ice cream, and Joel and I walked around downtown window shopping hand in hand-it was such a fun “date” for us. I went by work to check up on things, and left at 4:00, picked up the children from daycare, and came home. By 5:30, contractions were 5 mins apart. We called my parents to pick up the children, called my best friend, Krista who was sitting in class in University, and started setting up our water birth tub. At 7:00, we called the midwives to let them know that the contractions were now toe curling and very painful, but still only 5 mins apart. Krista showed up, and the midwives were right behind her. They checked me…and I was already 7-8 cm!! We finished filling the birthing tub with hot water, and I got in. At this time, it was 8:45ish, and I predicted baby would be here by 10! The tub was amazing….temperature was 37, which was nice and warm, and helped ease the pain of the contractions. Also, I could push against the side of tub with my feet to give me some relief as well. I was laughing and smiling, and saying “this is sooo easy!” (hahaha!) Midwife tried to break my water to help get things moving along, but it wasn’t bulging, so she said it was best to leave it alone (thank goodness…you’ll see why in a few minutes!)
9:30, and transition began….lots of swearing, and I even asked the midwife is she happened to smuggle any drugs in her bag, lol. I bit down on Joel’s knuckle, thankfully realizing what I was doing before doing any damage. I finally felt the urge to push, and believe me, when you have already delivered 3 babies, you know the importance of bearing down with every contraction to get that baby out! I gave it my all! I was on my knees, and baby’s head started to crown. Being in the water helped with the burning pain of crowning, and relaxed my perineum. It seemed like forever (but was only a matter of a few minutes) and my baby was out! The midwife passed her up to me, and I put her on my chest. Of all my births, this was the most incredible ever! Being in my own bedroom, surrounded by familiar faces and surroundings, and no hospital distractions was the most incredible feeling in the world! Sophie Louise weighed 8 pounds, 7 oz, and was 21 inches long. She was named after my father in law, Louis who had passed away less than 2 weeks before.
I got into bed to deliver the placenta, and the midwife gasped. “OH MY GOD!” There was a rare abnormality with the placenta. Velamentous Insertion of the Umbilical Cord. The cord wasn’t attached to the side of the placenta, but to the main arteries of the placenta. If one of the arteries was to rupture during pregnancy, it would mean hemorrhaging, and sudden death to the baby. Rupturing membranes can cause almost certain death in the baby. She made Joel take pics, as it is such a rare occurance, and she wanted to show them to her colleagues. She said it was such a textbook case, and had never seen one in person before. All three midwives stood around shaking their heads. Thank goodness everything turned out okay, but I think of this every time I hold my sweet Sophie. I am so thankful for her!
She truly is our miracle baby…..conceived on the IUD, AND survived a very rare condition with her placenta. She was meant to be with us, that is for sure!
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