How to Write Your Birth Story - Getting Started

Your birth story lives within you. It absolutely does. You don't need anyone telling you what you should include or leave out of your birth story. I'm not here to do that. (Though you know I will say write it with your hands, pen to paper.) I will be the first person to tell you to only include elements of your birth story that have meaning to you. Maybe that means you don't write all the "times"... such as contractions began at 6am, then another at 6:26am and so on. Or maybe those details are your thing and you write it all down like you're authoring an historical document! There's no right or wrong about it.

While I will never tell you how or what to write, the birth story writing guide in The Birth Journal does provide inspiration, suggestions, and practical tips to get the story flowing. Because for some, the blank pages are really overwhelming. For others, they've got the ideas ready to flow and the guide inspires them to do just that... let it flow. Here are a couple ways to help your story flow and get you in that birth story space of your mind.

Reflect...

Relax and reflect. Maybe you even close your eyes as you get cozy and think about the happenings surrounding labor and delivery. Consider the expectations, emotions, physical sensations, thoughts, visuals, and sounds you experienced. What words come to mind as you reflect? I call those your "birth words"... hold them in your mind or jot them in The Birth Journal.

Your Voice...

Think about how you would tell your birth story or actually tell someone! Tapping into your true, authentic voice before putting the pen to the page will allow your story to come from your core as you speak. Try not to think about how a birth story "should" sound... there's no such thing.The only way it should sound is like you!

These couple tips from The Birth Journal can get you started on your birth story! And I'll say it every day, it's never too late to write your birth story, mamas!