My first home birth on Curaçao! Early in the pregnancy the decision was made with conviction for a home birth, fortunately the pregnancy went without any problems and there seems to be no reason to go to the hospital. The weeks are ticking by and at 41 weeks we are still waiting for the little one. Still a bit of tension, will it start on time or will I have to go to the hospital after all because of an induction... At exactly 41 weeks I try to strip for a second time after consultation, pleasantly surprised with already 3 cm dilation! It will probably really happen within 1-2 days, yes! Less than 12 hours later I get a call from the partner that his girlfriend is having contractions every 4-5 minutes for about a minute. I immediately stand next to my bed and say I'm coming. My dear husband Steffen is also standing next to the bed to ensure that I have eaten something and that I can drive away safe and sound. Curaçao at night; completely deserted, in other words I can drive anywhere, wonderful!
On arrival I am welcomed by the grandmothers. One is busy unloading the dishwasher and the other is cooking Dutch meatballs, among other things! It gives a wonderfully relaxed and homely feeling.
In the bedroom I am greeted by a smiling woman giving birth and her friend, happy and excited that it has really started. The contractions have clearly started but are still manageable. I notice that my presence causes a decrease in contractions, I listen to the baby's heart for a moment and then retreat to the living room. After a while curiosity wins and she asks if I want to feel about the dilation. It turns out not to be that easy, the cervix is quite backwards. The moment I can almost reach it, my waters break! Beautiful clear amniotic fluid! It is painful to feel, so I decide in consultation with the woman giving birth to wait until I can reach the cervix more easily. The plan will not be any different. Shortly after the waters break, the contractions increase considerably. The woman giving birth has clearly disappeared, she is working hard. After a few hours of heavy sighing and all kinds of postures, she indicates that it is disappointing, it is happening less quickly than expected. Maybe go to the hospital for pain relief? The decision depends on the number of cm dilation, which can be felt better this time, she is 6 cm dilated, less than hoped but enough to continue. To give her some extra options in postures, I quickly drive past the practice for a yoga ball. The next few hours will be tough, strong contractions and slow progress. Every 2 hours there is an additional cm, enough to keep going but very tiring. At 8 cm maternity care comes and at a good 9 cm the birthing woman has her breaking point. With the strong wish for a home birth in the back of my mind, I suggest pushing away the last edge, something I normally prefer not to do (hands-off). But I can see that the fatigue is really starting to set in. After 3 attempts, the edge is completely gone and there is full dilation! Pushing feels so much better than sighing, the head is still a little high, but I kick off my slippers (so nice here on Curaçao, much easier to assume positions with bare feet) and we go for it! As it turns out, the head drops very slowly, despite the different positions and pelvic floor assistance (something I really didn't want to do). Shit, time is starting to tick, in my head I weigh all the options 100 times, sometimes I think it's done, but then suddenly my head moves a little further, which gives me hope. Fortunately, the baby is completely fine with it. I notice that maternity care is also becoming a bit restless. I resolve to try one more thing, I ask the birthing woman to press into a deep squat. As soon as she adopts this position, I see a world of difference, the head immediately goes so much deeper. After a few pushes, your partner will also see a clear difference, you will notice the atmosphere change, from doubtful and worried to excited and euphoria. Because I know immediately, this is it, it will work! The three of us try to coach and encourage and convince mom that it is almost over. The head is born with daddy by my side and I help him handle his beautiful daughter. She is born pink and screaming, as if she didn't feel like it yet. And what a girl, it is immediately clear that this is a bigger girl than expected. We are tangled with the umbilical cord for a moment, mom is on her knees and wants to get on the bed, so we have to move the little girl to the other side. But with a little help it is completely possible.
And there she is, a powerful woman with her baby girl on her chest and a proud daddy by her side. Completely exhausted but she did it! The rest follows exactly as desired, the little one immediately wants to drink well and is doing fantastic.
When I come into the living room, I see 2 emotional grandmothers, so happy about the birth of their granddaughter. I tell them that everything is going great and they can come and have a look.
During the stitching she is weighed, she weighs almost 9 pounds!
I help the new mom take a shower (also nice with bare feet, don't be afraid to get your shoes wet) and not much later she is in a clean bed (hooray for maternity care) with dad next to her, grandmothers, and aunt. We toast the birth of their daughter with champagne. With this image on my mind, I leave the house feeling happy and satisfied. Yes it was intense, hard work and raw, but those are deliveries, sometimes it goes fast and sometimes slow. But how cool it is to experience this! I left after dark and almost a day later, almost a day later, as evening fell, I returned home satisfied.
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