Life Paths

             When I gave birth to him, I went to the hospital after 6 hours of labour, the doctor did some invasive procedures. Girls, do not allow them to break your water in order to induce birth…The baby will come out when he is ready, for me it was a horrible experience, I felt raped, I felt cold metal tools inside my body pulling and forcing my organs inside. It is a dangerous procedure that has no point at all! There should be no rush to bring out the little one, he will just come out when feels right, if the water breaks, the level of oxygen drops so the baby is in a panic situation, may even suffocate on the way out! 

              At a check, the doctor discouraged me saying I will give birth late on the afternoon, while it was only 7 in the morning. I was feeling my baby head pressing its way out and the contractions were so intense I could not believe I would have to struggle with that condition for the next 10 hours. Of course I gave birth only 4 hours later. The nurses almost forced drugs on me, saying it is necessary in order to obtain the right dilatation. Bullshit! The body will do it in its own rhythm, I refused several times, annoyed by their attitude, so obviously my interaction with the ones there to take care and help me was a stressful one.

              Lucky me…I gave birth with only the midwife, for the doctors have left for a meeting to another town. Even so..she rushed into cutting my perinea even it might have not been necessary and even had a nurse press on my stomach with her elbow, action very dangerous for the baby. I also managed to skip the cleaning of the uterus post birth,an act described as painful, harmful, traumatizing. If the placenta comes out entire, there is no need to do such thing!

              It was than I decided I will not deliver another baby in those conditions!

              With my second child I got pregnant almost 7 years after. I had no medical check whatsoever. I felt a few times a bit of belly pains, which meanwhile I have understood upon research that are quite normal to occur. I gained about 7-8 kilos this time, could have been also because my diet have changed to a vegetarian diet, and walked around, climbed up to our home on the hill until the last month of pregnancy. My baby girl was pressing on some nerve in the last 2 weeks before I gave birth, so I had it a bit difficult to move around than. I birthed her home, with just her father by my side. All went well,  have told the story in anther blog, here I will focus on the effects upon my body. I had a normal labour, about 12 hours, same as with my first child, the last hours the contractions were very intense and exhausting,  I started to bleed a bit before she came out which made me worry a bit because back in the hospital I have been so little in control of my body that I was not remembering if it was all right or not. She came out together with the water, it broke when her head popped out and she was received in this world by her father, taking her first breath in his arms. I was standing while delivering her, the gravity helps and the sacral bone is easy to open, position not encouraged by the medical staff in the hospital because they cannot properly see what is going on, but the low sacral  bone would have no space to push out while laying on your back.

             After birth I used artemisia abstynthium tea to scar my broken perinea and I drank Yarrow tea and Lady´s Mantle tea to help the uterus recover. I used these plants also for local baths to heal my vaginal area and for the bleedings I only used towels , no synthetic tampons, nor fluffy cotton from the pharmacy of which I have heard it is full of glyphosphate ( main ingredient in the Roundup pesticide).
 I bled strong the first days and continued to bled very little for a few weeks.

            With my third child I choose also to not have doctors around, it felt totally wrong to be treated as a sick patient, I did met a midwife who measured my belly and confirmed all seemed well one time at about 20 weeks of pregnancy.

        

                I only gained less than 6 kilos while my baby weighted 3.800 kilos herself. My diet now was almost completely vegan. I birthed her home, in the bathtub, with her father and older sister by our side. 

The process was much shorter this time, it has also been only 2 and a half years since last birth, so I had only 3 hours of contractions, I walked around the house barefoot in the grass, the last hour the pain was intense so I spent it in the hot water, on my knees . The water broke and only a few minutes after I felt my baby head. At the second contraction came the rest of her body, in my hands, I waited there in the bathtub, breastfeeding her while the placenta was also coming out. 

                 This time I had painful contractions after the birth while my uterus was getting back to his original size, so I drank a lot of good lady´s mantle tea. I had no perinea break now, only a hemorrhoid bothering post birth. I did kegel exercises and local lady´s mantle tea baths. It disappeared the third day.

                    During my last pregnancy I went to the swimming pool several times, which really helped my back and gave me that time just for me and my body, a meditation and connection that I totally enjoyed. I really recommend swimming during the pregnancy, seems the most comforting and fitted workout one can do while expecting a baby, but sauna is not all right because the air pressure, nor the jacuzzi for the way too hot water can provoke contractions. I also did plenty of yoga and walked all the time, I carried my 10 kilo toddler in my arms around the house with no problem and my body felt strong and normal.

                  I will mention also I had no menstruation for 20 months after my second birth, I got pregnant after I had my first and only period. This is normal for the mothers that breastfeed anytime the baby is interested.

                  I had bleed for about 2 weeks after I had my third baby, used only towels again and I have not got my period yet, she is now about 7 months old ( and 9 kilos! ) and drinks milk…a lot !

                 I hope my experiences shared here will help mothers approach the pregnancy and birth with confidence and strength, I try to advice and support for a normal enjoyable pregnancy and a peaceful and natural birth, without stressed doctors and nurses and stressful strong lights, immediate cut of the umbilical cord and vaccination, separation from the mother and many other traumatizing procedures for both mother and the baby. Also I wanted my baby to come out in the world home, where the bacterias were already known by her body through me, and not meeting some strong antibiotics resistant bacterias like in the hospital....  Of course I would have went to the hospital and accept the C section or any other procedures if I would have felt there was the necessity to do that in order to have me and my baby safe, but I followed my intuition and listened to my body and there was no reason for me to go through that. But if it is a first birth and the mother does not feel completely confident on herself, should not try to do it alone, my experience is not to be turned into a fashion while mothers and babies in danger, so feel what your body tells you and decide how to go through this depending on each individual case. There are midwives that assist home births and friendly clinics where one can feel both safe and comfortable together with family or friends by their side and knowing there is professional staff in the other room to assist if needed. 

                Feel free to debate and ask me of details, I am not a certified midwife, I filter my knowledge through my own experiences, but I believe there are certain things I discovered that might help any pregnant woman or fresh mommy to have a happy, simple and fulfilling relationship with her body.