What you’ll find here: only positive birth stories of any kind. From hospital births, to women giving birth at home or a birth center. Water births, inductions, c-sections, or epidurals. No matter what kind of birth you are planning on having, I am sure you will find a story here that will resonate with you.
We live in a world where fear and anxiety for moms-to-be leading up to giving birth has become the norm. It could be fear about the pain or fear of complications. Not to mention the anxiety about not living up to our own expectations.
Positive birth and labor stories are here to help you take all that fear and stress away and just enjoy your beautiful pregnancy and birth.
Why Positive Birth Stories?
I grew up hearing of extremely painful births or births that went wrong and ended up being very stressful for the mom and/or the baby. I am guessing the same has happened to you.
It almost feels like listening to a dramatic birth story is preferred to a boring normal labor and delivery. Everyone wants the “wow” factor, and giving birth normally and without complication, has not much “wow” to it 🙂
When I tell my birth story, the reaction I usually get is: “Oh, you are one of those ones…”.
Which is very ironic, because “uneventful” (not that bringing a new life into the world should be classified as uneventful, but you know what I mean!) births is exactly what moms-to-be need to hear. And if not uneventful, at least positive.
In fact, reading positive birth stories while still expecting is a great way to help you reprogram your brain and stop seeing birth as this scary and painful event, but more like a wonderful and empowering experience, no matter the circumstances. This will help you relax and feel more confident about giving birth, whether naturally or with a c-section. It will also help you gather hints and tips from real moms that have been there already!
What does “Positive” mean?
Don’t get me wrong, by positive I don’t just mean natural positive birth stories, vaginal, or drug-free births! Even if that’s what I experienced, that’s not what I think should or will happen to everyone.
Every person is different and every birth is different. You can’t always control how your birth is going to unfold. But you can learn to control how you react to any change in circumstances.
A positive birth can also be an emergency c-section, or an unwanted induction. It can be a vaginal birth with an epidural because the pain was too much to handle. It can be a lot of pain because you had a tear and lots of stitches.
What matters is the positive attitude the mom had throughout the whole birthing experience. How the support she had from her partner, the breathing and relaxation techniques she learnt, or the amazing hospital staff helped her through unexpected changes or hard decisions.
What matters is HOW she tells her birth story to other moms-to-be. How is she going to make them feel? Empowered knowing that, no matter what, they can do anything and are going to bring a new life into this world? Or scared and terrified, thinking that so many things could go wrong and that they may not be able to handle it?
We, as the story tellers, need to be mindful of the impact we have on pregnant women when sharing our stories. We are responsible for contributing to future moms’ emotional state. And you, mom-to-be, have come to the right place 🙂
My Own Experience with Hypnobirthing
Before going through the list of stories, let me quickly tell you about my experience, and how I learnt about the power of reading positive birth stories before labor and delivery.
Our First Child
I got pregnant with our second child a couple of years after my wife gave birth to our first daughter. Our first baby was born with an elective c-section, which was not what I was really hoping for my own experience.
Don’t get me wrong, the experience with the c-section was beautiful. It was planned due to my wife’s medical history, so it wasn’t a surprise or traumatic like an emergency c-section could be.
No drama, the staff at the hospital was amazing and our first born came into the world gently, even if in a hospital theater. I sobbed like never before and it was one of the most magical moments of my life.
My Fear of Giving Birth
But I was hoping for something different for myself. I was determined to have a natural/vaginal birth. And I wanted no drugs.
A part of me wanted to prove to myself that I could do it “like nature intended”. Another part of me wanted to avoid drugs because I was scared of possible side effects (for myself or the baby). But there was also another part of me that was terrified of the pain.
Like most of you, I presume, I grew up hearing of horribly painful births. My own birth included. I don’t know how many times my mom told me about how long her labor was when she gave birth to me. And how painful it was.
I was also stressing out about complications, going through all the possible scenarios. So many people I know told me they had to have a c-section because the baby was in a breech position, or because the baby went into distress after a very prolonged labor, etc.
My mind was buzzing with questions. Will I be able to handle the pain? What if I need an epidural? Or what if something goes wrong and I need a c-section? How will having a c-section affect my ability to breastfeed? What if baby is not born by 42 weeks: will I be forced to have an induction? And on, and on, and on…. I couldn’t stop it!
What Changed Everything
When I was about 4 months pregnant I joined a Hypnobirthing course. That changed everything. What I learnt totally blew my mind and shifted my mindset 100%.
I ended up having a beautiful, calm and gentle vaginal birth. With no pain or complications, in just about 30 minutes of actual pushing. No drugs needed or even considered.
Related:
– Hypnobirthing 101: the basics for a positive birth experience
– How I had a natural and pain free birth thanks to hypnobirthing
– Top 5 Online Hypnobirthing Classes
One thing I learnt with hypnobirthing is how the process of giving birth has been incredibly distorted over time. Women have been “taught” to give birth in a way that’s contrary to their nature and that causes incredible discomfort for the laboring mom.
Also, our mindset plays an extremely important part in how we perceive our own experiences. Having a positive mindset usually translates into a positive outcome/experience. And the same applies to giving birth!
If you can eliminate all the fear and stress about labor and delivery, then you are on a good path to experience a beautiful birth. And this is where reading positive birth stories comes into play.
40+ Positive Birth Stories to Conquer your Fear of Birth
Without further ado, here’s a collection of positive birth and labor stories for first time moms of all kinds. They include positive induction stories, positive natural birth stories, positive vbac birth stories, gentle c-sections, positive epidurals, positive twin birth stories, and more.
Read through them. Soak in the beauty of wonderful births and joy of bringing a little one into this world.
Don’t be scared, we are born to do this. And if, for some reasons, things don’t unfold as you wish, remember that the outcome is not going to be any less beautiful.
They are mainly sorted by location (hospital, home, birth center), then by type, with the exception of twins births. Any hypnobirthing or water birth story is listed twice, to be included in the Hypnobirthing or Water Positive Birth Stories sections.
Enjoy the reading 🙂
Hospital Positive Birth Stories
This is a list of positive birth stories that happened at the hospital. They include birth stories of moms that had drug-free natural births (some with hypnobirthing or hypnobabies, and some in a birthing pool), but also stories of moms that had an epidural or a c-section.
- My Own Birth Story: a pain-free birth with Hypnobirthing
- Emma’s Birth Story: a relaxing and drug-free birth with hypnobirthing
- Belinda’s Birth Stories: hypnobirthing as a game changer
- Deborah’s Birth Story: an accomplished dream of a natural birth
- Kristina’s Birth Story: a hospital birth with Hypnobabies
- Hannah’s Birth Story: a magnificent third water birth
- Nicole’s Positive Water Birth in Hospital
- Rachel’s Positive Labor of a First Time Mom
- Ali’s Positive and Empowered Hospital Birth Story
- Emma’s Positive Induction and VBAC Story
- Madison’s Adoption Birth Story
- Jen’s Birth Story: a beautiful natural birth
- Jessica’s Positive Birth Story
Hospital with Epidural Positive Birth Stories
- Christina’s Birth Stories: when an epidural is what you need
- Annie’s Positive Induction with an Epidural
- Jamie’s Positive Birth Story with an Epidural
- Julia’s Positive Birth with Epidural and Pitocin
- Rachel’s Positive Induction with an Epidural
C-Section Positive Birth Stories
- Cath’s Gentle C-Section Positive Birth Story
- Julia’s Gentle Cesarean
- Shari’s Positive C-Section
- Victoria’s Positive C-Section
- Kate’s Positive C-Section
- Barrie’s Positive C-Section
- Nicole’s Joyful, Peaceful, Hypnobabies C-Section
- Carly’s Birth Story: a Positive C-Section
At Home Positive Birth Stories
These are beautiful positive birth stories of moms that labored and delivered their baby at home. Some moms delivered in a birthing pool, and one mom even delivered a breech baby at home!
- Renee’s Birth Story: a planned home birth
- Katie’s Breech Water Birth Story
- Hazel’s Home Birth, Water Birth and Vbac
- Maria’s Positive Home Birth Story
- Surrendering to Labor: Mara’s Prodromal Labor Birth Story
- McKenzie’s Surprise Breech Home Birth with Hyponobabies
Birth Center Positive Birth Stories
These are stories of moms that had their babies at a birthing center – most of whom delivered in the water.
- Ana’s Birth Story: the impact of birth stories and hypnobirthing
- Hannah’s Birth Story: a magnificent third water birth
- Kathryn’s Birth Story: a water birth at the birth center
- An unbelievable pain-free water birth
Water Positive Birth Stories
This is a collection of all positive water birth stories, whether at home, a birthing center, or at the hospital.
- Hannah’s Birth Story: a magnificent third water birth
- Renee’s Birth Story: a planned home birth
- Kathryn’s Birth Story: a water birth at the birth center
- Nicole’s Positive Water Birth in Hospital
- Katie’s Breech Water Birth Story
- An unbelievable pain-free water birth
- Surrendering to Labor: Mara’s Prodromal Labor Birth Story
Positive Twins Birth Stories
Having twins can be particularly scary with regards to giving birth, but here’s two beautiful and positive twin birth stories.
Positive Hypnobirthing Stories (& Hypnobabies)
And, finally, here’s all the positive birth stories of moms who took hypnobirthing or hypnobabies classes.
- Emma’s Birth Story: a relaxing and drug-free birth with hypnobirthing
- Belinda’s Birth Stories: hypnobirthing as a game changer
- Ana’s Birth Story: the impact of birth stories and hypnobirthing
- My Own Birth Story: a pain-free birth with Hypnobirthing
- McKenzie’s Surprise Breech Home Birth with Hyponobabies
- Nicole’s Joyful, Peaceful, Hypnobabies C-Section
Related:
– Hypnobirthing vs Hypnobabies
– Top 5 Hypnobirthing Online Classes
Positive Birth Stories: Final Thoughts
I really hope you enjoyed going through some of these stories and found at least one that resonates with you, and that will help you look at birth in a positive light. Giving birth really doesn’t have to be scary and all these stories prove that another way of giving birth to what we grew up thinking is possible.
If you would like more information on Hypnobirthing, you can head over to these articles:
- Hypnobirthing 101: the hypnobirthing basics for a positive birth experience
- Hypnobirthing Breathing Techniques
- Top 5 Hypnobirthing Online Classes
- Best Free Hypnobirthing Apps
- Hypnobirthing vs Hypnobabies: What is the difference?
If you are looking for more tips or information on how to prepare for birth and postpartum, also have a look at the following related articles:
- 23 Tips for a Natural Birth without Epidural
- Printable Natural Birth Plan Template (FREE Word + PDF)
- 15 Signs that Labor is 24 to 48 Hours Away
- Hospital Bag Checklist for Mom, Baby and Partner (with FREE Printable)
- 12 Must-Have Clothes for After Delivery in Hospital
- Postpartum Care Kit Checklist (with all Essentials!)
- What to REALLY expect with your Postpartum Recovery
- 10 of the Quickest Ways to go into Labor Overnight (with Stories from Real Moms)
Take care and all the best for your pregnancy and childbirth 🙂
Are you a pregnant mom looking for positive birth stories and have some questions? Or are you already a mom and would like to share your own story or opinion? Then please let me know in the comments below – I’d love to hear from you!
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Yes this is so true! We should definitely share more positive birth stories with each other, instead of the gruesome horror stories we hear on the daily. These stories definitely scared me as a first-time mom, but having a super positive experience I am looking forward to labour in a few months!
Thanks for this. I am guilty of sharing the scary bits of childbirth. I’ll try do better next time
There’s no shame in sharing your honest experience though <3 I was lucky to have a positive experience but I know it was also largely out of my control. And I thought the birth would be the hardest part until I realized my entire life would change and that I would spiral out of control on a regular basis making my way through this thing called being a mom <3 We are all doing the best we can with what we've got in the moment, and that is truly enough, because what else is there <3
Absolutely! And that’s why I don’t think “positive birth stories” necessarily mean a vaginal birth, with or without drugs. It’s about how you tell the story and how the expecting mom perceives the experience to be. Hearing or reading birth stories can have a huge impact on a mom-to-be 🙂 And totally agree on how life with a baby can be way harder than birth LoL the hardest and most beautiful job in the world 🙂
What a wonderful roundup! It’s so important to share the positive, especially for those of us who were just terrified to begin with 🙂 Thank you so much for including me in your post – I am seriously beyond honored!
What a great post! So many expecting mom’s out there who are terrified of childbirth mainly because they’ve only heard scary stuff. You are completely right about us having to be mindful about what we share with already anxious pregnant women. You greatly depict that a positive birth can come in many shapes and all kinds of different ways. This is such an important message! Thank you very much for including my birth story.
Thank you so much Julia for your comment and kind words. You birth story fits so well with these positive birth stories, thanks for sharing on your blog in the first place 🙂