Mama Natural Birth Class Helped Kenda And Her Husband Be More Prepared For Home Birth

When did you realize you were really in labor?

I was laying in bed in the early hours of the morning, around 5 AM. I felt a cramp so strong and intense that the bottoms of my feet and my palms began to sweat while I waited it out. I thought, "is THAT what a contraction feels like?! Because holy crap, I thought I was having them before and obviously I was NOT".
I began timing my contractions with an app I had downloaded a couple of weeks prior and realized they were coming at regular 10-12 minute intervals. After about an hour, I woke up my husband, texted our midwife, and THAT was when I realized it was for real- I was in labor.

What was the most challenging thing about going natural?

Honestly, the most challenging things about going natural are the reasons why I wanted to go natural in the first place. I had one of the largest procedures in general surgery about three years ago- a pancreaticoduodenectomy. It leads to me being hospitalized off and on for about two months, and lead to many resulting complications with my health.

During my stay, I had many amazing healthcare providers who genuinely cared about my well-being and wanted me to be able to go home... but I had just as many hospital staff that saw me as a number, or as an obstacle to their schedules. I had decisions made for me without my consent, I had medicine given to me- also without my consent- that resulted in more negative side effects than what they sought to address, and I had staff talk down to me and treat me like a difficult child. After this experience, I sought to be as in control of my own medical experiences as possible, to be as educated as possible regarding my decisions, and to be my own advocate even in the face of adversity or a scoffing doctor. I chose a midwife who supported all of the same decisions I wanted for my birth and my baby and was able to have a home birth that went better than I could have possibly imagined. I had the opportunity to do all of my own research and know that I was able to successfully avoid dangerous interventions that could potentially lead to my baby having developmental delays, and me having breastfeeding issues and postpartum depression.
Dealing with nay-sayers and fear-mongers was the most difficult part of this decision. I found that they strengthened my resolve to go natural- but that never stopped me from having nights where I cried in the shower or on my husband, frustrated that people would judge our decisions without understanding how we arrived at them.

What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?

I think the most helpful thing that prepared me for childbirth is pretty similar to what you'll hear from everyone else- I tried to stay as active as I could while I worked (I walked about 3-4 miles a day while at work during the first two trimesters. By the last month of my pregnancy, I was lucky if I walked a mile a day), I made sure I had balanced supplements and prenatals, and I tried to fill in the holes in my diet with juiced vegetables and plenty of fruit (I could not seem to tolerate any other veggies while pregnant- all I wanted was salty, vinegary things, and cheese galore.) I also ate 3 medjool dates a day during my last 4 weeks of pregnancy and drank at least one cup of red raspberry leaf tea a day. I delivered right on my due date. Directly after birth, I lost a lot of blood- but in the coming hours and days, my blood loss was quickly weaned down to next to nothing- which surprised me when I expected to bleed like a stuck pig for weeks.

What surprised you about your birth?

I think what surprised me most of all was how time seemed to stop existing once I got to a certain point in my labor. It seemed to go by so quickly, yet take so long at the same time. I remember I was so focused on getting through each contraction, one at a time, and listening to the different positions my midwife wanted me to try- ("let's go to the birth tub now", "let's try hands and knees", "maybe we can do the birth stool next", "let's have you lay down on your side in the bed") that I was shocked when all was said and done and we calculated that my labor took about 20 hours from start to finish. I remember the only things that existed for me were the pain, exhaustion, and the space between my contractions.

The Mama Natural Birth Class helped my husband and I feel much more prepared for our homebirth.

What pain relief strategies worked best?

The warm/hot water of being in the shower or birth tub worked wonders for my pain relief- though I was so dehydrated and exhausted towards the end of my labor that I started to overheat very easily and get dizzy.
My midwife, mom, and husband all got exceptionally skilled at acupressure after doing either the hip squeeze or sacral pressure on me to get me through each contraction for however many hours. I told my midwife at the time that if she hadn't been there to apply pressure at each contraction, I wouldn't have been able to make it.

What position did you end up delivering in?

I ended up delivering in "Queen's Position"- on my back with my legs held aloft in the air. My husband held me up from behind while my mom and mother-in-law held each of my cramping legs, and pushed back against my feet. I thought I was going to deliver in the birth tub, (I had been excited about it for months) but when the time for pushing came, I was too drained to push on my own- hence my husband sitting behind me to lift me up with each contraction.

How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?

I remember mainly just being in complete shock when they placed my baby on my stomach. I actually did it, she was okay, and now she was finally here! She was so alert too, and I remember feeling her little toenails dig into my stomach as she crawled her way up my torso until her wet little head was thudding against my chin. She was actually pulling on the umbilical cord that was still inside me as she crawled- it was the most unreal, amazing feeling.

How did the Mama Natural Birth Class help you in your childbirth?

The Mama Natural Birth Class helped my husband and I feel much more prepared for our homebirth. It made us feel empowered to have all of the practical knowledge of what could happen at our fingertips. I think Maura's detailed explanations, as well as her anecdotes of her past experiences, were very informative and interesting. We also felt that the practice videos and the videos of other women's live births at the end of each lesson were probably the most helpful in making us feel prepared.