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Show Notes:
Carrissa is a mother of 6 children: 5 girls and 1 boy.
She always knew that she wanted a big family: Carrissa has 4 siblings herself, and her husband was an only child- both were very on board with a large family!
I met Carrissa through a group in which she has been an admin of for over 9 years- Homebirth and Waterbirth.
Carrissa explains the group and its purpose: A place for mothers interested in homebirth and waterbirth to come and feel connected and supported.
When she became pregnant with her first child, Carrissa began thinking that she wanted to have her baby in the most natural way possible. Her husband was not quite comfortable with the idea of a midwife at that time and preferred they use the hospital.  Carrissa decided that was okay and went along with a planned hospital birth.
Unfortunately, while in labor, Carrissa had a very negative reaction to a medication given to her. On top of that, her water was broken very early- she was about 4 cm dilated at the time. She continued to labor, though and at close to 9 cm, she asked for medication to ease the discomfort.  They gave Carrissa Fentanly through her IV, and immediately she felt a shift in her body.  Baby move back up the birth canal, and her cervix actually began to close- she went from 9 cm dilated to 7.
Carrissa went unconscious for a moment, and the nursing staff had to wake her back up. Her baby’s heartbeat went from 144 beats per minute down to 77, and she was in distress.  They tried to get Carrissa up onto hands and knees, while several doctors and lots of nurses rushed her to the OR.
They put Carrissa under general anesthesia, and when she awoke, she realized her baby had been born about 4 hours prior. Everyone had been able to hold her and snuggle her before Carrissa.
Carrissa says she felt heartbroken—she felt as though she had given her baby a bad birth experience. Of course, now she recognizes that the situation was not ideal- she had a doctor who was not very supportive, and a lackluster nursing staff.  She mentions that that hospital has come quite a long way since that time, and they’ve done quite a bit to improve (this was 13 years ago).
With her second daughter (11), Carrissa was adamant that they would have a homebirth this time. The birth went so much better, though she discusses how once again at 9 cm, she stalled.  She attributed this to the fact that that’s as far as her body had gone with labor the last time, so her body still had to do the hard work of figuring out how to have a baby this go ‘round.
Baby was born safe and sound, and Carrissa mentions how much better her postpartum experience was with this baby- she did not have to contend with the drugs and medication that she had to be on with her first birth, which kept her feeling foggy and as though time was slipping from her.
Carrissa’s third birth (another homebirth) was her shortest. She was putting her two daughters to bed one night when her midwife called and said, “Hey!  It’s a full moon tonight, so I just wanted to call and check up on you- full moons tend to put moms into labor.”  Carrissa laughed and told her that she was actually about to call—that she was getting into the shower and thought she might be in labor.
Her midwife came over and checked her, and told her that her waters were bulging and she was very dilated- she’d be having a baby soon! The pushing phase was rather difficult, but overall the birth was short and lovely.
Carrissa’s next pregnancy was 6 years later- it was a surprise! She decided to have that birth in the hospital- it was financially