Bethany’s Birth Story

July 16, 2025

We are so happy to have recently welcomed our daughter Bethany into our family!

Bethany’s due date was in May, but she waited until early June to make her arrival. Bethany is our third living child and was my first natural, unmedicated birth.

All of my labors have been in Japan. I would have loved to try a midwife with this birth, but unfortunately due to my rare blood type I discovered that most Japanese midwives will not accept me as a client. So I opted again for a birthing clinic, a more flexible option than the hospital, that offers a nice balance between a medical environment and more personalized care.

Our boys were both born at the same clinic via inductions (without pain relief) due to medical reasons. Although I had great induction experiences with my boys, I was so glad to finally experience spontaneous labor!

Early labor was long, and started in the early morning around midnight. I woke up and realized I was having contractions, but they were still weak and not very bothersome. Over the course of the morning they intensified, and we decided to bring my labor bag and birthing ball with us in the car to the clinic, where I had a previously scheduled appointment that afternoon.

The appointment passed uneventfully, with baby still not ready to be born. However, contractions were becoming stronger and closer together, so we decided to stay near to the clinic in case I went into active labor, since it is over an hour drive from the clinic to our home. We passed the time at the mall and signing up for last-minute pregnancy freebies at Toys R Us.

Active labor began at the mall, and we realized that we would not be going home that evening. My husband called his mother and asked her to come pick up our two sons, since we had arranged earlier for her to babysit if I went into labor. Thankfully she was just about to get off of work, so she was able to come quickly!

Once the boys were safely in my mother-in-law’s care, contractions became much stronger and close together. I wanted to avoid any unnecessary interventions so had held out from going in until as late as possible, but we decided it was finally time to start heading over to the clinic.

Once we arrived at the clinic and got settled in, I still thought that Bethany would not be making her arrival until the following morning, because labor didn’t seem “that bad” compared to my two inductions. I was used to intense waves of pressure, and this felt mild in comparison. So when the nurse eventually checked me and said I was at 6cm, I was shocked!

I was in transition, and baby came quite suddenly after my one (and only) dilation check. With this birth I was very adamant that I wanted to labor in an upright position, since I had suffered severe tailbone pain with both of my previous pregnancies that led to months of discomfort while walking and sitting. Instead, I gave birth leaning on a birth ball with my knees in and feet out while my husband did counter-pressure on my hips.

I had always been interested in birthing upright, but never quite found the courage to try it until I participated in the Worship Filled Birth Workshop by Jessi. I highly recommend this position over lying on your back, and this was the first time that I did not suffer awful tailbone pain after delivery!!

The pushing stage during Bethany’s birth also lasted only THREE MINUTES, and I truly think that birthing upright is what allowed for such a smooth delivery! It was also wonderful to focus on prayer and trusting God with every part of the process.

It was good that she came out so quickly as well, because it turns out that she had a very rare situation where the cord was knotted, and her O2 levels were dropping toward the end of her delivery. But she was born strong and healthy, and I am so thankful and praising God for our lovely little girl, and for a redemptive birth experience after two unwanted inductions!

After Bethany was born, I stayed at the clinic for several days to recover with baby, as is usual in Japan. The clinic where I stay has beautiful rooms that look like they belong in a hotel, amazing food (see the photo in this post), and even offers a facial / leg massage that is included as a part of your care!

Although I got little sleep with all of the unavoidable interruptions like nurse checks and so on, it was overall a good stay and I was very excited when we were finally able to go home!

Now I am just a little over one month postpartum, and slowly settling into our new rhythm as a family of 5. I am looking forward to watching our daughter grow, and seeing the sibling bond deepen with her brothers!

Later I hope to write more about what I am doing differently this time postpartum vs. in the past, so if you are interested in reading more please make sure to subscribe using the subscribe box to the right side of this site (or at the bottom of the post if you are viewing on your phone)!

I would love to hear from you! Feel free to send me a message on Instagram @happilyeverharuna!