Thoughts & Tips for Natural Birth: Part One

Natural Birth.

Kind of an oxymoron if you really think about it.

The most natural act in all of nature, after sex/procreation, is childbirth.

And yet, we are raised nowadays with a new way of thinking.

A way of thinking in which a natural birth {vaginal & unmedicated} is optional & is the exception, rather than the norm.

Because of modern medicine & technology, both of which are wonderful & serve an important purpose in our world, we have been made to believe that birth is more of a medical process than a natural one.

We've accepted, usually without even realizing, that we will need the assistance of medical professionals &/or multiple interventions when the time comes.

I myself assumed this for years, after watching movies & hearing lots of stories.

The plot in each was usually the about the same.

Women got pregnant.
Their husbands were clueless & frantic.
The expectant mothers are screaming & cursing in pain.

And they are portrayed to ultimately need doctors, medicines & machines or devices to help birth their babies

Am I right?

Through early adulthood, after a few careless years of "living it up", I've begun to live more & more conscientiously.

I truly believe in caring for our bodies.

Doing so in a natural way - simply helping it thrive.

Because we have been fearfully & wonderfully created.
We are but stewards of AMAZING, strong, capable, intelligent bodies that we've been entrusted with.

Fast forward to getting pregnant the first time.
(read more about my pregnancies & journey through miscarriage HERE)

I started thinking..

"I know I was made to do this.. but..
I wonder why some women CHOOSE natural births vs births with some sort of medical interventions.. does it matter? And what do I want."

I did some.. er, LOTS of.. googling.
I consulted some trustworthy friends.
I ordered a few books.

I knew that I was interested in the pursuit of natural living - this adventure would be a continuation.

The more I read..
The more epiphanies I had.
The more I understood my body.
The more confidence I developed in myself.
The more excited I got to "train" over the next 9 months.
The more I questioned the widespread fear amongst my peers.

Was I missing something?

I mean.. we are the ONLY mammals that don't birth our babies like it's our J-O-B.

Our culture, compared to others around the world who have been less influenced by media or who have had less access to modern medicine, is the one that has taken this mindset & embraced it as normal.

Why are we fearful of something so innately natural?

Something so beautiful?

Something we were chosen to do as women?

A multitude of thoughts continually flooded my mind..

Then, it hit me.

I'm only half of this picture.

Oh gosh..

I have to talk to Nate.

And what will he think!?

The first time I brought it up to him, he was a little defensive & had some concerns.

"But women do it this way all the time."
"What if something happens."
"There's nothing wrong with medicine or doctors - shouldn't you trust the professionals?"
"You don't want one of those home water births, do you?" 

You know.. all the things you'd probably expect - he felt & shared.

I told him I understood where he was coming from.
But I asked if he would do something for me.

I asked him to watch "The Business of Being Born" together.
So we did.

It empowered me further.

And it OPENED his eyes in a big way.

It was what we both needed to decide if we would keep having this discussion.

After we watched it, his mantra became "if this is what you want, I totally understand & completely support you." He even began to embrace the idea himself!

But hang on a second..

Why did it take the internet & documentaries for both of us though to alter our mindset?

Nate & I are both God-fearing, bible believing Christians.

Didn't we know that this is what women were LITERALLY created by God to do?

Yep.
And still.
Nope.

Our culture, y'all..
Gosh, it's powerful.
How we are raised & nurtured really truly shapes us.

Simply said..

Influence is power.

And because of that influence over time.

The numbers in our country are staggering.

Our c-section rate..
often times forced on women who are TIRED & simply trusting the experts in a time of EXHAUSTION.

The number of birth related mortalities..
comparatively to other countries.

Heck, the fact that so many women, well before their due dates, schedule an induction around their own personal schedules..

I'm not trying to judge or belittle anyone - but think about how much this deviates from our natural process.

Listen to me.

I am NOT knocking situations in which things happen that are out of our control in which intervention is absolutely needed.
I'm extremely grateful it's available in case I had needed any of it when Raegan was born.

But I am saying that we seem to have forgotten how amazing our bodies are & what they are capable of - with little to no prompting or assistance.

Why doesn't this light a FIRE within us!?

I believe it all starts in the mind.

With understanding, appreciation & the removal of fear.

I spent my entire pregnancy strengthening my body & most importantly - rewiring my mind.
Continually LEARNING & working my confidence muscles.

"Natural birth" is fairly simple, in reality.

And YES, it's hard as HECK.

But it's amazing.. & so so doable.

Here's the deal though.

You've gotta WANT to do it for some other reason than "just because."

And while our bodies don't necessarily need lots of fancy prep-work, our minds DO.

So be willing to put in some time to prepare.

My experience was one I'll never forget.

I'm SO grateful to have had the opportunity..

To get pregnant.
To carry a baby to term.
To birth her without any serious complications.
To remember it.
To have experienced it so fully.
To have had a newborn so ALERT.

It was NOTHING short of amazing.
(to read my birth story, click HERE)

I've been asked from my own reading & experience to share a bit with my readers.
But before I did that, I needed to share my heart & mind with you.
You needed to know my WHY & where I was coming from.

So stay tuned TOMORROW for part two of this post - some tips, in no particular order, that I'd like to share with other mommas who are in a season of preparation.

You can do this, momma.

Believe in yourself & your body.