“Sarah tells me that there are a number of stretches I can do to turn him. And for that, I have to come out of the bathtub. I let her words sink in. I feel a resistance to come out of the bath. My intuition tells me to stay where I am. I can handle the pain. I trust my body. I’m staying.”
Remembering > Pepijn was born in a posterior position. This means that his face was positioned toward my stomach instead of my back. In the Netherlands, this is called “watching the stars”. It can be more challenging and painful to deliver a baby in this position. My midwife explained to me that I could do certain stretches to move my baby with his face towards my back, but that I then had to leave the bathtub. The warm water had been so supportive to catch the contractions and worked as a natural medicine to reduce my pain. I checked with myself if I was open to leaving the bathtub. My intuition told me that it was more supportive for me to stay. My body moved spontaneously and I followed her. I trusted my body completely. She showed me the way.
* Dance With Birth is the name of the film I made about the natural water birth of my son in 2019. Lin to the movie: https://www.tamaracatharina.com/dance-with-birth
I would love this to be a space for engagement, exploration and connection. Please practice nonviolence in your comments. If you have a request (for example, because you would like support or collaboration), you can send me an email: message@tamaracatharina.com
