A woman in America shares her incredible unassisted home birth story

Marissa Heckle from Ohio has shared an unbelievable photo and story of how she safely delivered her baby in her own home, unassisted.

She said that she wanted to achieve a home birth without any help following the 'horrible experience' she had during the birth of her first child three years ago. She successfully delivered a healthy baby boy in her home a few days ago. She has shared the birth and labour story with Marion Franson on Facebook to try to encourage other women to opt for the same birthing experience. Writing about her reasons for doing it she said:

"It's been five days since I delivered my son unassisted. Three years ago as of September I delivered my daughter in a hospital drug free. After a horrible experience being bullied about my birth plan and harassed throughout my labor, I decided to stay at home and deliver my son upon finding out I was pregnant. My husband was very supportive the entire time as he respected my body and my choice to be in a stress free environment. We opted out of a midwife due to my stubbornness. I simply do not like anyone trying to tell me what is best for me or my baby. Finances were not the issue in my case.

She then went on to explain about the labour:

"Going unassisted was more of an opportunity for me to prove to others that God made our bodies to birth-that hospitals were never the norm. I delivered my son in my bathroom after a 36 hour labor. The exact amount of time I labored with my daughter. Throughout the night of active labor I sought relief in the shower and bathtub but was unsuccessful. I chose to endure the pain standing up against the wall. I just kept telling myself "the pain is only temporary".   In the early morning I began transition. Not exactly sure how long it lasted but it seemed to be a few hours. When the contractions and the pressure came my husband was bedside holding my hand. It was actually romantic although I was practically roaring at this point. Somewhere during the time period my water gushed all over our bed. Five different times. When I felt the urge to push I attempted to stay in bed but felt much too "unnatural" for me."

And she went on to elaborate on the birth:

"I told my husband about my urge to push and asked for assistance to the toilet. I let my body do the pushing. I just sat on the toilet. My husband was worried I'd been pushing too long so I had to reassure him in between contractions that I could feel his head descending (the beginning of the ring of Fire) Finally my husband said he could see his head. He encouraged me to keep going. He also expressed concern that our son would hit his head on the toilet or fall in (haha). I then told him to help me up and that I was going to deliver the shoulders standing up. My husband looked at me like I was nuts but helped me anyway. I stood up, held onto the towel rack and let my body do one last push and he was finally out. My husband stood there in shock taking all the pictures. I've never felt so powerful and accomplished in my entire life. Our bodies truly are amazing!! My placenta delivered itself after about twenty minutes. Our son was 9 pounds 8 oz. 22 inches long with a 36cm head. He's no average sized baby as my husband is so tall (6ft7). So if you're afraid or thinking you can't do it, YOU CAN!!! Do not fear, our bodies were made for this!"

She also shared this incredible photo.