The Home Water Birth of Baby Neko
I was so excited when Ashleigh reached out with news she was expecting her third baby! She is a local doula, and had been a follower of my IG page for as long as I can remember! I was even more excited to hear that Ashleigh was planning a water birth with her two other kiddos present. I was worried about not making it, as she had a history of quick deliveries, so we kept in close contact in the week leading up to labour. When I got the text she was in labour, I jumped out of bed, and was so happy to not have to worry about traffic on the way. Ashleigh trusted her body, she moved and swayed, and eventually got in to the bath. A short time later she welcomed her sweet son in to her own hands with her family surrounding her. A birthing Goddess.
Here is Neko’s birth story as told by his momma.
“This being my third birth, I had envisioned my perfect scenario even before I was pregnant. I was amazed that it all went exactly as planned. My first contractions were at 3:30am - I lay in bed wondering whether they were ‘real’ or not - then got up at 3:45 to go to the washroom. It was clear things were happening, so I woke up my husband (who was cuddling our 3yr old son). They both got up and we called Shea, our midwives and my brother (the ‘babysitter’ for the older two). We prepped the house and bed for the birth and started making the baby’s Birthday cake. “
“ Shea arrived by 4:30 and the midwives by 5. They did a cervical check and I was only at 3cm (but I knew from my other births that this didn’t mean much). With each contraction, my husband would do counter pressure and I enjoyed having a heat pack on my back. At about 5:45 I got into the tub and had a lovely break from contractions for about 10 min. At this point, I asked them to wake up my daughter as she wanted to see the birth too. As I felt the baby move down, everyone in the house (including 4 midwives!) stayed very quiet and left me alone to labour as I wanted. I checked myself to feel where baby’s head was and felt the slimy surface of his head (my waters were still intact) only two knuckles in. I changed to a squat position and the pain with contractions became very intense - I used the back of the tub for counter pressure and pushed very hard with each contraction. 2-3 contractions later his head was out and I could take a break. “
“ I watched as his head turned to allow his shoulders to come out. One last push and the rest of his body emerged into my hands and I slowly brought him to the surface of the water. He was very purple but cried as soon as his face hit the air - and the biggest surprise - he was a boy (everyone in the family was absolutely convinced he would be a girl). I remember marvelling at his arrival with my daughter who was standing right beside the tub.”
“ Quite quickly after he came out, the midwives were concerned about the blood in the water so we transferred to the bed. We all gathered around to take in this new little life, and meanwhile the midwives worked to have the placenta delivered - typically for me this took a while and I ended up getting a shot of oxytocin to help it along. When the cord stopped pulsing, my daughter (4.5yrs old) cut the cord. I only needed one stitch and as quickly as it began, it was all over. We celebrated with the singing of happy Birthday and Cake. Perfection..”
