Unassisted Birth: An Act Of Love

Happy Friday, friends! We're getting ready for a highly anticipated weekend getaway in Big Bear with one of my dearest friends and her sweet family. Looking forward to relaxing by the lake, enjoying good conversation and scrumptious meals. Lately we've been getting asked a lot of questions about our unassisted birth, what that entails, and how we came to our decision. I want to take a few moments to address these questions and share more of where our hearts are at. 

First, what is unassisted birth? Unassisted, or "free" birth is one where no doctors, midwives, or doulas attend. Only the mother and father are present and no pain medications or interventions are used. Typically this takes place in the home, but some freebirthers also choose to birth outdoors. We are preparing for a home water birth.  

Isn't it dangerous? Birth is a natural, God-ordained process, and is not inherently dangerous in any way. In fact, it can be quite pleasurable! Many people believe our modern ways of approaching birth are the direct cause for so many of the dangers that can occur during pregnancy and birth, and they have dedicated their lives to seeing a shift made back towards our natural, spirit-led ways, where men and women can connect with and recognize the possibility for an ecstatic birth experience. One such person is midwife Ina May Gaskin. For anyone interested in the evolution of birth or how the birthing process is designed to work, I encourage you to check out her work!

What if something goes wrong? Many things we understand as complications are just variations to what normally occurs during birth, and most all can be handled without medical intervention. Birthing couples learn to handle these variations (such as breech presentation, cord around the neck, excess bleeding, meconium in the amniotic fluid, and "stuck" shoulders, to name a few) using what they have learned through research and most importantly, through tapping in to their own God-given instinct, which both mother and father will typically spend a great deal of time developing before the baby arrives. There are true (very rare) emergencies that do require hospitalization and anyone planning an unassisted birth will learn to recognize these emergencies, know how to handle them, and whether or not medical assistance is necessary.

From Ina May's first book, Spiritual Midwifery

I hope that helps to answer some of your questions and calm some of the concerns we hear regarding Luna's birth! Personally, we have never looked forward to an event more in our lives. Oscar and I both believe that birth is a powerfully spiritual, sexual, magical, miraculous experience, and when approached as such, can be one of the most enlightening, sacred, transforming processes a person has the opportunity to go through. We are so excited for this chance to connect with the Divine in such a deep and intense way. Such a gift! Luna, we cannot wait to meet you and with all the love we have, bring you through our bodies and into this world.

For more information, check out the following links:

• Ina May Gaskin
• Orgasmic birth
• Unassisted birth stories 
• Unassisted FAQs
• A beautiful birth in nature