Mom Shares Incredible Home Birth Story To Encourage Others To Birth Without Fear

This mom decided a hospital birth wasn’t what she wanted the second time around

No matter how you end up giving birth, there’s one sentiment we can all probably agree on: doing what works best for you and your baby is the most important thing. Mom Marissa Heckel felt a natural, home birth would be best for delivering her second baby into the world.

And that’s what she did — completely unassisted.

In Facebook post originally shared by a member of a home birth/unassisted birth group, Heckel’s story quickly went viral.

Heckel writes that she had a “horrible experience” during her oldest daughter’s delivery three years ago, so she made the decision to stay home the next time around to deliver her son in a “stress free environment.”

“We opted out of a midwife due to my stubbornness,” she wrote. “I simply do not like anyone trying to tell me what is best for me or my baby. Finances were not the issue in my case. Going unassisted was more of an opportunity for me to prove to others that God made our bodies to birth- that hospitals were never the norm.”

She labored for 36 hours at home before delivering her son, managing the pain by standing up against the wall of her shower. “I just kept telling myself ‘the pain is only temporary.'” Heckel says she attempted to push while lying in bed, but it felt “unnatural” for her so she let her body take over and moved to the toilet, where she continued to push for awhile.

“Finally my husband said he could see his head,” she wrote. Her husband was worried about Heckel delivering the baby while on the toilet, so she stood right on up, bore down on the bathroom towel rack, and delivered her son with one final push.

“I’ve never felt so powerful and accomplished in my entire life,” she said. “Our bodies truly are amazing!” Her placenta “delivered itself” after 20 minutes, and her son was born perfectly healthy. Heckel says she wanted to share her story so other mothers wouldn’t fear giving birth.

As for what inspired Heckel to share her story on Facebook, she says she wants to encourage to give birth without fear.

“I think my story will help people to remember what our bodies were made to do and what they can endure,” Heckel tells Scary Mommy. “I want to inspire all women to do what they think is best for their bodies. Women need to remember that it’s their birth and their body and that they shouldn’t be undermined into thinking otherwise.”