MUSINGS FROM THE WOMB: Sophia's Birth Story

Hi, everyone! Doula Betty here. It’s been a while since the last time we posted something in the blog. Today, we’re going to launch MUSINGS FROM THE WOMB. With my years of experience as a birth coach / Doula, I am blessed to have witnessed so many empowering, positive and gentle births. I feel like it’s about time to share it here with all of you, with the help of my former clients.

Today, we are featuring Baby Sophia’s Birth Story. Tata was my client for during her first birth, a natural gentle birth in the hospital setting, with her husband, Oli, gifting his love and presence. In this feature, we’ll be sharing Tata’s story of her second birth, and it is incredibly intimate and personal. As she relates and connects to her baby in her womb, you could feel the strong bond of the mother and child, her feminine instincts and power. She took charge of her birth, embodying and owning it in every step of the way.

This is the birth story as told by Tata through a love letter dedicated to her baby, Sophia.

While Your Were in my Tummy

(A mother's story of preparing for a gentle birth)

I knew there was you in my tummy when my body started to feel different. I missed my monthly period. My breasts felt full and heavy. I felt nauseous in the morning. And I started to crave food I didn't used to eat.  A pregnancy test and a visit to the doctor confirmed,  we were having a baby. We were having you.  

While you were in my tummy,  I got tired easily and was often sleepy.  I knew I had to slow down so I could take care of myself and of you. While you were in my tummy,  I ate, and I ate some more.  I was hungry often. But I couldn't just just eat anything and everything. I knew I had to eat the right kinds of food so both of us could be healthy. While you were in my tummy,  I felt like getting creative. I made dream catchers, cross-stitch projects, abstract paintings,  and magazine-cut-out collages. I cut out words that made me feel good, and glued them to a board. Beside them, I placed a picture of a woman birthing blissfully.  I felt like creating things so I made things with my hands. While you were in my tummy,  I wrote on my journal every morning. My goal was to come up with three things I was grateful for,  but my list always ended up having about ten or more.  Always, you, your sister, and your daddy were a part of it.  

While you were in my tummy,  I did gentle yoga.

I did so when my body allowed me to, and when I felt I had enough energy for it.  When my body needed more rest,  I didn't push it.  Yoga could wait another day or until my body was ready again.

While you were in my tummy, I meditated.

I needed those few minutes of silence in the morning to get through each day. 

While you were in my tummy,  I wrote about my fears and worries.

Sometimes it was about little things,  sometimes it was of big things.  Always,  writing them down helped me get a better sense of my reality

While you were in my tummy, I felt you when you moved. 

You were so active, and yet so graceful. I stroked my tummy where I felt you move. When your movements made me giggle, you moved even more. While you were in my tummy, I talked to you like you were already in my arms. I knew that you listened and that you understood. 

While you were you were in my tummy, you started to feel heavier and heavier,  like you were moving down, and getting ready to come out. 

On one particular night, I started to feel waves rising and falling inside my tummy.  The waves came steadily, allowing me to rest before another one came.  After a few hours, the waves came more frequently and they stayed longer. I knew then that it was time.

How I knew I would soon meet you

I knew I would soon meet you when I started to feel waves rise and fall inside my tummy. They came regularly, with periods of rest in between.  I paused,  breathed deeply,  and listened to my body, as I felt through each wave that came. 

Breathing deeply, the waves sometimes felt subtle.  Other times, they felt full and quite intense. I knew my body needed more air whenever the waves came.  So I continued to breathe as deep as I can.

It was after I had to pee that I realized, walking and sitting on the loo made the waves come more often.  I paused, held on to a counter top,  and moved my hips from side to side when a wave caught me while I was walking. Doing so gave me ease. 

I knew I would soon meet you when the waves started to come every five minutes or so.  I messaged my doctor and my doula* and told your daddy and your big sister that it was time.  

The waves persisted as we got to the hospital. I requested for the birthing pool to be prepared as I handed over my birth plan to the hospital attendants.  
The doctor checked on me and told me I was 8cm dilated. I knew that meant that I was almost going to meet you if the waves kept on coming. She checked on your heart and told me it was well and strong.  

I knew I would soon meet you when I felt I was ready to go inside the pool to welcome you. I slowly entered the water and waited.  There was a short period of rest before the waves started coming again,  this time more frequently and lasting longer.  

When the waves got more intense, I moved as my body told me to.  Sometimes I knelt down and leaned over, sometimes I went on all fours.  I rested in between. My doula held me and encouraged me the whole time,  reminding me to keep breathing deeply.  Your dad took care of your big sister while they eagerly waited for your arrival.  

When I had the urge to push, my first impulse was to scream.  And then, I felt I needed to focus my energy instead, on bearing down rather than screaming.  So I did.  I pushed whenever the urge came and for as long as I felt like doing so.

With a few pushes, your head started to emerge. I kept pushing as prompted by my body.

Before I knew it, you were already in my arms.

I cried tears of bliss as I held you.

You stayed with me in the water as we waited for the placenta to come out, and for your cord to turn white before it could be clamped.  

Your first hours were spent on my chest,  where you slept and fed a lot.

You cried and we cuddled a lot too.  Your first days in the world were a wonder for both you and me.  And we had that gentle birth to look back on as a beautiful, empowering memory.  

ABOUT TATA

Tata gave birth naturally to both of her children with the help of Doula Betty. She started to train as a birth doula herself, after her own experience of a gentle birth. Tata formed Birthing Circle in 2015 as a monthly gathering of pregnant women to help process their fears and build their confidence in giving birth. Today, Birthing Circle offers the same support through online workshops that aim to empower mothers to own their birthing experience.

Follow Birthing Circle on Instagram and Facebook for tips on inner preparation for birthing and info on workshops.