#72 | What Happens When You Invite God into Your Birth

When South African mom and pastor’s wife Bernise Theron prepared for her third birth, she had no idea her story would become a powerful testimony of faith, surrender, and divine intervention.
What began as a season of anxiety and fear turned into one of the most tangible experiences of God’s presence she had ever felt — a birth where heaven truly touched earth.

This is the story of how God showed up in a messy miracle, transforming a complicated labor into a beautiful redemption story that forever changed Bernise’s faith.

A Journey Marked by Loss and Hope

Before her third pregnancy, Bernise experienced something no mother ever wants to face — a miscarriage.
It happened early, but the impact ran deep.

“I feel like I gained closure over the loss itself pretty quickly,” Bernise shared. “The Lord gave me peace that my baby was being raised by angels. But what was traumatic was what happened to my body — the blood loss, the fear, and the suddenness of it. I didn’t understand why it had to happen that way.”

The miscarriage shook her faith. She describes walking through a crisis of belief, wondering why God had allowed it. And yet, even through her questions, she clung to the truth she had always known — that God is faithful.

Just four months later, Bernise and her husband found out they were expecting again. This time, she says, it felt like the rainbow after the storm — the baby she had prayed for through tears.

The Landscape of Birth in South Africa

Bernise’s story is also shaped by the environment in which she gave birth. In South Africa, she explains, C-sections are extremely common, and natural births are often discouraged.

“In my area, the majority of women I know have had C-sections,” she said. “If you want a natural birth, you really have to advocate for it. I only know a few people who’ve had natural deliveries, and when we find each other, we literally high-five — because it’s that rare!”

After an induction with her first baby and a beautiful midwife-assisted birth with her second, Bernise had seen both sides of the birthing world. She knew what she wanted — a peaceful, faith-filled, natural birth experience surrounded by people who honored her desire to let God lead.

Wrestling With Fear in Pregnancy

Even though her previous births went smoothly, Bernise began feeling waves of anxiety in her third trimester.

“I didn’t have bad birth experiences before, but I suddenly found myself afraid,” she said. “I realized if I didn’t get my mindset right before labor, there was no way that fear would disappear once I was in it.”

So, she made a decision: she would take maternity leave early at 37 weeks and spend the rest of her pregnancy preparing spiritually for birth.

During those weeks, Bernise devoted herself to prayer, worship, and Scripture. She began rewriting the Psalms in her own words — creating personal declarations of truth she could cling to during labor.

“I made it my mission to fill my heart with faith,” she said. “By the time labor came, I wanted my spirit to be ready.”

What she didn’t know then was just how much she would need that foundation.

Overdue — and Under Pressure

By 40 weeks, Bernise was still pregnant. By 41 weeks, everyone around her was in disbelief.

“In South Africa, going past your due date is really uncommon,” she explained. “When people heard I was 41 weeks, they were freaking out. They couldn’t believe it.”

At her birthing center, there was a strict policy: once a woman reached 41 weeks and three days, she had to be transferred to a hospital for delivery. That meant her dream of a peaceful, midwife-led birth would end if labor didn’t start soon.

Her midwife and gynecologist — both strong believers and supporters of natural birth — worked together to give her as much time as possible. But by 41 weeks and five days, they knew they had to take action.

Her midwife suggested breaking Bernise’s water to gently encourage labor to start.

A Complicated Beginning

That Saturday morning, Bernise arrived at the birthing center while her husband was setting up for their church’s weekend service.

The plan was simple: do an ultrasound, check on baby, perform a membrane sweep, and then break her water if everything looked safe.

But from the start, things didn’t go as expected.

“When she tried to break my water, no fluid came out,” Bernise said. “She tried again — still nothing. Eventually, she had to try three times.”

Afterward, her midwife monitored the baby’s heart rate carefully. That’s when they noticed something concerning — a drop in the baby’s heart rate.

For several minutes, his heartbeat stayed low, and the atmosphere in the room shifted.

“My midwife told me that if it happened again, we’d have to transfer to the hospital immediately for a C-section,” Bernise recalled. “I was terrified.”

Choosing Gratitude Over Fear

At that moment, everything she had prepared for — every verse, every prayer, every declaration — became her anchor.

“I opened my prayer journal and started reading through the Psalms I had rewritten,” she said. “I put on worship music. That morning, I had decided the word of the day would be gratitude. I told myself that no matter how the day went, I would end it holding my baby — and that was something to thank God for.”

As she steadied her heart, she realized something else — her husband still wasn’t there.

He was at the church, unaware of how serious things had become. Bernise texted him: It’s time to come.

Communion Changed Everything

When her husband arrived, Bernise told him she wanted to take communion together before anything else.

“I had brought grape juice and a little roll,” she shared. “I told him I wanted us to take communion with our midwife and doula — to invite the presence of God into this birth.”

So there in the birthing center, the four of them gathered — Bernise, her husband, her midwife, and her doula — and broke bread together.

Her husband prayed over her and the baby: that his heartbeat would remain strong, that labor would progress smoothly, and that both mother and child would have strength for what was ahead.

And in that moment, something shifted.

“I can’t explain it except to say that from the moment we took communion, everything changed,” Bernise said. “The fear left. My contractions grew stronger. The baby’s heart rate stabilized. It was like heaven broke into the room.”

Labor Moves Quickly

After communion, Bernise’s labor picked up rapidly. By noon, she and her husband went for a short walk outside to help things progress — pausing on the sidewalk as contractions became too intense to keep walking.

“We walked to the end of the street, and I told my husband, ‘We need to go back. This is happening faster than we think.’”

Just a few hours later — before 3:00 PM — her baby was born.

But the journey between those hours was powerful.

As contractions intensified, Bernise leaned on everything she had learned from the Pain Free Birth podcast — using her voice, breath, and body to ride each wave.

“I focused on deep breathing, keeping my hands open, and saying to myself, I can do anything for a minute.”

Even though her water had been broken — which can make contractions more intense — she felt more calm and in control than in her previous labors.

“This wasn’t a pain-free birth, but it was peaceful,” she said. “There was no panic. I knew I could do it.”

The Power of Gratitude in Labor

Throughout her contractions, Bernise repeated her word of the day: gratitude.

“Every time a contraction came, I reminded myself that I was grateful. Grateful for the pain. Grateful that I was in labor. Grateful that I would meet my baby soon. It changed everything.”

She believes that gratitude doesn’t just affect your mind — it transforms your body’s chemistry, too.

“I truly believe gratitude releases a specific cocktail of hormones that helps labor go smoother,” she said. “It calms fear, helps your body open, and allows you to cooperate with what God designed you to do.”

By the time she reached the pushing phase, Bernise moved into the water — determined to try a hands-and-knees position for the first time.

It wasn’t easy to change positions mid-labor, but she remembered something she’d heard on the podcast: sometimes it’s painful to move for two or three contractions, but after that, it gets easier.

She pushed through, literally — and soon found herself leaning over the tub as her husband supported her with hip squeezes.

A Fast, Intense Delivery

Within about twenty minutes, her baby was ready to be born.

“The pushing stage was quick and intense,” she said. “I definitely felt the ring of fire, but I knew my body was doing exactly what it needed to do.”

Her midwife noticed the baby’s head was visible, and after a brief pause between contractions, the rest of his body emerged — caught by Bernise’s husband, who had surprised himself by saying yes in the moment.

“I told him, ‘I really want you to catch the baby,’ and he did,” Bernise smiled. “It was so special.”

But as their son was born, the midwife noticed something unexpected: the umbilical cord was wrapped twice around his neck — and when they looked closer, they saw a true knot in the cord as well.

A Miracle in the Details

For many babies, a true knot or double nuchal cord could have led to severe complications. But in this case, the cord was unusually long — 127 centimeters (about 50 inches) — which kept it from tightening.

Bernise calls that detail nothing short of divine.

“We fully believe that the length of the cord was part of the miracle,” she said. “If it had been shorter, it could have pulled tight and caused compression. God protected our baby even in the tiniest detail.”

Their son was momentarily blue from the cord, but with a little suctioning and gentle rubbing, he cried out strong and clear — the sound every mother longs to hear.

The Beauty of the Breast Crawl

After the birth, Bernise and her midwife practiced something called the breast crawl — a natural process where a newborn is placed on the mother’s chest and allowed to find the breast and latch on their own.

“It’s incredible,” Bernise explained. “The baby uses innate reflexes to wiggle, crawl, and find the nipple without any help. It stimulates their brain and sets the foundation for successful breastfeeding.”

As a lactation consultant herself, Bernise has seen firsthand how powerful this process can be.

“With my first, I attached her myself right away and had a cracked nipple within minutes,” she said. “With my second, I let him do the breast crawl, and I never had a single issue with latching. It was amazing.”

Her third baby took a little longer — about 30 minutes — but eventually found his way and began to nurse. “It was such a beautiful, instinctive moment,” she said.

Gratitude for the Messy Miracle

As the adrenaline faded and she held her son in her arms, Bernise couldn’t stop whispering the same words over and over:
“Thank you, Jesus. I’m so glad you’re here.”

She says she realized something profound in that moment:

Miracles can be messy — and that doesn’t make them any less miraculous.

“When I think about it now, I realize that the fact things didn’t go perfectly gave God space to show up even more,” she reflected. “If everything had gone smoothly, I might have missed seeing just how present He was.”

The Revelation: Miracles Can Be Messy

Bernise points to several examples in Scripture where Jesus’ miracles were anything but tidy.

“He put mud on a blind man’s eyes. That’s messy. He multiplied fish until the nets broke and the boats started to sink. That’s messy,” she said. “So why would we expect our miracles to be perfectly polished?”

Her revelation is one that resonates deeply for many women of faith — that God often moves in the middle of the chaos, not outside of it.

“Just because something doesn’t look perfect doesn’t mean God isn’t working,” she said. “Sometimes the mess is the very place where His glory shines brightest.”

A Prayer for Fear and Anxiety in Birth

At the end of her interview, Bernise prayed over every woman listening — especially those feeling anxious about their own upcoming birth or still grieving loss.

“If there are women listening who feel anxious, or who’ve experienced loss, I pray that the Holy Spirit would remind them that He is with them,” she prayed.
“You don’t have to be as strong as you think you do — because He will be your strength.”

Her story is a powerful reminder that faith doesn’t erase fear — it overcomes it.
And sometimes, the greatest miracles happen not in the absence of struggle, but right in the middle of it.

Key Takeaways from Bernise’s Story

• Faith prepares the heart for birth. The spiritual work you do before labor matters — prayer, worship, and mindset all shape how you experience birth.

• Communion invites the presence of God. When Bernise took communion, her entire labor shifted from fear to peace.

• Gratitude changes the atmosphere. A heart of thankfulness can physiologically calm fear and help labor flow.

• Miracles often come in messy packages. A complicated labor with a knotted cord turned into a testimony of divine protection.

• The body and spirit are connected. Faith, breath, and surrender allow the body to do what God designed it to do.

More about Bernise:

Want to Experience a Faith-Filled Birth Too?

If you’re ready to transform your mindset and birth with peace and purpose, check out the free Unlocking a Pain Free Birth Masterclass. Discover the 3 keys to a Pain-Free birth so you can experience the joyful, supernatural power of birth the way God designed it.