Happy Thursday, everyone! You all know what that means - it's Birth Story Day, my favorite day of the week! Today, I'm thrilled to share an incredibly unique and inspiring birth story. Our brave mother this week, Emily Orcutt, had to face not only the journey into motherhood, but also an unexpected change in birth centers. Emily, a fellow doula, handled these challenges with such grace and courage. I can't wait to share with you her heartfelt journey that's all about surprises, adaptability, and unyielding strength.

Photo taken by Manawa Birth and Edited by Danielle Kent: Birth Photographer and Doula

For Emily, pregnancy came as an unexpected surprise. "Getting pregnant was not in our plans for 2022. It was a HUGE surprise when I took the test to confirm what I had already anticipated and felt." Despite the surprise, Emily quickly found herself getting excited about her unplanned journey to parenthood. She recalls, “My first symptoms were nausea and vomiting and it progressively got worse. Being a birth worker, I had in mind where I wanted to birth, and quickly scheduled an appointment at Seasons Midwifery and birth center in Thorton.

Having a birth center birth where I could trust my body to birth my baby was something so important to me. However, I did have a back up plan in the event we needed more care for myself or baby. So as long as my pregnancy was going normal and safely, I knew it would happen at a birth center. And it was! Other then aches and tiredness, my pregnancy was textbook. Baby grew healthy and strong, I stayed active and took care of myself through the midwife appointment and regular chiropractic care.

Seasons was nothing short of amazing and I loved my care there with the wonderful staff and midwives. Unfortunately they were abruptly shut down during my third trimester, which caused me to transfer care. It was such a hard transition because I LOVED Seasons so much and couldn’t imagine birthing else where. After many discussions with friends and fellow birth workers, I settled on Birth Center of Denver. And they were just as amazing.”

Her Birth Story

“December 13 I went about my normal activities that day. I had a few appointments scheduled that I attended and planned to finish the remaining galleries I had in my queue that week. That day I felt off, not sick or tired, just off. I even told my doula that. I had a chiropractic appointment, my 38 week midwife appointment, and a pedicure with my cousin that day, and ate my partner’s Mom’s spicy food. I think that combination helped kick start it all.

As I was getting ready for bed, I finished brushing my teeth and laid down in bed. As soon as I laid down, my water broke - but I didn’t believe it at first! I told Alex, ‘Either my water just broke, or I peed myself.’ And quickly ran to the bathroom to figure out what happened. I changed my clothes, put a pad on, sat on the birth ball to feel if more water came out. Nothing happened for a few minutes so I decided to go to bed and see if labor would wake me up. That was 11:00 PM. At 1:50 AM a contraction woke me up. I ran to the bathroom to discover more water leaked on the pad and I had bloody show! Yay! My body WAS in labor! We called the midwives to let them know, and began timing contractions. They were 2-3 minutes apart and slowly getting more intense. At 3:30 we called the birth center to tell them we were going to start heading their way since we were 45 minutes away from them. The whole car ride I stayed in my zone, breathing through contractions. Closing my eyes. Only opening them to see how far apart they were. They were still 2 minutes apart. I couldn’t believe this was happening.

We arrived at the birth center right around 4:30 AM and I cried as soon as Alex parked the car. It was such an emotional release to be at the birth center, IN LABOR, getting ready to have a baby. My contractions were getting more intense, and I wanted to get in the tub as soon as I got checked in. They checked me, I was basically 100% effaced, dilated to about 4, and baby’s head was at a zero station. Hence why my contractions were ALL in my hips. I got in the tub and man that really helped. My main doula was not able to make it due to road closures, so she sent in her back up, Beka, who is a good friend of mine as well. Contractions were getting more intense and I was getting very vocal. I could tell Alex was nervous but trusted the process as much as he could. He really did amazing. I asked for Nitrous Oxide for pain management, and man was that my best friend for a while. I had to get out of the tub to start using it, and things sped up so fast. At 7, they had the shift change and I was hollering at that point for more relief. I was exhausted, couldn’t rest between contractions because they came so fast, and I was just done. The midwife told me that they need to check me to make sure if we did transfer, that I wouldn’t have a baby on the way. She checked me, I was at a 7. After I heard baby’s heart beat and listened to the midwife’s calming supportive words and my doulas, I decided to keep trying at the birth center. Rocking on the birth ball, squeezing the comb, using the nitrous, and hip squeezes. Then I got in the tub and felt pushy. At about 8 AM the midwife checked me - I was fully dilated and baby’s head was LOW.

They say when you’re in transition you go into another world. Boy was I in a WHOLE other world. After getting checked, my body FINALLY gave me a break. It was such an out of body feeling. Alex was there holding my hands, cheering me on with positive words, Beka keeping me grounded and documenting the whole thing, with the midwife and nurse close by. I began to push around 8:10/8:20 AM. Originally when I envisioned pushing as breathing baby down. There was none of that . I pushed with all my might and as loudly as I could have been. It was wild. I checked myself after a few pushes and felt baby’s head. I knew we were close. I was moving around the tub in different positions, and eventually landed in hands and knees. Then I heard the midwife tell Alex, ‘Alright Alex come over here to catch your baby’ he responds, ‘Okay let me take my watch off’ After a couple more pushes, Alex catches her, and passes her with the midwife in the water into my arms. My baby girl was here. Born at 9:09 AM. Her cry was so beautiful. Her cord was thick and juicy. And she was SO CHEESY!!! Thats what happens when you have a 38 weeker . I couldn’t believe it. Alex and I cried together looking at our beautiful baby girl. So much hair. Chubby cheeks. Taking it all in.

A few minutes after Rosie was born, the midwives helped me out of the tub with baby girl and walked over to the bed. Something I felt was impossible, but that’s adrenaline for ya! We snuggled in bed together for a few hours and soaked in what the f*ck just happened. The midwife team did what they needed to to make sure we were ok, then gave us our golden hours as a new family of three. The only part that was rude was the postpartum contractions. Those are rough!!! My main doula arrived and we cried together.

Eventually they did the newborn exam, let me rinse off, ate my favorite meal from Syrup, and took a NAP. Sheesh. That nap was crucial! We went home at 3:00 PM that day to start our life as a family of three. Life was so good. I am SO proud of myself. I had the birth I envisioned, with a few changes, but overall exactly what I wanted. Birth is wild, intense, emotional, loud, and so fucking beautiful.

Creating a birth team in a birth space with trusted providers makes ALLLLLL the difference. I felt so safe, supported, and cared for the whole time, and so did Alex. He was nervous as heck the whole time, but damn he was amazing. I’m so grateful for this experience and how much it will change my doula role in future births.”

For Emily, trust and patience were the two crucial elements that saw her through her birth journey. "Trust. Trust is the biggest thing to follow during birth. Trust your body, your mind/intuition, the process. Patience. Be patient with yourself, your baby and the journey ahead." These wise words from Emily truly emphasize the power of trusting your own body and the process of birth.

When not navigating her own journey into parenthood, Emily helps others through their journey as a birth doula and a newborn, family, maternity, and birth photographer. You can learn more about Emily and her services at Emily June Photography & Doula Services at www.emilyjunephotodoula.com.

I am incredibly thankful to Emily for opening up and sharing her beautiful birth journey with all of us! Every birth story is distinct, filled with moments of anticipation, strength, and unparalleled joy. Do you have a birth story that you're ready to share? I would be honored to hear from you! Your experience could inspire, bring comfort to, and empower other parents who are navigating their own journey towards parenthood. Please fill out this form to share your story. Remember, every birth story deserves to be heard, and by sharing, we continue to uplift, support, and learn from each other.