We continue with our “Birth Stories” for the summer series! Today’s story comes from Shelley Wylie, who shares how the shower beats the tub, how birth is not as horrendous as the Machu Picchu trail, and how you can absolutely have a lovely birth, even if you have to come undone and regather yourself in the process. Check it out!
To listen here, click the play button on the player above, or click the button below to listen in iTunes.
What we talked about:
- How you don’t birth on the day
- Getting into the rhythm at home, and avoiding the clock
- Reading between the lines of a polite vaginal exam
- Sinking into a “Pillow Castle”
- When you hate the tub: try the shower!
- Using a TENS machine
- Remembering to breathe
- The sudden realization that pushing will be required
- Wanting to be grounded
- Turning the pain into energy
- The need to “come undone” so you can regather, renew and readjust
- Make sure you get some photos!
- Birth: not a time to be polite
- The most incredible sunrise ever
Resources mentioned on the show*:
- Mamatens Mytime Maternity Tens Drug Free Pain Relief for Labour, TENS machine
- Birth with Confidence: Savvy choices for normal birth, by Rhea Dempsey
- Shebirths.com, childbirth classes
All photos are used with permission, courtesy of Shelley Wylie
Title music: “Vibe Ace” by Kevin MacLeod, from the Free Music Archive / CC BY (edited for length).
Sponsorship music: “Air Hockey Saloon” by Chris Zabriskie, from the Free Music Archive / CC BY (edited for length).