Jan & Lucky were always there for me throughout my pregnancy & birth whenever I needed them. When I was 38 weeks I had a bad fall & had to go to the hospital. I was put on monitors for 24 hours & they did an ultrasound to check the baby. Come to find out my baby was breech! I was very worried since I really wanted my home birth.
My family doc suggested an OB/GYN that was in her practice that did a procedure called an external version, where they manually turn the baby. I was glad my midwife, Jan came with me for support because it was HORRIBLE. Jan was such a wonderful comfort to me & I was so glad she wanted to be there for me. The procedure was a sucess so I could go ahead with my home birth as planned!!
I woke up Super Bowl Sunday morning about 5am with strong contractions. Around 7am they were about 3-4 minutes apart & I decided to call Jan. About 15 minutes later my water partially broke (not a huge gush, but enough to wet my panties pretty good). I was VERY relaxed since I was at home. Well, I just went about my normal day & did dishes, laundry & made some pancakes while my husband was filling the birthing tub.
Jan & Lucky arrived & I was just finishing the pancakes for everyone. I was feeling pretty good & I would just drop to the floor & do hands-&-knees pelvic rocks to get through each contraction. Jan asked if she could check me – to make sure the baby was still head-down – but thought that I wasn’t going to be very dilated since I was walking around, talking & doing stuff….well, I was 10 cm dilated & at +1 station!! She was asking if I felt like I needed to push because I was ready to go!!
Then my friend the acupuncturist arrived & inserted the needles in my ear that are like a “valium” effect on your body & gave me some more herbs to drink to boost my energy level. At that point, I got into the birthing tub! I gently pushed whenever I felt the contractions & the water really helped with the contractions & pain. Jan & Lucky were gently encouraging me the whole time. After about 30 minutes of gentle pushing, PIPER WAS BORN!!! Jan guided her head & pulled her out of the water & into my arms. I held her on my belly for about 20 minutes in the warm water…It was such a nice bonding moment!! My older daughter, Ostara, was in her glory & watching the whole birth. She had the grin of the cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland!! The first thing she said was “I wanna hold her, I wanna hold her”! Piper was born on 1/26/03 at 10:50 am, 7 pounds 9 ounces & 20 3/4 inches long!
The home birth was the most special, intimate, wonderful moment in my life & I would say to ANYONE who has an uncomplicated pregnancy to do it!! You would not regret it!! Jan & Lucky were wonderful & I highly recommend them!
Lori Oberg