Have You Heard the Stories Yet?

I don’t know about you but especially as a first time mom I heard more than my fair share of traumatic birth stories and battle scar tales.

There sometimes seems to be a tendency among women to compare how bad their pregnancy and birth stories are.

“My story is worse than yours.”

“Hope your plans work out better than mine did.”

“Good luck, but when I tried that…”

“Has anyone told you about how terrible…”

Most negative birth stories are overshared, while most positive birth stories go unshared. This skews women’s perspective into thinking the majority of births are traumatic, which is simply not true.

While every woman’s experience and feelings are important and valid, expecting and postpartum mamas don’t need any extra anxiety placed in their hearts.

What if we made outdoing one another in telling new parents the best side of our stories the new normal?

“I’ll never forget the moment my baby looked into my eyes.”

“Nothing has ever been more worth it.”

“You’ll do great and I’ll be praying for you.”

“Has anyone told you how incredible motherhood is?”

If you’re on the receiving end of a negative conversation, remember it’s okay to protect your mind and heart, draw a boundary, and say, “Thank you for sharing, I’m sorry you went through that. But I am believing for an amazing experience.”

Surround yourself with encouraging and supportive women who believe in the beauty of bringing new life into the world!

What’s a positive part of your birth story you’d like to share with mothers when next you meet one?