Written by Saran Lawson

Almost a year ago, my sister gave birth to the most adorable baby I’ve seen. I say that every time one of my sisters give birth, but it’s true every time (lol). This was the second time this particular sister gave birth. There was a lot that my sister had forgotten about babies. She hadn’t had one in 15 years! Boy, was she given the refresher course of her life. She experienced “morning sickness” for the first time, and was a pescatarian for 9 months. Her body wouldn’t let her hold down any poultry (she doesn’t eat pork or beef). The smell of garlic made her nauseous. So, guess who had to stop cooking with garlic? Try making Italian food without garlic. It’s just not the same. This pregnancy around I got an up close and personal look at what some pregnancies and birthing could be like. I was too young to care about the process of others. This time, I was a little more in tune with what was happening with the birthing part of the process. My sister helped me come up with a playlist of the most unglamorous parts of giving birth. Without further ado, your Birthing Playlist:  

Oxytocin – Gnash

Pitocin is all my sister would talk about after she gave birth to my niece. The weather was pretty terrible that day. The storm was so intense we couldn’t make it to the hospital until after my niece got here. When we arrived she was sitting in the bed, hair disheveled with dark circles under her eyes. She muttered to herself incoherently about Pitocin. Just Kidding! It wasn’t that dramatic. Her hair was done-ish. Pitocin is the brand name for the drug Oxytocin. If you ever hear a doctor or nurse say something about inducing labor;  this is what they are talking about. The drug is used to induce labor, strengthen contractions, control bleeding after labor amongst other things. My darling niece refused to come out of the comfort of my sister’s uterus. So, the doctor decided it was time to evict the little tenant from her home. For my sister, this meant she was having more intense and frequent contractions. My niece came, but as Rumplestiltskin says on Once Upon of Time, “Everything comes with a price, dearie.”.

Rip and Tear – LA Guns

When you have a baby, Vaginal and Perineal tears can happen during and after childbirth. The pressure of the babies head pushing through can cause lacerations to your vagina, anus or even cervix. According to the What to Expect website, the most common are first degree and second-degree tears. The first-degree tear is when only skin is torn and the second degree is when the skin and vaginal muscles are torn. These tears in most cases may result in stitches. What does this mean for after childbirth? My sister said, “Your worried when you have to go to the restroom afterward, the stitching will rip.”. Ouch! The nurses give you a stool softener to reduce the chances of your stitching coming out. So if ripping doesn’t sound painful enough, the possibility of them coming out should sweeten the deal.

Got anything to add to the list? Tell us in the comment section your pregnancy and birthing stories. We would love to hear them.