Tag Archives: Natural Birth

The Birth Interview Project | Alissa’s Induced, Natural, Hospital birth.

15 Dec

The Birth Interview Project consists of 17 simple questions designed to help mothers process their birth story & share it with others. All mothers are invited to take part in this project. Born out of Joy’s desire to help women discover, process and express the  feelings surrounding their birth experiences, The Birth Interview Project strives to offer a platform for mothers and readers alike to share and be heard, to search and to discover, to identify and to heal, and to exhort and remember. The views and opinions expressed here are unique to each woman who takes part in the Birth Interview Project and may not always reflect the values of the blog author.

Alissa and her husband, at the start of labor.

Please give a brief description of yourself, and what number baby/birth you’re sharing with us:

My name is Alissa. I’ve been married seven years and my husband and I have four children. I am sharing about my fourth birth, my son, Isaiah.

What was your due date, and what was your baby’s birth date?

My due date was Oct 3, 2011 and I gave birth Sept 12, 2011.

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The Spirit of Comfort

22 Dec

 

 

For I heard a cry as of a woman in labor,
anguish as of one giving birth to her first child,
the cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath,
stretching out her hands, saying, “Woe is me!”

Jeremiah 4:31

I hear her through the doors as I walk by.  I can instinctively tell, by the sounds she is making that she is crossing the line between pain and suffering. I know she needs help, so I stop what I am doing and take time to respond.  I step into the birth room, and when I see her my heart fills with compassion.  She is whimpering and has a tight and high-pitched breathing pattern through her contractions.  Her whole body (and mind) is fighting against them. Her face is distorted and clinched, her shoulders are raised high by her ears.  I walk towards her.  I smile calmly at her family in the room and explain to them, “I’m Joy, and I’m a birth assistant here, I’m also a doula, and I’m going to help Amy* work through her contractions.”

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Beautiful Breech Birth (Part III)

15 Jul

Illustration by Richard Wilkinson.

Read Part I Here || Read Part II Here

When we arrived at the hospital they brought us into L&D room 7.  J looked at me and said, “Seven, that’s a good number.”  I agreed.  I always take seven as a good sign and mentioned to J that this was the very room my last clients birthed in.  That moment was the calm before the storm. Continue reading →

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Beautiful Breech Birth (Part II)

11 Jul

A woman laboring on the ball. Illustrated by Megan Gnekow.

Read Part I Here || Read Part III Here

I received a call from J at 1:00 AM, just as I was returning home from a night out with friends.  J had been in labor for three hours and was now needing my assistance.  I came home and packed up a few things.  Brushed my teeth and tried to make sense of my hair.  Not a stitch of make-up and I couldn’t even remember if I had showered that day.  Oh, well, too late now.  I changed my clothes, grabbed my doula bag and headed out the door. Continue reading →

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