By Belinda Lashea, CNM
It was a full house at the birth center, and I was called in on my day off to help out. I got lucky when Carey asked me to be with Natascha and Sean, who were getting close to birthing their sixth baby. When I walked in the peach room, the energy was hypnotic, SO MUCH OXYTOCIN AND LOVE! They were working well together, and I would occasionally listen to the baby or make a suggestion, but mostly, I just watched the beauty and power of this woman and her man, getting the baby out the way they got her in!
The nurse, Emily, came in to check on things, and I took the opportunity to use the restroom. I didn’t get far when I heard the Crowning Cry! I ran back to the room just in time to see Natascha beautifully birth the baby’s head, with the amniotic sac still intact. I felt a little thrill knowing this very special baby was going to be born in the caul, an auspicious sign in many cultures. I checked for a cord and it was there, loosely about the neck and shoulders. I gently pulled it over her head, and I realized there was a true knot in the cord! The shoulders and baby came with ease and she let out a loud cry right away. That knot in the cord didn’t slow her down a bit!
Sean and Natascha were ecstatic and so in love with this baby girl. Sean expressed his disappointment over not being able to catch the baby as he had with some of their other children. He had been needed behind Natascha for support this time. I asked him if he wanted to catch the placenta instead, and he jumped at the opportunity! It was the first time I’d had a dad catch one in 18 years of attending births!
This was a very special birth for me for many reasons. It was my 100th baby as a CNM at WBWC. AND she came on my day off, was born in the caul, and had a true knot in her cord! WOW! A birth and a family I’ll never forget!
