Jiezhen Wu was about 20 weeks into her first pregnancy when she decided she did not want to give birth in the hospital. She and her husband were then renting a place in California, in the United States, after completing her master’s degree.
It was end-2020 and the world was still deep in COVID-19. Hospitals were overflowing with patients, and everyone remained anxious and preoccupied with the pandemic.
The conditions had Wu, then 31 years old, having second thoughts about giving birth in hospital, where appointments felt rushed and impersonal.
Once she was given the green light by her gynaecologist for a home birth – with the help of an experienced midwife – she didn’t look back.
“I’m sure there was more to birthing than what I had initially thought,” Wu said. She recalled how, years earlier, before marrying her husband Jared Kong in 2017, a friend had described the experience of giving birth to her baby as “beautiful and amazing”.
“When I heard that, I was genuinely puzzled. Could birth ever be amazing? I only thought it was scary, bloody and painful,” she said.
Wu holding her second baby, feeling joy and relief after giving birth. (Photo: The Unison Photo/Keidi Lin)
But her friend insisted so, and that was when Wu found out about birthing centres, facilities designed to offer a more home-like environment than hospitals. Staffed by midwives and obstetrician-gynaecologists (ob-gyns), these centres support both mothers in labour and new mums, offering guided prenatal exercises, nutritious meals and the support of doulas and birth coaches.
The centres allowed women to bring their children into the world in a “more comfortable, gentle, empowering way”, surrounded by people who mattered to them.
When Wu got pregnant in 2020, she and her husband wanted the birth of their child to feel intentional and purposeful, which led them to decide on a home birth.
When Wu first brought up the idea of a home birth, both Kong and her parents, who were in Singapore, were concerned.
“People would ask me if home birth was really a thing, if it was safe, and whether I’d thought it through properly,” the 36-year-old leadership coach said. To her, these questions made sense.
“But the more Jared learned about home birth, and the more we explained the process to my parents, the more it started to make sense for all of us,” Wu added.
Wu with her husband, who held her throughout her first home birth. (Photo: The Unison Photo/Keidi Lin)
The couple spoke with friends who had done home births or given birth at birthing centres. Everyone described the experience in the same way: Gentle, intentional, purposeful and beautiful. These were exactly the qualities Wu hoped for when it was her turn to give birth.
In the lead-up to her estimated due date, she did what she could to prepare her body. She went for frequent walks, did Kegel exercises and ate nutritious meals to ensure she had the strength and energy for labour.
When labour began, Wu and her husband were in their cosy apartment. With them was a birthing team of an experienced midwife and her assistant.
Though the space was small, Wu felt enveloped with love. The environment was warm and calming, filled with familiar scents that helped her relax. There were no “anxiety-inducing noises” or anyone insisting she deviate from her decision not to use pain relief.
She felt safe and powerful, she said.
“The best part was that Jared was with me the whole time,” Wu added. He massaged her, held her and stayed by her side through every contraction.
“I remember Jared sitting with his arms around me, and watching my birthing team hold space as I brought our daughter into the world. I pushed in this position for about half an hour. I was focused and using my breath to bring the baby down.”
Then, it happened.
“I felt her head emerge, and with the next push, our midwife said, ‘Here comes your baby!’ and caught our daughter Juniper, placing her in my arms. She was so beautiful. Jared started crying and we both kept saying, ‘Hi, baby!’”
Her first home birth was so empowering that when Wu became pregnant with her second baby in 2024, this time back in Singapore, she knew she wanted to do it again.
Wu’s daughter, Juniper, who was excited to see her sibling arrive. (Photo: The Unison Photo/Keidi Lin)
Around the 20-week mark, when she had a detailed scan of her foetus, she shared her birth plan with her ob-gyn, who was supportive.
In case of a medical emergency, she would be able to head to the hospital by ambulance and have an ob-gyn on standby to receive her and the baby. Wu also engaged the services of a birth team, who supported her throughout her pregnancy, the birth and the postpartum period.
This second experience was especially exciting to Wu because it would involve not only her husband, but her parents, and Juniper, then three years old.
“I considered giving birth at our new home, but after thinking it through, I decided I wanted to give birth somewhere that already held meaning for me. So I chose to give birth to my second child at my parents’ home, where I grew up,” she said.
She also wanted Juniper to witness her sibling’s arrival.
Wu, held by her daughter and husband when her second child was close to being born. (Photo: The Unison Photo/Keidi Lin)
“I wanted to make sure Juniper was there to see her sibling come into the world,” she said. Wu had taken her daughter along to some of the medical check-ups, where Juniper could see her sibling grow and listen to the baby’s heartbeat inside her mother.
Wu also had photos and a video of Juniper’s birth, which the little girl loved watching.
“Juniper was so in tune with the whole thing, so in awe of the birth process. She loves watching the video and photos of her coming into the world. I could sense that she, too, was excited to see her sibling arrive. It made her feel involved as the older sister,” Wu said.
At the 20-week scan, Wu laughed as she recalled how Juniper excitedly pointed out the baby’s gender, thrilled to learn she was going to have a brother.
Wu added: “A home birth would allow her to see her brother arrive in a space where we were all together as a family – comfortable, calm, unrushed – taking our time to connect quietly and peacefully, both with the baby and with each other.”
When the day arrived, Wu was at her parents’ home with her husband, daughter, parents, doula and a birth photographer.
Wu holding her son, Jazper, at her parents’ home. (Photo: The Unison Photo/Keidi Lin)
Compared to the 18 hours of labour she went through with her first, her second took four hours.
“With my second-born, I was a lot more confident,” Wu said. “And at some points, I even felt like I wanted to be alone so that I could just focus on birthing – I was grateful that my loved ones gave me the space and were there when I really needed them to be.”
Both times, Wu never once felt that giving birth at home was impossible, or that she “couldn’t do this”. This surprised her, especially at first. While she knew a home birth was the route she wanted to take, she was still nervous about whether she was capable of it.
“Through the home births I went through, I followed my instincts, learned to trust my body, and do what I believe it was designed to do,” Wu said.
She said both experiences taught her to “lean into discomfort” and trust that her body knew what it was doing to bring life into the world.
“I felt so safe and loved. It was magical, intimate and special, and every wave of powerful sensation – even when it was painful – felt purposeful.”
“I’m so thankful I got to go through a home birth for both my daughter and my son,” Wu said.
“Both Juniper and Jazper gave me the strength I never knew I had. Both times were exactly how I dreamed of bringing my children into the world – in a space filled with love, warmth, courage and support.”
CNA Women is a section on CNA Lifestyle that seeks to inform, empower and inspire the modern woman. If you have women-related news, issues and ideas to share with us, email CNAWomen [at] mediacorp.com.sg.
Continue reading...
It was end-2020 and the world was still deep in COVID-19. Hospitals were overflowing with patients, and everyone remained anxious and preoccupied with the pandemic.
The conditions had Wu, then 31 years old, having second thoughts about giving birth in hospital, where appointments felt rushed and impersonal.
Once she was given the green light by her gynaecologist for a home birth – with the help of an experienced midwife – she didn’t look back.
“I’m sure there was more to birthing than what I had initially thought,” Wu said. She recalled how, years earlier, before marrying her husband Jared Kong in 2017, a friend had described the experience of giving birth to her baby as “beautiful and amazing”.
“When I heard that, I was genuinely puzzled. Could birth ever be amazing? I only thought it was scary, bloody and painful,” she said.
Wu holding her second baby, feeling joy and relief after giving birth. (Photo: The Unison Photo/Keidi Lin)
But her friend insisted so, and that was when Wu found out about birthing centres, facilities designed to offer a more home-like environment than hospitals. Staffed by midwives and obstetrician-gynaecologists (ob-gyns), these centres support both mothers in labour and new mums, offering guided prenatal exercises, nutritious meals and the support of doulas and birth coaches.
The centres allowed women to bring their children into the world in a “more comfortable, gentle, empowering way”, surrounded by people who mattered to them.
When Wu got pregnant in 2020, she and her husband wanted the birth of their child to feel intentional and purposeful, which led them to decide on a home birth.
GIVING BIRTH SURROUNDED BY HER LOVED ONES
When Wu first brought up the idea of a home birth, both Kong and her parents, who were in Singapore, were concerned.
“People would ask me if home birth was really a thing, if it was safe, and whether I’d thought it through properly,” the 36-year-old leadership coach said. To her, these questions made sense.
“But the more Jared learned about home birth, and the more we explained the process to my parents, the more it started to make sense for all of us,” Wu added.
Wu with her husband, who held her throughout her first home birth. (Photo: The Unison Photo/Keidi Lin)
The couple spoke with friends who had done home births or given birth at birthing centres. Everyone described the experience in the same way: Gentle, intentional, purposeful and beautiful. These were exactly the qualities Wu hoped for when it was her turn to give birth.
In the lead-up to her estimated due date, she did what she could to prepare her body. She went for frequent walks, did Kegel exercises and ate nutritious meals to ensure she had the strength and energy for labour.
When labour began, Wu and her husband were in their cosy apartment. With them was a birthing team of an experienced midwife and her assistant.
Though the space was small, Wu felt enveloped with love. The environment was warm and calming, filled with familiar scents that helped her relax. There were no “anxiety-inducing noises” or anyone insisting she deviate from her decision not to use pain relief.
She felt safe and powerful, she said.
“The best part was that Jared was with me the whole time,” Wu added. He massaged her, held her and stayed by her side through every contraction.
“I remember Jared sitting with his arms around me, and watching my birthing team hold space as I brought our daughter into the world. I pushed in this position for about half an hour. I was focused and using my breath to bring the baby down.”
Then, it happened.
“I felt her head emerge, and with the next push, our midwife said, ‘Here comes your baby!’ and caught our daughter Juniper, placing her in my arms. She was so beautiful. Jared started crying and we both kept saying, ‘Hi, baby!’”
NO OTHER BIRTH PLAN FELT AS POWERFUL
Her first home birth was so empowering that when Wu became pregnant with her second baby in 2024, this time back in Singapore, she knew she wanted to do it again.
Wu’s daughter, Juniper, who was excited to see her sibling arrive. (Photo: The Unison Photo/Keidi Lin)
Around the 20-week mark, when she had a detailed scan of her foetus, she shared her birth plan with her ob-gyn, who was supportive.
In case of a medical emergency, she would be able to head to the hospital by ambulance and have an ob-gyn on standby to receive her and the baby. Wu also engaged the services of a birth team, who supported her throughout her pregnancy, the birth and the postpartum period.
This second experience was especially exciting to Wu because it would involve not only her husband, but her parents, and Juniper, then three years old.
“I considered giving birth at our new home, but after thinking it through, I decided I wanted to give birth somewhere that already held meaning for me. So I chose to give birth to my second child at my parents’ home, where I grew up,” she said.
She also wanted Juniper to witness her sibling’s arrival.
Wu, held by her daughter and husband when her second child was close to being born. (Photo: The Unison Photo/Keidi Lin)
“I wanted to make sure Juniper was there to see her sibling come into the world,” she said. Wu had taken her daughter along to some of the medical check-ups, where Juniper could see her sibling grow and listen to the baby’s heartbeat inside her mother.
Wu also had photos and a video of Juniper’s birth, which the little girl loved watching.
“Juniper was so in tune with the whole thing, so in awe of the birth process. She loves watching the video and photos of her coming into the world. I could sense that she, too, was excited to see her sibling arrive. It made her feel involved as the older sister,” Wu said.
At the 20-week scan, Wu laughed as she recalled how Juniper excitedly pointed out the baby’s gender, thrilled to learn she was going to have a brother.
Wu added: “A home birth would allow her to see her brother arrive in a space where we were all together as a family – comfortable, calm, unrushed – taking our time to connect quietly and peacefully, both with the baby and with each other.”
TRUSTING HER BODY TO DO WHAT IT NEEDED TO DO
When the day arrived, Wu was at her parents’ home with her husband, daughter, parents, doula and a birth photographer.
Wu holding her son, Jazper, at her parents’ home. (Photo: The Unison Photo/Keidi Lin)
Compared to the 18 hours of labour she went through with her first, her second took four hours.
“With my second-born, I was a lot more confident,” Wu said. “And at some points, I even felt like I wanted to be alone so that I could just focus on birthing – I was grateful that my loved ones gave me the space and were there when I really needed them to be.”
Both times, Wu never once felt that giving birth at home was impossible, or that she “couldn’t do this”. This surprised her, especially at first. While she knew a home birth was the route she wanted to take, she was still nervous about whether she was capable of it.
“Through the home births I went through, I followed my instincts, learned to trust my body, and do what I believe it was designed to do,” Wu said.
She said both experiences taught her to “lean into discomfort” and trust that her body knew what it was doing to bring life into the world.
“I felt so safe and loved. It was magical, intimate and special, and every wave of powerful sensation – even when it was painful – felt purposeful.”
“I’m so thankful I got to go through a home birth for both my daughter and my son,” Wu said.
“Both Juniper and Jazper gave me the strength I never knew I had. Both times were exactly how I dreamed of bringing my children into the world – in a space filled with love, warmth, courage and support.”
CNA Women is a section on CNA Lifestyle that seeks to inform, empower and inspire the modern woman. If you have women-related news, issues and ideas to share with us, email CNAWomen [at] mediacorp.com.sg.
Continue reading...