A Butter Birth | UF North Hospital
Location: UF Health North, Jacksonville, Florida
Home birth midwife: Rebecca Ray of Sweet Grace Midwifery
Doula: Katharine Deeb of Dare Alla Luce Doula
Birth photographer: Dallas Arthur Birth Stories & Support
Ever heard the term “butter birth?” It’s a silly term that we throw around in the birth world, basically a birth that goes “as smooth as butter.” Well, this one was a butter birth! While this beautiful mom intended to birth at home, she and her midwife decided that a planned transfer to the hospital was going to be the safest way for this baby to come into the world. This was one of the very best hospital transfer experiences I’ve experienced, and even the nurse said it was one of the most special, uninterrupted births that she had ever seen!
While my second pregnancy felt like a roller coaster, my labor and birth with my second daughter couldn’t have gone more perfect. I woke up at around 5am to some light contractions. They felt like period cramps to me. My partner woke up to me staring at him . I remember feeling “off” like I did with my first pregnancy. This particular morning we weren’t looking forward to, because if everything we did the night of to get this baby to exit didn’t work (lol) he’d have to go to work. Well, as soon as my partner leaves for work, I hear what sounds like rubber bands popping and minutes later, my water breaks. My partner hurries home and encourages me to get into the bath while he cleans and makes phone calls. By the time it’s 8am I feel my contractions become more intense and this time consistent and I remember asking for my midwife and doula . By 8:30ish my midwife comes to check me, I’m nearing 6cm dilated. We decide it’s getting close to going to the hospital. At around 10am we finally get to the hospital, I’m at around 8cm dilated. I wish I could share details from the moment we got into the car to when I got to the hospital, but those contractions were so intense, I blacked out by the time we entered the room. I remember laying on my side and feeling the urge to push. There was no “Are you ready to push?” My body just started pushing my baby out. (Amazing what our bodies can do right?!) Trusting my body to do what it’s designed to do, to work with my body to bring my baby girl into this world was the best thing I’ve ever done. Every contraction and every breath I took was one step closer to meeting our sweet love. I absolutely loved my birth and wish I could go back to this day and do it all over again! And I don’t think i could’ve done it without the support from my partner, my family, and my birth team especially!
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