My most favouritest birth story ever

Is a homebirth possible in any of the following circumstances?

* two previous C-sections
* being told by a doctor that you should never have another child and certainly should never labour again and that you have a small pelvis
* a previous inverted T incision (one of the variations of the so-called classic vertical cut; it carries slightly higher risks of uterine rupture)
* an 11 lb 12 oz/5.2 kg baby
* over 42 weeks gestation
* a knot in the baby's cord

What if all six of those circumstances apply to you?

Recently I heard the most triumphant homebirth story ever and it gave me such pleasure to read, I feel compelled to share it with you (I have the woman's permission). It's long however, so I'm just going to give you a few tantalising quotes. If you want to read the whole thing, you will find it here.

At 45+ weeks pregnant*, Thursday the 12th Feb 2009 - I was having small contractions all day which ramped up round 7pm.

This is the longest gestation I have ever heard of! The previous one I'd heard was 44+4. Wow, the woman's patience and courage are phenomenally inspiring.

The MW listened to the baby's heart rate through a few contractions and it was low. She suggested we go for a walk and come back and see where we were at. So we went for a walk, made it down the street but I had to wait there swaying and making quiet (totally insane) noises. I decided I couldn't be outside any more because I was tired and it was starting to rain, so we walked back up and I had a contraction in front of every house we passed. The closer we got to home the more they hurt and the more terrified I became, thinking - "Crap, if this is early labour I'm going to be a wreck in second stage and broken for transition!!"

I just love this midwife's attitude! No fear. No scaremongering or undermining the mother's confidence. Just a wait-and-see approach, with a sensible suggestion to get moving around to help the mother refocus. I also had to laugh at the mother's thought process. That's exactly what I thought too. (It wasn't early labour -- for either of us.)

We managed to make it down and our MW met us at the door (I thought we'd been gone 10 minutes, we'd been gone over an hour). I saw her and told her something 'terrible' was happening and then the pushing/grunting thing happened again and she said "you are going to have a baby" which I didn't believe! Whilst we were out, with her magical MW intuition powers, she had known I'd need it and filled our pool with beautifully warm water, so I got in but didn't undress entirely because I couldn't be bothered. My body pushed and I tried to believe I was having a baby, that this was it!

Midwife means "with woman" and this is the very embodiment of it. I love this midwife, and I don't even know who she is.

Then I felt what HAD to be the ring of fire and I tried to avoid it - couldn't, felt between my legs and found 'something' (that turned out to be the back of my baby's head!) my body kept pushing until there was a huge rush of a body gliding out from between my legs, I thought 'head-shoulders-legs!' and then a RUSH of fluid and a pulling sensation, it was so intense and I was still so shocked I didn't turn to see the baby who really shot out and slid along the floor of the pool.

Ahhhhhh, I just love birth!

I just wanted to add this little bit in, because it was something I always wondered about. Having had two c-sections and being told I could never expect to have a vaginal birth, I internalised the idea that I would never use my body in this way and that conditioning is hard to overcome.

Yes it is very, very, very hard to overcome. But I applaud this mama for overcoming it, and I encourage all mamas out there to do the same. Our bodies are amazing! (Well no wonder, cos God made 'em!)

This has been one of the absolute best things to ever happen to me. Despite all the regret I carry from my first births, and always suspecting what I missed out on, I could never have know how fantastic it could be till it happened and I just feel so so grateful that it did... I hope my homebirth after two caesareans with a t-scar at 45 weeks helps other women seek out this experience for themselves with confidence and excitement.

It's just such an awesome story. I really really really recommend you read the whole thing. It'll brighten your day. The story of how they ended up naming their son is lovely too.