I wasn’t new to home birth. I had very recently experienced the journey 2 years prior, and as my stomach grew heavier and 40 weeks came closer my anxiety began to peak and the memories of contractions and the hours of labor rose to my memories. 39 weeks and 1 day before my “due date” I prepared soup and Stroganoff in case I went into labor and was unable to cook for my family for awhile. From there we rush to Zen’s swim class and as we return home I begin to feel pressure in my pelvic area. The waves.…

I can’t talk about Jackie’s birth story, without sharing a little backstory about my first birth. My first birth was a 4-day induction that led to an “emergency” cesarean. There are lots of reasons I can speculate as to why it ended up that way, but that story’s for another day. Ultimately, it’s important to point out that it was traumatic, exhausting, and I ended up needing to heal from a 3-day labor and a c-section, which was just…awful. After an inaugural birth experience like that, I was determined to have a much more gentle and empowering experience with my…