I want to tell you about a very special person in me and my sister's life. Her name is Akal Khalsa and she helped my mum welcome us into this world.

I first met Akal when I was in my mother's womb about nine years ago now. We would go and visit Akal and she would make sure everything was alright.

She would put her ear to my mum's tummy and have a listen to me gurgling inside. I was born on the 26th November and I was a water baby, it was a long labour about thirty hours my mum says.

Mum says that Akal came rushing in like a 'white tornado' just as mum was going into transition. Mum, Dad and Akal sat in the pool for about five hours until I arrived at 11.30 in the evening. I am sure they must have looked like frogs after all those hours in the water.

I arrived safely and we all sat together eating miso soup in to the wee hours of the next day. I weighed 4020 grams, I was 54 cm long and my head was 38 cm around. My mum and dad named me Jackson.

Over the years we would occasionally see Akal, we would always think of her and tell people how special she was in our lives. At my school I found other kids who Akal had helped bring into the world and even one of the kids in my class.

When mum was pregnant again with my sister it was really exciting going to see Akal and listening to my sister in my mum's tummy.

Akal would let me listen with this funny wooden thing she had and she would also listen to my heartbeat, just for fun.

Whe she took mum's blood pressure she would also take my blood pressure, (that's when she could get me to sit still long enough).

I thought that I would want to be there when my sister was born but as the time drew nearer I decided that maybe I didn't really want to be there.

It was school holidays and we knew that 'Tink' was getting ready to come. One night I went to stay at my Nans because I hadn't seen her for a while and when I woke the next morning mum rang and told me that my sister had arrived. I raced home to meet her, she was beautiful.

Mum told me that she had gone into labour at 1 am the night before and my sister was born at 7.09 on the 3rd of July, 1997.

There had been a big thunderstorm during the night and she arrived just as the sun was coming up in the morning and all the leaves were glistening with water. She was born in front of the fire on the lounge room floor, unlike me she decided that she didn't want to be born in the water.

Akal was there to help my mum and our good friends Matra and Diane were there too.

She weighed 4080 grams, she was 55 cm long and her head was 38 cm around. We have named her Iona after a special Island in Scotland, her name also means violet coloured stone in Greek and in one of the Aboriginal languages means 'fire'.

Both my sister and I are so lucky that Akal helped to deliver us into this world. It is something that we will share for the rest of our lives.

We have great photos that my mum has taken of us with Akal. All my family love Akal very much.

Once I asked mum what was wrong with being born in hospital. She said that there was nothing wrong with being born in hospital but if I had a choice where would I prefer to be born .. of course I said at home.

Thank you Akal.

Love Jackson, Iona, Maritsa, Stephen and David.



Akal Khalsa is a Sydney based midwife and provides midwifery services including: homebirths,
pre-conception consultations, childbirth preparation, nutritional advise and breastfeeding support.

For more information Contact Akal.