My first birth, I labored through the night. About twenty-four hours altogether.
I was exhausted. I was guessing. Every contraction felt like something I was just surviving instead of working through.
There were hard parts. There were holy parts.
When the baby finally cried, the room got quiet in a different way. I looked at that face and thought, Oh. It's you.
But honestly? I spent most of that labor scared. Not of the pain, exactly. Of not knowing what was happening. Of not knowing what to do with what was happening.
I had read books. I had Googled. I had a birth plan typed up in my Notes app.
None of that helped when things got real.
The second time, something was different
The universe had jokes with my second birth.
We were up at 3am with a tiny stomach bug our oldest brought home. The kind of night where nobody sleeps and the washing machine runs three times.
By 8pm, just as we finally laid down to rest, contractions started.
Of course. 😅
But here's what surprised me.
I wasn't scared. I was ready.
me, working through contractions with my second. Eyes closed. Breathing. Completely in it.
I knew the positions that worked for my body. I knew how to breathe when the big waves came. I knew when to rest and when to lean in.
Even exhausted from a stomach-bug night with a toddler, I felt calm. Confident. In tune with my body in a way I hadn't felt the first time.
That wasn't just "experience." Something had actually changed.
What changed
Between my two births, I learned from Mama Natural Birth.
And I need to be clear about something. This isn't a "positive vibes only" class. It's not someone telling you to light a candle and trust the universe.
It's actual training.
Positions. Breathing. What each stage of labor feels like and what to do during it.
How to work with your body instead of fighting against it.
How to communicate with your medical team.
How to stay grounded when things don't go as planned.
It's taught by a Certified Nurse Midwife and a mom of three who's had three very different births herself. The information is real. The approach is warm but practical.
And it's designed to work no matter what your birth looks like. Hospital. Birth center. Home. Medicated. Unmedicated. The tools apply across the board.
That's what made me trust it. It didn't push an agenda. It just made me ready for whatever my story turned out to be.
Why I think preparation matters more than a birth plan
Here's what nobody told me before my first birth:
A birth plan is a list of preferences. That's it. It doesn't prepare you for what labor feels like. It doesn't teach your body what to do. And it definitely doesn't help when things go sideways at 3am.
Preparation is different.
Preparation is knowing three different positions for back labor. It's knowing how to breathe when a contraction peaks. It's your partner knowing exactly where to press on your lower back and when.
It's walking into that room (or staying in your living room) and thinking: I know what to do.
That's what this course gave me. Not a script. A skill set.
right after my second was born. That face. That feeling. Worth everything.
Who this is for
If you're pregnant right now and starting to feel the "what ifs" creep in.
If you want to feel prepared, not just hopeful.
If your birth plan says "natural" but you're not sure how to actually do that when the time comes.
If your birth plan says "epidural" and you still want to understand what's happening in your body and how to advocate for yourself.
If your partner wants to be helpful but has no idea what that looks like in a delivery room.
If this is baby #1 and everything feels unknown. Or baby #2+ and you want a better experience this time.
Who it's probably not for
If you've already taken a birth course you love and feel confident with. (Trust what's working.)
If you're looking for a purely clinical, medical-only approach. This one is warm, conversational, and grounded in natural birth principles.
It covers interventions and medical situations, but the heart of it is about working with your body.
If you're in the "I should probably do something to prepare" zone
I get it. There are a hundred birth courses and books and Instagram accounts and it all feels like a lot.
I can only tell you what I know.
My first birth, I was guessing. My second birth, I was ready. The difference was this course.
If you're a little curious, go look at what's inside.