The term Butter Birth is often used by birth workers, Doulas, Midwives and Birth Photographers, to describe a birth that has left everyone stunned by its smoothness and beauty.
When I first spoke with this mama back in October, I loved her enthusiasm and energy. She told me about her older children and we spoke about the love for homebirth and its special realm.
She also promised that her baby would arrive before I trip I had planned with my family and that normally would have given me reservations in giving my availability to her.
About a month before her estimated due date, she started to have contractions. Every night, she would put her son to sleep and the surges would start. Punctual and rhymatic.
Every morning she would wake up and the contractions had disappeared.
This created the most enormous pickle in my mind, because we both knew I had to drive 100 miles to get to her. How were we going to know if the contractions were the real deal?
At first this did not sound like a potential butter birth at all. Rather, a lot of stress and worries and fear not to make it in time to capture her birth.
Then a beautiful Thursday morning, mama texted to let me know that she had been having contractions for a while and that she thought the day might have come.
That Thursday morning, I had decided to leave my camera at home, after shuffling it back and forth between clients’ appointments for weeks. So from the Valley I had to return to Santa Monica, grab my stuff and make my way to Murrieta.
As I was driving at rush hour, at some point I felt I was winning the Freeway Bingo. From the 10 to the 60, to the 5, to the 71, to the 91, to the 15, to the 215!
Luckily, I was in great company and listened to Dr Stu’s Podcast which is always so educative and uplifting, especially when you are driving to a homebirth that is bound to be a Butter Birth!
When I arrived, mama was in the birth tub surrounded by her Midwife Amanda and assistant Lena, along with her husband David and her toddler Rowan. She also had a special furry body guard who never left her side and was very weary of my noisy camera clicks.
After a couple of hours of strong contractions and deep sounds, mama started pushing.
As soon as the head of her baby was out, she made the point to pause so that her husband could get her son, who had gone to sleep in the meantime.
At first, her toddler did not want to look, but as soon as he heard his mom guiding him through the process and inviting him to check out baby’s head, he got closer to the birth tub and witness his mom birth their baby.
I loved watching how mom at first simply enjoyed baby by greeting and talking and THEN decided to discover the gender. Surprise surprise the gender surprise baby was a girl!
After a few more moments in the water, the midwives transferred mom and baby in bed, where they stayed for the birth of the Placenta, mom’s tearing assessment and first newborn visit for baby.
Baby got as far as a little ride in midwife’s scale to check her weight, but other than that she stayed closed to mom and definitely under her watch. Always.
This is what birth should always be. This is often what an homebirth is. This is what a Butter Birth exactly is!
Please enjoy the full video of this family Butter Birth story here:
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