Why I Am Sharing Only “Natural” Birth Stories

+J.M.J.+

There isn’t a concrete definition of a natural mother. This is something I talked about in this post here when I was worrying about being good enough for the title of this blog. To some people I’m super natural and to others I miss the mark.

But if we look at the actual definition of “natural” we read:

adjective

1. existing in or formed by nature (opposed to artificial)

So, I have found that our family seems to thrive when we do certain things as close as possible to the way something is found or formed by nature. For us this means trying to eat food without artificially produced ingredients, fillers, or pesticides. I love using cloth diapers made with natural fibers like cotton and hemp, as opposed to the plastics and chemicals found in disposables. I think breastmilk is the most amazing food for babies, and I think God’s design for childbirth is astounding, making me so passionate about breastfeeding and natural birth.

Does that mean that I think not doing those things is evil or bad?

Of course not.

I know people who have absolutely no interest or who see no benefit in things that I do, just as they have passions for things that don’t resonate with me. We are all going to have the drive for pursuing totally different paths. (I also recognize that sometimes people aren’t physically able to do the same things, either. What is safe or feasible for one mother may not be for another.)

But Why Only This Kind?

So why are the birth stories I share on the blog only those that were non-medicated and non-intervention?

Is it to judge women who choose to pursue a more medically based route of care?

Is it to shame someone who doesn’t birth how I do?

No.

I want to share a particular type of birth story because I have a passion for that type of birth. It resonates with me.

I know women who love to get an epidural first thing when they pull up to the hospital and I don’t think that makes them less of a mom or bad in any way.

But just as Mary Haseltine talks about in “Made For This,” birth matters and will affect us all differently. You may not feel a drive for a particular type of birth, but for me, it is really important that I birth as much as I can without interventions or medications. This desire comes from years of researching various practices, talking to countless women and birth professionals, and experiencing this kind of birth twice myself. It stirs something up in me that I can’t explain. It has helped me in my transition into motherhood. It has helped my physical and mental wellbeing and the health of my children. It has formed some of who I am today.

Honoring that passion isn’t meant as a slight or judgment to others, but simply delving into something on my heart.

I wouldn’t think a fitness blogger gathering Day In The Life posts from other gym enthusiasts as them saying my days that don’t involve intense workouts as being inferior, evil, or bad. It’s simply a spark someone else has that I don’t.

And as for emergencies in birth… they happen. No sane person denies that. If you want to read birth stories when there was an emergency you can find them.

But birth is also a mental game, so while it is important to realize that there may be a need for emergency care and to plan for it, that doesn’t mean that there can’t be a great benefit for women hoping to birth naturally in reading stories that had the desired outcome.

Positive natural birth stories can be confidence boosters amongst the fear-mongering. They can educate women on ways to handle labor pains or non-emergency issues as they arise. They can spark conversations and help a woman be prepared. And they can simply immerse the reader in the raw beauty that is birth and be special to read.

No one has actually accused me of anything at the time of writing this, but it has simply been on my heart to share why I only publish certain types of submissions.

I hope to have more natural birth stories coming soon and that you enjoy them as much as I do.