[Birth Stories] Fast Homebirths And Liminal Spaces With A Pregnant Funeral Director

If birth and death are liminal bookends to our human experience, what conversations emerge as a pregnant funeral director is attended by a grieving midwife? Anna Walsh shares the story of her two fast births, and how she felt safe, heard, and respected as she transferred to the hospital for a retained placenta after her first birth (and cheered the second one when it came easily!). In this season of introspection and remembrance, Anna shares with Adriana her insights on the power of companionship through these connected spaces, how she intentionally combined two comfort measures to help her through her birth, along with the hearse drivers’ particular feelings about driving around a very pregnant person.

Related resources*:

• The Six Needs of Mourning, Center for Loss & Life Transition
• Premature Rupture of Membranes, StatPearls
• Spiritual Midwifery, by Ina May Gaskin
• Transformed by Birth, by Britta Bushnell
• the “birth stool” Anna used in the shower
• Tul’ix Indigenous Arts website (formerly known as the Arvigo® Institute), for abdominal massage

Related Birthful episodes:

• Is Homebirth For You?
• How Prenatal Yoga Can Help Protect Your Energy (And Why This Is Important!)
• Why Do Prenatal Yoga?
• How To Prepare Siblings For Life With A Newborn
• Shaking And The Primal Nature Of Birth
• Protecting Your Perineum
• Talking Pelvic Health With A Physical Therapist

Image description: A black-and-white image of Anna Walsh, who is wearing a long black dress and sunglasses, holding her baby in a cemetery

About Anna Walsh

Anna Walsh (she/her) works in death care, companioning with families through loss as a licensed funeral director. She specializes in developing meaningful ceremony and rituals across faith traditions and believes in the power of participation to help the grieving process. She is a leading provider of green burial services, home funerals, and witnessed cremations. Anna lives in Kensington, Brooklyn with her husband and their two children, both born at home. Outside of the funeral home, she can be found at the flower shop, the book store, or trying to learn how to skateboard.