Chapter 1
A Natural Birth that could have been a caesarean
A midwife’s story
My Introduction…
Where to begin? Yes! ‘Belle’s’ story is the one to share first. (Belle is not her proper name)
Why? Because Belle is a women who knew her body, had a strong inner knowing of what was right for she and her baby on the way, sought ways to improve her knowledge and chance of birthing naturally with known potential risks and worked with her team of hospital doctors and midwives in achieving the success she thought was possible.
Belle was also benefited by reading an early draft of ‘Jade’s’ birthing and the midwife reflections that followed it.
Jade’s birthing was two decades before Belle’s babies were born. Jade’s birthing is the second birth story in this book. During the years between Belle’s and Jade’s birthing, my reflections and understanding of what women questioned me about during their pregnancies, labour and postnatal time, including how natural birthing can be encouraged, grew.
This occured through my interest and the input of dedicated midwives and doctors who actually honoured the needs of nature in birthing. Most of all, women themselves taught me so much. The common knowledge many women know and knew about birth inspired me.
Basic labour questions I have been asked through the decades are covered in the reflections brought out from Jade’s birthing story – common knowlege because those questions have been answered so many times. Belle found this helpful in refreshing her understanding of how her body would work during the birthing process and how she could work with it.
The last main story in this book is a planned home birth, again with midwife reflections. Debbie is a woman who also clearly knew what she wanted when it came to having her first baby. And then, decades later, Life showed us both how an amazing sychronicity with followed intuitive nudges brought the refreshing surprise of reconnection and friendship.
Please enjoy our stories and reflections.
Belle’s Babies
A few weeks before Christmas I’d answered my phone and recognised Belle’s voice. Belle’s first baby had been born at home in warm water with her back up midwife and partner present. All had gone well.
Over the phone Belle went on to explain her present situation…
Just yesterday Belle had attended the thirty-six week antenatal visit with her obstetric team at the local hospital. At the near twenty week pregnancy ultrasound the edge of the placenta had been reported as almost a centimetre away from the inner opening of the cervix. A potential placenta praevia.
This meant that the placenta was too close to the cervix and could cause significant problems for mother and baby during later pregnancy and labour. Belle’s was a mild degree of the situation. I had seen natural birth with and without problems in the past with similar positioning of the placenta.
If the placenta has sited itself partially or fully over the cervix it can be life threatening.
When a placenta was found close to the cervix like Belle’s at the 18-20 week pregnancy ultrasound, the prime birthing method during that time period and location meant a planned surgical birth two weeks before baby’s due date. This had been recommended for Belle and her baby.
However, Belle had felt strongly that she could birth baby naturally and wanted the opportunity to do so, as she had explained to her doctors. Instead of making a booking for the advised caesarean section birth she had made another appointment with her doctors in a few days to give herself time to grapple with their recommendation and come to terms with how to handle the situation in a way that sat well with her own inner knowing.
Accept Wonderful Medical Help
Belle had called me to talk about her difficult choice. Could we consider a few other possibilities for her situation? In speaking with Belle about this medical circumstance, we both completely understood that she would happily accept surgical birth if it was truly the best option after all other possibilities had been considered. Medical help is wonderful when it is truly needed.
Belle believed it was an inbuilt mechanism for her baby and body to do their innate best to bring about as safe, painless, easy and natural an arrival as possible within her physical, emotional and spiritual circumstances. Belle also knew her body well and understood that her inner thoughts and attitudes could help her find a way to work toward and likely achieve her goal of a natural birth. At the very least, she wanted the opportunity to safely try.
We both accepted that making love and giving birth are wired into the human body. Yet each womanly aspect works best and enjoyably when deep inner relaxation is present. Giving birth requires a similar environment. Support or protection of the birthing space to achieve nature’s fullest cooperation in allowing her baby to arrive safely in natures way made sense to Belle.
At another level, Belle knew that how baby arrived, apart from being loved and nurtured, is not always important to Soul coming into this life. Soul, the true self, she sensed, does stage-manage life and birthing from a higher place. Intuition, Soul’s nudges, combined with logic, common sense and trust in Divine Spirit become a useful tool – as Belle said in her own ways – always guiding her toward what was best. This was a connection that Belle liked to develop; When I know, I KNOW.
We both accepted that some babies choose, or are chosen to come into this life with medical or surgical assistance. However when wise birth care methods and understanding are present we believe more babies can arrive naturally than past statistics have shown. Whatever way a baby arrives, when they are welcomed into a space of love, it is a gift beyond measure, is still being understood scientifically.
Belle’s Situation with Placentae Praevia
As Belle and I continued our phone conversation we discussed placentae praevia in its different forms and problems that could occur with probable medical solutions involved. She was well aware of the risks and recommended management. So far there had been no vaginal bleeding during her pregnancy which Belle saw as an encouraging sign…
Other Chapter 1 Subtitles: Hands of Love Technique; Trial of Birth; Understand How Natural Birth Works; A Well Born Son Arrived Naturally; A Power Sound that Can Be Used in Birthing; Some Babies Like to Sleep With the Sound of HU; The love vibration of HU at birth; Help and Guidance in Everyday Life; The Highest Non-directed Prayer; The God Particle Behind Matter; Everyone’s Experience With HU is Unique; Sounds of the Wind to Let Labour and Birth Happen Naturally; Low, Deep Tones of Sound in Strong Labour; In Summary; What’s Next?
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