Hello 😊
My name is Cecilie Larsen.
At 25, I gave birth to my daughter at home in the middle of the living room🏡
I experienced how amazing it can be to give birth at home, and I shared that experience with many other birth mothers - including first-time mothers like myself!

Here is my report.

March 17, 2021

Banner billede

On the day of my due date, I woke up a little after 7 a.m. with contractions. I had only slept for 3.5 hours, as we had watched the series a little too late. I was super excited and saw that the contractions came every 5-12 minutes and lasted between 20 seconds and 1.5 minutes. After half an hour, I got up, and my girlfriend woke up a little later. We prepared to give birth at home, but shortly after, my contractions stopped. We cleaned everything up due to corona and relaxed afterwards.

At 2 pm we had to go to the midwife's check-up. I was measured to be 1.5 cm. dilated, so the contractions had done some good. I had my membranes broken, and afterwards we went home and slept for a few hours . A little after 4 pm I woke up again with small contractions and went out into the living room to work on the contractions that I had practiced. Henrik was unsure if it was going on because I was dancing around with joy between contractions.
Half an hour later, the contractions had become more intense, and I was now standing with my arms stretched out against the wall, bending my legs back and forth, and doing labored breathing while counting to 60. That's when I knew the contractions were over and I got a little break.

At 6:20 PM my mother came with fruit, flags and cold cuts for the upcoming birthday, and we decided that she would rather stay, because now I was having regular contractions. Henrik baked buns while my mother lit cozy candles. Everything felt so homely and safe throughout the birth session.

Midterbillede

At 7 p.m. we called the home birth program. She was unsure whether it was time for a visit, as I was giving birth for the first time and had good energy both during and between contractions, which had only been going on for 2 hours. It was a good thing we agreed to a check-up, because a little over an hour later at 8:04 p.m. I had contractions.
Henrik called the midwife, who luckily was downstairs. I lay on the couch, gasping for breath with my mother, who had to help me not to push, which my body naturally tried to do.

At 8:04 PM the midwife arrived and checked me right away. I was 10 cm dilated. It was so good that I had to push along with the contractions. My water broke after a few pushes.
Henrik helped me put on lip balm and cocoa with a straw. I lay on my back and sides with my leg pulled up to protect myself from tears, but our daughter didn't reach down far enough.

When I got up and knelt on all fours, great progress was made immediately. Henrik filmed, and my mother held warm cloths.

Midterbillede

My midwife was informative and calm, as I had wanted, and I felt comfortable throughout the birth.

I clearly remember when the midwife said, "Cecilie, you're going to have the next labor or the next labor again". I get tears in my eyes every time I hear it. I was so relieved, even though I didn't even think it was now, because I had read about the ring of fire, and I don't think it had been that bad yet, but now our girl was ready to come out.

She was cramping while we were waiting for a contraction. The midwife tried to induce one by pressing on my ankles and stomach, and I had a small one and pushed along. The midwife pressed on my tailbone to help her head come out completely, after I had been pushing for 1.5 hours. It didn't feel like that long at all, I think. But it had all gone by so fast.

At 9:39 p.m., 5.5 hours from the first contraction after my nap, our daughter was born.

Midterbillede

I didn't make it to the birthing tub, so that says something about how fast and smooth it went. Even though I was the one giving birth, it was a shared experience. If my "sales pitch" before the home birth wasn't convincing, the birth itself was definitely convincing.

I gave birth shortly after the placenta, and I escaped without any ruptures.

My mother helped me breastfeed our daughter while the midwife wrote notes. Afterwards, we ate warm homemade birthday buns with chocolate spread and fruit.

Midterbillede

A few hours later, my mother and the midwife left, and Henrik, Miley and I got into bed. I couldn't really sleep because I was so happy that I had given birth to our perfect little creature, even at home, as I had dreamed of. I was so emotional about the experience, and I couldn't help but look at my beautiful little human.

I want to give other pregnant women the opportunity and knowledge that a home birth can be a safe, powerful and such a beautiful experience.

Everyone deserves a birth that's half as good as mine!