Over the past decade, I’ve experienced a wide variety of childbirth scenarios, all of which have been unique in some way. After having six children, I can confidently say that none of my births have been what you’d call “normal.” My latest was a complete breech water birth at home.
Each labor and delivery has been different. My first involved a typical hospital birth with plenty of interventions. My second was a lengthy 26-hour natural labor in a hospital. My third required an emergency C-section due to placenta previa. The fourth was a 25-hour hospital VBAC, followed by a 15-hour breech home birth for my fifth. The last one was a swift 3.5-hour breech water birth. Even if they didn’t go as planned, each experience has taught me valuable lessons.
By my sixth pregnancy, I thought I had childbirth figured out. I expected this baby to arrive early, as my others had, typically around 39 weeks. However, at 36 weeks, I discovered the baby was breech. This wasn’t a complete surprise since I’ve dealt with breech babies before; one flipped, and one was born breech. I tried various methods to turn the baby, like techniques from spinningbabies.com, playing music, using frozen peas, and even acupuncture, but nothing worked.
Complicating things, my husband was away on a business trip when I was 37 weeks pregnant. Naturally, I worried about going into labor without him. True to form, contractions began three days into his trip, intense enough to keep me awake. Mistakenly thinking I was in labor, I called the midwife, but the contractions stopped by 5 AM. This was my first false alarm, and I felt embarrassed for the unnecessary call.
When my husband returned, the contractions continued nightly from 1 to 5 AM. After a week of this, I realized I was experiencing prodromal labor, which often happens when the baby isn’t in the ideal position. Exhaustion set in after a few weeks, and I started doubting my sanity. By the fourth week of this, and a week past my due date, I resigned myself to the idea that this baby might never come out.
One evening, the contractions didn’t stop at 5 AM as they had before. I figured they were just going to last longer, but they persisted throughout the day. By evening, they intensified. I updated my midwife, and she started her journey to my home. Still anticipating a long labor, I was surprised by the increasing intensity of the contractions. By 9 PM, with my midwife in place, I was vocalizing doubts—a sign I was in transition.
Entering the tub as suggested, I felt both comfort and distraction from the water. Shortly after, my water broke, an unmistakable signal that birth was close. The “urge to push” soon became overwhelming.
With breech births, the pushing feels different. It’s more like the public bone is being stretched. At 9:55 PM, I started pushing in earnest. It took more effort than previous births since I was pushing out more than just the head. After significant effort, the baby emerged bottom-first (a complete breech presentation), then the legs and feet, and finally the head.
Once she was out, the relief was immediate. Holding her brought instant joy and made all the discomfort worthwhile. Her APGAR scores were perfect, and I marveled at her timing—my longest pregnancy yet my shortest labor. It was just over three hours—a stark contrast to my usual 20-plus hour labors.
Despite the intensity, this was my most positive labor experience, thanks in no small part to the support of my midwives. They arrived just in time, trusting their instincts and understanding my text for what it was.
Reflecting afterward, I wondered why this labor was so different in length. I didn’t get to try using a peanut ball, which is said to help shorten labor, given the breech situation. Also, sadly, home births aren’t widely supported in my state, which complicates access to midwives and resources. We’re working on legislation to change that, which would allow Certified Professional Midwives to be licensed.
If you’re pregnant, I hope my journey provides some insights. And if you’ve got a birth story of your own, I’d love to hear it!
