This is me with my baby brother... poor little guy was almost smothered with love! I was only just two at the time, but I still remember doting on him & nagging my Mum non-stop to have more babies (sorry Mum!). When she was pregnant with my little sister a few years later I remember watching her belly grow with fascination & excitement... I wanted one in my tummy too! When she disappeared for a few days and came back with a baby, I imagined that she had gone off to the most wonderful place where the most magical things happen! (MUCH better than Willy Wonka's Chocolate factory ;-) In my mind the whole process was the most normal, natural & exciting thing in the world.
So since I was a very young child my love & adoration of everything to do with babies, pregnancy, birth & motherhood has been a big part of me, and I'm sure it is no coincidence that I've had two wonderful birth experiences... in fact I have come to realise (through talking to many mothers about their birth experiences) that there really is a correlation between enthusiasm/confidence for birth & positive birth experiences; and fear/dread of birth & not-so-positive birth experiences.
By the way I should clarify that I think childbirth is always a positive experience in the sense that the arrival of each & every precious baby is something to be celebrated & thankful for... I actually refer to a 'positive birth experience' here as being one where the birthing Mum is respected & supported, where she is able to relax, tune into her body, let it do what it was so magnificently designed to do... and cherish the whole experience from beginning to end in a stress-free environment. I believe this is every woman's basic right... & I wish we didn't have to fight so hard for it!
