Journey to the Water
by Kristi Zittle
© 2010 Midwifery Today, Inc. All rights reserved.
[Editor’s note: This is an excerpt of an article which appears in Midwifery Today Issue 96, Winter 2010/2011. View other great articles and columns in the table of contents. To read the rest of this article, order your copy of Midwifery Today Issue 96.]
Photo by Lynsey Stone Photography
Photo by Lynsey Stone Photography
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In the beginning I remember wanting to do it all. I wanted to “manage” my births and my clients—not because of fear or the unknown, but because I was so excited to experience yet another priceless moment of catching a newborn in my arms that I just wanted to get things done. Because of this, I would tinker with the process. Even though I saw little signs telling me it was best to leave it be, my enthusiasm for the birth itself always got the best of me. This was especially true when anyone would mention waterbirth to me. The thought frightened me and seemed unnatural, but truly I think it was just a matter of me figuring out how I would control a birth when the mother and baby were in a large tub of water. It would change the convenience elements for me and would definitely make it much harder to do the things I’d been trained to believe were necessary in labor—especially during the delivery and immediate postpartum.
As time progressed, the joy of holding that newborn in my arms never changed, but my eagerness to get to the birth itself calmed, and I began to allow my ladies to birth at their own pace with my encouragement and help. I felt important and needed and it was a great feeling. I enjoyed hearing them say they could not have done it without me. And I kept my simplistic and somewhat selfish views on waterbirth close to my vest.
Kristi Zittle is the mother of 12 children and one grandchild. A retired midwife who spent 11 years serving women and their families in four states on the East Coast, Kristi now teaches at Ancient Art Midwifery Institute’s Midwifery Skills Labs. She coordinated the Trust Birth Conferences held in 2008 and 2010 in Redondo Beach, California, and is coordinating an upcoming 2012 conference that will be held in Nashville, Tennessee.
