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When did you realize you were really in labor?
I didn't go into labor naturally, which was the one thing I hoped didn't happen to me when my first birth. I had prepared for birth by taking a hypnobirthing course and was listening to the tracks daily. I hoped to have a natural labor and drug-free birth!
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
I was induced at 41 weeks and 1 day per my practice's guidelines. The process lasted for 62 hours! My birth team really worked with me to try and help me have a drug-free vaginal birth, no matter how long it took. But in the end, my beautiful baby was in a face-up position with the umbilical cord wrapped around her shoulders so it was making it hard for her to come down. It was hard to accept but the right thing for us to do after almost 3 days of working to meet our baby, was to have a C-Section.
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
My hypnobirthing course helped me learn how to breathe and thus deal with the contractions and pain during the induction process. Also, I hired a doula and she was amazing during this uncertain time. She helped me through Pitocin contractions and then helped us navigate the rest of the process.
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What surprised you about your birth?
How much you can endure for your child. Pain, uncertainty, a change of plans, and a whole lot of sleep deprivation.
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How much you can endure for your child. Pain, uncertainty, a change of plans, and a whole lot of sleep deprivation.
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
Breathing and changing positions. I went through 4 hours of intense Pitocin contractions.
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What position did you end up delivering in?
C section
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
Amazing and territorial! I wanted all the staff that had been around for days to finally just leave us alone.
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Try hypnobirthing and hire a doula! No matter what happens you are going to need pain management tools and emotional and physical support for someone. I would have also loved to have known she was face-up earlier so I could have tried to get her to move, but I know that's a hard thing to know at the time of birth.
