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When did you realize you were really in labor?
When my waters broke.
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
The fear of pain which happened not to be as bad as I imagined, worst still heard from women I know or read on the internet
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
Read about maternal positions and fetal positioning. Mama natural videos were great as well, so thank you Mama Natural :)
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What surprised you about your birth?
That it started so suddenly with a proper gush of waters, and how quickly I was in established labour, about an hour after the waters broke. I really didn't have time to get stressed as I started to have my contractions every 1,5 to 2 minutes apart. Also, how quickly I delivered the baby the total time was 6hours of labour 5 of which were established labour with pain. Another thing was that the pain was so manageable! In fact I was not feeling much of the pain, but rather tightening in the lower abdomen -some of my period pains were much worse than the actual labour pain!
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Don't be afraid of the pain, you won't remember it afterwards. I had a second degree tear but didn't feel it at all. Don't focus too much on the pain and labour, as the things that come afterwards are also very important.
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
Breathing and trying different positions.
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What position did you end up delivering in?
On my knees with my elbows resting on the head of the bed.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
It felt extremely overpowering!
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Don't be afraid of the pain, you won't remember it afterwards. I had a second degree tear but didn't feel it at all. Don't focus too much on the pain and labour, as the things that come afterwards are also very important. For instance, nobody told me it will be so difficult to breastfeed - my milk supply was great, I even had too much milk at the beginning, but I suffered from cracked nipples and engorgement. Nobody told me about that funny feeling when you start breastfeeding you suddenly have the feeling of tension in your breasts for about a minute and the milk letdown is so strong then. It did hurt, but I found support and I'm still breastfeeding exclusively! Don't give up if you find yourself in that situation, breastfeeding is the greatest thing ever even if at the beginning it may be difficult.
