I had many years of hospital experience under my belt, as well as a few years of home births

when Marina and Mark walked into my office. They were excitedly carrying their first child.

State-of-the-art holistic pregnancy care and a professional home birth was their hearts’ desire.

The 32-year-old tall vivacious redhead immediately made an impression. This social worker was

dedicated to improving children’s lives through her work in local agencies. Many years later, I

found out she is the daughter of a Pulitzer-prize winner.

Marina’s 45-minute prenatal visits were in my office. The couple kept the gender a secret for the

special day despite having had an ultrasound. One beautiful day in May, a month before her due

date, my assistant Ramona and I drove the dirt road toward the river canyon. We turned left,

passing through the oak forest to their older cozy home. Ramona had birth experience as a

respiratory therapist and doula in medical centers. Her priceless superpower was making people

feel immediately at ease. This avid childbirth educator was a massage therapist and a devoted

mother of two sons. We delivered the heated labor tub, familiarized ourselves with their place,

determined their home was within a safe distance of the local hospital, did a prenatal exam, and

finalized preparations for the big day. 

My phone rang shortly after nightfall on a Wednesday, four days after Marina’s due date. The

past two days of mild waves (contractions) were consistently every four minutes currently. When

I arrived, her husband and her sister were attentively tending to their loved one. Sunshine, a

young doula, assistant-in-training, and mother of two, who the couple had met previously,

accompanied me. Ramona would arrive when labor was more advanced. 

“My back aches” the redhead said, looking up at me. Her cervix, the womb’s opening, was

almost entirely thinned (effaced) and was 4 cm. dilated; six more centimeters before pushing

would begin. The baby’s head was deep in her pelvis, with the back of its head to Marina’s left

side, which is ideal. However, the not well-flexed head (the chin wasn’t tucked towards its chest)

was also cockeyed (one ear tipped towards its shoulder). This positioning explained her long

early labor and aching back. I anticipated these would resolve as her labor dance progressed. 

Marina’s vital signs were normal. Following national guidelines, we monitored the baby’s heart

rate at intervals with a waterproof ultrasonic hand-held digital device. Sunshine recorded all the

data in the chart. As the wave subsided, we reminded her to let it go and rest. Eventually, she

moved to the labor tub in their living room. Her breath deepened, and her muscles softened upon

immersion into the warm water.

At 2:40, Marina moved to the rocking chair. She drank fluids well, but a urine dip test revealed

she wasn’t getting enough calories. “Drink more Recharge (a natural electrolyte beverage)”we

encouraged. Next, the woman moved to the previously disinfected hot tub on the patio. We were

entranced with the bright swirls of the Milky Way in the dark sky when she announced, “I feel so

much pressure.” The waves rolled in steadily every 3 to 4 minutes as Marina returned to the

indoor tub. Her back felt best on her hands and knees, with Ramona massaging the area.

The sky was lightening when suddenly, Marina yelped; her body went rigid, and Mark and her

sister looked at me concerned. Her cervix was 8 cm. The waves had tucked the head, but that tilt

remained. Her bag of water was tensely ballooning through the cervix. “If I break your water,

you will relieve some relief, Marina.” Though the late labor waves demanded her complete

focus, she visibly relaxed when the clear fluid flowed. She swayed, breathed, and moaned

through each wave. A few drops of Rescue Remedy, a flower essence formula, fostered

relaxation.

An hour after dawn, Marina grunted, “I want to push.” The red splash on her inner thighs (bloody

show) confirmed labor’s gears had shifted once more. Gently, I slipped the thin lip of the cervix

over her baby’s head, and the child descended. She moved to the birth chair. “We can see your

baby’s head!” The redhead’s eyes widened as her fingertips touched her child for the first time. “I

feel hair” she said softly.

Golden rays warmed the wooden home. The front door creaked, and her camera-carrying mother

bustled in to photograph the long-awaited event. Engrossed in her sensations, the pregnant

woman barely noticed her mom had arrived. Marina stood with her back to me. I sat cross-legged

on the living room rug, gently pressing a warm wet washcloth to her opening. Mark sat calmly

on their worn red velvet couch, watching his beloved. Remaining on her feet, Marina leaned

forward, resting her forearms on his thighs. “You’re doing great, Honey, you are doing great; the

baby will be here soon” he reassured her. 

As the first ones often do, the unborn’s head advanced three steps and retreated two. The warm

compress eased the stretching sensations until the “ring of fire” was upon her. “Don’t back away

from the intensity; push gently into it.” Sterile instruments lie on a green cloth medical towel at

my side. Oxygen tanks, medications, IVs, newborn resuscitation equipment, plus various

supplies were within reach if needed.

Sunshine spooned local blackberry honey into the sweating woman’s mouth. “Ah” I muttered,

feeling a tiny hand resting on its head, explaining the long early labor and that tilt. I applied

pressure to the head to slow its emergence. Then I held the little elbow close to its torso, and the

wet child squiggled into my gloved hands.

I dried the babe with a warm, soft towel checking the muscle tone. The alert newborn looked

about, its pulsing cord supplying vital oxygen. We would only cut this lifeline once it had

stopped pulsing. “Marina, take your baby,” as I passed the still-attached between her fair-skinned

thighs. This freshly-born mother reached down, tucked her naked, now-breathing newborn into

the crook of her left arm, and stood tall. She gazed down at her child. Her breath stilled.

Pushing’s visceral fierceness instantly transmuted into a timeless hush. “It’s a girl,” the mother

whispered. 

For so many years, Marina dreamed of this moment. Then she and her family journeyed through

ten lunar cycles of anxieties, planning, researching, endless decisions, countless preparations,

and excitement. All her anticipation and recent days and nights of strong woman’s work

culminated in a triumphant surge of exhilaration. Despite the team’s years of experience, we were

stunned by what this marvelous woman did next. Looking upward while closing her right fist,

she pumped it high into the air three times, victoriously exclaiming to Existence, “That was

great! That was great! That was GREAT!!!!!!!”

In that amazing instant, I was catapulted into a new dimension of what birth could be. A vision

of our enlightened maternity system’s future crystallized before me. Healthcare professionals

focused on wellness care and preventing complications whenever possible. Care providers and

hospitals deeply respect pregnant women/people of every lifestyle and skin color and all receive

timely and excellent care. Maternity units are now relaxing environments resembling spas and

offer specialized tubs for labor comfort. Narcotics and epidurals continue to be available as

needed or desired. Healthy women move freely in labor, guided by their intuition and sensations.

Modern educated and licensed midwives and doulas are available to women who desire holistic

care. Healthy women can choose to birth in a hospital, birth center or at home. Maternity

costs decreased by limiting expensive and risky interventions and cesareans to medically

appropriate situations in which they are helpful. All American citizens are covered by health

insurance and all women receive paid maternity leave. U.S. birth statistics dramatically improved

and now we rank among the best in the world. Most importantly, birth as nature intended, is the

norm. I saw more parents fulfilled through their experiences resulting in happier children. More

babies are breastfed for longer periods of time resulting in healthier children. Our families, our

communities and our nation are stronger because of this evolved approach that supports and

empowers women and families through the transformational rite of passage of childbearing.