Having a water birth is pretty usual. Usual, however, is something that 39-year-old mother Simone Thurber wasn’t striving for when she gave a water birth to her fourth child in a creek…in the middle of a rainforest!
Months ago when Thurber learned she was pregnant with her fourth child, she decided she’d try something new for her next delivery. Something new is indeed what she got. Sh and her partner, Nick, apparently looked for interesting ways for her to have her birth in a natural environment. The couple, from Melbourne, Australia, had initially planned and plotted around having a beach birth. This is idea was quickly scrapped because Simone realized that a beach birth would be too public, not to mention that the waters were infested with jellyfish.
A friend who learned of Thurber’s plan for an all natural birth graciously offered up his house, which is roughly an hour away from a rainforest. Thurber and her family accepted the invitation. She claims that she figured if they didn’t get to the woods in time, she would have squatted in an ordinary birthing pool instead. About two weeks before her due date, Thurber and her family began to do some location scouting and decided on a creek.
A look at Thurber in her stunning labor video. Full video on page 2.
Interestingly, Simone’s three daughters (ages 18, 16 and 6 respectively) claim that they’re a bit envious that they weren’t birthed in an all natural fashion. They added that they aren’t just proud of their mother for her exotic choice of scenery, but they’re also impressed with her innovative idea and passion to go through with it.
Thurber went into labor around 9 p.m. one night, and it was decided it was too dark to travel to the selected creek, so a tin tub filled with water would have to suffice under the circumstances. Thurber didn’t give birth on that night. In fact, her contractions lasted through until the morning. This provided the family with the opportunity to pack up and head to the creek which she had selected weeks before.
After journeying to the creek, Simone spent the next two hours attempting to give her daughter, Perouze, an all natural rainforest birth. Finally, after two hours of labor, her daughter was born; Simone immediately proceeded to breastfeed the newborn.
On Perouze’s first birthday, the family decided to share the video with the world as they uploaded it to YouTube. Since being uploaded, the 20+ minute video of Thurber’s delivery has garnered over 53 million views!
You can check out the entirety of the miraculous video by visiting the next page!
READ: 15 Astounding photos that offer a look at beautiful home births
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