IN PHOTOS: Coleen Garcia shares snaps from home birth experience

Coleen Garcia and Billy Crawford welcomed their son Amari on Thursday, September 10. The couple opted to give birth at home.

Coleen gave a glimpse of the experience on her Instagram page, through a post and several IG stories.

The night before Amari’s birth, Coleen and Billy took photos for a home appliances brand. Even as they were taking photos, Coleen’s water already broke. Typically, at the beginning of or during labor, a pregnant person’s amniotic sac ruptures.

Coleen chose not to medicate during labor – a decision she says she regretted, albeit momentarily, at the height of the pain. Still, the new mom said she’s happy she chose not to take pain killers.

Coleen eventually delivered Amari after 4 hours of active labor plus an extra hour to deliver the placenta. She had her birthing team and an ever-supportive Billy by her side the whole time.

In an interview with Pep, Coleen said she considered an unmedicated water birth inside a hospital but had to tweak her plans because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Coleen said she wanted Billy by her side during the birthing process – which would not have been possible inside a hospital. Several hospitals, as part of their coronavirus precautions, no longer allow partners to be present during delivery.

“My main driving force for wanting to have a home birth, more than anything, is just to have the peaceful birth I’ve wanted from the start,” she told Pep.

Coleen also told Pep that hers was a low-risk pregnancy and that she was a suitable candidate for a home birth.

Coleen and Billy first announced that they were going to be parents in May.– Rappler.com