Latest / Birthright: Physiological Birth Stories / 6hr fast and furious homebirth in Israel at 41 weeks + 2 days
Transcript
- Taylor: Welcome back to the Birthright Podcast. This is your host, Taylor Gibson, and today I am going to be sharing my birth story with baby number three. So let's just go ahead and get right into it. So getting pregnant with baby number three is really when I first started coming into my faith and reading the Bible for itself and not clinging on to a religion or any other, you know, philosophies out there. And just reading the Bible for what it says and coming to know Yahuwah. And so how I got pregnant, just a little backstory. I had a problem in my stomach. I literally looked six months pregnant and I had no idea what it was. I actually never went to the doctor for it. I just I just never did. I don't know. and it almost felt like there was a mass in my stomach. And like I said, I looked six months pregnant and it was painful and Yeah, so eventually, as I was coming into the faith, I prayed for it to go away. I told Yahuwah that I was thankful that he finally led me to him, the ultimate truth, and because I was searching for truth for quite some time and I stumbled into, you know, every little thing that I could to finally find the truth and very thankful for that even though it was a lot to go through but ultimately it led me to him. And so basically I prayed a prayer of letting him know that I was thankful that I finally knew the truth and that I promised to him that if he gave me any more kids that I would show them the way and teach them about him and I would stay on this path and not be led astray. yeah, so basically I told him, or I prayed for it or whatever it was in my stomach to go away and let him know that I was open to more children if it was his will and that I did want more children just in his timing. I asked for it to be his timing And that I would be the best mom possible for these kids and just lead them in the right direction. And so with all of that being said, I'm laying in bed and I'm praying at night and that's all that I had said to him. And then the very next morning I woke up pain free and the mass was gone. I Literally I was in shock because I had at that point been in pain for probably about a year. And so I to be honest, I wasn't truthfully expecting it to be gone. I really wasn't. but it was. It went away and the pain did not come back. Well, at least for a week. So the pain was gone for like a whole week. And I was just like so happy about it because like I said I had been in pain for so long that it was it was honestly new and it felt different to not be in pain for the first time in a long time. But then eventually like a week later the pain kinda comes back and it's not as bad, you know, so I'm like, Okay, well, you know, I maybe I just thought, that this was gonna go away. But it turns out I t ended up taking a pregnancy test and it was just basically like the implantation pain. And I couldn't believe it. I was not it not necessarily expecting it so quickly, you know, especially because at that time it was really not financially the best time for our family. And I just wanna say I just I'm sharing this as a testament in how sometimes things cannot seem, like they're going your way or the best way, but his will and his plan for you is always on time and on point because shortly after so we spent spent kind of like my first trimester in Dallas and then my husband got a job in Israel. It was the first real job he had got since COVID just because the basketball market was not doing so well and you know, jobs were just really hit or miss. And so he finally got his first contract, like I said, in Israel. And so, then after he gets his contract, we leave for Israel. And as soon as we get there, I immediately start searching for midwives. I honestly had a really hard time just because like I have mentioned in previous episodes, it's not always the easiest to do your research if you aren't familiar with the language. because the websites are not always in English, but I ended up finding like an expat website that had all the midwifes on it. So I was very fortunate. And I ended up reaching out to every midwife that I possibly could. And the very first midwife that reached out to me, was basically like, Well, you're kind of too far away, but if you can't find anybody else, I will for sure take you on. And well, another thing about Israel is the country is so small that they feel like forty five minutes is a long drive and Obviously being an American that's like nothing. You know, it's the long drive starts getting long at like five hours. so anyways, I reached out to all the other midwives and none of them would take me on because they all said I was too far, even though some of of them were just simply forty five minutes away. But I reached back out to her and she was like, Okay, Let's get your first our first meeting scheduled and so we met with her and we really loved her. right off the bat. She was very welcoming to our boys. Anytime we went to her house, she had smoothies made for us or she had fruit or veggies picked from her garden on the table for us to eat. My boys absolutely loved it and obviously my husband and I did as well. and then my care with her, all we ever really did at appointments was talk, honestly. I think she checked the baby's heartbeat a couple of times, really, for my boys to hear. And for the most part we were just getting comfortable and talking and it was really nice because she also put me in contact with like another foreigner that was there from New Zealand and honestly it was kinda crazy because this woman was the most like myself that I have ever met and it's interesting 'cause we're both foreigners in a a country and from completely different parts of the world, but we had so much in common. I ended up meeting with her and only one time, sadly, but it was just so much fun. But anyways, yeah, so During my prenatal care, I don't think my midwife would have made me do anything, honestly, like when it comes to unnecessary testing and whatnot. But in Israel in order to get have a home birth in Israel, because only I believe my midwife said it was like point one percent or point one percent of women in Israel have home birth, it's like super, super uncommon there. And the women that do give home birth there are mostly foreigners, so a lot of Israeli women are not having home births and so It's super uncommon and they kind of make it a little more complicated. And and so the things I had to have was the glucose monitoring test, but she never made me do the sugary drink. She just gave me a glucose monitor and I think I had to do it for like four, maybe seven days. I don't remember, four to seven days, something like that, of just monitoring my glucose, and it was super easy and much better than my first example. pregnancy when I had to drink the sug sugary drink that I couldn't keep down. And then in order to have a home birth, you also have to receive an ultrasound at 20 weeks. And I think I had to have my labs drawn once to check iron and just things like that. but yeah that's all you had to do to legally have a home birth in Israel. And so I went ahead and did do the 20 week ultrasound. I obviously had to, it wasn't a choice. But yeah, aside from that, I also got to meet my other midwife. So her partner, she was the oldest midwife in Israel, like the oldest practicing midwife. And then my midwife was the second oldest. So I had the two most wise women in Israel when it came to midwifery. And so It was honestly really cool. I remember going to I mean both of their homes just had like the most crazy amazing views of mountains and they lived in like little villages and it was really interesting. for sure. And like I said, for the most part things were very relaxed and I really liked that. I told the midwife I wanted to catch my baby and she was all for it. That was like one thing I wanted from my previous birth, but it didn't happen. It didn't happen in this one either, but that's just how it went. And I'll get more to that later. But the fact that she was even willing to and wanted me to, I really appreciated. so back to the twenty week scan. we because I had to get the scan, I really didn't want to find out what she was, but my husband did 'cause he you know, we're in a foreign country and he wants to make sure that the baby has what the baby needs. And so we go get the ultrasound and my son, my youngest son, so my second baby was being he he was like kind of being jealous. Like I think he knew what was happening. And we kept saying like the baby on the screen and stuff and he just he wasn't a fan and so my husband ended up having to take him out of the room and the doctor ended up telling me he was like, What do you want it to be? And I said, I don't care, but I think my husband wants a girl and he was like, yeah, it's a girl and I'm like, Okay, well thanks for letting me know my husband's not here but anyways. I ended up finding out and finishing up the appointment and then went outside to find my husband and my other son. And I ended up telling him what it was and he was very happy. He he was saying that he was praying for a girl and at that point I didn't care because I I was okay with a boy or a girl, honestly. If I was gonna be a certified boy mom with three boys or if this is gonna be my first girl. I was honestly kind of nervous for a girl just because I had only known boys so far and I was somewhat convinced that my husband just was only gonna give me boys, but I'm very grateful that I have two boys and two girls. So anyways. that was basically the gist of my prenatal care. I mean it was very it was simple and yeah. Fast forward we get to forty weeks in five days. And my midwife tells me that legally I have to get an ultrasound every day after 41 weeks. And so naturally we get a appointment set, and we have to head to Jerusalem for the nearest appointment that we could get. And I'm like already knowing what they're gonna say because My babies have been big. My first one was nine pounds and two ounces and then My second son was nine pounds and eleven ounces. And so, in America that's not the biggest baby that we've seen, but it's big, especially, in other countries. And it's even big for America as well. But it's less unheard of. And so I already know what they're gonna say. And I'm telling my husband the whole thing. I'm like, okay, when we get there, they're gonna tell me that the baby's measuring too big and that, I'm gonna have to go to the hospital and, get induced and they're gonna be worried about the baby being too big and You know, these are all the things that lead to a C section. And I was just explaining him like basically what was gonna happen. And he believed me, but I don't think he necessarily understood that this is genuinely what happens. And so when we get there, we are talking to the lady and she actually seemed decent. Like she understood that our baby would be big. Because she asked for our previous baby's weight, their height. She can clearly see my husband, who is six seven And then I'm also five eight and obviously, neither one of us are short. And so she seemed to really understand and seemed fine with it, you know. And I'm like, okay, maybe I was wrong. We got a good one, you know? so after we get done and she's like getting all of the information about previous births and the health of me and my husband and whatnot, I sit down for the ultrasound and Everything's fine. Like she is measuring the head and measuring the baby and everything seems fine. She's like, the baby is tall and it's like, Yeah, we imagined that, you know. And then so she's fine, but then she gets to the weight. Well the heartbeat was fine. So first she's doing the heartbeat, then she's like starting to measure the bones and everything, but then it gets to measuring the weight. And I literally watched her face go from like pleasant to just like a terrified look. And I'm like, here we go. I knew it. I knew it. And she looks at me and says, Your baby is way too big for you. You need to go get induced right after you leave this appointment. Your job here is done. And I'm just like, excuse me. No, my job is not done. I I knew that. I was just like so mad. I'm like looking at my husband, I'm like, I told you. And he was just like, My goodness, like she she was acting like everything was gonna be okay. The baby was only nine pounds and six ounces. at that point based off of what the ultrasound was picking up. And I'm like, no, we're we're almost there, you know, this baby's gonna come when this baby's gonna come. And this was at 41 weeks. And so the next day I was supposed to go in again for another one. I don't know what that was gonna be, but I ended up calling my midwife after our appointment and I remember telling her what the ultrasound lady had said and she was so mad and she was like, wait, and she asked for what the doctor's name was and I told her and she was like, Her, she did this, she said that. She's normally so, you know, more relaxed and Whatever and I'm like, Yes, this is this is who I saw and she was very like just so upset and like rightfully so, you know, 'cause she referred us to that hospital and everything and she was like, You don't worry about it. I'm gonna call her and let her know how I feel about this and I don't know, I'm sure she did because she could be feisty in her own way. so she called or I don't know if she called, but she told me, she's like, You don't have to worry about it. I know, like, I'm still comfortable with delivering the baby. I know that babies can be big. You are fine. Don't worry about it. Go home, relax, and tomorrow if you have to go, we will she said told me that they would take me I forget what it was called, but basically like into like like the Palestine borders within Israel and because they basically she was saying that they're more relaxed and she didn't trust me going back into that other hospital with what that doctor had said because she was very serious about me going on the way home, like just stopping in at a hospital and getting induced. It was just really crazy. And so the next day, in the morning, I start having a little bit of contractions. And I'm like so excited, I'm like, okay, things are happening. I don't have to go get another ultrasound, like I don't even have anything to worry about. We are okay. And so I call my midwife and I or I text my midwife and I let her know that things have started and she's like, Perfect, no ultrasound appointment. Just let me know when you need me, just keep me updated on how things are going. And it was so interesting because I only had contractions for maybe like two hours and it was really nothing serious at all. this was my first time ever experiencing contractions outside of, you know, previously my other two births, I would have a contraction and that was the start of labor. And I never had like any anything other than that. And so because I had like these contractions for two hours It was fine. But then towards the end of the day I'm like let my midwife know, like, hey, nothing has happened and I'm a little bit nervous because what do we do now? Because nothing has nothing has progressed and you know, this whole ultrasound thing. And so she sent me some spinning babies, which at this point I had not heard of before, and so she just sends them to me. And this was this was pretty late. We had a late night this night. For some reason, every time I go into labor, we have a late night. And so it's 10 30 ish. And so she has me do these spinning babies and I'm like, okay. And so after that I lay down and my husband goes and gets in the shower. And shortly after the spinning babies I get my first contraction and I'm like, man. It was like, you know, towards the end of of labor contraction. It was very, very tough. Automatically could not talk, automatically could not speak, you know, couldn't walk, nothing. And I tell my husband, like, okay, go ahead and get in shower. That was really hard. And so he takes a shower. And I am having back to back contractions the whole time he's in the shower. And so he gets out and he's like, Dang, should I call the midwife? Because these look, you know, a little more serious Like it seems like you're in labor, in labor. And I'm like, Yes, you need to call her now because I can't do this. I was like already I wasn't at that point, but I was like very close to it just because the contractions and like I said, this was within within like fifteen minutes probably of doing the spinning babies. I think maybe she just needed to be in a better position and once she was, she was ready to come. And so My husband calls my midwife and she listens to a contraction and she's like, I'm on my way. And she calls the back of midwife and I remember as I'm waiting and she's like a hour and thirty minutes away. And so as I'm waiting on her, I'm like going through it and I just keep telling my husband, I need the water because the plan was a birth pool, like my second birth and I just kept telling him, I need the water. she needs to get here because I need the water. I Like, I I can't do this without the water. That's why I kept saying. And so she gets there and I'm so excited to get in this water. And she comes up to me and she whispers, I didn't bring the birth pool. It was punctured. And I just remember being so upset. I was so So upset. And I had to get over it like really quick. I had to like really change my mind quickly around that. And I call this my fast and furious birth just because it was only six hours long from that first contraction, like the first real contraction to pushing her out. And I when I say furious, it was the most painful. I mean, she was my shortest birth so far and it was like my most painful. I I compare it to my fifty three hour hospital birth just with how intense it was. And it was it was to the point anytime I would move, like I had to stay in one spot because if I moved, it automatically it would start another contraction. If I would try to like get in a different position, contraction. it's almost as if the contraction wouldn't go away if I didn't stop moving. So to use the restroom, there was a couple of times I had to use the restroom. My husband had to basically like hold me up. And I had to take like the most tiny steps to get there because the contractions were just so awful, like genuinely so awful. And I remember one time he had to get me to the restroom and he had to wipe because I couldn't even wipe because of how painful these contractions were. I couldn't stand. It just it made my whole body just shake in pain. And he wipes me and my mucus plug came out on the wipe and he he he looked at it, he was like, and like he he obviously just like picks it up and like flushes it away and stuff. But it was just so it was really funny, but he also handled that so well. But I just remember like this whole labor I needed my husband there, like next to me. He supported me so much. Both midwives supported me so much. I really really needed them in this one and the midwife that I personally hired, she just like came in with hip squeezes every single time and that helped so much. My other midwife, like I remember I was like gripping her hand like none other, and I realized it a little bit in between contractions. I kept apologizing and she's like, Don't worry about it. Just just keep doing what you're doing. I'm used to this and I was gripping her thighs at one point because she was behind me, just like my cause there was one point my kids started to wake up and my husband kind of had to tend to them a little bit while the midwives helped me. And I just remember the contractions felt so, so long. And then the waiting period in between felt like I maybe got like thirty seconds. It was just on. The whole time. Like I barely felt like I got to really breathe that whole six hours. And I just wanna say that during my whole pregnancy and going into the birth, I was dealing with so much spiritual warfare. Like so much. Nightmares every night. I just felt like I was gonna die, you know, in childbirth. I had so much. and I don't wanna say too too much, but just a lot I was dealing with a lot of spiritual warfare. to the point where I just carried so much fear into this birth without even realizing it or dealing with it. I didn't know how to. I remember even trying to pick up my Bible and read it and any time I opened it up, it felt like something was gnawing on my brain. I could not hardly read. I remember just being in tears because I'm like, I want to grow in my faith, but every time I open up my Bible, like I am in so much pain. I had with this gnawing on my brain feeling that I would get when I would open it up. I don't really know how to describe it to anybody except for, straight up spiritual warfare and then also the nightmares I was having and even just I don't know, the fact that I was expecting a birth pool and that didn't happen and I mean I really did not set myself up for success but I was also dealing with a lot going into it and I just feel like a huge part of what I do as a doula goes a lot into the fear and working through your fears because fear can really bring in so much unnecessary pain. And I fully believe that if I wasn't so fearful, it probably wouldn't have been such a painful, painful birth. And I'm not one that says, you know, birth should be pain free. I don't subscribe to that. if you read your Bible, there's so many places where it says that birth is painful and it's work, you know, like it's not gonna be easy. Not that not necessarily that's one hundred percent painful because I've had two births that were not super, super painful, but they were work, you know. And so I just wanna say that. I just think it's important to add the fear piece and why I experienced such a painful birth and just the spiritual warfare that I was dealing with. And so anyways, we get to the point of pushing and both of my boys are awake at this point and they're just like watching and listen like hearing. I was fairly loud during this birth. With my other three I I wasn't so loud. This one it was like I said, I just I felt more loud and we were in an apartment and I did not care. I just needed to like vocalize my way through these things. And so it gets to the point of pushing. And She has me on a birth stool at first and I'm like, I can absolutely not do this. This is what I won't do. I remember she had me on the toilet through some of the contractions and I think that they helped, genuinely do, but it was just it made things so much more intense that I I just couldn't. I I really I just couldn't. And so I end up like I think that my arms were on the couch and my legs were on the ground and I had like one leg up and I just started pushing and She comes out fairly quickly and I just remember holding her and like praising Yahuwah as I'm holding her because I cannot that he just gave me this beautiful, beautiful baby girl And I'm just looking at her and I kind of forget that everyone's in the room with me. I'm just I literally like when they say weeping in the Bible. I am weeping. I cannot stop. I like I am in this in this moment, nobody else is there. It's me, my baby, and Yahoo, and I am praising him for delivering me from that labor and delivering this beautiful baby girl into my arms because it was finally like everything that I had been going through, this was my reward. And I remembered my promise to him. and just like raising, you know, my children in the word and it was just such a great moment with him and my daughter and I'm just like crying. I'm just crying, I'm crying and I'm grateful because my midwives and my husband and everybody let me have that moment where I just was by myself and even though they were literally right there. But then finally kinda come back to it and then I'm wanting my boys and my husband to come over and see her and then I start nursing her and then eventually they get me cleaned up and the baby cleaned up and my midwife helps me in the shower. I had my daughter's meconium all over me and so she's in the shower like trying to scrub it off of me. And I was very thankful for that that you know they helped me and And another part is I ended up tearing, but it was such a small, tear on the same line that I got my epesiotomy and then the same spot where my other son tore. and I ended up getting stitches. I ended up tearing in that same spot again, but she said it was so small. And so she asked if I wanted to stitch it and I told her that we could just leave it alone and she was like, good choice. that's what she would have done too. And so basically, after everything was cleaned up and me and the baby were good, they decided to leave and me and my new baby and my husband and sons all went and laid down and got in bed and went to sleep. It was very nice and I loved that both of my boys got to be there. I remember that they kept asking why their sister had a tail talking about the umbilical cord. And I thought that was so sweet and so funny. And an another thing that I forgot, I just looked at my notes really quick and I remember being in transition and this is like why I loved that midwife because I remember when I was in transition, I literally and my goal at this point after having my second son was to be a midwife. Like that's what I have always said I wanted to do after my kids got older. Now I'm a doula but I still have, you know, plans to become a midwife. when my kids don't need me as much. But I remember being in transition, I'm just like, how can they do this job? They are so messed up that they can just sit here and watch me do this and I always be so dramatic, literally so dramatic, you know, like this is the worst job ever. Why would they want to sit here and do this to women? Or or not not do this to women, but sit here and watch women go through this, like this This sucks, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I remember I got to a point and I said, I can't do this anymore. And she looks at me with a smile on her face, dead in my eyes, and says, Good. And I remember that good is literally what I needed to push me because I we both knew what it meant, right? And so Knowing what it meant, I'm like, okay, I can because I'm saying I can't and it's almost there. And it was like shortly after I was starting to push. But it was just so nice of her. That gentle reminder of like good 'cause we both know what this means, so just keep going. And you got this. Another thing that I wanted to add because I forgot to mention was that day, the day that I well, the day that I had the first, you know, like two hours of contractions and then they went away. And then the day that my daughter was born, we were we lived right on a beach in Israel. And so we literally when I was doing my dishes, I was looking out at the ocean and So I would be looking out at the ocean like every single day. And on those two days, though they had the biggest waves that I had ever seen in Israel. And obviously it's the Mediterranean Sea, so they don't they're not having like Hawaii waves. But the waves that we saw it was just so interesting to me that they were so big and like ferocious that day. And that's exactly how my birth went. And just all these days of looking out, you know, doing my dishes, watching the watching the waves and like looking out at the ocean. And these two days just so happened to be like the craziest waves and I was felt like I was going through my own crazy waves of contractions. And I don't know. I'm not really like that was a sign person, but It was it was just interesting to me. So yeah, that was basically the gist of my third baby, my sweet girl. my fast and furious six hour birth. by the way, she only ended up being nine pounds and nine ounces. So the ultrasound really wasn't too far off, but she was perfect for me and It was funny because one of the midwives said that she herself delivered a twelve pound baby. And so my little nine pound nine ounce baby wasn't really that much compared to her twelve pounder. So that was interesting as well. and that's it for today's show, if you or someone you know would like to be on the birthright podcast to share your physiological birth story, I'd love to have you. And when I say physiological birth, it does not have to be just a free birth. Free births are always welcome, but I also want to invite women who've had wonderful experiences with midwives as well because I fully believe that you can still have a good physiological birth with a midwife. I believe that there are really good mid midwives out there that honor and let birth unfold how it's supposed to and don't interfere. And so those stories are welcomed as well. So I will leave the link in the show notes to fill out a form to be a guest on the show. And if you've loved what you've been hearing from the Birthright Podcast, we would so appreciate if you would like and share and follow our show, go ahead and rate it, anything that you guys do to help support is amazing. And until next time, we will see you soon.