No Need to Push, with Naomi Wilcox-Lee

More “Birth Stories” for the summer! Today’s story comes from Naomi Wilcox-Lee, who shares how she prepared to bring joy and bliss to her birth, along with all the little ways her family and husband helped her do that, and how she ended up birthing like a rock-star without having to actually push. Check it out!

What we talked about:

• Her IVF journey
• Why she chose a homebirth
• Taking a bath, listening to the podcast, and then birthing like a rockstar
• Using all the techniques: hands and knees, over birth ball, with TENS machine and hypnobirthing tracks
• A husband on a mission to create the perfect birth environment
• Boosting oxytocin throughout pregnancy with comedy shows
• As things get real, you don’t quite make it past the sofa
• Calming lavender, and (possibly) water-breaking Clary Sage
• Using nitrous oxide
• A blissful transition with the help of family messages
• No pushing!
• Using gravity and patience to get the placenta out
• Creating a birth menu for easy reference

Resources mentioned on the show*:

• Naomi’s written birth story on her blog
• Post on why she chose a homebirth
• Post on how she prepared for a homebirth
• Hypnobirthing.com
• Mamatens Mytime Maternity Tens Drug Free Pain Relief for Labour, TENS machine
• Mentioned podcast episode: Birthing like a Rock Star, with Gena Kirby & Lesley Everest (EP# 41)

All photos are used with permission, courtesy of Naomi Wilcox-Lee

Smiling happily during active labor

The scene that her husband set

Meeting baby

Feeding right away

A little larger, and older – during early postpartum days

Lots of skin-to-skin!

The happy family

Bigger still!

Title music: “Vibe Ace” by Kevin MacLeod, from the Free Music Archive / CC BY (edited for length).

Sponsorship music: “Air Hockey Saloon” by Chris Zabriskie, from the Free Music Archive / CC BY (edited for length).