Did Your Birth Story Match Your Aspirations? Mine Didn't! Here's What Happened... by Prenatal Yoga Academy

I was a yoga teacher. I expected to have a happy yogic birthing story to tell.

My water leaked. Nothing happened. I arrived at the hospital with my yoga mat. I was induced. Nothing happened. I sat upright to meditate. The nurse came in and scolded me. I lost the baby’s heart rate on the monitor! The nurse threatened to use an internal monitor if I lost it again! Crushed, I sank back onto the hospital bed. I couldn’t do any yoga moves, let alone sit up to meditate.

Nothing happened. The nurse continued to increase my Pitocin medication to stimulate labor. Nothing happened – except I was getting really hungry!

Finally, powerful, painful contractions came crashing upon me like an avalanche of rocks. I was ready to do my yoga best to continue without pain medication or an epidural despite the persistent onslaught. If I was near the finish line I thought I could bear it. When I learned that I was only 2 centimeters dilated – the beginning of the first stage of labor – I was grateful to have an epidural.

In the end what mattered most was the successful delivery of my healthy baby – not a heroic yoga story.

How did your birthing expectations match your actual delivery of your baby?