Samantha's Birth Story

April 14, 2013 8:42 AM

I'm so excited to share my client Katrina's sacred home birth story, beautifully written herself. My sole purpose as a doula in this birth was supporting the momma during Labor. What made it so inspiring to be a part of was that physical support was all she needed. In all other areas she was fully prepared!

This woman is a fabulous example of getting in touch with and listening to the divine feminine within. As you read about her birth you will soon see the complete responsibility she took for each and every aspect of her birth: the emotional, physical, energetic, informational, and more.

I would also like to highlight the fact that her baby was originally in the posterior position. I'm so proud to know a woman who educated herself so well that she knew she could turn the baby herself with no medical intervention!

Posterior babies that go undetected can lead to very long labors and hard births. However if you are experiencing this a Doula or home birth midwife would help you to get in a variety of positions known to help a baby move into optimal fetal positioning in order to restart a halted or slow labor and possibly save you from an unnecessary C-section.

Wait to go Katrina for knowing just what to do in order to aid her dilation and have a beautiful birth. A side note: Katrina is also a Doula herself.

Samantha’s Birth Story – As told by Katrina

It was Saturday night. I was getting more and more anxious about going 10 days over my due date. Samantha was due on November 10 and it was the night of November 19 and no sign that she was coming. I had just seen my midwife, Rachel, and she had said that I was still fairly high and only dilated to a 1. She had also checked Samantha’s position and she was posterior.

I remember trying to keep my spirits up but I was so done being pregnant. It was uncomfortable at night so I wasn’t getting much sleep. I didn’t want to have to go to the hospital and be induced and I wanted to see my baby’s cute little face.

 I had deep cleaned the apartment and gotten my birth kit out and organized. I was sure she was going to come on her due date. It was even going to be a full moon. My chiropractor had muscle tested me and said that she was ready to come and was so sincere about it. I thought he was joking but then he said, “I would not be surprised if the next time you come in is with your baby in your arms”. He said the test was always right. So I figured it would happen that night.

Chris and I went on a walk that night. It was cold out so we wrapped ourselves up. The full moon lit everything up in a beautiful glow and it felt like we were the only two people in the world at that time.  We walked and talked about what our family would be like with our little girl in it. It was peaceful. The next morning I woke up and no baby.

So here we were 10 days later and I was done. I went to an energy worker to see if there was some fear or emotional clearing I needed to go through since everyone seemed to think Samantha was ready. Maybe I was the one halting progress.

The energy worker had said that I was afraid to ask for help and that I needed to tell people when I needed help. I was feeling like I needed to do this all on my own. She had said specifically that I needed to ask Chris to help me and let him love me. She said that Samantha was ready to come. She said that everything was ready but that she was posterior but would turn when the time came. She knew exactly what to do and to not worry about her.

That night Chris and I were on the bed. He was doing homework and I was writing my thoughts down. It all fit together suddenly and I knew exactly what I needed to do. I remembered that I would get pretty strong contractions at night. I thought they were just Braxton hicks. I didn’t want to wake Chris so I would go out and sit in the living room and tell myself that they needed to go away. I wasn’t ready to feel labor contractions. I was afraid of them and what labor would bring. It was all so new to me.

Everything that the energy worker had said and my appointment with Rachel all made sense and I could see what was going on. Both the midwife and energy worker had said that Samantha was posterior. I was getting weak contractions at night. They were strong but irregular. Instead of relaxing into them and asking Chris to help me through them, I was going outside to the living room and doing whatever I needed to get them to go away. I felt alone and scared during those times and was not asking for help. I realized that the discomfort at night that I was experiencing were light contractions. I then told Chris, “We are having this baby tonight”.

I got into the positions that I had felt that discomfort in and stayed there while Chris held my hand and reminded me to relax into the sensation and that I was safe. The contractions would start to get stronger then go away. I knew that with her being posterior that her head was not hitting the cervix and so I wasn’t dilating. My contractions were weak and irregular. I would get into another position and Chris would again reassure me and tell me to relax into the sensation.

We were finally working as a team. What the energy worker had said kept going through my head. “You won’t have this baby until you ask Chris for help”. I had finally asked for his help and here we were putting my body into labor. I had gone from absolutely no contractions to frequent irregular contractions. The whole process and my sudden realization of what to do amazed me.

The whole process of labor and energy work was working together and I wasn’t going to have to go to the hospital. We naturally induced my labor without any medication or herbs I was going into labor through gaining emotional clarity. I felt so clear and strong at that moment. I realized how powerful our minds and bodies are. I knew that Samantha and I were in a way communicating with each other and working together to bring her into this world.

We had started getting into positions and tracking contractions at about 9:30 PM and it was now 10:30. They were getting pretty regular at this point so I decided to go upstairs and let my mom know that I thought I was in labor. She came down and helped time the contractions with me. I called my doula Rachelle to give her a heads up. My mom called Rachel and told her I was having regular contractions.

Everyone kept telling me that I needed to rest because I could have a long labor ahead of me. Chris went to take a nap and I tried lying down on the couch. It was so uncomfortable to lie down. The contractions were so much more intense lying down. I got up and moved around. That was the only thing that made them bearable. I had been doing really well with Chris’s help and could feel my fear start coming back. The contractions were harder without him there to hold me.

I finally broke down and started crying. I again heard the energy workers voice in my head, “…you need to let Chris love you and let him help you”. I finally asked my mom to go get him. He came out and things escalated immediately.

I had been having back labor to this point. I knew it was because she was posterior. I LOVED back labor. I am the only woman that I have heard say this. The back labor was so much easier to deal with. All I needed was someone to apply counter pressure and it took the edge off the contraction. I could handle this. Suddenly the contractions went to the front and I knew Samantha had turned. It was go time.

My mom called the midwife and doula and told them that they needed to come over. Rachel got there within a few minutes and started setting up. I was so glad to feel like something was happening. I started feeling like I wanted to get into the tub so I asked Chris to fill it up. I don’t remember when the doula got there I just remember her giving counter pressure to my back during my contractions.

It all happened so quickly. I asked Rachel to check me and I had already dilated to a 7!! I told myself that I was not going to go over 7 hours of labor. I had visualized that 7 over and over again.

I was so glad to get into the warm tub. The contractions were getting stronger with each contraction and I knew it would go quickly. Never once did I think I wish there was something to take this away. I was amazed at how well I was handling them. I would not have had the same experience without my birth team. They were crucial. None of them left my side during the whole process. I was able to release myself to the birthing process. I felt protected and safe. They were my guardian angels during birth. 

My doula applied counter pressure to my back during all the contractions. My mom was applying pressure to my shoulders, which really moved the energy down. My husband was my anchor and my rock. He held me the whole time. He left for a minute to fix a camera and I immediately started to panic. He was what kept me centered. He ran back to me immediately and I knew I would make it through as long as he was right there holding my hand.    

I knew I had hit transition as soon as I felt sick. I started throwing up and knew I was just at the edge of the cliff. It was now time to jump and push her out. There were a few moments after transition where the contractions let up and I was given a chance to relax and prepare for pushing.

I was so glad I had done so much research. I knew I was prepared for this birth. I was in charge and everyone else was there to witness and help when needed. This was my birth and my experience. It was an amazing feeling. No one had to tell me what was going on in my body. I already knew.

I knew it was time to push because I got scared and I DID NOT want to push! I was so surprised because I had always thought I would like pushing. It meant she was almost there. I was squatting next to the side of the birth tub. The urges were so strong. I had to do whatever I could to hold them back. My body would just bear down by itself. I had very little control of this reflex. It was amazingly strong.

I tried visualizing blowing out candles to slow down the process and allow Samantha to slowly descend and allow my perineum to stretch. I felt inside and felt her bulging sack. I felt her sack descending down the birth canal with each contraction. I finally was able to feel her wrinkly head. It was such an empowering and surreal feeling to be squatting and feeling my baby’s head as I brought her down and closer to our arms. I asked Chris if he wanted to feel his baby’s head. He felt it and had a smile on his face.

The pushing urge got stronger and the sensations around her head intensified. I did not want to push. I had no idea how she would get out because I was not going to push her out. I suddenly saw blood around my body. I knew her sac had not ruptured so I didn’t know where the blood was coming from. I knew something was not right. Rachel noticed too and had me lay back.

I was afraid the contractions would be intense laying back. I noticed the pushing urge was not nearly as strong and I had more control of her decent. Suddenly Rachel said urgently “I need you to push your baby out now”.

Suddenly every cell of my body was focused on pushing her out. All the fear and uncertainty was gone. I was strong and I was going to push this baby out now. It was so amazing the natural instincts that overwhelmed my body. It was like a program flipped on my body and it was saying push her out push her out. I could feel this intense strength I had never known before. I pushed her out in 2 pushes.

I suddenly had this slimy, beautiful baby in my arms. The world was spinning around me and my brain was trying to catch up with what my body had just done. Everyone around me was flipping my baby around in my hands. Samantha had her cord wrapped around her neck 3 times and once around her body. Her cord was so long.

She let out a few coughs but then was silent in my arms. We just looked into each other’s eyes. She was so present. Everyone was holding their breath waiting for her to let out some good cries. We rubbed her and told her how much we loved her. I knew her spirit was fully in her body. I wasn’t scared at all.

It seemed like minutes passed before I suddenly heard a woman’s voice in my head say, “Tell her it’s okay to cry. She needs your reassurance that it’s okay to cry”. I could see this women kneeling behind us and saying this into my ear. She was holding us both. I then said “it’s okay to cry” and immediately she started crying. It was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard.

She lay in my arms looking around with such big eyes. She had such a big presence. She had so much knowledge in those little deep blue eyes.  Rachel wanted to get the placenta out because I was bleeding quite a bit. I had intuitively known that I needed to make sure my iron levels were good and high and now I knew why.

The placenta came out with a few pushes. They gave me a tincture to help my uterus contract and stop the bleeding. I got out of the tub and they checked me out. The bleeding had slowed down and was not a concern. I had 2 labial tears and a vaginal tear. Rachel thought it was because she had reached in and helped pull Samantha out. The tears were not deep enough where they needed stitching which was good.

Rachel had gotten concerned when she saw the gush of blood in the tub and started monitoring Samantha’s heart rate. Her heart rate had dropped to 40-60 BPM and was not going back up. That is when she told me to push her out right then.

We found out later that the cord being around her neck and body had pulled part of the placenta from my uterus and caused the bleeding. This caused the heart rate to drop. Her cord was wrapped around her body so tightly at the end that it was cutting off blood flow from the placenta to her.

I had been squatting because that was what felt good for me. Samantha needed to come out quickly and squatting is the best position to push a baby out quickly. I think my body intuitively knew this and so I was able to push her out quickly when it came to that time.

Chris got to hold Samantha for the first time while they were checking me out. Our little Sammy sucker girl was already sucking on her hands and giving nursing cues. We got cuddled into the couch with some blankets and started nursing. It was such an odd feeling holding a baby and nursing yet it felt so natural at the same time. She latched on right away like a pro. I just held her there skin to skin. She just kept staring at me with those deep blue eyes. I was in love.

I had a 3 1/2 hour labor. 7 hours from the time we started positions and trying to get my contractions going until the birth. The midwife checked her height and weight. She was 8 pounds 2 ounces and 21 ½ inches long. Her cord was clamped and Chris cut her cord. We waited almost an hour to cut her cord. Her cord was still pulsating almost an hour later. Rachel noted that her placenta had been sucked dry. Her body knew she needed that oxygen rich blood.

 Samantha was born at 2:04 in the morning, just an hour before my birth time. I was born at 3 in the morning. We both shared the same due date of November 10, both were 10 days late and born on November 20 and we are only an hour apart in birth times. She is my little shadow.

Everyone cleaned up and people started trickling away. It was like a labor had never occurred just an hour before. It was quiet and peaceful. We snuggled into our bed with our sleeping angel between us. It felt so good to be in our own bed and in our own home.

I loved every minute of my pregnancy and birth. It was hard, it had its ups and downs but it was life changing. I am so much clearer and stronger now from it. Not only did I birth my daughter but I too was reborn after this experience. A year later I look into the mirror and don’t recognize the person looking back. She is stronger, she is more compassionate, she is passionate about life, she loves helping other women, she is a woman, she is a mother.

Thank you to Rachel Talley my amazing midwife. She was an answer to prayers and swooped in when I needed her. She is so passionate about women and you can tell she loves her calling as a midwife. She also encapsulated my placenta and I had an amazing recovery from it. She did an amazing job. 

Thank you to her assistant Yulia Draschil. She was the person in the background making sure everything ran smoothly. She was so sweet and helped me start the nursing process and reassured me that I was doing fine.

Thank you to my amazing doula Rachelle Davis. You are like a sister to me. She is so strong and you know she’s got your back during labor.

Thank you to my mom for being such a great example to me. I would not have had the amazing home birth I did if it were not for your example and leading the way for me and showing me how to have a conscious pregnancy and birth. Thanks for bringing me into the world. You are a mother for so many and my hero.

Thanks to my big sister Alicia for coming and supporting me and taking pictures and video. You are such an example to me.

Lastly, a huge thanks goes to my husband. Like I said you are my rock and anchor. You are an amazing husband and father. Samantha absolutely loves and adores you like her mommy does. You are my everything.

 And thank you Samantha for choosing us to be your parents. You amaze me every day. I know you will be an amazing woman some day. I just hope I can be the support you need to achieve all your greatness.