This is yet another fabulous guest post from my homegirl Monique!

“You are only a real woman when you push.”
“Epidural are for the weak.”

These two comments women made almost started a riot on my Facebook page. Facebook friends that usually “like” my statuses commented and actually FOLLOWED the post until the it died down. The first person to comment, of course, was one of my Besties, and owner of this blog, Danielle. When she typed in caps “WHO THE FUCK SAID THAT…” I knew I had hit a nerve. But I am childless, and nosy, so therefore… I wanted to understand why does this battle exist?  (more…)

Childbirth hasn’t always been nice to me. At all. I had big ideas and lovely plans for the births of all my children, which were interrupted by impatient OB/GYN’s, misshaped pelvises, and rational thoughts.

I haven’t touched on birth in a while, and when I first started blogging five years ago, my blog was 95% about childbirth. I really wanted to share my three experiences with everyone, how I got here and what has changed since the birth of my oldest son.

As I looked back last night over my early and extremist posts on my blog, I was reminded of a dark place which had engulfed my life in such a negative manner for years. In my quest to have the birth I wanted, I had become a complete asshole. (more…)

Before I had children I worked in a Chiropractors office for years. I met a lot of interesting people, including a couple women who were doula‘s for a living. That was the first time I ever heard the worddoula.

Once I started researching and learning, the more I wanted to become a doula myself, and by the time I was 19 I was working with an agency in my local area. While I didn’t really care for agency work it didn’t deter my passion that started at a young age for natural childbirth.

It seemed right. It seemed like the normal thing to be doing. It just made sense. Women had been giving birth for hundreds of years without issue, why start complicating things now. (more…)

If you have been following me as a writer for years, you will know that when I first started to blog many of my posts were about childbirth. Natural childbirth, the rising number of c-sections, and really anything that went along with birth.

In the past I worked as a doula, coached friends and family members through childbirth, and of course dove into any book on the topic I could find.

When I thought I was done having children I made the choice to become a Lamaze Teacher. I took the course, completed it and got my certificate and have been putting off sitting for the official exam. It was an unexpected pregnancy, a birth, work, life… everything that has put it on the back burner.

But the truth is… thinking about, blogging about, talking about natural childbirth or pregnancy and childbirth as a whole actually hurts. Like really emotionally hurts. (more…)

After my oldest son was born I became involved with a wonderful organization that helped me through some of my darkest hours of feeling broken and taken advantage of the maternity care system in our country. I was heavily involved until I got pregnant with my daughter.

And to be honest – I was never planning a third child – EVER.

I had two negative experiences that scared me to death to have another child for a plethora of reasons. From undergoing a third surgical birth to suffering a deep postpartum depression again. I couldn’t put myself or my children through that again. It was bad enough living with the memory of my second delivery and the postpartum depression that stemmed from that — I just knew I couldn’t go through that once more.

Then I got pregnant with Addison. I was petrified. Not just because of my previous experiences but because I emotionally couldn’t deal with it. I was a hot mess for weeks even before I announced to the world that there was a bun cooking. I slowly pulled myself together and went where I thought I could get the most help. The group that had supported me through some of my darkest hours. (more…)

I feel like I haven’t done a really good birth post in a while and while I was bitching the other day about Mom wars and birth wars… this still pisses me off big time.

When I was pregnant with my third child, after having two prior c-sections, horrible experiences and in the end knowing there was no medical way I could birth any of my kids… I did so much research it wasn’t even funny.

I am sure a lot of my readers were sick of reading about VBA2C by the time I went into labor with my daughter.

A new study released this week shows that women with at least one prior c-section delivery typically choose the preferred delivery method of the provider they have chosen. (more…)