She planned a homebirth with her first child, but ended up in a hospital. The second time around, she planned to give birth in a birth centre, but gave birth at home in the end.

“I did a lot of research and wanted a homebirth,” says Terri, but ultimately decided on a birthing centre. “I wanted to make my husband my comfortable,” she explains. She adds that she is not sure can ever truly be ready to give birth.

Odd feeling

Terri says she woke up around 03:30 with her water breaking. “It felt like a painful and odd pinging feeling in my abdomen,” she recalls. She woke her husband up and told him to call the midwives and tell them to head to the birth centre which was in San Francisco about 30 minutes away. “I started getting my stuff together, but my contractions started getting very close to each other and very painful. He called the midwives back and they spoke to me, realising I wasn’t going to be able to move. I was on my hands and knees in the hallway within 15 to 20 minutes of the labour starting.

A huge force

“It's a bit blurry for a while then, but it just kept getting more intense and painful. My husband called my best friend, who was also going to be my doula, and she hurried over. Meanwhile my sister-in-law was on the phone with the midwives, who were driving through a storm to get to us,” tells Terri. She remembers making it to the bathroom at some point and the urge to push hit her like never before. “It wasn’t so much that I was pushing as that my body was doing some primeval action that had its own furious power. All I could do was squat while this huge force moved through me.” More time passed. Her sister-in-law came into the bathroom and said to her husband: “The midwives say you need to wash your hands very very well.” At that point Terri realised they weren’t going to make it. “I didn’t feel any panic or worry, just realisation.”

Home delivery

Her sister-in-law told her husband to run a warm bath and put Terri into it as it would slow the pushing down. “So she did that. My friend had arrived by this point and somehow my clothes were off and they helped me into the tub. Literally the moment I got into the water I knew I had to push again, And the very next push I could feel the ring of fire. I reached down and could feel the baby’s head! My husband was in the catching position. I was sort of squatting and holding onto the edge of the bath and my friend was holding me on the other side. With the next push the baby came out!” Terri’s husband expertly caught the baby and put him straight into her arms as she sank back into the water. “He was blue-ish and my friend was really worried. Again I felt no panic and knew he was fine. Within ten seconds he started to breath and I watched his little face come to life. He immediately started to cry – think the water was a bit cold – and someone handed me a towel to wrap around him. It was so fast that I didn’t even have time to think. I remember feeling overwhelmed by the pain at some point and maybe even crying out that I couldn’t do it, but my body took over. There was no dealing, just doing,” says Terri. The power and the speed of the pushing sensation surprised her most.

No fear

Terri, who sees herself as quite an anxious person, was surprised at the fact that she didn’t feel or experience any fear during labour. “My first labour was 42 hours and even then I didn’t feel any fear. It was as if I was wrapped in a zone of calm.

Happy family

Someone called Terri eldest son to come and greet his new brother, Atticus, and he ran to the door, looked and smiled before he ran back to play in the living room. “He had heard nothing, apparently, and was totally fine,” says Terri. The midwives arrived about ten minutes later and took the baby from her arms, helped her birth the placenta and cut the cord. “By 05:00 I was back in my bed with my new bundle, comfortable and blissful. I tore much less than with my first birth and recovered much faster,” says Terri. - Zanri Kotzé

Baby’s Weight: 3.4 kg @ EDD

Picture credit: talkbirth.me

* All views expressed in articles are that of the person being interviewed. Please consult your care giver for professional advice on your birth choice.