Alexa's First Unmedicated Hospital Birth

Throughout my own pregnancies, I loved reading about positive birth experiences. I felt like each unique experience prepared me for what my own might be like. Thus, the idea for this page was born!

First Kick Co. publishes the birth stories of those who offer to share theirs (thank you!). We hope that sharing these stories will help other expecting moms feel more prepared for what their birth might be like. Although every birth is different and you can never predict what might happen, I hope that sharing my own birth stories will make other women feel more confident going into their own. If you're a first time mom feeling anxious about birth like I was, just know that you were truly made for this.

My First Birth Story:

Going into my first birth, I really wanted to avoid an epidural and be completely unmedicated. There are so many benefits to giving birth unmedicated, and everyone has their own reason for doing so, should they choose. For my first birth, my reason for going unmedicated was primarily just to avoid any needles or interventions (although now I've personally experienced the other great benefits as well!). For this reason, I wanted to primarily labor at home with my doula, and then head to the hospital just prior to delivery, if possible.

My first baby was born 4-days past his due date. I had a feeling I would go "overdue" because many studies have shown that ~80% of first-time moms will go past their due date with their first child. So, if you're in this situation, try to be patient with yourself and your baby. I know waiting can be hard, but your baby will arrive when they are ready.

Throughout my pregnancy, I tried to go on a long walk every single day, and the days past my due date were no exception. I did plenty of curb-walking to get baby down into my pelvis. The day after my due date passed, I read a statistic that made me feel relieved:

Research has found that 50% of all women giving birth for the first time will give birth by 40 weeks and 5 days, while 75% of all women giving birth for the first time will give birth by 41 weeks and 2 days.

This was exactly what I needed to hear at the time. 75% of first-time moms will give birth by 41 weeks and 2 days?! I knew I could make it to that point if needed. I felt like as soon as I knew this, it helped my body relax and think more positively, because like I said, waiting in those final days of pregnancy can be challenging.

I decided to get a membrane sweep at my 40-week appointment and then again at my 40-week + 3-days appointment to try to get things moving. At the time, I didn't really realize that a membrane sweep is actually a form of induction. Had I known this at the time, I likely would not have gotten one. In hindsight, I feel that getting a membrane sweep did push my body into labor, but since my body likely wasn't completely ready on its own yet, I do think it might've given me a longer labor overall. This is just my intuition, and it's why I would personally not choose to get a membrane sweep at all in the future, unless I was getting very close to 42-weeks. But this is just my preference based on my own experience.

The evening of 40-weeks + 3-days, I was completely exhausted and just had a feeling that I was going to have my baby soon. Sure enough, I woke up at 2:30am the morning of 40-weeks + 4-days, with terrible leg cramps. Labor starts differently for everyone, and thanks to reading plenty of birth stories prior to going into labor, I was aware that sometimes labor starts with intense leg cramps, so I knew this was probably the beginning of something. Sure enough, a stomach ache started immediately after. I spent the next few hours working through contractions with deep breathing and horse lips (blowing air through loose lips). I had read many birth stories that involved "early labor", but I didn't feel like I had this stage of labor. I felt like my labor jumped right into more of an "active labor" stage. To learn more about the stages of labor, check out our blog post titled, The Stages of Labor.

Throughout the day, I worked through contractions with counter pressure hip squeezes, and I tried to rest and eat as much as possible. I knew that labor could take a long time, so I wanted to give myself plenty of stamina to continue. Your appetite often decreases as labor progresses, so if you're hungry at all, I recommend eating for as long as possible.

In the middle of the day, labor was getting more intense. I took a long hot shower and then around 4:00pm, our doula arrived to support me. She helped me continue to progress by recommending certain labor positions. Finally, around 6:00pm, she recommended that we head toward the hospital. I trusted her advice, since I had not been timing my own contractions-- I left that to her so that I could stay focused on relaxing.

We checked into the hospital around 7:00pm, and I was already 7/8 cm dilated. I was happy with that progress! It meant the transition stage of labor was not too far away.

As I mentioned, I do not like needles, but I did agree to an IV for my first birth. I got the IV placed and monitors on me and baby, and then continued to work through contractions with the support of my doula.

Most women have a moment during the transition stage when they start to question if having an unmedicated labor was the right choice. Although I never questioned if an unmedicated labor was the right choice, I did have a moment of doubt as to whether or not I could continue to do it. I was thankful for my doula's support and words of encouragement in that moment. If you're choosing an unmedicated birth, just know that when you start to doubt yourself or consider alternative options, it likely means you are very close to the end!

When my body intuitively started pushing on its own, my OB asked me to lay on my back. This was not my preferred position, but unfortunately I didn't have enough energy in that moment to ask for anything different. Thankfully, I only pushed for about 20-minutes before my baby was born! He was born at 11:26pm, after 21 hours of labor. The hardest part of my first labor was how exhausting it was. It was like running an ultra marathon on just 2.5 hours of sleep.

Most first-time moms will labor for approximately 12-19 hours, so my labor was just a bit longer than average. Giving birth unmedicated pushed my mind and body to its limits, but I was so proud of myself. And if I can do it, anyone can!

If you're interested in giving birth unmedicated, check out our post titled How to Achieve an Unmedicated Birth for more tips, and consider purchasing our First Kick Kits, where we provide the pregnancy and birth-prep essentials you need to feel ready for the experience.

Any way that you bring a baby into this world is truly incredible. I hope that reading my first birth story can help you feel more prepared for yours. You got this!