by Christine Mendoza

Created on: June 10, 2007   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

When I was pregnant with my first child, I went to the hospital on the day of my induction armed with a notebook full of mantras and poems to remind me that it is a natural process and that everything would be okay. But once the baby reached the birth canal, and the cramping feeling got worse, I panicked and begged for some pain medication in my IV. Whatever they gave me knocked me out for a couple of hours. My husband says I was awake during that time but I have no memory of it at all, except for when the pain started to get worse and I asked for more meds, and five minutes later when they told me it was time to push the baby out. That was the moment all of my mantras and meditations were supposed to have prepared me for, but I was in such a fuzzy state that all the preparation for staying calm went out the window and I had to be coached through the pushing stages (a nurse yelled at me every time I had to push). I can't say it was a bad experience entirely, I didn't push all that long, and I was left with a beautiful new baby girl at the end, but I felt like my head was in a fish bowl for two days after that. I couldn't think straight and I had a pounding headache. It was like having a really really bad hangover.

When I found out I was pregnant for the second time, I vowed not to go the same route again. The night I went into labor, I wasn't even sure what was happening. Because I was induced the first time, I was expecting water to break or extreme pain...none of that happened. I just had a dull cramping feeling that got more persistent and more frequent, until at about five o'clock in the morning, when I woke my husband up and said, "Babe? I think I am having the baby..."

By the time we got to the hospital an hour later the cramping was more focused on my lower back and pelvis and I was sure that the baby was coming...but I kept on thinking..."Where is the pain?" That over dramatized version of childbirth as shown in the movies with the expectant mother screaming in agony, just didn't happen to me. As labor progressed and the contractions got longer, I reminded myself that my body knew what it was doing. I stayed calm. I It was uncomfortable for me to lay on my back, so propped up on my side, I concentrated on breathing deeply, and three hours later, after only about twenty minutes of pushing, my baby girl was born.

How was it so easy? I stayed calm. During each contraction I took long deep breaths, determined not to panic. Rather than concentrating on the pain of each contraction, I envisioned my muscles easing my baby out of the womb and into the world, focusing on the peaceful nature of the process. Try this - breathe in with your eyes closed, imagining a vast accumulation of energy - breathe out as you open your eyes and imagine your baby gliding through the birth canal, cradled safely by your vaginal muscles. Know in your heart of hearts that with each contraction, your baby is closer to being born, and bask in the miracle at hand. Pregnancy and childbirth is a beautiful thing. Yogis and Buddhists sit in meditation for hours each day hoping to achieve a split second of enlightenment. Throughout pregnancy, but especially during childbirth women have a direct link with God. I believe that when blessed by a pregnancy with no complications, a woman has the unique opportunity to hold audience with the heavens and enjoy the miracle of what is happening.

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