"Pain is good...it lets you know your alive"

I am currently taking anatomy and physiology 2 at a local community college and have "fallen into" a couple of conversations with women in my class that somehow turn into talking about childbirth. Of course I always run with it and ask the women as many questions as I can. One of my classmates, Sue, went into detail about her pregnancy and birthing experience with her 1 and only child. She told me some crazy stories: riding motorcycles, going off roading and just living the way she normally would. When she described her birthing experience, she told me she didn't take any drugs. She said she enjoyed being in control of the situation and participating in the labor. When we talked about the pain, she said "Pain is good....it lets you know your alive." Needless to say, I thought she was a pretty cool chick and appreciated her honesty about her birth experience. She said she wouldn't have had it any other way.

birthing tip of the day

Simple advice from a new mom:

GET A DOULA GET A DOULA GET A DOULA

(I didn't ask her to say this)

What really matters after the birth...

"Write off the six weeks after birth. Don't blame yourself for a single thing and expect nothing of yourself. This is what matters: that the baby is fed somehow, held, kept warm, and that you get enough sleep that you don't go crazy, and that you are both healthy. This is what doesn't matter: anything else - not whether the baby is on a schedule, not what either of you wears, not whether that other woman who was due around the same time is doing better than you are, not whether you love the baby yet, etc." -anonymous