A Homeopathic Birth Story #1

My oldest three daughters have given my husband and me a very exciting few years! All 3 got married within 3 years. For a while, our summer activity was planning a wedding. Then, they all gave us a grandbaby within nine months. If you’re keeping track, I gained 6 new family members within 3 years. Whew! All three had a homeopathic birth story, even though it looked different each time.

All three girls are very different and I love it. Their weddings were unique to them. Consequently so were the births of their children. I asked them to write down their birth stories with a focus on homeopathy for this blog.

This is Mary’s story. She’s my second oldest. I was able to be there for her the entire labor. I don’t take this for granted.

With the aid of homeopathy, I was able to have a beautiful home birth for the delivery of my first child.

I had my first contraction around 6 pm four days before my due date. I called Mom and worried this wasn’t labor. She told me she could come whenever I felt I needed her. I needed her. She arrived about 30 minutes later. She quickly gave me some remedies. (Mom here-Rescue Remedy went into her water bottle. Both that and the Gelsemium for the anxiety about the upcoming journey.)

The contractions were steady and continuous. They settled in around 4 minutes apart. We called the midwife and she arrived around midnight. I had been told I was carrying low. The contractions were there. But I hadn’t dilated much at all even though the baby was dropping lower.

My husband and my mom took turns walking with me. Even though I’m embarrassed to say, I was loud. Even though Mom said I was fine. It just felt better to moan through the contractions. We live in a small townhouse and I had soon worn out the floor. While my husband caught a nap, my mom and I walked and walked and walked around the apartment complex.

Around 11 in the morning, the midwife came back only to discover I had only dilated from a 2 cm to 3 cm in all that time. To say I was disappointed was an understatement. Mom started giving me remedies. (Mom here-I alternated Cimicifuga and Caulophyllum. I had been giving her these throughout the labor. But at this point, it was obvious that she was slowing down. So I upped the potencies and frequency.)

My midwife and her team left. Shortly after they left, we tried walking, lunging on the stairs, and curb walking, at one point I even held a contraction upside down!

Around 2 pm, my midwife administered a narcotic shot to help me sleep and let my body rest. As we headed up the stairs to try to catch a nap my mom tripped up the stairs and made a tremendous noise. I burst out laughing. And then couldn’t stop laughing. I’m sure that the laughing plus the remedies are what finally helped my labor progress. (Mom again-I’m rather clumsy and I have a tendency not to pay attention to my surroundings when I’m focused. But, I’d do it on purpose if it helped her labor!) As my husband and I tried to rest, it seemed we had found the right homeopathic remedy and it overpowered the shot and kicked everything into full drive!

My contractions were now every 90 seconds. From here my memory gets fuzzy.

Mom again….my memory is just fine, thank you. I’ll admit, I did start to panic a bit at this point. She had gone from consistent 4 minutes apart to suddenly every 90 seconds. Her moans had gotten louder. I called the midwife, who is a dear friend of mine, and encouraged her to come on back. Well, she was now an hour away. *Um, it’s fine. We’re fine. Discreetly looks up emergency birth procedures on her phone.*

We got her into the birthing pool which brought her relief. And even though I had sort of panicked, she was in the tub for another hour and a half. She was so good. Mary listened to her body and rode out the waves of contractions. Her husband Ryan was a rock, giving her the support and love she needed. I continued to give her remedies although I backed off the Cimifuga and Caulophyllum. At this point, I was giving her Kali phos for the exhaustion of labor + lack of sleep. I continued to put Rescue Remedy in her water every time we refilled her bottle.

It seemed suddenly she bit out one word, “Pushing!” The midwife and her team started to get things ready. Mary pushed for 45 minutes in several different positions. Whatever her body needed. The plan was for Dad to catch the baby. I always love it when dads get to do this. At this point, Mary gave a final push and Baby Zeke was here! Ryan instantly went to put Zeke up on Mary’s chest, but he didn’t go very far. The umbilical cord was very short. But, very healthy and beautiful. The baby was absolutely perfect. I was a tearful mess.

I cry at all the births I’ve attended. But getting to be there with my daughters has put that on a whole different level.

Back to Mary’s voice…

Our sweet, healthy baby boy was born at 8:20 pm.

Throughout the entire labor I took remedies to calm my nerves, encourage my muscles to relax, and even moments after being born, my son was given Aconite to help calm him from the shock of entering the world! (Mom here, I always give Aconite to both mom and baby immediately after birth. I know that birth is shocking for both of them.)

And even the first 48 hours after, I continually took remedies to aid muscle soreness, breastfeeding, and even helping with the new lack of sleep. (Mom again-I had gifted Mary the Mother and Baby Kit that is perfect for postpartum. She relied heavily on this in the days, weeks, and months following Zeke’s birth. It’s a great gift for expectant moms.)

I have used homeopathy with my family a lot during the last 9 months. Along with calling my mom, of course. It was fun to think back to that day. Even though immediately afterward I felt traumatized. Giving birth isn’t easy! But, the months of being with Zeke and Ryan have softened the memories. I am so in love with both of my guys I can’t wait to do it all over again.