Birth Affirmations

Sometimes in pregnancy and birth, things change. In fact, I think the only constant in birth is change.

Our preferences may change.

How we feel about birth may change.

The benefits and risks we're comfortable with may change.

How we physically birth our babies may change.

Most of us don't set out on this miraculous journey to motherhood intending to have a cesarean birth, and when things change and our bodies and babies signal that they've chosen cesarean birth (if this is the case, although sometimes it is not) it can be jarring. 

I think most would assume that only birthing people who have vaginal births experience transition, but actually those who birth their babies via cesarean often experience a much grander emotional transition in place of the physical one that takes place during vaginal birth. As I would guess any person who's had a cesarean birth would agree, there really is nothing quite like entering the OR and laying your body down for your baby. Whether you're rushed in on a gurney and things take place with urgency or you have the chance to walk in and greet your care team, it's an experience unlike any other. As birthing people we do our best to accept the choices that must be made, because deep down we know we'd do just about anything for this baby. This doesn't mean that embracing these choices is not challenging. Embracing your cesarean birth or any birth outcome that is different from what we envision can be especially difficult when it's emergent or unplanned or decisions must be made with urgency, as we're forced to do the emotional work on the fly with little or no time for pause. It's almost like learning to swim by being thrown in the deep end. Perhaps this is life's way of preparing us for the ebb and flow of motherhood though, where we are quite literally winging it.

During my second birth, one of the things that got me through our emergent cesarean were birth affirmations. I remember repeating them over and over and over as I felt the wave of pressure flow over my body accompanied by the pulls and tugs that ultimately signaled the end of our trial of labor and the emergence of our tiny human. The beauty of affirmations is that they are for everyone regardless of how you birth, and there is something so powerful about acknowledging how we feel and putting that energy into our experiences.

I hadn't shared these with anyone until recently, and I thought since April is Cesarean Awareness Month now would be the perfect time to give them a little life outside of my birth story. 

There are so many ways to have a beautiful birth. No one way is better than another.