Natural Birth Stories, Prenatal Yoga And Hiring A Doula Helped Jamie During Her Natural Hospital Birth

When did you realize you were really in labor?

I actually didn't realize I was in labor. Baby boy was nearly two weeks late, so I was at the hospital for a non-stress test and ultrasound. Being so overdue, I asked my midwife to do a membrane sweep afterwards to see if we could encourage this kiddo to make his debut. When she went to check me and do the sweep, she was surprised to find I was a stretchy 5, nearly 6 cm, dilated with a bulging bag of waters! "Can you not feel that?!" she asked. I told her I'd started to have some mild cramping on one side of my lower back during the ultrasound, but no, I didn't really feel it. She really wanted me to stay and get checked into the hospital, but I promised to come right back if I could just go home to meet up with my husband and grab my bag. She and her attending OB laughed and stared in disbelief as I smiled and waived while walking down the hallway to leave. I got home, ate some Thanksgiving leftovers, changed the sheets (what sounds better than coming home to a freshly made bed?!) and had my mom come pick up our dogs. When we returned to the hospital two hours later, the cramping had started to ramp up a bit, but was still only on the right side. A half hour later in our room, our doula arrived and right away I had my first "real" contraction that stopped me in my tracks and had the peak and descent that I'd read/heard about.

What was the most challenging thing about going natural?

The most challenging part about going natural was the doubt and commentary from other people leading up to delivery. Nearly every time it came up that I was planning a birth without interventions, someone would scoff and smirk, "Oook just wait until you're actually in labor, you'll beg for that epidural."

What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?

In the last weeks if my pregnancy, I made sure to read and watch as many positive, natural birth stories as possible to offset the negativity and increase my confidence in my decision and my body's capabilities. Physically, prenatal yoga and a hands-on comfort measures class with my husband gave me so many helpful tools, breathing techniques and the endurance to work through each contraction. And, of course, hiring a doula was enormously helpful to both me and my husband. I had someone offer me suggestions or do things like bring me water without my asking because she just knew from experience, and my husband had a teammate to lean on and get reassurance about the process as things moved so quickly.

What surprised you about your birth?

I had prepared myself for a 12- or 24-hour birth as a first time mom, but ended up in labor for five hours. As my doula explained, every birth has to check all the boxes no matter the length, so despite a relatively "short" labor, it was very intense. Within 30 minutes of my first contraction, my contractions were just a minute apart and everything flew by from there.

I was in total awe of what I'd just accomplished and that my body had done exactly what it was supposed to to bring him to me.

What pain relief strategies worked best?

Laboring in the hospital's birthing tub was maybe the best thing I did. It was so much more comfortable than laboring over the bed and I could relax my entire body between contractions to take advantage of those (very short!) breaks. Keeping my groans and noises deep, and my mouth open and relaxed was also helpful. Anytime I'd notice myself making high-pitched noises or tensing my jaw, I'd relax and the whole contraction would come and go a bit easier.

What position did you end up delivering in?

I hadn't planned on delivering in the tub, but once I was in there I couldn't imagine ever getting out. However, after the midwife broke my waters, she noticed the baby had a bit of his first bowel movement in utero (not uncommon for babies so far past their due date) and I had to get out of the tub and move to the bed. I tried to kneel and lean over the back of the upright bed, but eventually flipped over and delivered reclined and holding both legs.

How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?

I fell so immediately in love with the tiny being I'd been carrying around all those months. His warm, squirmy little body on my chest was the most natural feeling I've ever experienced, as if he and I were always meant to fit together just like that. And amazed - I was in total awe of what I'd just accomplished and that my body had done exactly what it was supposed to to bring him to me.

What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?

You can absolutely, 100%, totally do it. You can! Just keep reminding yourself of that all the way through. And trust your instincts for the type of birth you want, natural or otherwise. Having confidence in yourself, your decisions and your birth team will help you to have the best experience possible and, hopefully, no regrets or anxiety about how it all played out. Some things didn't go exactly how I'd planned, but I had confidence in my team to guide me to the ultimate goal - a healthy baby and healthy mama.