My experience of childbirth has been referred to as 'normal'.
At first I found this reductive and upsetting, and now I just have a dark chuckle and reassure myself that my male doctor, while amazing, has never experienced childbirth.
I also think, 'normal'... compared to what?
Watch: Your questions about childbirth, answered by mums and non-mums. Post continues below.
I’m a person who likes to be organised.
My husband and I attended birthing classes, I listened to podcasts about hypnobirthing, I meditated. I knew about different pain relief options, and while I preferred a natural birth, I was open to pain relief.
I wasn’t feeling afraid; I was feeling informed and optimistic.
My waters broke at about 8am on a Thursday. Yahoo! I was completely done being pregnant and excited to meet my baby.
Throughout the Thursday, I had uncomfortable contractions about every 15 minutes or so.
By about midnight, we were in hospital, and my contractions were becoming more and more intense.
I spent the early hours of the morning in the shower. I had my head on my husband’s shoulder, wailing, completely naked and in so much pain that I didn’t notice midwives coming in and out.
Top Comments
Childbirth and pregnancy are traumatic experiences and it should be normalised that people who go through it are going to probably experience some form of PTSD. People should not be expected to just suck it up because it happens every day or because someone else had a different experience. It's a huge thing to go through!