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My name is Shawna, and my husbands name is Ernie. We live in Ontario, California. Ernie is a manager at a well known jewelery store, and I am a server at a well known restaurant chain. We have a 3 year old little boy named Christian, and I am currently 34 weeks pregnant with a baby girl. My pregnancy with Christian was very easy. I had absolutely no sickness or pain at all. My contractions started only 15 minutes before my water broke, and Christian was born 5 hours later. Having such a short labor was wonderful. However, while in the hospital they were EXTREMELY restrictive. They said I was progressing too quickly, and wanted me to lay down, I couldn't eat or drink anything, I wasn't even given ice-chips. I felt like a prisoner. I always expected the birth of my first child to be a calm, peaceful birth, but it was anything but. During my labor I remember feeling helpless, that no matter what I asked for I was always denied. Even after Christian was born, they placed him on my stomach for a few short moments while they wiped him down, then the nurses took him to weigh him, and so forth. My doctor had performed on me an episiotomy, without my consent. I didn't even know she had done it until she was stitching me up, and I asked her "did you give me an episiotomy?" She responded "yes" as if it were no big deal. Needless to say, I hated my entire experience with the hospital staff. I remember sitting in the hospital bed thinking "if I ever have another child, I really don't want it to be in a hospital."

One time my husband and I went to the movies, and during the previews there was an advertisement for the Aqua Natal Birth Center. I said jokingly to Ernie "next time we are going to have our baby there!" I had never heard of delivering a baby in water before so it kind of sparked an interest. A few days after seeing the ad, I decided to check out the website. I went to aquanatalbirthcenter.com, and was amazed at all the benefits of water birth. And what caught my eye IMMEDIATELY was how peaceful everything sounded. I was very impressed that everything I was reading from their website, I agreed with. At the birth center, Joyce allows the baby to come when it is ready, not based on her vacation schedule like so many obstetricians. I loved that they were willing to do a VBAC. When I delivered Christian it was vaginally, however I had been talking to my girlfriends who all wanted to try a vaginal delivery after their cesarean, however their doctors would not allow it. I really really appreciated that they allowed the mothers so much freedom during their labor. When Ernie and I found out we were pregnant, I scheduled a tour at the birth center. Ernie who was a little skeptical at first, completely fell in love with Lynn, and Joyce, and the birth center that they established. When we left the birth center he called practically everyone in his phone book to tell them about the amazing midwife he had just met, and the amazing birth center he had just visited. It was so exciting to see him so pumped up about it. I was really confident and comfortable with both Lynn and Joyce, and we knew for sure, that this is where we wanted to have our baby.

Shortly after beginning our prenatal appointments Joyce asked if we might be interested in allowing our birth to be on the Internet on a live stream. At first I was extremely nervous about it. But I started to look at the bigger picture and my mind was put at ease. I want people to be more informed about water birth. I want people to know that water birth is safe, and comfortable. So mostly I want to be able to educate people of the benefits that water birth has to offer. We are now very excited to share the birth of our daughter with anyone interested. I hope that people who are considering a water birth, decide to do it, because of what they have seen from me, and my birth; and I hope that those people that are misinformed, or against water birth learn that it truly is a beautiful option. I really want to help teach women about their options in regards to childbirth, and I am excited and honored to be able to share our baby's birth with you!

Shawna

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