Jessa’s Natural Birth Story

Jessa is the first of her siblings to be born at home. Her mom, Lisa, is a strong woman with a military background who had always been induced and delivered at the hospital. This time she wanted something different. With the support of her husband Nick, Lisa sought out midwife (now retired) Marianne M. I was fortunate to serve as Marianne’s assistant for Jessa’s birth.

Written in her own words, this is Lisa’s story.

On August 31 at 7:30am I started having contractions about 5 minutes apart. I was really excited because I was 9 days late and was really ready to meet my little baby! I called Marianne, Shannen and Christen and Deborah (my friend) and they came over. My contractions slowed and Marianne told me to lay down and rest and then they pretty much stopped. At that point Marianne and the other midwives left. Deborah stayed. I was feeling really disappointed and sad so Deborah suggested we walk around Home Goods to take my mind off of it and possibly start things up again. We left for Home Goods around 1pm.

As we walked around I started feeling a lot of pressure and my contractions started up again. They progressed pretty quickly in the 90 minutes we walked around. When we left the store we made a stop at Deborah’s house so she could nurse her baby. I had downloaded an app to help track my contractions. They were steadily 3-4 minutes apart for the next hour. We went back to my house at around 5pm I called the midwives and asked them to come back. Shannen was first to arrive and that is about when my transition
contractions began.

Deborah and Shannen were coaching me through the contractions. Shannen called Marianne and Marianne said that I could get in the tub. I wanted to wait until Marianne got to the house and did the exam before I got in. She came, did the exam, and then I got in the tub. My contractions were very strong and about a minute apart. At about 7:25 Marianne decided to break my water. It burned really bad when she did and the burning feeling didn’t go away until Jessa was delivered. I got back in the tub immediately after she broke my waters and that’s when things got crazy! I wasn’t fully dilated but my body was ready to push and there was no way I could stop it! Jessa was born in the tub at about 7:30pm. Holding her made all that pain totally worth it!

…my body was ready to push and there was no way I could stop it!

I got out of the tub to deliver the placenta. I remember being surprised that I was still feeling contractions. I even asked Shannen why I was still in pain. (You don’t feel any contractions when you deliver the placenta when you have an epidural.). After the placenta was delivered Christen and Shannen helped me get cleaned up and showered. Marianne, Nick, Deborah and my mom were out in the living room. Nick was holding the baby. After Marianne stitched me up and checked me out we weighed Jessa and got all her measurements. She was 9 pounds 5 ounces, 21 inches long. My second biggest baby!

*Labor Notes
During Lisa’s pregnancy, Jessa was well protected by the very strong bag of waters Lisa’s body built. Jessa was fully engaged when Lisa’s water was broken by the midwife. Doing so at a later stage in labor prevented the possibility of cord prolapse. It also allowed Jessa to move downward more forcefully which, being born 5 minutes later, she was clearly ready to do. This sudden pressure caused the “burning sensation” Lisa experienced.