![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.organicmamacafe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Gabi.jpg\" "\\"Gabi\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nBirth Week: Gabi’s Story, The “Un-Hippy” HomeBirther<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n When I found out I was pregnant I was planning on delivering in a hospital just like most other moms out there.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t really think I had a choice and never really thought about other options.\u00a0 After watching several episodes of \u201cOne Born Every Minute\u201d I started to get scared.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t want to have to go through all the L&D drama.\u00a0 It seemed like there was always something wrong and I kept thinking \u201ccertainly there was a better, more gravity friendly, way to deliver a baby than lying on your back, right?\u201d<\/p>\n I heard so many stories from friends about how their birth did not go the way they wanted, and about how they hoped things would go different next time.\u00a0 I was determined to find a better way to birth, and so started my quest.<\/p>\n I share my story not in a judgmental way, because I believe every woman knows what is best for them; and what works for some does not work for others.\u00a0 But I share in order to encourage other moms-to-be out there that you DO have choices in the way you birth!\u00a0 And you don\u2019t have to be a patchouli smelling, dreadlock wearing hippy to have a home birth.\u00a0 For reference, I am an events director for a republican political committee.\u00a0 My husband is an IT consultant and former White House staffer and we live in Washington DC.\u00a0 We also drive a Prius.\u00a0 So you could say we\u2019ve broken some of those stereotypes people think of when a home-birther comes to mind!<\/p>\n After watching The Business of Being Born I realized that I wanted an \u201cin control\u201d birth like the ones shown in the documentary.\u00a0 I wanted a birth where I could wear my own clothes, eat a snack if I wanted, and most importantly, deliver in any position that I wanted to. We were nowhere near deciding to do a homebirth at this point yet, but I thought if I could find a midwife who practiced this philosophy, or if my OBGYN was agreeable and I could be in the \u2018safety\u2019 of a hospital that would be great.\u00a0 So at my 12 week appointment I told my OBGYN what I was thinking.\u00a0 Although she was very supportive of what I wanted to do she explained to me the wonderful world of malpractice law and how she was obligated to follow the rules of the hospital she practiced out of which entails things like being attached to a fetal monitor, not eating during labor, etc.\u00a0 So she gave me her blessing of moving out of her practice so I could start using the midwife practice I found in Alexandria, VA \u2013 BirthCare.<\/p>\n BirthCare is staffed by 7 Certified Nurse Midwives and specializes in out-of-hospital births.\u00a0\u00a0 They mostly do home births, but they also have a home-like birth center at their facility.\u00a0 Their philosophy is for women to take responsibility for their own health.\u00a0 One of my favorite parts is when I walk in the door they give me my file so I can review my charts and take my own weight and blood pressure.<\/p>\n Throughout most of our pregnancy we were planning on delivering at the onsite birth center.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t until about 30 weeks when they encouraged us to think about doing a home birth.\u00a0 After a home-visit from our birth assistant she looked around our house and said \u201cyou have a really nice place, why aren\u2019t you guys considering a homebirth?\u201d\u00a0 My reasons included things like:<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I didn\u2019t want our things to get \u201chospital dirty\u201d (even though our house was pretty much completely draped in throw away sheets)<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I didn\u2019t want my neighbors to hear \u201clabor noises\u201d from our apartment\u00a0 (There wasn\u2019t really any screaming that took place and our walls endured the test!\u00a0 And when you\u2019re in labor you just don\u2019t care!)<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I didn\u2019t want my friends to judge me for being a total weirdo for having a home birth \u2013 because for some reason, explaining that we were going to a \u201cbirth center\u201d was a little less weird and you could justify that it was a medical facility (even though it wasn\u2019t)<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When people came over to our house, I didn\u2019t want people to think \u201cdid she give birth in the chair I\u2019m sitting in? \u2026 ewww\u201d (I\u2019m over it)<\/p>\n As ridiculous as those things sound now, that was how I felt at the time.\u00a0 I ended up checking in with two friends who had home births and felt encouraged.\u00a0 The final decision came after our midwife explained that the birth center didn\u2019t have anything additional there than we would have at home.\u00a0 They make sure you are well prepared about one month in advance and that you have the supplies you need.\u00a0 Our birth assistant came over (on her second home visit) to make sure we had everything put aside in one location, that it was orderly and that it worked correctly .\u00a0 They also make sure you are pre-registered at your back-up hospital in the event you need to transfer.\u00a0 After all this preparation, I felt well, prepared!<\/p>\n I started feeling my first contractions on our due date of November 4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They felt like cramps and came in waves.\u00a0 I thought \u201chey if this is what contractions feel like, they\u2019re not that bad!\u201d This was my last day of work, but I ended up staying home due to some spotting I had.\u00a0 They suggested I just rest and stay off my feet.\u00a0 I let Max know about the contractions but told him they were 45 minutes apart and it was no big deal.\u00a0 My parents came over to hang out for a while that evening but we all knew this was going to be a while so they left and we told them we\u2019d give them a call when things pick up.<\/p>\n My contractions continued throughout the whole night and began to intensify.\u00a0 Max put me in the tub to relax which helped.\u00a0 He also called the midwives to let them know we were managing fine but just to give them a heads up.\u00a0 When they reached about 5 minutes apart, he gave them a call again and they were on their way.<\/p>\n My midwife (Alice), birth assistant (Claudia) and parents (Gil & Delia) arrived around 7:00 am on Saturday morning, November 5th. \u00a0It took them about 2 hours to unload their equipment and start paperwork, documenting my vitals, etc.\u00a0 We put in a movie and just hung out, but in the process, my contractions started to slow down to about 10 minutes apart and stayed there.\u00a0 Alice checked my cervix to see how far dilated I was \u2013 I was at 6 \u00bd – pretty good!\u00a0 After checking the cervix, she suggested that everyone clear out to give us some privacy for a few hours so I could relax and perhaps try a little nipple stimulation to get the contractions going again.\u00a0 Good suggestion, but it wasn\u2019t all that comfortable and it didn\u2019t really feel that great.\u00a0\u00a0 Once Alice came back I was pretty much stalled with contractions 10 minutes apart.\u00a0 At this point, Alice suggested they leave for the rest of the afternoon and for us to call them when things started to pick up again.\u00a0 I slept as best I could in 5 and 7 minute increments throughout the night and into the morning.<\/p>\n At about 2:00 am on Sunday morning, I felt like contractions were more frequent at 2-3 minutes apart lasting about 30 seconds.\u00a0 To me these were consistent enough to call Alice again (little did I know that we still had a ways to go).\u00a0 So, once again, Alice and Claudia arrive \u2013 and once again I stall out to about 5-7 minutes.\u00a0 As soon as the sun came up Alice and Claudia conferred and made up a plan of how we should proceed for the rest of the day.\u00a0 First, she wanted me to take a shower and get ready for the day.\u00a0 Easy enough \u2013 sort of.\u00a0 Once I finished my first assignment I came out refreshed and ready to face day.<\/p>\n Next, she said, \u201cOK, now we\u2019re all going to have breakfast together.\u00a0 Do you have breakfast ingredients? \u201c<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d I said studiously.<\/p>\n \u201cGreat!\u201d replied Alice.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re going to make it for us!\u201d<\/p>\n I gave a nervous laugh because I thought she was kidding \u2013 but she wasn\u2019t.\u00a0 Her goal was to keep me moving to keep my contractions in motion.\u00a0 So, again, like a good student I start taking out the bacon, eggs, cinnamon rolls and juice.\u00a0 This brought on a whole new meaning to \u201cbarefoot and pregnant in the kitchen\u201d as I would stop for contractions every 4 minutes while frying up an egg.\u00a0 But this was exactly the part of having a home birth that I enjoyed.\u00a0 Being comfortable in my own home and serving others while they served me.\u00a0 Breakfast wasn\u2019t bad either!<\/p>\n After everything was cleaned up, our next assignment was to take a walk.\u00a0 After cooking breakfast and cleaning up, I REALLY didn\u2019t want to go outside in the cold \u2013 but I also wanted to get our sweet baby out, so off we went.\u00a0 And we actually had a good time!\u00a0 Max and I walked around the block.\u00a0 Stopped by the CVS to get a newspaper and some toothpaste.\u00a0 Then to the bakery to get some of my favorite cookies.\u00a0 We were gone for about an hour, stopping every 5 minutes or so for a contraction.\u00a0 And yes, lots of funny looks from passers by!<\/p>\n Once we came home our Birth Assistant, Claudia, informed me she had another birth to go to and asked if I would mind having another midwife from our practice assist us for the remaining time.\u00a0 It was about 1:00 pm in the afternoon and still no baby.\u00a0 I was starting to feel like the \u201cwatched pot\u201d that everyone was waiting on to boil.\u00a0 As much as I love my parents, and wanted them to be there, I started to feel like I was getting a little performance anxiety.\u00a0 I felt like they were bored (even though they weren\u2019t) and that I needed to be some type of a hostess (even though I didn\u2019t).\u00a0 I expressed this to my parents along with our midwife and Alice said it would be perfectly fine to ask my parents to leave.\u00a0 I needed to be relaxed and if having my parents there was not relaxing then asking them to leave might be for the best.\u00a0 My parents were so understanding and knew that it was for the best.\u00a0 It also revealed to my mom that birth is not just a physical process \u2013 but every bit an emotional one as well.\u00a0 They gave me a kiss and a prayer and we told them we\u2019d check in once things started to happen.\u00a0 When they left Alice suggested that she leave as well for a few hours to give us some privacy and she would return with our new midwife Julia.\u00a0 Parting words from Claudia, \u201cRemember, the love that got the baby in, is the same thing that will get the baby out (hint, hint).\u201d\u00a0 I really couldn\u2019t think of anything more awkward because I was so big and felt rather unattractive, \u201cBut hey \u2013 why not give it a shot?\u00a0 I really want this baby out and even though I don\u2019t feel attractive, you\u2019re pretty cute, Max!\u201d\u00a0 So we gave it the old college try \u2013 and finally \u2026 progress.<\/p>\n Alice and Julia came back around 3:00 pm that Sunday afternoon.\u00a0 Max and I took one more walk, but this time I couldn\u2019t even make it around the block.\u00a0 Progress!\u00a0 When we came home we were all sitting in the living room and my water broke around 5:00 pm!\u00a0 Progress!!<\/p>\n I did the majority of my tough contractions (right before transition) in our bedroom next to the bed leaning against the birth ball or on hands and knees. They weren\u2019t pushing contractions but they were very intense and painful.\u00a0 Even though we were in very active labor I just didn\u2019t feel like I was opening up.\u00a0 My midwife went ahead and did another check.\u00a0 I was 9 \u00bd centimeters dilated, but I had a lip on my cervix preventing the baby from being at a fetal station of 0.\u00a0 Through the next 8-12 contractions, Alice had her hand inside of me to help guide the baby out of the lip.\u00a0 These contractions were much more comfortable for me.\u00a0 Once we \u201cstraightened the snag\u201d we just needed to open up that last \u00bd centimeter.\u00a0 Contractions were extremely painful and long lasting.<\/p>\n We moved to the shower to help relax a little more and this is when we hit transition.\u00a0 I could barely stand in the shower.\u00a0 I had Max guide me down so I could get on hands and knees while saying \u201cI just want to pass out.\u00a0\u00a0 Please just let me pass out.\u201d\u00a0 Well, no one let me pass out.\u00a0 They just helped me crawl out of the shower and into the other bathroom where I could sit in the tub and not have to stand.\u00a0 Being in the tub was the most effective tool.\u00a0 It was here where I fully opened up and started to feel the urge to push (finally!).\u00a0 Once I got out of the tub I began to push in a squatting position and standing in between contractions.\u00a0 I also had a mirror underneath me to watch the progress.\u00a0 At this point it was about 1:00 am Monday morning.\u00a0 After laboring for so long and doing about 4 hours of squatting and standing, Alice and Julia were concerned I would not have the energy to keep squatting when it was time to get the baby out so they suggested I move to the bed.\u00a0 Reluctantly, I took their recommendation (I really wanted to stay squatting but figured it was probably a good idea to lay down for a while).\u00a0 It was amazing to see the progression of Polly\u2019s arrival with the mirror and to be able to touch and feel her head with each push.<\/p>\n Once we moved to the bed it was go time.\u00a0 I was in a sitting position and gave about 8-10 pushes that finally got our sweet little Polly out.\u00a0 Surprisingly, the \u201cring of fire\u201d was a welcome change to the pain from the contractions I was feeling earlier.\u00a0 On Monday, November 7 at 2:35 am I gave my last push.\u00a0 Polly\u2019s little body just slid right out and she immediately began to cry with no spanking, no suction.\u00a0 She was a beautiful pink color and very responsive.\u00a0 She was finally here and so amazing.\u00a0 They wrapped her up and she immediately snuggled up to me and began to nurse.<\/p>\n Because of my low hemoglobin count toward the end of my pregnancy they gave me a bit of Pitocin as soon as she came out to get the placenta out right away and prevent hemorrhage.\u00a0 About 15 minutes later I gave my final push.\u00a0 Once the placenta came out they inspected it to make sure it was intact, which it was – We were out of the woods!<\/p>\n The whole process was 51 hours that I wouldn\u2019t trade for the world.\u00a0 Giving birth is hard work and rewarding work.\u00a0 I started out doing this as a challenge to myself to see if I could do it.\u00a0 But as we started learning more, we just wanted our daughter to be in the most healthy, safe and stress free environment \u2013 and for us, that was having her at home.\u00a0 If you are a healthy mom having a healthy pregnancy, there\u2019s no reason why you shouldn\u2019t consider a home birth.\u00a0 Do your research and find a good, reputable midwife with the numbers to back them up.\u00a0 Throughout your 40 weeks you will be poked, prodded and asked enough questions that if a home birth is no longer a safe option for you, they will let you know.\u00a0 And always trust your instinct.\u00a0 One of the purposes of having a home birth is to reduce anxiety.\u00a0 So if at any time you feel an out-of-hospital birth is not right for you, by all means, tell your midwife and they will help you get into a good practice that will work to keep mom and baby healthy.<\/p>\n My last bit of advice would be to get into a good Bradley Method class.\u00a0 The Bradley Method is a 12-week series of childbirth classes designed for those having a natural, unmedicated, childbirth. \u00a0It teaches that a woman\u2019s body is designed to handle childbirth, gives an active role to the mother\u2019s partner (also called the coach) and teaches the importance of relaxation and proper breathing during the process.\u00a0 Even if you do not plan on having an unmedicated birth, my husband and I\u00a0highly<\/em>\u00a0recommend this series as it educates the couple exactly how the mother\u2019s body works during each stage of labor and how the body is working\u00a0for<\/em>\u00a0you and not against you (which can relieve a lot of anxiety during the particularly painful parts of labor).\u00a0 Classes are designed to be small for individualized attention.\u00a0\u00a0 You can read more about the Bradley Method and find one in your area here:\u00a0\u00a0http:\/\/www.bradleybirth.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0Gabi Everett is wife of Max Everett and mom to their four month old daughter, Polly.\u00a0 She and Max have been married for three years and currently live in Washington, DC.\u00a0 Gabi graduated with a broadcasting degree from Arizona State and is the director of events for a Republican political committee.\u00a0 She enjoys living in the city, opening her home to friends and family, vacationing in fun places and learning new things \u2013 like how to rock her new position as working mother!\u00a0 She loves sharing her life with others and being open about the struggles and joys of marriage, family and friendship and hopes to one day join the blogosphere nation.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Birth Week: Gabi’s Story, The “Un-Hippy” HomeBirther When I found out I was pregnant I was planning on delivering in a hospital just like most other moms 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