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When did you realize you were really in labor?
I realized I was in labor when the mild contractions I'd been having throughout the day and night for weeks finally became stronger and more frequent. Even then, I was somewhat in denial that I was actually in true labor, because less than 24 hours prior, my midwife had found that my cervix was completely closed and up. Once I was using deep moaning to cope and could no longer converse with my husband through the contractions though, I knew. I would have very strong ones every 4-6 minutes, but also had smaller ones in between. I'd studied Hypnobabies and tried to tap into it, but it didn't work for me; low moaning became my coping technique throughout the whole birth. After an hour of this more intense labor, we went to the hospital to meet our midwife. It was 5:30pm. She found I was only 2cm dilated and suggested we could go home for awhile. Good thing we didn't -- our daughter was born two hours later at 7:35pm. Thank you, daily dates (six a day!) and red raspberry leaf tea?
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
In the moment, I suppose it was fear. Fear that I wouldn't be able to endure a long labor without some assistance (alas, the birth went so fast that I needn't have feared enduring a long labor). My first birth experience five years prior was very long and involved the unfortunate cascade of interventions. I found natural childbirth far less challenging than dealing with interventions and their aftermath. It was incredible to feel the relief of her whole body coming out, rather than have my body be riddled with drugs, IV fluids, exhaustion, lack of natural hormones, and so forth. In fact, it was incredible to feel all the things I had learned occur in normal, natural childbirth (transition, ring of fire, etc.). This helped me focus and feel positive that things were going as they should.
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
I walked five miles a day, practice yoga, and kept working as a Montessori preschool teacher until two weeks prior to our daughter's "due date". This kept my body active and in shape. I also visited a prenatal chiropractor weekly (starting at 32 weeks). I ate a whole foods plant-based diet throughout pregnancy and, starting in the third trimester, ate six dates a day and drank raspberry leaf tea. Since my first daughter's birth, I better educated myself on how to successfully have a natural childbirth, as well as all the nitty gritty about interventions that I wasn't as aware of the first time around. I read/watched many positive natural birthing stories/videos. Finally, but perhaps most important of all, I put the leg work into finding a doula and an amazing midwife, which resulted in the best care imaginable.
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What surprised you about your birth?
That our daughter arrived on her "due date" and how fast the labor went. At one point, my midwife was certain she would be early (I had all sorts of early labor signs around 37 weeks). But then, it started looking like she'd arrive late, due to the state of my cervix and unchanging symptoms. We thought it was pretty cool that she actually arrived on her "due date", since that's such a rarity. Fast labor is intense! I hardly had time to catch my breath and my body/mind was a bit shocked from the speed of things, but when it was done, there was such relief and pride in having birthed her naturally.
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Educate yourself, stay healthy and as active as possible, focus on positive thoughts and stories, and do the legwork to find an excellent midwife or doctor.
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
Deep moaning, focusing inward, remembering all I had learned about natural childbirth, and the presence of my midwife and husband. One thing that surprised me was that the double-hip squeeze made my pain worse. You sure never know what's going to work best, until you're in the moment. During the pushing phase, my husband kept me informed of my progress and gave me lots of encouragement. This was incredibly helpful. He was amazing!
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What position did you end up delivering in?
Propped up in bed with my legs held back (for the final two pushes). It felt like a very supported squat.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
There's nothing like it in the world. I missed out on this with my first daughter, which was quite traumatizing (luckily, it didn't impact our bonding or nursing). Holding my baby right away meant the world to me and was a healing experience. I loved how warm and slippery she felt on my belly. It was utterly blissful. She initiated the breast crawl within minutes too, which was super cool!
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Educate yourself, stay healthy and as active as possible, focus on positive thoughts and stories, and do the legwork to find an excellent midwife or doctor.
