My name is Renice, I have a 4-year-old girl, and a 2-year-old boy. My husband is in the army, so we currently live in Texas.

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My mindset behind birth was to find anything that was going to make the birthing experience less painful. I was terrified of giving birth and could not fathom being in the pain that everyone around me described. So, the first thing I did was to start watching documentaries on birthing. I thought that if I could just get an idea of what the pain would be like, it would help me handle it better.

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"After watching several documentaries, I came to the conclusion that a water birth would best suit me.''

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So, I then began researching water birth facilities and found one. It was the only birthing center in Georgia at the time, which was an hour away from where I lived. I was so afraid that we wouldn’t make it to the center in time when I went into labor, but I was even more afraid of giving birth laying down in a bed. Thankfully, when the time came, the distance wasn’t a problem.

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The birthing center was great, but the second time around I chose home birth because I wanted a more intimate experience with my birth worker. I also wanted to be in my own space.

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Previously, right after the birth of my first child, I was super exhausted (as expected) and because of the constant in and out of different people “checking on me” I wasn’t able to sleep at all. I even had a hospital photographer come in just hours after I’d given birth, before I could even shower, and asked me to take pictures. This being my first experience, I thought it was required. I obliged, and the pictures were terrible! Hahaha.

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So the second time, I just wanted peace. I wanted the freedom to do whatever I felt was needed after giving birth. My home birth was super peaceful, and everything flowed so well! My midwife and doula were amazing, and they did everything to prepare me for birth. They even prepared my husband on how to support me during the process. This support from all three of them gave me the possibility to relax and let my body do what it was meant to do.

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"My midwife and doula were amazing, and they did everything to prepare me for birth.''

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What helped my birth be a positive experience was my support system. My husband was very supportive and trusted that whatever I wanted to do was best. He was there every step of the way.

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The advice that I would give a young woman who has never given birth would be to stay active and figure out what would make you the most comfortable at birth. Do not let anyone dictate what is best for you, your baby, your body or your family.

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If you’d like to hear more from me, you can visit my blog at eccentricmommie.com

@eccentricmommie on IG and Facebook!