Birth Story: Tapping into a miraculous power

Sarah Longacre, Blooma’s founder, was over the moon reading this love note from new mother (of four!), Rebecca.We hope you are as inspired by her birth as we are!

«If I went into the experience thinking it was going to be an athletic feat or a demonstration of will power, I certainly would have been disappointed: birth is such a beautiful miracle that I feel I was part of something much bigger, much more special than all of that.I feel so BLESSED.So GRATEFUL.I am so happy to feel part of a community of women who know the power of the female body and respect and love themselves for tapping into that power with such good intention,» Rebecca writes.

Whew!*Tears.* We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.Read her entire letter and birth story below.

Love,

Alisa, Sarah & the women of Blooma

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Dearest Sarah,

I am sitting here at home, four short days after giving birth to our little Harriet Jane, and thinking of you My new and dear friend, Elizabeth, introduced me to Blooma and brought me to my first prenatal yoga cla*s just days before she gave birth to her fourth son.В I’ve had the opportunity to attend only a couple of yoga cla*ses since, but it was the Couples’ Birthing Intensive that really impacted my birth experience the most.

About halfway through this (my fourth!) pregnancy, I changed directions and started really thinking about having a more natural birth experience.В Meeting Elizabeth and talking with her and listening to her experiences as a doulaВ contributed to my altered way of thinking.В My little sister, a Bikram devotee who lives on Maui, gave birth naturally at home to her son last year, so I certainly have been influenced by her story as well.В That said, I feel that the three hours we spent with you and the other couples in that lovely yoga studio a couple weeks ago were the most important part of the process.В I went from thinking about a natural birth to doing it.

I felt armed with information, tools, and a new found sense of determination after leaving your cla*s.В While I normally feel a bit intimidated in the presence of doctors and don’t always speak my mind, your gentle reminder that we need to be advocates for ourselves and our children really encouraged me to be strong, to speak my mind clearly and firmly.В And to trust myself.В I have to say, for her part, my OB, Dr.Kelly Morrison at Women’s Health Consultants, has always been such a good listener and willing advocate for my needs

Yet I feared that trying to have a birth the way I wanted it, especially so late in the game an unconventional, natural birth at a hospital! was like trying to have my cake and eat it too.В I made an off-handed remark at my 39-week appointment about waiting until Shawn could «see the head» before heading to the hospital when I was in labor, and that time Kelly did raise an eyebrow.В She told me that a fourth baby could come quickly and I did not want to give birth in my car, so I should try to trust that she and the nurses at Abbott could and would support the birth process I had chosen.

I’m glad I decided to trust Kelly because, although I didn’t come close to giving birth in the car (if only it were that easy!), I did find that Kate, my delivery nurse, was as supportive a birth companion as I could have wanted.В She gave me ideas to help ease the discomfort of the contractions (the birth ball and the shower ended up being my saving grace) and her calm, confident, yet unobtrusive presence was rea*suring throughout the entire process.В She was a godsend!

The way in which you and your cla*s affected Shawn and me the most, however, was that it helped Shawn reach his potential as a partner and «coach» (as he called himself) in my birth.В He has been known to be a fainter and a wimp in all situations medical and usually is more of a liability in the delivery room, taking the nurses attention away from me while they tend to him.В But, because of your cla*s, which you said right then and there was «more for the dads,» he was prepared.В He did a great job and feels proud and fulfilled by his own participation in the birth of our baby.В He had his binder full of materials.В He had Vitamin Water and snacks for me.В He pushed on the right spot on my back for every contraction.В He knew the right things to say and remained remarkably calm (almost annoyingly so at times!) throughout the wh*le process.В Shawn credits his sense of calm with knowing what to expect.He said it was your incredible acting skills when demonstrating the stages of labor really helped him prepare in advance for what he’d see.В And he didn’t freak out when it happened.

I shook uncontrollably, threatened to vomit everywhere, screamed.В It was hideous during transition but he was unshakable.В And therefore I could be strong too.В During that hellish time during labor when I thought I literally would die, that no one could possibly live to survive such pain, I was able to think of my sister, my friends, the women in Ina May’s stories, and know that they’d done it and so could I.

I can look back now, having healed emotionally for all of four days (it’s amazing the brain’s ability to forget, especially when it comes to childbirth!) and sort of laugh.В The things that were coming out of my mouth during transition could have been scripted, they were so almost cliche.В »Someone HELP ME.В I CAN’T DO THIS.В I CAN’T TAKE IT ANOTHER SECOND!» В Sound familiar?В It seems like those choice phrases are the earmarks of transition, reminders to Shawn that I was near the end of my hardship.В And now I can see that it all makes sense: В when a woman is on the brink of participating in a true miracle, it seems only fair that she would be taken to the very precipice of what she has ever been capable of doing before to earn the right to be there.

After hours of brutal back labor,В my sunny-side up little sunshine greeted us, made everything worth it.В We did it!В I am so happy to be sitting here right now with my own little miracle: a lovable, healthy, sweet baby girl.В She smells so good I can barely stand it; she is just delicious.В And I am well, amazingly enough not too much worse for wear.

Thank you so very much for letting me share my story and for well, for being you!В Your gifts, and your willingness to share them, really do change people’s lives.В I feel blessed to have met you and wish you all the best.

Sincerely,

Rebecca

Spend to Save in Medical Care