I have attended over 50 births.  I have missed 3 births. 1 was an emergency cesarean and I arrived after the mom was already in the operating room. 1 was an extremely long birth and I went to the first half, then headed out on a trip and my back up doula took over. My favorite one I missed, I actually felt as if I was almost there. Again, it was a trip that kept me from attending,  but my friend, knew that was possible, so she had other doulas coming too. Here is what happened and how it felt like I was sort of almost there!