Welcome! Why am I making this website? Well, for starters, I want to get information out to moms or soon to be moms about prenatal and postpartum issues that quite frankly, no one is talking about.

 Here is the background for my birth story:

 In the state of Alabama, our birth options are few and far between. Ever since I was in chiropractic school, I dreamt of having a baby at home should I ever be lucky enough to become pregnant. It’s not that I don’t like the medical profession (they saved my life, more on that later) I just wanted the experience without intervention, from the comfort of “home.” When my husband Jonathan and I started thinking about having a baby, I began researching like crazy. I was so disappointed to realize my options were limited, and a home birth was not even possible in Alabama. So, in typical fashion of my personality, I started to dive really deep into the birth world. No childbirth education classes offered by a natural minded person in Gulf Shores/Foley? Great, sign me up. I’ll do the work to become a certified childbirth educator, I’ll help other moms in the future. Can’t have a home birth in Alabama? No problem, we will have a border baby in Mississippi, it’s only an hour and a half away. Whatever hurdles we discovered, I thought I had a solution for overcoming it. I can still have the birth I desired, just with a few hiccups and hindrances to overcome along the way. 

My mentality around birth before having a baby, was, if I do everything “right” and push through the pain, I can have a vaginal birth without intervention. I can have a baby born at home and it will be beautiful. What I learned is that that was the furthest from the truth for me. (Just a caveat, I still love all things birth, and especially love reading about your home birth experiences. This is just my experience.) I did all the things…weekly chiropractic adjustments, I exercised until my feet would not allow, I did spinning babies, I had weekly massages, I did my birth affirmations, I had a doula, I took childbirth education classes. I was prepared. 

What I wasn’t prepared for was a rupture of membranes without labor for 48 hours. What I wasn’t prepared for was a cervix that refused to dilate for four days despite doing “all the things.” What I wasn’t prepared for was developing high blood pressure. What I wasn’t prepared for was the pure exhaustion that comes from standing and having contractions for days. Last but not least, I was definitely not prepared to have my body cut into to bring my baby into this world. Never in my wildest dreams did I think my home birth would end in an emergency cesarean under general anesthetic. The physical and emotional pains are still very real 13 months postpartum, and I am honored to share this experience with you. 

 Stay tuned for the full birth story of Hazel Jane.