If you’re anything like me, you assumed your birth story would mirror the stories you’ve seen in movies.
I imagined my water breaking at a restaurant, followed by a crazy and entertaining taxi ride. I’d end up at a local hospital with a neurotic but loving doctor who would help me scream and quickly push out a rosy-cheeked baby, with whom I instantly fall in love. The whole ordeal would take 4 hours tops.
Except that in reality, my daughter arrived a week after her due date, so I was induced. My labor was painful and terrifying at times. I woke up in the middle of the night with a panic attack over losing feeling in my legs, due to my epidural. And with the help of an oxygen mask and a courageous partner, I navigated 12 hours of intense labor, finally pushing out my blue-ish looking baby who I took some time to warm up to.
The media stories we see rarely add up to the vulnerable reality of giving birth.
So you can imagine my relief and joy upon finding The Positive Birth Movement, a judgment-free zone for women to get real about childbirth and ask the questions many of us are afraid to share.