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When did you realize you were really in labor?
I had to be induced at the hospital because of high blood pressure. I was planning a home birth with my wonderful midwives but unfortunately that didn't get to happen.
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
The most challenging thing about going natural was being in the hospital with nurses and a Dr. I didn't know and trying to fill them in last minute on my plans when they were used to doing things another way.
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
My husband and I practiced the Bradley Method exercises which helped the most when contractions got really intense. My husband would remind me to relax.
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What surprised you about your birth?
I went from 5 cm dilated to a 10 in about 20 minutes and from 7 to 10 in about 2 seconds. Also I started having pushing contractions while I was at a 7.
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It felt wonderful to finally hold my baby and do skin to skin with him. He was even able to do the breast crawl and very well too.
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
The Bradley Method is my favorite. The exercises prepare you to relax during the different contractions. It works best if your husband has memorized the scripts especially when the contractions get really intense. I also had a hypnobirthing recording to listen to that helped me relax.
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What position did you end up delivering in?
I delivered in a squatting position. It happened so quickly though I burly got in position in time to deliver him.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
It felt wonderful to finally hold my baby and do skin to skin with him. He was even able to do the breast crawl and very well too.
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Trust your body. It knows what its doing and was built to do this. The hardest part of labor is (as the Bradley method calls it) the self doubt sign post. This is when some women give up and get their epidurals. Unfortunately what they don't realize is if they would wait it out they would start pushing in a few minutes. But a lot of times the epidural actually slows down labor and drags it out and sometimes pushes them into an emergency C-section.
