No matter how much a mama-to-be preps and plans for the big day, there’s no such thing as certainty in the birthing suite.

Below, 5 of our favorite moms get real about their birth stories—from the laughing to the crying, the epidurals, natural births, and C-sections. It’s the ultimate in expectation versus reality.

Babba

Founder of Ceremonia

“I was only 35 weeks, and we hadn’t even packed our hospital bag yet! Hilariously, my husband started stress googling what to pack while running around the apartment, gathering our things, and figuring what to do with our dog. Because I had prepared for birth through HypnoBirthing, I remained surprisingly calm throughout, although part of me was probably still in denial. I kept breathing through each surge and took it moment but moment.”

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Carly Cardellino

Beauty Expert

“They gave me an epidural at four centimeters and at that point, I wasn’t feeling the contractions so I was able to take a nap. Then at 6:30 pm, the nurse came in to check and I was fully dilated! I did three rounds of 10-second pushes, and he was out by 7 pm fully healthy and we got right to breastfeeding and skin on skin.”

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Simone Shepherd

Writer and Actor

“My son’s lungs were underdeveloped, and because he did not go through the birth canal, he didn’t push all the fluid out of his lungs which caused breathing issues; he was in the NICU for 10 days. As a mother, it was overwhelming; I would have rather assumed the risk, but my doctor kept reminding he’ll be okay, and I would not have been if we hadn’t done a C-section. All in, it was a difficult process for me.”

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Amirah Kassem

Founder of Flour Shop

“Going in I was also worried because I had heard so many negative birth stories and I feel like you never hear about the good ones. I was lucky enough to have an easy birth experience. I’m not kidding when I tell you that I delivered in less than 3 minutes and three pushes! The whole thing was wild and not at all what I expected.”

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Britt Maren

Wellness Guru

“I wanted to birth him naturally and since I was already 8 cm upon arrival getting an epidural wasn’t an option. The doctor had me pushing in sets of three with a break in between and my husband was so supportive. I was seeing stars but just as I thought I couldn’t do it anymore, he started to crown. At 8:40 pm Dylan was born while Bohemian Rhapsody played with the lyrics ‘thunderbolts of lightning…!!’ bellowing into the room.”

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