The Birth of Ulrenn - A Family Affair
The Backstory
By Roots Community Birth Center Client Whitney White
I am the mother of three babies born at Roots; Quinn (2016), Vonn (2021), and Ulrenn (2023). The Roots staff nurtured Baby and me in each pregnancy, and gently guided us during each birth. In all three births I was unmedicated, empowered, supported, and took my babies home with me at the end of the day.
In 2011 I had a traumatic hospital birth with my oldest child, Zealynn. The three Roots births have been completely healing for me, and have also had a lifelong effect on my two oldest who are both females. They are now both not only unafraid of birth but also love the process. They attended the births of our youngest two, and came out of the experiences with the healthiest view of pregnancy and childbirth of any young girls I’ve met - an incredible and unexpected effect of carefully choosing the right place to birth.
Upon initially discovering Roots I was thrilled to find somewhere safe to have an intervention-free birth, but over the years I’ve been more in awe and impressed by Rebecca’s ability to maintain this positive birth environment over time. No matter how many years pass before I go to birth another baby at Roots, both the staffing and space are warm and welcoming. Rebecca is obviously very careful about her choice of employees, with the result that every single one of them is motherly. We even became attached to the front desk staff!
Not only does Rebecca have the intellect to completely understand birth medically, she also has the wisdom to completely understand birth spiritually. This shows throughout the entire birth center, from her choice in staffing to keeping all spaces well supplied and comfortable.
The Birth of Ulrenn, June 2023
It turns out that after having a few babies, you know when labor is starting. There had been a drought, and this was the first rainy weekend in a long time. The rain energy seemed to begin the birth process. So at 4am on June 25th I laid in bed with my husband enjoying the rushes I knew were beginning to open my body. We relaxed into the sensations together and rested until our children woke up. We then slowly began packing up, maintaining calm so that labor could continue to progress. I called the midwives and told them we were going to come in around 10:30am, and found out that we were going to be one of the rare occurrences where two mothers birthed at the same time - another mother was already there! We had a 45 minute drive and I spent the time listening to the birth meditations I had loved throughout pregnancy.
When we arrived, the cozy pink room was all set up for us - a room we had only briefly seen before. Our birth party was myself, my husband, and our three children. The pink room was perfectly comfortable for all of us, and after settling in and doing some yoga we decided to walk to Webber Park. The walk to the park from the birth center is beautiful, and it got labor to progress for me with the added benefit of burning up some excited kid energy. We returned to Roots more calm after our walk, and asked our midwife, Rachel, to fill the tub. The kids cuddled in the bed with snacks and watched a show while my husband and I kissed in the warm water. He massaged me through more surges and we kept the oxytocin high.
After a while, we got out to eat lunch and nap our toddler. He is still nursing to fall asleep at nap times, so I got comfortable in bed with him and put him down. While doing this I had some rushes that told me I was getting close to full dilation, so once he was asleep I took my labor-aid to the tub and relaxed once more. The midwives were managing both births beautifully, and never once made us feel forgotten. The room was stocked with all the towels, pillows, and blankets we needed the entire time.
This second time in the tub I closed my eyes and took a trip to what my husband and I call Birth Realm. My deep breathing and changing positions became a kind of humming and rocking. I was uninhibited and let the primate in me takeover. The midwives knew I wanted to stay in the zone and left me, my body, and my husband to mostly do our own thing. I was slightly worried about nausea at transition because it had been bad at my birth two years ago, but my nurturing 11 year old was alternating cold cloths in a bowl of ice water for me and kept peppermint oil where I could smell it. I barely registered transition, and suddenly felt Baby’s head pushing against the amniotic sack and into the birth canal. The window was open with an exhilarating breeze coming in, and I realized two things simultaneously; that it had begun to rain and that Baby was emerging! With a couple rushes and instinctual pushes, the sack broke and Baby’s head slid down. The head was out so fast that when Rachel checked for crowning she was surprised by the entire head, with baby’s face looking up at everyone. One more big, growling-loud push from me and our baby was born. Rachel expertly turned Baby to unwind the cord from his neck, and passed to me. Our thoughtful 7 year old had written jobs for everyone at the birth, and hers was to announce the gender, so she called out “It’s a boy!”. I laid back on the side of the tub and cried just as Baby Boy began to cry too. Looking at the beautiful faces of my happy family around me and having my warm newborn in my arms, knowing my hard work at the birth was done and he was safe, and this being our fourth sweet child made it the happiest moment of my entire life.
Baby latched onto my breast right away, Rachel helped me deliver the placenta in the tub, and then she and Ashtyn gave us time as a family. Whenever Baby took a nursing break they would do parts of his newborn screening. We all had vegan brats with fresh fruit and veggies. Then after a few hours our happy family, including teeny-tiny 7lb 2oz sweet boy packed into the car and drove home.
The next day we had a family meeting on our bed, all staring at Baby, and we named him Ulrenn Rain.
Our Birth Intention was to have our whole family settled into the birth center, and have a beautiful day dedicated to the birth of Baby Number Four. This is exactly what we got. At Roots, you’ll feel like you are at home and no one will ever rush you. We were there for a full 12 hours and were only met with patience and care from the midwives - even with two births unfolding at once! We were comfortable to do things we would’ve done at home: take a walk, shower, make and eat meals, take a nap, etc. Thank you to everyone at Roots for helping make this pregnancy and birth exactly what our family wished for. Love to you all!
