A Homebirth that prompts TJ to thank her creator for the blessing of her birth, her husband, her children and more.
A Home waterbirth after 2 hospital epidural births. Includes post-birth pictures.
Couples birth with the father being called into the room after the head has emerged. A "retained" placenta that resolved with faith and prayer. Midwife called in afterwards to do bloodwork and stitch a 2nd degree tear. Pictures and the father's perspective on the birth included.
A short tale of a painless waterbirth. A link to the beautiful birth video at the end of the story!
Begins with an explanation of why, after four hospital births, Darla and her husband decided to birth baby #5 at home unassisted. Water birth with follow up on the birth of baby #6 (also unassisted water birth) and plans for baby #7.
A very subdued homebirth, some water labor and a lot of patience.
The homebirth of twin girls following a cesarean birth. Risked out of homebirth and encouraged to schedule a repeat cesarean, Heather chose to remain home to birth her twins. With the help of 2 angels in midwives clothing, Heather felt confident enough to go ahead and have the homebirth she wanted. Hosted on a remote site and linked here with Heather's kind permission, this is a twin HBAC you won't want to miss.
After Blaise's relaxed homebirth, Susan and family plan another waterbirth at home. A birth story with a "soundtrack" :)
After a not so wonderful hospital birth with a midwife, Susan's son is birthed in a "beautiful and relaxed" homebirth. A waterbirth with minor setup issues but an otherwise peaceful emergence.
With God's help and grace, Vivian experiences her first unassisted birth as the blessing that every birth ought to be. Some back labor and minor umbilical issues.
After 4 years of waiting, Wendi was finally able to enjoy the baby and the birth she had dreamed of. An unassisted home waterbirth with very few distractions and a very happy ending!
Sarah's first child arrived suprisingly quickly, before the midwife could show up. A bathtub waterbirth with a doula/friend offering support and the amazed midwife on the phone helping Daddy catch his son. A 2 hour birth from first contraction to the Earthside celebration!
Wendy's second birth didn't go quite the way she'd planned. It didn't follow the same pattern her first labor did and she was led to drive herself to the ER afterwards to deal with a retained placenta. A unique tale of an unassisted birth that confused and educated, not only Wendy, but some hospital staff people as well.
Kimberley's 8th child and 7th daughter was born 15 days after her "due date" in a home waterbirth that was so gentle that Aquene fell asleep right afterwards.
A quick unassisted birth followed by a hospital transfer for help in birthing the placenta.
Anna's dearest wish was granted when her precious daughter was born at home while her husband was at work. A hospital transfer "just in case" resulted in a manual exam that hurt even more than the birth itself and praise and astonishment on the behalf of the impressed hospital staff.
After a beautiful Blessingway ceremony, Talia gives birth to her 36.5 week old daughter in an empowered waterbirth with her husband catching. Due to little Grace's slightly premature lungs and some jaundice issues, she is transferred to the hospital not just once but twice before being welcomed back to the home she was lovingly born into.
(This story is on Melissa's own website and is linked to with her kind permission.)
A UBAC waterbirth with pictures.
Jennifer's 5th child was welcomed in a family waterbirth. She experienced a prolonged early labor due to a tipped uterus and her placenta tore, unnoticed, during the birth, leaving a portion retained until the next evening. No problem. ; )
Diane's 3rd son arrived on her 2nd son's birthday. Her husband was a tower of strength during her early morning labor, in and out of water, and the family birth.
Micklyn's second unassisted VBAC (UBAC) was everything she'd prayed it would be; early, gentle and uncomplicated. A family waterbirth after such a short labor that it took the mama by suprise.
Stacey's fourth child and first freebirth, Eliot arrived in the tub in the middle of the night. Stacey got a little woozy after birth but all went well.
One of my new favorite birth stories! An unassisted birth after a Cesarean birth (UBAC) brings several challenges to Eugenie and her birth team. Several days of labor and a few scares later, Tygo is born to a triumphant mama. "Lack of progress", concerns about the baby's life force and a slow placenta are all overcome during this "epic" birth story. Don't miss this one!
A Father's eye view of the empowering simple birth of his first child. A straight-forward first birth at home has made a home birth advocate out of this Dad.
Jamie has a secret to tell us. The delightful birth shared only by her closest family is a tale she finally feels ready to tell.
A focused attempt to induce labor naturally results in a home water birth the next day. "A wonderful birth experience."
The waiting for Faerin to be ready to born was the challenge Tanya faced. In the end, Faerin knew the perfect time to be born, she just had to teach Tanya to trust first.
Before Tanya gave birth to Faerin, she had Ariana with midwives. A typically glowing account of her homebirth is revisited later with new eyes that see what was missed before. A perfect example of how midwives can affect birth and how blind we can be to it.
Chris' 7th pregnancy began much like the others but, upon discovering the email list cbirth, her birth plans began to shift. This family's unabirth was registered in France without a problem.
Keara makes birth sound so easy. An easy birth followed by a long wait for a placenta that Keara herself describes as "the most perfect birth experience".
For 3 weeks, Susan's water leaked and she monitored her health as she waited for Tala to arrive. One very quick birth later this family understands that ruptured membranes are no reason to give up on the birth your baby wants.
A beautiful, painless birth caught on video, Eudora was nearly born before Beatrice realized she was in labor. Birth with older siblings present.
After her daughter's birth Bea thought she knew what to expect but baby Albion proved that every birth is different and, even though mother knows best, she might not always realize it at the time. Family birth.
After 3 weeks on bedrest due to concerns over preterm labor, Ginger enjoyed an empowering home birth with her family around her. Baby Zachary's slight breathing problems caused enough concern to transfer him to the NICU for just over a day before returning to the home and family he was born into.
Marge planned to birth under the stars in a birth pool but her body had other plans. Her husband, Bill, is a nurse by trade and had his own issues leading up to this birth. The delight over the choice they made to birth together continues to empower them long after the physical event ends.
Born after 17 years of trying to conceive, Judith drew on her rich history of watching the American home birth "movement" evolve when she brought her daughter, Lia, Earthside. Judith is a firm believer in honoring fertility cycles and moderates an email list of women interested in overcoming fertility issues "naturally".
"I am so happy and so in love and this is how it's meant to be...." Family birth with a family photo.
: )
Kaire's first child was born in a hospital but her second was born at home. After her empowering water birth Kaire reflects on the differences between the two and recommends home birth to anyone inclined towards it.
Kaire's third birth wasn't happening nearly fast enough for her at first so she tried a few labor enhancing tricks. Something must have worked because her labor was so enjoyable that she stated the next day, "if it was always like that, I would want to be having babies all the time!!"
Sü's first birth was a home birth transfer that ended in a Cesarean after over a week of broken membranes. Her second child was born at home in a triumphant 6 hour UBAC.
A planned water birth that changed direction when Liana realized that water wasn't what she wanted. A simple and profound family birth.
A very quick and simple couple's water birth brings Christina her second son.
Joanna planned to labor alone this time and she got her wish with her husband racing in just in time to catch his daughter.
A family water birth with a friend/doula for emotional support. Now Jaysun has a unabirthed little sister as well.
"This is about birth as an emergence, not an emergency." Beautiful couples birth.
After a week of anticipation, Abyni was born in a birthing pool with her entire family around her. Despite the lengthy labor, the birth itself went fairly quickly.
Written as if she was journaling straight through her expansions. An amazing story of a normal birth.
Anjohli surprised her parents by showing up 5 weeks early. Unprepared for labour, they still had an empowering water birth at home for their first child. A "quick trip to the hospital" for a newborn check turns into a 5 day ordeal.
As the neighbors party into the night Tammy heads home to have a baby. Some folks really know how to have fun. :)
After two surgical births, Lisa fought for a VBAC and won! Inspiring tale of how to empower yourself despite all the odds and "medical advice".
Nichole's first birth wasn't empowering, so she was determined to make her second birth different. She enjoyed this birth so much, she's making a doula career out of helping other women find what she found, that hospital births can be empowering too!
A second VBAC, when her first one had resulted in so much damage to the cervix that no doctor could assure Sophie she could even dilate this time, goes extremely well. Now that Sophie has proven that her body still works, she's planning a homebirth to welcome Scarlett's little sibling (coming soon).
A planned, empowered hospital birth. Jenni offers us a glimpse of her first three births before heading to the hospital to birth her fourth baby. Despite some interference from a "chatty nurse", Jenni births her posterior, cord wrapped son on her own terms. She even opens the "chatty nurse's" eyes to the power of natural childbirth in the process.
Christina planned a freebirth for her second child and transported to the hospital after 2 days of a difficult labor. Her daughter's birth is one example of how unexpected situations can change birth plans and how empowered birthing is a matter of the mind, not just the body.
Skyia's little sister was born in an empowering planned cesarean birth. An empowered birth isn't about birthing at home, it's about birthing on your own terms, not someone else's. I am delighted to be able to share this story with our readers. Thank you so much Siria!
(This story is on Pamela's own website and is linked to with her kind permission.)
Miscarriages are births too.
Pamela's memorial page for her son includes the tale of his empowered birth and photos of his tiny, 17 week old body (sensitive readers beware). Despite her grief, Pamela came away from this birth with a sense of healing and of her own birthing power.
signifies birth without paid attendants