My Natural Birth Story {after Three Epidurals and Much Reluctance!}

“Me, give birth naturally? That’s crazy talk. There’s no way in the world.”

Those were my first thoughts when I cracked open the book in my hands that I had received in the mail while awaiting the birth of our fourth baby, our second girl. We were so excited to meet her!

The book was called Redeeming Childbirth, written by a woman who ended up being my mentor through my last couple of months of pregnancy, Angie Tolpin.

She had written the book as a testimony to God’s mercy in her pregnancies and deliveries that were all natural {as in no medication} and as an encouragement to other moms that they could trust the Lord in having an epidural-free birth.

Honestly, I thought she was a bit nuts.

In my previous three deliveries, I had epidurals, not really thinking much about it. My first son was born with only a heartbeat and the NICU nurses rushed in to get him to breathe. A c-section had been discussed but by the grace of God, he arrived after a long time of difficult pushing and was perfectly healthy {once he began to breathe}.

My second and third children, a girl and a boy, were fairly easy births. I was induced with my second but went in on my own with the third and worked through the contractions before receiving an epidural before I hit transition.

So when Angie suggested I read her book and pray about a natural delivery, I figured I could never do it. Neither did my husband, because he knew my low tolerance to pain! I dismissed the notion entirely.

As I read the book though, and remembered that God was perfectly capable of allowing me to deliver naturally and that women had for thousands of years, there began to be a nagging thought in my mind wondering if it was something I could actually do.

Only two weeks before my due date, after praying, talking to my husband, Angie and other friends who had had natural deliveries and endorsed it, I decided that the tipping point would be what my doctor said. 

After visiting with my OB, who I didn’t think would be such an advocate for natural birth, I found out she had done natural deliveries for all four of her children! She was very much in support of me giving birth with no medication and assured me I could definitely do it.

Was that a sign from God, I wondered? Even though I “laid out my fleece” in a way, I was still unsure, mostly because I was incredibly scared of the pain and what would happen if things went wrong, not to mention the fact that in many hospital deliveries, patients mostly give birth laying on their backs, which isn’t always conducive to an easy delivery.

I still didn’t know what to do or what decision to make, even though I could sense God not just nudging, but pushing me in that direction! My due date was only a week away and I knew I would go late.

Indeed my due date came and went and as I waited for my baby to come, I mulled over the possibilities in my mind. Could I do this? I would soon find out.

Read the conclusion to my story here! —–> My Natural Birth Story After Three Epidurals (Part 2)