Baby Has Arrived! | A Positive Birth Story
- Ashley Qurollo
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
March 16, 2026
The newest addition to our family has arrived! It’s hard to believe that his arrival was almost two weeks ago. Although I keep our private family life pretty well tucked out of public view, I do want to share a little about baby’s birth and God’s amazing grace.
On Sunday, March 1, we thought baby might be coming, so we headed on over to the birth center. After the midwife examined me, she told me that I was 4 cm. That was surprising news to us considering my due date wasn’t until March 21. A few hours later, nothing changed, so we got to come home and rest, much to my relief.
On and off over the next few days, contractions sporadically popped up but nothing consistent or intense enough to indicate imminent labor and delivery. The grandparents brought the older children back on Monday evening, and we settled back into our normal lives for the next day.
After a quiet and relatively slow day on Tuesday, the evening started to show the potential arrival of our baby. We got our kids down for the evening, and then hubby and I sat down on the couch to relax and watch a show. Not long after sitting down to relax, contractions started, and I began pacing the house to ease the discomfort. From about 8 in the evening to about 3 in the morning, I rested and walked.
Although my contractions were not as consistent or tightly timed as desired, I reached a point where my intuition said it was time to go. After telling my midwife that I hadn’t felt baby in a while, she said to head to the birthing center.
We arrived at the birthing center around 4:30 am on Wednesday, and much to my relief I was 9 cm (I really did not want to get sent home again!). The show was on the road for real this time.
I was able to finish laboring and then deliver in a birthing tub which was a completely new experience for me. The warm water certainly was relaxing, and I greatly appreciated the freedom of movement—something I did not get in a hospital setting.
Through the moments of fear and “I can’t do this,” God constantly reminded me of His presence. Before long, I was holding my baby, and as scripture says, the moments of pain were quickly becoming a thing of the past.
As a young person, I heard horror stories about how awful labor is, and this terrified me to the point of not even wanting to be mother. Instead of whispering hope to my heart and stirring a longing within me to bring children into the world, these dramatic stories discouraged me and took my eyes off of the grace of God.
Are labor and delivery hard? Yes, they are. I would be lying if I said they are a piece of cake. But instead of focusing on the pain and my own personal “war stories” of birthing children, I want to point others to God and His sufficient grace. Labor and delivery are hard, but God is so much greater and stronger than the pain and discomfort. God is enough for me, even in these intense, life-changing moments.
In the toughest moments, God was with me reminding me that He will never leave me (Heb. 13:5) and that He is holding my right hand (Ps. 73:23). Even when I felt that I could not move forward in the birth process, God was there—often in the form of the midwives’ counsel—comforting me and helping me take that next step of faith through the pain.
If I could encourage a first-time mom or anyone contemplating motherhood, don’t let the pain of childbirth hold you back from motherhood. God is good and He is certainly capable of walking through this valley with you, and someday those moments of pain will all be a distant memory. After a relatively short time of pain, now you hold a precious life in your arms to love and cherish.
-Ashley
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