Trigger warning…some may see this image and envision a traumatic experience. However, it was quite the opposite. So grateful my photographer didn’t stop shooting during the intense moments.
I want to share a little of my fourth babies home birth experience.
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When baby Ocean was born, her body was completely limp.
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Ocean didn’t come in one surge. Her head came and another wave came, but she did not. I knew something was wrong when her body didn’t follow. Her shoulder was stuck. My midwife placed her hand upon my bottom to remind me to keep the babies head under water and advised me calmly that she was going to provide some assistance by inserting her hand to help dislodge her shoulder.
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When I’m asked about Homebirth, one of the first questions I get is what if something goes wrong. What is considered an emergency and how are they equipped to handle them?
Licensed Midwives have extensive medical training and have the equipment to deal with different emergencies. They can administer oxygen, emergency medication, and perform neonatal and adult resuscitation.
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Baby Oceans respirations were weak and she needed oxygen. There was no panic from our midwives. Umbilical cord attached and still in my arms.
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They were prepared with bag and mask as soon as she surfaced. Calmly talking to Ocean..come on baby…hello Ocean..my midwives said she just needs “a little help”. The only words I remember. They were holding her upside down trying to stimulate her. Then gave her a couple breathes. I was in a complete haze.
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Then her first cry. The most beautiful sound that I will never get tired of hearing. I have photos of that cry and my grateful smile after.
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And until her first cry, I didn’t even know she was a she. I didn’t look nor was I concerned. She is perfectly healthy. My placenta delivered quickly. Barely any bleeding and amazingly an intact perineum. A magical birth for us with the best birth team.
I highly recommend hiring a birth photographer. When we are giving birth, the intensity of the moment is overwhelming and you aren’t completely aware of what’s going on around you as you go deep within.This is her story and I want to remember every piece of it.
Photographer: Ericka Johnson
Midwives: Katie Miller & Jenn Osorio
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