Jente’s birth story
Written by Jente, a mama who journeyed with us at the Babymoon Retreat in June 2025.
I took a long time to explore all the different options and had a difficult time with all the different opinions and the fact that hospital birth and epidural is the norm in Belgium. I changed gynaecologist, went to 4 different hospitals.. (and my partner was going a little crazy with how indecisive I was). I decided (at week 33) to have a birth with a private midwife in a (open minded) hospital and I'm so happy I followed my gut, I had the birth of my dreams.
My water broke around 9 a.m. - not the dramatic movie kind of gush, so at first I wasn’t completely sure. But after a few minutes, it was clear that it really was amniotic fluid. There was this moment of okay what now? And also this feeling of disbelief that we would have a baby by the end of the day. We decided to just have a nice Sunday breakfast, so my partner went to the bakery, and I started cleaning the apartment (I didn't want to come home in a messy apartment 😅).
Around 10:30am, I began feeling light contractions (like menstruation pain), and my midwife came by to check if my baby Leon was doing okay - it was very reassuring for me that my midwife could come to our home and could check Leon's heartbeat. By 12pm, the contractions were getting stronger, so she came again to check my dilation and I was at 4 cm. We decided to wait a bit longer to go to the hospital but at 2pm the pain was really intense and we went to the hospital. I got the chambre nature, it's a special room for women who want a natural birth. It was a beautiful, spacious room with a big bathtub right in the middle. They dimmed the lights, and there were little star-like lights on the ceiling. There were speakers built in, so I put on Lisanne’s playlist (I had listened to those songs a lot after the retreat, they always bring me back to the retreat and were really empowering for me).
Around 2:45pm, I got into the bath, and I was a bit hesitant at first about the bath, but it turned into the most beautiful experience. I felt really calm in the water and deeply connected to my body. The midwife decided not to do any monitoring or check my dilation — she encouraged me to truly follow my body and to start pushing whenever I felt ready. I was on my knees in the bath and my head and arms were on a floating cushion and I actually felt really calm the whole time. I was completely in my zone and couldn't even open my eyes.
It’s hard to put into words, but it was truly magical. It's even difficult to remember the pain now. I just remember thinking, this is the experience I always wanted and this is what I wanted to feel. It helped me to allow the pain, I allowed myself to use my voice (I didn’t know I could make sounds like that — real primal noises came from deep within my body) and when I felt like I was losing control of my breathing, I reminded myself to breathe the baby down. That helped me regain my rhythm and focus. The last contraction took a bit longer, and later I found out that my partner Noë and the midwife had started to worry a little. But I think, deep down, I was unconsciously holding it back — I could feel that Leon would come with the next contraction, and I needed a moment to prepare myself mentally. It also gave my perineum some time to stretch. And then it was time to catch Leon in the water. It actually felt like too much for me — like when you finish a race and they immediately hand you the trophy, but you’re still trying to catch your breath - so the midwife stepped in to help. And then suddenly he was in my arms. We got out of the bath, and it was time for two beautiful hours of skin-to-skin with mom and dad. 🥰
To all the mamas who are still waiting to give birth: trust your body, trust your intuition, and allow yourself to surrender to the process. I wish you a beautiful, empowering birth, in your own unique way. You’ve got this. 💫
