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When did you realize you were really in labor?
When I had been up all night with contractions, unable to sleep because they were coming every 10-15 minutes.
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
The growing fear that the pain would get worse with the next contraction.
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
Hiring a doula! She was worth her weight in gold!
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What surprised you about your birth?
How strong I felt, even when I was scared. I knew that only I could bring my daughter into the world. It was an amazing feeling.
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You have to prepare yourself that it's going to hurt, and there's really no escaping that pain, but that the pain is also SO worth it.
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
My doula kept reminding me to growl through contractions, keeping my vocalizations low. The tub was also a good source of relief.
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What position did you end up delivering in?
Squatting
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
Surreal; it was like nothing is ever felt before. She was amazing, slippery, and she was perfect. I remembered thinking that birth had been hard, but still not as hard as I had thought because I had done it without drugs!
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
You have to prepare yourself that it's going to hurt, and there's really no escaping that pain, but that the pain is also SO worth it. You kind of spend some time outside, but also deeply inside, or yourself. You find out what you're made of, and that whatever it is, it's STRONG. I read when I was pregnant that mothers in labor leave their bodies to collect the souls of their babies, and they return to the earth together. That stuck with me, and feels like the most true statement about birth I can offer.
