Why I Chose a Calm, Natural Birth

I don't talk much about my son's birth outside of the birthing community because I got so much flack for it, and I hear many friends and doula clients who tell me the same thing about when they try to share their births. I want to break that cycle here and now. I am extremely proud and content with the choices I made during my pregnancy and my son's birth and I will no longer hide it. I kicked ass, and now I am taking names.

So, in a day and age when most hospitals have upwards of an 80% epidural rate, and a national C-section rate of over 30%, why did I chose to birth naturally, using HypnoBirthing, and have a doula? Well, there are lots of reasons!

Why Did I Chose to Birth Naturally?

• The biggest reason I chose a natural birth is because I wanted the full experience of birthing. I have endometriosis (I have received treatment for it) and prior to getting knocked up by accident with my wonderful son, I was told that I would most likely have a 30-40% chance of getting pregnant on my own, as is typical for women with endometriosis, even after treatment.  It is the #1 cause of female infertility. So, I was never quite sure that I would ever be able to experience giving birth to a child of my own, and I made a promise to myself that if/when that happened, I would do whatever was in my power to make sure that I experienced it to the fullest degree. That, to me, meant feeling everything. So, when I got the biggest surprise of my life, I wasn't about to back out on that promise just because this wasn't something I saw coming. In "The Business of Being Born" Ricki Lake makes a great comment about she isn't against medication, she just doesn't feel that birth was something that needed to be numbed. I couldn't agree with that statement more! 

• The next big reason is that I am simply scared shitless of being numb. I already have nerve damage in my foot from a brown recluse bite and nerve damage in my lower lip from wisdom teeth surgery. I wasn't about to risk something else losing feeling permanently. For me, not feeling is way worse than feeling. It is really that simple! 

• I just wasn't comfortable with putting unnecessary things into my (and therefore my baby's) body. I am a minimalist, on all levels! 

• I didn't (and don't) see birth as a medical condition (unless of course there are complications!). It is the most natural thing that happens in life!

• I trusted that my body and my baby would work together.

Why Did I Choose HypnoBirthing?

• I wanted a calm, peaceful birth. That is the exact goal of HypnoBirthing.

• I wanted to use a method that relied on the mother using her own body and mind to release my body's natural painkillers aka endorphins.

• I love visualization and guided imagery, and HypnoBirthing uses these.

• I watched a lot of HypnoBirths on youtube and they were exactly what I envisioned for my own birth!

Why Did I Chose to Have a Doula? 

• In a time where natural birth is not even close to being the norm, I felt it was absolutely necessary to have someone there to help advocate for myself, my baby, and my husband.

• I wanted another woman who could support and reassure me that I could do it, and that I wasn't crazy for wanting the birth that I did! 

• I wanted someone that I could inform me in an unbiased manner on the issues I had questions about. 

• I wanted as much support as possible during my pregnancy, labor, birth, and early postpartum period.

Not only did all of these decisions and the reasons behind them yield the birth that I so desperately wished for, it also changed the course of my life. Even though I knew well before I ever got pregnant that I wanted a natural birth using HypnoBirthing, I don't know how sucessful I would have been if the stars didn't somehow align for it. If I hadn't found HypnoBirthing at the yoga studio down the road from my college, I probably would have taken another type of class. Then, I wouldn't have learned all of the amazing things that I did in, and I wouldn't then go on to teach it (I'll be certified to teach it next month! I'm so excited!).

Also, meeting my HypnoBirthing Instructor (and doula!) changed my life in ways that I will be forever grateful. Meeting Tricia was like meeting a long lost sibling. I felt so instantly at ease with her. Because I had so much outside opposition to the birth I was trying to have, I felt doubtful of myself, my body, and my baby's abilty to work together. Tricia made me realize that I wasn't unrealistic for wanting that, and that I wasn't crazy for thinking that my body and my baby were a team. As my doula, she was always there for me, and I mean always! I had a million and one questions for her on a daily basis. She answered each one and never once hinted that I was probably annoying the shit out of her while she was trying to spend time with her family. When my pregnancy and later, my labor, hit some bumps in the road she was my (and my husband's!) rock. She was always positive, reassuring, warm, and empathetic. Now, she is an amazing friend (who I still ask a million and one questions to, now all about mothering and doula work!) and an even bigger role model for me. If I can be half the doula, childbirth educator, and most of all, mother that she is, I will consider myself extremely accomplished.

 My first moments with my littlest man, Sawyer. I know, I look really metal with all the blood on my hands!

Myself, my husband, and my doula minutes after I popped out the Sawbones.

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