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When did you realize you were really in labor?
Only a couple of hours before pushing started- I got to 5cm without believing I was in active labor!
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
PUSHING. The labor was a piece of cake, but the contractions during the pushing stage were unlike anything I could have imagined. I was literally screaming and bellowing like a cow. I had had an epidural for my first birth so I didn't really know how to push and it was as if I was doing it for the first time. That and my baby girl was 9lbs!
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farm20
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
I did an amazing prenatal yoga class that focused on breathing exercises and pain management techniques, and a lot of visualization. We would get into a very uncomfortable pose and hold it for 60 seconds and focus on getting through the discomfort, just like with contractions. That and I really wanted it. Sounds simple, but I think when a mother is motivated and determined to have natural childbirth, she can make it happen.
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What surprised you about your birth?
My recovery from my natural childbirth was tougher than with my first birth, which was medicated.
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My bias is that my first birth was in a hospital, and I knew, after that experience, that I could never have a natural childbirth in a hospital setting. I just completely shut down and couldn't relax, and the transfer from home was too much for me (it was an hour's drive). So I created an environment where I knew I would have no recourse to drugs and wouldn't have people bothering me, and where I wouldn't have to transfer.
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
Knowing and truly believing in myself, that birth is a natural safe process, and that mother nature always provides a rest after each contraction. You just have to ride the wave and believe that you can do it, and nothing is forever.
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What position did you end up delivering in?
I delivered on an old-fashioned birthing stool, which allows you to squat, supported.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
In all honesty I was a bit numb from how hard the pushing stage had been! I dont remember much. I was in shock, I think. I was not as present as I had been in my first birth, when I had an epidural.
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
My bias is that my first birth was in a hospital, and I knew, after that experience, that I could never have a natural childbirth in a hospital setting. I just completely shut down and couldn't relax, and the transfer from home was too much for me (it was an hour's drive). So I created an environment where I knew I would have no recourse to drugs and wouldn't have people bothering me, and where I wouldn't have to transfer.
