Natural Birth Stories: One of Our Favorites

When you’re planning a natural birth, one of the most helpful things you can do for yourself is to read natural birth stories and if you’re planning a waterbirth, reading waterbirth stories. It’s so enlivening to get a sense of how other people have done it and to read about their journey in preparation for your own. Here’s a very brief detail of one of our favorite natural birth stories as midwives. Of course, this example is told from the perspective of the midwife, and not the birthing person. We honor that each birthing person will have their own perspective, because birth is deeply personal and individual. 

Natural Birth Stories: One of Our Favorites

One of our favorite natural birth stories was with a client who had transferred care to us late in her pregnancy. She was dissatisfied with her hospital-based providers, who she had realized only at the end of her pregnancy weren’t really listening to her and didn’t seem to be able to offer her reassurance that she could move freely in labor, have a waterbirth, and avoid interventions she didn’t want. She was nervous that she wouldn’t have the natural birth she wanted at the hospital, so she reached out to us.

We looked over her prenatal records and met with her and together we all decided she would be a great candidate for a community birth. We met with her every week once she came into our care, making sure that she and her baby were healthy and normal and that we would have a chance to get to know each other. We wanted to be trusted care providers by the time the birth came. Her due date came and went, which is very normal for first-time moms. Most moms give birth 7-10 days past their estimated due date if it is their first baby. When she was over 41 weeks pregnant, she came into our office grumpy and frustrated. “I just feel like it’s never going to happen,” she told us. “I’m so disheartened.” She had a good, big cry in the office and left feeling still unsure, but at least having had a release.

That night, as I was finishing up my shower and crawling into bed, the pager went off. It was our mama! She was having regular contractions. We talked on the phone for a while and I got a sense of how close together her contractions were, and how powerful. She was working very hard, but it wasn’t time yet for us to join her. In a few hours, after we had both gotten some sleep (she in between contractions, me with an ear out for the phone), she paged again. This time, she sounded like she was deep in labor- she was a little out of it, distracted, and moaning with her contractions. I told her we would be there shortly. We went to her house, and when we arrived we found her laboring, supported by her mom, her husband, and of course, their dog. Everyone was gathered around her, while she closed her eyes and swayed with the contractions. She was sitting on the birth ball and moving back and forth, rocking with the intensity of the waves, and moaning softly. She took small sips of water between each contraction, given by her husband, while her mom told her what an amazing job she was doing and applied cool cloths to her neck.

We set up all of our equipment- resuscitation equipment, medications for bleeding, everything needed to monitor the well-being of mom and baby- and started supporting her. We helped her get into different positions and listened to her when she cried, telling us how hard it was. “It’s harder than I thought,” she said to us. “I don’t know if I can do this.” We listened to her and reassured her that she could do it, she was already doing it. She asked for a vaginal exam, so we checked her cervix and found that she was 8 centimeters dilated! We all celebrated this together- she had come so far and was in transition. Everyone feels, in transition, that they can’t do it. The sensations are so overwhelming and so powerful, and there’s rarely much of a break between contractions. It’s the final part of the cervix opening up to allow the baby to come into the birth canal, and it’s so incredibly powerful it can be frightening. This is where women really show how amazing they are- they can stay with that sensation and allow it, because of their strength and their love for their baby. It’s absolutely breathtaking to see a woman working hard to meet her baby and going so inward that the rest of the world ceases to exist. We filled up the waterbirth tub with hot water and helped her get into it. Instantly, when she submerged her body, all her muscles relaxed. She let out a soft sigh of relief and smiled. She was still completely inward and focused, but it was obvious the water made her feel so much better.

We continued to monitor her and her baby intermittently, and they were both perfectly healthy. We waited patiently as she labored, her moans becoming yells and screams. She and her husband were working together, forehead to forehead, and after a few hours, she told us she felt like she needed to push. When a woman needs to push, she feels pressure in her bottom and it’s an unmistakable feeling. “Go into that feeling,” we told her. “You can trust your body.” She began to follow her body’s urge to push and within an hour, each contraction she had saw her bearing down as hard as she could to push her baby out. We could see a sliver of her baby’s head below the water, and we knew that she was making incredible progress. “Keep going,” we told her. “It’s okay.” She told us she felt afraid of pushing, that she would tear or that something bad would happen. She cried again and said she didn’t know if she could do it. We listened to her yet again, and her mom offered her words of encouragement. “I felt the same way with you,” she said. “I was so scared. But it is so worth it! You can do this.” She continued to push, hard, with each contraction. Before long, we could see most of her baby’s head, and then in one final push, her baby’s head was born. He was pink under the water, and we could see that he was grimacing and moving his face around. He was so ready to be born! There was a slight pause in between contractions, in which baby was suspended between worlds, head born but not body. When the next wave started to build, she pushed with all her might and her baby was born into the waterbirth tub. Her husband reached down with our support and gently, slowly, pulled him out of the water. His eyes were open and he was looking right at his dad as he came into his arms. As soon as he came out of the water, he began to cry and move vigorously. He was perfect. Mom and dad burst into tears- they were so overjoyed at the arrival of their son! They all held each other tight and met their newest little love. We were so proud and honored to be present for her journey. She didn’t think she could do it, but she always had the strength and the power. She just needed the opportunity to use it. It was a beautiful waterbirth, and one we will never forget. 

Final Thoughts on Water Birth Stories

Natural birth stories like these can help other moms feel empowered to try their own natural water birth. Do you have a natural birth story or a waterbirth story? Please share with your community! It helps to lift each other up and remind us all how amazing women, and moms, really are.