Choosing Waterbirth: Reclaiming the Sacred Power of Birth (14 page)

Your Free Movement Dance exercise can be as long, or as short, as you like. This exercise is not specifically for fitness, though that will be a side benefit. After you are through, be sure to move more slowly, cooling down, taking a few minutes to allow your breathing and your heart rate to return to normal.

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Chapter 18—

The Perfect Place

The environment in which you decide to give birth will ideally be supportive of your natural inclination for peace, quiet, warmth, darkness, and familiarity. In this kind of environment, where you feel safe and secure, it will be easier for you to relax and let your baby be born.

If you have decided to give birth in your own home, it is likely that you already have this type of environment, and a few, simple touches will only add to the peaceful atmosphere. In a hospital or birth center, the same things that are used to make a home birth environment better, can be used to recreate the peace and familiarity you would feel at home.

TOPICAL HELPERS: There are many things that will make it easier for you to labor and deliver by helping you relax and feel more comfortable during your birth. Being able to be in a tub of water is one of these things. If you don't have a tub available, water can still be a soothing addition. Many women find standing in a hot shower with the water running over them, massaging their backs, very relaxing. Making sure not to slip, you may even squat, or labor on all fours while in the shower. Cool compresses applied to the back of the neck and the face can also help, as can other "topical" applications, such as massage.

Having a massage therapist available during labor will not only keep your muscles relaxed but can also help to keep the birthing attendants in the proper state of comfort. You will be very sensitive to the vibrations of the people around you and

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will find it more difficult to relax if they are tense or stressed. Massage will help them to remain in a relaxed state, better able to be there for you.

A massage therapist can help you by providing counter pressure to your lower back and massaging your legs during the contractions. This will help to keep you from tensing these areas up. Having your feet massaged is also relaxing, providing an alternate focus while you labor. Your one consideration if you are having a waterbirth is to be sure to wipe off any excess massage oil before entering the tub.

MUSIC: Choose a piece or two of music early on in your pregnancy that really resonates with you, making you feel relaxed or inspired. Then begin using that piece of music anytime you are going to take time out to relax. Doing this will create a positive association with that particular piece of music, meaning that every time you hear it, you will relax automatically. You might also like to include the music you use for the Free Movement Dance exercise. This music may work better for the earlier, or more active, phases of labor where moving freely helps. Later on, your more relaxing choice of music may be played to help you to relax deeply.

AROMATHERAPY: A simple, yet very effective way to alter your environment is through the use of scent, achieved by burning incense or the use of essential oils. In the same way that a certain piece of music becomes associated with a certain response, scents also possess the ability to alter your mood. If you use incense, select one that appeals to you and burn it any time you are taking time out to consciously relax. Then, when you burn it during labor, it will act just like the music, easing your ability to relax.

If you use essential oils to alter your mood, you will have the added benefit of their being theraputic as well as pleasant smelling. Rose, geranium, neroli, and lavender are all safe oils to use, and each provides its own benefit.

Rose is a good cardiac tonic, a natural antiseptic, and has a slightly analgesic effect, which makes it a nice addition to a massage oil, and its scent is pleasant and not overpowering.

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Geranium is highly effective in improving circulation. It is specifically good for the uterus, and the whole female reproductive system, and is known for its antidepressant effect.

Neroli, produced from the fresh flowers of the bitter orange tree, is beneficial to the nervous system, and promotes easy breathing. It has a sedating and calming effect, and helps to improve the circulation.

Lavender stimulates the circulation and is calming and slightly analgesic. Its pleasant, slightly spicy aroma is well tolerated by nearly everyone, which makes this a good choice if you are unfamiliar with essential oils.

Essential oils are used by either placing a few drops in boiling water to allow the steam to carry them into the air, or by using an aromatherapy pot, designed specifically for use with essential oils. You can get an aromatherapy pot at your local health food store.

LIGHTING: Placing candles around the room and lowering the lights, if you are able, will make whatever room you are in more inviting during labor. In your highly sensitized state, bright lights may seem glaring, causing you to become anxious and tense. Lowering the existing lighting as much as you can will provide a feeling of quietness and comfort. Lighting a few candles will soften the light even further. A lighted candle will also provide you with a good point of focus that you can use to keep yourself centered during intense contractions.

FAMILY AND FRIENDS: Deciding who to have at your birth is an important decision to make, as every person who is in the room with you will have an effect on your energy during the labor and delivery. In labor, you are likely to be very sensitive to the feelings and vibrations of the people around you. This is why some studies have shown that having a person present to specifically provide support for the woman in labor can cause her labor to be shorter, with fewer complications.

Think carefully about who you want to have with you during your birth. Select only those people you feel truly comfortable with and who you feel will provide the most support to you during your labor. My midwife, my husband, and both

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of my parents were always present during my births. This was a good "team" for me. I felt comfortable with every person present, and they, in turn, provided me with the support and encouragement I needed as I progressed through my labors.

Other considerations for the birth environment are to keep lots of beverages on hand to keep you well hydrated. I drank Recharge during my births; this is a natural juice rich in electrolytes that can be found at health food stores. In the hospital you may not be allowed to eat or drink during your labor. An IV will be used to keep you from becoming dehydrated.

Have light snacks available, such as fresh fruits, vegetable soups, yogurt, or anything else that is simple and easy to digest. These snacks will help you keep your strength up, as well as that of your partner or birth attendants. Your appetite is likely to be unpredictable during labor. You may want something completely different from what is suggested here. Bring and eat what you think you will want. After the baby is born, you are likely to be ravenous, particularly for carbohydrates. After the birth of each of my babies, I ate my mother's potato soup and crackers. Nothing tasted better to me, nor replenished my energy quicker. Try to imagine what you would like and have that on hand.

All of the "aids" that I have outlined here are only suggestions to provide you with an idea of what you may want during your birth event. None of them are required for you to have a positive birth experience. How you feel about birth and your ability to give birth are much more important than where you give birth, and what and who you have around you while you do. Taking care of that should be your most important consideration.

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PART III—

THE PRACTICE

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Chapter 19—

Birth Stories

For my four home births, I had midwife Mary Carmichael, attend me. In addition to her, my husband, Nilakantan, and my parents, Bhagavan and Bhavani, were there.

With my family's support and Mary's gentle guidance, I was able to give birth to my babies naturally.

It was nice that way because no one told me what to do or how to do it. Instead they encouraged me to do whatever I felt like doing, such as walking around in the wet grass in my bare feet, listening to the patter of rain on the leaves.

My fifth baby was born in a birth center, and I found this to be a new experience. Unable to depend on my surroundings for familiarity and support, I turned to that which was the most familiar in my births: the water. Through its warmth and closeness, I was able to relax and give birth to my fifth child.

All five of my births progressed smoothly and uneventfully. At each moment I was aware of what was going on, both inside me and around me. Laboring and delivering in my home, I felt relaxed and comfortable. There was no chaos or nervousness to deal with, and no one to tell me I wasn't proceeding within the ''normal"

limits.

Birthing in this way was freeing and empowering. Trusting myself to be able to give birth gave me the confidence to trust in myself, and in my ability as a mother. As birthing came naturally, so mothering came naturally. Not easily, necessarily: there are many challenges in life, and giving birth is only one of them. But without interference or hindrance, the babies

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naturally just came. For me, giving birth became a part of the joy of having children instead of a traumatic ordeal that had to be gone through in order to get children.

By sharing these experiences of giving birth naturally, I hope to give women a different view of what birth can be. I hope that by reading this, you may find it within yourselves to embrace this experience of giving birth more fully, of believing in yourselves and in the miracle of your babies and the greatness and wisdom of creation.

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Chapter 20—

My First Water Baby

Sampath Moses, born March 29, 1988, 4:07 A.M., twentytwo and a half inches long, weighing eight pounds, fourteen ounces.

My first baby was preceded by weeks of anticipation. With this being my first, and I being not a patient person, I spent the entire last month of my pregnancy either getting things ready for the baby's birth, or trying to occupy myself with other things in order to forget about the baby's impending birth.

Finding out about waterbirth the week I was due was a wonderful distraction. I had plenty to read and plenty to do to help me forget that a baby could be born any day. So, when I woke up on the morning of March 28, feeling the practice contractions called BraxtonHicks contractions that had become my regular companions over the last three weeks, I wondered, again, if today was to be the day.

March 28, 1988:

It is a beautiful, cold spring morning. Too cold yet for many flowers to have pushed their dainty heads above the Page 97

surface; only the crocuses are brave enough and they sit brightcolored against the dark earth.

I am one day overdue, and having the usual BraxtonHicks. I wake early and yawn, stretching, wondering, once again, "Will today be the day?"

On my way through the living room/kitchen area to the bathroom, I pass by the birthing tub. I smile when I see it sitting on the linoleum where it meets the carpet. A few feet away on the living room floor sits a couch cushion; another leans against the wall behind it. They have been covered with large plastic bags and draped with a sheet. It is here that I will sit after I have given birth to my baby. Next to this is the stainless steel bowl to hold the placenta, some towels for me to dry off with when I get out of the tub, and blankets for the new baby.

I am so excited; everything is ready.

As I pass by the birthing tub, I pause and place my hands on the rim, leaning over, looking down into its two and a half foot depth. Yesterday we had our first trial run of filling it.

It took one and a half hours as we had to let the water heater heat up twice. Once it was full, my husband and I got in and relaxed in the breastdeep water. It felt wonderful. Having had no bath at all, only showers, during my pregnancy, I found the water was warm, and relaxing, and soothing. After so many months during which my body weight only increased, floating in the tub made me feel nearly weightless. I slept so well last night because of how relaxed it made me feel.

I notice when I am coming back through the kitchen from the bathroom that the contraction I am having seems stronger than the others. I feel a surge of excitement but tell myself not to. Having experienced a "false" labor a week ago with similar stronger and more regular contractions, I know this could still just be my body practicing for the real thing.

Nilakantan wakes up, we have breakfast, then clean up from breakfast and I have had three contractions, about twenty to twentyfive minutes apart. I decide to call Mary, my midwife. While I wait for her to come, I pace around the house feeling nervous and excited. I am afraid she will come and tell Page 98

me I am not in labor. I am so anxious for my baby to come. As I wait I think about holding my baby in my arms and automatically place my hands on my stomach to feel the jabs and wriggles. I ask the baby if it is coming today.