First-time mom Natalie had a beautiful but emotionally challenging pregnancy during which she was separated from her husband, an officer in the US Army, from week 20 onward. Due to a required military training course that did not go quite as planned, Natalie’s husband was unable to attend the birth of his daughter and didn’t end up meeting her until she was almost 3 weeks old. Despite these disappointing circumstances, Natalie had an incredible birth experience surrounded by her mother, sister, doula, and team of midwives at her birth center. Her daughter Cecilia was brought into the world surrounded by strong, caring women who supported and loved Natalie throughout her 21 hours of unmedicated labor with almost 3 hours of pushing at the end.