Your voice and story Matter

I was recently emailed by a former birth client, she’s a few months postpartum and feeling ready to sit down and compose her birth story. She wanted to know if I had any advice or suggestions to get her started. I figure if she’s probably not the only one who could use some guidance, I’ve always struggled to write without something prompting my thoughts!

Writing your birth story has several benefits, you get to create an heirloom for your child that gives them roots and a deep sense of connection to their foundation. The other major perk is that it provides YOU the opportunity to process your experience. There isn’t an ideal time to write out the stories of your child(ren)’s birth, like with everything else it’s very dependent on the individual and when you’re ready to open yourself up and reflect back.

This task can be hard, it can stir up emotions that are heavy or confusing along with all of the excitement and joy. I highly recommend preparing by doing an activity that will relax and calm your body and allow you to start fresh. Set yourself up with your favorite beverage and settle in, turn on your labor playlist, close your eyes and take yourself back to that point where you clearly knew you were about to meet your baby. 

I understand that some parts of your labor, birth, or postpartum may be too traumatic to visit on your own, that’s ok. You can still work around those moments if you’d like to process your birth in manageable chunks. You might even find it beneficial to do the HEAVIEST lifting with a trained therapist. If you’re struggling with your mental health prenatally or postpartum please reach out to Moms Mental Health Initiative for support. 

Once you find your flow, be like Elsa and let that shit go! Don’t worry about format or editing until you’re feeling finished. It’s such a cleansing feeling knowing you’re letting all of your feelings, thoughts, and memories flow unhinged with nothing holding you back. You can say whatever the hell you want, no judgement! Once you’ve hit your natural stopping point you can edit to suit your audience, hit up the thesaurus and get descriptive! Not everybody will want to share their rawest truths with everybody, it’s ok to have a few versions. YOU know what’s best for YOU. 

Birth story prompts to help you get started!

• Were you in labor on your own? Were you before or after your due date? How did that impact your feelings leading up to the start of labor?

• What time of day/Year? What was the weather like? Did it impact your drive to the hospital?

• Who was there with you? How did they handle things?

• What did contractions feel like? what were you thinking of throughout labor?

• How long did you push? How did you feel when you met your baby? What was the first thing you said to them?

• How did you feel the first few days postpartum? How did you feel after a few weeks?