The dichotomy of pregnancy is that it is all at once extraordinary and ordinary. It’s an awe-inspiring, incredible experience, which happens routinely to almost every female mammal. It is equal parts special and commonplace. It is what our bodies were designed to do, yet we still often have doubts and fears about labor and delivery that are unfounded.

She moves around inside me all the time. Tonight I looked down and pictured her tiny hands, her perfect miniature fingers, just a couple inches from the surface of my skin, restlessly poking away.