My Kids Watched Me Give Birth

Despite the fact that her 7- and 3-year-old daughters made it very clear they had no desire to watch her give birth, Madeline Holler was fairly determined to have them in the room. “I wanted them with me, the image of their brother's birth burned in their brains,” she writes on Salon. “Not at all for sentimental reasons, though. No, quite the opposite.” Tired of being hailed as a hero (or, worse, a judgmental lover of “crunchiness”) for her home birthing, she tried to avoid talking about childbirth with other women; that wasn't the case with her kids.

Having already shared every detail of their birth stories with them, and with "education with a whiff of indoctrination" in mind, Holler “wanted them to see a woman give birth,” she continues. “After all their excitement and knowledge, I was sure they'd enjoy being a part of it.” But they didn’t. Her oldest is scared, starts crying, and whimpers from her bedroom every time she hears her mom groan. Holler eventually coaxes both girls to her side, where everyone is happy to hold the baby when he’s finally born. So, “aren’t you glad you were here?” Holler asks. Her daughters’ answer? Nope. Read the full story here.
(More childbirth stories.)