Why I Chose a Natural Birth and the Spiritual Side of It

Having a natural birth wasn’t something that I dreamed about prior to conceiving my first child. It wasn’t some grand plan that I had up my sleeve all along or any sort of “I just want to be different” notion that made me decide a natural birth was for me.

To be honest, I can’t quite pinpoint exactly what made me think about it. I remember sitting there answering ALL of the many, many questions the nurse asked me at my eight week (and first) checkup. She asked if I was going to choose an epidural and I went ahead and said no. Granted it was so early on that this could have totally changed at any time. It was more of a, “Nah I’m just going to try it without it” just because for some reason it felt right for me.

Later in my pregnancy my birth app on my phone sent me an article about epidurals, sharing basic facts, testimonies and more. I read that article just to learn more on the topic and THAT article was a turning point for me. I read about how many women dealt with the after effects of epidurals - back pain that never went away, headaches that never went away and more. I was in shock because I had no clue that this was a thing; but what was more shocking was the waiver that I learned you had to sign prior to having the epidural inserted. I cringed at all of the information that was in there and to be honest, it scared me into really preparing myself for a natural birth. So prepare I did.

Birth is beautiful no matter what. There is no right or wrong way to birth. Sometimes things happen that prevent us from having the birth we desire or sometimes the pain is too hard that we decide to opt for the epidural. There’s no right or wrong here, but with the right mindset and preparation, I am positive that many more women could be achieving a natural birth if they so desired to.

Choosing to have a natural birth has by far been one of the decisions I am the most proud of as a parent. Not because I feel it made my birth any more special than the next person’s, but because it made the birth so dang special for me. It left a lasting affect on me that has helped me to appreciate the women before me who birthed with no interventions and drugs. It made me feel a sense of strength that I didn’t know was there and a complete desire to give my child what I felt was right for them, to fight for it.

In a sense natural childbirth has somewhat of a spiritual affect on you once you walk through the journey. It’s an escape into a world you never imagined could be so ridden with pain and yet SO incredibly beautiful all at once. Each one of my births have been of decent length, and with each one of my births I get to escape into another land where no one else can join me at that time. A world of prayer, reliance on God and a world of working with my body and my baby. Even if my prayer just consisted of, “God please let this be over soon” (which sometimes that is what I was praying), it made me rely on Him. I had to rely on Him to find the strength to get through it. And I rely on Him during the duration of my pregnancy to pray for my body and baby to engage properly to allow for another birth that we so desire. I believe that God knows my heart and knows the longing I have to endure the pain of childbirth, only to feel the reward of life exiting my body and entering His world earthside.

But it still doesn’t come easy. I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t start each labor thinking it would just be easier to ask for the epidural. It would be easier to just lie in a bed and not really feel much and still be available to chat with visitors and my nurses. As each one of my labors have progressed, I have tried to tell myself that I simply couldn’t do it again - it was just too painful. As each labor has progressed I always say to myself, “How in the heck did I do this before!” You never become immune to the pain. But as each labor would continue to progress, I would tune out the world and just rely on myself, my baby and God. The truth is I wasn’t there to look pretty laying in a bed and chat with all of the family coming in to see me, I was there to bring new life into this world and guide my body on doing so.

Natural childbirth is a complete and total mind game. For me it’s a bit of a spiritual thing as I have noticed that I drift off into a world of prayer, mantras and odd things that no one can understand. For one birth I was a bird and another birth a butterfly - weird I know. But the vision of each opening their wings helped me cling onto the idea of the opening of my cervix to bring this life into the world. No one can understand the world you escape to because it’s a world that only you will remember. That is part of what is so incredibly special about it. It becomes a safe haven, a place of spiritual awareness, a place of the utmost strength and a place of joy as you continually put yourself back into those moments, even months after your baby has been born.

The book I recommend the most, find it here

Natural childbirth that is planned and desired comes with preparation. While yes some women labor and deliver fast enough that they don’t need any prep work, a lot of us simply need the prep work. You can find numerous resources on this blog to help guide you through your natural childbirth preparations, but our quick list is below.

How to Prepare for a Natural Childbirth

Choose a provider, midwife or OB that is 100% on board with you. If your doctor is doubting you, snickering at you or cracking jokes about it — it is time to switch doctors.
Consider a free standing birth center in your area which is the perfect safety net between a hospital and a home birth.
Enjoy some books — I recommend The Lamaze Book for statistics, Ina May’s Guide to Child birth, Spiritual Midwifery and many more.
Take a class. Most hospitals and birth centers offer classes to help guide people through the comfort measures of natural childbirth and what to expect. It’s also a great tool to help your partner understand what to expect as well.
Remind yourself that your birth will look different. You won’t want to be induced, which is unfortunately a common trend these days. Inducing a baby unless medically necessary doesn’t always have the best birthing outcomes. You may not look as glamorous as others do in their birth photos, you won’t chat much with your visitors and for most people, you will not stay in your bed.
You have to move! Walk around, ask for a birthing ball, asking for a tub, try various positions and so on.
Create a birth plan. Have a plan in mind to tell your nurses — no IV drip (they can put the lock in for emergencies), intermittent fetal monitoring, the ability to move, music if you need it, and so on. It’s YOUR birth!
Pray. Pray. Pray. I spend the duration of my pregnancy praying for my baby and my body to engage correctly to allow for a natural, vaginal birth. I am well aware that God could always have a different plan for us, and at the end of the day our safety is what matters most. But I believe in the power of prayer to prep your mindset mentally and emotionally that you will be fine and able.

I hope that whatever birth it is you desire, that you accomplish it. If natural childbirth feels right for you, educate yourself on it and prepare yourself. Start praying on it now and finding the strength to believe in yourself and your body. And pray for peace to be with you no matter how your birth goes.

Birth is beautiful, no matter what. I pray that each person who reads this feels peace and joy when they look back at their birth. Unfortunately I have heard the testimonies of many women who had that joy ripped from them, so I pray for peace.

**To read all three of my natural birth stories, see our natural childbirth tab!