Vaginal hospital birth with big baby

🔆𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍🔆

The thoughts we have can create physical and chemical changes in our bodies. There exists a mind-body connection where each affects the other. When fear occurs during labor, it disrupts our body’s production of the natural cascade of birthing hormones and causes unnecessary tension in the body. Stress hormones known as catecholamines are produced which crowd out our body’s pain-relieving endorphins, also leading to the experience of increased discomfort. All these things can tense up the body and shut down the progress of labor.

Kimberly had 2 previous unmedicated births and planned the same for her third baby. But at 41 weeks she was told that her baby was 11lbs and was ordered to have a cesarean that very day. Against her doctors ordered she signed herself out of the hospital and went home. At 42 weeks her water broke and labor began.

She labored at home like she had intended to but felt fear wash over her. She questioned if the baby was too big, if he was moving down correctly and her mothers presence added to her fear and uncomfortableness. This fear led to immense pain that kept the contractions coming strong but stopped the progress of dilation.

She made the decision that for this birth, she would need pain medication to finish fully dilating. She transferred to the hospital and was still at 9cm upon arrival. But as soon as she got the epidural, the tension created from pain that was originally created by fear subsided and she immediately dilated to 10cm and pushed her 10lb 10oz baby named Pi out in 15 minutes.

Here’s the thing. Birth can require different things from us. It can lead us to unexpected births and alter our plans. The birth you need is the one that happens.

And with this birth, she still felt so empowered. Empowered because she was able to move past her fears of perceptions of what other might think. She was able to move past her fears of this is what she needed now and to accept it. That she can now relate to so many other women on so many levels. And that she gave birth to a large baby vaginally despite what doctors had suggested.

Mommy: Kimberly Nelli