***TRIGGER WARNING***
Our little angle is two months old! I can't believe it has been two months since I faced my fears about an un-medicated birth, and brought this wonderful blessing into the world!  I want to tell my birth story to help any woman who has been through anything similar, to let you know you too can take back your power!  And to shed light on what a home birth is, how empowering it can be and what a fantastically, amazing experience it is! 

When families take good care of themselves during pregnancy it is rare we have to step in as midwives to intervene in the normal process. This mama took excellent care of herself prenatally and knew after a disappointing first birth in a local hospital she wanted to take her care into her own hands this time around

When a home birth does not work out for one reason or another with a first baby, it can be so redemptive to see families navigate their way peacefully the second go around.

We try to keep it real with our clients. Any birth is a success. It takes great courage to walk into one of the most overwhelming, intense, and beautiful experiences in life- birth. No matter how it happens it takes so much strength and determination. We're excited to open the dialogue more about collaborative care, homebirth transfers, and especially necessary cesareans. 

This is a birth story from a doula client of mine turned midwifery client of Charlie's. A big part of my role as a doula prenatally is giving families information and then holding the space for them to make decisions about their care. I can't tell anyone how to give birth, I can only support the way they want to do it. I want all families to feel good about the support they've chosen. I am so happy that this mama didn't give up looking for the care she wanted during this important time. I'm so grateful she decided to share her VBAC after Special Scar (VBASS) story here with all of you. -Mary Catherine

My VBAC baby is 12 weeks old and I finally have my birth story together to share! Here is my HBAC after special scar story...

It was such an honor to capture Candy's day of birth with Jax. 

Candy's sister hired me to photograph her birth in Dec of 2012 and she gifted my photographic services to her sister for her birth. Such an honor. It felt like I was with family. 

This story comes from one incredible mama. In fact, reading her recount and seeing the photos her photographer captured made me ugly cry quite a bit. Knowing her journey to homebirth, and knowing what her family has been through over the years made her triumph that much sweeter. 

It was such an honor to walk with this family as they planned their VBAC. Brooke is a fitness coach who has made amazing positive health changes with her family and for her pregnancy, and helps others do the same. Always inspired and so faithful, I never doubted their commitment to giving this birth a chance to be everything they wanted it to be. Brooke's labor came on fast and furious, but her sweet sunny-side-up positioned girl decided to keep us on our toes as labor slowed and sped throughout that day. Reading this again reminds me of how much strength and calm was present, and how all things are possible when we give families the support and space to believe in themselves.

I woke up after a peculiar and very real dream the day before we found out we were expecting again.  I had dreamt that I was lying in bed, looking into the side-cared crib, and sleeping peacefully was a sweet baby boy.  The next day I decided to test. Lo’ and behold, we were going to have our second baby!

As a birth photographer I am on call for births from about 38 weeks until baby is born. This means I have my phone with me 24/7 and drop everything when mom is in labor so I can be there to capture the birth and the fresh baby meeting his family. 

Sometimes there are people who are just really great at life. Those people are also usually make pregnancy and childbirth look like an effortless stroll in the park. My gorgeous friend, soul sister, and (future) sister midwife Abby is that person. 

There is something pretty great about women finding their power in the midst of lots of self doubt, high expectations, and pressure from all sorts of forces in their lives. This is one of those stories- and an *almost* holiday birth to boot!

There is something about walking with a long time friend and couple you truly adore as they embark on their special journey into parenthood that is profoundly moving and extra special. To witness your friend find their strength as a woman, and then as a mother is a beautiful, poignant thing! 

My birth story came a few weeks earlier than I expected. I knew that I wanted a natural water birth and I was determine my whole pregnancy to achieve this. In the beginning of my pregnancy I had an OB that was not caring enough for my birth plan

Hi there!! My name is Patricia Cannon (Patty) I'm thrilled to be joining the Barefoot Birth family. I am a photographer who has a passion for capturing birth. Birth photography is what makes my heart happy.

I met Charlie almost a year ago when I was the photographer at a birth she was the student midwife for.

Here is my first birth captured while working with the beautiful Barefoot Birth team!! 

As many of you know, Barefoot Birth began as a small little wish of myself and my best friend Megan. This past summer, I had the huge honor of attending Megan's first homebirth and welcoming her son earthside. Every birth is so special, but to walk with your best friend on one of their most vulnerable and important days is simply magical. 

These are two best friends who I had the honor of caring for simultaneously during their second pregnancies. Katie and Dana were due just days apart from one another. They became inseparable after meeting when they were teenagers. They put their story like this:

This story comes to us from a lovely family Charlie had the honor to walk with through their second birth journey as their doula. Sarah's stories are that of trauma, heartache, determination, and ultimately strength. Through everything, this family has navigated bumps in the road with so much knowledge and peace knowing that they were in control (even when they were not!)  We love to point out that this also shows that doula support is not just for unmedicated vaginal birth! Doulas support families through all sorts of events surrounding childbearing and parenthood.

​We are so honored when our families share their birth stories here in this blog space, and we are honored to share another very important Birth Story with you that is being told through film.

​Like most birth workers, we love us some Ina May. For those of you who aren't familiar, she's known as the "mother of modern midwifery," a self-taught, straight-talking, gentle soul who isn't afraid to take on the establishment for the good of maternal health and better outcomes for birth.

This story comes to us from a beautiful client who is the mama to 3 precious girls. This was her 2nd homebirth. I love how calm she was even while cursing like a sailor to bring her baby earthside. I just adore this family and love that they have shared their story with the world! Enjoy! 

"On Nov 8, 2012 I was 41 weeks pregnant with my 3rd daughter Serenity River. I had a real urge to get some shopping done that evening, so after dinner I ran to Wal-Mart while Chris was home with the big girls. On my way to the store I started having back pain for the first time. So when I got back home, I ended up doing a "Bitch post" for the first time, complaining about my back hurting and was just DONE. I was ready for Serenity to come out and meet the world!  It was after we got the girls to bed that I realized this back pain was coming and going, which meant I was in early labor!! I called Gina and Charlie, my midwife and student midwife, to let them know what was going on. This is when Gina told me she was still not feeling well from being in the hospital sick for 5 days and that she couldn't come to my birth, she would have to send her back up Jill with Charlie.  I was really upset that she wasn't going to make it, but felt very comfortable with Charlie; I knew she was going to take great care of us.

My story is a tad different from many women. I knew what I wanted from my birth experience. I knew from the very beginning that my body was made to do this so I treated my pregnancy as a blessing. In month 4 I went to my OBGYN and handed over the rough draft of my birth plan to see what their thoughts were. I was a member of a practice of 6 doctors, 5 women, and 1 man. The doctor during this visit sat down with me and said “You are going to need some sort of classes to help you get through your first birth naturally. Try either Bradley Method or Lamaze classes. But you’ll need something. We get a lot of women that want to do it naturally…..until they get into the labor suite. Women who prepare have a better chance.” That afternoon I got on my computer, contacted Melissa, the local Bradley instructor, and by 6 pm I was sitting in week 3 of a 12 week session. I got all the materials I needed and my partner, Anthony, and I looked forward to how the class would prepare us for the birth of our child. Weeks went on and on and Bradley Method graduation day came. After completing the course I started toying with the idea of switching to a birth center birth though I planned on a hospital birth. Unfortunately, due to my pregnancy history of anemia, I was risked out of that being an option. Because of this same reason I did not consider a home birth because our house was too far from a hospital should anything go wrong. I had my final birth plan approved by the obstetricians who were on call around the time of my due date, I had two wonderful doulas, bags were packed, and I was prepared to deal with a hospital staff who may scoff at my desires to do things naturally.