A Home Birth after Cesarean Birth Story
This redemptive home birth story is full of strength and emotion. It is incredible to capture the expressions and emotions when a mother experiences the birth she dreamed of! It is an honor to see healing and power firsthand and then capture it for families to relive that victory and strength over and over.
This is the second birth this family hired me for. I had the honor of documenting their first birth experience, and boy, were there differences between the two. Both stories are incredibly beautiful, powerful, and so full of love. Still, their first birth left them with a lot to process and recover from.
Their Previous Birth Experience
Their first birth experience started at home, where they planned to welcome their first son at home and in water. Becca had spent so much time preparing for his birth, both mentally and physically. Her labor ended up being days long, which left her physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausted. As she moved into the transition phase, their baby began to experience fetal distress, and the decision was made to transfer to the hospital. Their first child was born in 2021 when our hospitals were still very restricted here, and so I wasn’t allowed in to capture the climax of their birth after hours together at home. Of course, it wasn’t the birth experience they dreamt of, and in the years following and during their subsequent pregnancy, Becca worked hard at processing, healing, and preparing for their next birth experience. She remained resolute and committed to not letting that experience hinder her second attempt at a home birth.
Becca had gone a week and one day over her due date with their first, and that wait was tough for her. This time, she worked hard not to let dates get in her head and trusted her body and the process. At 39 weeks, multiple episodes of prodromal contractions began. These contractions would remain irregular and never increase in intensity or frequency (classic prodromal labor signs). Of course, these episodes left her tired, but instead of focusing on them, she worked hard to get periods of rest when she could and relied on the help of her husband and mother (who came to stay this time).
Here Comes the Redemptive Part
Then, one night, she texted to say that they were feeling different, so she was going to sit on her ball, rest, and see what happened. She then turned communications over to Kirk; he was great at keeping me updated on how things were going. They called their doula, Randi, over, and together, they decided to wait to bring me out until things were progressing regularly. Soon, their midwife group, Serenity (the same she had used for their first birth experience), was sent out to assess mom and check out the baby. They decided it was finally time to bring me out, so I grabbed my stuff and headed out!
When I arrived about 30 minutes later, things had begun to progress quickly, and Becca was clearly in transition. There was so much love and support around her from words of encouragement and physical touch by their doula, husband, and midwife in training. They reminded her that she could when things continued to increase in intensity. Becca pulled on the work she had done before she reached this point and returned to the tools she had learned to trust during all that work.
One of the many things I love about this birth story is that although Becca frequently regrounded herself (and boy, was it cool to see), she wasn’t afraid to lean into the raw, primal side of birth and literally roared her son into this world.
But best of all were her expressions and reactions when she realized she had actually done it! She had the home birth experience she had dreamed of! She was in awe of the whole experience and herself. I mean, look at her face!
I had previously worked with Barbara (one of their new midwives in training) for years when I was a labor and delivery nurse here in the Vegas valley, and so it was so fun to see her in this new role! Things moved so quickly at the end that the rest of the team didn’t make the delivery. Again, such a different birth experience from their first!
When I attend births, phrases often cycle through my head. They are often the core story thread or emotion I’m witnessing in documenting, and as I captured theirs, REDEMPTIVE was the phrase I kept hearing. This is truly the definition of a redemptive birth. It didn’t just happen; it took so much work before this moment, and knowing that made it all the more emotive.
I one hundred percent think they would have processed and handled whatever happened this time around as well and would have been happy to hold their son in their arms, but to have these moments and this experience was just incredible!
Shortly after she delivered the rest of her birth team arrived. Every single person in that room knew how hard they worked to get to this moment and there was so much joy in their birth space.
This will forever be one of my favorite birth stories because of all the emotion present throughout. What is so amazing is that I get to know these families and capture the most emotive and intimate moments in their lives. It is never lost on me; it is a true honor and privilege. Thank you so much, Holmes family, for not just trusting me once but twice!
Lastly, I have to do a plug for Becca because she is so amazing. She often contributes over on Substack and on Instagram where she talks about all things motherhood and mental health. You should go follow her, you won’t regret it!
