The last weeks of my pregnancy were to say the least, grueling. Not so much because I was in much discomfort, but more that the discomfort that I had was accentuated by the fact that Brigitte had her baby boy so early, and so every twinge was a signal to me that maybe we might be early too. This pregnancy was very different than with Salome, because Anais dropped weeks before she arrived, and there were some signs that she was coming, but nothing ever progressed. We tried to encourage things by taking some walks, and flying around these bumpy back roads at every chance, but it was clear that she was going to come when she was good and ready.

My hopes and predictions that we would see the arrival of our new baby before our due date were left aside by the weekend. We were at Brigitte’s house on Sunday, October 2nd, and while I was having contractions, they were like all the others in the previous weeks and I assumed that it would be a while still. However, once back at home, the contractions continued until we were timing promising 45 second contractions every ten minutes. That continued through the night, with no progress, and after I spoke with our midwife the next morning, everything stopped. I had a shower and then cried about how every time it seemed like we were ready to go, it all stopped, and how it wasn’t so unclear with Salome, and how I was so ready, and other things that Miguel probably could not understand between my snotty sobs, he held me and reassured me that we would have a baby. Mind you that this desperation was on our due date, it was not as if I had endured weeks more than my share at this point.

The conversation with the midwife had, however, established that there was the possibility that I was in labor, and the decision was made that later that day we would move into the house where we had planned to have the baby, just in case things progressed, we would not have to make the trip down the winding road in active labor. I napped a little, had some lunch, and hung out with Salome, who was really excited that we might be having a baby that day. Meanwhile, Miguel took care of some business in town, and last minute things around the house, and by 2:45 we were on our way to Brigitte’s house to drop off Sunny. We stayed there for about 20 minutes, my contractions were getting stronger, and by now I was hopeful that this was the real thing, I knew at least we were at the  eginning of the end, and we were all excited. Brigitte put my hair into a French braid, which was very helpful later, as my hair was not dangling all over my face. Salome also got a fancy braid, and then we were on our way.

The house where we had the baby is on a farm which has been allowed to go back to its natural state, so it is in and around lush green forest. The day was cool and misty; the whole environment was very magical. We were greeted upon our arrival by the family who owned the house; they immediately made us feel very welcome. Our midwife arrived shortly after we did, and she and I made our way downstairs to see where things were at. I was very surprised when she told me I was already 5cm dialated. When we had Salome, I was 6cm when we got to the hospital, and had been having contractions that I could not talk through for hours. Now at 5cm, I was not only talking casually with everyone, but I also took a quick walk with the owner of the house. I felt great.

I still did not feel like I was in labor, but my midwife and I decided to work on progressing things. She gave me a very nice massage, and we talked about all kinds of things. It was very relaxing. Then she and I just sat on the edge of the bed, mutually in wonder of what to do next, everything was still very calm. So she suggested that I have an enema, to clean me out and open things up. We did that, and she gave me some herbs to help things progress. She had mentioned that it was possible the baby was posterior, which could explain why things were not progressing,
so she had me lay over a pillow with my knees to my chest to allow the baby to get into a better position.

Finally, my contractions started to feel productive. I could not talk through them anymore, and everything started speeding up. I changed positions to resting my chest over a birthing ball on the bed. Before long, I was in real pain and just crying through contractions. Salome had been welcomed upstairs by the family, and would hop down very so often to check on me. She held my hand, and rubbed my arm and told me I was doing a really good job. Then she would run back up and give the report to everyone of where things were at. She was great.

Before I continue with the rest of the birth story, it is very important for me to qualify to the impressionable young ladies reading this, that birth is painful, but it is productive, and unlike breaking a leg where increasing pain only leads to long painful recovery, the pain in childbirth escalates to a totally euphoric moment where nothing hurts, and in your arms you literally have the fruit of your labor. It is worth every moment.

So then, by 7:00pm I asked my midwife to check my progress, and the baby. I was 7cm dilated, and the baby’s heart beat was fine. The birthing pool was now full and warm, and so I made the transition into it. It was really soothing to be in the water and be able to bounce around a little, to stretch out and not have anything hard against me. It was dark, but I could still see the fog around the trees, and it was raining steadily, but not fiercely. The birthing pool was on a covered patio, so we were out in the night, and candles were the only light. It was so beautiful, and relaxing. My contractions suddenly got really intense, and close together. I started making lots of noise through them, and still, Salome bravely came down to give me support. Of course the whole time Miguel was by my side, rubbing me and letting me hold and squeeze him. Our midwife really stepped back by this point.

She still offered encouragement, but she just let it all happen. There were no wires or tubes attached; it was just me inside of my body which was doing what it wanted without being instructed or given permission to react to this experience. At some point I felt that I had to pee, but it was just the pressure of the baby on my bladder, and now the contractions were at that stage where you decide you don’t want to do this anymore, that you can’t, that you’ll be fine not having another baby, just shut it off, please. I got back into the pool, and was more comfortable there than anywhere else, but it was wildly intense.

The contractions were very close together, and I started to bear down. Finally I told our midwife that I was pushing, fully expecting her to recommend some technique to resist the urge because it was too soon, or that she needed to see that I was at 10cm, or something, but all she said was to just listen to what my body wanted to do, so I did, and even though it was still incredibly painful, it was great to be able to actively move this person out of my body. I sounded like a Brahma cow, it was totally primal, and completely necessary that I make all of that noise.

All at once, I could feel the head moving down, I reached to feel for it, and thought I could, but it was actually the bag of waters. I could tell that the baby was almost out, and then the midwife told me that it was a matter of two or three more contractions, and sure enough, once I got into the position where the midwife could monitor the baby coming out, I started hearing those sounds of awe. I could feel the head out, and that sound in Miguel’s voice when he saw the head, was the same as when he saw Salome. It was established that the cord was not around her neck, and with a couple more pushes, this beautiful baby shot out into the water and floated up. The midwife just told me “Take your baby Alison” and I reached out and brought her up to me, not even knowing yet that she was a she. Everything was perfect, and then I pushed aside the cord to reveal that we had another little girl. What a moment. She was born on her due date, October 3, 2005 at 9:12pm. 8lbs 2oz, 20inches.

Salome had been there when the head crowned, and after reporting upstairs about it, she came back down after the baby was out. An assistant to the midwife had arrived toward the end of my labor and she put a warm wet towel on Anais, and a hat on her head. We enjoyed her there in the water for a few minutes, and got some photos, and then we went inside. We did not cut her cord until it stopped pulsating, probably 15-20 minutes. And during this time I delivered the placenta, without any trouble or blood loss. Salome and Miguel cut the cord together.

The midwife discovered I had torn, along my previous episiotomy scar, and she stitched me back up. Then we all talked about it a while, and the midwife and her assistant packed up their equipment and left. We had two good night’s sleep at the house she was born at, and Wednesday morning we packed up and came home.

This was my second birth; I also have a darling five year old little girl. She was born in a hospital in the US, and I have and will always consider my experience having her a wonderful one. I went into labor naturally, and my wishes to have her without drugs were respected. We were attended by an incredible nurse, who was a mother of six, and was able to guide me through the stages of labor, and reassure me. I was however on fetal monitors throughout my labor which restricted my movement. I did not feel bad about this at the time, but now having the experience of being able to move freely, I can see the difference is night and day. I was also given oxygen, which they said my baby needed, and this I really hated, but endured. They did that head probe test on her as well. All of the above I now realize was probably not necessary. The room was inviting, however, and the nurse stayed past her shift to be with us through the end. I enjoyed the security of being in a hospital, and at the time I would never have considered a home birth because of the risks. Why would anyone choose to be away from all of the machines and doctors?

Then we moved to Costa Rica, and I soon realized that I would rather give birth under a tree than in the public hospital. We looked into the private hospitals, and figured this was our only option. Then some friends of ours had their first baby with a midwife, and their experience was what made us look into it more. As soon as we talked with the midwife, we realized that our choice for a home birth was about much more than just an alternative to the barbaric public hospital, or the expense of a private one. We realized that while there were risks involved, that we were actually avoiding some as well.

Now having experienced both, if I was to have another baby, I would absolutely have a home birth again. The fact that I had no machines hooked up to me, since none were necessary, that I was able to move around freely, that my family was there in a comfortable welcoming environment, and that only the people who I knew and trusted were there with me, these things made the labor part of the experience much more natural and unaffected, not to mention that she was born in the water, outside undercover in a rainy tropical forest.

The differences didn’t end when the baby was born either. My midwife was able to examine that everything was ok, with both of us just the same as the team of experts and students did at the hospital, but she was a friend, not a stranger. Then that she packed up and left, knowing everything was fine, left us to have a quiet night’s sleep together as a family without the constant interruption of nurses checking on things throughout the night. The whole experience was natural, relaxed, and there could not have been a better way for my daughter to enter the world. I would absolutely recommend to anyone who is interested in a home birth, to go for it, especially if they have the good fortune of working with our midwife. She is very special.