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When did you realize you were really in labor?
This birth was really confusing for me. I was 42 weeks and 6 days pregnant on the day labor began, so I had the feeling all day that this was it (at that point, I knew no matter the consistency and time of contractions, if they were painful they were gonna bring me a baby) I called the midwife and doula around 7:30.
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
I think for me it was mentally challenging to wait until my body was ready to give birth. My daughter was born 43 weeks to the day, so overcoming those last few weeks were mentally harder than labor itself.
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
I surround myself with knowledge. I took Bradley Method Childbirth classes with my first child, read multiple books and refreshed myself with my second, and continued my birth education online with my third. I learned about everything from birthing babies without a midwife to breech births to my rights if I were to be transferred to a hospital. Knowledge was my key to confidence in my decisions with all three kids!
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What surprised you about your birth?
It wasn't like my other two. Even after the midwife came my contractions would sometimes be ten or fifteen minutes apart. The only regular part of it was the last 30 minutes, and ten of those were spent pushing. I was definitely surprised by that!
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I think being educated and confident in your decisions is key. I also think a natural birth is easiest when unnatural options like pain meds and induction meds aren't directly available to you.
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
Using my doula was key. She would support me through contractions by pressing on my hips and helping them open up. I would get on an exercise ball for bigger contractions and lean against her. Hearing her tell me how great I was doing helped keep my mind where it needed to be.
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What position did you end up delivering in?
I was pushing while leaning on the couch, then I pushed laying on my side, then I moved into all fours position and pushed out her head, and I stepped up with one foot and my doula supported me to push her body out!
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
It's a huge sigh of a relief. You just went through alll this work and now you have this new journey to take with your baby. I was so happy!
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
I think being educated and confident in your decisions is key. I also think a natural birth is easiest when unnatural options like pain meds and induction meds aren't directly available to you.
