Hello. I'm Jonna. I have three children: 4 1/2(girl), almost 2(boy), and 4 months(boy). Here are my birth stories:

FIRST BIRTH: My labor was induced in the hospital by my ob/gyn. In about three hours, I had a baby girl in my arms. While in labor, I was attended to by rude, impatient, and non-sympathetic nurses just "putting in time." I was not allowed to get off of the hospital bed for anything. When I asked to go to the bathroom, they said "sure!" So I started getting up. I was told, "Oh, no. Just go on yourself. You can't get up!!" After a little fight from me, I did. The entire labor I was made to sit in my own urine, and not once did the nurse change the chux pad. =( When I felt like I needed to push, the nurse said "Go ahead" to me, and whispered to my husband and the other nurse, "She still has HOURS to go!" (We have it all on video!!) And about five minutes later, the baby's head was crowning and I heard, "STOP PUSHING!!" The doctor came just in time to give me an episiotomy and pull the baby out. He then stitched me up and went on his way. My baby was a bit over 5 lbs. I broke my tailbone due to the position I was in and the fact the my daughter was posterior and did not turn. It took me over six months to recover from the tailbone part. It was a demeaning, humiliating experience. I never wanted to repeat it in my life- not the pregnancy and baby part, just the hospital part.

BIRTH TWO: I got pregnant and lost a baby, which is when I was introduced to homebirth. I read up on it and decided to go with a midwife should the Lord bless us with another soul. As soon as I found out I was pregnant, I searched the yellow pages until I found the best midwife in the world (or at least Central Florida!!)! My pregnancy was healthy and very much problem free. We had a practice run, so to speak. I went into labor once and stopped at 3cm. =( For a week and a half, I walked around waiting to just drop a baby out. LOL. When the time came, my midwife showed up as soon as I'd called her. I labored in the tub, until my labor slowed down too much, then I had to get out. That was a wonderful relief of pain!! I walked from room to room, sat on the toilet, laid in my bed, squatted, cried, and walked some more. There was a minor complication. I only dialated to 9 1/2 cm, and after about 6 hours, my midwife insisted on holding the "cervical lip" down so I could push the baby out. That part was extremely painful!! And, that's what happened. Our first son was born in our bed. After the birth, my midwife cleaned up, monitored me and the baby, and helped out for a few hours. It was a beautiful birth. "This is what birth is supposed to be," I remember thinking. My midwife rubbed my back, and spoke kind, encouraging, uplifting words. She was there from start to finish, the same woman that had done all of my prenatal care, not a stranger just working a shift. Over seven pounds, and no rip, tear, episiotomy or re-broken tailbone.

BIRTH THREE: Wow. Overdue again... but finally real labor started. About 40 minutes after I called my midwife, she arrived. I walked out to help her bring her stuff in, stopping and squatting during contractions. We had a pool filled up with water in our living room because I'd decided on a water birth this time. Once her stuff was in the house, my water broke. OH!! It sure hurt!! I could feel the baby pushing on my tailbone. "Not again," I prayed. When my midwife checked me, I was only 3 cm dialated. We decided to try and speed things up with the pool. But, no, I couldn't get two feet in it, it was like ice!! So, I hauled my huge belly to the bathroom and my hubby started filling the bathtub. I didn't see much of my midwife with this labor. She was setting up in case we got out of the tub to have the baby. But, she came in and spoke to me and added more water, and then she saw me pushing. I was only 6 cm, but I could not resist the urge. It was a horrible labor, not even 35 seconds between contractions, and now I was pushing before it was time. Well, my midwife dialated me. (Did I mention how wonderful she is?) One hour after I got into the bathtub, our son was born, underwater! Again, my midwife stayed well into the morning watching us and cleaning up and filling out paperwork. She was there about five hours after the birth. Our son was over 7 lbs, and no rip, tear or episiotomy, and not broken tailbone either. When she left, there was no evidence that a birth even took place there besides the five-hour old baby. =)

We plan to have more children, and we fully intend to have them right here in our home. There was a lot of opposition for us to fight to do this- from our family and some of our friends. But, in the end, it is our baby, and we were going to do what we felt the Lord leading us to. If I ever had a hospital birth again, I would not have an ob/gyn but instead a midwife. The care I received prior to the birth in one visit was more detailed and intimate than all of the care combined with my doctor previously. Being at home made it comfortable, though. There were no strangers here, no fluorescent bulbs humming away, no baby warmers, and best of all, free movement. I walked around. I slept in my own bed. I used my own toilet. My children were all here, and we had no separation time. There was no jealousy or animosity. They were the first ones to greet our newest addition. It was a bonding experience for us all, uniting us more as a family, and giving us a bond that no hospital can provide.

Those are my birth stories, without too much detail.