We found Claudette partway through our pregnancy, when our original midwife (the one that attended the birth of our first son) unexpectedly had to move pretty far away. She completely defied our expectation, and by the end of our first meeting with her, both my husband and I were in love. She has a sharp mind and a sharp tongue, and I found myself looking forward to my appointments more for the opportunity to chat and laugh with a friend than have a checkup with a midwife. I felt completely trust in her vast knowledge and experience, and truly appreciated the trust she had in me to make my own decisions. It was a a collaboration, and I couldn’t have been happier with the experience.

Charles Arlen was born 11:23 pm, measuring 8lbs 1oz, 19 inches long, after a powerfully intense four hour labor and an even more intense 8 minutes of pushing. I didn’t even make it into the birth tub! He was delivered as I stood by the couch, hands braced on the side, roaring like a wild animal – completely opposite the calm and quiet birth I had with my first son.
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The Birth of Daniel Justice
I am a mama to four beautiful children, three of which I birthed at home, and pregnant with my 5th. My journey into home birthing was unexpected. Up until my second baby was born I had never thought I would want a home birth- or that it was even a possibility. I had always dreamed about being a mom. While pregnant with my first I felt instinctively in my heart that I wanted a natural birth, no drugs. I wanted to join myself to the myriads of women throughout the centuries who had experienced natural childbirth. Those women who had fought and won a battle and come out stronger on the other side. Nevertheless, I had been raised in a home where medicine, hospitals, doctors offices were a part of our life; part of our mentality. I had never considered that there was another way to birth a baby. I had never been exposed to a natural type of anything.

So, I gave birth to my first child in the hospital. It was a “normal” hospital birth, the joy of my daughter being born outweighing any disappointments in my birthing experience. Yet, there was disappointment. I had not had the natural birth that I dreamed I would. Instead, my water had been broken, I was induced by Pitocin, and underwent two epidurals (1st one didn’t take). My baby wasn’t breathing right away, and after she was suctioned, was briefly given to me for a couple of pictures, and then whisked away while I lay alone on a hospital bed, my body shaking from the drugs. I didn’t get to see her for another two hours, and I had sustained a 3rd degree tear, which took over a month to heal afterward.

While I was little disappointed by my experience, I thought it was just the way things were. When I was pregnant with my second baby, there was no question that I would give birth at the hospital again. Because my first baby was big (9 lb. 9 oz.) the doctor thought I should be induced, and scheduled an appointment for me to get my membranes stripped.
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Disclaimer: One character trait of mine is that I am a very private person.  The fact that I am even writing this is out of character for me, but I think it is more important for other women to know all of their options and maybe my story will speak to other women out there.  Additionally, I feel that Claudette and Dana should be praised for their exceptional service to women.  They are angels that God has placed on this earth to create the beautiful, love-filled, intimate & joy-packed event that a birth should be.

When I got pregnant, I assumed I would give birth in a hospital.  I didn’t even know there were other options.  A very close friend of mine told me about her birth experience at a birthing center and how powerful it was for her.  She said if she were pregnant again, she would even consider a home birth.  Wait, you can give birth at home?  Yep.  Isn’t that dangerous?  Nope.  That pretty much blew my mind and it got me to thinking. . . What was it exactly that I wanted out of a birth experience?  More than that, I realized I had a choice in the matter.  I didn’t have to have a ‘Birth Story’ experience.  It could be something different.

So beyond thinking, I did a great deal of soul-searching and a ton of research.  Through my research I concluded that not only was a home-birth safe, to me it was ideal.  The birth of my baby could be on my terms, not someone else’s.  I would have a say in how my baby entered this world.  I could give birth in a place where I wouldn’t be judged or pressured.  I would be surrounded by people who believed in the process and in my ability to endure it.  I could move about freely as I needed to.  I would be able to let the process occur naturally as God intended.  I trusted fully in the process and in God.  Now I just needed to convince my husband and find a midwife.
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Dear Claudette,

It’s been a while since you helped me give birth to Zephan, and I wanted to finally take the time to thank you for how you served God and pointed us toward God whenever we were worried about the pregnancy or the health of the baby after birth. Because of your encouraging us to pray, we did seek God’s direction for this birth, and did experience God’s peace.

I look back on Zephan’s birth with a lot of joy that I had a peaceful birth. You arrived in time to take precautions against Strep B, encouraging me that the baby was about to come out, and also helping me switch positions to help him come out quickly and efficiently. Yet, I still know that “I did it”, and that God game me a smooth birth and healthy baby, with the help of your expertise. Thank you for serving Him boldly, so that women like me, who want a VBAC, have a chance of a peaceful birth.

I also appreciated how you took care of us after the birth, driving all the way down to Sunnyvale several times to check on us and examine us. Because of that, I could relax more, knowing the baby and I were both well.

Zephan’s home birth is so precious to me. The entire process of being pregnant and giving birth to him was a BIG lesson in walking by faith in God, trusting Him, not the things of the world. Thanks for always reminding us to trust God. You were definitely the Lord’s instrument.

Gratefully,
Tenny

Two years ago, I was fortunate enough to photograph a beautiful birth. When we knew Dylan was coming, the wonderful mother I photographed, offered to be there for Dylan’s birth. The images she captured were instantly more precious to me than any other images.

Dylan’s birth was harder for me than my daughter’s. Active labor started at 1 am and he was born 6 hrs later…he was 10 1/2 lbs and needed a lot of help coming out. His birth was very quick and there was a little complication. After, I only had memories of the pain and the fear. I absolutely hated that that was what I came away with.

When I saw these pictures, all the beauty of this miraculous event flooded back to me and I cried. I cried for hours. I relived the unwavering support of my amazing birth team. I felt the full impact of the moment he was laid on my chest. I remembered the excitement at the beginning of labor and the unmatched relief at the end. I completely felt all the warmth and love that surrounded me and my baby as we brought him into this world.

I write this urging every single mother to have the births of her children photographed. I can’t emphasis how much these gorgeous images impact me every single time I look at them. They bring the love, strength, beauty and miracle of my son’s birth back to me. They are a precious precious gift and I share them with you in hopes that this type of photography will become more mainstream. I don’t believe there is anything on this earth more beautiful than the birth of a child. -Mariah Smith