I was 11 when I was in the delivery room while my little sister was born. Oh yea, I watched it all... Come to think of it, I'm not sure why my mom did that to us. I mean, I think birth is a beautiful thing, but I'm pretty sure I didn't know babies came out that way.--Actually while I'm writing this, I'm remembering a demonstration my dad did with my little toy cat called Kitty Surprise! It was a stuffed cat that had three kittens inside. You'd get the kittens out through the Velcro at the stomach-area. My dad took the toy, told me they didn't come out that way, and proceed to demonstrate them coming out of what looked like the butt-area.... I didn't believe him. A few years later that theory was confirmed at my sister's birth.Since then, I think, I've always had a fascination with births and from "I didn't know I was pregnant" to "A Baby Story" to "Bringing Home Baby" I'm there.
I know it's strange, but I tell people all the time if I wasn't a journalist I'd be an OBGYN. Yea... I'd deliver babies! ...Too bad I'm not smart and I hate math. Other than that I think I'd love it! For some people the thought of labor scares them more than any other part of having kids. To me, that's probably the best part. I think the whole pregnancy, baby, mother-baby bond is just fascinating!
To be honest, I didn't really even consider home birth or anything of that sort until I started this blog and began meeting other women who have experienced that. Now the only big thing that turns me off to that idea is the pain--No biggie right? I hate pain. And to be honest I'm not sure I could handle not getting an epidural.
I talked to my mom about it, she delivered me naturally without medication, but with the rest of my siblings she got the epidural--And recommended I don't mess around and just do the same thing.
Going with this... I decided to watch The Business of Being Born. Everyone kept telling me how good of a documentary it is so I decided to give it a whirl last night. Once I got over the initial shock of seeing screaming naked women (cause usually on TLC they've got it all blurred out) it was quite fascinating as well.
Although it seemed a bit biased to me, it did turn me on a little more to the idea of something like a birth center--Maybe. I always thought since I have good insurance, why go to something like that? But then I noticed some of the women in the movie had OB's they went to at the hospital that were kind of their "back up." That made me feel more interested in different options because it's like having two doctors. But just as quickly as that thought came to my mind, a woman in the movie started screaming and I change my mind again. If these women... Women who wanted and planned to have a birth naturally were moaning/screaming in pain, crying and saying they couldn't do it. How am I suppose to deal with something like that?!
The up side to me seems to be when the baby comes out. I love how even though they're all sticky and kinda gross-looking they go straight in mommy's arms. It's so animalistic, natural and I LOVE that. It kind of made me sad, even on "A Baby Story" today when the baby was whisked away to be weighed and cleaned and stuff before the mom got to hold it. Another woman in the documentary grabbed her baby right out of herself, and while it was slightly weird, it was strangely cool too. I wonder if all that pain immediately goes away once you hear and see the baby or if I'd be like "Umm, I can't look at you for a moment, you hurt me."
It would be cool to say "I did it naturally" but I don't know if I'd be able to do it. I'm not sure if the home birth thing is for me... And I'm not sure what my husband would think. I imagine he'd think like the husband/dad/football player I just watched on this show who was like "I don't want all that stuff coming out all over the bed... I've gotta sleep there!"
Speaking of husbands, I've heard some of my friends say they don't want their husbands watching "down there" during labor, for fear they won't want to doit anymore. All I've gotta say is--Not only is my husband going to be watching he's going to be video taping the whole thing (my choice not his)! So the place I deliver DOES have to be a place that allows video cameras cause Lawd knows I've watched enough labors and I want to be able to see my own... Don't worry, I won't play it for you when you come over, I just think it would be cool for me to see later... Again with the fascination. Perhaps I'll even show it to my kids so they WON'T want to go down the "getting pregnant before you'd 'pose to road"... Hey, it worked for me!
But there are so many options.. Water birth looks kind of cool too! I don't know though. I imagine I'll just plan on a hospital cause I HATE pain! And that's pretty much my #1 goal as of now--As painless as possible. Hopefully I'll find a nice one that is cozy and whatnot and can feel like home.-- Maybe I'll even stalk it a lot beforehand so it does feel more homey.
I think I'm going to be one of those
What do you think of home births, birthing centers, hospital births? I'm not trying to start a debate here on what's better because I think situations are different for each person, but I am interested in knowing what avenue you chose or will choose.
Ok now on to the fun part--One person that may be fun to chat with is a birthing coach or mentor. Sounds a little weird right? Ok.. Maybe it's a little odd, but my fascination couldn't keep me from finding out what the heck that meant and I met Karen Angstad through Twitter and we were chatting about interesting things even before you get to the birth part! She even says she can help teach women how to experience a pain-free birth (and I wonder if the orgasmic births are on her list)! Oh yea, I'm going to be chatting with her about some cool stuff once I'm ready to turn my Baby Makin' Machine "ON!"
Well, after talking with Karen, she was nice enough to offer one of my readers a free one-hour mentor session with her! During your mentor session, discuss your desires, fears, and intentions in relation to your pregnancy, birth and mothering. This is for women pre-conception, mid-pregnancy or post partum (so that covers us all right?!). Uniquely tailored to each woman's needs, Karen's mentor program is focused on empowering each woman to trust in her body's ability to birth, connect to her inner knowing, and find the support and resources she needs to embrace the sacred journey of pregnancy and birth. Conscious parenting begins before birth.
How fun right? Someone to chat with about all this pre-conception, mid-pregnancy, and post labor stuff! She also has a lot of helpful information on her site about "How to expect what you're expecting" etc!
So leave a comment, tell me about your labor experiences or anticipations for the future and you'll be entered in to win the mentor session! Let me know if you follow me, Tweet about the contest, post, subscribe, have my button, or any of that other good stuff for extra entries. I'll draw a number via random.org and in touch with the winner and set you up with Karen. Giveaway ends June 30th. (I'll contact the winner and ask if they'd like to use/gift the session or if you don't need it, pass it to the next winner).
More info about Karen Angstadt: A Birth Mentor with over ten years experience empowering women. As founder of Intentional Birth, Karen's mission is to prevent and heal the pain of birth trauma. She teaches women how to experience pain-free birth, leading them to discover their Inner Guide to the best possible birth experience. She is the author of the Living Intention e-zine and serves women through individual mentoring, tele-seminars, and home study material. Learn more at http://www.intentionalbirth.com/
