A Birth Story: Chelsea L.

Chelsea L. is the craziest woman I know. And I can say that because, as she is my sister, I would know. Of course, you might agree with me after you finish reading this story.

You see, Chelsea was 37 weeks pregnant with her third child when she and her husband, Deric, decided to move across the United States from Nevada to Kansas. And of course, Deric had to go first for work before the new house could be closed. That left Chelsea driving a carful of stuff across the United States, with two toddlers and my youngest sister. At 37 weeks pregnant. And my sister is so crazy that not only did she do this, but it didn’t even occur to her to ask for help. 

I discovered this when I arrived at their home on closing day. At the time, I still lived in Iowa, but I hadn’t missed her births in Nevada so what was a drive to Kansas? We were unpacking like mad, trying to get ready for the baby to come, all while interviewing local homebirth midwives who were willing to take a woman 37, now approaching 38, weeks pregnant. Chelsea clicked with a local midwife named Amber, who naturally wanted to see the house before she agreed to host a birth in it. Cue unpacking like mad (when I wasn’t using my doula powers to convince Chelsea to sit and drink water) and daily exercises practicing relaxation techniques and establishing which mantras empowered her the most. 

Her Braxton Hicks started to pick up, but they were most certainly Braxton Hicks. Only part of her uterus would contract and they weren’t particularly painful. I needed to get home to help my husband, who had been working late every day for the two weeks I had been gone, with cooking and laundry but I was worried I would miss the birth. My instincts told me she was going into labor incredibly soon, possibly in the next few hours. Chelsea looked me dead in the eye and told me she didn’t feel like she was going into labor and she would know, as this was her third. So I packed up and drove home, arriving at midnight. 

At four in the morning, my phone rang. My crazy sister was in labor. So I tossed my still packed suitcase in the car, loaded my sleeping toddler into her carseat, and drove back. When I arrived at 8am, Chelsea was sitting in the living room, chatting with our mom, not in labor. It had stopped about thirty minutes before I got there. Birth, as any birthworker and mother knows, is unpredictable at best. I woke up from a nap to the sound of Chelsea’s feet as she walked back and forth across the living room, moaning deeply through her abdomen. My mom was doing a wonderful job talking her through the contractions and distracting her in between, perfect for early labor. Her boys, of course, were climbing all over her, and my daughter was on my mom’s hip. It was quite the perfect picture. 

Chelsea labored in the living room while Deric got the birthing pool ready upstairs. My mom heated up some broth for Chelsea to drink, as she had stopped wanting to eat hours earlier, while I continued to massage during contractions then distract in-between. As her contractions got closer together, Chelsea decided to text Amber and let her know the baby was going to be born today. Chelsea’s labor progressed quickly and beautifully. She called a childhood friend who lived in the area and wanted to attend the birth. Amber arrived with a midwife in training named Rhiannan (who is now a fully trained midwife). We moved upstairs to continue to labor while on a birthing ball in her room.

Chelsea was doing really well, but felt tense even between contractions. The goal for a laboring woman is to be as relaxed as possible, to stay in the parasympathetic nervous system and keep her hormones regulated. I waited for Chelsea to open her eyes after a contraction, then asked her if she was holding tension anywhere that I could help with. It turned out, she was afraid of peeing on the floor if she relaxed, so I got the puppy pads we had purchased to cover the bed and laid them out. She relaxed immediately, both from the security of the pads and from the sheer hilarity of it. 

I asked her if she was ready to be more active to get her labor to pick up, and she agreed to lean on the birthing ball placed on her bed. This added pressure to her abdomen (something she likes while giving birth, not all women do), while allowing her to sway her hips and use gravity, while Deric and I took turns pushing her hips together or rubbing her back. Before long, she wanted to get into the birthing pool. Deric put on a swimsuit and got in with her while she laid over the side. At this point, Deric fully took over pushing her hips while my mom and I rubbed her shoulders and repeated her mantras.

Amber and Rhiannan were amazing. They gave Chelsea the space to follow her own body, only interjecting to check the baby’s heart rate with their doppler when necessary. Then, the mood in the room shifted as Chelsea’s tones began to deepen even further. Her contractions had been on top of themselves for 20/30 minutes and she was nearing the end of transition. As she had done in her previous homebirth, she shifted her weight back onto her heels into a squat and bore down. A deep breath, a second push, and baby Addie was born into her mother’s hands in her own home, surrounded by family. 

As always, thanks for reading and God Bless!