Okay mamas, raise your right hand and repeat after me, “I will not use Google, Facebook groups, or mommy forums to get information about my pregnancy symptoms and birth fears.” Now, please, put your hand down, settle in, and hear me out.

Every year on my son's birthday, I replay the day he was born. There is no memory ingrained in my mind as well as the events of that day and it's no wonder that women carry those feelings and memories so strongly.

Have you heard all those sayings about how you manifest the thing on which you focus your energy? Like if you spend all your time focusing on the thing you’re afraid of, you tend to act in a way that makes that thing more likely to come true? Believe that idea or not, let’s talk a little bit about how it may look in labor and birth.

“I’m wondering why your labor seems to start and stop. A vaginal exam might give me a clue about why. We can also just wait and see, your baby is doing just fine. What would you like to do?”