Autumn’s Homebirth

Please give a brief description of yourself, and what number baby/birth you’re sharing with us.

My name is Autumn and I am a proud stay-at-homeschool mom of 5! I will be sharing with you about the birth of my 5th child (4th boy)

What was your due date, and what was your baby’s birth date?

Due date was November 24th, 2012 (Thanksgiving day). He was born December 7, almost 2 weeks past his due date

What was your baby’s name, weight and length?

Jeremiah Psalms, 7.9oz, 21 1/2 inches.

Please give a brief synopsis of your birth.

I had planned on having my 3rd home birth with my amazing midwife. When I called my midwife at 12:45 on December 7th to tell her that I was bleeding (I normally don’t bleed until after the baby is born) I became very fearful. I have been very blessed to have all of my births pain-free without any drugs but as soon as I started having fear because of the blood my contractions became painful. I wasn’t able to concentrate on what was happening and was ready to go to the hospital if she came and told us we had to go. My husband called all of the people we had listed to come (which is ALWAYS a lot) told my Aunt to come over but told our friends to wait because we didn’t know what was going to happen. My aunt got here around 1 am and saw that I was having painful contractions. She prayed over me and told me I needed to calm down and get on top of the contractions. She said that the amount of blood that was present wasn’t enough to worry about. As soon as I let go of the fear my contractions stopped hurting and I was able to get back on top of them. My midwife got here around 1:15 check me and I was at a 7, by 1:45 he was born. Quick and easy!!

What did you do to prepare for your labor and birth? Did it help?

Because this was my fifth birth I already had everything ready. Our home birth package was in a clothes hamper and ready for once he got here. With him being almost 2 weeks late we had plenty of time to get ready!

What did you like about your birth experience, if anything?

I love giving birth.

What did you not like about your birth experience, if anything?

Seeing all of the blood really scared me. Not knowing or having that happen to me before caused me to become fearful which caused me to have pain.

What surprised you about your contractions/labor?

I was shocked at how fast it went. Most of my labors have been 8+ hours so when the whole thing only lasted about an hour. I was really shocked.

In reflection, would you do anything differently, either before the birth, during or after?

I would have not let fear control me.

What do you remember the most about your birth?

That it happened so fast and was so easy.

How was your birth experience different from what you imagined it to be? 

I was planning on everyone having time to get here but because he came so fast, my midwife, mom and aunt were the only ones that made it.

What were your immediate emotions about yourself and or your birth experience after the birth?

I was so glad to have him here. I felt like I had waited for so long.

How would you describe your recovery?

It was really easy. My husband stayed home for a few days and then our pastor’s daughter came and stayed with us for a week to help out with the older ones. Our church brought us meals for a week and a half and then my husband was home for two weeks because he is a school teacher and it was winter break.

How has your perspective of your birth experience changed since the first week of having your child?

Jeremiah is now 4 months old. He is just such a joyful and easy baby. I am still very happy with his birth although carrying him for almost 42 weeks was very hard and I pray that with our next one it’s not even longer!

Did you learn anything about yourself through this experience?

That my faith is what gets me though the labor and although people have tried to convince me that it’s not possible to have a pain-free labor, I know now that it is because of my fear that I had pain. I now trust myself and believe what I feel like God has shown me in His word that it is possible to have pain-free childbirth. I am a very blessed woman and I am so grateful for each blessing that God has given me.

If you could recommend a certain type of childbirth experience, based on your own experiences, what would you recommend to other women?

I think if you are a healthy, normal, pregnant women that you should have your children at home if you can. It’s easier and there isn’t as much intervention!

Any further thoughts, comments or advice you would like to share?

I think that every mom should read Supernatural childbirth by Jackie Mize. That book has so many helpful things in it. I think fear plays a role with a lot of births. If more woman would start telling the great side of birth instead of all the horrible sides that we could actually break the cycle of women having fear in labor. Most of the time when people talk about their birthing experience they only give the horrible scary side, they don’t talk about the good things that happen. I also think that most births can happen at home. I do think that if you are high risk that you should be in a hospital but…. most can be born at home! Which would then keep more moms from having to go through unnecessary interventions.

Related articles

• Sara’s Homebirth (thebirthinterviewproject.com)
• The Birth Interview Project | Simone’s Surprise Unassisted Homebirth (thebirthinterviewproject.com)
• The Birth Interview Project | Kelly’s (almost unassisted) Homebirth (thebirthinterviewproject.com)

Tags: homebirth, Midwife