Savannah's baby girl was born on November 16, 2023 at the Birth Center in Newark, Delaware. I was honored to be invited to document her birth story as her photographer. Here is Savannah's birth story, in her own words:
"At 16 yrs old I had my first baby, Beckham, at the hospital. My knowledge of birth and my body were minimal, not to mention that my faith walk was non-existent. I went into labor with a negative and scared mindset and focused so much on the pain. I had Pitocin and an epidural. The epidural caused me to sleep for most of my labor and when I woke up, it was time to push. I pushed for 15 minutes and then delivered my baby boy. This birth experience was very much based on what I knew of childbirth, and led by what my providers suggested to me at the time, because I was very young.
At the age of 23, my husband and I were planning to have a second child. I was so excited to find out that I was pregnant with my daughter, Keturah. At this point of my life, I had been on my faith journey for almost 4 years. During prayer, the Lord put it on my heart to pursue an all natural birth, so I could be a testimony for women who don't know that they have that option, or at least didn't think they could do it. I was a little nervous, but knew I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13). Don’t get me wrong, I was definitely fearful at first! But through prayer and meditation, I realized that natural birth is a good thing and that I could overcome my fear.
My husband and I prayed everyday for a quick, healthy, pain-free birth and educated ourselves. I followed Pain-Free Childbirth on Instagram and Christian Hypnobirthing, and was definitely inspired by consistently filling myself with successful all natural birth videos and different techniques to keep in mind during birth and the mindset to have. I downloaded the Christian Hypnobirthing app and purchased the course and the tracks.
During labor with Keturah, I listened to the Christian Hypnobirthing tracks the entire time. These included tracks of scripture, positive affirmations, relaxation music, and guided breathing. They helped me remain focused on the Lord and my baby. Whenever fear tried to creep in, the tracks reminded me of what I was capable of through the Lord. I listened to the Faith-Filled Childbirth Course as part of my labor preparations and really learned how to shift my mindset. The world and people will tell you that childbirth is painful and scary; but I learned to switch my mindset: pain is based off of fear, and if I chose not to be fearful, I could then be confident and at peace and the pain would not be there. During labor I just felt intense pressure and discomfort, but my whole labor was only 5hrs long and half of that time I was able to relax at home. My labor was tolerable with the help of my husband, the tub, oil diffuser, Christian Hypnobirthing tracks and prayer. I would not do labor any other way now! I felt amazing afterwards and did it without medication!! The Lord answered every prayer, kept every promise and made every dream I had about this birth come true.
“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 11:24"
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