how a positive birth experience heals hearts

These parents entered their second birth with a lot of trepidation. Their first birth experience had been a semi-traumatic hospital birth that involved two failed epidurals. Following this very long and complicated birth, Vidhya and Arun made sure that they really knew their stuff when it came to advocating for a natural birth in a hospital setting (which is always hard to do). This time around they did their research, hired a doula, practiced lots of natural birthing techniques, and had an active birth plan. These two were ready for a positive natural birth experience!

Making Their Birth Experience a Positive One

By the time I arrived at the hospital, everyone was very calm. But, Vidhya’s contractions were super close together and seemed to be coming around every 3-4 minutes. This meant she was in active labor and things were going to progress pretty quickly!

She was powering through the contractions back to back while her support team of husband, midwife, doula, and two nurses were all very supportive. The entire mood was calm and quiet with the lights dimmed.

Taking a Water Break

You could tell that Vidhya was starting to feel a bit more concerned as the contractions continued to come so quickly. After laboring on the edge of the bed for a while she asked to move into the bath tub. Following a dilation check, they midwife informed her that she was 9 cm dilated. The nurses were hesitant to place her into the pool since she wouldn't be allowed to give birth in the tub.

Vidhya was so sweet and even-tempered and kindly advocated for herself to get into the birth pool. She made sure they stuck to her birth plan to ensure a positive natural birth experience. With each contraction, her doula would begin a counter-pressure technique at the hips to relieve some of the pain. The doula had her work cut out for her every couple of minutes!

Meanwhile, Arun (doting husband) was busy wiping Vidhya’s hair away after each contraction, gently rubbing her back, offering her water, and never seemed to take his eyes off of her. Soon after getting into the pool, she began to feel the urge to push. She was helped out of the pool, and back onto the hospital bed where the midwife confirmed she was at 10 cm and she was given the green light to begin pushing. 

I noticed at this point, there was a slight shift in the atmosphere. Vidhya's contractions were coming quickly and sometimes overlapping, not giving mom much of a break to breath or regain her strength. Our beautiful momma had begun to enter into a nervous state of mind, saying things like “I'm scared,” “I don't think I can do this," and “I need a break.” 

I smiled to myself because I remember saying these things in my very own birth.  I often hear moms in labor saying these very same phrases at this point in their labor. Transition Stage will bring you to your breaking point, and then some.  In The Bradley Birth Method instruction, the support person will  learn that when the laboring mom speaks like this,  it’s a tell-tale sign that she's in Transition Stage and very close to having the baby. It's always a good thing!

Meeting Their Baby Boy

Once  baby's head was down he came out quickly and the midwife very smoothly unwrapped the umbilical cord that was wrapped around his neck twice. The midwife laid him on Vidhya’s chest immediately. At that moment–everyone was crying–mom was crying, dad was crying–I was even crying! All of us rejoiced with the mother and our own tears of gladness!

Before the nurses did anything,  the sweet baby was laid on mama’s chest for a solid 15 minutes. Skin to skin is SO essential to baby's first breaths earth side. It's also the most beautiful thing to witness. 

This mama could not believe that it was all over and to have had the success of the positive natural birth experience they were so hopeful for.  Baby turned pink within two quick minutes and cried a strong cry letting us know he was doing great. 

In Her Own Words

Vidhya’s reflection on her natural birth experience truly shows how much her heart was healed through this experience. Here’s how Vidhya describes her birth story in her own words:

​​"I'm usually an anxious person. When I was talking with our doula before the birth she told me how our negative thoughts can influence the birth. She asked me to come up with my perfect birth plan that was in addition to my actual birth plan. I just wrote the things I really wanted in my birth in the most positive way. It was precise and I wrote it a week before my birth. I really poured my heart out while I wrote it.

I was practicing meditations with these things in mind, and I was really in the most calm and peaceful state that I had ever been in life. Believe it or not, every single thing I wrote happened at my birth.

That was a huge lesson for me–how our thoughts can influence our life. My birth enlightened me and made me strong. This will be something to look back on at any point in my life and feel good about it."

Do you have a positive natural birth story? I would love to hear it!