Thank you @laurakdwatson for taking the time with me to share your two powerful birth stories with me. 

“I think my labour and delivery experience with my second child can show the birthing community that there is healing, redemption and overcoming after birth trauma/traumatic pregnancies. I had always desired to have a medication free labour and delivery. With my first child I didn't get that experience (I had all the pain medications, morphine, fentanyl and an epidural), suffered horrible physical trauma and battled postpartum depression and a suicide attempt because of it. I believed I was a failure and that my body had failed me. I went through hell and back recovering from my pregnancy/labour/delivery and postpartum experience. With my second child, I sought out the care of a midwife (I had an OB the first time), rented a birth pool and had an absolutely incredible, beautiful medication and intervention free labour and delivery in the birth pool. I had done what I had always dreamed of but never believed I could've done. My midwife was absolutely amazing and is really the only reason I made it through the process without any interventions. She supported me so well through my entire pregnancy, labour and delivery and I'm eternally grateful for her. I was so traumatized from my first experience that I went into my second labour and delivery with absolutely no expectations because I was so terrified that I'd have the same experience and let myself down all over again. I had set such high expectations for myself the first time that when none of those expectations came true I was absolutely devastated. I tell people now that the beautiful and peaceful birth experience I had this time around was the last piece that I needed to truly heal from the trauma of my first time and to believe my body HAD NOT failed me.” — Laura   

________RESOURCES__________

SUICIDE PREVENTION: 1.833.456.4566

https://suicideprevention.ca/ 

https://talksuicide.ca/ 

POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION: “As many as 80 percent of new mothers experience the ‘baby blues’ after delivery. Up to 23 percent of these women will develop a more severe and longer-lasting depression or anxiety, called postpartum depression or postpartum anxiety, after delivery.” GET HELP HERE 

BIRTH LOCATION: RAH

MIDWIVES: HOPE MIDWIVES 

To apply for midwifery care, please register at: clientcare.alberta-midwives.ca/waitlist/register 

#birthstory #birthtrauma birthwithconfidence #empoweredbirth #yegmom #littledoulaontheprairie #birthingontheprairies