Hannah’s birth story

Why I Chose Midwifery Care & Home Birth

I have always wanted to be a mother, to experience childbirth and all that it entails. As I grew closer to 40 (I’m 39) I started to grieve and allow space in my mind and heart to let that dream go and be okay with “mothering” to manifest in other ways through community and extended family. But then it happened - fast! I met Jay and we were pregnant before we knew it. On one hand I felt like I had been preparing for this my whole life, but on the other I was terrified.

There were a few things I knew though:
1. Pregnancy and birth isn’t a medical condition (for me), and I didn’t want it to be treated as such. It is sacred and perhaps the most profound experience of my life. I didn’t want to be referred to as “high risk” or “geriatric pregnancy” for no good reason other than my age. I am fortunate to have my health and lifestyle practices that supported growing healthy human life. I can do this.
2. Not only CAN I do this, I was MADE to do this. Since a little girl I have been fascinated by pregnancy and birth. If given the opportunity, I wanted to experience the rite of passage from Maiden to Mother and the truly miraculous ability of my body to create and birth life.
3. I wanted to have my baby at home with as little interventions as possible. In my experience, hospitals are where you go when you are very sick or in need of repair for an injury. My anxiety skyrockets just walking in the doors and my mind flashes back to seeing my dearest family members and friends suffering.
4. I wanted to chose who would be present at the birth. I consider birth to be the most sacred initiatory experience perhaps I will ever go through. In a culture void of rites of passage that have historically been a part of life around the world, I would honor this one as such, in a set and setting with people I love, respect, trust, and know.
I knew none of this was guaranteed no matter what I wanted, but I was willing to set my intention and give it my best! Thus, a home birth under the care of a midwife was the best option for me.

I found Jaime @sanjuanmidwifery pretty quickly just doing a search for midwife in my area. We met and I felt an immediate connection with her and that we held similar core beliefs around birth and life. I had an appointment to meet another midwife, but I cancelled it after meeting Jaime. We started meeting around week 10 of my pregnancy and she guided us every step of the way.

We would meet in her home and every time I learned something and felt heard. Our relationship grew and I also got to see her vast wealth of knowledge with every question we would throw at her. She ran tests, monitored the baby’s heart rate and growth, offered books, nutrition recommendations, and listened to our concerns. My entire pregnancy I went to the hospital twice for routine sonograms that we wanted just for our own peace of mind.

But the true test came on February 12 when I went into labor. My water had broken and contractions were getting closer and intensifying. I felt as prepared as I could be but nothing can really totally prepare you for what is about to unfold. Jaime arrived that night and although I knew she had things under control, it was also like she was only there as much as I needed her. I knew she was closely monitoring both me and baby, but also trusting the process just like I did. I’ll save the entire birth story for another post, but let’s just say had I been in the hospital my birth story would have been very different. Jaime had us the the entire way with not only her belief in my ability, but she is also incredibly trained and skilled with the tools to monitor me and baby and even to offer interventions if necessary.

I think a lot of people might assume home birth and midwifery care equates to some backwoods practice guided by your cousin’s neighbor who’s had a bunch of kids - that they don’t have the modern tools and training. I know I got a lot of funny questions about it at least! But this is far from the case. Yes, there is a point at which you may have to be transferred to the hospital, and the midwife also knows when that is a needed next step. But she is there to hold a safe space to give you the opportunity to experience birth. To experience your power. To realize your strength. To embrace the fierceness that is the feminine.

I could quote a bunch of statistics about the positive outcomes of midwifery care vs western medicine, but if your curious I encourage you to do your own research or reach out to me with any questions. But more importantly listen to your intuition.

Needless to say I had Hannah at home under the care of Jaime and her assistant Sydney, along with my amazing dream team of Jay & Anna. We are both healthy, thriving, and falling in love more every day. It was everything I wanted and more. I am forever changed and grateful for my experience and all those called to serve as midwives, especially @sanjuanmidwifery