Constanze Kirmis has four children. The 34-year-old gave birth to three of them without medical help. "Alone birth" is not prohibited in Germany, but the mother can be held responsible if something happens to the baby during the birth.
I go my very own way
As long as I can remember, it has been like this for me: I go my own way. This means that I listen to myself very carefully and have a good feeling for what my body, mind and soul need. This attitude brought me wonderfully through the birth of our first child seven years ago. I went to the hospital for this, but drove home with my husband and baby immediately after the delivery. I felt what had to be done – during the birth as well as when dealing with our newborn.
That is why it was a logical development for me to have the second child two years later at home. Because in Spain, where we lived then, Home births are not common and the employment of an obstetrician costs around 2000 euros, I called a friend midwife in Germany. She wanted to come, but had to give birth to another woman in her town before me. Because it was unclear for so long whether I would have any support during the birth, my husband and I prepared very carefully. We have chosen a good clinic nearby for emergencies and meticulously informed ourselves about everything important in books and on the Internet: What precautions do we have to take? How do you do that with the placenta? What if i'm bleeding? When do we need to get medical help? I was glad that my husband supported me in my project. "I trust you to do it," he said. It was similar with my mother – after all, she gave birth to my little brother herself at home.
My girlfriend was basically unemployed
My girlfriend came in time. But she was basically unemployed: I managed it wonderfully on my own, she was just in the room. Interestingly, the home birth took an hour and a half while the hospital birth took ten hours. For me this was a clear indication that external intervention disrupts the natural process. I also pressed at home during the subsequent births when I felt the need. Simply because I assume that my body knows what it's doing. And it didn't harm me or the children: the babies were totally fit and I didn't suffer a tear.
It sure sounds strange to a lot of women, but after the first home birth I had a lot of fun giving birth. With the third delivery it was clear from the start that my girlfriend would not be able to come to Spain this time. We asked the two older children beforehand if they would like to be there when the baby comes. They wanted to, and that's why I just kept them playing around me than they gradually did at lunchtime in the living room Labor pains used. When you could see the head, I told them that their sibling was going to be born now. And it did so very quickly. The birth rope that I had attached to the ceiling a few days earlier did me a good service for the last contractions. It was great when the newborn suddenly lay on the living room carpet and looked at us very calmly. Quite peaceful and beautiful.
After the placenta is born, we have it umbilical cord pulse, and my husband cut it through with sterile scissors. We tied off the rest with a piece of dental floss. You don't have to do that with a pulsed umbilical cord, but I wanted to.
The fourth birth at the beginning of this year, now back in Germany, did not even take an hour. This time I wanted the child very much give birth in water.
This article originally appeared on Eltern.de.