After a disappointing hospital birth for her fourth child (told in episode 431), Cassi already knew what kind of birth she wanted when she conceived her fifth child in November 2019: a serene water birth at home. Despite the pandemic, she had a blissful, easy pregnancy and when she went into labor at 10 days past due after a membrane sweep, she was excited for the opportunity to experience her first out-of-hospital birth. However, a planned homebirth became an unplanned unassisted birth after a precipitous labor that lasted only 2 hours and 15 minutes. Baby arrived long before the midwife ever did and was delivered into the hands of his daddy and big sister. And though Cassi was incredibly grateful for her homebirth and the safe delivery of her first child, she had many mixed emotions as she processed the grief of losing out on a waterbirth and the peaceful experience she had envisioned.
When Cassi eventually became pregnant with their 6th child in 2023, it was only after more than a year of trying to conceive and a miscarriage that ended in a hemorrhage. The pregnancy was an emotional challenge as there was lots of anxiety and Cassi experienced spotting until 18 weeks, but she was hopeful that she would finally get to experience the kind of homebirth that she had been dreaming of. What she couldn’t have known was that this pregnancy would end at 42 weeks with a castor oil shake, a placental abruption at home, a dramatic birth in the back of an ambulance, a diagnosis of an undetected heart condition for her baby, and a 10-day stay at a children’s hospital. Cassi is still processing and healing from this traumatic birth, but is grateful every day that her little heart warrior is growing and thriving despite her difficult beginning.
Cassi Robinson Bio
Cassi is a stay-at-home mom living in western Washington with her incredibly supportive husband, wonderful mother, small old dog, and six children ages 0-13 who fill her home and her life with noise, chaos, joy, and an immeasurable amount of love. She can be found on Instagram @cassi.robinson.8
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