If I could give every woman a gift, it would be the gift of a natural birth. I know every woman with the right support and circumstances (ie. a low-risk pregnancy) can birth naturally. The secret is understanding our bodies and the biology of labour and birth. Knowledge coupled with the support of a trained birth companion, midwives and natural pain relief measures, such as water, enable a woman to manage the intensity of contractions. By reviewing our preconceived notions of birth and seeing the process as empowering rather than terrifying, birth is returned to its’ rightful place as a sacred, metamorphic event. The moment when your baby is born and baby and mama are fully present, unimpeded by synthetic drugs yet fueled by natures’ endorphins, is a moment that eclipses all pain ten-fold. The preceding pain is purposeful, the means to an end, and what a glorious end it is.
There are three stages to labour. Stage 1 is your body working hard to open and thin your cervix to allow your baby the room it needs to exit your body. At the same time, it is working to move your baby down the birth canal to its’ final position before pushing. It starts with early labour, those early contractions you feel that are a new tightening sensation, unlike the false labour cramps you may have felt as you approach your due date. These are manageable contractions with longer breaks in between. I chose to use early labour as an opportunity to find where and how I was able to own the contractions and figure out how best to manage each surge. Then comes active labour. As the contractions pick up, become more intense, and more frequent, you are in active labour. This is exciting. Your baby’s is really on their way. It is now the time to seriously get into your contractions and be one with them; you are the contraction. Find your place and retreat there. The final part of Stage 1 is the dreaded transition. This is where your contractions will be felt most intensely. With my son, I barely noticed transition and smugly relayed that labour actually was not so painful after all. I ate my words with my daughter. Transition was fierce and yes, I did scream that I would never go through labour again. The thing about transition that kept me going is that it is the last of the contractions before pushing. Each one is opening your cervix that much more and each one demands your attention in its’ own right. The final opening of the cervix, often the last few centimeters before full dilation at 10 cm, is the most painful. At this climax of pain, you are almost there and typically, transition is far shorter than early and active labour. This is where women want, and are encouraged, to take the epidural. The way I see it, your body has been working up to this moment and has a natural set of endorphins to help you manage. Jump in the water now. The water and your body work beautifully together to allow for you to make it to pushing and to your baby without the interference of drugs. You can do this; this is the worst of it and the best is yet to come.
Stage 2: Pushing and the birth of your baby. When you feel the urge to push, you made it. Your body knows when the time is right and you have gotten through the most challenging part of labour and are about to reach a place of euphoria that you will never experience again, the birth of your baby. With my son, pushing felt amazing. Truly, I loved it. I had a glimpse of the “orgasmic birth” experience. Pushing felt so intrinsic. The contractions seemed to have melted away and I felt incredible. My daughter was a different story. I so looked forward to the pushing stage. Her head emerged and I screamed, the ring of fire (an expression used to describe the head pushing through the vagina) was intense and unexpected. Then my body seemed to fail me as I pushed but she did not seem to come. It turned out she was a big baby and she was a little stuck. The midwives let mere seconds go by before recognizing the need for their assistance. They knew exactly what to do and with their accomplished hands, her body fully emerged. In both circumstances, I can’t imagine not feeling my body push. Typically, an epidural numbs your body so that you are unaware of the pushing sensation. This is the best part and I wanted to feel every second of it. The climax of all this is, of course, the birth of your baby. This is that one second of your life where you will experience a one of a kind euphoria. A complex mix of hormones, endorphins and the emotional anticipation of seeing the being within you for the first time make this moment eclipse all the pain that preceded it. You will, at that moment want to do it all over again just to replay that second. There is no way to put this extreme life moment into words. It must be felt first hand to appreciate. Every birth is amazing, absolutely and irrevocably. A new life entering the world brings me to tears no matter what the circumstances. But if you could choose to have that moment in its’ purest form, wouldn’t you? To be fully aware when your baby emerges for the first time, for your baby to be born without any chemical interference except the natural elixir produced by both of your bodies is to experience the emergence of life at its’ most profound.
"Okay, now pick up your baby"
Stage 3: Out comes the placenta. You have your baby in your arms and you are in a state of dreamlike euphoria as you take in this little being that is suddenly out of your body. I would use this moment as the definition of surreal. You have a bit more pushing ahead as your body let’s go of the life-giving organ tailor-made for your baby- the placenta. Babe in arms, you will feel some cramping and be instructed to push. Several pushes later and the placenta will be retrieved from your body. The umbilical cord that is attached both to your baby and your placenta will be cut at some point in this last stage. You are officially two…let the bonding begin.
The tree of life
That surreal moment
From Her Womb 