"NATURAL was the theme of the pregnancy"

By Julia M.

I always knew I would be a mother. Thinking back, I notice that I have spent much of my life following my mama around, wanting to be just like her. When my mom had her fifth, and last child, I was 14 years old. You might say that the new addition to the family was good birth control for a teenage girl. But her presence was also incredibly inspiring to me. I didn't know I could love someone so much, and dreamed of someday having a baby of my own.
About five years later, I fell in love with a wonderful man, who would soon become my husband. We shared a love of natural living and organic food that became even more important to us when we learned I was pregnant. NATURAL was the theme of the pregnancy - we were sure we did not want to proceed in any other way. We found the perfect group of midwives at a hospital in Cambridge, MA, and did not look back. We sought advice from the amazing yoginis, doulas and conscious mothers in our lives. I was sure that we had been blessed with a boy, but we decided not to learn the sex of the baby before his/her birth. The pregnancy was normal and healthy, but of course, often overwhelming. All in all, I felt like my body was a sacred temple for a beautiful new life. We could not wait to meet the soul which had chosen to be our baby.

I was due on November 28th. By the end of October, I felt that I was carrying the baby very low. My appetite slowed, and my energy soared. I felt joyful anticipation each day. I was nesting. On November 8th, I was feeling a unique and powerful energy surging through my body. We had a busy Sunday, and I was a bit more talkative than usual. Then, at around 8:30 PM, I felt a small gush of fluid. We were home, and I walked into the bathroom, thinking that maybe it was my mucous plug. Within a minute, I was experiencing bigger and bigger gushes of fluid leave my body - my water broke. I grabbed a towel, and yelled for my husband. Our hearts raced as we called the midwives. We heard from a midwife named Julia that I had tested positive for Group B strep, and would need to come to the hospital to receive IV antibiotics. We were too excited to be bothered by the news, however we had planned to labor at home for as long as possible, and felt somewhat rushed. My husband packed the car while I sat on a towel, on our bed, and continued to feel my waters leaving my body. I was nervous, but ready to go.

Ten minutes after my water broke, my contractions began. As this was my first child, we were prepared for a lengthy labor, but my body had a different plan. After nine months of being told not to expect a "Hollywood movie labor," we got exactly that. By the time we reached the hospital, my contractions were 2 minutes apart, and quite intense. The hospital was full, and we were put in an overflow room to labor until a delivery room became available. I was already 4 cm dilated, and my contractions were coming fast and strong. I barely had a break between each, and the pain was almost unbearable. I labored mostly leaning forward in a standing position, and on all fours. I was incredibly sensitive, refusing any kind of touch or sound offered (too bad for my husband who was prepared to support me through each contraction - I wouldn't let him near me). There in the overflow room, midwife Julia checked my cervix to find that I was almost fully dilated. I had made it through transition, and was preparing to push. I was sort of squatting when the pushing began, but the baby's head was not coming down. I did not want to deliver on my back, but after midwife Julia noticed that the baby's head was not able to pass my pubic bone in a squatting position, I laid back and was able to push the baby down. It was just after 1:00AM and I was struggling to push at all. Between each push, I felt I needed to fall asleep. But soon I was told to reach down and feel my baby's head. I could feel a hairy little crown, and got a boost of energy to finish the job. With a few more pushes, my boy was out. He was immediately placed on my body. I couldn't believe how beautiful he was. It was completely surreal. John weighed 7lb 11oz. He nursed well right away. I loved my birth experience with a midwife, and will absolutely seek the same care in the future.
The only unfortunate issue I had physically, was that I had been given 2 stitches which came apart. The day after the birth, I received many more stitches to repair the damage, and I was not entirely numbed for the procedure. Ouch! After having John, I experienced intense "baby blues." The weeks following his birth were manageable otherwise, but extremely difficult emotionally. As my stitches healed, and I was able to get outside to walk, my mood lifted. I began to enjoy my new baby and our love grew exponentially.