record of birth

home birth

birth positive ™ doulas are available to assist in both home births and deliveries at the hospital. We include a written record of the birth as part of our doula services.

Here is an example of the record of an actual home birth. You can also read an example of the written record of a hospital birth. Names have been withheld for the sake of privacy.

Welcoming [baby's name]

On [date] I received a call from you around 10:15am letting me know that you had started having contractions earlier in the morning. I was so excited for you because the moment you had been waiting so long for had begun. You and your mother were going to run some errands and then check in with me later in the day to see how the contractions were progressing. By 1:45pm the pain in your back had increased and the contractions were coming around every 8 to 10 minutes. I arrived at your apartment at 3:00pm and was introduced to your mom and [friend]. You looked so happy and it was obvious you had been busy preparing your home for the birth.

Once I arrived it seemed your contractions were beginning to come closer together and were pretty intense. At first you were just following your own lead, guiding yourself through the contractions sitting on the birthing ball. Pachelbel's Canon was playing on your stereo providing the perfect music for your planned water birth. We sat around eating fruit and talking for a while and then decided a walk would be good for a change in scenery while you were still relatively comfortable. This walk seemed to really help get your labour going and your contractions seemed to be moving much closer together. We joked that you would be appearing in the [Community] Newsletter perched over a bin of flowers!

As the pain increased you were anxious to try the hot tub to see if it would alleviate any of the pain. Once [the midwife] was paged you opted to get into the pool and what a relief! You commented that you could tell you were having a contraction but the water helped take away the "weight" of it. After a short while it was time for you to get out of the tub, much to your dismay. Once [the midwife] arrived, your progress was checked. It was around 6:30pm and you were 2 to 3cm and 80% effaced. Once [the midwife] left, we tried various positions to try and help get you comfortable. One position that worked really well was squatting on the ball leaning onto your mom's lap. This allowed [friend] and I to push on your back. The contractions were coming every three to four minutes not giving you much time to rest in between. We both went in and out of the tub to ease the contractions and so I could apply counter-pressure to your back. The water really seemed to give you the boost you needed when the labour seemed to get ahead of you. [Friend] and your mom were always close at hand reminding you to drink and eat. Your mom also made sure that I was eating enough. I had the wonderful stew you had prepared.

Soon the contractions were so close that we decided to page [the midwife] to come over. She arrived and you were now 3 to 4cm and 100% effaced. This was great progress but felt pretty discouraging to you because you had been working SO hard. [The midwife] left with the advice that you get some sleep in order to gather your strength for the events to come. Although you were reluctant you did finally agree to a side-lying position that allowed you to sleep between contractions for about 45 minutes. Your mom and [friend] also tried to get some rest but I think that they were too excited to fully sleep. I stayed by your side to give you reassurance when you seemed to need it. However throughout the entire labour you knew what you needed to do with little guidance.

Once your body had a chance to gather strength your labour really started moving into a pattern and into active labour. It was not long into this new stage that we called [the midwife] and it was a good thing because a lot of 'exciting' things began to happen. Your membranes ruptured and you were sick to your stomach before [the midwife] had a chance to check your cervix. Your mom said to me "Look on the floor and it did not come from her mouth!" When you were able to get into a position to be checked [the midwife] let us know that you were 5cm. You decided to get back into the tub and within 45 minutes you were feeling an urge to push! WOW the next half-hour would be very difficult and required all of your strength and concentration to get from 8 to 10cm. You were so focused on breathing through the incredible sensations you were feeling. You locked eyes with me and I counted you through each breath. At this point [...] and [...] had arrived. Both [...] and [friend] looked so thrilled to be a witness to such an amazing event. Your mom was supporting you under the arms as you began to push. You could visibly see you muster up all your strength to push your baby out. You brought your baby down so powerfully. To help facilitate the progress you were making you rotated into a hands and knees position and then back into a squat position.

Within a short period of time we could see your baby's head appearing. What a sight for all of us to see; you reached down to feel your baby's hair. It was glorious. Within a few moments you "pushed through the pain" to birth your baby's head. [The midwife] let you know that you had to push the baby out with the next contraction because the tissue was so tight around the head. You were able to push your baby ENTIRELY out with the next push and we could see her open her eyes under the water! What a beautiful vision to see you reach down and pull your baby onto your chest. [Baby] was finally in your arms. She was so alert and at peace. The room was full of joy and celebration as we helped you welcome your beautiful baby into the world. Your mom cut the cord separating [baby] from you so that she could begin breathing on her own. Thank you for the honour of being with you as you birthed your beautiful baby into the world.

Love, your doula

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