Marian’s Birth Story
My first baby was breech and we ended up being cesarean because the CNM I was seeing for her pregnancy kept telling me that baby’s position was fine. In the weeks leading up to the birth I was always asking about the baby’s position and was always reassured that everything was fine. We didn’t find out she was breech until my water had been broken for more than 24 hours and after more than 12 hours of labor. That birth was very traumatic for me and my baby. My second birth was a hospital VBAC that went better. With my third pregnancy we chose a midwife and a home birth. Because of my first experience I was concerned with the baby’s position. I felt that Judith was very good at being able to tell me where my baby was. She was very good at palpating and told me that she would not tell me she was sure of anything unless she was 100% positive.

We had an appointment with Judith on Wed, four days before the due date. She gave me a gentle birth tincture to begin taking and prescribed evening primrose oil as well. Both these would help prepare my body for delivery. I began taking them that afternoon. By Thursday morning (around 2:30am), I was getting some lower back pain and slight cramping. I got out of bed to see if moving around changed anything (and let’s face it I couldn’t sleep anyway…too excited!!) The pains continued, and they were fairly regular (4-7 minutes apart). I continued to monitor them and tried to lie down to get some more sleep. About 5:30 I called Judith to discuss things. My parents, whom I wanted to be here for the birth, have 6 hours to drive to get here. So I called them and told them to head on over. This ended up being very frustrating to me because about 9 AM, the contractions slowed down then stopped altogether.

Throughout the rest of the day, there would be an occasional contraction, especially if I moved/walked around. With my second baby (my first VBAC), the labor was similar. The contractions started in the night and slacked off in the day for two days. So I thought perhaps the same thing was happening again. I expected the contractions to start up again that night, but they didn’t. I began to feel bad that I had caused my parents to come over too early and miss work unnecessarily. I was frustrated and tired. I went for a walk and then went to see my doula and talk with her. She helped me see that this is just the way my body works for births (she was my doula for my first VBAC too). And that it is a natural process that differs for every woman. I had a good cry and felt better afterwards.

Judith had checked in periodically over the past day and a half. On Friday afternoon, about 2 o’clock, my uterus began a tightening that was strange to me. It wasn’t like contractions, it was just a real tight feeling all over my belly and pulling on my lower back. It was not comfortable to say the least! Judith called Friday afternoon to say she’d come over to check me and see what was going on. She got here about 6 PM. The tightening was still going on, but there were moments of relaxation in the uterine muscle as well. She said I was at about 2 centimeters with a mostly softened cervix (the top front was still not ‘ripened’). She told me to take a large dose of calcium to help relax the uterine muscle and allow me to get some much-needed sleep. She also told me to use more evening primrose oil. I did both and went to bed around 8 o’clock. I slept well until 1 AM. I woke up and went to the bathroom. When I was done in the bathroom, I noticed a trickle running down my leg. I knew that my water had broken! But there weren’t any contractions yet, so I lay down again. At 1:43 the contractions started! I called Judith to let her know my water broke and the contractions started. I also called my doula because I knew she needed to get her baby sitter there and it would take an hour for her babysitter to arrive. The contractions were about 9 minutes apart for the first 4, and then they quickly went to 5 minutes apart. At 3 o’clock, I called my doula again to let her know I needed her. When she got here, I have no idea what time it was as I was having heavy contractions that lasted over a minute and were less than 3 minutes apart. She helped with a warm rice sack, acupressure and gentle coaching through the contractions. We had the birth pool set up, but I didn’t want to get in until Judith said I could. She had attended a birth earlier in the evening and was on her way over. I called her around 4ish to see if I could go ahead and get in the pool or not. She was about 30 minutes away and said I could get in if I felt I needed to.

By this time the contractions were heavy and pretty close together (I stopped timing at some point…). I got in the pool of warm water. There was some relief but not as much as I was expecting. It was nice to have the weight off my back and knees though. And the ease of movement was wonderful! It was great to be able to sit down between contractions and easily get back on my hands/knees when a contraction started up again. Judith got there shortly after I got in the pool. Not long after, the contractions got even closer and much more intense. The pains were different than with my previous VBAC. I was feeling them in my lower uterus and lower back a lot more.

There was one point were I would get a slight urge to push, but only in the back and the front hurt quite a bit. Judith told me to open my mouth during a contraction and keep my sounds low. I tried, but there was something in my voice that made Judith think there may have been something different. She then asked me to get out of the pool and go to the bathroom. While there, Judith checked the baby’s heart rate during a few contractions. There was a definite deceleration on the heart rate during the contractions and Judith did not want me back in the pool. We went back to the birthing room and Judith asked me to lie down so she could check me. I had an anterior lip (same as I had with my first VBAC). She was concerned with the baby’s heart rate and had me stay lying down (much to my dismay!!) for three contractions while she helped the anterior lip. After the third contraction lying down, Judith said the anterior lip was gone and that I could get up. (She later told me that if I hadn’t been lying down it would have taken quite a few more contractions to get that anterior lip to go away. So I forgave her for having me lie down! She really does know what’s best!) She had me lean on my husband for a supported squat with one leg up on a stool that was about knee high. Then when I felt the next urge to push she encouraged me to go for it! I pushed and pushed with all I had! It was very tiring, but very powerful as well. I could feel the baby’s head coming, but my legs were shaking and I was about to give up. Of course at that point, there is no going back! I pushed again and I could feel his head more and Judith encouraged me to push some more. I did and felt baby’s head come out. She immediately told me to get on my hands and knees. Baby’s shoulders were a bit stuck, but as soon as I did what Judith said and changed position, she was able to get him out. She told me to sit down on the floor and laid baby on my belly. He was not breathing and was as blue as could be. Judith gave him one breath, two breaths, three breaths, and he started to breath on his own. We rubbed his hands and feet to stimulate his breathing. The cord was attached this whole time but soon stopped pulsating. Judith asked if she could give me something to control the bleeding as I had quite a bit of bleeding going on and she wanted to stop that. I consented.

After everything had calmed down a bit I got up on the bed with my baby and then they clamped the cord. My husband and 5-year-old cut the cord together. Judith encouraged me to get the baby to nurse as much as I could. He nursed a little while covered up and snuggled with me. After I delivered the placenta and he nursed a bit more, then Judith asked to have the baby a while. She and Sha checked him over and made sure he was breathing okay. They gave him some rescue remedy as well to help deal with the trauma of the birth while we talked about the birth some and what had happened. They say the pushing only took 15 minutes, though it seemed much longer than that to me!

Throughout the pregnancy, Judith was great at palpating my belly to determine what position baby was in. Most of the pregnancy he was either looking transverse (ROT or LOT) or posterior. I looked over the spinning babies website and tried many of those techniques and I also did the hands to knees rocking that Judith suggested. But none of these things worked for me I guess, because it turns out that he was Posterior anyway! That explained the difference in the pain during the contractions. Also, his chin was not tucked, so his full head circumference was what was coming through instead of the crown that would mold easily. This explained why the pushing was so much more difficult than with my first VBAC.

I am incredibly blessed to have found Judith for this birth. I feel that if I had been in hospital I would not have felt near as powerful and may have ended up with a cesarean based on baby’s heart rate and position. This birth was tiring, but exhilarating as well and made me feel very proud and powerful. I am thankful Judith was there and for being able to birth at home!

Dawn's Story -Not Exactly According to Plan
For nearly 2 weeks leading up to Bella’s birth, I had contractions on a regular basis. This was painful and annoying as they would keep me up at night and make sleeping impossible. I was tired and worn out.

The night before Bella made her grand entrance into this world; I had been having contractions that were 4-6 minutes apart and lasting 45-60 seconds. This went on for nearly 2 hours, but as soon as I laid down they dropped down to maybe 1 per hour, just enough to keep me from getting any good rest. By the next morning they’d completely stopped. I got up and went on with my daily activities, actually a little happy that I hadn’t gone into labor because not only was my daughter still sick, but my boys had both come into my bed running fevers and coughing. So now, all 3 of them were sick, I had my hands full!

I did a little housework in between taking care of my kiddos and my frequent bathroom pit stops. I made some lunch, which no one but me ate, and got everyone comfy on the couch for a nap. At about 1:30, I made yet another bathroom stop and during so, I had a small gush of liquid. I wasn’t sure if it was my waters or just Bella moving around and pushing on my bladder, which wasn’t uncommon. I’d never experienced my water breaking on its own before, but I’d always read that if you’re unsure you should lay down for about 15 minutes and if there is a small gush when you sit or stand up then it’s more than likely ruptured membranes. So, that’s what I did, and sure enough, there was a gush.

I called Judith, my wonderful midwife, at around 1:45 and let her know that I thought that my waters had broken. She had me lay down one more time to make sure it was indeed my bag of waters and not just me peeing myself…lol! When I got up, I had that same gush. By then, I had also started having some contractions again. I called Judith back and told her about the gush and my contractions. She wanted me to rest for 15-30 minutes to see how the contractions reacted. I did what she said and they didn’t get any closer together, but they did get a little more intense. When I called her back to let her know, she wanted me to take it easy so things didn’t progress too quickly. I had no problem taking it easy J.

I called my husband to let him know that we would soon be meeting out 4th child. He was thrilled and said he was on his way home. I called my best friend, my mom, and my Grammy to let all of them know it was time!

By then, my contractions were about 5 minutes apart and lasting about 1 minute to 1 ½ minutes long and were becoming quite intense. I was quite during my contractions, concentrating on breathing through them and keeping my body relaxed. My kids were doing wonderful while I was laboring. My mother-in-law, and my husband got to our house at about the same time, but my husband had to leave again to run a few errands.

While he was running his errands, my mother-in-law, my daughter, and myself started blowing up the pool we were going to use for delivery. My daughter was having a blast with the pump! My youngest, even gave it a try…lol! My contractions were getting more intense and I was starting to have some awful back labor. When my husband got home, he finished the job of blowing up the pool. I gave my kids hugs and kisses and off they went to the in-law’s house. My father-in-law came over to help my husband fill the pool up.

Around this time, my best friend showed up. She was so wonderful and such a help! She would apply counter pressure to my back during contractions, which made them SO much more tolerable. My husband and his dad had got the hose hooked up to the washer connection and the water was flowing! They started bickering: was the water too hot, was it going to melt to pool, should they add ice, was the pool in a good spot… that sort of thing…funny!

At that point, my contractions suddenly started coming one right after another. I had maybe 30 seconds in between each contraction and my body was starting to push involuntarily. I could feel the pressure of her head during each contraction. told my husband to forget about the pool because we weren’t going to have enough time. At that moment, Judith and her daughter Sha pulled into our drive. Judith came in, took one look at me, smiled, and said, “We’re going to have a baby.” She wanted me to lie down so she could check me, so slowly I made my way to my side. I asked her if she could just do the internal with me lying on my side. She said she could (thank goodness because I really didn’t want to roll onto my back). As she checked me, she smiled and said we had about ½ inch before Bella would be here! She gave the go ahead to push!

I was still lying on my side as I started pushing. With our first push, she crowned! Judith told me to reach down and feel my baby’s head! What a wonderful feeling!! Judith asked me to try to slow my pushing down, and my response was “I can’t help it! It’s not me, it’s my body!” After that, she said, “Then just go with it.” She was so calming. I pushed again and she crowned again, but this time I held her there for about 30 seconds. It took a lot of control on my part and really, I’m not sure why I did it, but it felt right at the time. With our third push, her head was born!! With our next push Bella was born at 4:42 in the afternoon!!

Now, the things that happened next all happened so fast that I may not have them all in the right sequence.

Right after she came out, I rolled to my back and pulled her up on my chest. As I was doing this, I saw a spurt of blood and noticed that Bella was a purple color. Then I heard Judith. She didn’t yell, but the tone of her voice was very serious, “Clamp! Sha, I need a clamp!” That’s when I realized that the spurt of blood had come from Bella’s umbilical cord! Judith had me lay her on the blanket next to me while she was pinching the umbilical cord. She put the clamps on the cord and told us that there was a true knot in the cord. She started rubbing Bella’s feet and talking to her. “C’mon pretty baby, breathe for me. C’mon, take a breath.” She gave her a breath and kept rubbing her and talking to her. She told me and my husband to do the same. I started stroking her head and telling her everything was going to be ok, and I truly felt that it would. Even though everything was so hectic, I felt so calm. Judith gave her another breath. I looked at my husband and he looked absolutely terrified… his face was pale white, his eyes were wide and filled with tears, and he had his hand over his mouth. He later told me that he thought his worst dreams were coming true and that our baby was going to die right in front of him. Judith gave her another breath. My husband held my hand and whispered “C’mon Bella, breath honey.” Judith gave her another breath. At this point, she was starting to to breathe on her own. Sha had gotten the oxygen tank so I was holding the tube up to Bella’s face to help her.

She was finally pinking up and breathing on her own! What a relief! Her dad cut Bella’s umbilical cord and then helped me to our bed. Judith gave Bella some vitamin E, rescue remedy, and some liquid arnica then had me nurse her as much as possible. For the next hour or so, Judith came in to check on us frequently while she nursed on and off. Bella was doing great!!!

During that time, Judith and Sha brought in the placenta to show us some pretty amazing things. First of all, there was a true knot in her cord. It was about an inch in front of her belly button. Then, right on the other side of the knot was a malformation in the gel of her cord. It was a hole, about the size of my pinky nail, which exposed the vessels. When I pulled her up on my chest, it put pressure on the vessel and it burst! So the knot being there saved Bella’s life, it kept her from bleeding to death!!

The entire center of the side of the placenta that attaches to the uterus were dark and shadowy, which meant it wasn’t getting good blood flow, so it wasn’t functioning properly. So basically, our baby girl fought long and hard to get here. First, with the fact that I was using the mirena IUD as a form of birth control when she was conceived, then with all the obstacles during her delivery and birth. She is truly a miracle that was meant to be on this earth!

When Bella was about an hour old, she was weighed and measured, and her hemoglobin checked. She weighed in at 8lbs and 6oz, our lightest baby! She measured 20 3/4in long, our 2nd shortest baby. Her hemoglobin was 18, which was a result of the early cord clamping, but still not at all bad. Her apgar scores were 4 at one minute, 7 at five minutes and 9 at ten minutes!

So all-in-all, even though nothing at all went like I had planned it… I didn’t get my water birth, I didn’t get to change into the nightgowns I had planned to wear during delivery, and there were a few complications… I had the ABSOLUTE BEST birth experience! Even though nothing went as planned, I didn’t feel gypped or disappointed or upset… it was absolutely perfect!

The fact that I was able to snuggle up in my bed right after delivery was wonderful. No one was coming in every hour to rub the top of my fundus, or to check my blood pressure, or to make sure I’m logging in how often I’m nursing and changing my baby…

My baby wasn’t taken away from me when a few complications happened, she wasn’t poked with and probed, no goop was shoved in her eyes after birth, she wasn’t taken away to the nursery to be weighed and measured and bathed… We were able to snuggle up and be comfortable in our own home; everything was better than I could have ever imagined. Not only did I have the perfect birth experience for me, but I met one of the most amazing women ever! Thank you Judith and Sha, you made our perfect home delivery possible!!

Kathy's Story - Full Term Twins

My birth story starts many years ago, when my first child was delivered with forceps at the end of an unnecessary induction.  After recovering from my first child’s birth, I decided that a midwife’s more gentle birth choices were for me.  My second child was born at a birthing center with two midwives.  The experience was hundreds of times more fulfilling than my hospital birth.  We moved and a short time later we learned I was expecting another child.  We felt like we were better prepared for a home birth, and found a certified nurse midwife to take care of me during my third pregnancy and birth.  I loved everything about a home birth, nothing to pack, and the preparations that we made just really fit in with my nesting instincts.  The pregnancy was much more enjoyable as I didn’t have long office waits or drives; it was all in my home.  It was the easiest labor and delivery and that was saying something, because my third was a big, big, boy.  He was 24 inches long and weighed 10 lbs 6 oz at birth.   

After two wonderful birthing experiences with midwives, it was only natural that in my 4^th pregnancy I went back to my midwife again.  However there was a bump in the road, or better put, two bumps in the road.  About halfway through the pregnancy we discovered I was expecting twins!  My midwife didn’t have experience with delivering twins and referred me to her contracted doctor, who was one of the top doctors in the area for twin pregnancies.   

Thinking this was my only option I started going to the doctor.  Immediately I remembered why I liked home births.  The personal, emotional, and spiritual element of being with a midwife was missing.  The natural elements of the birthing experience were minimized, and the medical aspects emphasized.  For example, the doctor told me that I would not be able to walk around in the birthing room, but would be strapped in stirrups to labor.  The birth also would not occur in a standard labor and delivery room, but in the operating room, thus facilitating a Caesarian if it became necessary.  He said that this was necessary because it was a multiple pregnancy and birth, acknowledging that single birth parents had more choices for labor and delivery at the hospital.  The longer I saw him the more nervous and dissatisfied I became with the care I was receiving.  After much prayer and fasting, my husband and I decided to try to find a midwife that would birth our twins at home.  Yes, the difference between a hospital birth and home birth with a midwife was that dramatic; that we would be willing to go to such lengths to have these babies delivered with a caring midwife.

The Lord is merciful and through our efforts and by a simple miracle we were able to find Judith.  She listened to our concerns and offered experience with twins.  We felt like we had found what we needed. Judith gave me great care and immediately started me on some herbal supplements to compliment my nutritional regime that I followed to ensure the best possible multiple pregnancy outcome.  Feeding yourself and two babies is a job not for the faint of heart.  I had to eat a lot of food! I also had a history of hemorrhage, and Judith got to work to try to do what we could to minimize that risk. 

It was a blessing to have the kind of care I preferred, but it was a serious decision; a multiple birth carries many more risks than a single.  But, it seemed we had the perfect set up; two separate membranes, the presenting twin was head down, and the second was a breech.  The doctor I had gone to was adamant that I had to be prepped for a C-section in the surgery room on a table to labor.  That way he’d be ready if anything went wrong.  He said that I would not be able to move around or walk, they had to monitor the babies constantly.  I didn’t like that idea.  I believe birth is a natural occurrence and doesn’t need medical interventions.  I think that most of the birthing complications are created, rather than solved with medical protocol.  Once we began seeing Judith exclusively, my anxiety about the birth dropped significantly. 

I was able to carry my twins full term, just 2 days shy of my due date.  My body was a little worn out and my blood pressure was starting to rise, and with wisdom, Judith gave me a gentle nudge, to start my labor.  I labored just a few hours while walking around with my husband outside in the beautiful spring air.  Then it was time to go inside.  My sister, my mother, midwife, and husband were all there to support me.  They checked me and the babies regularly, but not so obtrusively as to interfere with my efforts to labor.  Judith was very helpful suggesting different positions and massages to ease my pains.  Then the time came to push.  With twins, my presenting baby was head down, but just a little off center.  Pushing wasn’t going as well as I expected.  Then Judith suggested trying an all fours position on the bed, so it was nice and comfy on my knees.  Within minutes, my baby boy was born.  If I hadn’t have been able to move with my body and find what worked, I know that it would have resulted in a C-section.  My husband caught my son with Judith’s help, and immediately gave the baby to me.   I had worked so hard for nine months to get him here safely.  I just laid there in tears of joy holding my precious gift from God.  My husband was able to cut the cord after it had finished pulsating, and we were able to bond with our little one, using the best baby heater, me, the mommy! 

It seemed just a short time (actually about 20 minutes) before I began to have contractions again.  My little girl wanted to come too!  Judith broke the bag of waters and didn’t even have time to change her gloves before two little feet were kicking out of the birth canal.  She was in a hurry; she didn’t want to let brother get all the attention!   With gentle ease, I delivered my second twin footling breech with no problems.  I had my twins at home with no complications. There was my little girl just as wonderful a miracle as my boy.  I was amazed at the rate my heart grew that day.  I wondered if I had enough love for two babies at once, and I was relieved to find that yes, indeed, I did.  I made myself dizzy looking from precious face to face as we attempted to get them both to nurse.  Both babies weight over 8 pounds each.   

The delivery was so smooth and Judith’s care so prompt, that my bleeding after birth was very minimal.  Usually in my other births I bled 4 times as much as I did with my twins, and that is a miracle.  Throughout post partum, Judith continued her more than wonderful care.  She helped when my baby girl was jaundiced.  She really addressed all my needs besides just physical.  My husband and I were so thankful to find such a great midwife to help us in our journey as parents.

Mary's Stories - John Daniel’s Birth
We met Judith when we were pregnant with our fourth baby. This was our first baby with Judith (our first two births had been hospital inductions after rupture of membranes, and our third had been with a different midwife at home), and I was eager to see if my body would do what God had designed it to do on its own.

My water broke at 37 weeks so Judith came on over that morning to make sure Baby had good heart tones, check head position, and see if there were any signs of labor. My contractions piddled around until 8 p.m. Right after my husband and I tucked our three little sons in bed, my body got serious. Judith smiled and said that this was common as mothers’ labors often kick in after responsibilities wind down for the day.

Things progressed nicely, but then we came to a standstill. The baby wasn’t really descending, though I was dilated to 10 cm. Judith looked at my stomach, felt for baby’s head position, and said to Paul and me, “O.K., during this next contraction, I want to hold your left knee to the left side of your chest. This will help rotate Baby’s head so it is lined up with the birth canal.” After one contraction, the angle of baby’s head had lined up and a couple contractions later, sweet little John Daniel was born around 10 p.m. that night. He was so quiet, still, and alert! It was a wonderful birth, and during the hard part when I was wanting to give up, Judith said softly, “I can see your baby’s hair! Feel Baby’s hair!” Knowing that we really were close to the end was an encouraging boost.

Judith did a newborn exam and could see that John was having trouble maintaining his body temperature, so she had us heat baby blankets in the dryer to wrap him in to help him out the first few days. It is always so fun to snuggle your new little one those first few tender days!

This birth was made so much easier by Judith’s observations and little adjustments here and there. I’d had two hospital births, and had been left to just push past malpresentations and an overly full bladder caused by IV with no voiding or catheter, which damaged internal tissues and left me in pain for months.

Our relationship with Judith continued for sixteen years beyond our fourth baby. Judith has delivered five more of our children, and I’ve appreciated her experienced observation and helpful supervision that have smoothed a road that had been much rockier under the care of other medical and hospital providers during our first pregnancies. Her kind interactions with our children have been a blessing, also.

Mary's Stories (cont.) - Libby’s Birth
When we found out I was expecting after our eighth birth had ended in a C-section out-of-state, I was more than apprehensive. We had moved twice and now lived quite a bit further from Judith, so I tried to find midwife care closer to our home. I could not find anyone who would consider me for a home VBAC due to my age (39 and premenopausal), number of previous births (eight), borderline anemia, and that the most recent birth had been a Cesarean. I contacted Judith for advice, and she agreed to be my midwife once again, noting that nutritional support, not those other factors, was the main indicator of positive birth outcome and uterine strength. My back-up doctor was supportive, so I followed Judith’s high protein guidelines and did what we could to correct my unresponsive anemia.

We almost lost Elisabeth, we call her Libby, at 20 weeks or so into the pregnancy. I began having hot flashes (and with it a marked decrease in baby’s movement). I thought it was a little humorous, since I WAS nearly 40 years old, but when I mentioned it to Judith, she realized I was having a hormone imbalance or placenta-damaging progesterone deficiency that was potentially life-threatening for the baby. We took the necessary precautions with the help of my back-up doctor, and the hot flashes (and other symptoms) went away.

After several days of stop-and-go labor (complete with snow and ice storms), we had a wonderful home water birth (my first water birth). Little (or not-so-little!) Elisabeth Mae was finally here at ten pounds 1 ounce! The warm water was so soothing and relaxing, and the buoyancy enabled me to shift and rotate my pelvis to help Baby rotate from posterior to mostly anterior presentation. Judith and her daughter were such a cheerful, helpful blessing for this birth.

During our prenatal visits, Judith always answered my many questions thoroughly and always had a smile for each child present, encouraging them to be excited for and helpful to Mommy and Baby. She is not only our midwife, but a true friend of the family.