Lots of great advice in the video and comments. After my two unmedicated births, here's a few thoughts to add in... My first labor was more challenging because I internally started to freak out that the pain was increasing and I wasn't going to be able to handle it. Questioning if the next contraction was going to be more than I can handle wasn't helpful. Going into my second, I focused on knowing that I can handle whatever happens and once the baby is out the pain stops. Staying focused on knowing I can handle whatever comes and that there is an end in sight made the experience much better. Second, like Shayla it sounds like, I internally spoke directly to body during each moment between contractions. This helped me feel more "in control", as I was trying to get to the end as fast as possible so I was encouraging them to continue their work, even "saying" internally, "thanks for that little break, but I'm strong, I can handle another big contraction". This was a very connecting experience for me, as I felt like me and my body and baby were literally collaborating together to get the baby into the world. Second baby took about 5 hours of "hard labor" and 30 min of "pushing", really not that long in hindsight, and that included some positioning changes suggested by the doula as baby hadn't dropped far enough at transition.
Worship music helped me relax during my second labor. We had to transfer from home to the hospital because we found out when I started pushing that my baby was breech. Lots and lots of praying out loud! I had to do something to get my mind off of needing to push for almost an hour. Breech was definitely more painful to push out,(she was butt first so an easy presentation for a vaginal breech birth). I hardly tore at all this time verses last time was a 3rd degree tare 😢 You get better at birthing the more times you do it and God always gives you the grace you need when you ask.
Oh my goodness! That's so crazy! What hospital were you at where they allowed you to vaginally deliver breech? I wasn't aware that really any providers would attempt a breech birth. That's so amazing! Strong mama!
@MrsMuffin11 There was no "allowing" baby was coming they were trying to get me to sign paperwork for the c-section and trying to get a vein to put me under but I was too dehydrated for them to find a vein and tired of fighting my body to not push for so long. I heard someone yell, "Baby is coming" and 3 pushes later she was out! Praise God for not having to get a c-section!
SAME! surprise breech once my midwife got to my house. And I was already trying not to push waiting for her to get there. Ended up with an emergency C-section. It was awful!
Just chiming in to say you can do all these things to prepare, and still end up with a medicalized birth, and that’s okay. Sometimes it’s even necessary for the life of mother and baby. A medicalized birth is still a birth, and it is still an incredible thing. Birth is powerful, the unexpected can happen. It’s a privilege to believe you are in full control of your birth story, and if you have that privilege, that is amazing. For the mamas out there who don’t get to have that privilege, just know you are not alone. Regardless of what your birth story is, there is goodness ahead 🤍
I just had my baby naturally 5 days ago and your videos helped so much! So many things you can do to prep but by far the biggest thing is to prep mentally. It will be one of the hardest things you’ve ever done but it is SO WORTH IT to go unmedicated!
This will be my first baby , I am 27 weeks today and its getting to be that time where I'm figuring out my birth plan, you have been a huge help in helping me decide what I want mh birth to look like, thank you !
Such great advice! I never wanted to have a natural birth, but for my second, we got to the hospital too late for an epidural. I was forced to run a marathon I was not prepared for. I can totally see how putting in the work and mental preparation ahead of time can make a profound difference.
All of this is so good! With my first my only preparation was reading positive birth stories and telling myself I can do it. Well, it was a long and difficult labor so for the second one I prepared mentally, emotionally and physically. I read several books, tons more birth stories, and I wrote up a bunch of cards with things I wanted to remember during labor. Some were positive affirmations, some were physical reminders like "open your mouth", or "relax your forehead". Another book I'd recommend is Orgasmic Birth by Debra Pascali-Bonaro. My second labor and birth were so enjoyable because of that book. Like, I literally can't wait to do it all again and I genuinely wish every woman could have the amazing experience I did. Also, don't ever forget that YOU are the one having the baby. Listen to your body, and don't feel like you need to do what anyone else says or suggests (unless there is a complication/medical reason of course). I will never forget feeling ready to push but being told not to by my midwife because I was only 8cm during the first birth. It was devastating after being in labor for so long. My body was telling me to push just a bit, but I didn't listen because I wasn't "supposed" to be pushing yet and I think that was part of why labor went even longer and I tore so bad. Second one, a similar thing happened where I felt like pushing a little but not full on pushing and I probably was not fully dilated yet but I listened to my body and very soon after I was definitely in the real pushing stage. (Another side note, dilation is not linear and can even go backwards. I sometimes wonder if I was 10cm but went back to 8 because I disliked cervical checks and felt uncomfortable. Second one she only did one check when she arrived (I had a home birth) and then I said I didn't want any more.) One thing that helped me was knowing that, barring any sudden complications, the baby would be born and both of us would be just fine even if the midwife wasn't there. That gave me confidence that I could do it on my own and she was just a supoort person, if that makes sense.
If you do have to do continous monitoring during labor, many hospitals have mobile and water proof monitors and you can still get in the tub or shower. I have done this and it was still all great and went all natural!
Love this!! I second all of this and I feel like it prepared me for the unexpected as well since both of my births ended up in unplanned c-sections, and I feel I coped well with the sudden changes in labor bc of all the prep. Thanks for sharing this info and helping people know their bodies can give birth without medication!
I read Ina May’s guide to childbirth after you mentioned it in one of your other videos and I’m so glad I did! I feel so much more confident going into my VBAC
Got a month and a half left with my second. With my first I was induced and put on Pitocin, I was really nervous about birth and what could happen and I ended up freaking out with the first big contractions and my placenta ended up rupturing inside my uterus and I hemorrhaged pretty bad but this time around I unfortunately have to be induced again but now knowing what birth is like I’ve been putting myself in a positive mindset about it and now when I think about having this baby I’m excited and I’m prepared. Your mindset is huge when it comes to birth!
I had my first birth naturally last Christmas. Two tips, first, have many different things planned for pain management during labor. The ONLY thing that took the edge off was a heating pad, I recommend bringing one or two 😅 Water did nothing for me, personally. Second, I didnt want an IV port so that if I opted to do an epidural it was an extra step. I also had tested positive for GBS but I denied antibiotics and my baby was fine. I knew labor was going to be extremely painful but I hate IVs! There were five specific times I remember talking to my mom about getting an epidural because I felt like my bones were breaking and I was wondering how I was not passing out from the pain 😅(my water broke before my contractions started so this could have been why they were so painful, high pain tolerance runs in my family) Each time, she said, "Do you think you can make it through one more contraction and then you can decide?" Each time my answer was yes. That was so helpful keeping me on the track to having a natural birth. It was the hardest thing I've ever done but in the grand scheme of things 17.5 hours is the blink of an eye! And I dont remember most of it now, only 10 months later. I remember my first thought after my daughter was born is "shes gonna be an only child because im NEVER doing that again!" Literally by the time we got into the recovery room 3 hours later, I was like "I want another baby!" 😂
@MrsMuffin11 That's a fantastic story! I'm glad you had a great support system! I didn't start thinking about having another one till I was 6 months postpartum.... now I'm thinking about a third baby 😉
I have had two natural unmedicated births, first one in the hospital and second in a birthing center. 2nd time was amazing, pleasurable and beautiful, it lasted only 5 hours with 3 min of “pushing” (my body ejected the baby by itself) but I felt like I could have done that for 10 hours more. My biggest tips would be hypnobirthing, learning how to breathe properly, get very educated about the whole process of birth and have your husband squeeze your hips during contractions. 😊
If you want another workout suggestion I found Glowbody PT on RUclips and I loved her videos, she also has a postpartum 12 week program you can get. Loved it. I gave birth at home last December for the first time and it went pretty well, I had a cervical lip and it was actually really painful to get through that. Once I was past that it felt easy. I wish I would have known what that was and how serious ect. I didn’t even know it was a possibility or how to work through it and I didn’t fully trust my midwives which added stress. I think the moral of the story is I thought I was fully prepared and then something happened I didn’t know about. Trust and prepare your mind and body, confidence in yourself is the key. I was 100 percent confident and I think that really helped even when it didn’t go perfectly to plan.
My top 3: 1. Christian hypnobirthing relaxation track during L&D 2. 4 sec in 6 sec out breathing during contractions 3. Waiting to push til your body is pushing. Don’t just push because you’re 10cm!
Understand what your fears are and talk about them with your doctor/midwife/partner Welcome every contraction as something positive that brings you closer to your baby Understand and tell yourself that you can do this. Your body is made to do this. You are strong. this experience will be extremely empowering Talk to your baby. You are in this together. You will do this together.
A couples things that really helped during natural labor. -Lemon essential oils in a defuser, super calming. -Having a calming and a hype up music playlist to switch between. - Sitting in a tub of water - breast pump to stimulate natural petosin -calling a doula, the hospital had one on call and she saved me, without her I don’t know how I would have made it through the end. Everyone needs a doula during birth 100%! And hipno birthing does help in the beginning. Also I found telling myself over and over again,” I am not alone, 3,000 other women are giving birth right now with me, we are in this together. And women have been having babies since the beginning of time, I can do this too.” These mantras helped me get through it and saying “ I can do this. I am not alone. Just one contraction at a time, this will be done soon and I will be holding baby in my arms soon.” After 48hours in labor baby did come naturally. It is hard but it can be done. Just take it one contraction at a time.
I wish I was this prepared for my birth. I think I was expecting a bit more from my midwife. If I ever decide to have another baby, I will definitely take all of your advice. I had a natural birth, but it was largely because it happened so quickly that I didn't have time to decide. I ate a lot of dates in the last trimester, so I like to believe that sped up my birth. So my advice is to eat dates!
I'm 21 weeks and avoiding epidural for medical reasons. Had spinal headaches from a lumbar puncture when I was younger and I DO NOT want to deal with that while taking care of a newborn. But since I'm only 21 weeks, no one wants to talk to me about alternatives and birthing yet which is making me a bit nervous. I
❤ Love your videos so much and I agree with most of what you are saying!! The only thing in my experience is that hypno birthing did NOT work for me. I've had two births. I'm 99% sure I have endometriosis with scar adhesions, not to mention some CPTSD on top of that which really affects your mental state... No matter how much I relaxed, it was incredibly painful. With my second I ended up doing an unmedicated birth but it was really only because I didn't have enough time for an epidural. I just want other people to know that if they are experiencing something like that, they aren't crazy!!
Just had my first, and I’m also keeping becoming a doula on my future possibilities list. Told anyone in my family I’d be happy to help/coach them haha
I had precipitous labor that lasted maybe 4 hours before our baby was born and it was unmedicated but not planned! No time for an epidural lol. I was 9 cm when we got to the hospital (and yes he was my first!). It worked out well for me because he was born in 12 minutes total lol he was almost born in the car but my husband refused to pull over when I begged I never wanted an epidural but I almost considered it after my water broke at home while I was having contractions on the toilet. The pain went from like a 4 to a 7 immediately lol
Understanding what happens to the body during contractions, each stage of labour so when you’re going through it you understand what’s going on. That helped me. Trusting that my body knows exactly what it needs to do to give birth, all I have to do is focus on remaining calm. Birth skills by juju sudin and listening to hypnobirthing Australia positive birth affirmations & glove of endorphins and surge of sea (I didn’t do the course, just bought those three tracks on their own). 2 natural unmediated births.
My second baby was a vbac and in order for them to let me attempt a vbac I couldn’t go past 40 weeks. So I was induced at 40 weeks despite me doing all the things (dates, curb walking, sex, yoga ball, membrane sweeps x 2). They induced me with a foley and Pitocin. I was crampy but no big deal. The foley came out and I was around 5cm. I let them break my water and then holy shit it was instantly excruciating. No time to adjust like with normal contractions. My nurse helped me get in the shower. I was trying to control my sounds to moan low and open but it was getting unbearable. I begged my midwife to check me and turns out I was 9cm. They couldn’t find baby’s HR with the stupid monitor so I went back to the bed which was horrible. Shortly after I pushed out my baby in 15 minutes. So from 5cm to birth it was 2 hours. The Pitocin was excruciating. If I was gonna be in labor much longer I would have gotten the epidural. I was low key almost suffering. But I got my epidural free birth! Better than a repeat c section so I’ll take it :)
1000% agree with water therapy and preparing ahead of time. For me, learning the "why" behind everything that was happening to my body during pregnancy and then going into labor, helped me feel so much less afraid and much more confident and peaceful. And the biggest thing I learned was that when you are anxious and scared your body produces adrenaline (fight or flight hormone) which sends all the blood to your extremities in case you need to run, but when we're in labor we obviously don't need to run, and our uterus needs that blood because it needs the oxygen in that blood so that it doesn't become fatigued (the fatigue will create muscle cramping and then pain, just like if you weren't breathing properly while exercising) and learning that made things make so much more sense to me! So I did everything I could to create a relaxed and calm environment to keep oxytocin flowing (feel-good hormone that helps labor progress), and focused on slow deep breathing to help get blood and oxygen to my uterine muscles- and those things helped immensely! And ultimately I told myself that no matter how my babies came out, it was still me bringing them into this world, and however that looks, it's a beautiful thing🫶🤍
Best way to prep for natural birth: binge watch Shayla's labor/birth content. 😁
Lots of great advice in the video and comments. After my two unmedicated births, here's a few thoughts to add in... My first labor was more challenging because I internally started to freak out that the pain was increasing and I wasn't going to be able to handle it. Questioning if the next contraction was going to be more than I can handle wasn't helpful. Going into my second, I focused on knowing that I can handle whatever happens and once the baby is out the pain stops. Staying focused on knowing I can handle whatever comes and that there is an end in sight made the experience much better. Second, like Shayla it sounds like, I internally spoke directly to body during each moment between contractions. This helped me feel more "in control", as I was trying to get to the end as fast as possible so I was encouraging them to continue their work, even "saying" internally, "thanks for that little break, but I'm strong, I can handle another big contraction". This was a very connecting experience for me, as I felt like me and my body and baby were literally collaborating together to get the baby into the world. Second baby took about 5 hours of "hard labor" and 30 min of "pushing", really not that long in hindsight, and that included some positioning changes suggested by the doula as baby hadn't dropped far enough at transition.
Worship music helped me relax during my second labor. We had to transfer from home to the hospital because we found out when I started pushing that my baby was breech. Lots and lots of praying out loud! I had to do something to get my mind off of needing to push for almost an hour. Breech was definitely more painful to push out,(she was butt first so an easy presentation for a vaginal breech birth). I hardly tore at all this time verses last time was a 3rd degree tare 😢 You get better at birthing the more times you do it and God always gives you the grace you need when you ask.
Oh my goodness! That's so crazy! What hospital were you at where they allowed you to vaginally deliver breech? I wasn't aware that really any providers would attempt a breech birth. That's so amazing! Strong mama!
Love this!!! And holy crap amazing!!
@MrsMuffin11 There was no "allowing" baby was coming they were trying to get me to sign paperwork for the c-section and trying to get a vein to put me under but I was too dehydrated for them to find a vein and tired of fighting my body to not push for so long. I heard someone yell, "Baby is coming" and 3 pushes later she was out! Praise God for not having to get a c-section!
SAME! surprise breech once my midwife got to my house. And I was already trying not to push waiting for her to get there. Ended up with an emergency C-section. It was awful!
Just chiming in to say you can do all these things to prepare, and still end up with a medicalized birth, and that’s okay. Sometimes it’s even necessary for the life of mother and baby. A medicalized birth is still a birth, and it is still an incredible thing.
Birth is powerful, the unexpected can happen. It’s a privilege to believe you are in full control of your birth story, and if you have that privilege, that is amazing. For the mamas out there who don’t get to have that privilege, just know you are not alone. Regardless of what your birth story is, there is goodness ahead 🤍
Love this, thank you so much for adding it❤️
I just had my baby naturally 5 days ago and your videos helped so much! So many things you can do to prep but by far the biggest thing is to prep mentally. It will be one of the hardest things you’ve ever done but it is SO WORTH IT to go unmedicated!
This will be my first baby , I am 27 weeks today and its getting to be that time where I'm figuring out my birth plan, you have been a huge help in helping me decide what I want mh birth to look like, thank you !
Such great advice! I never wanted to have a natural birth, but for my second, we got to the hospital too late for an epidural. I was forced to run a marathon I was not prepared for. I can totally see how putting in the work and mental preparation ahead of time can make a profound difference.
All of this is so good! With my first my only preparation was reading positive birth stories and telling myself I can do it. Well, it was a long and difficult labor so for the second one I prepared mentally, emotionally and physically. I read several books, tons more birth stories, and I wrote up a bunch of cards with things I wanted to remember during labor. Some were positive affirmations, some were physical reminders like "open your mouth", or "relax your forehead". Another book I'd recommend is Orgasmic Birth by Debra Pascali-Bonaro. My second labor and birth were so enjoyable because of that book. Like, I literally can't wait to do it all again and I genuinely wish every woman could have the amazing experience I did.
Also, don't ever forget that YOU are the one having the baby. Listen to your body, and don't feel like you need to do what anyone else says or suggests (unless there is a complication/medical reason of course). I will never forget feeling ready to push but being told not to by my midwife because I was only 8cm during the first birth. It was devastating after being in labor for so long. My body was telling me to push just a bit, but I didn't listen because I wasn't "supposed" to be pushing yet and I think that was part of why labor went even longer and I tore so bad. Second one, a similar thing happened where I felt like pushing a little but not full on pushing and I probably was not fully dilated yet but I listened to my body and very soon after I was definitely in the real pushing stage. (Another side note, dilation is not linear and can even go backwards. I sometimes wonder if I was 10cm but went back to 8 because I disliked cervical checks and felt uncomfortable. Second one she only did one check when she arrived (I had a home birth) and then I said I didn't want any more.) One thing that helped me was knowing that, barring any sudden complications, the baby would be born and both of us would be just fine even if the midwife wasn't there. That gave me confidence that I could do it on my own and she was just a supoort person, if that makes sense.
If you do have to do continous monitoring during labor, many hospitals have mobile and water proof monitors and you can still get in the tub or shower. I have done this and it was still all great and went all natural!
Love this!! I second all of this and I feel like it prepared me for the unexpected as well since both of my births ended up in unplanned c-sections, and I feel I coped well with the sudden changes in labor bc of all the prep. Thanks for sharing this info and helping people know their bodies can give birth without medication!
I read Ina May’s guide to childbirth after you mentioned it in one of your other videos and I’m so glad I did! I feel so much more confident going into my VBAC
Got a month and a half left with my second. With my first I was induced and put on Pitocin, I was really nervous about birth and what could happen and I ended up freaking out with the first big contractions and my placenta ended up rupturing inside my uterus and I hemorrhaged pretty bad but this time around I unfortunately have to be induced again but now knowing what birth is like I’ve been putting myself in a positive mindset about it and now when I think about having this baby I’m excited and I’m prepared. Your mindset is huge when it comes to birth!
I had my first birth naturally last Christmas. Two tips, first, have many different things planned for pain management during labor. The ONLY thing that took the edge off was a heating pad, I recommend bringing one or two 😅 Water did nothing for me, personally.
Second, I didnt want an IV port so that if I opted to do an epidural it was an extra step. I also had tested positive for GBS but I denied antibiotics and my baby was fine. I knew labor was going to be extremely painful but I hate IVs! There were five specific times I remember talking to my mom about getting an epidural because I felt like my bones were breaking and I was wondering how I was not passing out from the pain 😅(my water broke before my contractions started so this could have been why they were so painful, high pain tolerance runs in my family) Each time, she said, "Do you think you can make it through one more contraction and then you can decide?" Each time my answer was yes. That was so helpful keeping me on the track to having a natural birth. It was the hardest thing I've ever done but in the grand scheme of things 17.5 hours is the blink of an eye! And I dont remember most of it now, only 10 months later.
I remember my first thought after my daughter was born is "shes gonna be an only child because im NEVER doing that again!" Literally by the time we got into the recovery room 3 hours later, I was like "I want another baby!" 😂
@MrsMuffin11 That's a fantastic story! I'm glad you had a great support system! I didn't start thinking about having another one till I was 6 months postpartum.... now I'm thinking about a third baby 😉
I have had two natural unmedicated births, first one in the hospital and second in a birthing center. 2nd time was amazing, pleasurable and beautiful, it lasted only 5 hours with 3 min of “pushing” (my body ejected the baby by itself) but I felt like I could have done that for 10 hours more. My biggest tips would be hypnobirthing, learning how to breathe properly, get very educated about the whole process of birth and have your husband squeeze your hips during contractions. 😊
This is such a great summary of *all the things.* saving to review before next baby!
If you want another workout suggestion I found Glowbody PT on RUclips and I loved her videos, she also has a postpartum 12 week program you can get. Loved it. I gave birth at home last December for the first time and it went pretty well, I had a cervical lip and it was actually really painful to get through that. Once I was past that it felt easy. I wish I would have known what that was and how serious ect. I didn’t even know it was a possibility or how to work through it and I didn’t fully trust my midwives which added stress. I think the moral of the story is I thought I was fully prepared and then something happened I didn’t know about. Trust and prepare your mind and body, confidence in yourself is the key. I was 100 percent confident and I think that really helped even when it didn’t go perfectly to plan.
I did 2 natural births, Ina May book is the best!!!
My top 3:
1. Christian hypnobirthing relaxation track during L&D
2. 4 sec in 6 sec out breathing during contractions
3. Waiting to push til your body is pushing. Don’t just push because you’re 10cm!
Understand what your fears are and talk about them with your doctor/midwife/partner
Welcome every contraction as something positive that brings you closer to your baby
Understand and tell yourself that you can do this. Your body is made to do this. You are strong. this experience will be extremely empowering
Talk to your baby. You are in this together. You will do this together.
A couples things that really helped during natural labor. -Lemon essential oils in a defuser, super calming. -Having a calming and a hype up music playlist to switch between. - Sitting in a tub of water - breast pump to stimulate natural petosin -calling a doula, the hospital had one on call and she saved me, without her I don’t know how I would have made it through the end. Everyone needs a doula during birth 100%! And hipno birthing does help in the beginning. Also I found telling myself over and over again,” I am not alone, 3,000 other women are giving birth right now with me, we are in this together. And women have been having babies since the beginning of time, I can do this too.” These mantras helped me get through it and saying “ I can do this. I am not alone. Just one contraction at a time, this will be done soon and I will be holding baby in my arms soon.” After 48hours in labor baby did come naturally. It is hard but it can be done. Just take it one contraction at a time.
I wish I was this prepared for my birth. I think I was expecting a bit more from my midwife. If I ever decide to have another baby, I will definitely take all of your advice. I had a natural birth, but it was largely because it happened so quickly that I didn't have time to decide. I ate a lot of dates in the last trimester, so I like to believe that sped up my birth. So my advice is to eat dates!
Work through fears & perceptions of birth, practice labor breathing & educate yourself!!!
I'm 21 weeks and avoiding epidural for medical reasons. Had spinal headaches from a lumbar puncture when I was younger and I DO NOT want to deal with that while taking care of a newborn. But since I'm only 21 weeks, no one wants to talk to me about alternatives and birthing yet which is making me a bit nervous. I
❤ Love your videos so much and I agree with most of what you are saying!! The only thing in my experience is that hypno birthing did NOT work for me. I've had two births. I'm 99% sure I have endometriosis with scar adhesions, not to mention some CPTSD on top of that which really affects your mental state... No matter how much I relaxed, it was incredibly painful. With my second I ended up doing an unmedicated birth but it was really only because I didn't have enough time for an epidural. I just want other people to know that if they are experiencing something like that, they aren't crazy!!
Thanks for adding this!! Totally makes sense everyone is so unique
You would be an incredible doula, Shayla!
Just had my first, and I’m also keeping becoming a doula on my future possibilities list. Told anyone in my family I’d be happy to help/coach them haha
I wanted to do natural but then I was in labour for 43 hours so by around hour 30, I was begging for the epidural! No regrets ❤
I had precipitous labor that lasted maybe 4 hours before our baby was born and it was unmedicated but not planned! No time for an epidural lol. I was 9 cm when we got to the hospital (and yes he was my first!). It worked out well for me because he was born in 12 minutes total lol he was almost born in the car but my husband refused to pull over when I begged
I never wanted an epidural but I almost considered it after my water broke at home while I was having contractions on the toilet. The pain went from like a 4 to a 7 immediately lol
Understanding what happens to the body during contractions, each stage of labour so when you’re going through it you understand what’s going on. That helped me. Trusting that my body knows exactly what it needs to do to give birth, all I have to do is focus on remaining calm. Birth skills by juju sudin and listening to hypnobirthing Australia positive birth affirmations & glove of endorphins and surge of sea (I didn’t do the course, just bought those three tracks on their own). 2 natural unmediated births.
*unmedicated
My second baby was a vbac and in order for them to let me attempt a vbac I couldn’t go past 40 weeks. So I was induced at 40 weeks despite me doing all the things (dates, curb walking, sex, yoga ball, membrane sweeps x 2). They induced me with a foley and Pitocin. I was crampy but no
big deal. The foley came out and I was around 5cm. I let them break my water and then holy shit it was instantly excruciating. No time to adjust like with normal contractions. My nurse helped me get in the shower. I was trying to control my sounds to moan low and open but it was getting unbearable. I begged my midwife to check me and turns out I was 9cm. They couldn’t find baby’s HR with the stupid monitor so I went back to the bed which was horrible. Shortly after I pushed out my baby in 15 minutes. So from 5cm to birth it was 2 hours. The Pitocin was excruciating. If I was gonna be in labor much longer I would have gotten the epidural. I was low key almost suffering. But I got my epidural free birth! Better than a repeat c section so I’ll take it :)
Shayla you are looking so beautiful 👍🏽
😭😍
Teach your partner how to do counter pressure because that really would’ve saved me this last time around
1000% agree with water therapy and preparing ahead of time. For me, learning the "why" behind everything that was happening to my body during pregnancy and then going into labor, helped me feel so much less afraid and much more confident and peaceful. And the biggest thing I learned was that when you are anxious and scared your body produces adrenaline (fight or flight hormone) which sends all the blood to your extremities in case you need to run, but when we're in labor we obviously don't need to run, and our uterus needs that blood because it needs the oxygen in that blood so that it doesn't become fatigued (the fatigue will create muscle cramping and then pain, just like if you weren't breathing properly while exercising) and learning that made things make so much more sense to me! So I did everything I could to create a relaxed and calm environment to keep oxytocin flowing (feel-good hormone that helps labor progress), and focused on slow deep breathing to help get blood and oxygen to my uterine muscles- and those things helped immensely! And ultimately I told myself that no matter how my babies came out, it was still me bringing them into this world, and however that looks, it's a beautiful thing🫶🤍
I didn’t know this?! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
One month away for me and ask grateful for you 🥹🥰