Zara Augustine

Zara’s Story

Our home birth journey began October 5th, 2006 at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center.  After a perfectly normal and healthy pregnancy, I found myself strapped to a bed, unable to move, feel, or control what was going on around me.  While my son was born healthy and as perfect as could be, I knew that his birth was not a normal experience.  I felt so disappointed that I hadn’t been able to give birth without intervention, and I knew without a doubt that I never wanted to be such a passive participant at an event that was so huge in my life again.

Fast forward to May 2008, when I found out I was pregnant again.  Right away I knew what I wanted.  A home birth seemed like an even better option than a birthing center, especially when my husband and I met with Erin and Mairi and they compared a birthing center to giving birth in someone else’s home.

To say that my pre-natal care was wonderful is an understatement.  For me, the fact that my check-ups were all done at my home was absolutely priceless.  Anyone who has brought a two year old to a doctor’s appointment can understand this.  My son bonded with Erin and Mairi at these appointments, and they included him in everything.  One of the other many amazing things that stands out about these visits is the amount of information these women passed to me.  Everything from nutritional information – and the specific science behind it, to tips on bringing a second child into the family.  I knew that I would learn a lot when I decided to have a home birth, but I feel that under the care of these women, I got a complete education.

The actual birth story starts at 5:00 PM February 5th, 2009.  After having contractions every ten minutes for two hours that morning, Erin came over to the house to check me.  She told me to get plenty of rest because she was pretty sure I was going to have the baby within 24 hours.  Right around the time my son was getting ready for bed, contractions started again.  They were very irregular, but quite intense when they did happen.  They lasted an average of 2 minutes every 6-15 minutes.  By 10:00 PM, my husband was resting, and I was attempting to as well.  After about two hours, I got up to take a shower to try to relax.  My shower lasted about five minutes, and in that time I had three contractions.  I got out, woke my husband up and called Erin.  I told her that contractions were coming faster and agreed that she should come over in an hour.  As soon as I hung up, I started vomiting and my water broke.  My husband called Erin and told her that she should probably come immediately, and by the time she got to our house, about 20 minutes later, I was unable to speak much and contractions were about a minute or two apart.  By 1:00 AM, Mairi and our birth assistant Susan were also there, and I was very uncomfortable.  Every time I moved, I would have another contraction.  Someone suggested that I try to push a little during a contraction to see if it would make me feel better.  Even though it was very intense, I felt incredible with every push.  Being able to actively meet the pain of the baby coming down was an indescribable feeling.  At 2:04 AM, February 6th, our daughter was there – round and pink and perfect.

That morning, after everyone went home, I tried to think of a word that would sum the whole experience up.  For me, it was respect.  From the beginning of my pregnancy to the very end, my daughter and I had been treated with so much respect.  We were both allowed to participate in the whole process naturally, and in our own way.  What an amazing way to start a life.