Sophie: a family birth
“Half an hour after I start to fall asleep, I feel the urgent need to go to the bathroom. It is 1:44 am. There, I lose the waters. We call the midwife, with whom I prepared this home birth, around 8:00 am. His presence bothers me a little, I feel that it is not for now and I manage the contractions perfectly. She leaves to make one of her appointments, waiting for me to call her back to come back.
Our Arnaud, 2 1/2 years old, stood up. He plays quietly around the house while his daddy prepares lunch. I’m hungry and do honor to the omelet, stopping during contractions. Around 15:00 p.m. they start to get very painful. I call the midwife back and sit in the toilet, where I’m fine. She asks me if I want to give birth in this room (it is also the bathroom). No, I prefer to go back to the bedroom… I sit on the bed, which we covered with plastic and an old fitted sheet. During the contractions, I get on my knees and lean against the wall. Arnaud comes to see us from time to time, but I feel the need for him to leave us alone and ask my husband to put the TV on for him.
After a while, the midwife suggests that I change my position. So I crouch down next to the bed (one of the advantages of giving birth at home!) And there, I feel my baby coming down. It’s hard and painful to push, but the baby is finally coming out! I grab him under the arms and take him against me immediately. I need to see if it’s a boy or a girl, so I turn it around a bit: a second little boy. Then I snuggle him up against me… My husband goes to look for Arnaud to introduce him to his little brother. The first night is quite painful, four in bed, my “big one” having decided to spend the night with his parents rather than in his room! “
Émilie: a moving birth
After two false jobs, our little guy decided to take the plunge, around 3:00 am. I gently woke up my companion: “This time, it’s good, you can light the fireplace!”. I called my midwife around 4:30 am to let her know that everything was going in the right direction (very regular and frequent contractions). The time for her to have breakfast and come, she was with us 1h30 later.
The atmosphere of this home birth was calm and relaxed, all in music, we laughed a lot. When I felt it was the right moment, we settled in: an oilcloth so as not to stain the floor, beach mattresses and sheets for comfort and draw sheets to be dry (she changed them for me at the gradually). My midwife did not impose anything on me, no vaginal touch, no monitoring, no blood pressure measurement and yet she had everything she needed. We trusted each other (same age, same aspirations), I told him how I felt. My companion was an excellent ally. He supported me and encouraged me a lot. We can say that we both made our sons from conception to birth at home!
Louis arrived between his dad and his mom in the early morning when the day was breaking. I was so relaxed and happy with the arrival of my son that I did not feel the pain of the contractions (however, no epidural at home!) and my perineum remained intact. I keep this birth at home as my best memory. I am pregnant again and for that little bit of cabbage, I will also choose to give birth at home. The follow-up of this new pregnancy is done only with my midwife. ”