Feb. 27, 2023 - Liberty Hangout - Kaitlin Bennett
18:28
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| 10 months ago, my world changed in the most beautiful way. | |
| The child I carried in my womb for nine long months would finally be carried in my arms and my identity transformed into the greatest I've yet to realize, mother. | |
| After 43 hours of intense labor and raising my little one for nearly a year now, I've been learning how to be the best mother and wife I can strive to be. | |
| Reflecting on this brand new chapter in my life with new eyes, I wanted to invite you into my journey and share the blessings of my birth story. | |
| I hope my journey can encourage new mothers to know you were never alone and the incredible gifts God gave you are worth embracing. | |
| Look at this sweet, sweet baby. | |
| Before I begin with my story and what I've learned through my own experience of childbirth, I wanted to thank you. | |
| You've been so incredibly patient with me as I took time away from creating content to be with my family and have my entire focus on our baby. | |
| Throughout the years, I've been blessed to know that you've had my back along the way. | |
| This has led to a moment in my life where I was able to take such a long break. | |
| A maternity leave, if you will. | |
| Apart from the fun we've had together on this platform, it granted me time to focus on what truly matters most in this world. | |
| But realizing this time has been a rarity or a privilege for others really saddens me. | |
| Women in our country are not afforded the ample amount of time to heal or bond with their newborns. | |
| We're immediately asked to jump back into this now necessary rat race that many insist is the dream. | |
| The true dream I've discovered is marriage, motherhood, and family, which is all directed by a faith in Christ. | |
| So I thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting me in making this time with my baby a reality. | |
| not only for my sake, but so that together we might make the family desirable again by showing the world what joy motherhood brings me. | |
| I used to be a woman who feared childbirth, and I mean, absolutely feared it. | |
| I have an incredibly low pain tolerance and the thought of going through something as intense as bearing a child would send me into an anxiety-riddled mess. | |
| The fact that I'm sitting here today telling you about my natural and unmedicated home birth is something that I still can't believe. | |
| But it's exactly why I'm making this video. | |
| At the conclusion of my nine-month journey, I felt heartbreak for the fellow mothers in this country who were either misled about pregnancy or simply did not know some of the amazing things our bodies can do. | |
| I want to share my experience to inspire and empower mothers to embrace what we were made to do because women deserve better than the unnecessary and preventable traumas that take place before and after what should be a remarkable and holy affair. | |
| As many do, I immediately suffered a terrible case of morning sickness at the beginning of pregnancy. | |
| I was frightened and unsure how to alleviate my nausea, but the only one willing to offer immediate assistance to me over the phone was a local midwife. | |
| Even before I was enrolled as a patient, the midwife tended to my needs when my OBGYN would not. | |
| And thankfully, her generosity piqued my curiosity as I compared my experiences with an OBGYN with the midwife's kindness towards me as a new mom. | |
| A lot of you are probably wondering the same thing I was at this point in my pregnancy. | |
| What is a midwife and what makes them different from your typical OBGYN? | |
| A midwife is a licensed and certified healthcare provider who deals with pregnancy, childbirth, newborn care, and postpartum health. | |
| And while midwives are not doctors, they are highly trained and capable of serving the needs of healthy mothers during pregnancies. | |
| Midwives are nurses who empower women to use the gifts God gave them and not fear the miracle that is childbirth. | |
| They typically take an all-natural approach to their practice and educate women on how to prepare for labor, childbirth, postpartum, both mentally and physically. | |
| All my life, I was terrified of birth, and after hearing nothing except horror stories of women in labor, and how women were completely shocked about what happened to their bodies during the birth of their children. | |
| Since epidurals and C-sections were the norm to me, I sincerely believed women could not handle the sensations of labor and that their bodies were unable to properly birth their babies. | |
| To see a group of women so certain of the abilities pregnant women possess to naturally birth children was so incredibly refreshing to me. | |
| My experience with a midwife restored the hopes I have for maternal care because I wasn't just a patient with a medical history on a clipboard to them. | |
| I didn't have a time limit on my appointments and I knew every single person who worked in their practice and they all took the time to know me as well. | |
| I had direct access to my midwife 24-7 via phone call or text. | |
| Another great perk with a midwife is that they assist you in a birth outside of a hospital, which means they are significantly more affordable. | |
| Most important to my family was that I knew, without a doubt, the group of women who would assist me through labor and deliver my child. | |
| There was never a stranger present during my most vulnerable moments and no random nurses or shift-switching doctors in and out of my birthing space. | |
| Knowing that one of the few I trusted would be the first person to touch my tiny, new, sparkling human being gave me such a sense of peace. | |
| I had full certainty that either the woman whom I had grown to love over several long months or my dear supportive husband would hand me the baby I grew for nine months. | |
| Before I made my first appointment with the midwives, I watched a lot of YouTube videos about midwifery to learn as much as possible to make an informed decision. | |
| The woman I credit with exposing me to the home birth world is Sarah Therese. | |
| She is the epitome of a supermom. | |
| Another woman I heavily relied on for endless hours of educational content was Bridget Taylor. | |
| If you have a question about anything natural, I guarantee she has a video on it. | |
| But of course, what would a natural birth be to me without including the spiritual component that guided me through it all? | |
| If not for Ina Mae's Guide to Childbirth and Made for This, the Catholic Mom's Guide to Birth, I would have never received the peace of mind needed to go through with this challenge. | |
| I was blessed to experience pregnancy during Advent and Christmas, a time when Mary went through the same exact journey. | |
| My faith allowed me to tap into her strength and identify with her all the way through pregnancy to the moment I held my child in my arms for the first time, wondering how much courage she needed to go through her most difficult days with only St. Joseph by her side. | |
| And naturally, the calm and collected generosity I received from the midwives was magnetizing. | |
| I was instantly attracted to the comfort that I had not previously received from others and made what would be the greatest decision for my pregnancy, my faith, my child, and myself. | |
| The midwives would continue to give me the most memorable birth experience that I am excited to finally share with you. | |
| Throughout my pregnancy, I took note of some ways my experience with the midwives was different. | |
| To begin, I received the usual 8 and 20 week ultrasounds, and those were the only ones that I needed. | |
| My baby's heart rate was routinely monitored at appointments by a Doppler. | |
| They took my blood pressure and tested for gestational diabetes. | |
| Towards the end of my pregnancy, the midwives used their hands to feel if my baby was head down, not an ultrasound. | |
| Regular appointments were as long as I needed and met with a casual chat and a checkup. | |
| I didn't have to sit in a waiting room. | |
| I was never rushed out of the door and I was able to connect with the midwives in a way that let us freely share our concerns and excitements. | |
| Beyond anything, I loved my midwives because they validated my motherhood and never treated me as merely a client. | |
| They treated me as a human being, a first-time mom, and sympathized with my fears, my loneliness, and my aversions to pain. | |
| The relationship we built gave me such a comfortable birthing environment that I was able to focus on one thing and one thing only when labor hit, pushing out my baby. | |
| Equally important to the incredible conditions we created was my decision to hire a birth doula. | |
| A doula is a trained non-medical companion who physically and emotionally assists a woman before, during, and after childbirth. | |
| My doula deserves a huge badge of honor for getting me through the last 12 hours of my labor, for keeping me grounded when I so badly wanted to give up. | |
| I could never thank her enough because when I think back to my birth, some of the most memorable moments are when she was by my side. | |
| So to my doula, thank you so much for being with me. | |
| And whenever someone asks what they can do to prepare for a natural labor, my first advice is to hire a doula. | |
| It is like having a saint right next to you the entire time. | |
| And as my pregnancy neared the end, the care I received in my most crucial hours was seamless. | |
| Here is where the story of my baby's birth truly begins. | |
| It might be different from what you're used to hearing, but it's one I hope uplifts your spirits and encourages mothers to understand the amazing alternatives that might be available to her. | |
| When my contractions began, I was encouraged to comfortably labor at home for as long as possible, to eat whatever I wanted and sleep as much as I could. | |
| Instead of heading into labor unprepared, the tools I learned from my support team gave my body, my mind, and my soul a supernatural strength to make it through the next 43 hours, giving every push a purpose. | |
| I labored at home for 31 hours with only my husband by my side, which included one night all alone as I labored in bed holding my husband's hand while he slept to keep up his own strength for me later on. | |
| He was an incredible advocate for me throughout, prayed the rosary by my side, embraced me, struggled with me, and cried with me. | |
| My labor showed me how much I love my husband and lean on him for support, and his care deepened our relationship in a way no other experience possibly could. | |
| One of the most radiant memories I have of my birth story was the moment my doula came to my home that following morning. | |
| Seeing her face sent an immediate wave of serenity over me and even though the hardest part was yet to come, her presence gave me the confidence I needed each time I wished I could give up. | |
| Suddenly, even though the pain was still as severe, her company made it far more tolerable. | |
| She was there with me as I labored at home for a few more hours until the intensity picked up. | |
| So we packed the car and we headed through the birth center, a house owned by the midwifery, used exclusively for the miracle of bringing babies into the world. | |
| The birth center had sofas, TVs, bathtubs, beds, showers, a kitchen, and even a backyard. | |
| I was hooked up to no medical equipment. | |
| I had nothing dictated to me, and I was encouraged to eat food and stay hydrated. | |
| And my baby's heart rate was intermittently monitored throughout in a non-invasive way. | |
| The sense of freedom I had during my birth cannot be expressed in words. | |
| It was another one of the numerous blessings I am grateful to have received. | |
| The birth center is supplied with emergency medical equipment for extra precautions, and you can make it your second home while you stay. | |
| I had the complete freedom to find the most comfortable way to get through each surge. | |
| I had the accessibility to roam, yell, and pray judgment-free. | |
| I was supported to do what I needed, and what stands out the most is that the midwives let me be in charge. | |
| Everyone took turns holding my hands, pacing with me, suggesting various labor techniques, and providing me with a solid wave of emotional support when I was most frail. | |
| After 40 hours slowly went by, I had convinced myself that I was officially stuck in labor for the rest of my life. | |
| As they watched me fall in and out of sleep between contractions, I overheard my doula asked if she thought a transfer to the hospital was necessary due to my obvious exhaustion. | |
| My midwife looked at her and said, nah, she's fine. | |
| She could go all night. | |
| When I later found out she said this, I laughed so hard and felt incredibly grateful to know I was in such trusting hands that wouldn't force me into medical interventions my body didn't need. | |
| And not long before the finish line was when my meltdown began, or I was certain I could no longer go on. | |
| When my labor reached its peak, I cried out for an epidural, but there was none there to be offered. | |
| I thought in this moment the hospital would be the answer to my pain. | |
| But that would mean laboring in a cold metal ambulance along the way, and likely giving birth before I could even have my pain alleviated. | |
| I instead received what's known as the midwife's epidural. | |
| I broke down into a warm tub with my husband by my side and we started to pray. | |
| We had our moment of peace and his encouragement eventually led me to start enduring the two hours of pushing while my entire team of loving cheerleaders fought alongside me. | |
| Our baby was born at 9.34 p.m. into the loving arms of my husband. | |
| As he handed me our newborn, I went into shock and I could not believe it was finally all over. | |
| I could not mentally comprehend that the child I felt kick in my stomach just hours earlier was suddenly there on my chest to hug and kiss. | |
| I finally got to see my baby's face and hear my baby's voice and my baby finally got to see mommy and daddy. | |
| We opted for a delayed cord cutting and instant skin-to-skin contact to strengthen our bond right from the start. | |
| By the grace of God, I was somehow able to power through 43 long, grueling hours of labor, but the pain afforded me so many blessings and my child with the most unique of birth stories filled with so much love every step of the way. | |
| After vitals were taken and everyone was deemed to be in great condition, our new family headed back home just a few hours later. | |
| Where are we going? | |
| Home. | |
| We're going home. | |
| We're going home. | |
| I didn't have to stay the night. | |
| I didn't have my baby taken away from me and I didn't need to do anything else that might give me stress immediately after completing the most stressful challenge of my life. | |
| Before, during, and even after my birthing experience, the midwives respected my freedom and let me be a mother. | |
| I got to go home and sleep with my cuddly new baby throughout the entire night while my husband cared for the two of us. | |
| While returning home so soon as new parents without any help was a scary challenge to overcome, I will never regret taking on these responsibilities in exchange for being in the comfort and privacy of my own home from day one. | |
| My midwives made their first home visit within 24 hours and kept in constant communication with me until I was officially discharged from their care six weeks later. | |
| Any postpartum questions were no hassle to them and their job wasn't over until parenthood started to become routine. | |
| As I sit here almost 11 months since that day, I still cannot believe this is my story. | |
| I went from a fearful girl to a confident woman who embraced the sufferings of childbirth to give all my love to my child. | |
| And I'm honestly excited to do it all over again. | |
| Learning to trust my body instead of fighting it made me realize how much I can endure for my family. | |
| I also learned firsthand how amazing God made women to be able to participate in his creation of human life, to let that life grow inside of you, and to bear the most intense pain conceivable for the sake of loving someone else. | |
| I found myself face to face with Christ to do the exact same thing for you and me on the cross. | |
| Key to embracing this love was valuing the input of my husband and making decisions together. | |
| My ideal scenario was to give birth at home while his hesitancy leaned him towards the usual hospital setting. | |
| We ended up agreeing on the birth center and it turned out to be a picture-perfect place for both of us. | |
| Having Justin on board with my birth plan was crucial to me. | |
| It allowed him to be my advocate in any scenario and kept him well informed about what was happening. | |
| While birth can be daunting, it's also the most beautiful thing a woman can do. | |
| The sensation of childbirth is not something we should try to escape, ladies. | |
| It's Something we were made for. | |
| Every single time a woman goes into labor, not only does God's love enter into humanity once more, but his very nature is revealed in our pain. | |
| As my doula so lovingly taught me, the pain of labor is a different kind of pain. | |
| It's a pain with a purpose. | |
| It's pain that loves and a pain that I would gladly experience all over again since I brought my beautiful baby into this world. |
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