Born September 2nd, 2020
YUNA
'Pain in the lower back woke me up at 5am. Since I had quite a few contractions over the past couple of weeks, I stood for one hour arms up against the wall doing some kind of belly dance and applying the calm breathing (in for 4 - out for 8) to be sure it was the real deal before I woke my husband up.
Our preference was to deliver in the hospital, the place we both felt the safest in; however, all were full. Our beloved midwife suggested the beval centrum where there was room, we started applying the BRAIN methodology to decide and by B we said: "let's meet you at the beval centrum" ;-) We were there at 8am. There, the midwife said, let's take our time, stay relaxed and welcome this baby. I kept on breathing calmly, welcoming each contraction like a wave I had to accompany with my breath, breathing in and out as long as possible. My water did not break but the midwife said it was no issue, the contractions were getting more and more intense and the baby's heart was doing great. I got curious and ventured into my vagina and was excited to feel the baby's head with my finger, the baby was coming very slowly. So, our midwife said that he/she needed a bit of help and I should push. I had no idea how to push and I guess I got a bit scared of the pain I would feel if I pushed and the baby came through. My midwife and husband really helped me verbalize this and actually push, telling me it was like pooping and reminding me of how to breathe. I would stand up, put one leg up on the sofa as my midwife showed me to trigger the contraction and when the contraction came, I pushed, breathing down without a sound, the midwife would even count while I was pushing and there we saw progress!
Yuna arrived at 10:51am still in her amniotic bag, very special! Only one small tear that did not require any stitches, everything went very smoothly.
I am so grateful for the small team that accompanied us so well during the nine months of pregnancy that the birth experience will remain a beautiful intense memory.'
Julia and her husband joined Mamamoon One Day Retreat July 2020 in Amsterdam