Zipadee Doula | Serving Portland, Oregon » Home birth

Birth story | Amelia’s Unassisted Birth

Nicole Murray — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:13:55 +0000

I wrote a month ago about my experience at my first unassisted birth, and I was given permission to post a link to Laura’s personal story of the birth of her daughter, Amelia, here. Definitely check it out! I love reading uplifting birth stories, and they helped me immensely when I was pregnant with Oliver.

HERE is her story

“Baby, You’re Home”

Nicole Murray — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 20:03:09 +0000

The NY Times wrote a great article about home birth on the rise a couple days ago. I always love reading about birth in the news. I think it is great the Ricki Lake’s documentary “The Business of Being Born” made such an impact on moms in this country. No matter what a woman chooses, I think it important that she knows what options are out there.

As a new mother, the reality of birth is so much different than what you expect it to be. By bringing birth out in the open, taking away it’s mystery, women are given a chance to see it for what it really is: an incredibly raw, brutally intimate, & overwhelming, life changing event like no other.

Here’s an excerpt from the article:

“Some people, concerned that a home birth might be traumatic for children to witness, send them to stay with a friend or relative for the duration. Ms. Rickert and her husband, Cameron Skene, on the other hand, saw it as an educational opportunity for their 2 ½-year-old daughter, Maya. “There’s nothing mysterious about birth unless you want there to be,” Ms. Rickert said. “For us it just introduced Maya to life, and how life comes about.”

Maya awoke around 4 a.m. and joined her parents in the living room. “She was munching away on her apple and talking about 2-year-old stuff when I was having contractions,” Ms. Rickert said.

When it was time for Ms. Rickert to push, Maya watched intently. Although she didn’t like the blood and water that followed the baby, her mother reported, she wasn’t surprised: for months Ms. Rickert had prepared the toddler with an explanation of what would happen.

Check out the article in it’s entirety HERE.

Amelia’s Unassisted Birth Story

Nicole Murray — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 07:05:57 +0000

I am a big fan of unassisted births. Hey, I had my own! Many birth professionals look down on women who choose to go unassisted, believing them to be taking birth ‘too far’ or being selfish. I personally believe that every woman should be able to birth how she feels she needs to. I find it very sad that even those surrounded by birth, women who say that they trust birth, are so quick to call unassisted birth irresponsible.

All of the women I have come across who have gone unassisted know their stuff. I know I read a million books about birth before I had Oliver. Most of these women are not going blindly into birth. It is a tough road to travel; you must defend your choice to everyone who finds out about your “plan”.

As a doula, I am proud to say that I support any woman who wants an unassisted birth. Surprisingly, when I began researching doula work, I discovered that most doulas will not attend an unassisted birth. Most fear that if something goes wrong, that they will be prosecuted.

So, as I was saying, I love free births! I was extremely excited when I was asked to attend one in September.

I got the call early on September 25. She was in early labor, but definitely progressing. Once I got there mid-morning, I was really pumped! She was doing great, and her partner was there by her side. I was happy to be able to provide relief for him, so he could rest and take care of a few things. She was having back labor, and I was lucky to have brought along my new little massage ball.

It really helped, and through the rest of her labor, both her partner and I took turns massaging her lower back.

Although really tired from lack of sleep, she did so fantastic. She changed positions when she needed to, and was really amazing. I felt so lucky to be able to be apart of something so great

During transition, she thought she had more time to go, so she wanted to get in the tub. Before the water even rose high enough, the baby was crowning! She stood in the tub, and with the support of her partner, gave birth to their beautiful daughter.

I felt a bit useless at the time, so I did what I knew I could: take some pictures! She was kind enough to give me permission to post this:

Amelia was born at 3:15 in the afternoon, just a little under 4 hours after I arrived! It was a beautiful birth. Brought me back to that excitement and awe of having my own birth. I am usually not a gushy person, but I definitely had tears in my eyes when she was born.

The Birth of Akasha

Nicole Murray — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 21:03:37 +0000

HERE is the story of the birth that I was at a little over a week ago. It was an amazing experience for me, since it was the first time I saw a baby being born. Lisa created such a great birthing environment, and everyone there was so respectful of her and her needs. Her husband was also incredible, and caught Akasha in the water. As soon as she hit the hair, her eyes burst open, and she was looking around.

Lisa was the epitome of birth goddess. She ‘roared the baby out’, and yet was so calm and centered in between pushes. I was amazed at her strength. I am so thankful that I was able to be apart of something so wonderful.