A birth story by B.R.C.

An old friend and high school volleyball teammate graciously shared her birth story with her blog followers. It's a truly amazing recount of her perspective of the birth of her first baby. Check it out! http://bushbabycolvin.blogspot.com/2012/04/birth-story-2-weeks-post-delivery.html

"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.

Fear in Childbirth

Fear in Childbirth Video

A nice video made by nursing students attempting to capture the issue of fears about childbirth. I think this video does a nice job of stating facts and research while supporting women by saying that fear is NORMAL and natural. It is important for us to support, educate, and tend to women in labor to diminish their fears and help them have a smooth birth experience. A positive birth experience plays a big role in mother's satisfaction about parenting and her ability to have a baby. We need to let women know that they can do it by providing them with that unconditional care and support they really need and is too often overlooked.

Laboring Positions

Standing with foot resting on something sturdy is a good position for opening up your hips and pelvis. You can sway back and forth or just rest with your leg raised and bent.


Sitting on the ball with pillows on a chair, couch or bed to lean on is a very comfortable position and allows the hips to stay open and wide.



Leaning against the ball on a wall or chair can provide a gentle pressure massage against your back. If you are having trouble balancing, try leaning forward on your partner or doula for support.


The ball provides support so leaning on it while resting in childs pose can be quite nice. Ask your partner to rub your back.




Just resting on the ball is always a great position for laboring. If you would like, ask someone to massage your back or to just stand behind you for comfort, it's a great way to stay relaxed.










Slow dancing or just standing and leaning while swaying is a good way to stay in a supported stance for labor. This will gravity to help bring your baby down.





Squatting with the help of a partner can be a comfortable and effective position.






Leaning with your back against a partner can help you into a slight squat. If your partner feels its comfortable to have his or her back against the wall, that might help keep both of you in this position for longer if it is working.




Simply relaxing by sitting backwards on a chair is nice for labor.







Pressure on your lower back while in labor can relieve back pains and pressure.

Painful Childbirth

How painful is childbirth, really???

This subject is a tough one. Women who have experienced childbirth will tell you all different answers to this question. My wonderful mother who gave birth to three children completely naturally gave me this answer:

"It all depends on your expectations of the pain before your birth. If you expect it to be hard, you will find that you are right, but fear is different than difficulty. I went in knowing it was going to be hard, but I wasn't necessarily scared. The good part about natural birth is that you forget the pain as soon as you look into your babys eyes, reflect on the experience and realize that you now have this tremendous, amazing responsibility. It is supposed to be painful and that is part of having a baby. It is important to embrace your womanhood and realize that it is a blessing, not a burden. The pain is all part of the process."

Please share your thoughts about birth and the pain!

Below is a link about this subject:

Unnecessary Pain During Childbirth