A couple of months ago, a picture of the “real side of postpartum” went viral. It was a picture taken by a dad, of the backside of his wife wearing postpartum mesh underwear. Yes, that is a very real side of postpartum fourth trimester life. But that is also a very real side of life after a loss. I’m certainly not…
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A Natural Hospital Birth, A Peaceful Miscarriage at Home, and A Future Homebirth Coming Soon
It has been three years since I had my son in a natural, med-free hospital birth. It was 27 hours of total labor. Contractions were every three minutes (lasting a minute long) from the get go, so I got no rest once they started at two o’clock in the morning! I went to the hospital after about 18 hours thinking…
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The Story of Aurora
This story is hard for me to write, because while it ends with a glorious rainbow baby, it begins with an intensely bad storm. February 5, 2014, Chris and I learned that we were expecting our second child. We were surprised, but glad. I called my parents that night at Barnes Jewish Hospital, where my dad was a patient, and…
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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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Completing Our Family, Part III {A Story of Loss and Hope in Three Parts}
Vanessa continues the story of her quest to complete her family. After two miscarriages, two complicated pregnancies, a traumatic and premature birth, she and her husband knew that, despite the warnings from family and friends, they were meant to have another baby. At this point in her story, she is in her third trimester, pregnant with their baby baby, who…
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Completing Our Family, Part I {A Story of Loss and Hope}
Vanessa from Michigan wrote us the incredible story of her journey to complete her family. Her story is a story of loss and grief, but also hope and persistence. It’s about illness and premature birth, but also survival – and most importantly, about the strength of a loving family. We will share this story in three parts – the first…
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Healing Home Waterbirth After Traumatic Cesarean and Miscarriage
“This is the story of my Home VBAC Water Birth after a traumatic cesarean birth and a miscarriage. My story really begins with the birth of my first son. It is fairly lengthy, so I didn’t want to repeat the whole thing here. Some of what I will share will make more sense if you do read it. It was written…
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I Am Strong by Ariana {Birth Without Fear}
I am strong because I lost my first baby in April 2011 when I had a miscarriage at the age of 18. I am strong because when I lost my baby I was living in Belgium with only my boyfriend to support me. I am strong because 2 months after losing my baby I was back in the U.S. to…
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Hospital Trauma and Healing at Home: A Story of Two Births (Part I)
**Trigger Warning: This post narrates a traumatic birth.** Sarah Robertson-Barnes, former contributor to the Pregnant and/or Parenting Through Adoption/Infertility/Loss (PAIL) blog collective and writer of Little Chicken Nuggets, shares two birth stories with us. With grace and humor she here describes the challenges of being pregnant after infertility and loss, and the traumatic hospital birth of her son, HGB. Tomorrow, Sarah…