My own personal experience

All three of my pregnancies and deliveries were completely different from each other. I was able to have them all natural.

My first was sort of the "textbook" labor. I went into labor 10 days after my due date. My contractions started 10-15 minutes apart and progressively got closer together and more intense. I went to the hospital and was at 3 cm. 11 hours after my first contraction I was ready to push. A little over 2 hours later I was holding my beautiful little girl in my arms.

My next was quite different from that. On my due date, I had a doctor's appointment. I was 4 cm at the appointment and not in labor. My doctor told me to go to the hospital as soon as I had my first contraction. After my fourth contraction we were out the door. I arrived at the hospital, 5 minutes later my sister came in the room, 5 minutes after that the doctor came, and 5 minutes after that I was holding my little baby boy in my arms!

My third was again another different experience. I was 10 days early. I had 2 false alarms and was bleeding. When I went into labor I waited to make sure that I wasn't another false alarm. When I got to the hospital I was 7 cm. I was having major back labor. I tried changing positions and walking, but nothing changed. 3 hours after my first contraction I was holding boy #2 in my arms.

All three of my experiences were extremely different from each other but also all very rewarding. Because of my own personal experiences, I feel that I can understand what a laboring mom is going through and help her cope with the pains of Labor and Delivery. It is such a rewarding and amazing thing to be there when a new life has come into the world.