Born at Home in Minneapolis, Minnesota | A Preview of a Swift Birth Story in Photographs
November 7, 2020 | 2:06 pm
The Gather Birth team has been to a lot of speedy births lately, why could that be? We have a sneaking suspicion and thought we’d share a little of the science behind it. No, babies aren’t just born faster here in the Minneapolis and Saint Paul, MN areas.
This year, we’ve been so lucky to support and photograph many families we’ve worked with before. We love working with “repeat families” as they’re called in the birth doula and birth photography world. There’s nothing like the relationship you’ve built with a family when you’ve shared the special moments of labor and the birth of a baby.
Like we said, we’ve worked with quite a few families who are having their second, even third child. Why does this mean faster labor?
Labor is a hormonal process in our bodies. Most of the research seems to indicate that when labor begins on it’s own, it begins when cortisol released from our baby’s lungs interacts with an increase in estrogen in our bodies. When these two hormones meet, it sets off the chain reaction of other major labor hormones needed to birth our baby. What are those hormones? Well oxytocin and endorphins are the two biggest players, but there are several more in the mix. These hormones are what signal our uterus to contract, waking up our baby to start their descent down toward the birth canal to be born.
With a first time parent, this process can take some time, on average 12 hours. It makes sense our first babies take a bit longer, because our body has never made this special labor cocktail before and it can take time for us to get use to the sensations we’re experiencing. Often, for second time parents, not only is their body a pro at creating labor hormones and can do it much faster, but they’re more relaxed with the idea of labor, and likely more mobile, which can help baby descend into the birth canal even faster. The combination of more hormones more quickly, plus a more relaxed, confident and experienced birthing person usually equals a much faster birth.
So there you have it. And now, enjoy these sweet labor, birth and postpartum photos from another one of our speedy home births.
Home Birth Midwifery Team: Twin Cities Midwifery
Photography: Gather Birth Cooperative
Welcome to the world, sweet Lars! We are so glad you’re here.
