Positive birth is a mindset

Our daughter was born on the 4th July 2022 however our birth story starts much earlier. Following our positive birth journey I strongly believe positive birth is a mindset, it's not about everything going as planned but in our case it was about trusting myself that when the moment comes I can make the best decision for my family. Being pregnant for the first time was a beautiful and positive experience. Despite the persisting nausea I felt very blessed and enjoyed all the new experiences and changes my body was going through. I also did my best to stay healthy, I exercised, tried to spend time outside and was very mindful throughout my days. About half way through the pregnancy I started reading the Positive Birth Book and it changed my life. As I read through the pages I felt an ever increasing connection to my baby and my body. I started trusting nature and I became extremely proud of my body and its ability. I involved my husband as much as I could and was very communicative on my wishes for birth. I researched a lot of scenarios because if things had to take an unexpected turn I wanted to have enough information to make a decision and if for some reason I couldn't my husband was equipped to make that choice. In reality I wrote a birth plan to safeguard the intimacy of the moment however I felt so respected and trusted by the midwives that at no point I felt the need to share my plan. My waters broke at home following quite an active day and we slowly and calmly made our way to hospital, what I remember most of those moments is excitement not only for meeting our baby but also for experiencing birth. The process wasn't progressing as fast as one would hope so it was nudged using the drip. I can't say you don't feel the pain but it's not what we normally experience as pain, I remember thinking to myself that this moment is the strongest I will ever feel, I remember internally talking to my baby telling her don't worry I'm here for you and I will help you birth. Almost 10 hours after my waters broke our baby was born, overjoyed, overtired, overwhelmed and fueled by adrenaline we held her. I am sharing this experience because I feel our pregnancy and birth although not void of pain and discomfort was beautiful, it empowered me as a woman and as a mother. Like everything I faced in my life I believe that knowledge is power, so one thing I recommend is definitely to prepare yourself for birth and trust, trust yourself, your partner and your midwives

Christabel