35 Years of Home Tulsa Home Birth and Counting

Posted on February 2, 2012 by admin

A lot has changed in 35 years.

The personal computer did not exist 35 years ago.

Phones had cords…attached to walls…35 years ago.

Airbags were folks that wouldn’t stop talking, not a safety feature standard on every car.

Obama was in Chicago, not Washington.

The dollar was strong.  The Euro didn’t exist.

The Walkman hadn’t been invented.

But somethings stay the same.  Ruth Cobb has been Tulsa’s Midwife for more than 35 years.  That means Ruth was assisting women deliver their children at home in Tulsa before Margaret Thatcher was representing the Brits.  It also means that Ruth was performing midwife assisted home births in Tulsa when oil was $13.00 a barrel.

Why do we point this out?  It’s simple.  There are somethings you want to change frequently.  Hair styles, music trends, Presidents that get elected from the Chicago area.  There are other things that you don’t want to change so quickly.  When choosing the midwife to assist your homebirth in Oklahoma, look for an experienced midwife from the Tulsa area.

Ruth Cobb is Tulsa’s Midwife.  You can see some of her pictures over the last 35 years of Tulsa Home Birth experience.  Or drop her a line.  She would love to hear from you on this new invention called the internet.  She’s not sure if it will stick, but it’s pretty cool now anyway.

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Experiencing Homebirth – Overcoming Fear with Joy

Posted on February 1, 2012 by admin

February 1st…Four years ago today, I delivered a beautiful, healthy baby girl.  It was my second homebirth, and after my first one which was very long and hard (though healthy), I was nervous.  I was a little scared of the pain and the long hours of laboring, the back labor that I knew was coming; yet I was determined.  I was determined to have a better experience this time!

My husband called the midwife around 1:00 am, even though I didn’t think it was quite time (maybe he was a little nervous and anxious, too!?)  I labored quietly through the night, even able to sleep between contractions.  At about 9:30 am, my water broke.  At that time, I was in my zone!  I remember laughing with joy at the realization that I was doing a lot better this time around!  I closed my eyes and breathed through the contractions, which did bring back labor!  Hours went by and I was doing so well that and I felt like I was progressing quickly.  I was so ready to see this baby girl, our Zoe Renee (which means Life Born Again)!

Around 2:00 pm I began to feel discouraged.  I was doing great so far, so why was this taking so long!?  I started to cry for the first time (I cried my whole first labor!)  My midwife and her team were so encouraging and quickly brought me back so I wouldn’t lose my focus.  We told funny stories, laughed, just enjoyed the experience…all things that I genuinely wanted, yet nothing was forced.  I walked, rested, waited…

At 4:30 my midwife said it was time to push.  I was so ready, yet I was still scared and couldn’t bring myself to do it.  So we waited, all of them encouraging me and saying that it was time to see this baby!  I waited about 10 minutes and then decided that I’d had enough!  I pushed 3 times and there she was!  I looked at my midwife and said, “Wow, that wasn’t so hard!” which made everyone laugh because, in fact, it was VERY hard work!  But it was the most beautiful experience.  After a few minutes of cleaning her up, I walked back to my bedroom to snuggle up and rest for a while.  It was everything I had hoped for and more…and all in the comfort of my own environment with my handpicked team around me.

Do you have a story you’d like to share?  Submit it in the comments below.  We’d love to hear from you!

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Tulsa Homebirth from a father’s perspective

Posted on January 26, 2012 by admin

Why did I choose a homebirth?  Well, first off, let’s be honest.  I didn’t choose.  My wife had made that call long before I ever entered the picture.  Like a lot of things in our married life, I was willing to smile and nod.  After all, I wasn’t the one that was going to have to endure the labor, right?

Claremore, Tulsa Oklahoma Homebirth

William Wolf, 5 minutes old born at home

I was completely cool during our first midwife appointments.  My wife was giddy.  I was happy she was happy and figured that babies have been born outside of hospitals since the Garden of Eden.  After all, the hospital birth as we know it today is only a hundred years old at best.

I’ll never forget the first time we sat down and watched a homebirth video.  The video started with soft music and a husband gently caressing his wife’s hair.  “Hey I thought, I can do that.  I mean, that’s how we got there in the first place!”  Then the movie shifted and showed a woman giving birth…like actually forcing a human being out of her vagina with the alternating power, weakness, fury and calm that can only be described as the most real sobering I had ever seen in my life.  I remember gripping her hand in fear and saying ‘hey babe, you can totally do that’ as I secretly wondered what on earth we were getting into.

But we were on the train now and had left the station.  We would be having our first child with a midwife at home and that was all there was to it.

That was 6 years ago.  Our first daughter was born at home.  My wife labored for 27 hours.  She cried, screamed, prayed, laughed, bled, alternated between thinking she couldn’t finish and vowing that she would.  And in the process she changed.  She became the strongest woman I know during those 27 hours. When our daughter arrived, we let my mother in law hold her and we took a short nap in our own bed, in our own home with our family and friends in the other room.  Was it easy?  No.  Was it amazing?  Absolutely.  Would either of us want it any other way?  Absolutely not.

Since that first homebirth, we have had 2 more midwife assisted homebirths.  The last homebirth happened in Claremore, Oklahoma with Ruth Cobb in attendance.  And while I’m not sure we will have any more children, I am confident of this thing.  My wife and I are closer because of the experience.  Our 2 daughters were in the room where their brother was born and they will never forget that.  It truly was a family experience and we wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

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Your Place for All Things Midwife Related

Posted on November 30, 2011 by admin

Are you thinking about a homebirth?

Are you a homebirth mother with a story to share?

3 Homebirth babies at Oklahoma homebirth with Ruth Cobb

Our 3 Homebirth Babies

You’ve come to the right place.  This is the place to share your stories with folks that will rejoice with you.  This is the place to ask questions from folks that have the experience and the answers you are looking for.  This is the place to get in touch with Tulsa’s Midwife for more than 35 years, Ruth Cobb.

We may be new to this blogging thing, but we know babies, birthing and all the steps in between.  We welcome you to check out our Tulsa Midwife website and see what we’ve been up to for the last 35 years.

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