My First Birth Experience
Yes, my first time seeing a baby born... EVER!
"The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new." and so in you the child your mother lives on and through your family continues to live... so at this time look after yourself and your family as you would your mother for through you all she will truly never die." -Osho
In the middle of my Doula training, I had finished most of my assignments and research, but the births I needed to see were starting to haunt me. "Nobody is going to want a newbie doula to assist them during the birth of their child", "you're not good enough", and "maybe I should just quit", were all the things fear was saying to me. I posted an ad on craigslist of all places, and a couple weeks later, I got an email from Danielle. I was elated! This email was the motivator I needed to continue on my path.
This was Danielle's second child, and she was going all natural through labor. Late one evening I received texts from her saying that she was having pretty strong contractions but wanted advice to whether she should go to the hospital or not. When the time came, I had my doula bag packed and hopped in the car. I was pretty much freaking out to my husband- full of excitement and nerves.
When I arrived, Danielle was deep in labor, and handling her contractions like a champ! I set up the room with tools she could use; a lavender eye pillow, essential oils, my rebozo, and flameless candles for ambiance. She only labored for three hours until her little princess was born- and I was amazed. The strength and courage she had, the way she handled everything so seamlessly, the love between her and her husband.
This was ultimately a learning experience for me. I observed her, the midwife, and her partner, taking note of the way they dealt with certain situations and sensations. I had never seen a woman give birth before, so that part was pretty intense and magical. I didn't really know what my response was going to be- just amazement.
By the time I arrived home and crawled into bed with my husband, I had this new sense of gratitude, motivation, and confidence about being a birth doula.