I received notice in the very early morning that this mama was about to meet her new babe. They were just leaving their house to go to the midwifery birthing suite as things were starting to progress pretty quickly! I got out of bed and started gathering my stuff together. I was feeling the usual birthing excitement…. my heart was pumping and my breath full of life.
I got in my car and drove to the suite and received a message that she was already 7cm dilated. When I arrived, she was so calm and her partner was so in tune to her needs. He rubbed her back, and he squeezed her hips. He kept her hydrated and also cracked a few jokes to keep her laughing. You could feel their love and their connection.
Mama listened to the waves of her body and knew exactly what it needed. She relaxed in the bath and allowed to water to calm her body. When her body was getting a bit too relaxed, she switched positions and walked around the suite, climbed some stairs and swayed her hips. She allowed her body to open while she surrendered to her breath.
She was so beautiful and so strong. She then went into the shower and allowed the water to flow over her belly which can be so helpful during labour to relax muscles and ease pain. What a birthing GODDESS she was.
A little while later, she hopped back in the tub as it was beginning to feel very intense. I remember her saying that baby wasn’t coming down and she was never going to come. The midwife poured water over her belly while calmly reminding her of the hard work she was already doing and that her baby would definitely be in her arms soon. She just had to take it one surge after another. Don’t focus on what is next… just focus on riding each wave.
Well, to our surprise, baby started to crown and was discovered that she was in fact OP (occiput posterior- which is just fancy for entering this world facing up rather than down). This means that baby’s skull is pressing against the back of mom’s pelvis making it more difficult for baby to get under mom’s pubic bone. But, she did in fact come out and what a site!
Emotions were so high. This birth was pure magic from start to finish. Later, dad went to go get their 17 month old son to come meet his new baby sister and everyone snuggled in and I got to watch this family start their transition to a family of 4.
Thank you to this beautiful family for inviting me into their sacred space and allowing me to freeze time for them so they could relive these moments for the rest of time. xo