Sarah
Welcome to the world
Eleanor Rose Brooks
Born on the 14th August 2020
“Giving birth and being born brings us to the essence of creation. Where the human spirit is courageous and bold and the body, a miracle of wisdom”. – Harriette Hartigan
Thank you, Sarah and Josh, for inviting me to be part of your birth preparation. It was an honour to be present as a support for both of you, as Sarah calmly and gently welcomed baby Eleanor Rose into the world exactly as she had planned and hoped to.
I am always so proud of my beautiful Birthing Goddesses. When I first met with Sarah and Josh, they didn’t know a great deal about birth, but they knew they wanted some support and guidance to educate themselves on how Sarah could achieve the best birth experience possible for their first baby. By the time their little girl was ready to make her debut, I was sitting opposite a very well informed and confident young couple who had so much love for their unborn baby and each other. Now, combine this with knowledge, options, comfort measures in the toolbox, midwifery care and doula support, and you pretty much had a recipe for an amazing birth experience no matter how it happened.
On the morning of the 13th of August, Sarah showed the early signs that baby Eleanor was ready to make an appearance. I arrived at Sarah’s house around 8pm. She had been breathing calmly with the waves of labour while listening to her playlist. She also had her favourite affirmations around her for inspiration, and her birth ball for comfort and to encourage labour to progress. Ultimately, it was a beautiful, warm, calming atmosphere, perfectly set up with the added benefit of her favourite aromatherapy oil in the diffuser.
Sarah felt that the sensations that she was feeling were pretty manageable most of the time and from the contraction tracking app we could all see that the waves hadn’t found a consistent pattern as of yet. That usually tells me that we need to balance, realign and make some space in the pelvis for baby to engage into the inlet. Sarah had been preparing her body for labour, engaging in the daily exercises from the Spinning babies and Optimal birth positioning programs to help for an easier labour and birth. We knew that her baby was in an optimal birth position and we just needed to give her a bit more space. Engaging your baby into your pelvis is like opening a door with a key into a lock; Everything needs to align perfectly for the door to open. We just needed to do some specific exercises to balance Sarah’s equilibrium now she was in labour. After spending about an hour performing the three sisters of balance and 10 abdominal lift and tucks, this little girl dropped into the inlet and away the waves went.
Only with trust, faith, and support can a woman allow the birth experience to enlighten and empower her. Sarah, you are doing an amazing job. Josh has arrived home too by now and Sarah is in established labour. Josh and I support Sarah with the help of the birth ball, the birth cub, aromatherapy massage, acupressure and a few more helpful spinning babies labouring positions. Sarah is labouring in all the positions that will help babies decent through the pelvis. Josh, you are such a calm and reassuring presence. Your unwavering love and faith in Sarah are a credit to the wonderful young man you are and father that you are about to become.
There is definitely some kind of magical demeanor that is washing over Sarah while she is in labour. A fear-free inner strength that I know is driven by the hormone oxytocin that Sarah has completely let embrace her (the hormone of love). This hormone when left undisturbed encourages the idea that labour and birth are an experience of love.
Sarah’s sensations are getting stronger and closer together. I truly believe Sarah would have kept on labouring at home if Josh and I hadn’t convinced her that we should start thinking about relocating to the LGH - each wave was strong, and they were coming every 2-3 min consistently. Sarah’s labour is progressing beautifully, I can see she is making great progress. I am also witnessing Sarah embrace the truth that labour can be a spiritual experience with a thousand amazing sensations that we have yet to find an adequate language for.
At around 12.30am we make our way to the LGH. Let’s go have a baby!
I really love the quietness and the stillness of the early mornings. There is a sense of peace that comes from silence. It also means we can both find parking straight outside the LGH. Making our way to the labour ward with a few stops along the way to breathe through the waves, plus a few attempts to enter the labour ward, we are in. We miss the rush, it’s very quiet. We are met by lovely midwife Di, who calls Sarah’s midwife Tash to inform her that she has arrived to birth her baby. We settle into our room and Di has a listen to babies’ heart rate (she is doing as fabulously as her mummy). Sarah has a birth wish list (birth map) and so far, it’s all going to plan. One of Sarah’s important wishes on the list is to labour and give birth in the bath. As soon as the bath is filled, Josh, Sarah and I relocate ourselves, music, aromatherapy diffuser, water and snacks into the bathroom. We are not planning on leaving the confines of the bathroom. If I didn’t know we were in a hospital setting I would have said Sarah is having a home birth. We are left undisturbed except for the moments that Tash quietly checks in to assess how we are going and to have a listen to baby’s heart rate. For the next four hours, Sarah finds some level of pain relief in the water. Josh and I provide an array of comfort measures, such as making sure Sarah is hydrated and keeps her energy levels up (with the help of a few lollies). For the last couple of hours, Sarah experiences strong, challenging waves that take all of her attention. I began pouring water over her back while Josh’s knees and hands provide a loving place for Sarah’s head to rest. We continue to encourage Sarah as she is truly a birthing goddess in all her glory. She is glowing. How can a woman in birth look so beautiful? They can and they do! I physically witness Sarah leave her conscious mind and go to an altered state of consciousness as her endorphin levels rise. These helpful hormones will help Sarah deal with the process of giving birth, even if its long and challenging. Sarah has moved to a place where her mind and her heart will enable her to continue to labour and collect the soul of her baby and bring her into the world.
One of the more memorable moments for me was when Sarah did come back into the present, and I asked her: “Sarah, did you know you were going to be such an amazing birthing goddess?” Sarah opened her eyes and looked at me “Yes” she whispered, “you told me I would be.” My heart xx Those six words still take my breath away.
Sarah, with a little bit of relief every now and then from the gas, labored and bared down for nearly three hours with the ongoing and relentless sensation of the pressure of her baby coming down into the outlet of her pelvis. “When you’re working so hard for so long it can feel like your pushing against a brick wall.” Patience and encouragement are definity needed at this time. Sarah continued to trust her body and be the star of her own labour and birth.
It can be daunting for the partner to see the woman they love in labour and wonder what’s normal and what’s not. There are also feelings of wanting to save them. These are all normal emotions and I hope that hearing that this is birth, its intense and emotional, daunting and amazing all at the same time brings some comfort the partners.
Sarah decided that Tash could prick her waters to help bring her baby down the last little bit that just wasn’t budging. Within half an hour, Sarah birthed her baby up into her waiting arms and into the world with the guidance of Tash’s gentle and knowledgeable voice. Sarah, I’m so proud of you and the power you were able to access in and through your birth experience. We all should have been kneeling at your feet in honor of what we had just witnessed. The miracle of the birth of a baby and also the glorious transformation as a new mother is born at exactly the same moment.
Welcome to the world Eleanor Rose! There was no waiting as you dutifully made your debut at 4.33am on your estimated due date of the 14th of August 2020.
With every little baby that is born, a little sun rises. It signals a new beginning and a future full of promise.
All my love and best wishes for the years ahead. You all have so many happy and wonder filled times ahead of you. Thank you for inviting me to part of your pregnancy and birth journey. I, too, have special memories to keep in my heart forever.
Love, Krista xxx