Did your pregnancy, labor, and delivery go exactly as planned?

It’s hard to believe anyone’s does! You may have heard of a “birth plan” — maybe you had one written down, or maybe you just had an idea of how things should go. If your baby or babies spent time in the NICU or if you had a longer hospital stay than you expected, it likely brought up a lot of feelings for you. Sometimes having a chance to process what actually happened and how that differed from your plan can bring you some peace of mind, even when all the “outcomes” were positive. Many of those around new parents, including family and medical professionals, are often focused on the “outcome” — the healthy babies and the healthy mamas — and may not be interested in hearing what felt disappointing about the process. Even with the best outcomes, you may be feeling like there’s a story of your childbirth experience that you need to share. You may have felt powerless or not heard during your labor and delivery. Memories or thoughts about the birth may pop into your head at unexpected times and may intrude into your relationship with your children or your partner. Talking about this experience can help you feel more in control again.

Birth stories are not just for the birthing person. Partners who witnessed a labor/birth process that was different from what they expected can also benefit from writing a birth story.

Please contact me if you’d like to learn more about writing your childbirth narrative together.

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