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My Incredible Plus Size Water Birth Experience

Megan shares with us her plus size water birth story of her third child born at home.

plus size woman having a water birth

Plus Size Home Birth Story 

After almost seven years of begging and pleading with my husband, he 
agreed that we could try for a third baby the following fall. Low and
 behold, two weeks later I got a positive pregnancy test.

Three to four months into my pregnancy I made the decision to switch 
to cloth diapering. Through talking to ladies in the cloth diapering
 community I ended up being more educated in home birth.

I started
 following a few pages that advocated for home birth and it really
 opened up my eyes.

By the six month mark, I decided I wanted to have a home birth and spent some time warming my husband up to the idea of it.  

Eventually, he got on board and decided to support me to have whatever
 type of birth I wanted.

We started to prepare for a home water birth.

I was fairly confident
 going in that I would be successful due to my experience with my second 
birth. I did have a few moments of doubt though. The thought of being
 trapped at home with no immediate pain relief was both scary and
 motivating.

At 37 weeks I started all my typical labor induction methods and pretty 
much gave up by 39 weeks. At 39 weeks and 2 days, I woke up and then my water broke.

I
 had actually JUST gone on one of my Facebook pages to rant about how
 my husband could sleep in as my water broke, so one of the first
 things I said to him, after I said “Um, did my water just break”,
 was “Guess you don’t get to sleep in today, huh?”

Throughout the day I walked, baked banana bread, walked some more, 
drank a special labor tea that my midwife gave me, and walked some
 more.

My best friend came over as well to hang out with me during my
labor. She traveled over seventeen hours and came several weeks earlier than 
she had planned to make sure she would be with me for this birth.

Finally, around 6:00 pm things started to get regular. This meant 
contractions every 2 – 3 minutes.

My midwife came over to check me at 6:30 
and decided I was now in active labor. A few contractions later we 
decided I should get into the tub, and one or two contractions after 
that my photographer showed up.

I felt so strong through this labor.

As the contractions came I could 
feel my body tense up, so I would just close my eyes, breathe and 
concentrate on relaxing my body. It seemed to work and make the pain
 manageable. That was until a monster back-to-back set of contractions.

I made no noise, but tears sprang to my eyes afterward. Not 
necessarily from the pain, but from the reality that this was 
happening. I worried about if I was in THIS much pain now, how much 
worse would it get?

Then I felt the need to change position, so I went from sitting in the
 pool to kneeling in the pool and leaning over the edge.

plus size woman having a home birth in the water

About two 
contractions later I started to feel “pushy”.

My midwife checked 
me (it was 8:08 pm) and said I was only 6cm. She also called her 2nd 
attendant to start making her way over. One part of me was very scared
 that I was only a 6 and in this much pain. Then I started to feel 
nauseated.

My husband brought me a movie popcorn bucket in case I needed it and 
rubbed my back. I was prepared from a long haul.

The next contraction 
though, I WAS pushing and I couldn't control it.

My midwife decided to 
check me again and ended up breaking my second bag of waters. 
Immediately she started asking for towels and a time on the clock.

We 
knew it was a matter of minutes before my baby made her arrival so we
 called my four-year-old son into the room. He had been looking forward
 to watching the birth for weeks and was very excited that it was 
finally time!

home birth mother in water birth tub supported by son

Related: Sarah’s Plus Size VBAC Homebirth Story

A couple more pushes and out shot my 2nd daughter into the water below
 me.

It was 8:14 pm only 8 minutes since I was 6cm.
  I was able to grab her myself to lift her up out of the water.

She 
reached up to me instinctively, and I was able to bring her right up
on to my chest while we dried her off and snuggled as she took her 
first breaths.

plus size homebirth water birth
plus size homebirth mother and baby

Everyone was overjoyed. I called my mom, who was standing at the door,
 into the room while my baby was getting checked out.

My midwife’s
 assistant arrived a few minutes later. After I delivered the placenta,
 my dad, sister, and daughter were also invited into the room.

When they weighed her and told me she was 7lbs 5oz I was in shock!

My 
son had been 9lb12oz, and my first daughter was 8lb 9oz. I never
 imagined I would have such a tiny baby!!

It was my ultimate birth experience and I felt like I was on top of 
the world. I couldn't be more thankful to my support team for helping 
me achieve this.

Plus Size Homebirth Family Photo

Photo credit: Golden Spun Photography

Jen McLellan, CBE
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Amy

Thursday 25th of October 2018

I'm curious about the size of the pool. I need to order I've and want to make sure i have space.

plussizebirth

Thursday 25th of October 2018

I don't know what size pool she used but most "birth pools" are very accommodating. I would e-mail different companies and inquire about how size-friendly the pools are! Best wishes for your birth.

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