Megan shares with us her plus size water birth story of her third child born at home.
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.
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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.
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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.
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!
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.
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.
Photo credit: Golden Spun Photography
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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.