Kim Allen and Max Harvey

I came to Northern Sun and to see Sarah Ackerly with my second pregnancy, searching for a better birth than that of my first child. I knew I could not bear to have another hospital birth, and I knew Sarah would do everything she could to ensure my birth was at home, just as I wanted. While I may have come in looking for a better birth, in actuality, I got the best birth possible. The combination of having Sarah as my midwife and using the tools of hypnobirthing proved to be invaluable to me. I enjoyed my labor, and I enjoyed my birth; two statements I had never thought possible.

Hypnobirthing and home birthing allowed me to really experience the beautiful process of labor & delivery. I had heard some women talk about painless births, and I had immediately dismissed those women’s experiences as hippy delusions. When it came time for my own home birth, I surrendered to this idea. Surrendering was the smartest decision I have ever made. My labor was certainly intense, but it was not painful, because it was not fearful. That is the beauty of home birth and midwifery. I knew that my body, my baby, and I were going to do this whole birth well, and I surrendered to that force.

Home birthing changed me; I took back the most important act of my life. I took it back from the medical establishment and all its fear-based sterilizations; I took it back from everyone who told me that labor & delivery was a horrific experience to fear in such magnitude that I best not have any more children; I took it back for myself, my daughters, and my future grandchildren. Blessed are the midwives who helped me get there.