ISINILANG na ng aktres na si Rica Peralejo ang kanilang bunso sa sariling tahanan nang hindi gumamit ng medication.

Sa Instagram post, ibinahagi niyang 25 oras ang tinagal bago nila nakapiling ang bagong karagdagan sa kanilang family of three—ang asawa niyang sa loob ng siyam na taon si Joseph Bonifacio at ang limang taong gulang na si Philip—at isinilang ang new-born baby nitong Linggo.

“I cannot wait to tell you all our birth story. Let me just say that it was a miracle to actually do homebirth, vbac (vaginal birth after caesarian), and to remain completely unmedicated all throughout the labor,” aniya, kasama ang litrato ng newborn na tinawa niyang Baby Manu.

Inamin niya na naisipan niyang sumuko along the way ngunit nagawa pa ring magpatuloy.

Nag-post din si Rica ng isa pang larawan na kinunan pagkatapos niyang manganak.

“How can I not shed tears if it had to take five years, 38 weeks of praying God will sustain him, 25 hours of labor before I can finally have this boy? His papa, kuya, and I, have longed for him deeply,” sabi niya.

Sa Facebook naman nagpahayag ng sariling saloobin si Joseph.

“I’m so amazed at my wife for digging down deep at the 23rd hour to find the energy and stamina to push even more,” aniya.

“It was definitely God carrying her all throughout. Thank you, Lord, for your faithfulness. Manu was 8.8 pounds at birth. His names mean ‘God with Us’ and ‘God Who Heals’ as a reminder of our journey with him.”

Sa mga nagtataka kung bakit pinili ng mag-asawa na magsilang sa tradisyunal na pamamaraan, maaaring ang ideya ay nakuha nila sa ipinost ni Rica sa Facebook noong June 6. Ang post ay documentary ni Jessicca Moore tungkol sa “risks and rewards of different birth settings” via “Why Not Home?” published in Vimeo, dalawang taon na ang nakararaan. Ibinahagi ni Rica ang video kasabay ng International Homebirth Day kamakailan.

-Stephanie Marie Bernardino