Rising Moon Midwifery

When my husband and I learned we were expecting another child we had some concerns, I miscarried our last baby, we were experiencing financial difficulties, and we had just moved to another state. This was a challenging time to bring another life into the world.

Because of my pregnancy and birth history I was concerned I would lose this baby. I wanted a home birth and in our present circumstances I was not sure if that would be a possibility. We were living with my parents and childbirth in their home was not an option. We were looking for our own place, but if we did not find one before the birth we would have to birth in the hospital or the birth center. I had contacted the birth center and because of my history (two miscarriages and complications at the birth of our second child) they could not take me. So that left us with the fact that we would have to find our own place before the birth or birth in a hospital.

The pregnancy was progressing healthy and around the time I was entering the second trimester my concerns started to lift. I wanted this baby very much and was looking forward to the birth. Now that I felt the pregnancy was more secure I could really enjoy being pregnant again. After four and a half months we found our own place and moved our family into our own apartment. It was a good feeling but financially we were still tight.

Home birth was now a strong possibility. A friend had given us names of midwives who worked together and we scheduled a time to meet them. I had e-mailed one of the midwives a few times before meeting with her. We arrived at the office just as she was getting her things out of her car. She looked up and asked if we were Michelle and Michael; she said, "Hi I'm Kate." She was very relaxed and looked so personable, I knew instantly that I wanted her to be my midwife I hoped she would feel the same. There was something about her - some vibe that said she should be our midwife. We all went in and had a great time getting to know each other. We met Kate's partner Merle at our first prenatal, again we knew we had made the right decision to go with these midwives. They were easy to talk with, knowledgeable of birth, well experienced, and able to work with our financial situation. We continued to meet with them throughout the pregnancy and later met Joei a midwife in late stages of her apprenticeship working with Kate and Merle. Now we had three wonderful midwives working with us, how did we come to be so blessed?

The pregnancy progressed smoothly but our personal lives were experiencing hardship. Michael was trying to secure a good paying job, we were having problems getting along with my family, and our financial situation was not improving. It was overwhelming but we did the best we could. Kate and Merle were patient and understanding they even offered a shoulder of emotional support. I appreciated the chance to unload the emotional baggage but was not used to discussing such personal issues with someone other than my husband. However their words of encouragement were just what we needed and it helped to keep us focused.

We had a due time frame of July 14-31 because we were not sure of conception. I knew I was pregnant in October '05 because I had taken a pregnancy test that was positive around the twenty-third. I took another about a week later that was also positive. At a visit with our back-up doctor we decided to have an ultra sound and the estimated due date was July 16th so we felt that our time frame was a good possibility.

Some time in July I started experiencing prodromal labor; contractions would start and last for hours or a couple of days. I would have a break of a few hours or a couple of days and then they would start again. At a prenatal visit we decided to check and see if there were any cervical changes and to my surprise there were. I was about a finger tip dilated and about 40% effaced (if memory serves it was about that). I remember thinking at one point that maybe I would go into labor closer to my due date. But the due date was getting further behind us and we were still waiting.

As we approached August the prodromal labor contractions were getting stronger and there was some more effacement, however I was still a finger tip dilated. I remember my sister in-law saying maybe you will have the baby on my birthday (August 7). I said I would rather have the baby sooner, no offense. But little did I know she was closer to when the baby was going to be born.

We had decided to try castor oil to help get things started. I was supposed to do two ounces and an hour later two more. But got confused over amounts and did only have each time. It did not work but helped to make me really uncomfortable. A little more than a week later we decided to try again because I was having stronger contractions. This time I got the dosing correct and my goodness did it clear me out. I completely hated the way it made me feel, but if it was going to help labor start I thought it was the best thing to do. We were concerned about how far along I was but kept thinking labor should start; the human body knows how to do this, and I had already given birth twice. But there is a part of you that always wonders am I doing the right thing by waiting; but we were not really sure of when I conceived. My husband and I decided that trying the tinctures and castor oil would not hurt because we could always stop if nothing happened. But if I went to the hospital I would most likely be locked into birth one way or another. Besides I did not want to go to the hospital, so we waited.

I believe it was the end of July when we all decided that we would try some things again to help labor start. I tried blue cohosh, castor oil, evening primrose oil, and a few other things that I can't remember their names. Unfortunately for me they did not work. We also tried stretching to help the cervix open, man does that hurt. But nothing worked to kick start labor. It was finally decided to give me and the baby a rest from everything and let my body start on its own; I liked the way that sounded. My emotions were like a roller coaster I was looking forward to the birth but overwhelmed with the problems we were having. I had already stepped back from a few things so I could give birth without stress and in a peaceful manner. But I was still having difficulty processing the events of the past several months. Kate had asked me at several prenatal visits if there was something bothering me and I could not think of anything. I knew what we were going through, the financial problems, family issues, Michael's job situation, but thought I was dealing with them. It just did not sink in that these things were affecting me so deeply and making me tense.

I thought about visualizing the labor and how I wanted the baby to be born; I imagined myself going with the flow, surrounded by people that cared about me and my family, looking into Michael's eyes and listening to him as he spoke words of encouragement to me. I thought about the baby's position and how she would come down. About the eighth month Kate had suggested visiting www.spinningbabies.com and following the suggestions there to help encourage the baby to go into, and remain, in the right position. And to learn about palpating my own tummy to be able to tell what position the baby was in. I was familiar with the site after referring several of my own clients to it. It was interesting being the one to benefit from it this time. Things are different when you're the mom and that is what was best for me, just to let myself be the mom - not the professional. It was conflicting for me to be both. I was able to gain valuable tips from the site. I had started to increase pelvic rocks and other exercises to help the baby rotate. Her position was not really a problem we just wanted to make sure every was lined up for the birth.

I have always loved the sound of my husband's voice and during labor find it relaxing (even more than relaxing because I actually need it to help keep me focused and moving forward). This time was no exception I needed him to help me stay on top of this labor too. The contractions were harder than with my first two children, although the pattern was very similar.

On August seventh (my sister-in-lawÕs birthday) my water broke about 3:20am and the contractions were inconsistent in hardness, duration, and length. I waited a few hours to call Kate because I wanted to have something to tell her. I finally called her between seven and eight in the morning. She asked a few questions and we decided that we could do a few things to help move things along. Kate arrived a couple hours later and we started some tinctures. Joei arrived maybe a couple hours later than Kate. So for the next few hours Michael, Joei, Kate and I (and the baby) went through contractions, talked, joked, and waited. We had been using the tinctures and castor oil and they were helping to bring the contractions into a more regular pattern but we still needed them harder and more regular. I really hated the castor oil, I find it difficult to relax when I am clearing out and I had never used a laxative before so the only thing I could compare the feeling to was the stomach problems that I had growing up. I would experience pain in my abdomen, diarrhea, and as a result I would get very tired and drained; and feeling that way would make me really upset. This was not how I imagined my labor. I have never viewed childbirth as a sickness so reconciling being in labor while having diarrhea and vomiting was difficult.

The one thing I liked was that this labor seemed to be going much faster than my first two. Havilah's birth was about forty-six hours and Simcha's about thirty-six. A shorter labor would be nice. Joei was very helpful through the contractions and afterward. She would say encouraging words or nothing so my concentration would not break. After she would rub my back a little, give a pat and say I was doing a great job. She would also remind me to drink enough water. Both Joei and Michael made sure I had had enough water to drink. And Michael had given me some rice and beef to eat at one point. I was so hungry. I sat down at the table and began eating; I remember it tasted so good the warmth felt really good in my stomach. However, I got a hard contraction and afterward did not want any more to eat. I pushed the bowl as far away from me as I could, I could not even take the smell. Michael and Joei laughed at that.

Kate suggested going for a walk outside. I had been walking around the apartment, squatting through contractions, leaning on things, and sitting. We had gotten as far as the stairs and I got a hard contraction and sat down through it. I did not want to go outside because I was still clearing out, and had to use the bathroom. So we turned around and went back into the apartment. While I was there I was thinking about what I wanted and needed to do. I really wanted to stop using the tinctures because I felt we had had the push that was needed to keep things going. I really wanted to get away from them because they made me feel sick and tired. I realized my mind was not working well with my body and felt maybe if I rested I could pull myself together and think about what I needed to do. I took a nap around 11:00 PM (this was the second nap I took during labor. The first one was shorter). It was a good nap I got a lot more rest. While lying in bed the contractions backed off a bit. I was still having them but they spaced a little and were not as hard. I knew that they were about to get harder and that things would pick-up and that when I did get up it would be to birth the baby. I'm not sure how much time had passed but the contractions started up again and were immediately harder and longer. I started feeling pressure in my thighs with some. I knew that this was it. I remember Michael having said the baby wants to be born. So I was thinking about that while experiencing these contractions.

The contractions were getting so hard that I started to moan through them. That was the only thing that helped; that and rocking a little through them. The pressure in my thighs was also getting harder and running down to my knees. I knew this was it. I waited a little longer to get closer to pushing. I noticed now I was starting to feel pressure like needing a bowl movement and knew that this was the babyÕs head pressing down. I thought great, we are getting somewhere. I told Michael how I was feeling. About this time Kate, Joei and Merle (Merle had arrived after we had gone in to nap) had come in to the room. I took another dose of a tincture and after Ðmaybe- four contractions went into the bathroom.

I started to freak out in the bathroom. Things started happening to fast for me to keep up with. Sitting on the toilet was the most comfortable place to be. But I was feeling things I had not felt with Havilah and Simcha. I got scared, I felt like I was about to burst, if felt like my organs were about to come out. I said I was scared, that I was going to die. And I remember I actually screamed. Michael and Merle worked to keep me focused. Merle asked how I felt and I explained that it hurt to push and that I felt like I would burst. She explained I was not quite dilated all the way, I had a bit of a lip left, and that was hurting. I understood and emotionally felt better after hearing that. I was still having trouble thinking. But was starting to come back and focus. I felt the need to push and went with it, but this time blew out so I could ease her down (we knew we were having a girl). This felt a lot better. I pushed about two times and her head came out. Merle told me to stand, and Michael helped me up and held me. I remember thinking I was going to hurt him; I was too big for him to hold up.

I continued to push and the baby came out. Merle handed her to me. I remember saying I'm done. I looked at her and she was so beautiful. She looked around at everyone as if she had known us all for some time. She was quite content. She cried and did everything she was supposed to. She felt so good to hold in my arms.

I remember everyone saying things to me at the time I had entered the bathroom. But I can't remember exactly what they said and when it was said. I can say I do remember the expressions. I remember caring eyes, looks of encouragement, support, and that I could do this. I remember how Kate assessed Saadia right on our bed. Joie helped me breast feed her, Merle explaining things, Michael beside me. I remember us working together to get the placenta delivered. It took almost an hour to deliver the placenta.

I remember how Joei helped me get in the shower and waited because I was week and light headed after the birth. I remember us joking again and just enjoying the result of our hard work. We all worked hard at this birth. And I could not have done it without Kate, Joei, Merle and Michael. They supported me so wonderfully.

Michelle Schnaars
Mother to Havilah, Simcha, Saadia, and two sweet babies in heaven; and wife to Michael.