I attended a home birth in Riverside, CA attended by Jhoanna of Malaya Midwifery who is seriously amazing and an absolute dream.

It always makes me nervous when I get the phone call early in the morning knowing I have an hour drive ahead of me and their surges have been consistently 3 minutes apart. I get the “oh fuck” thoughts and begin praying to the birth gods that I make it in time.

my arrival

When I drove up to their house their family was standing in the front yard; mom, dad, and two sisters. They waved me into a parking spot on the street that my big ass suburban would fit into.

As I entered the house, I had my temp taken, and everyone was masked up, because you know Covid. Surges were still about 3 minutes apart but appeared fairly mild.

Throughout the first few hours I was there, the birthing person and their partner were laboring beautifully together and completely supported. Many times I left the room to sit in an adjacent room to give them privacy. Surges were intensifying and consistently about 3 minutes apart.

Jhoanna suggested multiple different things at different moments throughout the day to do: lying down, toilet sitting, shower, side lying release, lunges, naps, etc. A plethora of knowledge while simultaneously sitting back and trusting birth.

As things really began to pick up, more family showed up. They had been hanging out around the house, coming and going. As vocalizations began to get louder during a surge, their Rottweilers who were outside, would run from the front door to the back door, and then back to the front to try and check on everyone. It was seriously the cutest thing ever.

pushing

Jhoanna had felt an anterior lip (part of the cervix was still left in the front) and had them do a few different positions to try and help baby’s head press down on the last little bit of cervix to move it out of the way. After a bit in the birth pool, their cervix was complete, and they began pushing. Slow and steady. Following cues from Jhoanna and their body, they were supported completely by their partner, who was never far throughout the entire process.

After awhile of pushing in the pool, it was recommended to sit on the toilet and labor there for a bit before transferring to the couch. Pushing became even more effective while on the couch. They could hold their knees and even tilt their knees inwards a bit toward each other (this opens the outlet of the pelvis wider to allow for baby to have a bit more space).

I was able to show them the progress they were making by showing them how much of the water bag they could see! It was seriously freaking amazing.

After a surge of energy, baby ended up being born pretty quickly (like it was “oh bag rupture, oh baby head, pause to get a few breaths, oh baby born)! Birth is amazing and unpredictable! As everyone realized that baby was going to be born quickly, someone (not sure who it was) ran to get their family who was sitting in the backyard waiting. They all ran to a window close by to watch their grandson and nephew come into the world.

Once baby was born, literally the entire family was in tears and was oohing and awing. I even started crying with how much love was in the air. It was truly incredible to witness the love and support from the family and birth team. It was truly an honor to capture the photos and video of this birth.

postpartum

I had personally never seen a lotus birth before, so when they said they wanted a lotus birth, I was seriously stoked to see the process. I watched Jhoanna hold this new soul while the midwifes assistant cleaned the placenta. She walked not only the family through everything, but my client, their partner, and anyone else who wanted to hear the guidelines for it.

After cleaning the placenta thoroughly, it is heavily salted (emphasis on heavy, it’s not like salting a piece of meat for consumption) on both sides, and then putting a layer of chosen herbs on top. It is a very symbolic choice that is truly beautiful to watch.

Such respect for the placenta and the job that it did growing and supporting life. Also, because placentas are rad as fuck.