The Birth of Gia - an unmedicated birth at St. Joes in Denver

Carissa and I met at my favorite local coffee shop here in Denver - Corvus. She walked in with her beautiful smile and belly bump…and we sat down and chatted for over an hour. As a first time mom, she asked me questions about my own birth experiences. I love sharing my birth stories (and I later thought it was amazing how similar our first births ended up being!)

Carissa had planned to give birth at Hygge - a beautiful new birth center here in Denver. But as often goes with construction in Colorado…the center’s opening got delayed, which meant that Carissa needed to deliver her baby at St. Joseph’s in downtown Denver, with her midwife Anne Willits. Even though the hospital was not the place she envisioned having her baby, Carissa trusted that her birth could still be peaceful and beautiful.

Carissa texted me on a warm weekend afternoon that contractions had started. They were still fairly spaced apart, and so I think we all assumed that she’d labor through the day and maybe well into the morning before hitting active labor. But as night fell, Carissa’s contractions picked up. Her mom ended up texting me on the way to the hospital and said that she thought things were moving fast. I asked them if they wanted me to join them…and they said yes.

When I arrived, Carissa was still in triage, but I could tell that her mom was absolutely correct - things were moving quickly! She went from 4cm to 6cm within just a matter of minutes…and by the time we got to her birthing room, she was almost fully dilated and ready to push! Carissa handled each contraction beautifully, but what I loved seeing the most was the way that Chris, her husband supported her. He was SO connected to her during each contraction. He ended up having to take his shirt off because he got so hot from working right alongside her!

Anne stayed with her the entire time, offering position suggestions and reassuring her that all was well. She began to spontaneously push…and within just minutes, sweet baby Gia was born into our world! I could hardly believe that within the span of just an hour or so…this first time mama had birthed her baby. I was so happy that she got the birth she’d been hoping for, and so honored they’d asked me to document it. A couple of weeks later, Carissa and Gia came over to my house for a beautiful milk bath session. I loved seeing them again…and I love offering these beautiful sessions to my birth clients.