BRACEBRIDGE — The first home birth of the year came to new parents Stuart and Rebecca Paul on Jan. 3.
The couple welcomed healthy baby girl Emmaline, weighing eight pounds, 13 ounces. Rebecca gave birth at the couple’s home in Bracebridge at 10:43 p.m. with the help of a midwife.
As first-time parents, Stuart and Rebecca did a lot of research into home births and midwives, said Stuart. Stuart said the support throughout the whole experience was great.
“It was a fantastic experience,” he said.
Rebecca agreed, adding everyone, including her husband and the midwives worked well together.
Parents are assigned two midwives — one to take care of the mother and the other the child.
Rebecca’s labour was about an hour and a half with approximately 15 hours of pre-labour, said Stuart.
Rebecca added that she did it without pain medication and yes, it was painful.
As the first home birth of the new year, Friends of Muskoka Midwives put together a basket of baby items donated from local businesses for the Paul family.
Last year’s first home birth, the Leonard family from Port Sydney, presented the basket this week.
The Friends of Muskoka Midwives exists to educate the community about the option of midwifery care. They hold regular events within Muskoka that aid in achieving that goal.