Finally, our months of efforts preparing and caring for our birthing star "L" was a success.
I learned so much hands on with this water birth home birth experience.
Blessed are the poor and provincial class for home birthing is what they know and can afford.
Blessed are these poor that water birthing is even superior to the home birthing they know.
Blessed is birthing star "L" for the entire supporting cast were a bunch of home birthers:
- Midwife Evelyn, some hundreds of births and a dozen water births... in her opinion thinks water birthing is superior, fast, no vaginal tear, best for mom and baby
- Sifu Sam, holistic healer, water birthed 5 of his own children
- Niki, birthing assistant and mother of 3 all home births
- Older sister Lhen, mother of 3 home births
- Neighbor and best friend Nancy, mother of 1 home birth
- Mother Loidi, mother of 4 home births
Other supporting cast members:
- boyfriend dyke / tomboy Rain, will be the nannie
- Me GS, financier, driver, diet marketer, healer, manager of other healer talents (Producer of this show)
- younger sister Mhai
- 3 very young nephews (children of Lhen) of mother "L" and cousins of newborn baby "J"
- Grandfather and husband of Loidi died more than 5 years ago, usually relies on the full moon for birth dates... he was right... this labor started on the full moon.
- biological father (unknown)
The entire home was organic in its assistance and focus on how to help our star give birth.
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Days prior, the midwife gave 2 capsules of Evening Primrose oil every day for the past 4 days to "L" to thin her cervix for easier delivery.
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We had to use duct tape to fix the kiddie pool malfunction as it was leaking at the seams.
The water heating took a long time, this is a poor house hold and they had no big resources for heating lots of water, we had to be creative and had to have patience... but we did warm the water eventually. Which was very important for the pregnant woman to focus on delivery.
We waited the entire evening and early morning, only for me to be called by my wife at 5:30am that our 9 yr old daughter had a medical emergency, couldn't breath, so I yanked Sifu Sam with me to drive out more than an hour away back to my home treat my daughter and drive her to my wife's anthroposophic healer and then drove them back home. Only then did we drive back to our home birthing star by 12:30pm.
By 12:18pm "L" was just put in the pool as she was dilated 6 cm. This is measured by inserting the pointer and tall man fingers and making a "V", that is what our midwife says is 6 cm.
Sifu Sam and I took over holding "L" in the pool from her mother and dyke boyfriend. The midwife noted the surge in confidence in miss "L" with the male energy supporting her. I'd say Sifu Sam as her long time healer and experienced water birthing husband was the bigger factor. He knew where to massage her back and other places. Sifu barked out orders and encouragement in his Australian English accent... I had to be translator.
The midwife continued to scratch and stimulate the tummy and had more warm water flow.
Sifu sam and the birthing assistant were massaging the top of the tummy to encourage the baby to move down.
The midwife parted the cervix with her fingers to make sure the baby's head moved out easier and faster.
It was amazing for me to be the hands for holding and crushing of our birthing star, I felt each and every time a contraction was to come as she would hold tighter. Felt the timing of her contractions as Sifu calmed everyone down to not rush the birthing process. I would announce when the contractions were coming. The experienced older sister and best friend would teach her how to breath and push, especially for the final push as the head was already engaged and the pushing had to be continuous to free both the head and the shoulder.
Her mom was the least encouraging and was saying her daughter was weakening. I can tell you she was not weakening at any time, she got stronger and stronger as she came to the end of her pushing. Sifu said she just needed some rest in between. The midwife with her experience knew when to change position and when to stop pushing so as not to tire out our birthing star. Birthing star was like a boxer and we were her support crew, for water or food, or wiping her or letting her breath.
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I learned first hand pushing mistakes that the midwife corrected.
- be quiet. no grunting, no shouting. If you had a big poop, you would keep your energy focused on pooping. she gave a piece of cloth to bite on.
- do not put your head back, put head forward to focus on pushing.
- do not blow out your cheeks with air, concentrate on pushing.
From 6cm dilated in the water at 12:18pm, the baby was out of the vagina around 2:43pm... was a good time for a first born child the midwife said. Dry births would usually take much longer, a few hours longer.
Baby "J" was 6.10 lbs.
I observed how the cord was cut, how Sifu Sam stimulated the mother's nipples, how the baby first latched on which Sifu says stimulates the expulsion of the placenta.
How the cord was cut, then how the placenta was expelled... a little like giving birth... the placenta was pretty BIG... only after expelling that was there some blood...
And the midwife presented that the vagina was in perfect condition... no tears... no injuries... perfect.
And our birthing star was all lucid, not helpless, breast fed, was tired... but was fine all the way.
They talked about the birth certificate details and the new mother wrote the full name of the baby.
The birth certificate will show the baby was born in the clinic of the midwife in Q.C. easier for the paper work than to say it was a home birth.
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I learned what I suspected... home water birthing was superior to hospital birthing... what we did was superior than what my wife experienced with her 3 c-sections... never again for my descendants... this is my start... and in a few more years maybe this team and more connections will be made... gain more experience, I will keep my promise to care for each pregnancy of my daughters and each girl my sons impregnate.
The home birthing tradition in this community and the house hold was an immense confidence booster.
And the neighbors will all now know that water birthing was much easier than dry home births.
The neighbors were egging us on while in labor singing in their loud videoke "Aray"... (Ouch)... yes there is really such a song... over and over again.
Why do the poor have more babies? Probably because they have superior birthing technology.
The next scheduled water birth will be August 2014 with Sifu Sam's own baby... this is her 4th child and 3rd water birth... so more experienced... I will bring my children along for that show.
And of course, this report would not be complete without a picture.
