Home Birth of Ted (Teddy) Jett Jamieson
I have never been comfortable in hospitals, so in 2021 when we found out we were pregnant with our first baby we went all in planning for a homebirth.
We attended Hapu Wananga, NP Parents centres antenatal and Hypnobirthing to get informed & prepare for our birth.
After a very easy pregnancy at 40+2 I was displaying symptoms of pre-eclampsia so I went to the hospital for some monitoring & tests. It was decided that I required an induction so we began the process by opting for the balloon catheter…long story short, due to short staffing, my baby not being ready and peak COVID outbreak we were in hospital for days & I contracted covid & had to be put on syntocin. I got fatigued quickly but used my hypnobirthing knowledge to push through and only use gas for what ended up in a forceps birth of Tobi.
This 2024 pregnancy was also fairly easy, but as I approached 40weeks my anxiety started to wreck havoc, I was worried our home birth plans would be ripped away from us yet again.
Monday 23/09/24 – 41 weeks I woke up to some strong cramp feeling pain in my stomach so I decided to shower & see if the warm water helped.
During my shower the pain ramped up so when I got out I asked my husband to contact my Dad to come & pickup our son Tobi.
We put the tens machine on & I began using it to help me through my contractions.
At 7.15 I text my midwife but we hadn’t been timing the contractions so said we would start & let her know.
At 8.16am hubby text the midwife and said the contractions were a min apart & lasting over 40sec long, things had ramped up fast!
The midwife said she would be on her way & we gave the ok for her to bring a student midwife along.
I had been laboring in my bedroom, moving from side lying on our bed, to bending over the bed, to bouncing on the birth ball & standing holding onto hubbys shoulders. I was really trying to stay upright as much as possible.
In between contractions hubby had got Tobi ready for pickup, put my birth playlist on, fed me electrolytes, applied pressure to my back & hips through contractions & kept reassuring me.
Our midwife & the student midwife arrived around 8.40am & when they came into our bedroom both Tobi & hubby were in there supporting me, the midwife captured a lovely photo of this for us.
They asked where in the house they should setup for me to birth and I wanted to remain in our bedroom.
The midwife asked if I wanted to be checked to see how progressed I was & I did so I got back on the bed, I was fully dilated and effaced. I got back off the bed to stand & lean over it and use gravity to help.
My Dad arrived to collect Tobi & soon after I felt the urge to push. The midwife encouraged me to listen to my body & go with it so I began pushing with each contraction, it was only at this point my waters broke.
The second midwife arrived just in time for a few big pushes, the midwife said she could see the head and I put my hand between my legs to feel him, then on the next contraction I pushed his head out & few contractions later at around 9.15am he was born & the midwife helped pass him up through my legs to me to put him on my chest. We put some towels down on the bed so I could do skin to skin while we waited to use the muka tie on his umbilical cord.
Being at home in our space was so perfect, we relished in the calm, comfortable, familiar environment and that enabled me to tune into my body and bring our baby safely into the world surrounded by love and people we trusted.
It was a quick but incredibly empowering, healing home birth and after a quick shower I got to cuddle into my own bed to bond with our beautiful new addition Teddy.
Thanks,
Zoe Jamieson
