Positive natural birth experiences please!!

[Amytitch]

I am desperate to hear some positive (even neutral will do) VB experiences on here! Everything I have read has made me terrified and so anxious as it all seems to end in months and years of recovery or leaving you traumatised from how bad it was. Surely there must be some good ones out there? I know it's never going to be enjoyable but it would be nice to read about births that didn't end in huge tears and forceps etc 😬

Well besides been early, both were very easy births 1.20min labour for 1 2.15 for second. AS both prem there were a few issues but the birthpretty painless. (Honestly had worse period pain. )

I think I had a pretty positive experience, a long labour which was painful but very bearable with pain relief. I had a small tear and didn’t even know until afterwards - definitely wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Overall quite liberating and I felt proud of myself afterwards, not dreading doing it again put it that way. Don’t be scared and go into it open minded, you can do it.

2 hrs for first, 1 hour for second.
Both water births.
I think it is all pot luck!
It has to happen- so try to be positive about it. What help is worry?

I had two natural births. Both were pretty fast (number one I was in hospital for perhaps 4 hours before he was born. With number two I got there just twenty minutes before she made an appearance.)

Yes, labour is damned painful but that's what pain relief is for! I managed with just gas and air because I didn't have long labours. I tore very slightly with my first and even though I tore very badly with number two, it was repaired well and healed with no complications at all.

Very, very rarely does birth leave women feeling traumatised or needing years of recovery. Most of us are rather boringly straightforward!

Thinking back- I remember when I was pregnant- a lady in the chip shop said how easy all her births had been, and I remember realising that she was the first person to talk positively about it.
That made a real difference.

Search for 'the positive birth company' on YouTube.

I had a 16 hour textbook labour that was spent mostly at home and the last couple of hours in the birthing pool at hospital. Yes it was hard work and yes it did hurt but the way I felt when I held my son for the first time was just incredible.

Good luck!

I had two straightforward VB in water with my kids. Both in maternity units. The first I had a small tear and a couple of stitches but was ok, the second I had no injury at all. Aside from being a bit speedy I got everything I wanted. I was very fortunate. My first didn't sleep though...

P.s. until I'd been told that I had a second degree tear I honestly had no idea I'd torn!

Having stitches was honestly fine, I hardly felt anything and was laughing and chatting to a student midwife as I was being stitched up.

4 hours first time 4 hours second time and third time 17 mins. I genuinely enjoy labour and birth. It's a bizarre feeling but nice feeling in my opinion like getting your eyebrows waxed but with greater reward 🤣

Home birth here 👋🏻 I had a 4 hour active labour (the part where the baby is moving down, was in latent labour for about 10 hours just having contractions since late afternoon) I breathed through my contractions until active labour started (about 4cm dilated At 2am) then got on the gas and air. DS was born all at once - rather than head first then body follows, he just slipped out! I had bilateral labial grazes which is a tear but not a “bad” tear (didn’t need stitches) basically the skin on outer labia was grazed both sides and it healed nicely on its own. My uterus shrunk back very quickly, shocked the midwife when she was feeling for it much further up
I gave birth leaning over a footstool and occasionally stood up to get gravity to help. Highly recommend if you find it comfy. What also helped was just to focus on happy stuff - watch comedies, listen to nice music, (in general not just during labour) keep as chilled as possible. Accept that change might happen. I was totally prepared to go to hospital if needed and just went with what my body wanted. Don’t listen to other people’s horror stories!
Good luck

Woke up at 8 with back pain. Friend came round. We walked in the park while I stopped for contractions. Got a taxi to the hospital at
11 am. Checked me said 5cm. I said double check. I was 8 cm so I went to delivery room. No pain relief. Dc arrived 2pm. I wanted to do it all over again!

I've had 2 labours, first was pretty long 30 hours in total but honestly it went swimmingly she was 8 pounds 3 and in had no tears or problems and went home quickly and recovered very well. Second was so quick, all together was about 3 and a half hours. Didnt tear and no problems again. I'm due my 3rd in 7 weeks and hoping to go as well as the first 2 :)

I was told my first baby was big although I didn't look it. I took NCT classes, used a birthing ball at home when I was pg towards the end rather than sitting on the sofa. When in went into labour I had a TENS machine, once my contractions were 4 mins apart I went to the birthing centre (9pm) climbed in the birthing pool and DD was born at 3am weighing 10lbs 2oz!!! Used only has and air, beautiful calm birth no stitches ...

Baby # 2 was a home water birth. Got in the pop at midnight and born at 8am weighting 8lbs, another calm and beautiful birth.

I’ve had 2 natural births, both water births. Not saying they were a walk in the park, the first one was very slow and long and the second was much faster and more intense, but both straightforward and all went fine. I used gas and air and that helped, practiced my breathing and tried to get into a zone in my head and not panic. It’s intense at the time but you get through it and I felt so proud of myself afterwards - not because I did it without an epidural or anything like that but just because I did it full stop! I was on cloud 9. The time in the delivery room after both labours was the best bit for me (even though I was having stitches for some of it, which wasn’t as bad as I expected by the way) it was just so lovely, meeting this little baby and ringing family and taking photos. My best advice is try to stay in a positive frame of mind as fear and panic hinder you in labour.

Had both my DC naturally this wasn't the plan i was actually terrified of the pain of childbirth.
I was going to go with the flow and have everything going.
But just before 1st pregnancy i read a book about having a baby aged over 35 by Julia someone or other. All the types of pain relief and intervention sounded painful. So I practised yoga breathing (thinking to myself each contraction was bringing me closer to having my baby).
It wasn't actually too bad when the head is crowning it burns and you briefly think I cant handle this but somehow I did (twice).
Top tips dont make too a birthing plan, try and focus on your breathing so you dont loose it during contractions and keep an open mind. Try and labour in the birthing pool if it is available. If you need pain relief have it you have not failed. I was lucky.

Three easy natural births here. Number one - a bit of gas and air but no other pain relief. Number two - no pain relief as there was no time and no need; very quick. Number three - home birth, no pain relief and a very relaxing, positive experience.

I had wanted water births but with number one I just decided I didn't want to get into the pool when the time came and with number two there was no time to get in the pool.

With number three I decided against hiring a pool for the home birth because I couldn't work out where to put it and it didn't feel right. I spent most of the third birth labouring alone after reading a Michel Odent book about women labouring in cave-like places which struck a chord so I took myself off to my bedroom and closed the curtains!

Thank you all so much for your replies and sharing your stories!! I have not heard of a single positive birth story up until now even from friends with children so it was very reassuring to read all these. I know plans can change but from what I had been reading I thought it was always going to be ending in disaster followed by painful recovery. I'll try to keep an open mind for now and hope things can go as smoothly as possible. It does sound as though a water birth is the way to go if the option is there

First birth 24 hours second birth 11 hours. Won't go into too much detail wasn't the easiest of births and my 2nd baby was 10.6lb which they didn't know he was so big! Honestly in the moment it's painful but when your baby is here and your smiling ear to ear 5 minutes later you forget about all the pain. My first labour was in the pool and I would recommend it however I ended up with a epidural 2nd time round which was amazing but was well needed give the size of him! Haha xx

I've had three vaginal births with no complications.

First was a slow long labour but with gas and air she arrived healthy, had a tear and was stitched up, does sting when you wee but aslong as you pour some water from a jug on you it doesn't sting half as bad.

Second- was walking around town, was in labour eating a mc legend before I headed to the hospital, gas and air, decided to give birth in a squatting position which really helped and was a "walk in the park" was home within 3hours of arriving!

Third- laboured all day at home, arrived to the hospital with his head crowning. No time for pain relief but again very straight forward birth no complications.

My advice, control your breathing, stay focused , listen to your body and ask for pain relief if you feel you want it.

My first baby, my waters broke at 11.30pm, at hospital by 12am, already 8cm, in the birthing pool by 1.30am, had him at 4.41am. Didnt have any gas and air or anything. No cuts just two small grazes.

He is nearly 16 months now, i dont actually remember it at all!

My experiences are 31 and 29 years ago but still relevant I think. I expected straight forward births as early 20s, low risk and delivered in midwife unit. Both births started with spontaneous breaking of waters, approx 10 hours of straightforward labour with DD and 7 hours with DS. Gas and air and pethidine as pain relief. Happily seeing visitors a couple of hours after each birth.

I would give birth to my son again tomorrow. Beautiful experience. Home birth with hypnobirtbing and hired a pool, didn't need anything else. No tearing, no stitches. Makes me want another!

I did have a tear, and tbh, at the time, I thought death would've been preferable, but with the benefit of hindsight, it was actually ok and I was just a bit of a wuss. I didn't have any pain relief (I wanted some but it was all a bit quick/too late for it) or any instrument involvement. Lost a bit of blood, so had to stay overnight, but I was out the next lunchtime, back home, breastfeeding went really well and was up and about almost normally other than the 30 odd stitches, which healed really well and relatively quickly. Went for a nice long walk on day 4, ending in a cup of tea and a bacon sandwich at a cafe. 12 days in, I made mine and DSs first invitation to a friends house about 45 mins away for a rugby watching/curry dinner.

I also had the best midwife and a really positive stay at the NHS hospital I gave birth in. Its not all horror stories.

2 natural births. Both totally empowering. I loved doing it birth times. Fucking painful but not traumatising and I'd do it all over again if I could!

I really want to give you my positive birth story but I've got poorly DS on me and I can't type it all with one hand. His birth was great and I owe it to hypnobirthing