Our Small Haven

Choosing Natural Childbirth

More specifically, a water birth.

Birth is something that was fascinating to me long before baby talk was in the picture. The thought of the child you grew having to come out at some point was a little scary to say the least, and I was more than happy imagining having the epidural when the day would come for me. I remember searching "birth" online and most of the material I came across made me nauseous. It was an intimidating thought that I would one day have to go through the same process, but at some point I realized the only way I would ever find confidence is to learn every aspect that I possibly could on birth.

I started by reading natural birth stories online and I was amazed by the experiences these women accomplished. It was a level of intensity I never imagined existed and I immediately knew it was something that I wanted for myself. All of their stories and the things they experienced during labor & birth were so beautiful. & I know it will be the single most difficult thing I ever attempt in life , but also the most rewarding.

The more I learned about the birth system here in America, the more confidence I gained in wanting to birth naturally. I asked a friend who has accomplished two natural births for resources and the first thing she suggested was watching a video called "The Business of Being Born". I would recommend this to anyone, wanting a natural birth or not. It really sealed the deal for me in realizing that I wanted to do everything I could to avoid being put through the hospital's system. I plan on buying it soon just to own it, and also to let my husband watch it although he is already 100% supportive.

I was very closed off about sharing my desire for a natural birth with people at first because for one, you get more than enough negative opinions from people who aren't truly educated on birth. And most importantly, I didn't want to send out a vibe that I felt I was any better than the mom who chose to have an epidural or c-section. That's not the case at all, any type of birth takes a mountain of courage and I have much respect for those moms as well. I don't want to be one of those people pushing my opinions and beliefs on others, but I realized that doesn't mean I shouldn't be open about them so that others can feel free to ask if they are interested. In the end, I think that it's a moms decision to make the choice that she is most comfortable with, and that's exactly what I did.

I'm not going to go into all sorts of statistics for my choice because you can find those in the video I listed plus many other natural birth resources. You can also find some information on water birth here.

We are using a beautiful birth center called Nativiti. I plan to labor in the comfort of our own home for as long as possible until becoming too uncomfortable. I don't have everything together yet and although we've discussed every step of our birth plan from labor techniques to having our baby in my arms immediately after birth without being taken for any testing or weighing, I still need to type all of these things up. We are planning to do a home course as well as take a birthing class. Most importantly, I will be preparing spiritually during these next 6 months.

With all other things aside, my biggest reason for choosing a natural birth is the simple fact that my body is growing this baby on it's own and has the same ability to birth our child! Birth is the most life changing experience for a woman and I truly just want to take this journey with our baby, tuned in to every fiber in my body as we work together to meet for the very first time.

With every preparation we are making over the next six months, there is still a very real possibility of ending up needing medical intervention. I'm not against an epidural if we try everything in our power but my body isn't physically able to do it. Or a c-section if any emergency arises, because in the end the single most important thing to us is our healthy baby.

But I plan to rock this birth. It's going to be amazing, and more life changing than we can even comprehend right now. I absolutely can't wait for the day to get here. I'm prepared and educated, and nothing at all about labor or birth scares me. When the day comes, I'll be ready. And it's going to change our lives forever.

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