The day your child enters the world is a big day! And it’s up to us mamas to to make some decisions about how things go that day. We must choose who will be in the delivery room, how we desire to give birth to our child and even what happens after baby arrives!
When I got pregnant with my son, my husband and I knew that we wanted to look into using a midwife. I wanted to attempt a completely natural, drug-free birth at a birth center. I wanted to have skin-to-skin with my baby moments after he took his first breath and I wanted to wait for the umbilical cord to finish pulsing before being cut. I wanted to breastfeed my son as quickly as possible post-delivery. My plan was to have my husband, mom, mother-in-law, best friend and photographer all in the delivery room. The picture I had in my mind included a lot of pain – trust me, I was aware of what I was getting myself into – birth support from my husband, and no drugs. All of these desires were good and came from a place of love in my mama heart. I wanted the best for my baby and at the time this was what I felt was best for the both of us.
After a series of crazy events leading up to Titus’ birth (which you can read more about here), we ended up in the hospital. After a series of more events, I ended up hearing my baby’s first cry from behind a sheet on an operating table. It was nothing like what I pictured, and I won’t say I wasn’t disappointed, but it was exactly how Titus was supposed to be born. No matter what I pictured or planned, he was always going to born via c-section, I just didn’t know it! Because my experience allowed me to see BOTH sides of birth, unmedicated and medicated, I learned more than I could write here. But I can point to three major things that might be helpful for other mamas to hear.
Desiring a natural, out-of-hospital birth is good!
In many ways it can help make your experience more personal and give you more freedom to make decisions. Having a natural birth means less intervention, which for some people is hugely desired. It allows for a more relaxed environment and the ability to work through contractions however you please. Natural birth, whether in or out of a hospital, is safe! Women do it all the time, even now, and are successful at it.
Planning a medicated, hospital birth is ALSO GOOD.
This is very important for anyone who believes in or wants a natural birth. No matter when you decide to get your epidural, whether you went into labor spontaneously or through induction, or if you scheduled a cesarean section…those plans are good and right! Hospitals and doctors are a wonderful thing that should be appreciated and utilized when necessary or desired.
We cannot predict the outcome!
Regardless of what plans we have for our babies’ grand entrances, we cannot predict what will happen on that day. The events of delivering our children will happen however they are supposed to; no matter what plans we make or don’t make. And I have found such peace in that.
Even though my birth experience didn’t turn out how I expected it to, it was exactly how it was supposed to happen. And I’m thankful for it.
What about you? Did you plan a medicated or unmedicated birth? Did your baby arrive how you planned? Let us know in the comments below!
Photos taken by Elise Hurst Photography
