First of all, I’m writing this on his second birthday. His birth is rather fresh in my memory even though so much time has passed. At about six AM on New Year’s Day, 2014, I started having mild contractions five to ten minutes apart. He was due on December 31, so it was exciting to think this might be the…
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Natural Birth In Our RV Home
On December 19, after 12 hours of labor and 4 rough hours of that was pushing, I finally gave birth in our 28 foot long RV home. Our third and last child! I had intended to birth him in the inflatable tub we purchased and set up. Even though it was full of warm water and beckoning for me to…
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I Am Strong {Emily Weber}
I am strong because at the age of 19, my husband and I became pregnant with our first child. I am strong because at our first ultrasound we were told that our son would be born with “myelomeningocele”. The most common and most severe form of Spina Bifida. I am strong because on July 05, 2011, I went in for a…
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One Woman’s Successful Frank Breech Vaginal Hospital Birth
Let me rewind a little bit…At 37 weeks, we found out via ultrasound that Everett was frank breech. We tried everything we could to turn him. Everything was totally unsuccessful in turning him. He was stubborn and comfortable in his breech position. Typically, a breech baby these days means a c-section. But I was being told by my midwives that I…
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Medication-Free Hospital Birth
Elizabeth Turner shares the story of her empowering medication-free hospital birth. Since having my daughter Avery two years ago, I spent a great deal of time thinking of how I would have changed my birth experience. Watching my sisters birth their daughters after me, and numerous friends do the same, I had come up with a small list of things I…
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Birth Without Fear Is Wording It Perfectly
Submitted by Brenna. Birth without fear is wording it perfectly. I gave birth to my son 10 days ago. I told myself going into the entire experience, “Don’t be afraid. God made our bodies to do this. You’re stronger than you know!” 31+ hours of active excruciating labor, throwing up the entire time with back labor 1/2 way through. But, I was…
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Empowering VBAC from Dad’s POV
Part II of a beautiful VBAC story, as told by Elspeth Ridout McCormick’s husband. Elspeth had been having contractions all month, really. They would come in the evenings, mostly, and then they would stop around bedtime. This Friday, though, the contractions didn’t stop. Elspeth had them throughout dinner, and as the night got a little later we started to wonder…
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Empowering VBAC from Mom’s POV
A beautiful VBAC birth story, as told by Elspeth Ridout McCormick. Like all VBAC stories, the story of my daughter’s birth really starts with her big brother’s birth. In 2012, we were expecting our first child. We took Bradley classes, practiced relaxation techniques, followed the Bradley diet, and took yoga classes and nightly walks to stay fit. My water broke…
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Practicing Fearless Motherhood {in Brazil}
{By Heidi Jo Haughn Palma, Maringá, Brazil.} I would like to share my journey into fearless motherhood. Maringá, Brazil. Public hospital cesarean rate 86%. Private hospital cesarean rate 98%. Who would have thought that in this murky maternal healthcare scenario, I would meet a radiant team of home birth professions. They were relatively young experience wise, but I knew that…