What does "I DID IT" mean?
"I did it… I DID IT!!!"
These are the excited words that leave a brand new mother’s lips as she holds her precious slippery baby in the seconds following his birth. It’s one of my favorite videos to show Hypnobirthing students, and for good reason.
For a few years now, I’ve wanted my students to share that feeling and celebrate with their very own “I DID IT” moment and sign. But what does “IT” mean, anyway? Am I only celebrating the students who had a 100% unmedicated birth?
HELL NO.
“IT” is giving birth. That’s all. Whether that person had a quick painless home birth, an induction, an epidural, an accidental car birth, a cesarean…. whatever the details were, the fact is that they accomplished something incredible and I hope my students all feel proud of that. Maybe they reached their goals, overcame adversity, surprised themselves, or they are simply relieved/overjoyed that their baby is finally in their arms. They did it. Whether it was easy, or difficult, or whatever emotions they experienced, they did it. They are here. Their baby is here.
Failure doesn’t exist in birth, nor in Hypnobirthing. As an educator my goal is to help birthing people access the power they already have within themselves. To prepare partners to support in ways that feels right for them. To reduce all the unnecessary trauma babies experience during this sacred time in their lives.
As my students will tell you, I don’t push a certain “type” of birth on anyone because honestly those details aren’t that important. I do my best to inform and educate, so everyone can make confident decisions, but I won’t preach.
People are often drawn to Hypnobirthing because they want a “more natural” and less interventive birth experience, but it’s not a “natural” birth class (I’m not even sure what a “natural birth class” means). We talk about how bodies are designed to give birth, of course - without knowing the default design how can we possibly know how to make informed decisions about our healthcare? That doesn’t mean that using/not using medications and interventions is good or bad. We need to take the judgement OUT of this conversation. Birth is as risky as life gets, which means there are factors we can influence and factors we cannot. Having information and tools for that journey is critical, but building resilience and keeping an open mind helps too.
Scroll through my Instagram feed to see and celebrate these students sharing their “I DID IT” moments! If you read the captions you’ll soon see the stories are varied. I can’t wait to see and celebrate your I DID IT moment too! Of course, one of the best ways to get these is by enrolling in a Hypnobirthing class 😉
