Lips on my World—Scene Inspiration: Josephine’s Labor

Spoiler Warning: If you have not read Lips on my World, book 3 in the Mercy Ravens MC Series, skip this blog until you read the book.

Many women undergo hours, even days, of labor. Josephine’s labor was dangerously fast. I honestly can’t say which one would be worse—spending days in labor or not making it to the hospital in time. The only one I can relate to is Josephine’s experience. This scene was inspired by the labor and delivery of my first son.

I’ll save you the gory details, but essentially what happened was I got up from a nap and my water broke. The next thing I knew, I was having massive contractions. See, I can tolerate a lot of pain. I was a distance runner who would push herself to the point of nearly passing out, ran on broken bones, raced through pregnancy—you get the idea. But this was a whole new level I had never experienced before.

For one split second, I froze. Never been so scared in my entire life. I was eighteen, alone, and about to deliver my first child two weeks before he was due. I knew my baby was coming. There was no time to go to the hospital, no time to call for help; it was act now.

My body went into autopilot, acting on pure instinct. I made it to the bathroom, turned on the water in the tub, and climbed in. Honestly, my labor was only a handful of minutes before I brought my son into the world. Thankfully, he was healthy, and there were no complications. There must have been a guardian angel watching over us that day.

You can imagine how freaked out my husband and I were for my next two pregnancies. Each baby was born two weeks early, but I never delivered at home again (thank God!). We cut it close, making it to the hospital with the other two just in time. My next two gynecologists retired after each one of my kids’ deliveries—I think my risky labors were the driving force behind their retirement decisions, but I can’t say for sure. It’s just a hunch.

So for anyone thinking Josephine’s delivery scene was, um…unrealistic, I give myself as exhibit A.