The Birth of Charlotte Melissa Wilkins

houston-homebirth-story[1]I was always terrified of birth. I remember asking my mom when I was about 11 or 12 why my aunts had to have IV and machines hooked to them and have the ‘needle’ in their back or surgery. I remember asking my mom if that was how we all have babies. I remember telling her I never wanted to have a baby if I had to have one that way. It wasn’t until after I got married and moved to England when I was 20 (in 2004) that I realized that women have options and not all women are drugged and hooked up to machines. I loved to watch the British reality show about midwifes it was really nice to see women birthing naturally. I also Loved the documentary ‘The Business of being born’ from then on I knew I would never give birth in a hospital or have an OB deliver my baby. My husband and I moved back to Texas a few years later. When I became pregnant I already knew I would have Darlene as my midwife. I had spoken to her 2 years earlier when my husband and I decided to have a baby. She made me feel comfortable and I felt we were on the same page of what I wanted for my birth. I felt safe and loved being pregnant I had no worries even though my blood pressure was a bit high. Darlene was great with prenatal care I managed to lower my blood pressure and stabilize it with natural herbs in “Blood Pressurex”.  She advised me what types of vitamins I and supplement my body needed. I had a pretty easy pregnancy.

 

On October 18, 2010 my dog, Jerky, was whining and woke me up at 3:00am! I thought he needed to go outside to pee, as soon as I stood up my water broke! I was shocked because I was 2 weeks early! I woke my husband up and called Darlene, since I wasn’t having contractions yet she advised me to get some sleep and she would call in a couple of hours. So I went to bed and tried to sleep but I couldn’t. All I kept thinking of is I can’t wait to see my baby and Oh my goodness my father in law is going to be here when I give birth (He was visiting from England).About half an hour after my water broke I started having contractions. They were not painful so I stayed in bed. About 15 minutes later they became more frequent and more painful. That’s when I called Darlene. I spent most of my time walking and sitting until Darlene and her assistant arrived around 11 am. When she got here she did an exam and I was already 5 centimeters dilated and almost completely effaced. My 12 year old sister and mom came to see me around 1 pm. It was like a party so many people in our house. My mom stayed for lunch and went back to work. Around 2pm I was ready to get in the tub! My husband and sister went in with me. It was amazing how my body just did what houston-home-birth-story[1] it had to do. There was no way stopping it! I pushed for about 20 min and my beautiful baby girl was born at 3:00pm sharp! 12 hours of labor. By 7 pm we were all having dinner celebrating our little Charlotte Melissa Wilkins she was 6lbs 5 ounces. And 19.5 inches long. This birth was amazing I couldn’t have asked for a better birth J I hope Darlene will be available for my next birth.

 

-Melissa Wilkins

 

Darlene Dorries-Scrivner, Licensed Midwife
Member of Association of Texas Midwives
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“It’s not just the making of babies, but the making of mothers that midwives see as the miracle of birth.” ~Barbara Katz Rothman~”