Labor is intense. Although it's as natural as breathing, it's still intense as hell. No need to fret though, because you were built for this. What does that mean? That means if you can sit back and let your body do what it needs to do, you actually don't have to do much.

The real problem or difficulty is the "sit back and let your body do what it needs to do" part. It's hard. REALLY hard. We have something called a conscious mind that really messes with that sit back portion. The conscious mind wants to control, wants to fight it, wants to flee away, and wants to think it's too much to handle.

If you just breathe....if you just remember you were built to do this job, though not easy but DO-ABLE, then you will overcome. You will birth new life; a baby and a new person within yourself. A stronger woman who is now a mother and a new life that looks to you, still, for full support to survive and thrive.

No matter your location you CAN birth a baby. Sure our birth paths can change and sometimes issues can present but remember our bodies, anatomically speaking, are built to birth. How can we foster and restore that primitive skill? Tap into it!

This society we live in does not even begin to honor or cherish that AMAZINGNESS of birth. A woman's body creates, grows, nourishes, births and then feeds another HUMAN BEING! I mean it's 9am and I still have my robe on, just saying.

This alone is the most amazing thing but it's so crazy it's hard to wrap your mind around it and really absorb it. I truly believe this is why we do not get more respect for this feat.

What can we do to remind ourselves that yes, yes we can birth our babies?

1. Revel in it! Do all the things that go along with that. Celebrate your pregnancy, pamper yourself during those 10 months, connect with the body you're making and the soul that will come into that.

2. Prepare for it! It's very natural to us to birth and...

Ideally you've been preparing for your big day. Classes, birth plans, meditating, releasing fears, trusting the body, maybe even a Blessingway from a dear friend or family member have been checked off the list. Some form or another you've done what you feel was needed to help prep you for labor day. In the end, things go as baby wishes but preparation is key to success (queue in Midwife101 series here :) )

The day came and went, it was powerful and intense and somehow very different then what you thought. You're not alone. This is because we've never done it before. I mean even if you've had other children you've never given birth to THIS baby before. 

3 things I remember with my 5th baby (4th delivery) that are etched fondly in my memory 

1. The fact that I actually went into labor by myself. This was the FIRST time I wasn't induced (also the first time I had a Midwife). I was in SUCH disbelief that I think it took almost 2 days for me to accept it. This is likely why...

The more you know, the better. Most of us know or have heard this. When it comes to one of the most important events in your life, I can't stress it enough. Why? Many reasons. Let's start with a few:

#1- Be empowered by your birth. The best way to have an empowered birth is by taking ownership of it. Knowing all the many options on how to labor, techniques to use, delayed cord clamping, placenta pills, breastfeeding and so much more is essential to walking the path that is empowering and right for YOU.

#2- Birth has many forks in the labor road. You can plan for one thing and then your little one decides on a different path. If you haven't educated yourself on the many paths of labor than how can you know which is right for YOU?

#3- When your knowledgeable about birth, YOU have the power. When you've prepared for all the different things that can happen on birth day then YOU have the power of an educated decision. When people discuss your health or your baby's health and you're not...