My first pregnancy was one that was mostly good, but the bad was very bad. I had extremely bad swelling. So bad I thought my skin would split open by the end of my workday. And the carpal tunnel was sheer misery. At eight months pregnant, the beginning of October 2008, I had cortisone shots in my hands to make…
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“There was no fear” {Preemie Cesarean Birth}
“I wanted to share my story because I thought it would help make an impact on your fans and hit home your message of “birth without fear.”” – Megan, His Middle Name I had an extremely difficult pregnancy due to a fibroid tumor, but still managed to find the beauty in all of it. With every episode of bleeding and each…
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I Am Strong {Cesarean Birth and Attempted VBAC}
I am strong because I went into my first birth with no plan and ended up laboring and pushing naturally… I am strong because my baby was posterior and I had horrible back labor… I am strong because I pushed for three hours and she when she wouldn’t descend I ended up in the OR with my first cesarean… I…
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Birth Story of Ace {Homebirth Transfer to Cesarean}
My birth story begins well before we even conceived Ace. My sisters both had cesareans for various reasons. I began to question everything about birth and I knew I wanted something better for myself. After all our research we decided a homebirth with a midwife would be best. We planned to give birth at my husband’s mother’s house because our…
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Journey to a Peaceful Planned C-section {Twin Girls}
My story begins when I was just a child. Ever since I can remember, the one thing I wanted to be was a mother. Sure, I had other dreams and aspirations as well – but, while my idea of the perfect career and life was constantly changing, my goal of becoming a mother never once faltered or waned. That dream,…
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Mental Illness and Pregnancy
“I’ve debated telling this story. I’m afraid of being judged and perhaps even… yelled at. But my story is just as important as yours. My story is the one that no one talks about. My story is about being pregnant with a mental illness.” -B My story starts a good 10 years ago, when I was officially diagnosed with Borderline…
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Infertility, Loss, Cesarean Birth, and PPD {A Mother’s Story of Two Births}
{Editor’s Note: This story comes to us from Rachel. This is the story of infertility, loss, and two Cesarean births – one which was not empowering, and a second that was positive and healing. This is also the story of two experiences with Postpartum Depression and the effects on bonding and motherhood.} My story starts almost five years ago, it…
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A Letter To Our Child {An IVF Journey 2006 To 2013}
“We shared our trying to conceive journey through Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) at City IVF and love the team. And after 6 cycles, 5 stims, and a 10 week scare, our dream came true. We had spotting to full on bleeds and this little girl hung on tight to her Mum for which I will be forever grateful! I hope my history/story/journey gives someone…
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A Perfect Cesarean Section, Complete with Skin-to-Skin {A First For the Hospital}
From the outside, there is nothing special about my birthing story. No unbelievable twists that surely haven’t happened to other women. This is a special birthing story to me because it’s my birthing story. Birth Without Fear has helped me realize my story is just as special as anyone else’s and I felt compelled to share it with other women…