I wanted to share a wonderful birth story shared with us from a mama in our online support group Kelsey Rose....as she really transformed her story of fear and negativity around birth, that she grew up with and has a very different story to tell her daughter. She prepared so much, but she was determined, and did it!!!

Hey Anne,

I had my baby girl this morning! I went into labor yesterday morning with contractions 5 minutes apart. I had no bloody show, no mucus plug and no water breaking! I was only 1 cm dilated so they sent me home. I was pretty bummed but I went back 5 hours later (because they became unbearable and happened every time I stood up) and was 7 cm! I was shocked. I ended up getting an epidural at 8cm because my labor was stalling as I kept tensing up from the pain. I knew I couldn’t go on anymore. Within 3 hours I was fully dilated and pushed her out after only a few pushes! They were shocked at how fast I was able to push her out with an epidural and being a first time mom. The nurse had to catch her because the midwife couldn’t come in time! It was her first time catching a baby LOL. And I had no stitches or tearing! Such a huge relief! I’m so glad I can share this great story with her one day and break the cycle of fear around birth that I grew up with.

I am very proud of myself and Luna we got through it together and healthy. She’s doing so well. I would be honored if you shared my story! I felt so discouraged because I had no signs leading up to labor and started at just 1cm when I was checked. It felt amazing when I was told I went to 7cm so quickly even with zero signs of labor before that! I hope it can give other women some comfort to know that it’s possible to go from 0 to 100 so quickly! I’ve already taken many pictures LOL so I can post one to the group or email to you. Thanks again. I actually received the second edition of your Natural Birth Secrets book on Monday and spent the day going through it while I was having my sporadic contractions. It helped boost up my confidence and was perfect timing for the labor that came the next morning!

Now that breastfeeding is starting to be a bit less painful and I’m slowly adjusting to the lack of sleep, I’m coherent enough to add to my story that my whole life I was raised being told by my mother how horrible her labor with me was, how it was the worst and most painful experience of her life, and how it’s the reason she never had any other children. She gave birth in a hospital and from what she told me, I could tell that she really wasn’t given any options and had the unfortunately all-too-common traumatic hospital birth experience.

Since finding out I was pregnant, I was determined not to let her traumatic experience become my own. It all started with me looking into hypnobirthing. From there I went down the rabbit hole of reading and watching positive birth stories, reading several birth prep books and taking two birth courses (one was your Love Your Birth course that was helpful because she addressed both the physical processes and anatomy of birth but also the spiritual and psychological component), a newborn care course and a breastfeeding course. I was determined to get as much knowledge as possible to empower myself so that I knew what to expect going into labor, especially since I wanted a hospital birth. In my quest for knowledge I came across you, Anne when I saw an interview you had on Successful Breastfeeding LLC’s webinar series with Kelly Maher Carvell. I really liked how you spoke about birth and the preparation for it so holistically and described it as a challenging yet wonderful experience when surrounded by the right support system. It was the first time I had ever heard of birth spoken about in such beautiful terms instead of as a horrible nightmare. I strongly encourage all expecting mamas to empower themselves with knowledge so that birth is not a mysterious or scary event that you hope to just figure out when the time comes. Yes, I now believe that we were made to do this and that we can do this, but I also firmly believe that it takes a lot of preparation because we no longer live in societies where we are surrounded by birth (as is often said by you, Anne) and instead our society has taught us to be afraid of birth because it portrays only the worst depictions of birth for entertainment and shock value. I think all births, whether in a hospital or at home, medicated or unmediated, natural or cesarean can be beautiful experiences for any woman when she is surrounded by the right team and support system and is empowered with knowledge and confidence.

I thought of my grandma leading up to the birth and a few times during (who gave birth to all of her babies at home back in her country), but I think I was more focused on women in general being able to birth their babies. The doula who helped me had positive affirmation cards and one of them that I asked her to put on the wall while I was there was “Like millions of women before me, my body knows how to birth" (from your online course!).

Thank you so much for your continued support. I look forward to seeing you next month -to the future meetings (in your online support group)

I am excited to announce that my online Love Your Birth course has been improved and updated on a different host site with a lot of bonus video content (15 more videos on key topics!) at the same old pricing. Those who have already purchased it, please contact me through this site for new log in, as you all have lifetime access. Thank you to Megan Hancock Photography who has provided the stunning images for my website.