The Birth Story project...

So I am utterly fascinated by birth (hope that's not creepy). I love reading birth stories, talking about my births and the births that women I meet have gone through (my poor friends probably cringe to see me coming after their babies are born!), and helping women understand birth and what to expect.

Is that weird? Maybe it's just me? But on the other hand, there are plenty of shows on TV (like "A Baby Story", etc,) that deal with births, and I loved watching them; except they don't really portray what *real* birth is like for 98% of women. And that's hard, especially for first-time mothers coming in (or just waiting for labor) --- to go from watching a hollywood-version of birth, where you get a quick summary of the woman's pregnancy, then the entire labor, delivery, and birth, and then a nice 'wrap-up' of how things are going at home, in less than thirty minutes (including commercial breaks).

Labor doesn't go that way...! :) Or at least, not usually, and especially generally not the first time around.

So what I'd love to do - and I'm not sure how realistic/feasible it is, but just a thought at this point - is compile birth stories. From anyone and everyone that I can talk, hound, bribe, guilt, intrigue, into doing so. I was an avid WebMD'er during my pregnancies and somewhat after L was born, and have a good group of Facebook friends that I met during our preggo journey and have remained friends as our LO's are all close in age. All of these women I meet and have met our wonderful, and I am so grateful to have them for support, encouragement, and the laughs they bring!

From there I'll go to this: Anyone who is willing to contribute their birth story, please either email me a copy at aviekins@hotmail.com, or send me a hard copy (for some reason I think a hand-written copy would be very meaningful?) to "Birth Stories", 626 W First St, Shawano, WI 54166.

By submitting your story, you agree to allow me to use it for whatever purpose this idea is going towards - whether some kind of project in school comparing how certain birth interventions affect the birth process, a compilation of birth stories, ???, etc. No full names will ever be used, if the stories are identified they will only contain first names. Ideally, having your full name, address/email/or phone (for contacting if needed for some reason) would be helpful but not used except for if questions, etc. Stories could be submitted anonymously, but I'm not sure yet how they would be used that way.

Otherwise, no real rules! :) Just your own rememberance of how labor went, from the beginning to the end. You can include how/why labor started, what happened when, things you are glad you did/didn't do, concerns you had, things that went the way (or didn't go) you expected, complications, timelines, your reactions (and your SO's, if applicable) to things, what you had for lunch, yadda yadda - whatever you feel is relevant. It's your story, and your baby's!

(I do also have a informal poll/survey, that if filled out along with your birth story may be helpful - but again could go either way. I will post that as a new entry above...)

If nothing else, this may be a great way to relive the experience for yourself, and to keep a copy of this story for your LO to cherish as s/he grows older... :)

Thank you for considering this, if you do! Please email me with any questions you have, have a wonderful day!