The Birth Story of Yazmina Asha Maciaszek

Born 9:20 PM - Friday, July 10th

Jake and I had struggled to conceive for about a year and a half before we finally found out we

were pregnant, right as we arrived in Florida from Canada.

Being out of the country, we immediately started looking for a midwife in the area, and we found

Alora Pratt. We didn't book a consultation with anyone else. The moment we walked into her

office, it felt like one hundred percent the right decision for our family. She has the most gentle

natured soul and kind human being, and her demeanor was so grounding. I felt really safe in her

space from the beginning. We wanted a natural home birth with as little intervention as possible.

Alora was incredible every step along the way. There were some appointments where I felt like she

gave us so much of her time and energy, and it was not just about checking vitals and getting lab

work done. It was really the therapeutic component of talking to her about motherhood, some of

my own challenges with my mum, and some of my fears during pregnancy. I had three friends

pregnant at the same time, all due within one month of each other, and she helped me understand

some of the nuances of what happens in hospital settings versus a midwife setting.

I really had no fears going into birth. I mean, obviously the usual fears of what is this actually

going to feel like and am I going to be able to do it, but with the team I had, Alora and her birth

assistant made it not just possible but empowering.

Our due date based on my last period was June 30th, but Alora adjusted it to July 6th because of an

early ultrasound, and then the twenty-week ultrasound also pointing to early July.

This was a huge factor in my mental state because I felt I had the time I needed for my body to be

able to do the home birth, we would have come very close to the 42-week mark without the

adjustment to the date.

Around July 5th I started getting practice contractions. One night I went from about 7pm until

11:30pm with contractions getting closer together, and then they phased out. This happened again

on the 8th, and I only got three hours of sleep, contractions running from about 11pm until 4:30am

in the morning.

On Thursday the 9th I was very sleep deprived from the night before and was laying low, not really

expecting to go into true labor that day. But contractions started again around 7pm. I hadn't had

any of the usual indications, none of the Hollywood ones like water breaking, and I hadn't lost my

mucus plug either. So it felt like it came on really suddenly, despite the practice contractions the

two days before.

Alora arrived at our house at 4:30am in the morning and stayed with us for the entire labor. The

baby was born at 9:20pm on Friday the 10th.

Alora was incredible every single step of the way. There was a moment where I felt like I wasn't

going to be able to do it, specifically when she told me I was only three to four centimeters dilated,

and that it could potentially take another three to four hours per centimeter of dilation for a first

pregnancy. At that point I honestly didn't think I was going to be able to withstand another 16+

hours.

Right after she checked my dilation contractions started to get irregular, and Alora noted this and

realized my contractions were no longer spaced evenly. I actually ended up having a very scary

eight minute contraction, which Alora said was not necessarily safe for the baby, even though the

baby's vitals seemed fine after it ended.

She thought maybe the baby was in a position where, using a lock and key analogy, the key was in

the lock but needed to turn to unlock the door for the baby to come out. So she did some gentle

spinning baby techniques with me, hips up, a towel over the bum and under the belly on all fours, a

sideline position, and pelvic tilts.

Shortly after that, about three hours later, I was fully dilated, and not long after that I was ready to

push. We got in the tub, and after four pushes our baby was here.

I had zero tearing, and my recovery has been incredible. I was already back on my feet walking

around the next day.

The whole entire process with Alora, from conception all the way through to being able to hold our

baby for the first time, was just the most magical experience. One thing I will say about childbirth

is that it's the hardest thing physically I've ever done, by far, and at the same time it is the most

rewarding and the most empowering thing I've ever experienced.