Writing About: Childbirth

If you ever need to write the birth of a baby and don’t know where to begin, a good place to start is with the first contraction. What you don’t want to do is say the woman was brought into the delivery room and then sometime later the family is ushered in to see the happy mother and newborn baby. Instead, bring your readers into the delivery room. Reveal to them every detail of the birth.

·     Where and how does the woman’s water break? 

·     Does she go to the hospital, or does she give birth at home or in a car? 

·   Describe the commotion when she gets to the hospital. 

·    In the delivery room, what is the woman feeling? This should include her emotions and pain. 

·   What are the nurses doing to help her and the baby? 

·      Is the baby’s father in the room? Get into his head. Describe how he is feeling about becoming a daddy. Is he nervous for his wife?

Now comes the biggest part. Labor! Describe the contractions that grip her stomach and every ounce of pain. Explain what the doctor is doing and saying to the expectant mother. Is something wrong with the baby? Research childbirth to understand what could happen and what a doctor would do to bring the baby into the world safely.

Lead your readers through every step that the doctor takes until the baby is in the mother’s arms. And don’t forget to add emotion! Childbirth is always emotional! 

If you have given birth or witnessed the birth of a baby, you can use every detail from that experience that you can remember. Don’t worry though if you’ve never experienced childbirth because you can talk to someone who has or read books that have childbirth scenes. The internet can provide a wealth of information too.

Now what are you waiting for?! A baby is waiting to be born!

QUESTION: Would you ever write a childbirth scene in one of your books? If you have, how did you write it?