This post is sponsored by Evivo, but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

Pregnancy and giving birth can be a joyous time for you and your loved ones. Prepping for the baby’s arrival, anticipating seeing your baby for the first time, and buying everything that you can think of to make baby feel safe and warm. But many times we do not talk about the fears and worry of what happens during pregnancy and giving birth. Whether it is rational fears or not, these fears are things that you and I probably thought of and worried about doing, seeing, or feeling. We should never feel scared to talk about these fears and should realize that many of us go into childbirth having the same thoughts and feelings. So here are my top three things I was afraid of before childbirth.

Three Things I Was Afraid of Before Childbirth

1. Becoming a mother for the first, second, and third time. I have never been so incredibly unprepared yet so ready for something in all my life. I knew there was not going to be a parenting manual sent home with me and my new bundle of joy. But I still thought I would get all the information I needed to survive in those 36 hours I was in the hospital. Like the nurses would give me a crash course on how to parent. Even with my second and third baby the fear of becoming a mother of more children engulfed my thinking. How do I parent two children? How do I parent three? Where do I find these answers??? But somehow all the fear escaped the body once that sweet precious baby was placed in my arms.

2. The epidural. The actual birth did not scare me. I knew it would be painful. I knew it was going to be something that I could not ever compare to when it came to pain. But the epidural was my scary moment. I had the epidural with the girls but not with Finnegan. I should mention now that my fear for needles is strong. To this day I still cry when I have to get a shot or blood drawn. So when I saw the biggest needle about to be used in my back fear washed over me. I was so completely scared about it. During labor with Madelyn it was so incredibly painful and felt as if the lady was breaking my back. So needless to say I am still afraid of epidurals!

3. Pooping. Yup I just went there. Most of us do it yet it is a topic we try to avoid. This was my biggest concern while giving birth. I did not want to poop while trying to push my babies out. But then again I was trying to push a watermelon out of a pinhole. So it happened. I remember as I began to push with my first-born, I looked my sister dead in her eyes and mouthed the words “am I pooping?” She instantly squirmed and avoided eye contact. Then she mustered up the courage to mouth the word “yes.” I was mortified and embarrassed.

But it is so interesting to find out that pooping during childbirth is healthy for mom and baby and has an important purpose. Pooping while giving birth strengthens a baby’s gut microbiome. As the pushing begins, pressure is placed on the colon causing a mom to poop. During this an important and good gut bacteria, known as B. infantis, is transferred from mom to baby. However only 1 in 10 babies born today have the B. infantis strain. Lucky for us and our babies, doctors have found a way to repopulate the infant gut with Evivo probiotics. Evivo is clinically proven to restore B. infantis to baby’s gut, while reducing the potentially harmful bacteria linked to colic, eczema, allergies, diabetes and obesity by 80%. Finnegan is getting his probiotic everyday and it is so easy to give! Mix the probiotic with breast milk and use the syringe to give to your baby! Yup that simple!

Here are some other mamas telling us what they were afraid of during childbirth:

“I was afraid that I was going to be in labor for days.” -Amelia

“Pooping and my baby coming out like a troll.” -Katie

“I was afraid of pooping for the first time AFTER birth! I wish someone had told me to use a serious stool softener. The stuff they gave me in the hospital was worthless.” -Brittany

“I was afraid that I wouldn’t be attached to them immediately.” -Riley

“I was afraid of the whole labor experience with my first. You don’t know what to expect, I did great my whole pregnancy and then my water broke and I was so scared.” -Stephanie

“Definitely was nervous about the pooping thing. Little did I know that when you’re in the throes of pushing, you have zero effs to give about literally anything else but getting that baby out. The second time I was more afraid of the pain because that was way more intense than any pooping.” -Jennifer