One thing I would definitely change is we forgot all the food I had planned to bring and purchased for the birth. We had a few things (some crackers and cheese and I think granola bars) but forgot most of it. What’s worse is I really had the “munchies” during this labor. With my last natural labor I didn’t want to eat but this time I couldn’t stop eating!

My husband slept through most of the labor…kind of wish he hadn’t. At times I felt really lonely walking around or puttering around the room by myself.

I also wish I had hired a doula. I am a doula myself. Because I knew what I wanted and mostly how to get it and my husband knew a lot how to comfort me and I had already had one child at the birth center and felt close to the staff I didn’t think I needed one. In hindsight I think a doula would have been a good idea. Next time I will definitely hire one.

Another thing I’m not sure how I feel about, my water being broken at 7cm. On one hand it intensified labor almost too much on the other hand it might have been a few more hours of labor had they not done it. I would really prefer my water to break on its own but to have a water birth you have to let them break it and check for meconium. Having a water birth was a priority for me. I’m not sure if it would have been better to wait another hour and see if I progressed or not.

After my second baby (my first natural birth) I tore slightly (on a previous episiotomy scar). My husband told me that the midwife and nurse had kept telling me to slow down or stop pushing but I wasn’t listening. Honestly, I never heard them. So I told my husband this time if they tell me to slow down to make sure I heard them and taught him how to help me breath through it instead of pushing. Well David was born so fast there was never a chance to tell me to slow down and unfortunately that speed caused a large tear. I’m not sure there was any way to prevent it.

Overall it was a good birth. To be quite honest I don’t feel like it was as good as my second birth. My husband tells me that my second birth was so perfect that nothing was going to measure up anyway. If we live here next time I give birth (if there is a next time) I will probably use the birth center again but I may consider a home birth.

You can read more of Sabrina’s Birth Journey by…


…turning back to read the story of her birth… Birth Story