Jennifer’s due date came and went. We waited. Then 41 weeks passed. Again, we waited. The 42 week mark came and went. At 42+1 days, Jennifer contacted me at 2am to say that she was having contractions and she’d keep me updated. Yes! The next day, I was summoned to the birth center early in the morning. Jennifer’s story takes many twists and turns as birth is not always linear. This mama labored so peacefully. At one point, it was storming outside - thunder shook the building but inside, soft praise and worship played.

Jennifer and Ryan labored together - Ryan holding her up and being a literal pillar to lean on while she worked their baby down. He only left her side twice to run to the car in the rain and again to eat dinner. Before we knew it, night had fallen and Jennifer was exhausted. The midwives decided that the best course of action would be to transfer Jennifer to the hospital where she was able to get an epidural and rest. She had been laboring for almost 30 hours at this point. She gave birth to their baby girl, Emma the next morning.

Once again, I am amazed my the resilience and silent strength of birthing folk.