Why Homebirth Worked For Me
Blogger Nidhi S. of Get Well Toronto shared her delivery story with us below. Want to share your own experience? Submit your story here.
It was a very special and beautiful moment for us when we learned that we were expecting. We were going to have a baby! Say that again? I am pregnant. I am getting goose bumps as I am writing this.
Our little girl turned one recently (time sure is flying) and as I was reflecting on my birth experience a year ago, I felt like writing about it and sharing it with you all.
I feel truly blessed for a healthy pregnancy and a beautiful birth. We birthed our daughter at our home – we lived in a one-bedroom condo at the time.
Our Decision
The truth is we weren’t always planning on having a homebirth. In fact, if someone asked us in the earlier trimester what our birthing plans were, we had absolutely no idea. We knew some friends had chosen homebirth, but it wasn’t very clear in our minds as to how it can actually happen.
But during the course of pregnancy, as we started to go for our appointments at Kensington Midwives, we started to learn of our options. On a side note, we received amazing care from Kensington Midwives. They are truly wonderful.
During my second trimester, I started to have a strong inclination towards homebirth. This was also the time when questions about birth were starting to pop up more frequently during our conversations with the midwives and others.
A close friend had a big role to play in this development. She shared her beautiful homebirth story with us and we started to feel more and more comfortable with the idea. It really resonated with us because we are very similar in many ways.
We were always told that if you are having a healthy and complication-free pregnancy, then you might be a good candidate for home birth. We talked to so many friends and family members. We did a lot of research, watched a lot of videos, read a lot of academic articles.
All that learning gave us a lot of confidence and comfort in an idea that was somewhat foreign to us at the beginning of pregnancy. It was truly a very organic process because we stayed very open-minded and ready to learn and explore all options.
What Others Said
I remember when I was still somewhat unsure, I shared the thought of homebirth with my mother. I had shared it with many others too. Some supported the idea, others not so much. But my mother was the only one person who said almost instantly, “If I could do it, so can you. Women have been giving birth forever. The body and the baby know what to do”.
Her words gave me so much confidence that I made the decision that very second. But I was also prepared that this is just a plan and we might have to make changes to it. Staying flexible and adaptable is very important in matters like these.
I feel truly blessed that we could stick to our plans and were able to birth our little girl at home. I want to share with you what was so nice about the homebirth experience and why it worked for me. If I were to summarize it in one sentence, I’d say, “There is no place like your own home.”
My Delivery
Labor for me lasted about 12 hours. The comfort of being in my own space was truly something. There was great music playing and I felt no time pressure of any kind. I felt safe and loved because I was in my own surroundings – the lights, the smells, the sounds, everything was familiar – to me and to my baby.
I was on the couch, on the floor, on the exercise ball, on the bed, in the bathroom. I did as I pleased and it felt very natural. My wonderful team included my rock solid husband and our doula. Later on during more active labor, our midwife joined us as well.
Could I have asked for a better midwife? I don’t think so. We all chanted together for each and every contraction. The sound of ‘Aum’ filled our hearts and minds with calming energy and my body continued to open up making way for my baby. All that comfort, the chanting, the prayers, the collective energy of that night kept the fear away from me.
The focus was on chanting and not the pain – although it was intense but the constant singing kept taking the pain away from me. I had no rush to be anywhere. I sang through one contraction at a time.
All I thought about was that one contraction – nothing before that, nothing after that. Each contraction was bringing my baby girl closer to me. There was so much comfort in that thought.
12 or so hours later my baby was in my arms – nature’s most beautiful miracle. I truly trusted my body and my baby and they guided me through the entire journey.
It was not just the pre-birth experience that gave me so much comfort but the post-birth experience was wonderful too. I didn’t have to go anywhere. I was already at home. We received midwifery care for the next week at home. Our friends and family came to see us at home. It was all so nice and beautiful.
I could have chosen to write a more scientific blog comparing hospital birth with homebirth, but that is not my intent. Birthing is a very personal experience for every woman. One kind of birth is not better than the other because birth is in itself is so very beautiful that other things are rather less important.
Staying at home was important for us, so we stayed with that plan and it worked well for us. Will I choose to do it again? Absolutely! I will continue to pray for a healthy happy pregnancy but most importantly I always pray for the health of the baby. That’s the most important thing, isn’t it?
Homebirth or hospital birth, natural or C-section, with midwives or with doctors…Birthing is Special, no matter what. Women are so strong and brave to go through this journey and I respect each one of you for that, including myself.
I’d love to hear your experiences, because each birthing story is a miracle in its own.