On December 26th, 2014 I went to the hospital to be induced with my third daughter. I was 39 weeks and 2 days. The induction was planned by me as I was in so much pain I was in constant tears. I arrived at the hospital at 7:45am and was 4 cm dilated. At 11:30 that morning, the doctor came in and broke my…
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{I Am Strong} Making Peace with the Epidural
I wanted to share with you, the story of the birth of my second daughter, which was at 3:43 am on January 10th. Let’s go back three years, when I gave birth to my first: induced by cervadil, 14 and a half hour labor, and an epidural at 5-6 centimeters where I had lost control and couldn’t gain my focus back.…
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Audrey Lands Earthside
At 3:15 the morning of December 23rd, I woke up to some contractions. They kept happening so I timed them and saw they were all over the place in terms of duration and time apart. I wasn’t sure if this was the real deal or just more practice. They were a bit uncomfortable so I tried to center by visualizing…
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My Breech Twin Vaginal Birth After Three Miscarriages
My story starts with the journey of getting pregnant and what I endured to get these precious babies. My husband and I got married June 2012 and had the most amazing honeymoon filled with love. We decided for me to stop taking birth control and to see what happens. I found out I was pregnant in October, 2012. Before I…
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The Empowering Homebirth of my Second Child
My sweet son was born into the water at our home on August 12th, 2014 at 3:10pm. I knew I wanted to have a homebirth with my second before we even got pregnant. My daughter Coralie, who is 23 months older than her brother, was born vaginally in the hospital with an epidural (and then pitocin when my labor stalled).…
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Natural VBAC Without Fear
Erin Murray tells the story of how she conquered childbirth through a life-changing natural VBAC delivery. My first pregnancy was uneventful and very “by the book.” My weight skyrocketed, but whose doesn’t? I got to 40 weeks on the dot, and my midwife started talking about induction, non-stress tests, and a host of other scary things. She did a membrane…
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Natural Breech Birth at Home
Jessica Winquist shares the story of her daughter’s breech birth – a beautiful, natural birth at home. At my 32-week check, my midwife, Sarah*, found the Cub (our nickname for the baby-to-be) to be breech. We were planning a home birth in New York City, and New York State home birth regulations prohibit breech home births. Also, a C-section for…
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A Story Of Empowered Birthing
I have been following January and BWF for a few months now. Your Blog and Facebook page really helped me through the last part of my second pregnancy. I was diagnosed with GD and had to deal with switching insurance at 36 weeks to a non-supportive insurance. The second half of my second pregnancy was the start of fear, anxiety,…
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Our Story {Cleft Palate & Hypoplasia}
Before my husband and I had even started trying to get pregnant, I assumed I had it all figured out. I’d have a home birth. I’d breastfeed. And we’d have a perfect beginning bringing our perfect little baby into the world. You know what they say about assuming… My pregnancy was pretty much picture-perfect. It took us no time to…