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When did you realize you were really in labor?
I didn't really. I had been having contractions for the past two weeks, but as my son was breech and I had had three stretch and sweeps and was still only at 2cm for so long, I didn't really know when I transitioned to actual labour-even after my water broke in the middle of the street!
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
The most challenging thing was having it all go completely differently then I had planned. We had prepped and planned for a calm home water birth, attended partner yoga labour workshops, set up our frankincense essential oil diffuser etc....and then ended up with an emergency cesarean section.
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
The most helpful thing I did was allow my goal to be a healthy happy baby rather than the perfect natural childbirth experience. This ended up being really important as I was able to stay present during my son's birth rather than caught up in disappointment or any sense of failing to have the birth experience I had planned for.
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What surprised you about your birth?
I was most surprised at the feeling I had once I held my son for the first time-that the actual way he was born didn't matter at all. When I was pregnant I was consumed with all things "natural childbirth" and strongly against hospital and surgical birth. I was adamant to have him at home as naturally as possible, even after I found out he was breech, but once I held him and looked into his face I knew I had become a mother, and it didn't matter if I had pushed him out myself or if he needed another way to come into this world-I was his mother.
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Surround yourself with a strong support system and don't be afraid to use them.
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
Walking really helped, especially outside. I didn't like sitting still and needed continual movement during contractions.
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What position did you end up delivering in?
In the end I was on an operating table on my back.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
Bliss and a huge amount of relief. I was so grateful to see him, that he was healthy, and to know it was all over.
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Surround yourself with a strong support system and don't be afraid to use them. If you feel uncomfortable with friends and family then hire a doula (or maybe hire one anyway as they are amazing people!). Remember that this is your birth, so for once you get to make all the crazy requests you want. And most of all, your worth as a woman, as a mother, is totally independent of how you birth or baby. We are all mothers in the end.
