Karina shares her empowering unmedicated birth experience at Hirslanden Clinic in Zurich, where she welcomed her daughter Amalia Luna after navigating nine months of severe pregnancy nausea.

• First-time mother from Poland partnered with a Swiss father
• Endured persistent nausea throughout pregnancy that only subsided in the last trimester
• Prepared thoroughly for birth with meditation, environmental cues, birthing ball exercises, and ice cube practice
• Chose hospital birth for consistency despite considering birth center options
• Used TENS machine and hip squeezes from her partner and doula (our lovely co-host Christine) for pain management
• Arrived at hospital already 6cm dilated after laboring at home
• Found the hospital triage with bright lights and monitoring challenging
• Experienced the pushing phase as equally intense as contractions
• Describes birth as "animalistic" and "liberating" as she vocalized through the experience
• Appreciated the support voices around her saying "you can do this"
• Surprised by the physical recovery needed after natural birth
• Found breastfeeding challenging but persevered through nipple shield use for three months
• Discovered her baby had a spirited temperament from day one
• Considers birth the most empowering experience of her life

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