Picture of Baby Crowning

I love having the opportunity to off-set shows like Baby Story or The Doctors by showing what birth really can be! Thanks to so many of the BWF mothers for your willingness in sharing your stories, experiences and pictures. ~Mrs. BWF

A BWF mama sent this picture in…

“I’m SO proud of this pic of crowning on the toilet. The goo on my belly is from the doppler which monitored baby’s heart rate. Oh my. I love the tattoo, and I also love that I’m holding the hand of one of my midwives, and the time on her watch is showing. 4:18am, and my son was born in the birth pool at 4:23am. After crowning, I crab-walked to the pool to deliver.”

home water birth

20 Comments

  • Ashley

    Glad there are mamas who can labor on the toilet and get comfort from it, I was ONLY comfortable in the bath on my side the entire time right up until I needed to push, hit the squatting position and three pushes later there was my girl. Tried the birth ball, tried the toilet, nothing worked except the tub. I couldn’t keep warm which made me tense so I think that’s why only the tub worked.

    Good job Mama, totally impressed with the crab walk!!!!

  • emily

    LOVE this photo! Now I know why, when I was kinda freaking that our baby would fall into the toilet, that my husband said “yeah honey, don’t worry that’s not really an option” my son was born while I was still on the “throne” a few minutes later and about 15 minutes before the first of our midwives arrived… she of course wasn’t the one with the midwives kit so when asked if we had any sissors handy that she could sterilize to cut the cord I said “yeah, I have some shears in that drawer right there” so one of the very few momentos of our first homebirth (after 3 hospital births) are the hair cutting shears that were used to cut baby #4’s cord – a proud day for all home birthing hair dressers 🙂

  • CJ

    So strange to see it from this angle and birthing position…I always felt like crowning happened a lot lower (closer to my bum…) then again, I never actually saw it, just felt it. I wonder if it’s the positioning of being on the toilet? For both of mine, I was on my knees, leaning over a birthing ball. I don’t know that I would have been able to sit up so straight!!
    I love birth photos that show the real deal:)

    • Janelle

      I thought that too! For a second I thought maybe my body parts were in a different position than hers… hahaha I’ve never had a vaginal birth (yet! Fingers crossed!) so I have no clue!

  • Kristen

    My second daughter was born at 4:23am (11/11/11)!!! LOVE this picture!! I’d like to send one in of my husband catching our baby on the couch!

  • Liz May

    Followed my instincts while labouring at home and felt most natural sitting on the loo. My husband was worried that the baby would be born down the toilet so he dragged me away but I just went downstairs and sat on the loo there where he pulled me away again so I when back upstairs and sat on the loo in the master bathroom (repeated this manoeuvre 2 more times). Gave birth on all fours just 10 minutes after the midwife arrived. Only afterwards did I read that this position (of sitting on the toilet, knees up) is recommended by NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence in the UK) and so is walking up and down stairs. Might invest in a birthing stool next time just to save my husbands blood pressure. Thanks for sharing.

  • Rhee

    Absolutely beautiful!!! I cant wait till my 2 are out of diapers and close to starting school so we can start trying for another baby and maybe then, thanks to the amazing info, support and inspiration I’ve found in BWF and my mommy/play group, I’ll be able to have a peaceful homebirth I’ve come to desire after 2 hospital births.

  • Danialle B.

    Okay, I never understood how women birthed on the toilet until now! I had no idea that the baby came out horizontally lol! I love how someone is holding each of mamas hands, so supportive 🙂

  • Kim E.

    Sooo beautiful. That is the time my daughter was born, as well. I’ll never forget the moment my daughter was crowning, my grandmother asked my midwife ‘now, what are we looking at here, exactly? Because it looks as if her vagina is giving birth to another vagina.’

  • Ariel

    Crab walked….LOL! Reminded me of birthing my first. I sat on the toilet at the birth center and pushed for 1-1/2 hours (couldn’t get the hang of it). Finally, crowning! and then I crab walked to the bed where baby exploded out. Glad that yours had a slow gentle birth into the pool. Thankfully, my next birth was slowly nice and easy.

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