Willa
Calgary Homebirth Photography

Whenever I arrive at a birth I am typically asked by the attendants if I have children of my own, when I answer I don’t they then ask me if I am a doula, to which I answer I am not. In nearly every way I am only a witness to births, arriving with none of my own experience. Perhaps that is why every time I leave marvelling of the sheer fortitude of women.

How when I arrive there is limited conversation, punctuated by contractions, when everyone present offers her space. How the conversation eventually turns from other topics to the current, the time between each sentence shortening until it there is nothing to be said. Watching as each woman honours her intuition, walking the stairs, bouncing on a ball, leaning, squatting, swaying.  As it gently transitions from one stage to the next, how her body may pull away from the changes before embracing them, and eventually a baby is brought into the world. Truly, I have a hard time conveying through words what an honour it is to be present for these moments.

This is the story of Willa’s birth. Younger sister of Birdy, born at home, into the loving arms of her parents Kaihla and Mark, with the assistance of the midwives at Aurora Midwifery.

Read about her parent’s experience of the evening here.

So much love to your new family of four.