If there is something on this planet that I love more than running or yoga, its child-birth. I believe with all my heart that as a society we are taught to fear child-birth. Child birth is hard. It’s painful. I believe we are taught that as woman we aren’t capable.
When I got pregnant with Cole, I was 24 years old. I was a very young 24-year-old. Even though I didn’t have any exposure to life or child-birth yet, I knew I wanted to have him naturally. This is what woman are made to do. Our bodies are designed to give birth. I didn’t want drugs. I wanted to feel my way through the experience. I didn’t take a single child-birth class. I didn’t educate myself on the process. I just assumed I’d know what to do when it got hard. I’d suck it up, and I’d have a baby.
A few hours after arriving at the hospital, things got intense. My contractions became unmanageable. I didn’t know what I was feeling. I didn’t know how to manage the pain. I was uneducated. I began to fear the process. I was told by my nurses that I would labor well past dinner (it was still before lunch). I asked for an epidural. Thirty minutes after I made the request and received the epidural, Cole was born.
When i got pregnant with Chet, I was determined to do things differently. I knew I need education. I had to understand what I was feeling. I wanted to know what was going on inside my body and with my baby. I connected with our doulas, signed up for the classes, and hired them to attend our birth. These women, the doulas at Birth Insight, changed my life. They showed me that I am capable. The empowered me. Through education and with support, I knew I could achieve what my body is designed to do. I could give birth without medication.
As I sat in their class week after week, I learned. I became amazed. Our bodies are wonderfully created. As weeks progressed, I began to recognize where I was in my labor with Cole when I asked for the epidural. I was in transition. If I had known this in my labor, I would have known he was coming soon. I would have had the knowledge to know how to find comfort. My baby was on his way.
My labor was completely different with Chet. The love I felt for my boys when they were born was no different, but the experience of birthing them was vastly different. I felt connected to Chet’s child-birth. I felt in control. I felt like we were a team, and I was guiding my sweet baby boy into the world. Cole’s birth felt like procedure.
I encourage all woman to trust their bodies. We are capable of so much more than we think, and I know child-birth is another chapter in our life when we numb ourselves to the joy we should be experiencing.
Read Chet’s birth story here:
Birth Story Part 2 – Forever an Advocate
My birth Plan:
Kristy Maute 