“Through my whole pregnancy and into postpartum, I trusted my body and the Creator’s incredible design, which gave me all the confidence I needed to have a peaceful and calm birth.” – @regan_holm
Sunday, January 1, 2023, at 8:00pm – My water broke at an evening church service while my husband was playing on the worship team.
He packed up his piano equipment mid-song which made everyone start asking questions… Definitely not the private start to labor that I wanted! But they sent us off with prayers – God knew I needed it.
We planned a hotel birth an hour away from our house because midwives don’t service our area. I was so lucky to get a midwife. They are, unfortunately, very hard to come by here in Manitoba, Canada. We got to the hotel by 10:30pm.
By 12:30am I was in active labor and was really having to focus. I remembered to use my voice to stay relaxed (from the PFB E-Course). My midwife arrived at this point, but I don’t remember much from 1:30am-6:00am.
8:00am – There was a midwife shift change, and the one who came on shift was exactly what I needed. I was feeling very pushy, but she got down at eye level between contractions and told me I was only 7cm and had a cervical lip, if I pushed and caused it to swell, we’d end up at the hospital with a C-section. I used that as motivation to try and control my body’s urges because it took literally everything I had in me to not push.
The midwife stayed close and coached me through my breathing. This is when I started feeling like I was losing control (although I’d felt totally in control prior).
I labored on the toilet for 3-4 contractions. I was 9cm! I got back into the pool, and the midwife moved the last bit of the lip out of the way. I was finally free to push when my body felt the need!
I was coached in pushing, but I didn’t listen unless I was feeling the urge to push. However, I needed the encouragement of them telling me about my progress and feeling his head to keep me going.
Once his head was out, they noticed he had a nuchal hand which is why I was pushing for an hour!
I caught his flailing body as the shoulders and torso came out and brought him to my chest after they unraveled the cord from his shoulder. He was wide-eyed and started breathing on his own without making more than a couple cries.
He was so peaceful.
– @regan_holm
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but God will make a way when there seems to be no way.
It’s easy to take the first “no” as a defeat.
- “No, that’s not an option.”
- “No, that’s not available.”
- “No, we don’t accommodate that.”
Mama, don’t give up on your dream birth! Even if that means calling every provider in (or outside) your area. Even if that means getting a second – or third – opinion.
Regan drove an hour and planned a hotel birth to find a midwife who would support her! That’s a woman who doesn’t take “no” for an answer!
“If you don’t know your options, you don’t have any!” -Penny Simpkin
Regan writes, “The midwives commented on how calm I was, especially as a first-time mom, which I attribute, in part, to taking the PFB course. I had a goal to redeem what my husband and I had grown up hearing about birth, and I succeeded, which makes me want to tell my birth story to anyone who wants to hear it!”
Shout it from the mountain tops, Sis!
Get the confidence to advocate for the birth you DESERVE, and the training to DO it with the Pain Free Birth E-Course!
