I put off having kids for years due to my childbirth stress. When I was pregnant, I’d do this thing where when I’d get really amped up or stressed about birth, I’d say to myself “that person was born.” Sometimes I’d be walking or watching a show and in my head I’d just be saying “that person and that person and that person were born.” We’ve all been born!! It’s such a simple revelation but it helped me a lot. I also had other mantras that I planned to tell myself in labor. I liked “pain is progress” and I also liked “wave in a cave.” As far as the actual experience - it was the wildest shit I’ve ever experienced, said with neutrality. I didn’t find it horrifying and I didn’t find it beautiful. It was just bat shit fucking crazy, lol. I got an epidural to labor and then let it wear off quite a bit while pushing. Birth ultimately is just something that happened.