Q: I planned a natural birth with a midwife and ended up in the hospital with all the medical stuff. I feel like such a failure and can’t seem to get over it. Can you help? -Anonymous

Birth is one of those unpredictable, uncontrollable situations in life. You’ve certainly learned that lesson with your whole body, right? And this is really an important, essential lesson to learn because, as it turns out, most of life is unpredictable and uncontrollable.

So first off: Congratulate yourself for successfully undergoing a “rite of passage” where you learned this important lesson! Especially as Americans, we often think we have control over our lives — and we certainly do more so than most peoples around the planet. But ultimately each of us has to grapple with that which is beyond our control. We have to learn about surrender.

Continue reading "You did NOT fail just because your natural childbirth didn't go as planned" →

From the very start of my pregnancy, I knew that my little one would come before her due date, maybe a week or two early.

Never in my wildest imaginings did I think she would be ELEVEN weeks early!

It was Tuesday, March 3, 2009. I woke up with the most intensive heartburn I had ever felt in my life and I got sick as soon as I made it to the bathroom. I had experienced some pretty bad morning sickness, but nothing like this.

Continue reading "Eleven weeks early and a fighter from the start" →

bonnaroomama explains: "After my son was born, complications from my c-section left me hospitalized for about three weeks. My family worked very hard to keep my son near me and support my breastfeeding efforts."

It looks like despite those rough first three weeks, Bonnaroomama and her family have gone on to enjoy a rich life full of music festivals and good times:

A lot of women I know talk about having the perfect pregnancy, the perfect birth, the perfect baby. I was one of them.

In the beginning of my pregnancy, everything WAS perfect. I was healthy, my growing baby boy was healthy, my hubby, Devin, was amazing, our families were thrilled, friends were ecstatic, life couldn't have been better.

Continue reading "I had a horrible pregnancy, and I can't wait to try again!" →

August was a big month for me, as my partner and I hung by the phone waiting for “the news.”

Both of us come from tiny families, and both our brothers became dads within three weeks of each other.

I am still adjusting to my new role as an aunty, especially as I have no little ones of my own (yet). While I thought it would all be about occasional nappy changing, Chrissie presents and backyard cricket (I’m Australian and they’re both nephews) it turns out it’s just as much taking care of the grown-ups as the little ones – and that the position of Aunty is a defense position.

Continue reading "The position of aunty is a defense position" →

Whether your birth plan is one word (epidural) or a spiritual novella dedicated to your hopes for natural childbirth, things can (and do) go awry with labor … Cesarean sections happen.

The majority of labor and delivery resources fail to cover c-section recovery in depth. They'll usually touch on the stand-bys "Don't carry heavy objects" and "Avoid stairs" but there's not a lot of boots-on-the-ground guidance for mamas to turn to after c-sections.

Jeanne (pictured here) launched C-Section Recovery in 2004 after recovering from her own c-section delivery. She's filled the site with FAQs, information on emotional recovery, and solid advice from the trenches to help you get back on your feet.

If you've sailed the high seas of c-section recovery and feel like contributing to resources to help other mamas make it through too, there's even a quick survey you can take to help shape the information on the site.

If you're recovering from a c-section or want to be prepared just in case, start your research at C-Section Recovery.