Here is Kirsten’s birth story, her son Lyle was born at Alaska Family Health and Birth Center!

I woke up at about 5:30am on December 21st with my first signs of labor. I wasn’t sure if I was in active labor so I got up to see if my contractions would stick around. After walking around my house and taking a bath, I realized my contractions weren’t going away. I sat on my medicine ball and bounced while watching Christmas movies while my husband slept. This is one of my favorite memories from that day.

I felt my contractions starting to get more intense so I figured it was time to wake my husband. Of course he didn’t believe that I was in labor (I couldn’t believe it myself). We called the birth center around 10:30am to let them know what I was experiencing. Kate was the midwife on call and she said to try to to go on a walk or do some Christmas shopping to help me progress and to call when my contractions were about 4-5 mins apart. At first I thought I could leave my house and then things started picking up. My husband would time my contractions periodically and when the timer app told him to “get our bag and head to the hospital”, I heard him tell me “ummm babe, I think we need to leave now”. We called Kate and let her know we were on our way.

We arrived to the birth center at about 2pm. Manga was the other midwife on call, she got us settled into our beautiful birth suite. She checked me and I was already at 5cm dilated, which I was so pleased to hear. My two close friends arrived shortly after we got there, they were such amazing support for my husband and I. I labored in the shower for what was probably hours with the hot water running on my back. This was so helpful with my back labor. When I was checked again, I had only dilated one more cm. Our midwives figured out that our little guy was stuck on my pelvis and that’s what was keeping him from descending down. They had me labor in multiple different positions to help straighten him out. It wasn’t easy laboring that way, but shortly after while I was hanging on to my husband, my water finally broke, all over his feet! I’m so grateful for our midwives being able to help my body do what it was made to do naturally, without forcing anything. Then my labor really began to pick up and near the end. I labored between the shower and the tub. The water was so helpful to me. I was checked one last time when I finally heard “you’re ready to push”. It was music to my ears! I pushed for about 50 mins and then our lives changed forever. Our sweet boy was born weighing 8lbs and 20” long. I’ll never forget the feeling of him being laid on my chest.

The hours after his birth will always be so special to my husband and I. The stillness of the room, our amazing midwives, and the outpouring of love will always be cherished. Giving birth to my son was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do but it was also the most empowering thing I will ever do.

Thank you Alaska Family Health & Birth center for your exceptional care and for showing us that birth can be natural, safe, and an intimate experience