Every birth is beautiful but none are the same. And nothing proves that more than the photos of Gini Rothenberger's experience giving birth to her second baby. This mom from Texas didn't just labor at home — she delivered in her backyard under the stars for an enchanting experience that was less about medicine and more about feeling peace as well as support.
At first look, Rothenberger's birth photos might seem like a typical water birth.
Like many moms, Rothenberger eased her painful contractions in a birthing pool and let the soothing water help her body deliver. The only difference is where she decided to do it — in her backyard on a warm September day.
But this mom's delivery was intentionally anything but "normal."
Rothenberger decided on the nontraditional birthplace after previously delivering in the hospital. Her firstborn's birth was equally memorable, but not for the right reasons. "When I was pregnant with my first child, we did all the 'normal' preparations, went to the birth classes at the hospital, read What to Expect When You're Expecting, and followed along with all of the doctor's orders," she tells CafeMom. "We had no idea going into the hospital that we were completely unprepared to be treated like a number and expected our doctor to be there to help us along the way. You know, be our doctor."
Instead, Rothenberger felt like she was just at the mercy of strangers and that the relationship she had built with her doctor was "all in vain." By the time her baby boy finally arrived, she was too physically and emotionally exhausted from what she went through at the hospital to even care that she had a baby. "I was so foggy from all the drugs, I didn't know what to think. My baby was laying there in a plastic bin and I felt like a helpless onlooker," she says.
She came up with the idea of laboring in her backyard -- and her midwife was completely on board.
When she found out that she was pregnant again the following year, Rothenberger was determined to do things differently and bonded with a midwife during her pregnancy. "My guess date was September so I asked my midwife what she thought of putting the birth pool outside. I thought she would give me a firm 'NO!' but instead, she was excited!" she says. "I felt so very connected to my midwife and all of her colleagues by my birthing time. I knew I would be surrounded by people who would respect my needs and wishes."
To her joy, it was the exact opposite of her first birth experience.
"As they arrived, I was concentrating through waves and it was time to get in the pool. My husband and birth team went inside to prepare things, or to just chat," she says. "I watched the sunset and the deer graze in the field between waves and I had a conversation with our Heavenly Father. It was the most intimate peaceful moments when I realized this birth was going to be different."
"I didn't know how peaceful and beautiful birth was intended to be."
After her hospital experience, Rothenberger and her husband had decided that they wouldn't have more kids if that's what birth was "supposed to look like." So instead, they took charge and made it better than they could have ever imagined.
At first, Rothenberger never imagined wanting photos of her during labor.
It was Rothenberger's midwife who brought up the idea of having a birth photographer document her delivery, and she wasn't immediately sold. "All I could think was, 'Why in the world would anyone want pictures of that!?'" she says. "My only visions of birth were what I had experienced with my first."
But the strength and calm captured -- even during "intense" moments -- prove the power of birth photography.
"Things got intense but my birth team was right there and did exactly what I needed them to do and say," she says. "The photos we have of these moments are priceless."
FEATURED VIDEO:
Despite her giving everyone a scare, baby's reaction to being born was just as peaceful as the setting.
When her little one was first born, Rothenberger's midwife was concerned that the baby girl wasn't breathing right away. But it turns out that the baby was — she just didn't feel the need to scream or cry. "She was so calm and relaxed from being born in such a peaceful environment, to a mother who was so relaxed and unmedicated that she didn't cry or seem rigid," she says.
It only took one look for Rothenberger to know that everything would be okay.
"Our midwife knew exactly what to do and we never felt nervous or fearful. She stimulated her gently and realized she was breathing just fine," she says. "She not only picked her head up but pushed herself up on her elbows to take a good look at me and her daddy. It was love at first sight and the bonding was so emotional!"
The experience completely changed how this couple views childbirth.
"The memories are unforgettable," she says. "Our outlook on life and birth are now so very different from the fearful mindset we started with six years ago! Birth is a normal and natural process, not a medical emergency that needs to be coerced into a downward spiral of fear-based interventions."
After soaking it all in, she moved inside to breastfeed in the comfort of her own bed.
Rothenberger didn't feel connected or in control when she tried to breastfeed at the hospital. "They told me it was time to feed him so they put him on my chest, grabbed his head, and grabbed my breast to put it in his mouth. I felt so disconnected," she says.
But this time, she was able to savor the moment with her little family and do things at her own speed. "We moved from the pool to my bed and initiated our nursing relationship naturally and all of her assessments were done right on my chest or on the bed beside me," she says. "The team left us to rest, we had time to bond and soak in those first moments."
"THIS is how birth is meant to be for our family."
"We experienced some healing from the experience we had with our first," she says. "Evidence-based care along with an understanding of natural birth process can make a world of difference in the birth experience. A little outdoor exposure is a bonus!"
