Another Beautiful Birth Story

I've been acquainted with Alicia for about two years. I first met her at a Start Up Princess Women in Business Meeting where I was on a panel of speakers. Being the secret networker that I am, I had brought a DONA International Doula bag with me to carry all of my handouts and biz cards and folders and such. It was a good thing, too, because Alicia spotted it from across the conference room and made a beeline to me. She told me that she had wanted to be a doula and was looking for a training. I said, "Well guess what? I'm a trainer and I have a training coming up next month!" She verbally signed up on the spot and a month later spent three intensive days with me and several other women in a training, learing to be a doula.

I generally stayed in contact with her, but more in the relationship of post trainee/trainer than friends, although I had really connected with her at the training. A couple months ago, I got a text from her asking if I was available to be her doula in March. I texted her right back and said, "OF COURSE!!"

I met with her soon after and it turns out that she had sought out four other doulas because she thought I would be booked, but in the end, they had each not been able to take her for various reasons. She finally took a stab at me and guess what? It was surely meant to be because it all worked out perfectly.

Alicia has written her own story out here so I won't write out the whole thing again in this post. But there are a couple of things I want to highlight:

Alicia had expected that labor would be challenging because she had had two babies already and knew the drill, but she didn't expect that she would suffer. This enabled her to have fun, to ride right over the top of her contractions and to ultimately trust her body.

Alicia chose to give birth at a birthing suite (see the gorgeous facility in the pictures beneath) with a midwife that she trusted to be competent and capable.

Alicia knew instinctually and intellectual that being active in her birth, moving around, walking and using different positions, are the ingredients for a timely and manageable labor.

Alicia knew what people she would need around her to help her carry out her desired experience, and made sure to get that team in place long before labor even started.

Alicia chose to percieve labor and birth as challenging, not sufferable; positive, not negative; normal, not pathological. She chose to see labor as a sign of health. If her body could get pregnant with a baby, carry it to term and then go into labor, she was and is a healthy and strong person and the contractions were a sign of that. Surely if she could create this intensity, she could manage this intensity.

Some less serious points:

Alicia's adorable midwife, Rebecca, made us cinnamon rolls and popcorn throughout the labor. It was a real treat that kept Alicia happy and upbeat.

At one point, I gave Alicia a pedicure and painted her toenails. I think she was about 5 or 6 centimeters in the picture below. Yes, that is active labor. She stopped to breath and relax during each contraction and then afterward, went on smiling between each, all the way until the end.

Alicia and I have finally realized that we are meant to be good friends forever. We've talked about working together and see each other often and I will forever be grateful to her for making me a part of her birth team and her life.