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When did you realize you were really in labor?
When the length and pain of the contractions suddenly increased. The midwife was busy, so I was just coping on the couch and when she arrived I was 8cm dilated, we swiftly left for the hospital!
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
Mentally switching from just trying to cope with the pain of the contractions (wanted to just curl into the fetal position to ride them out) to using them to push him out. Actually felt relief with the pushing, the build up to the next contraction was the worst bit!
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
Pregnancy yoga was helpful with breathing during the birth. Visiting the hospital prior to child birth helped the place feel familiar - it wasnt too new - I didnt really like hospitals before visiting the maternity wards.
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What surprised you about your birth?
I felt like I was using every muscle in my body to help push him out and the different positions I ended up in to help get him moving down.
And I was surprised I did it with out any drugs.
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I felt like I was using every muscle in my body to help push him out and the different positions I ended up in to help get him moving down.
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
Breathing and focussing on each contraction, I felt relief when pushing in the contraction. I did have a bit of rescue remedy when I was getting a bit frustrated that things weren't moving very fast.
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What position did you end up delivering in?
On my back for the final few pushes.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
It was quite surreal after the final push it was all go - him coming out, the midwifes checking him quickly then putting him up to my chest. I had my sports bra still on, took that off and it was all a bit of a blur! Then I was relieved he was healthy and it was over! We all forgot we didn't know what sex he was until a couple of minutes of him being out and lying on me.
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Don't focus on the end result too much, just ride the waves of contractions as they come and focus on getting through them as they come. Enjoy the little reprieves in between and it is a relief to start pushing when that time comes!
