Happy Homebirth

Ep 27: Doing it at Home with Sarah Bivens

 

Show Notes:

• Sarah is the co-host of the Doing it at Home Podcast
• She is a balance lifestyle coach who works with mothers in integrating their identities, purpose, confidence and sexuality
• She is wife to her husband Matthew and Mom to her daughter Mya
• Orgasmic Mama is the name of Sarah’s online membership program that she’s recently launched for moms to have a place to explore conversations regarding sexuality
• Daily life before having a homebirth: “What the hell were we doing? We didn’t know how much time we had, really!” They were both working for a small marketing agency in Atlanta and had very flexible schedules.  Sarah shifted out of the agency and began working as a personal trainer.  She was then working with clients remotely related to lifestyle and balance
• They found out they were pregnant the same week that Matthew decided he was also going to be leaving his job and starting his own consulting business. So much life change at once!
• Getting pregnant: “We decided we wanted to conceive, and we got pregnant two seconds later.”
• When she first found out she was pregnant, Sarah and Matthew went to see her OB. She’d only seen him for yearly exams since moving to Atlanta, so truly they’d only met twice. 
• She was keen on having birth with as little intervention as possible: not being attached to anything, access to water and ice, to eat and drink etc. As they began establishing a relationship with her OB, they realized that her desires were not going to be met by this care provider and hospital
• Sarah was watching the DVD series: Happy, Healthy Child and it began opening and expanding her mind about birth and parenting.
• She was connected with a homebirth group that was about 15 minutes from her house. Matthew was a big part of the process, which was a big differentiator between the midwives and the hospital experience- it was an experience they were having together.  They were both pregnant together.
• Sarah and Matthew both like sharing the fact that they did not immediately click into place that they would 100% have a homebirth. At first, Sarah was the one encouraging the idea while Matthew was more uncertain, and at one point, the tables turned and Matthew was for the homebirth while Sarah was unsure.  Finally, around 18-19 weeks, the two synced in opinion and decided they were going to go for it!
• At that time, Sarah was looking for resources to connect with mothers who were deciding to have a similar birthing situation. As she and Matthew looked around, they really couldn’t find many resources.  In comes the entrepreneurial spirit: They decided to launch the Doing it at Home Podcast.
• Several weeks after launching the show (after Mya was born), women began coming out of the woodwork wanting to share their own birth stories.
• Sarah acknowledges that her pregnancy was beautiful and she thoroughly enjoyed it.
• “Those midwife appointments were just amazing—Matthew came to every single one.”
• Sarah and Matthew stacked up quite a large birth team, which worked for them. There were a total of 10 people in her bedroom when Mya was born—Mya not included!
• Sarah wanted to make sure that Matthew had someone available for him during labor. She wanted to make sure that he was supported and cared for just as she was.  
• Sarah’s Birth:
• They were a day shy of 41 weeks
• “Is this the last day that I’m going to be pregnant? The last shower that I’m going to take pregnant?” 
• Sarah was doing all kinds of lunges and movements to try to get Mya to move down, as she was not yet engaged.
• They went to an outside concert in September in Atlanta: The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra performing John Williams music (Jurassic Park, Harry Potter, Star Wars)
• As they walked back to the car from the concert, Sarah noticed that she was feeling very uncomfortable. When they got home between 10-11, Sarah couldn’t get comfortable in bed, so she went to the bath tub. 
• By 1am-2am, they called Sarah’s midwife. That period of time was incredibly beautiful and magical for Sarah and Matthew. 
• Matthew reminded her, “Be grateful for this experience.” That affirmation really resonated with Sarah and was something that she carried with her through the labor.
• Matthew was so fascinated with all of the gear that the midwife brought to the birth: the oxygen tank, the medications for too much bleeding postpartum, etc..
• The birth pool was blown up and Sarah got in, spending about 90% of active labor in the water.
• Sarah discusses how the feelings of labor have such a unique quality: the intensity and the perhaps pain are with such purpose
• Sarah’s total labor was about 12 hours
• Her midwives encouraged Sarah to use the restroom- while she was sitting on the toilet, she remembers looking up into Matthew’s eyes and saying, “This really hurts.” Which to her, was more of a feeling of “what if I can’t do this” and because she was so emotionally, physically, and spiritually exhausted.
• She felt like pushing was an amazing experience for her because up until that point, she felt like she had been tossed around in the waves- Once she was able to push, she felt like she was able to lock in physically.
• Matthew held her and supported her physically throughout the entire 45 minutes of pushing.
• Once Mya was born, Sarah’s midwife noticed that Sarah was losing too much blood. She helped Sarah to the bed and gave her Pitocin
• Matthew put himself between Sarah and the midwife- he shielded her from the rest of the room, and even from what the midwife was doing to keep her focused on the baby and calm
• Sarah discusses how she certainly did not expect to have a homebirth podcast, but loves how the fact that it has opened up so much possibility.
• Doing it at Home Podcast
• Parents on Demand
• diahpodcast.com
• sarahbivens.com

www.Instagram.com/sarahmbivens

 

 

Episode Roundup:

 

1. Your partner can play such a critical role in the birthing experience. Of course this doesn’t match everyone’s situation or preference, but I love the idea of going into pregnancy as a couple and being “pregnant together.”  It certainly made me consider ways that I can include my husband in the experience more and make sure that his needs are met along with mine.
2. The second point is just a thank you- thank you to the Doing it at Home Podcast and all of the other platforms that help normalize the birthing process. So much time, effort and energy is clearly put forth from their end, and yet they continue to show up every week.  What a blessing to have so many beautiful souls in the birthing community providing not only resources, but also community to birthing moms. 

 

Ep 26: Katelyn's Blessingway & Pregnancy Update

 

Show Notes:

• Currently 38 weeks pregnant
• Have had quite a successful pregnancy-- this one has gone by much faster (probably because I've been chasing my toddler)
• Planning to have my daughter at the birth.  We've prepared by having her watch birth videos and even listening to/watching the video of me pushing with her
• This pregnancy I: continued strength training throughout- I feel it made a huge difference for me
• I did start eating more poorly during February/March, so I did the Whole30 with my husband and daughter as a reset in April and felt much better
• I got sick with a stomach bug around 34 weeks- I don't wish that on anyone!  So awful to be sick and that pregnant.  I worried momentarily I'd accidentally push the baby out while puking.
• I had a blessingway ceremony this past weekend.  Surrounded by amazing midwives and birth workers who love me. 
• We: ate, had a bead ceremony, a fear-releasing ceremony, made an affirmation banner, and prayed over me
• If you had a Blessingway, what did you do?
• Please send me songs to add to my playlist- feel free to send them via your instagram stories, tagging @happyhomebirthpodcast 

Ep 25: Mia Advocates for Herself and Baby During Transport

Show Notes: 

• Mia and her fiancé have been together for 7 years and have two precious sons together.
• She comes for a naturally minded family- some of her aunts had had homebirths. However, she was not very educated on the subject.  She planned for a hospital birth and had a pretty good experience. 
• She later experienced a friend’s homebirth (about 8 months after her own hospital birth) and realized that’s what she would want to do with any subsequent children.
• Mia found out that she was pregnant with her second son right after her first son turned one.
• When she found out she was pregnant, she knew she wanted her friend’s midwife to act as her own midwife.
• Interestingly enough, both Mia and the midwife did not make it in time for the actual birth of Mia’s friend’s child! However, Mia loved how the midwife interacted with her during the home visit and immediately postpartum enough to know that homebirth was the way she wanted to go.  “It made me more aware that homebirth isn’t a scary thing.”
• Mia admits that she procrastinated a bit with her prenatal care- she began going to prenatals at 20 weeks.
• One way that Mia educated herself was by joining several homebirth and natural birth Facebook groups. Every afternoon when she would scroll through her feed, she would gain more insight into the choice she was making. 
• With her first birth, her water broke before labor began. Once she went in, Mia mentions how many steps there were before she was actually able to focus on her labor: She had to get checked in through labor, assigned a room, they had to bring a birthing tub in in pieces, her water line was broken in her room so she had to wait for maintenance—Because of this the hours seemed to pass by like minutes.  “Looking back at it now, the hours passed by like minutes.”
• After laboring for 3-4 hours in the tub, Mia was checked and found to be 9 ½ centimeters. After a few more contractions, she was ready to push.
• Mia says that pushing was the time that things became more uncomfortable. She was on her back, bright lights shining directly on her, nurses and doctors hustling and bustling, etc.  Mia felt that the discomfort of the situation slowed her labor dramatically.  She ended up pushing for 3 hours, and when her baby finally came, he was tangled up in his cord.  Mia wishes she had been able to push in a better position, thinking that could have helped her situation dramatically.
• With her second child, Mia had been having Braxton Hicks contractions for weeks. She woke up at 3 am one morning with contractions that were different from what she’d been experiencing.  Her fiancé works nights, so unfortunately this was right when he was coming to bed.  She remembers having to tell him, “Hey, you can’t go to sleep- I’m having contractions!”
• They decided to wake up and straighten up the house a little bit. After, Mia decided that it might be a good idea to eat a little something and begin timing her contractions.  She was contracting every 5 minutes and they were lasting about 30 seconds.  However, because they were consistent for an hour, she decided to call her midwife and let her know what was going on. 
• Her midwife agreed that she was in labor, but recommended that she try to go to sleep for a bit. Mia took her advice and after about an hour of trying, she was able to fall asleep and stay asleep for 4 hours.
• She woke up and had a normal day. Mia was even able to get a small nap in when her son did later.  Once she awoke, she decided it would be best to head to the grocery store to get a big haul of groceries so she wouldn’t have to leave her house any time soon!
• She remembers her son running away from her in the store. As she chased him, she began having a contraction and though people must think she was crazy!
• “I think that I was so busy trying to relax that day that I didn’t nourish my body the way that I should”
• Mia stayed in touch with her midwife throughout the day. At 7:30 pm, Mia’s mother arrived at her house.  Around that time, Mia called her midwife and asked her to begin heading her way.  Her midwife said, “Well, you’re still talking through your contractions.  I’ll call you back in about half an hour to reevaluate.”  About 15 minutes later her midwife received another call—this time from Mia’s mom—telling her she couldn’t talk through contractions anymore!
• Mia says that she had a perfect birth team. Her aunt, who has had homebirths, and her mom, played a huge role in her first labor, so she knew they would be important in her second birth, too.  Her two cousins came, and even Mia’s little sister, who is 6 wanted to be a part of the special day.  Mia had a photographer, and of course her midwife, as well as a second midwife and an assistant.  Her fiancé was there taking care of her, too!  Everyone was at her house by 9pm.
• “And really what helped me most through contractions this time was listening to worship music and just trying to sing through them, which I loved.” 
• Mia’s midwife kept asking her to go pee, but Mia was unable to each time. Her midwife finally said that she felt like Mia was a bit overstimulated with having everyone around her.  She asked her to go lie down in her bed with her fiancé, promising that they would come in and check on her. 
• Mia laid in her room for the next 2 hours, her midwife coming in to check on her every 30 minutes or so. At one point, her midwife said again, “Listen, you need to go pee, or I’m going to catheter you.  If you’d like, I can check and see how dilated you are.”
• Mia decided to be checked, and when checked, her midwife let her know that she was fully dilated.
• She notes that she had been feeling the desire to push, but was thinking it couldn’t possibly the right time. She though she needed to let the pain do its job, and if she had pushed, it would be counter to what she needed. 
• Mia says she thinks her midwife came in right at the perfect time, because she probably would have had the baby alone in her bed had she come in any later!
• “Get in the water and push your baby out!” About 5 pushes later, Mia had her baby!
• Mia describes how with her first baby, even though they didn’t find out the gender, she knew she was having a boy. With this baby, she was completely convinced it was a girl.  However, once baby was born…. She reached down and found a surprise!
• “I was so convinced I was having a girl this time….I reached down and I felt balls!”
• After having the placenta, Mia got out of the tub and realized that she was hemorrhaging. Her midwife began doing all of the common interventions for too much bleeding.  She began by giving Mia hem-halt, which is an herbal supplement to help stop the bleeding.  Her midwife then gave her a catheter since she knew that Mia hadn’t been able to pee for quite a long time. 
• Neither treatment worked, so her midwife examined her internally to see if there was any clear reason as to why she was bleeding. Upon examination, nothing could be found.  The bleeding continued, so her midwife gave her a shot of Pitocin and 3 Cytotec (another drug used to contract the uterus) rectally.
• After all of these interventions, Mia was still bleeding. Her midwife made the decision to have someone call 911 and transport her to the hospital, as the bleeding was not stopping. 
• As the ambulance was on its way, Mia’s midwife recommended that she put together a hospital bag, should she have to stay for any reason. She also told her that her baby’s car seat needed to be installed so that he could come to the hospital. 
• At this point, Mia refused. Her baby had only been on her chest so far, and she was not going to put him in a car seat so quickly.  Her midwife told her that when EMS arrived, they would tell her that she couldn’t take him with her in the ambulance.  Mia said, “Well I’ll just throw a fit, because he’s not going away from me.”
• Once the ambulance arrived, Mia did as she said she would and advocated for herself. She told the EMS team that the baby would be riding on her chest- that she would take responsibility.  They conceded and Mia was able to take the baby with her.
• Once they arrived at the hospital, they had to wait for the OB to come down from the maternity floor. While waiting, Mia’s midwife April checked her again and told her that her bleeding was much better.  She said they would probably just check her out and send her home. 
• Before being sent home, the OB wanted to physically feel inside of Mia to see if she could figure out why she had been bleeding. She felt internally as deep as she could, and Mia describes this as the worst pain she can remember experiencing. 
• After receiving IV fluids and stitching, Mia was able to return home.
• “It doesn’t always have to be 100% perfect at a homebirth. Your midwife knows what’s going on and is going to send you in when you need to be sent in.” (Katelyn)
• Mia mentions how she didn’t feel any panic during the hemorrhage because she knew her midwife was on top of the situation.

 

Episode Roundup:

 

1. The body works so much better when given space to work! During her hospital birth, Mia ended up pushing for 3 hours lying on her back.  With her second birth, she was in a pool of water on her knees.  Her baby was out within just a few pushes.  Position makes such a difference!
2. Always, always, always advocate for yourself or have someone present who will. When Mia had to be transported for bleeding, she made sure that her baby was able to stay with her the entire time (clearly, she knows the importance of postpartum skin to skin!).  She stood up for herself and her baby and kept him with her at all times, even when it was considered unconventional. 
3. Having a “Happy Homebirth” does not mean everything has to go perfectly. It’s not always going to be butterflies and rainbows.  Sometimes things go awry.  The Happy Homebirth experience is being supported and surrounded by care providers that you trust to keep your health and safety (not only physical, but mental and emotional) as the top priority.  Sometimes this includes hospital transports.  This can also include hospital births! 

Ep 24: Leah's Midwife Handles a Serious Complication

 

Show Notes:

• Leah is a registered nurse engaged to a UFC fighter, Brandon Davis. They have just grown their family with a new baby!
• She had a homebirth with her first baby. When asked how she decided to have a homebirth, she said she’s always been fascinated with it, but she doesn’t have any friends or family members who had had homebirths previously.  That being the case, it took a large amount of research on her part to come to the decision and know for certain she wanted to give birth at home.
• As a registered nurse, she did have some negative reactions from coworkers and friends about her decision.
• “I think that labor is best left untouched.”
• Leah’s fiancé was very uncomfortable with the idea of a homebirth. Early on, she asked him to visit several care providers, and he quickly disagreed, saying she needed to give birth in the hospital like every other “normal” mom!
• Not wanting to argue, Leah began seeing an OB. She continued with this care provider up until week 26, when she began feeling very uncomfortable with the idea that she was now going to be having a hospital birth.
• She decided to set up a quiet little meeting with a local midwife without involving her fiancé until afterwards. She immediately felt connected with this midwife and said, “This is it.  I know that whatever my birth story is going to be, you are going to be a part of it.”
• Leah continued to see both her OB and her midwife up until week 36, where she completely transferred care over to her midwife.  Though she liked her OB, Leah began feeling pushed to do things she didn’t want to do, including a  3^rd trimester ultrasound and weekly cervical checks after 35 weeks.
• She felt that her prenatals were far more in depth with her midwife; they discussed issues like nutrition, which never happened with her OB- not because she didn’t care, but simply because there was just not enough time.
• In fact, her OB was so busy, that she had a patient due every single day of the month that Leah was due. She had warned Leah that she would likely not be the person delivering her baby anyway.
• Leah’s midwife was able to discern that her baby was posterior, and explained how that had the potential to complicate, or at least prolong, labor. She recommended chiropractic care and yoga to help get baby in a more optimal position. 
• She appreciated how much more hands-on her care was with her midwife. The OB pushed for a 3^rd trimester ultrasound to see baby’s position, but her midwife already knew baby’s position by consistent belly palpation.  “I felt like she was almost a sister or a mom to me, as well as a care provider.”
• Leah decided to work up until the day that she gave birth.  She was healthy and her baby was healthy, so she decided to continue.
• During her 39^th week, she got up on a Friday to go to work and noticed some bloody show. She let her midwife know, and asked her what that meant in relation to when labor would start.  Her midwife responded that it could be any time between the next 24 hours and week!
• Leah went to work and worked the full 12 hour shift. She was on her feet all day, and by the time she got home, she was feeling crampy and “not good,” but she hadn’t realized at that point that she was on the cusp of labor.
• Leah tried to go to sleep early, but couldn’t sleep. Although she was feeling crampy, she thought that maybe she was just experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions.  At about 3:30 in the morning, the discomfort was feeling less tolerable.  She thought that maybe she should start timing them to see if they were actually contractions.  At this point, she was having contractions every five minutes. 
• At 4:30, she called her best friend who lives hours away and let her know that she thought today was going to be the day, so get in the car and head her way whenever she was up and ready.
• At 5, Leah called her midwife and let her know what she was feeling.
• An hour later, she called her midwife back and let her know that she was still consistently contracting.
• At 8:30, Leah’s midwife arrived. Leah says, “I remember walking to the door and saying, ‘Hey…I feel like crap.’”
• Her midwife checked her and said, “Strong work, girl! You’re a 6!”  Leah was very happy to know that her contractions were doing something!
• Leah’s midwife had an assistant with her, who also acted similar to a doula during the experience.
• In the late afternoon/evening, she was checked again and was at 9cm with her bag of waters still intact. Her midwife gave her the option of continuing with labor uninterrupted or breaking her water.  Leah decided to wait and see and did not want her water broken at that time.
• She labored on for another hour and began feeling exhausted. At that point, she decided to have her water broken.  She as laboring on the bed at this time, but her midwife told her she should try to decide where she wanted to be when they had the baby since they were getting close.  She labored for about 26 hours total, but only spent about 45 minutes in the pool.  She decided she wanted to go back to the labor pool.
• Leah’s midwife told her that would be fine… but she was worried that they wouldn’t actually have time to get the birth pool set back up before baby arrived.
• Leah decided to go for the next best thing- her shower! At this time, she was already feeling pushy.  With her next contraction, she made a clear pushing sound, so her midwife came back into the room…. Only to realize that Leah had already birthed the baby’s head!
• Her midwife came behind her and provided perineal support to help prevent tearing. After a few pushes, Leah’s midwife that the baby wasn’t coming out.  She asked Leah to give her everything she had during the next push.  At this point, Leah was doing all that she could, and wondered what was happening.  Her midwife told her that she would need to get out of the shower if baby didn’t come with the next push.
• Baby still did not come, so Leah stepped out of the shower/tub and her midwife had her get onto her hands and knees on the bathroom floor. Her midwife had her alternate lifting one knee into a runner’s lunge, and then the other knee.  Back and forth, back and forth.  Baby still was not coming, though Leah’s midwife did free a nuchal cord that was wrapped twice around his neck.
• At this point, about 5 minutes had passed. Leah’s midwife had her lie down on her back and lift her knees up as high as possible (this is called the McRoberts maneuver).  Baby came at this point!!
• Leah’s baby was not crying or vigorous when he was born- he was absolutely exhausted. It took a bit of stimulating him to finally get a solid response.  Of course, he was attached to the cord this entire time, so he was still receiving oxygen via the placenta. 
• Even after this entire situation, Leah did not tear at all during her birth.
• She and her midwives spoke after everyone had calmed down. Leah was curious to hear how this situation would have played out in the hospital.  She learned that she certainly would have received an episiotomy, which she mentions is not a very helpful intervention because a shoulder dystocia is not a skin-on-skin issue, but rather a bone-on-bone issue. 
• Leah says that she felt so good postpartum that she probably didn’t take it quite as easy as she should have. Postpartum bleeding ended up being somewhat of an issue. She had a hard time just lying in, so she admits that she ended up doing too much and being on her feet too much!
• She felt such a sense of empowerment after the experience, and so did her fiance. He was very upfront that he didn’t want her to give birth at home, but after the experience, he couldn’t stop bragging about her. He was so happy with their birthing experience.

 

Episode Roundup

1. This is an amazing example of a rather large complication being handled at home. Notice how calmly and skillfully Leah’s midwife managed the shoulder dystocia.  She had her get up, then hands and knees, then alternating lunges, and finally had her move onto her back with her legs pulled up.  She also knew the importance of course of keeping the cord attached so that Leah’s baby still had a direct flow to oxygenated blood, even if he wasn’t quite breathing yet.
2. Just because you’re feeling empowered and strong doesn’t mean you should go make dinner! Once again, make sure you are taking care of your body and recovering appropriately after birth. 
3. If your gut is telling you to go with a certain care provider, please be in tune with that.

Ep 23: Believe in Midwifery with Madeline Murray

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Show Notes:

• Madeline Murray is a CPM working in Atlanta, Georgia. She is part of a 3-midwife practice called Modern Midwifery
• She had her first child this past year, and remembers people telling her that having a baby would make her a better midwife. Though she’s not sure if she agrees, she definitely thinks being a midwife made her a terrible pregnant lady!
• Madeline was born at home in 1982 (her mother had her first baby at home in 1977). When she was growing up, homebirth was the norm for her
• How she got into midwifery: Her job was coming to a close as a nanny, and she witnessed her sister-in-law’s victorious VBAC
• She went to Midwife’s College of Utah for her didactic training
• She attended births in Haiti and the Philippines, then finished her training in Oregon at a birth center
• Madeline explains “Believe in Midwifery”
• She discusses how difficult it was to be living in Oregon and not be able to experience anything outside of an hour away from the birth center. She was feeling suffocated from being on call all the time, but felt she wasn’t allowed to say anything about it.
• “I was either going to quit or figure out a way that I could get a little time off.”
• “I knew that I wanted to be a midwife, I knew that I was going to be a great midwife, but I also knew that I couldn’t do it in the system that is set up right now.”
• Madeline developed a schedule for the midwives and midwifery students that showed how each of them could receive time off while still providing continuity of care for their clients. She presented this at a staff meeting.
• The midwives told her that it would work, but that’s not what “midwifery is”.
• Madeline discusses the physical toll that on-call workers take by that type of lifestyle.
• “I could be both things: I could be a good midwife and someone who wanted to have a life, too.”
• “The midwives model of care is the answer to so many of themajor problems with the birth culture in The United States”
• “To make midwifery sustainable, midwives need to have regularly scheduled time off call.”
• Madeline discusses how she feels like if mothers knew and understood what that on-call lifestyle was like, they would be just as happy to have this system as midwives.
• She mentions that one incredibly depressing statistic is that the average career time of a midwife is a mere 7 years.
• She also brings up a fabulous point: how one midwife for one client in and of itself is still somewhat isolating. The ability to have several women pouring into each client is an incredible benefit and truly more in the sisterhood vein that midwifery was intended to be!
• Contact Madeline!:
• believeinmidwifery.com
• com/believeinmidwifery
• midwifemadeline@gmail.com

Episode Roundup:

1. It’s okay to want to be a midwife or birth worker but have a life outside of that, too!  Your family is important, and you need to be able to be there for them.

2. In order to provide more services to more mothers and to prevent burnout and short careers, we need to find a way to make midwifery more sustainable.

3. For mothers, seeing several midwives gives the benefit of seeing several different women, perhaps with different styles of mothering or in different phases of motherhood and life.  I know this left a huge impact on me, and I’m so grateful that I was exposed to a few strong mothers/care providers before entering into motherhood myself.

Ep 22: Birth Photographer Kendra Miller is Inspired to Have a Homebirth After Attending One

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Show Notes:

• Kendra is a mom of 4: a 6 year old, 4 year old, 2 year old, and 1 month old
• Before becoming a mother, she was a vet tech. After the birth of her first child, Kendra entered the world of birth photography and has not looked back!
• She and her husband, who were high school sweethearts, have always seen eye to eye on birth: He has supported her in all of her birthing decisions.
• At the age of 19, Kendra’s doctors informed her that she would likely never become pregnant; she had chronic lyme disease, as well as what they thought was PCOS.
• Shortly after marriage, Kendra had a miscarriage. Although very disappointed, in a way they felt positive that she even conceived at all. After speaking with several doctors, they decided to begin trying to get pregnant (they hadn’t been, previously).  After a year, Kendra became pregnant with her daughter.
• She had what she refers to as a very “by the book” pregnancy and birth with her first daughter. Kendra says she didn’t think to research much.  She was told that she had borderline gestational diabetes, and her OB wanted to induce her at 39 weeks for fear that the baby would be “too big.”
• At about 3 cm, the nurse told Kendra that she looked uncomfortable, so she’d send the anesthesiologist her way.
• Kendra was nervous about the epidural, and now recognizes that she ended up having a panic attack due to the lack of feeling in her legs.
• Her daughter came out at just over 6 pounds, so NOT TOO BIG!, but she was a healthy girl, so Kendra and her husband did not think much of the experience.
• After the birth, Kendra said to her mom, “Gosh, I wish there could have been someone here like a wedding photographer to take pictures of the birth.” The nurse then told Kendra that that’s actually something people do!
• It was through her clients that she began realizing that she could have her next baby differently.
• “I started researching and realizing how I wanted to do it different if we had another baby”
• A month after her realization, she was pregnant with her second child!
• At 37 weeks, her OB told her they needed to go ahead and have her little boy- there were complications with the placenta.
• Kendra did receive Pitocin for an induction, but did not use any pain medication for his birth. She says it was the most exhilarating thing she’d ever done. 
• “It was the most exhilarating thing I’ve ever done.”
• She hired a doula for her second birth. Kendra says, “My husband was my number 1 support.  I wanted the doula for him to be able to support me.”
• Her doula was amazing at helping them weigh each choice that came up.
• “With birth, you really have to know your choices… and what you want for your birth.”
• Kendra thought she was done having children, but then became pregnant with her third! She switched care providers this time in hopes of not being induced.  She was able to get exactly what she wanted, and had a completely natural childbirth at the hospital.  Baby weight in at 5 pounds and some change. 
• Compared to the Pitocin contractions, Kendra couldn’t believe how well she was able to cope with the unmedicated contractions. She compares the difference, saying that with Pitocin she felt like she was out of control, but with no Pitocin, she knew a contraction was coming and felt she could ride the wave. 
• Kendra’s third baby was over 9 pounds!
• Once again, after their 3^rd baby, Kendra and her husband decided they were done having children…..
• Then…. She photographed her first homebirth! “Then I photographed my first homebirth, and I was just amazed.”
• Kendra said she had never felt more safe for a mother than at the homebirth, and she has what she refers to as a “duh moment,” where she thought, “This is how it is supposed to be… in the comfort of your own home surrounded by people that you love and trust.”
• She said that if they were ever crazy enough to have a 4^th baby, they’d have a homebirth… and then she got pregnant.
• Kendra interviewed the same midwives that she had worked with at her first homebirth and loved them. She decided to hire them, and that was that!
• Kendra talks of how it was quite a switch to go from birth photographer to client. As a photographer, she speaks of how it’s all about going unnoticed.  To then have prenatals and care be centered around her was quite a different experience.
• Kendra loved how her prenatals were in a living room type office instead of a cold, clinical exam room. She loved that her kids had a place off to the side where they could play with hot wheels and baby dolls.  It made all of the appointments so much comfortable than what she’d experienced before.
• After the first appointment, Kendra’s daughter told her that she wanted to be with her at the birth. Her daughter was always asking questions and involved in the prenatals, and the midwives included her completely.  She loved the experience and how it felt like family. 
• Though she didn’t add anything new to her pregnancy routine, Kendra says this felt like her healthiest pregnancy. She attributes this to feeling so relaxed.
• One exciting aspect of this pregnancy for Kendra was that she did not have to drink glucola for her gestational diabetes test.
• She loved that her midwives looked through her history and realized that the fact that her lyme disease affected her pancreas could very easily be why she failed the gestational diabetes test in the past.
• At 38 weeks, Kendra called the birth team to her house. They were there for 14 hours, when finally she asked to be checked.  She found out she was 3 cm dilated, and her midwife told her she thought what was happening was “prodromal labor.”  She was so frustrated, but also felt incredibly supported.  Her midwife reassured her that this was a normal part of birth and labor.  The same thing happened a week later.  Finally, at 41+ a few, she began having contractions.  Kendra got in the shower, and the contractions quickly intensified, so she called her team back.
• Her doula arrived about an hour later, and the contractions were about 2-3 minutes apart, and very intense. Her doula texted the midwives telling them to come, but not necessarily to rush because Kendra felt it would still be a while.
• Kendra’s daughter, wearing her “tiny doula” shirt, took care of giving her water and helping in any way she could.
• Kendra felt like she needed to go to the bathroom, and while she was on the toilet, her water broke. Once it broke, her contraction was incredibly intense and she called her doula in. 
• Kendra’s student midwife arrived and had her lie on the bed on her side, in hopes of being able to breathe through the contractions until the midwife arrived.
• Once the midwife was close enough, the student midwife told Kendra she could get in the tub. She immediately stood up from her bed and sprinted downstairs to the birth pool. 
• “I remember thinking to myself, ‘my body is doing things, and I’m not doing it.’”
• She felt lots of pressure and put her hand down to see where the baby was. She realized his head was out, and then his body slid out after.
• This baby was 6lbs 5oz, so much smaller than her previous!
• Kendra’s labor was very short, which she appreciated after so much prodromal labor.
• They noticed that her baby had a “true knot”. The cord was very long, but it tore away from itself, so her midwife had to clamp it quickly.  All worked out perfectly.
• Kendra had lost a very close friend of hers in August 2017- she was like a mother to Kendra, and she always came to help with the children after each birth. It was incredibly emotional moment for her once her baby was here and she felt like her friend was there with them.
• Kendra discusses how if she would have gone into the hospital during either of her prodromal labor situations, it’s likely they would have admitted her and progressed her labor synthetically because she wasn’t progressing.
• “If you’re healthy and the baby’s healthy and you’re doing all the best things- the baby really will come when he’s ready!”
• Kendra mentions how the long wait after prodromal labor was very tolling on her. In fact, she had a night where her mom took her kids, she cried, had a bath and processed through all of her emotions… and then the baby was born two days later!
• com/kendramillerphotography
• com/kendramillerphotography

 

Episode Roundup:

1. Parenthood is a continuous learning journey. We don’t have, and never will have, all of the answers, but if we keep an open mind, we will continue to grow and make the wisest possible decisions for our families.
2. Your body and your baby are so deeply connected, and they work together so beautifully. Although Kendra’s prodromal labor was incredibly frustrating, she and her midwives decided to continue to wait until her baby was ready- this led to a beautiful, healthy outcome. 

Ep 21: Dear Darby Sisters Share Their Birth Stories and New Brand

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• April and Aleena are sisters, Aleena is the oldest, so she gets to go first!
  Aleena has 4 children and a loving husband. Her kiddos are 13, 11, and a pair of boy/girl twins who are 9.  Her family has moved a round a bit, but they now live in the Boise, Idaho area—7 minutes away from her sister, April!
• April has 4 kids with a babe on the way—She has 3 little girls: 7, 5, 4, and a 2 year old boy.
• These two sisters own the company Dear Darby, which was created about 1.5 years ago.
• April has been a doula for almost 7 years, and Aleena has been for about 2. April had mentioned how much she would love to create a functional/beautiful labor gown.  After attending her first doula birth in the hospital, Aleena completely agreed and knew they had to make this product happen.
• April had be having homebirths, and felt that there was nothing on the market for mothers that was functional for that setting, either. Typically sports bras and a skirt or pants are the go-to, beyond the typical birthday suit!
• The gowns they saw on the market were often replicas of hospital gowns, just in pretty colors.
• Their product has finally launched (about a month ago)!
• “Women are too important and birth is too important for you not to show up as your best self” This is what inspired these sisters to create a luxury labor gown for all birth settings.
• Backing it up, we go into more detail about Aleena and April’s personal stories.
• Aleena’s last pregnancy was a twin pregnancy, and as she says, “It was a doozy!” Her first two births were with a midwife in the hospital.  When she moved to Las Vegas, she found out that at that time, Las Vegas did not allow midwives in the hospital.  She had to go through 3 OBs to find one who was even willing to consider doing a vaginal twin birth.
• Aleena tells a really neat story of her mom having a premonition that she would have twins—and she didn’t find out until her 20 week ultrasound that they were actually twins.  “They put the ultrasound machine on my belly, and I see two babies.  So I said, ‘Oh, is that an echo?’ And the lady said, ‘Oh, you didn’t know you’re having twins?!”
• During the birth, Baby A came out head first, and Baby B ended up being breech. Luckily Aleena was able to have the vaginal birth that she desired!
• Because Aleena had an amazing unmedicated birth, all of her sisters decided to follow suit. By the time April was beginning to have children, she was very comfortable with the idea of an unmedicated birth. 
• With her first birth, April planned to have a hospital birth. However, around 28 weeks, she started considering other options.  The midwifery practice she was with was rather large, and she felt that she had to keep explaining herself and her goals again and again to new people.
• “I wanted whoever was up in my business to be my best friend!”
• She decided to change to a birth center, and loved her experience. Later, she realized that the only part she didn’t like about the birthing experience was getting in the car and driving to another location.  For that reason, she decided to have her next babies at home!
• It was actually Aleena’s birth that April witnessed that gave her the “birthworker bug” (at the age of 21!)
• Aleena has been a doula and childbirth educator for 2.5 years now. She owned a health and nutrition store for about 7 years prior to that.  She’s always been an entrepreneur at heart, even in childhood when she’d sell snow cones and McDonald’s toys in the neighborhood! 
• When April mentioned the idea of creating birthing gowns, Aleena though, “Oh, that’s a business! We can do that!”  And set off contacting manufacturers. 
• “If we change their clothes and change their mindsets, they will show up how they want to show up.”
• April and Aleena discuss the community aspect of Dear Darby and how they are hoping to influence birth for so many.
• “Women need women… especially in birth, and just in life.”
• instagram.com/dear_darby
• www.deardarby.com
• Sizes range from small-3x
• Facebook Group: The Darby Clan

 

Episode Roundup:

1. Changing what you wear can be a very powerful way to change your perspective- empower, give autonomy,
2. Women need women- There is such a sisterhood to be had when we allow ourselves to become close with mothers around us- of varying ages and stages!

Ep 20: Carrissa Chooses the Birthing Location That's Best for Each of Her 6 Births

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Show Notes:

• Carrissa is a mother of 6 children: 5 girls and 1 boy.
• She always knew that she wanted a big family: Carrissa has 4 siblings herself, and her husband was an only child- both were very on board with a large family!
• I met Carrissa through a group in which she has been an admin of for over 9 years- Homebirth and Waterbirth.
• Carrissa explains the group and its purpose: A place for mothers interested in homebirth and waterbirth to come and feel connected and supported.
• When she became pregnant with her first child, Carrissa began thinking that she wanted to have her baby in the most natural way possible. Her husband was not quite comfortable with the idea of a midwife at that time and preferred they use the hospital.  Carrissa decided that was okay and went along with a planned hospital birth.
• Unfortunately, while in labor, Carrissa had a very negative reaction to a medication given to her. On top of that, her water was broken very early- she was about 4 cm dilated at the time. She continued to labor, though and at close to 9 cm, she asked for medication to ease the discomfort.  They gave Carrissa Fentanly through her IV, and immediately she felt a shift in her body.  Baby move back up the birth canal, and her cervix actually began to close- she went from 9 cm dilated to 7.
• Carrissa went unconscious for a moment, and the nursing staff had to wake her back up. Her baby’s heartbeat went from 144 beats per minute down to 77, and she was in distress.  They tried to get Carrissa up onto hands and knees, while several doctors and lots of nurses rushed her to the OR.
• They put Carrissa under general anesthesia, and when she awoke, she realized her baby had been born about 4 hours prior. Everyone had been able to hold her and snuggle her before Carrissa.
• Carrissa says she felt heartbroken—she felt as though she had given her baby a bad birth experience. Of course, now she recognizes that the situation was not ideal- she had a doctor who was not very supportive, and a lackluster nursing staff.  She mentions that that hospital has come quite a long way since that time, and they’ve done quite a bit to improve (this was 13 years ago).
• With her second daughter (11), Carrissa was adamant that they would have a homebirth this time. The birth went so much better, though she discusses how once again at 9 cm, she stalled.  She attributed this to the fact that that’s as far as her body had gone with labor the last time, so her body still had to do the hard work of figuring out how to have a baby this go ‘round.
• Baby was born safe and sound, and Carrissa mentions how much better her postpartum experience was with this baby- she did not have to contend with the drugs and medication that she had to be on with her first birth, which kept her feeling foggy and as though time was slipping from her.
• Carrissa’s third birth (another homebirth) was her shortest. She was putting her two daughters to bed one night when her midwife called and said, “Hey!  It’s a full moon tonight, so I just wanted to call and check up on you- full moons tend to put moms into labor.”  Carrissa laughed and told her that she was actually about to call—that she was getting into the shower and thought she might be in labor.
• Her midwife came over and checked her, and told her that her waters were bulging and she was very dilated- she’d be having a baby soon! The pushing phase was rather difficult, but overall the birth was short and lovely.
• Carrissa’s next pregnancy was 6 years later- it was a surprise! She decided to have that birth in the hospital- it was financially a better option at that time, and her midwife was no longer practicing.
• She mentions that she also wasn’t in the best place mentally and emotionally at that time, so the decision to go to the hospital made Carrissa feel the most comfortable.
• For that birth, she had been in prodromal labor off and on for several weeks. In fact, she’d gone to the hospital several times thinking it was certainly the real deal.  Luckily, they did not admit her at any point.
• Several days after Thanksgiving, Carrissa and her sister were making ornaments for their children to hang- She was clearly in labor.  Everyone around her kept say, “Let’s get you to the hospital,” but Carrissa was not ready to go- fearing it would be another false alarm. 
• All of Carrissa’s children came at 39 weeks and 6 days… except for this baby! She was 40 weeks and 2 days at this point, and she was convinced that this baby was just not coming!
• “’Im going to be the first woman in history to be pregnant forever’… I was convinced of that!”
• Finally, after several hours of what was clearly active labor (to everyone else), her sister and father convinced her to go to the hospital.
• “They didn’t even get to fully admit me before I was crowning!”
• The nurse checked Carrissa and said, “Great, you’re at 7 cm.” Carrissa responded, “Okay, that’s great, I really need to push right now.”
• “[The doctor] walked in and was putting on his gloves, and said, “Op, there’s the head.” Both the doctor and Carrissa caught her baby. She says it was a great experience.  In fact, it’s her favorite birth story to tell!
• With her youngest baby, Charles, there was concern of preeclampsia. An induction was scheduled, but on the morning of the induction (39.6 weeks), Carrissa woke up in labor.
• She says that his labor was difficult- he was very large compared to her previous babies: 9 pounds, as opposed to her 2^nd biggest being 7 pounds!
• “My husband was a huge support- he was pretty nervous, but he did awesome.”
• Carrissa had the same understanding doctor as with her previous birth, making the experience a very comfortable one once again.
• We touch on the idea of education on the mother’s part being so critical. At one point in her last birth, a nurse told her she thought Carrissa having a VBAC (vaginal birth after Cesarean) was a bad idea- Luckily Carrissa knew that this information was incorrect, and a vaginal birth was statistically safer than another cesarean.
• “I really do believe that research and education can make or break your plans.”
• Carrissa has been a doula for 9, going on 10 years. After having her homebirth, she became so in love with the birthing process that she wanted to help other mothers.
• Carrissa has been a doula in a number of situations: homebirth, unassisted births, and hospitals too.
• “I love watching a mom find her voice.”
• Now, with 10 years of experience under her belt, Carrissa has created a doula course: Birth Workers International Doula School, which opened in March 2019.
• She is offering courses for birth doulas, fertility doulas, and postpartum doulas.
• Carrissa is also creating a program with her father, who is an NLP, that focuses on healing for women with trauma: be it birth or sexual. She discusses how giving birth after either of these types of trauma can be incredibly difficult.
• com or on Facebook at Birth Workers International Doula School

Episode Roundup:

1. Education changes everything! Carrissa discusses the difference between her first hospital birth versus later ones, and the massive difference was her ability to stand up for what she knew was right for herself and her baby- all backed by education.
2. Not every single birth requires the same birth setting- Carrissa knew with several of her births that a homebirth was just not the right choice for her at that time. What’s most important is going with what feels will be the best, healthiest choice for you- even if it’s a different choice than you made with previous births.
3. Sharing is caring. Carrissa is dedicating her time and energy to not only serving as a doula, but also training other doulas.  Whatever skill you have, be sure to share it with the world!

Ep 19: Wise Traditions From a Mother of Grown Children

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Show Notes:

• “Holistic Hilda” is a health coach and podcast coach in the D.C. area.
• She has 4 young adult children, and a husband who is an athletic director
• Hilda’s own birth story: Hilda was born with a birth defect- a hole in her heart (because her mother was exposed to German Measles while pregnant). At 9, she had surgery to repair her heart. 
• As a child, she had to be very careful. After her surgery, she was ready to live life to the fullest!  This, she believes is what spurred her on to living such an active, healthy lifestyle.
• When Hilda became pregnant, although there were not as many resources regarding natural childbirth at the time (late 80’s-early 90’s), she did find The Bradley Method, which was everything she hoped it would be. She learned about avoiding the cascade of interventions
• Hilda self-describes her body type as being small in stature. She found out later that when she walked into the hospital, her doctor thought, “She’s definitely going to have a cesarean.”  Hilda proved her wrong!
• Hilda had a friend who was working as her doula. She was there to support Hilda and her husband, and remind them of their plans of how they wanted to give birth.
• Baby #1 weighed 9 pounds, 15 ounces!
• Although Hilda has learned a great deal more about nutrition and holistic health since her childbearing years, she was still eating a relatively healthy diet and was certainly keeping active.
• “For all the moms out there, don’t ‘should’ on yourself. All we can do is move forward from this point in time.”
• I mention that the Weston A. Price Foundation focuses a great deal on eating a diet for growing healthy babies and nursing, but they also focus a great deal on pre-conception. I ask Hilda to explain what this looks like, and what we can be doing to encourage health, no matter what stage we are in:
• Hilda reminds mothers that if they have been on birth control for preventing pregnancies, we cannot immediately expect our bodies to become pregnant once we go off. There’s a time of rebalancing and releasing the hormones that have been given.
• “Detox”- shed little by little the things you can that you know aren’t favorable.
• “Your body needs to have the signal that you’re in abundance, and you’re able to bear.” Don’t have a scarcity mentality, which means avoid “dieting”. 
• “Let your body know, ‘we’ve got what we need to produce a healthy baby’”.
• Detox your environment- get rid of air fresheners, perfumes, perhaps over-the-counter creams, and chemicals you can’t pronounce—these things are getting into your body through your skin, and they’re being absorbed by all of your cells.
• Take on and embrace: healthy foods. Nutrient-dense foods—a great example of which is liver.  
• Take on and embrace: your intuition. Trust that your body knows what it needs, and don’t live in a place of fear.  Consider, what is your emotional and spiritual state to have a baby?  Hilda emphasizes the importance of giving your baby a peaceful environment to grow in—so work on the anger and anxiety beforehand!
• “I just feel like I was burning the candle at all ends- not just both ends! And it was to my detriment.” So go ahead and make those peaceful changes before conception.  Take self-care seriously!
• Hilda discusses the work of Dr. Weston A. Price (whom the foundation is named after), and how his travels showed that all of these strong, healthy cultures had very specific pre-conception protocols and rituals. The mother and father would eat special diets of highly nutrient dense foods, like fish eggs.
• Finding good sources for these types of food is critical. The Weston A. Price foundation actually has an incredible resource for this through local chapter leaders.  Find your local chapter leader and learn where to source the best food in your area! https://www.westonaprice.org/category/get-involved/local-chapters/
• Hilda’s births:
• With her first, she focused on relaxing her jaw. She had her husband quote scripture- 1 verse- over and over.   The nurses even commented afterward that it was like her husband was giving her drugs whenever he would do that for her!
• Hilda did struggle with some amount of preterm labor. In fact, with her 3^rd birth, her doctor informed her that she needed to go on bedrest.  For a fitness person like Hilda, this was rough news.
• Hilda talks about the benefits of not being so dogmatic in our beliefs about exactly how everything is supposed to go.  She gives an example of a friend who planned a homebirth, but then ended up having to go into the hospital.  Of course, this woman was disappointed not to have the homebirth she was expecting, but was grateful for the necessary care she received. 
• On a lighter note of this- Hilda and I talk about routines with small children: She mentions that she used to give her kids baths at night, then put them to bed in the clothes they would wear for the next day.  Her mother-in-law tended to raise an eyebrow at that!  I mention how on the opposite end, I don’t bathe my daughter every day, which stresses my mother out!
• Hilda goes on to discuss the benefits of children not being raised in too-sterile environments. She mentions how health-giving it is for children to be exposed to the ambient temperatures of their surroundings, no matter what climate they live in.  This is even helpful during the newborn phase, where expose to the outdoors helps set baby’s circadian rhythm correctly—meaning more sleep for everyone at night!
• Hilda’s last recommendations (3 factors): What we’re putting on our body in terms of light, especially at night. Red light is great for night, and maybe even use it in the baby’s room, and making sure that kids are getting out in the sunlight, and inform yourself about vaccinations, as it’s something that goes directly into your child’s bodies. 
• Stay in touch with Hilda!: holistichilda.com  and Instagram.com/holistichilda

Episode Roundup:

1. Don’t should on yourself
2. Take out that which isn’t serving you, bring in that which does
3. Let your kids be kids- get them outside, expose them to their climate, and let them PLAY
4. Whatever decisions you make for your child- surrounding food, surrounding screens, even vaccinations- give yourself the empowerment of looking into these topics. There are so many touchy topics—whatever decisions you decide to make, feel confident in them by being informed.

 

 

 

 

Ep 18: Sarah's Search for a Certified Midwife

 

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Show Notes:

• Sarah and her husband have been together for 10 years now, and have lived all over the world.
• She has two children: Manning and Alex
• Sarah’s first birth was in a birth center setting. As a child and teen, she never had exposure to out-of-hospital birth.  However, her mother did refuse epidurals, chose to breastfeed (in the 80’s- when breastfeeding was going through quite an uncommon spell).
• Sarah and her husband had their eyes opened to the idea of natural childbirth outside of the hospital.
• “Birth is a natural, healthy process. There’s no need for it to take place in a hospital.”
• Of course, hospitals can be a fine place to give birth- and especially important for emergencies, but Sarah certainly sees the benefit of the out-of-hospital experience.
• Her first birth, which took place in Alaska, was attended by a number of Certified Nurse Midwives, as well as Certified Professional Midwives.
• Sarah’s first birth was long- 36 hours from her first contraction until baby was born.
• Sarah’s friend attended her birth as her very first doula training birth, and now she is a very successful midwife!
• Sarah’s midwife, after quite a while, called her directing midwife to check and see if all was well, or if they needed to transport. The head midwife came and assessed the situation, saying that all was well and a transport was not necessary. 
• The setup of this birth center is incredible: Being able to call other providers to come help and support, even though her original midwife did stay all the way until the very end.
• Sarah and Katelyn discuss the “what if’s” of had she gone into the hospital at the time she went to the birth center, she very possibly could have ended up with a c-section.
• Sarah’s second child, Alex, was quite a surprise! Sarah began searching for options in Mississippi, where midwifery is not regulated.  Certified Nurse Midwives are unable to practice outside of the hospital at all. 
• Luckily, Sarah was able to locate a CPM in the lower part of the state of Mississippi. At least at that time, she was the only CPM that Sarah could find who resided in Mississippi.
• “She had not only a level of training, but also a level of accountability that I appreciated.” -Sarah on selecting a CPM
• This midwife does not take on many clients, and even more difficultly, she lived 3 hours away from Sarah. Upon agreement of working as her care provider, her midwife required Sarah have an OB backup care provider who would be able and willing to take care of her in a hospital should any situation arise. 
• Having an OB backup made Sarah feel even more comfortable with the process, and it helped space her visits out, especially towards the end. She was able to see her OB for some of the prenatals as they got closer together, allowing her not to have to drive the 6 hour round trip drive bi-weekly and weekly.  Her OB would not officially condone her blessing for Sarah having a homebirth, but she did not try to strong-arm her into the hospital setting, which was quite a relief for Sarah.
• Sarah and Katelyn touch on the accountability of a CPM and how these care providers are held to a certain standard based on their credential- no matter what their state regulations may be. This allows for consistency and trust between midwife and clients.
• Before committing to using a midwife, Sarah toured the local hospital first and met with an OB practice. The pamphlet that they gave her stated two things that made her very uncomfortable: 1. Patients could not eat or drink during labor (this would not be feasible if she had another long labor like last time) and 2. Photography was not allowed during the birthing process.  This made Sarah feel very unhappy and uncertain, especially because some of her most precious photos she has are directly during and after the birth of her first child.  She sent a picture of the pamphlet to her husband without mentioning her concerns, and he immediately responded saying that was not going to work for them!
• When it came to estimating her due date, there was a small level of uncertainty on Sarah’s end, though she felt fairly confident about her dates. She measured along with her dates, too. However, when she had an ultrasound, the results said that she was actually about 2 weeks further along than expected.
• Based on Sarah’s calculated due date, Alex came 2 weeks early, though based on the ultrasound estimation, he came right at 40 weeks.
• As labor approached, Sarah did not notice much different in her level of activity. However, when she looks back, she realizes, “I did actually clean out my car and my husband’s truck and install the baby seat!”
• Alex was born very quickly. She went to bed on Sunday night with no indication that anything was coming.  Around 11:45, she went to the bathroom and though, “Oh, what was that?  Did I pee myself?  Nope, something’s definitely still coming out… oh, there’s more….”  She then realized her water had indeed broken.  Sarah called her midwife to let her know that her water had broken, and no, she was not having any contractions.
• Sarah called her mother who was in Dallas, and told her to head their way.
• Sarah’s midwife’s assistant, who lived about an hour away, began to head their way to check on Sarah.
• About an hour later, contractions started. By the time her birth assistant arrived, they were getting stronger, though she was able to still speak. 
• Sarah’s midwife arrived and was very pleased with the way she was progressing.
• At some point, Sarah got into the bath tub, which was helpful in some ways, but did not help with her back labor (which she had with both labors).
• Alex was born at 5:50 in the morning, so only about 6 hours of labor as opposed to 36!
• “My body eased me into labor and my brain was able to keep pace with what was going on.”
• Though Alex, like his brother Manning, came out with his hand up over his face, Sarah had no problems with the pushing phase.
• Once Alex arrived, Sarah found out that he was a boy! She had not wanted to know his gender beforehand.  However… Her husband Thomas had found out the gender earlier on in the pregnancy!  He was able to keep it a secret from Sarah for the remainder of the pregnancy!
• Alex was born on their anniversary!
• Back to the first birth:
• Early in the morning on New Year’s Day, Sarah began contracting. These were slow building, and they did not initially stop her from doing anything. 
• After a while they decided to go to the birthing center, and stayed there for the rest of the labor. Manning was in an awkward position, and Sarah had a cervical lip.  This all culminated in quite a long labor… and quite a lot of pushing. 
• Manning came out facing Sarah’s right side with his hand up by his face.

 

Episode Roundup:

1. Just because your labor is long or arduous the first time does not mean it will always be that way.  Each labor is different.

2. Sarah took the time to see out a CPM even when it was difficult.  She felt it important to have a certified midwife who is held to very specific standards, no matter what the state requires or does not require.

3. Disclaimer: I will begin adding a disclaimer at the beginning of each episode to remind you that the views expressed in these interviews are not necessarily my own, but this is a space for all to share their stories.