Podcasts about birthing from within

preparation methods childbirth birthing from within

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 5, 2025 56:51

While we can't control many parts of birth, there is so much we CAN do to quite literally change the trajectory of our birth outcome. First: Feel safe with where and with whom you will give birth.Second (but just as important!): Prepare yourself mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. During her first VBAC attempt, Maria hired a midwife. Her second birth had so much more advocacy, progress, and positivity, but there were still missing pieces, new traumas to process, and things she wished had gone differently.You will NOT WANT TO MISS hearing all of the things that changed for Maria from her first two births to her third. The proactive work, the passion, the prep, the healing, the research, the manifesting, the surrendering, the trust, and to top it all off, the beautiful, unmedicated VBA2C outcome. Just like Maria, our greatest hope is for all of you to unlock this birthing power that is already within you, no matter the birth outcome. Needed WebsiteHow to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for ParentsFull Transcript under Episode Details Meagan: Hello, hello, you guys. It seems like a common theme lately. A lot of people are wanting to submit their VBA2C stories, and I love it. I love it absolutely so much. We know so many of, these listeners in our community are wanting to know, is it possible? Can we VBAC after two Cesareans? I'm sure you've been noticing the theme in January and February, and now here in March, we have another VBAC after two Cesarean stories coming to you today from our friend Maria. Hello, Maria.Maria: Hi.Meagan: Thank you so much for being here and sharing your stories. We were just chatting a little bit before we got started about kind of where her birth took place, and she'll tell you more. But the VBAC was in Texas, right?Maria: It was. Yes, it was in Texas.Meagan: It was in Texas. So Texans. Texans? I don't know. we have Floridians, Utahns. Is it Texans?Maria: Texans. Yeah. Yep. And you know, Texas is a huge state, so this is central Texas in the Austin area. Yeah, because it's such a big state. It is.Meagan: It is very huge. We know people have to sometimes drive really far away to find support. And when it comes to VBAC after multiple Cesareans, we know sometimes that can be really challenging. And when I say sometimes, it's often. It is often challenging to find that support. So I really like to show everybody where you are in a way because we want people who are in Texas or who can get to Texas or who find it manageable, that they know that there is a supportive provider there. We'll learn more about that. But also, just a reminder, guys, if you're looking for a supportive provider, we have a supportive provider list. How many times can I say "supportive provider" in three seconds? A lot, apparently. Go to Instagram and hopefully at this point we'll have it on our website, so check our website too, but we will have that list.If you want to submit your provider, please let us know. Okay. We have a Review of the Week, so I want to get into that. This is by Whitney Goats, and the review title is "Amazing" on Apple Podcasts. It says, "I've been wanting to write a review for a while, but wasn't sure what I could say that would explain how much The VBAC Link meant to me. I had an unplanned Cesarean with my first and for the longest time, I felt broken and defeated. When I heard Julie and Meagan share their VBAC stories on the podcast, I cried. It was the first time that I felt understood and like I was not alone. Listening to their podcast has lifted my spirits, healed my emotional scars from the previous birth, and given me the confidence in myself and my body again. "I am now 28 weeks pregnant and preparing for my VBAC. Instead of being scared for this upcoming birth, I feel excited sometimes. I never thought it would happen. Thank you, Julie and Meagan, for the work that you have done connecting and educating all these amazing moms, and thank you for reminding me that I am a Woman of Strength even when I doubted it myself." Oh, that gave me chills. That gave me chills reading that. Oh my gosh. We love your reviews. That is amazing. And girl, Whitney Goats, I hope that you had the most amazing birth ever, and thank you for being here. Just like Maria and all the storytellers that have become before her, you guys, they're amazing and so are you. These storytellers are here to do that- uplift you, motivate you, educate you, and find the healing within yourself because it can happen, right Maria?Maria: Absolutely. 100%.Meagan: It absolutely can happen. Okay, you guys, as always, if you do not mind and if you are enjoying the podcast, will you leave us a review? You can go to Apple Podcasts. You can go to Google even and leave us a review there. You can go on Spotify or really wherever you listen to your podcasts, leave us a review. If you feel extra special and the platform that you're listening on can leave a comment, leave us a comment. You never know, it may be read on the next podcast. Okay, Maria, I want to turn the time over to you to share these stories.Maria: Thank you so much, Meagan, and I just want to say again how excited I am to be here. I agree 100% with that reviewer. This podcast was so impactful for me, and I hope that it can continue to be that for other women. I was also so excited that you're getting so many VBAC after two stories because I hope that that will continue to normalize that instead of it being this crazy thing that we're doing. Meagan: Yes.Maria: That's so exciting that it's becoming more common.Meagan: I know. It's actually making me smile so big because in the beginning, back in 2018, we had to search, and I mean search. We had to go on forums and type in "VBA2C" and really look for stories and almost had to seek them out. We had to go and ask, "Hey, would you be willing to share your story on the podcast?" And now we're just getting a flood of submissions which is so awesome. I love seeing it, and I would love to hear even more VBAC after three or four or five Cesareans because it is possible. It's not as easy to navigate through, but it is possible. And yes, there are risks. There are risks with anything that we do including a repeat Cesarean, but I want to help normalize this because, I mean, there are so many women just like Maria and myself who have gone on, done the work, got the education, and been able to have a vaginal birth. So. All right, well, we know with every VBAC or VBAC after two Cesareans, there's at least one Cesarean involved, so let's start with that story.Maria: Yeah. Okay. Thank you. So when I got pregnant with my first baby, this was in 2018, it didn't take me very long to find my way to the natural birth world. I watched The Business of Being Born like a lot of women, and I was fully convinced that I wanted to birth vaginally and naturally if possible. So, when my husband and I decided to move to Costa Rica halfway through my pregnancy, the very first thing I did was research the C-section rate versus natural birth rates in the country. I was pretty disappointed, although I wasn't surprised, to find that the rates there are pretty high. I mean, they're about the same as the US but a bit higher in the private hospital setting which is where I was going to give birth.I didn't want to let that deter me, and I was determined to build my team. From when I was still here in the States, I started researching the best OBs and doctors in the area and hospitals. I found two in the city of San Jose which is where we were living, the two most quote unquote natural OBs.Another interesting thing I found out was that midwives are actually not legally permitted to work in Costa Rica independently.Meagan: Really?Maria: Yeah, at least back in 2018. I don't know if things have changed since then, but they are not allowed to work independently. They are allowed to work alongside an OB. So I was like, okay. I went with one of these OBs, and there was one midwife who practiced in the city of San Jose, and they worked together as a team. And so I was like, okay, all right, well, I guess this is it. I have my team, and I thought I was done. I don't think that I fully understood the intensity of birth or the mental and physical stamina that would be required of me because it was my first baby.Meagan: You don't know what you don't know.Maria: You don't know. Exactly. I took a Bradley birth course with my husband, and I just assumed that everything would be fine as long as I had a good team, and I'd be able to escape the dreaded cascade of interventions that I'd heard so much about. I wasn't informed, but I don't know. I was very intellectually informed, but I didn't really know how intense labor is. So intellectually, I knew what I had to do. But anyway, we were living abroad. I went into labor naturally at 40 weeks, and I had a very long labor which began in the middle of the night which was a common theme in all my birth. They always started in the middle of the night which I think is pretty common. And because it was my first baby and I was so excited, I was unable to really stay calm and rest.I got very ramped up way too soon.I burned through a lot of my energy in the first 24 hours of what I now know was very early labor. So by the time it was actually more intense and I made it to the hospital, I was exhausted because I slept so little. We get to the hospital and my labor slowed down, which again, I know is not uncommon, but I think I was also just not feeling very relaxed. I started actually feeling uncomfortable with this midwife /doula as she told me she was. She said, "I'm a midwife/doula." I later learned that is not a thing. It's like, either you're one or the other. I just didn't feel like she was really supporting me as I expected she would. It seemed to me like she wasn't really a doula. I started realizing, okay, this is not what I was expecting. She was more of a quasi-nurse, really, for the OB and just assisting him. She was like his private nurse, basically. She was sitting there in the room either watching me. She'd come in and give me a position, but then just sit back and she was on her phone. At least that's how I was perceiving it. I just started kind of not feeling very safe with her, and I just shut her out. In hindsight, I think I should have asked her to leave. But at the time, I didn't really know that I could do that, and that I could really advocate for myself in that way, so I just kind of shut her out. She probably felt that it just wasn't a good click. So then I began to feel pressure by the team because I'd been there for probably, what is it, maybe 8 hours or so? They started pressuring me to get things going. And so the OB approached me about using what they call natural oxytocin which is what they call Pitocin.Meagan: Pitocin, yeah.Maria: Yeah. But they're like, "No, no, it's natural oxytocin." And I was like, "Okay, I know what that is." I could already see that I was being slowly kind of backed into this corner. I refused it several times, but I finally agreed to it. Of course, my contractions became excruciating, but I just was just determined to not have the epidural so that I could walk, even though I was already plugged into the IV and really not walking as free as I wanted. Eventually, one of the nurses, after a while, came in and she asked me when the last time I peed was. I couldn't remember. That's when I was like, "Oh yeah, it's been a long time." Nobody reminded me. I just didn't think about it. I had been drinking water, so they had me try, and I just couldn't pee. It's like my body just kind of shut down. So they decided to try and insert a catheter to see if it would empty my bladder and help baby descend. So I was laying on the bed. I had five people around me trying to place this catheter in me. I was on Pitocin, so I was having these intense contractions, and they weren't able to insert it. They said it was because of the way my body was. I guess my urethra was towards the back or something, and they just weren't able to do it. That was really disappointing because I was really hoping that that would be the magic thing that would help baby descend. Finally, the OB came in and was like, "Listen, if you want to avoid a C-section, you should just do an epidural so that your body can relax, and maybe that could help us place up the catheter and then, baby will descend." I was like, "Okay, all right. Let's do it." They did it. It felt amazing for a couple of minutes, and then immediately, my baby's heart rate dropped. The OB basically just called in an emergency, and I was whisked off to the operating room for an emergency C-section. I was traumatized because I legitimately thought I was dying. I thought it was a true emergency. I was like, oh my gosh. I can't believe it. I'm gonna die. Of course, I've learned since then that a baby's heart dropping after an epidural is pretty common.Meagan: Pretty common, yeah.Maria: And that it wasn't really a true emergency that merited a C-section right then and there. That's been a really hard thing to process.Meagan: And frustrating, too, because he was like, "If you want to avoid a Cesarean, this is what you have to do," and then you did that, and then it immediately went that way.Maria: Yeah. I honestly thought he was. I think he was probably just prepping me in advance to just have the epidural so we could just go there.Meagan: Yeah, that's hard.Maria: Yeah. After baby was born, the hospital policy required me to go into the post-op room for 30 minutes to recover, and I would then be rejoined with my baby.Meagan: Oh, so your baby wasn't allowed to be with you?Maria: No. Meagan: What?Maria: Yeah. So my first 30 minutes as a mom, I was separated from my baby. He was with my husband. I was taken to this room where I was recovering alongside other people that I didn't know who were also recovering from other types of surgeries.Meagan: Whoa.Maria: Yeah, so I was like on this bed paralyzed still because of the epidural and shivering. It was a really surreal moment because I felt like, oh my gosh. I just had a baby. Wait, why am I here? What is happening? It was really, really traumatizing, and that was just their policy at that hospital. So it was really traumatizing for me. I was eventually joined back with my husband and baby, but needless to say, it really affected me.I did struggle with postpartum depression and anxiety for a long time. I had a very hard time bonding with my baby for that first year. I felt really robbed of that dream birth I had envisioned, and I felt robbed about the golden hour right after when you get to enjoy your baby and celebrate the fact you just had a baby. I felt like I never got that.Meagan: That would be very difficult. There are a lot of people who get their babies taken away, and it is so frustrating. I just wanted to give a little reminder that if you don't have your baby and you want your baby, it's okay to demand your baby and find someone who will do anything in their power to get that baby back to you.Maria: Yeah, so that was my first birth. So the second birth took place about two years later, and we were back in the US due to the pandemic. As soon as I found out I was pregnant, I was actually in Costa Rica when I found out I was pregnant, and then we moved back to the US halfway through my pregnancy. I just knew without a shadow of a doubt that I was going to try for VBAC. I was extremely confident that I could do it because I felt that if I found a truly supportive provider, there just was no reason why it wouldn't go smoothly. I had a lot of unprocessed anger and trauma that I hadn't fully worked through. I was still very angry at my OB, at the midwife, at the hospital, even though I did do therapy actually in Costa Rica, but I don't think I fully worked through this part. Even though none of it was truly 100% their fault, I still felt really let down, and of course, I felt anger at myself even for my perceived failure of my body to birth my baby. My way, at the time, of avoiding a repeat of this was to just completely avoid the hospital setting and go the complete opposite direction. So I opted for full midwifery care and home birth. I just didn't want anything to do with the hospital. It was traumatic. I was like, no hospital. At the time, we were living at my parents' home in their hometown. I basically hired the only midwife that I knew in town. I didn't really interview anyone else. I just went with her. I think in my mind at the time, as long as you were a midwife, she would be 100% better than an OB. Again, I was very angry at OB at the time. But also, I did meet the midwifery team and they seemed experienced and I liked them, so I felt really confident that everything would work out like it was going to work out. There was no plan B. Meagan: Yeah. Maria: In terms of preparing for my birth, I didn't really do much outside of remaining active. I did prenatal workouts. I walked. I was healthy. I thought that was pretty much what you had to do. I just thought again that not being in a hospital would solve all my problems, and that was the only ingredient I was missing for my dream birth, which, of course, I later learned was just part of the equation.So this time, my labor started actually pretty slowly. I had a premature rupture of membranes. It was a very slow trickle. It took over 24 hours of that for my labor to actually start. That was even after some homeopathic pellets. I don't really know what it was, but my midwife gave it to me and some castor oil that I took. I'm a pretty anxious person, so I was getting very anxious about my labor not starting because I had it in my head that I couldn't go too long without my water breaking. In my mind, I was on this timeline. I don't do well under pressure, so right off the bat, I was already in my head about it.Meagan: Yeah.Maria: I was so antsy to get labor going that I just wouldn't let myself rest. I actually went walking in the middle of the night with my husband instead of trying to rest. I was like, I will get this labor to start. I was just not really saving my energy. I was getting revved up again too soon. So again, once labor got going, I was exhausted.This time, I'd opted to give birth at my parents' home which in hindsight was probably not the best idea because I felt their presence in the home. I'd sense their worry and their concern over me, at least in my head. I was mostly in their bedroom, so I started getting claustrophobic in there. I felt like a caged lion at one point. I was like, ah. Now nobody was actually pressuring me, but I felt it. I just felt like my whole family knew I was in labor. Everyone was waiting for me. Again, hindsight is 20-20, right? I was like, man, I could have asked them to just leave for a while, but I just didn't feel like I could.Meagan: Yeah, it's their house. It's their house. It's their space. Yeah, it's weird. But I will just point out that who you have in your space and where you labor can impact your labor for sure because you're in your head.Maria: Yes, 100%. It took me two labors to learn that. Especially if you're a sensitive person and feel energy and if you're anxious, you have to be really aware of is somebody helping you or not? And if they are re not, then you can say you can ask them to leave. I just didn't know that I could do that.Anyway, I powered through it. Even despite that, I think labor was better in my home than it was at the hospital. I definitely felt more comfortable. I was more free. I was trying all these different positions and shower, bathtub, you know, everything. I felt really powerful. It was really positive at first. It was, despite the fact that I was really tired too. But it was a very long labor. Once again, my body shut down and I could not pee even though everybody was trying to remind me to go. I was trying to go, and there just came a point when my body just stopped wanting to go. We got to that point where they were like, "Okay, well let's try and place a catheter." They were not able to do it. I guess I have a very small urethra or something. Something happens in my body during labor. It's hard to get to it. This was a home birth, so they had their equipment on hand. They didn't have all the options that maybe they would have in a hospital of different sizes or something, so they just weren't able to place it. It was very, very disappointing. They also felt that I was getting weak, and I didn't want to eat anymore. They hooked me up to an IV. They gave me oxygen. This started triggering this fear in me that this was heading in a direction that I didn't like. It wasn't feeling like the peaceful home birth I had envisioned. I eventually got to 10 centimeters, and they said I could start pushing even though I didn't really feel much of an urge to push but I was like, okay, I'm 10 centimeters. I guess I'll try pushing. I started pushing for multiple hours, but the baby just wasn't descending. And at one point, the midwife could see the baby's head higher up, and she actually attempted to pull the baby out with her hands.Meagan: Kind of went in like a soft forceps.Maria: Yeah, exactly. It was very painful. Super traumatic. I was like, oh, my gosh. This is not what I envisioned. But she wasn't able to do it. He was just too high up. After that, I just remember seeing her throw up her hands and with her body just kind of say, I give up. There was nothing more that she could do for me. At that moment, with a surprising amount of clarity and conviction, I decided to call it and request to be transferred to the only hospital in my town that accepted VBAC, any other hospital would have had me go straight for a C-section. So this was my last chance because I wasn't done trying to VBAC. I was like, okay, home birth isn't gonna happen, but maybe VBAC will at a hospital. And so, we got to the hospital. When I got to triage, they checked me, and they actually said I was nowhere near complete and that I was 8 centimeters dilated, and that I was very swollen.Meagan: That's what I was gonna just ask. I'm wondering if you got swollen.Maria: I was definitely very swollen, but they also said I wasn't 10 centimeters. I was like, "What? What do you mean?" Because in my mind, I was like, I'm almost there. I'm 10 centimeters. Maybe all I need is an epidural maybe. Maybe I just need that final little push. At that point, I was okay with drugs. I was like, "Give me whatever." I'm so close, right?Meagan: Yeah, yeah.Maria: But no, they were like, "No, you're 8 centimeters." And also, my contractions had really spaced out, so they gave me an epidural. They gave me Pitocin, and they let me rest.Meagan: Did they give you a catheter and empty your bladder?Maria: Yes, they gave me a catheter to empty my bladder, but baby was just not coming down. And also, the epidural did not sit well with my baby again. They didn't whisk me away to a C-section this time, but they were starting to bring up, "Okay, it's been a long time." They also were pretty concerned that my water had broken two days before, and that was a big red flag for them. They started mentioning C-section as the safest route for me. After, I don't know, probably 8 hours there, I just kind of said, "Okay, let's just do a C-section, and we just went with it." This time was less traumatic because it wasn't an emergency. I chose it. I was also never separated from my baby, and that was very huge.Meagan: Yes.Maria: That was huge. Yeah, 100%. Like, I got to carry him immediately after birth. I was able to breastfeed him. I was like, nobody is separating me from this baby right now, and they didn't. So that was very healing, and I was very grateful for that. That was that birth. After the birth, the midwives did come to see me at my house, and when I asked them what happened, they weren't really able to give me an answer. The final consensus was that my hips were likely too narrow. At the time, this diagnosis actually gave me comfort because at that point--Meagan: It validated you.Maria: Yeah, it validated me. I felt like, okay, I tried everything. It felt like an answer. It was a neat and clean end to this journey. There was a lot of mourning still. It was a heavy weight on me, this disappointment of a failed VBAC and something that I would need to process for a long time because I felt really cheated. I really felt like I'd run an entire marathon, and that I could see the finish line only to find myself pulled back to the starting line again and have to run another marathon.I felt like I had gone through two whole births, the super intense home birth and then C-section. So I felt like, oh my gosh. I was wiped out. So, yeah. Those are my two C-sections.Meagan: Yeah. I mean, lots of really forward-moving progress with the second for sure and still work to be done. But also, you had some validation for you at the time. It felt better. Overall, it went better.Maria: Yeah, yeah, yeah. It definitely was better. It was better, but it was, in a way, almost more frustrating though because I got so close. I was like, I'm so close and yet I was pulled back to the exact opposite birth.Meagan: Yeah. I want to talk a little bit about swelling because swelling can happen. You can be 10 centimeters. Swelling can happen. It causes puffiness and causes our cervix to swell which then presents as not 10 centimeters. There are a lot of different factors like a baby that is maybe not putting equal pressure on the cervix during pushing or pushing before our body is really ready for us or going in there and doing that, I call it, soft forceps. This is just me making this up, but my fingers are a lot softer than forceps. So her doing some soft forceps was in effort to help baby come down and move but could have disturbed the cervix a little bit and then sitting in on the way. So I just wanted to point out that is it possible that you could have been 10 centimeters? Yes. Is it possible that swelling could have caused the regression? Yes, there are some hem-- oh my gosh. How do you say it? Hemopathic. Is that how you say it? Hemopathic. They're little tablets.Maria: Homeopathic.Meagan: Homeopathic. Why do I say hemeo all the time? Homeopathics. Just like they had given you those little tablets that can actually help with swelling of the cervix. So if you have a midwife or you want to look into that and have that in your bag at the hospital, if that happens, you might want to check that out. While you're telling your third story, I will see if I can find the exact name because I cannot place it in my mind right now, but I've seen midwives use it, so that's another thing. And then sometimes Benadryl. A lot of the time, I'll see moms be given Benadryl for swelling.Maria: Yeah, I don't think they gave me any of that. I think at the hospital they were just kind of like, "Oh, 48 hours. Okay, let's--".Meagan: Yeah, the typical.Maria: And yeah. I think they knew from the beginning probably that I'd end up in a C-section. I don't know.Meagan: Might have. Yeah. So baby one, baby two. How did things change with baby number three?Maria: Everything changed. So when I found out I was pregnant for the third time, I, was very surprised and excited. But as soon as I actually thought about the birth you, I felt dread. I knew I was out of options mostly because my fate had been sort of sealed with this diagnosis of narrow hips. I was pretty much certain that my only choice was a third C-section. That really filled me with dread because I had a really rough recovery with my second C-section. I was really unhappy with my scar. I just felt really not looking forward to a third C-section. So I was like, okay. It felt very scary. I decided to approach my husband about trying for a VBAC again. I was sort of certain he would be nervous about supporting me about that. I felt like it was gonna be like, "Maria, you've tried twice. Let's just accept it. Let's move on." But surprisingly, he was actually supportive and he told me to just start with doing some research about VBACs after two and to get some opinions. So I did. The first thing I actually did though was I looked into gentle C-sections because I was like, "Okay, I'm going to get my kind of worst-case scenarios out of the way just in case. If I'm going to have a C-section, I want it on my terms." I looked up the best gentle C-section OB in the area. I was like, "Okay, I've got something there." Then I reached out to my midwife for my second birth and asked for her opinion about going for a VBAC again. I reached out to a few birth centers in the area, and my midwife pretty much told me that she did not think I was a good candidate for VBAC again and that I would end up likely in a C-section. Again, because she was like, "You did everything you could. It just didn't work. I just don't think you're a good candidate." And then most of the birth centers in the area declined me because they only did the VBACs after one.Meagan: After one. Yeah.Maria: Only two birth centers in the area accepted VBAC after two. I was like, "Okay, I'm gonna go see one of them and just get a second midwife opinion."Meagan: Yeah.Maria: When I got there, this place inspired a lot of peace and comfort. It was this really cozy little space. It was a little cottage near hospital. The midwife I met with, her name is Galyn. Can we give you the name?Meagan: Yeah, yeah. Uh-huh.Maria: Yeah. So this is called The Family Birth Center. It's just amazing and Galyn is amazing. So she just was very confident. I told her my entire birth story. I was sure to add every single complication and also tell her what my previous midwife had said. I honestly painted a really dire picture for her. I was like, "I have really long labors. I can't pee." You know, blah, blah, blah. I was prepared for her to tell me that I was not a big candidate. Honestly, I almost wanted her to say that so that I could just close that chapter and go get my scheduled gentle C-section and move on because that felt easier and safer. Yet her response was not a no. It was actually a non-hesitant, "Absolutely, you can do this." I was shocked. I mean, she obviously asked for my op-reports and everything, but she said that she didn't see why I wouldn't be able to. She had a ton of experience with VBAC after multiple C-sections. She even said that she had a very special place in her heart for these mamas because, as she called us warrior mamas, who really, really wanted it. She did not believe that I was too narrow because that's actually quite rare. She thought it was likely that the baby was simply badly positioned. So right off the bat, she was like, "Okay, I would start you on some Vitamin C to strengthen your bag," which I didn't even know a thing. She was like, "Pelvic floor therapy right off the bat, and you need a proper doula." I was like, "Yes, yes, yes." I'll do all those things because I realized I had not really had a proper doula in my previous birth. And honestly, every concern or worry that I brought up, she was able to talk through it with me, provide a solution or just remind me that no birth is the same. She couldn't really control or predict the outcome of the birth but there were lots of things that we did have control over.One of the things that I was really worried about was my inability to pee during labor. She was like, "Okay well, we'll place a catheter." I was like, "Yeah, but they tried both times and it didn't happen." And she was like, "Well, I'll get you a really tiny one." I was like, "Okay." So she didn't seem worried about that. I just went with it and went with her confidence. I think I decided then and there that I wanted her because I just felt really heard and I don't know. She provided lots of practical and realistic solutions that we could control. Anyway, this time around, I hired a doula. Shout out to Jenna, my doula. Also an amazing, amazing woman. I went to pelvic floor therapy. I also did therapy again to process my past births. I worked really, really hard on radically accepting whatever this birth came to be. So unlike my first two births where I had a really rigid idea of what it would be, this time I worked really hard to just sort of surrender to whatever it ended up being. I also read several books, including how to Heal From a Bad Birth.Meagan: Yes.Maria: A really good book, and Birthing From Within which I also loved. It was a really impactful book, actually. I started doing some art therapy just to process some of my feelings and just about this pregnancy and birth. I listened to every single episode you guys had on VBAC after two. I took The VBAC Link course. Honestly, I hardly worked out mostly because I had two little boys under four, and I just did not have it in me. But I was still very active with just normal life and taking care of two little kids. I did walk a bunch and did some gentle, prenatal yoga. I also did some exercises recommended by my doula from Spinning Babies. The other thing which was different was that I was really mindful of my body positioning throughout my pregnancy. I was always trying to listen to my body and be mindful of my alignment. When I was watching TV or sitting at my desk, I'd sit on a ball. I'd sit on the floor. I love to go on my hands and knees. That felt really good on my back. So just kind of listening to what my body was asking me to do and just being more aware of my body. My whole motto was, throughout the whole time was, "Get out of my head into my body." Preparation felt really different for me this time. I felt like I was preparing my body from the inside out physically speaking. Like I said, I was going to pelvic floor therapy. I was also making room in my uterus for my baby with these exercises to be in the best position possible but I was also really focused on my mind, my spirit, processing all my fears, my traumas. It felt just so much more holistic. I did HypnoBirthing with an app. I wrote down my own prayer affirmations which actually became a really central anchor during my labor. I felt just really ready this time in a new way. And not just because of my dream team but because I was really just ready to surrender to whatever was to come. And also, what was driving me was this new goal which was this idea of just giving my body a chance to labor was the best thing both for me and my baby regardless of the outcome of the birth. Even if it ended up in a C-section, I was still doing what was best for my body and my baby. That's what I kept repeating to myself. It just gave me a lot of peace because the success of this birth was not tied to what kind of birth it was. You know what I mean?Meagan: Yes, yes.Maria: It removed a lot of that pressure, a lot of that fear, and that was just such a game changer for me. Yeah, that was the preparation. A few weeks before the birth, I'd been starting to get more intense Braxton Hicks, but nothing really consistent. I was really just trying to practice the art of basically ignoring them because my goal for my early labor was to just pretend like they weren't happening. I didn't want to get too excited too fast. I wanted to ignore them for as long as possible especially if they started in the middle of the night which is kind of a theme for me. It ended up being really great practice to do that because on Labor Day, of course, I started getting my first contraction at 2:00AM and I just denied it. I was like, nope, they're Braxton Hicks. I just wasn't allowing myself to get riled up. I managed miraculously to doze off for 20 minutes at a time until they started coming on stronger. Once I realized that this was early labor, I had decided before that I wanted to labor alone for a while. This was actually something that I'd been wanting to do just to have this early early labor be a sacred moment for me and my baby. I wanted to be able to pray, to talk to my baby and to prepare together for the work which we would be doing together, both of us. I went into the living room. I let my husband sleep a bit longer, and it was a really special time for me. I'm so happy that I did that.Meagan: Yeah, I was just going to say that is a very powerful moment. Our babies are so connected and if you can have any time, even if it's just like 20 minutes. "Hey, I'm going to the bathroom." Take 20 minutes in the bathroom and connect with your baby. I just think it's so powerful.Maria: Yeah. Yes. It was amazing because I did feel connected the whole labor in a way that I did not in my previous ones where I was very disconnected to what was happening in my body. I was in my head a lot. So at about 6:00am, my contractions were getting stronger and I was like, okay, it's a reasonable time. I'm going to go ahead and wake my husband up. I also knew that my boys would be waking up soon, so I wanted my husband to focus on them and get them breakfast. And then I explained to my boys that baby was coming soon, that they were going to go stay with their cousins for a night or two. I knew that I wasn't going to be able to fully relax if they were still in the house. It felt really important for me to say goodbye and to make sure that they were going to be happy and in a safe place. As soon as my brother-in-law picked them up, I just really felt my body, okay, let go and things just started picking up. I took a shower. I had breakfast. I knew it would probably be a very long labor, so I wanted to eat. I called my doula. She came over and her presence was just such a game changer because she was just this calm, comforting presence. Not to say my husband was not, but she's just more-- this is her job. She's more objective. She was able to suggest different positions. She knew when to let me be. She pushed me when I had to be pushed and let me be when I had to be left alone. But the best thing she did was she did not let me head to the birth center too soon. I wanted to go and she'd be like, "Okay, let's just wait for 30 more minutes. Can you do 30 more minutes? Yeah, let's try this position. Let's walk a little bit. Let's do this and that." That was so important because I would have gotten there way too soon. She and my husband were in touch with Galyn, the midwife. Everyone was just super chill and relaxed. Everyone ate lunch. I don't think I did, but everyone else did. It was just a nice day. It was a cool rainy day. And then at about 2:00 PM my contractions were about 2-3 minutes apart. They were lasting about a minute, and they were getting intense. I was like, "Okay, I need to go." They were like, "Okay, yeah, let's go." We got to the birth center. I was just wrapped in this fluffy blanket. I just picked it up like I was in this daze. I was listening to my HypnoBirthing app. And Galyn, she was so relaxed about everything. Everyone was just very relaxed. It was during the daytime. She'd come in. She'd leave. I got in the bathtub at point. At one point, she checked my dilation and asked me if I wanted to know. And I said, "Nope, I don't want to know because I don't want to get in my head." She was like, "Even if you're 9 centimeters?" And I was like, "No." Okay. That was so amazing. That was such a push of encouragement. And so that was very helpful. Once again, I ran into the issue of being unable to pee. Of course, not surprisingly. So Galyn asked me want if I wanted a catheter. I said, "Okay, let's try it," but I was super nervous about it.Meagan: Yeah.Maria: But this time it was super easy. It was amazing. It went in right away. She had the right size. I don't know what it was, but--Meagan: Right size, pelvic PT.Maria: Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was easy. I had a ton of pee. After that I was like, oh, my gosh. I surpassed these two huge obstacles of being really well-dilated and also, an empty bladder. Like, I got this. It's amazing. I felt this new surge of energy. After that, I just focused on one contraction at a time. Each one lasted four breaths for me. Each breath coincided with a short prayer that I would say to myself. The hardest breaths were always breath two and three because it was the peak of the contraction. But I knew the pattern in it, and so I knew what to expect. I just remember opening my hands every time and surrendering and just trying to just relax my body and just accept it, and let it wash over me. I was doing a lot of visualization of my body, my pelvis opening, my baby coming down. I was so connected to my body and my baby. I just remember communicating with her and visualizing her coming closer to me. And this, like I said, was something so new for me, this connection. After about two hours of labor, there I was fully dilated. They had me do some focused pushing. Unfortunately, I never really felt that overwhelming urge to push that I'd read so much about and that I had wanted to feel. My pushing was more directed, but it felt a lot less forced than with my second birth. I decided to push on the bed on my hands and knees. My husband and doula were each holding a hand. Galyn was encouraging me. Every time I pushed and she would feel the baby come down, she'd let me know. That was really encouraging to know that it was productive pushing. I was just so focused. After about 40 minutes of pushing, she told me, "Okay, the next push, you're going to feel a burn." Before I knew it, it was the ring of fire I'd heard so much about. Although it was painful, I was just in awe that I was feeling it. I was like, oh my gosh, this means something. I'm so close. It was surreal. I was experiencing it in this weird, out-of-body way. And then the next push, baby was born. I was just in shock. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't fully believe that I did it. They passed her to me immediately. I was still on my hands and knees. I will just never, ever forget the feel of her body and her skin when I held her for the first time. It was the birth of my dreams. I think one of the other things I just loved was just that time afterwards that I never got to experience and that moment of coziness where we were just laying in this queen bed, my husband and I and my baby, and just eating together, holding her immediately, breastfeeding her like it was just a dream. I got to take a bath with some healing herbs. It was amazing. And then, after several hours, we just drove home with our baby.Meagan: Just amazing. That is what birth is about right there. All of those feelings, all of those smells and experiences and bonding moments. I am so happy for you. Let's just say you debunked the myth. Your pelvis was great. Your pelvis and your hips were just fine. It really just took someone educated to know that your baby was in a poor position and that okay, instead of doing this size catheter, let's do a smaller catheter. It's just these little things that made such a big difference. I think it's really important to vet our providers when we are interviewing them. I love that you were like, I gave her all the bad. Like, all of it. I just laid it on her. I wanted her to know everything that I was being told or that was said or that had been done. And then for her to be like, "Okay yeah, I hear those. I see these op-reports, but still don't believe there's anything that makes you not be able to," is just so powerful. So those are the types of providers, and if there really, really, really is a medical reason, they can back it up. "Okay, let's consider something." But I do love that you just came in with all of it, just all of it, and expecting her to be like, "No." And then when she said yes, you're like, "Wait, what?"Maria: What?Meagan: "Wait, what? Can you repeat that?" We really are getting more of that flack and doubt, so it's so great to hear that there's such a supportive provider out there in your area because every area needs it. I would love to see more support coming in because the fact of the matter is, it can happen. It can happen. It is possible, and really, the risk is relatively low, right? It's low, and it's something. And then we do know that to some people, it's not acceptable, and that's okay. But know that the risk is relatively low and that the world paints it to be so much bigger than it is.Maria: Right. Well and also, nobody talks about the risks of repeat sections. Right? Nobody mentions it. I'm like, why is this not being even mentioned at all?Meagan: We talk about it here because it isn't talked about. We have providers say, "Oh, uterine rupture, uterine rupture this and that," but they're not like, "Hey, dense adhesions connecting to your bladder for life, scar tissue gaining for life, back pain that you may discover in your 50s that is related to your Cesarean adhesions and pain." And then, not to mention there are a lot of things like hysterectomy, increased blood loss. You guys, there are things to talk about and complications that can come forth in the future pregnancies as well. We don't talk about those to scare you. We don't talk about uterine rupture here to scare you. We don't talk about uterine rupture or share uterine rupture stories to scare you. We are here to educate you. We want you to know there are pros and cons on both sides. If you find a provider who is all about sharing the risk about VBAC instead of repeat Cesarean, you might not want to be with that provider because there are risks for both sides so if you're getting a one-sided risk, there are some concerns there.Maria: Yeah. Yeah, exactly.Meagan: Well, thank you again so much for sharing your stories. Congratulations. I'm so happy that you found the right provider. You found the dream team. Everyone was on your side and supporting you along the way.Maria: Thank you, Meagan. Again, I think that's only one part of the equation. We as the moms have that other responsibility of really healing ourselves and our past traumas and doing more than just, I guess, working out. A lot of people don't think about the inner work that we have to make for our pelvic floor and even the uterus with making space for your baby in there for optimal positioning. I never heard of these things before you. All of that knowledge was very helpful.Meagan: Yeah, there's a lot of work. Before we started recording you were like, "With my second birth, I just hired a midwife and put it in her hands and was like, hey, I did the work. I hired a midwife," but there's so much more than that. And yeah, finding a supportive provider, getting the education, but there's so much work. We talk about this in our VBAC course-- mental and physical prep. We talk about it early on in the book because it is such a big part of how things can go and if we don't do those things, it can impact us. That doesn't mean you can't get through it and have a VBAC. I don't want to say if you don't go to therapy, you won't get a VBAC or if you don't do these things, but these things will impact you in a positive way more than a negative. I also want to talk about trauma and birth and going through and working through it from the inside out. It's not even birth. It's life. It's affecting us for life. We hold trauma in our body. We hold emotions. We pent them up and yeah, it's just you. We gotta work through them. We can't just shove them in and be like, "Well, that was that. I'll let it go," because it's not going to be let go. It's inside of us.Maria: Yeah.Meagan: Yeah. It'll show up. It will show up. It might be years. It might be months, you never know, but it's important to work through it. Okay, well I will not take any more of your time because I know you've already been with me for a bit, and I just wanna thank you again.Maria: Thank you so much, Meagan. It's been such an honor.ClosingWould you like to be a guest on the podcast? Tell us about your experience at thevbaclink.com/share. For more information on all things VBAC including online and in-person VBAC classes, The VBAC Link blog, and Meagan's bio, head over to thevbaclink.com. Congratulations on starting your journey of learning and discovery with The VBAC Link.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-vbac-link/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Childbirth Preparation Methods: Birthing From Within

Preggie Pals

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 9, 2024 44:54

There's a holistic approach to childbirth that helps mothers reclaim and celebrate the spiritual, emotional, and psychological aspects of birth as a right of passage. How can this method, called "Birthing From Within", help you throughout your labor and delivery experience? How does it differ from other childbirth preparation methods? And what can you expect should you decide to take a class? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ep 144: Birthing From Within (CBE) and Postpartum Support with Amanda Gorman

Aligned Birth

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 28, 2024 55:35 Transcription Available

Amanda Gorman joins the show today, and through her own two birth and postpartum experiences, she made a career change to share her perinatal knowledge with other moms and families. She is a Birthing From Within childbirth education instructor, a doula, and is the Program and Policy Manager with Postpartum Support International Georgia Chapter. We go in-depth with how her births led her to become a childbirth educator, how her own postpartum struggle with mood disorders led her to create a podcast to spread awareness and knowledge, and how all of that ultimately led to her doula work and her work with PSI Georgia. Connect with Amanda:WebsitePodcast InstagramTikTokSupport the showWant to show your support? Want to help us continue doing this important and impactful work: Support the Show (we greatly appreciate it!)Don't miss new episodes: Join the Aligned Birth CommunityInstagram: Aligned Birth Email: alignedbirthpodcast@gmail.com Find us online:Sunrise Chiropractic and Wellness North Atlanta Birth Services Editing: Godfrey SoundMusic: "Freedom” by RoaDisclaimer: The information shared, obtained, and discussed in this podcast is not intended as medical advice and should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional consultation with a qualified healthcare provider familiar with your individual medical needs. By listening to this podcast you agree not to use this podcast as medical advice to treat any medical condition in either yourself or others. Consult your own physician for any medical issues that you may be having. This disclaimer includes all guests or contributors to the podcast.

Ep. 49-Carrie Kenner-3 Vaginal Births-Becoming a Birth Doula

Birth As We Know It

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 31, 2024 88:45 Transcription Available

In this episode, Carrie shares how giving birth to her very first son at the young age of 19 inspired her to become a birth worker, how her other two births didn't go as planned, and how her philosophy around how to practice as a birth doula has changed over the years. Disclaimer: This podcast is intended for educational purposes only with no intention of giving or replacing any medical advice. I, Kiona Nessenbaum, am not a licensed medical professional. All advice that is given on the podcast is from the personal experience of the storytellers. All medical or health-related questions should be directed to your licensed provider. Resources:Carrie Kenner: https://carriekenner.com/Becoming a Birth Doula Online CourseEvidence-Based Birth: https://evidencebasedbirth.com/ Birthing From Within: https://www.birthingfromwithin.com/team Lamaze Childbirth Education: https://www.lamaze.org/birthing-classes Definitions:Occiput Posterior (OP) PresentationPrecipitous BirthPudendal Nerve Block B.R.A.I.N. Informed Decision Making GuideSupport the showThank you so much for tuning in to this episode! If you liked this podcast episode, don't hesitate to share it and leave a review. It really helps bring the podcast up for others to find and listen to as well. If you want to share your own birth story or experience on the Birth As We Know It Podcast, head over to https://kionanessenbaum.com or fill out this Guest Request Form. Support the podcast and become a part of the BAWKI Community by becoming a Patron on the Birth As We Know It Patreon Page!

vaginal kenner births birth doula birthing from within

Childbirth Education and Maternal Health: The Importance of Partner Involvement

Femtech Health Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 27, 2023 53:16

In this episode, we are joined by Doree Handford, a passionate childbirth educator and doula. She shares how she fell in love with this work after reading a fictional book about midwifery. She decided to become a doula and eventually pursued midwifery. However, she discovered her love for teaching during a childbirth education course and decided to focus on that instead. Doree's childbirth education class, called Birthing From Within, is discussed, with a special focus on the pelvic health aspect. Tune in to learn more about Doree's journey and her dedication to supporting prenatal and postpartum moms.Time stamps with key takeaways:(02:46) Childbirth education class.(10:05) Creativity in childbirth education.(14:09) The realities of parenthood.(20:07) Teaching couples how to bond.(24:00) Coping strategies for pregnancy.(28:11) The beauty of therapeutic touch.(32:58) Partners' fears and desires.(38:44) Lack of support postpartum.(46:11) Importance of having a doula.(50:37) The importance of movement.(58:28) The Birth CollectiveHost Bio:This podcast is hosted by Sheree Dibiase, PT ICLM. She is a nationally recognized women's health physical therapist who owns seven private clinics — one of the biggest networks in the US. She has spent 30+ years practicing in the oncology, pelvic floor, and prenatal postpartum healthcare spaces. She was also a professor for seven years a Loma Linda University where she taught kinesiology.

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Episode 246 Jaime's Precipitous HBAC + Protecting Your Space

gold san diego mine processing dances birth stories midwifery birthing from within

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 2, 2023 38:19

After finding wonderfully supportive midwives who were willing to deliver a breech baby at home, Jaime was sure that her first delivery would be peaceful and empowering. Things quickly turned traumatic, however, when she developed a fever and was rushed to the hospital where she was treated poorly and sent straight to the OR.It took seven years for Jaime to finally get to a peaceful place where she felt ready to birth again. Jaime shares her different approaches to this birth and how she found the courage to prepare for another home birth. Jaime was able to stay grounded, present, and in control during her labor and delivery, allowing her to achieve the beautiful HBAC she desired!Additional LinksBirthing From Within by Pam England and Rob HorowitzReclaiming Childbirth as a Rite of Passage by Rachel ReedHow to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for ParentsThe VBAC Link Facebook CommunityFull Transcript under Episode DetailsMeagan: Hello, Women of Strength. It is another day for another amazing story. We have our friend, Jaime, here and she is from Nashville, Tennessee so if you are from Nashville, Tennessee, you're going to want to listen up. I know that people have been wanting to know where some of our listeners are coming from because they are looking for providers and hospitals and all of the things like that in their area. So today is coming from Tennessee. She had kind of a traumatic birth which a lot of us do and then was able to set a good path and redeem her story with a VBAC. We are so excited to be sharing this story with you guys today from Jaime but of course, we have a Review of the Week. We could never go without sharing one of these amazing reviews, you guys. Review of the WeekThis is from Apple Podcasts and it's from erind39. The subject is, “Planning Second VBAC with Confidence.” It says, “I am planning my second VBAC in July and I'm so happy that this podcast is back.” This was actually left in 2022 so last year when we came back. That was awesome. It says, “The VBAC Link is a great resource for anyone considering a VBAC. The stories are empowering and the data presented is affirming. I feel like I am so well-prepared for my second VBAC and have this podcast to thank.”Erin, thank you. We have you to thank for leaving this amazing review and if you guys haven't had a chance, drop a review for us. We love them. We absolutely love them. We read them on the podcast. We have our amazing crew that drops them into this amazing spreadsheet. I see them and seriously with some of these reviews, I bawl. They are so long and so detailed and so amazing. I get chills and I bawl. So thank you, all for leaving your reviews. Jaime's StoriesMeagan: Okay, Jaime. Welcome to the show. Jaime: Thank you for having me. Meagan: Thank you. I am excited for you to share your stories and talk more about– well, we're going to talk more about your story but not get discouraged along the way. So let's talk about it. Tell us where it all began. Jaime: Yeah, so Eloise is my first daughter who is now 7. We have a very large gap between kids but Eloise's birth was like you said, pretty traumatic for me in a lot of different ways. We wanted to do a home birth with her which off the bat, I'm just a crazy person for wanting to do a home birth. We were in Michigan at the time. I was pretty gung-ho about it. I felt very prepared. Maybe midway through my pregnancy, she ended up being breech. There were a lot of things that we tried to do to get her to flip. I spent a lot of time and energy worrying that she was a breech baby and what I was going to do. My midwives were like, “If you're comfortable doing a breech, we're comfortable doing a breech.” Meagan: Oh wow. That's amazing. This is in Michigan. Jaime: Yeah, it was. It was in Michigan. So they literally handed me their midwifery books which are three inches thick, two of them. They were like, “Read this section.” So they had me read everything about breech birth in their midwifery books. I feel like I'm still overeducated on breech birth just from doing that. Meagan: Yeah, that's amazing actually, though that you had that opportunity. Jaime: Yeah, so they were like, “After you read this if you're comfortable doing a breech birth, we're comfortable doing it too.” I read through everything and I was like, “Yeah, okay. This feels good.” It was. She was born in 2016 and it's crazy to say this, but the information we have available today was not like what it was back in 2016. Just having those books, I didn't have any other resources to really go to for breech birth or home birth or anything like that. But yeah. So I was comfortable doing it. I knew from reading if one single thing went wrong, that I was going to be going to the hospital. That was the midwifery thing. Typically, you've got multiple chances in a regular, normal pregnancy but with breech, it was one thing. So I go into labor. We had thought she flipped, but then I had my waters break and then it was all meconium. I was like, “Umm, I think she is still breech.” From there, I was kind of freaking out. I ended up getting a fever and one of the assistants walked in and she was like, “How are you feeling?” I'm like, “I feel awful. I just feel sick. I have chills. I don't feel normal. This doesn't feel good.” Her jaw hit the floor. I'm like, “Oh no. What did I say?” She took my temperature immediately and she was like, “You've got a fever.” They tried to get it down. They gave me one hour to get it reduced to a normal temperature and it wouldn't. I knew right away that we were going to the hospital. We ended up in the hospital. Michigan isn't very friendly when it comes to home births and midwives. I know everyone's been working on that relationship between hospitals and midwives, but Michigan at the time had no cooperation. So we just had a really bad experience. We are there. The doctor at one point is like, “You're going to be put under,” when the whole time, everyone else was telling me I was going to be awake. Then he comes in– I basically said, “I would like to hold my baby. I would like skin-to-skin as soon as possible.” Then he's like, “Well, that's not possible.” I'm like, “What do you mean?” He goes, “Well, you're going to be put under.” I was just like, “What? What are you talking about?” My husband looks at me and he's like, “Are you okay with that?” I was not trying to be any sort of way when I said this, but I just was like, “I don't really think I have a choice.” I was just saying, “I have to be okay with it because I don't have a choice.” I wasn't being snarky. The doctor was like, “You have a choice.” I was like, “Oh my gosh, I do? Tell me more about my choice.” He basically looked me dead in the eyes and he goes, “You can leave.” I was like, “What?” So it was just a really traumatic experience. I had the C-section. I got to be awake which was great, but Eloise ended up being in the NICU for 10 days. It just felt like we were trapped. We had CPS called on us. Meagan: Stop it. Are you serious?Jaime: There was a lot. There was a lot happening. It's like the horror story that you think of when you hear someone trying to have a home birth and then they end up in the hospital and anything that could go wrong went wrong. Eloise is perfectly healthy. It was just the dynamic of it all that went wrong, I guess, is what I'm trying to say. But yeah. I had a lot to work through. We didn't get pregnant for the longest time. I had no desire, really, because I just was terrified. I'm like, “I don't want to experience this again. I don't know what's going to happen.” It wasn't necessarily a bodily thing where I was feeling like my body failed me, it was more so just true traumatic, mental PTSD I guess. I'm not really sure how to put it. We got pregnant in 2020. I had a miscarriage with that baby, but when I found out I was pregnant, I was immediately not ready. I was terrified. There were so many things running through my brain. I just didn't know how to handle it. I started the course, that pregnancy course, going to an actual doctor. Off the bat, I was like, “I'm just going to go to a doctor because I don't want anything like what happened last time to happen again. I just want to avoid all of the hoop jumping. If I'm going to end up there, I'm just going to go there from the start,” basically, was kind of my mindset.We lost that baby and then with Delaney, the new baby, we got pregnant in 2022 with her. It was just different from the get-go. I think my husband was actually more nervous this time about everything than I was but I felt just very grounded. I felt confident about it. I was like, “I want to do a home birth. I definitely don't want to be in the hospital.” Things were still very weird with COVID so that was another big thing because I'm like, “I don't want to be in the last hour telling me that my husband can't be in the room,” or just weird rules like that happening around everything. So yeah, I'm like, “I'm going to do a home birth. I'm going to find a midwife.” It took me forever to find a midwife. I think I called everyone in the Nashville area and they were either busy, they were all booked up, or they wouldn't take a VBAC, or just not a good fit. I had one lady. I get on the phone with her and she's like, “Well, you know uterine rupture is not something to be just pushed under the rug.” I literally hung up the phone and I go to my husband Matt. I'm like, “I don't know. I'm a crazy person. What am I doing?” Meagan: You're not. Jaime: It just freaked me out. Yeah. So I found my midwife around 11 weeks which I felt was pretty late in the game. From that point, it was just a rollercoaster of ups and downs battling doubts within my headspace. My pregnancy from a physical standpoint was a little bit rough. I don't know. I just felt like my body was old and not functioning well. I was the person that couldn't tie their shoes towards the end. I couldn't wear any rings because all of my fingers were so swollen and everything. It was just a rough pregnancy physically compared to my first, but also, just dealing with the mental aspect of everything, I would be super confident one day that I'm going to do this and I'm going to have this home birth– not even a home birth, but just have a VBAC. Like, “I can do this. We were made to do this,” and then the next day, I'm like, “What am I doing? Who wants to do this? Maybe I should just sign up for a C-section again.” Meagan: Just all over the place emotionally. That's so real though. So many of us doing that. One day, we're like, “Yes.” The next day, we're like, “What am I doing? Is this right?” and questioning ourselves. Jaime: Yep. Yeah. 100%. So I really went into this birth. I tried to protect my energy as much as I could. I didn't tell a lot of people I was trying to have a home birth because it was already enough trying to do a VBAC. It was already weird enough. I'm like, “I don't want to tell everyone what I'm doing. No one needs to know what my birth plan is besides the people that really matter.” I read a couple of books that I felt were really pivotal for me. One was Birthing From Within by Pam England. I didn't even finish the whole book. I got through one chapter but it changed my life because, in the beginning, she says that every woman has a question that needs to be answered before they can birth their child. You might find your answer to your question during pregnancy or you might find it in transition or you might find it when you're about to push the baby out. She basically was like, “What is your question? When you think you have your question, you have to dig a little bit deeper because that's probably not your question. Your question is underneath that question.” So I spent 7 months trying to find my question and at the end of it, it felt like it wasn't so much a question, but I felt that I was punished anytime I tried to go outside of the norm of what society deemed normal. That was my big, pivotal thing where I was like, “Wow. I can do this. That is a lie believing that I am going to be punished for trying to do something abnormal.” There was another birth, Reclaiming Childbirth as a Rite of Passage by Rachel Reed. The whole beginning of the book was talking about “herstories”, so history but for women, “herstory”. Rachel is a medical doctor. She is an MD and I felt like this book wasn't super crunchy and it wasn't super medicalized. It was very much right in the middle which I felt was what I needed to hear. I didn't feel like she was biased in one way or another but she laid the facts out of where we started to how we got to where we are now within the birthing industry. It helped me to realize. I knew this already going into it, but it helped me to realize that I actually had really deep-rooted, preconceived ideas about what birth was just from how I've grown up in the society that I've grown up in watching movies, listening to stories, and all of the stuff that we just see on TV. Birth is this crazy thing that happens. The woman is always out of control. The doctor is always there to save the day, all that kind of stuff. I was like, “Wow. I have these opinions of things that aren't even my opinions. They've just been given to me from movies and society and culture.” It really helped to weed through some fear that I was having realizing that I don't have to have this anymore. I don't have to believe this because it's not my story. It's not even real, actually. It's just culture. So those were the two big things. And then obviously, I found your podcast. I also started listening to a free birth podcast. I had no desire in my life to ever free birth ever, but I had read something on Instagram that was like, “If you're preparing for birth, prepare to do a free birth so that way, you are aware of everything that could happen and what you can do to go through obstacles or you know the steps and the phases that you'll go through when you're in labor.” So basically, be overprepared even though you're going to have people there to help you. That helped a lot. I just listened to everything I could about any positive experience of someone having a VBAC. I hired a doula not for any other reason other than it would increase my odds of having a successful VBAC. I still joke to this day that I have no idea what a doula actually does, but I hired one. It helped me have a VBAC, I just think, by doing that. I was just doing all of the things that I could come up with to try and get my head in the right spot and to set myself up for success. I did The Bradley Method with my first daughter and Bradley Method is like a 12-week course if you're not familiar. It is hours long so it is very in-depth. But I found this lady on TikTok and I took her virtual train-for-birth class. Her name is Crisha Crosley. It was, I kid you not. I think it was an hour and a half and it was the most informative thing I've ever done. It helped me. The whole premise is “Train for Birth” so movements and different things that you can do to become ready to birth your child, to get the baby in the right position, pushing, how to push, and different things to do while you're in labor so when I actually went into labor, she was in the forefront of my mind of, “Okay, I can't stay in this position for too long. Let me go to the bathroom every 5 seconds. Make sure I'm drinking my water,” lots of movements when I was actually in labor. It was all because I took that class. It was amazing. That was around 38 weeks when I took that class. My brother and his wife, so my brother, Michael, and Ashley came when I was around 40 weeks because Ashley was going to help with Eloise during the birth. All in between that, I'm curb walking. I'm on the ball doing figure 8's. Just to backtrack a little bit, when I hit 37 weeks just to give you an idea of where I was at, I went to Costco and ran into one of my midwives. She's like, “How are you doing?” Because I'm like, “I'm so depressed. It's 37 weeks and I haven't had this baby.” I just was in my brain, I'm like, “Okay, it's 37 weeks so it means I can have the baby when I haven't had the baby yet. I need this baby out of me. It's time to go.” She's like, “What? You're depressed?” I'm like, “I'm kidding, sort of. But yeah, I want to have this baby.”Meagan: You're like, “I really just wish I could have this baby right now.” Jaime: Yeah. Yes. So yeah. We're nearing the end. My brother and sister-in-law come around 40 weeks to help with Eloise. Delaney, the new baby, was LOA if that's right. She was on the left side. Meagan: Left occiput anterior. Jaime: Yeah. I think the optimal is ROA. Is that correct? Meagan: Well, it really depends but LOA– so it moves the uterus usually clockwise. LOA is really good actually because then they just kind of go forward and down. But it all depends on the shape of our pelvis too. Some babies need to enter a ROA position. Some of them need to actually enter posterior which is frustrating that we have posterior in any sort of labor, but sometimes that is how. So yeah, LOA is a really great position. Jaime: Okay, then she must have been the other way. She must have been ROA and I was trying to get her to go to the left, LOA. Yeah. I was trying to do movements to give her some space so she could turn. The midwife told me that the right side is okay, but the optimal would be LOA because it's just easiest. When you said posterior, that reminded me that I was actually very nervous about back labor because I had felt like every podcast I listened to where someone was having a VBAC, all they ever talked about was back labor so I was just terrified of it. On top of doing a VBAC, if that's not hard enough, I'm going to deal with back labor and all of this stuff. That didn't happen to me at all. I had no back labor so it was perfect. In Tennessee, my midwives were licensed by the state. They cannot help me past 42 weeks due to their licensure. We were nearing the end. I had a clock ticking. My brother and Ashley were here which was stressing me out, not in a bad way, but I was kind of under a clock if that makes sense. I'm like, “I need to have this baby because they are here and then I need to have this baby because I'm nearing 42 weeks and at that point, I'm either going to be a crazy person and do unassisted which doesn't make you crazy, or I'm going to have to go to a hospital. Those are my two options because I can't do it with them.” Then she wanted me to do that test where they test for movement, heart rate, and practice breaths or something like that. I needed to do that in my 41st week just to show if something happened early 42 weeks, that it was okay for me to birth at home with them still. I scheduled that for Friday, so September 2nd. I reluctantly scheduled it. I was like, “Fine. I'm just going to put it on the books and see what happens.” Then my brother actually had to leave on Sunday to go. My brother leaves on Sunday to go do an interview. Delaney is born on Thursday. I scheduled that test for the next day on Friday. The next Sunday was my 42nd, so that was my hard out if that timeline makes sense.Meagan: Yeah, yeah. Jaime: Michael, my brother, left to do an interview that they scheduled for him that Monday then he was going to come immediately back. He's like, “If I miss this birth, I'm going to be so mad.” Then Sunday, Ashley and my husband and my daughter, and I went to the splash pad. That was the first day I had a contraction where I was like, “Oh, okay. Something is happening.” I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want to be put under a clock or to feel pressure to have this baby when I wasn't ready or anything like that. I just kept to myself. I had a couple of contractions Sunday and then that just led to me having contractions every single night. It was all night, every night and then it would die off in the early, early morning. Meagan: Prodromal labor. Jaime: Yeah. I'd get a few hours of sleep so I'm just getting exhausted. I told Ashley actually maybe Monday or something. She woke up Tuesday and was like, “So, did Jaime have any more contractions?” She was asking my husband. I didn't even tell my husband this. My husband was like, “She was having contractions? What are you talking about?” I literally kept everything. My lips were sealed. I kept everything to myself. I texted my midwife on Tuesday. So Sunday I had no sleep. Monday, I had no sleep. I texted her Tuesday and I'm like, “Hey. I've been having contractions. Nothing is sticking around. Everything stops. I have nothing all day and then it starts again at night.” She's like, “Cool. Nothing to worry about. Everything is normal. Sounds good. No big deal.” My brother did make it back because he came back Monday evening so he was here for everything. Then Wednesday was my absolute breaking point. Wednesday comes. Michael and my husband go shooting and then the girls, all of us, go to this park just to hang out. I had a massive contraction as we were leaving that stopped me in my tracks. I literally just hung back and I'm like, “Yeah, you guys just keep walking. Go ahead and I'll just meet you there in a second.” I'm just stopped in the middle of everything. Ashley, my sister-in-law is like, “Okay.” They just keep walking to the car and then I catch up later. She's like, “So I think we want to go to the grocery store to get some stuff for dinner.” In my head, I'm like, “I don't know if I'm going to be able to make it.” I'm emotionally at the end of my limits and then physically also, the contractions were intense, but it was more an emotional thing where I'm like, “I can't do this again. I'm going to have another sleepless night. It's already starting. It's 5:00. This is awful.” We go to the grocery store and it was my full focus just to not have a mental breakdown and start hysterically sobbing in the middle of the grocery store. We go. I make it through and we get home. I immediately go upstairs just to be alone. I put a movie on to start watching and have these random contractions that happen. Looking back, it's funny because in the first stage of labor, they always say that the woman goes into a cave and wants to be alone. In my brain, I was ready. I'm like, “I'm going to pay attention so I can see the signs and make sure that I know I'm going into labor.” It never once crossed my mind that I was entering a cave to be by myself. It never crossed my mind. I just was thinking, “I'm going to have another sleepless night and I'm drained emotionally.” I think I cried, then dinner was ready. It's 6:00 so I go downstairs. I shovel dinner into my mouth and then have another massive contraction at the table. I sit there silently then I'm like, “I'm going upstairs.” I run back upstairs and literally, I put this movie back on and I'm in hysterics. I'm sobbing uncontrollably. I just don't know that I can do this again. I get very crazy when I don't have any sleep. I just was future thinking about how this night was going to go where I'm going to have these crazy contractions and then I'm not going to sleep on top of it. I was just a mess. I go back upstairs. I have a couple of breakdowns. I'm extremely exhausted. I started timing my first contractions around 7:06. Not my first contraction, but my first timed one where I was like, “Maybe I should see what's happening here.” Delaney was born at 1:20 AM so it was six hours from start to finish basically. Meagan: Wow. Jaime: Nothing was consistent whatsoever. I'm upstairs with the peanut ball doing all of the moves trying to go through the Miles Circuit to make sure she's in the right position and all of that stuff. I texted the night midwife. They have a 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM and then a 7P to 7A so depending on when I went into labor is who I'd be talking to. So I texted the night midwife around 8:30 with a picture of my contractions, my timed-out stuff. I wanted to take Benadryl so I could go to sleep. I'm like, “Is it okay if I take Benadryl? Will I be okay? I just don't know if it picks up, am I going to be exhausted and trying to push a baby out?” She's like, “No. If you take a Benadryl and you actually go into labor, you're going to be fine. Trust me.” I was like, “Okay.” She's like, “Take a bath then if things slow down, go to sleep. Try to get some rest. If they don't slow down, call me and let me know.”So I took a bath. Nothing really happened. I kicked my husband out of the room multiple times because I just wanted to be by myself. I don't think I let him stay until 9:30-10:00 at night. I was waiting for these clues. I lost my mucus plug. I don't even know if this is accurate but in my brain, that meant I was around 3 centimeters. My husband was like, “Do you want me to call someone?” I'm like, “No. I'm 3 centimeters if anything so I've got 24 hours of labor to go. I'm in trouble, basically,” is what I was thinking. I was waiting for my bloody show which meant I'd be 5 centimeters. Again, I don't know if that's accurate but that is just what was in my brain. Almost immediately after I lost my mucus plug, within an hour– it felt way more immediate than that– but within an hour, I had bloody show happening all over the place. My doula was an hour away. I'm like, “Okay. Fine. Call the doula.” This is me caving to my husband. I'm like, “Call the doula. She's an hour away so just have her come, I guess.” He calls the doula and in my brain, I'm like, “I hope I'm still in labor when she comes here.” I just was very nervous that everyone was going to get to the house and then I was either going to stall out or this wasn't really it and then they're all going to leave and I had wasted everyone's time or they're all just sitting around twiddling their thumbs watching me go through labor. I did not want that to happen at all. But he calls the doula and talks with her. She says, “Okay.” Then he calls her again. She hears me in the background and she's like, “Okay, I'm coming. I'm coming. I'm on my way.” So that happened. I'm telling Matt. I'm like, “Can you go fill up the tub, please? Not so I can have a baby in the tub but just so I can get some relief,” because again, I'm thinking I'm going to be here for many, many more hours. He calls the midwife and tells her that the doula is on the way just to give her an update. That's probably around 11:30. She was like, “Okay, great. Let me know when you need me to come.” He goes down, fills the tub up, and then comes back upstairs. Again, time is lost in this space. He comes back upstairs, calls the midwife again, and the midwife hears me in the background and she is like, “I'm on my way,” and then just hangs up. She was only 30 minutes from us, so she hears me and she's like, “Oh my gosh. I'm coming.” At that point, I'm trying to go down the stairs. It takes me three full contractions to get down the stairs. Matt's talking to the doula. She's like, “Does she feel pushy?” I'm like, “I don't know what pushy feels like because I've never done this before.” At some point on the stairs, I felt Delaney change position. I don't really know how else to say it, but it just felt like she dropped down and was right there. I'm still not thinking I'm about to have a baby. Even that, I'm just like, “Okay. I'm in it for the long haul here.” Meagan: Right. Jaime: I finally get down the stairs. I get in the tub again, just to find relief. I'm not trying to have a baby here. Matt's trying to make a smoothie. I'm chaotic. I was not a calm laboring person. I was very loud. At this point, when the bloody show happened, I stopped timing the contractions at 11:32 PM. At that point, I was just like, “Forget it. I don't care.” But then when the bloody show happened, it was one on top of another on top of another on top of another and I had no relief, nothing whatsoever. It was wild. I get into the tub. I'm yelling every time a contraction comes. Matt's trying to make a smoothie and I'm yelling, “I need you here right now.” My daughter is crying because I'm being so loud. I get into the tub and I had three contractions in the tub. On the second contraction, I push her head out. I'm just like, “I'm having a baby.” The coolest part about it was that there was no fear. It was very natural, very primal. I never for once thought, “Oh my gosh. No one is here yet and I'm pushing this baby out.” I get her head out and my brother is right there. He sees the head and he's like, “Jaime, the head is out. You've got to push the rest of the baby out now,” because he's thinking that the head is out and she's drowning underwater. I'm just like, “No. It's okay. It's okay.” I have all of these things in my brain from what the midwives had told me. I'm like, “Okay. So I birthed her underwater so I have to stay underwater. I can't get out and go back in.” I have all of these things going through my head. The next contraction comes and she's out and on my chest. No one was there except my brother, Ashley, my husband, and my daughter. The midwife walked in literally one minute after she was born, then the doula ran in, and then the assistant ran in. Meagan: The whole team, boom. Jaime: Yeah, so it was one after another and everyone walks in with their jaws on the ground like, “What just happened?” I'm like, “I don't know. We just had a baby and here we are.” So that's my VBAC story. I did it and it was great. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. It would have been nice to have a team of people there, but that wasn't how it was supposed to happen. It worked out perfectly. Meagan: That's okay. Yeah. I'm so glad. I love how your brother is like, “Uhh.” Jaime: It's time to go. You've got to get the rest out. Meagan: Yeah, but you would see that and that would make sense. Jaime: Yeah. Yep. Meagan: Oh my gosh. I love that. So first of all, huge congratulations. Jaime: Thank you. Meagan: So awesome. So, so awesome. And yeah, let's talk about overcoming your fears. Talking about your first birth, CPS, all of the things. Yeah, you have options. Oh yeah, let me tell you my options. Go. Leave. You have no options other than to leave. Jaime: Yeah. Yeah. Meagan: So much surrounded it that could have carried forward in this next birth. What are some tips for the listeners that you would give? You were reading. You were taking this course. What other types of things would you say are some key components to overcoming your fears and getting to the point where you were literally birthing– not alone– but you were here birthing alone? You were like, “I've got this. I'm strong.” So yeah. Any tips that you have?Jaime: Yeah. I mean, for me, I would suggest really, really, really protecting your energy and what that looks like– not even watching a movie with a crazy birth scene in it, not talking to people who have opinions on how you're going to birth your baby, just trying to stay within the scope of healthy, positive stuff. Even some of the Instagram accounts will give you statistics and they are trying to be helpful, but sometimes reading those statistics send you on a spiral so it was just really trying to hone in and stay close to what you know to be true, focusing on the fact that you want to have this VBAC, that it is safe to have a VBAC, and everything else just kind of block it out. Unless it is a positive experience, don't listen to it. Don't talk about it. Just focus on yourself and what you're trying to do. Meagan: Yeah. Hold onto what's important to you because yeah. There is a lot of outside static. Like you said, right here at The VBAC Link, we are guilty of posting statistics, right? Statistics can be very helpful for some and it can be something that creates fear or angst as well. If you know that that is not something that can keep your space safe and will cause angst, then yeah. Like you said, don't read it. Don't look at it. Jaime: For sure. For sure. Meagan: Put it away. If you're wanting to know those numbers to make you feel better, okay then there you go. If you're wanting to not hear any– we've had listeners who are like, “We couldn't listen to any repeat Cesarean stories because they were not what we could have in our space.” That is okay too. You can filter through. Some people are like, “I wanted to know all of the possible outcomes.” You've got to find what is best for you and like you said, protect your space because your space is what matters. Jaime: For sure. Meagan: Oh, well thank you so, so, so much for being with us today and sharing with us this amazing story. Totally unexpected. I bet your team was just freaking out driving. Jaime: Thank you for having me. Yeah. Meagan: I wish we could have had a dash cam looking at them or even just there to see their pattern of driving. I bet they were weaving in and out and really, really, really rushing to you.Jaime: That's funny. Meagan: But like you said, it all worked out how it was supposed to be. All was well and here you are sharing your story and inspiring others. Jaime: Thank you. Well, thank you again so much for having me. I hope it helps. Meagan: Oh, it will. It will. ClosingWould you like to be a guest on the podcast? Tell us about your experience at thevbaclink.com/share. For more information on all things VBAC including online and in-person VBAC classes, The VBAC Link blog, and Meagan's bio, head over to thevbaclink.com. Congratulations on starting your journey of learning and discovery with The VBAC Link.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-vbac-link/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Episode 35: The Power of Processing our Birth Stories, with Jamie Mossay

Our Village Circle

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 15, 2023 64:01

Meet Jamie Mossay, who has been serving the San Diego community as a bodyworker and massage therapist for 20 years, specializing in pregnant families. She's the creator of the DANCES approach to prenatal bodywork and Birthing From Within's Touch From Within course, and co-author and illustrator of the book The Breech Release: Opening Pathways for Midwifery and Prenatal Bodywork. Her approach to birth support and her own spiritual path transformed utterly when she discovered Birthing From Within® in 2013, and started mentoring childbirth classes soon after the introductory training. She has since had advanced training as a Birth Story Listener®, and this is what we will be discussing today - the power and impact of our birth stories, and deep listening as a mode of healing. This conversation was so impactful for me that immediately after we finished, I signed up to train as a Birth Story Listener myself - this was 6 months ago, and I just finished my training, and WOW. When I tell you this process is transformational, I am in no way exaggerating. I cannot wait for you to hear this discussion. Today's episode is sponsored by our Signature Webinar: Preparing for a Smooth Postpartum. Our next class is June 20 @ 7:30pm. Use code PODCAST10 for 10% off your class registration! RESOURCES: Birthing from Within Article: How to Mine an Uninvited Birth Story for Gold, by Nikki Shaheed Book: The Breech Release, by Jamie Mossay CONNECT WITH JAMIE https://www.jamiemossay.com/ Instagram @jamiemossay

Immigrant Mom of 2 - Life on Her Own in a Foreign Land with Bhawna Sharma Puri - S6 E64

speaker mom moms adoption immigrant reno sharma nv nlp practitioner puri cbe foreign land jenn taylor bradley method birthing from within

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 13, 2023 30:22

Immigrant mom of 2 elementary-age kids. Dealing with pregnancy, birth, and raising kids alone in a faraway land. The first one to have kids so no example to look up to. Marketing executive and business owner FIND HER HERE: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bhawnasmarketing https://www.facebook.com/people/Love-Pray-Laugh-Slay/100063828319192/ https://www.instagram.com/love_pray_laugh_slay/?hl=en BECOMING PARENTS: Sharing stories about infertility, miscarriage, pregnancy, labor and delivery, bottle feeding, breastfeeding & relactation, self-care after birth, sex to get pregnant and after kids, birth options, to medicate or not to medicate, adoption, midwife vs hospital, the struggles, surprises, joys and exhaustion, and - holy cow - you've become a parent! WHAT NOW?! Jenn Taylor is Mom Of 18 (yes - 18 kids!). She has written the blog - Mom's Running It since 2011, has been a published author since 2016, and host of the Becoming Parents Podcast since May of 2017. She is an NLP Practitioner, Speaker, and has 15+ years in the foster care sector as both a parent and a trainer. Jenn spent 12 years as a doula, lactation consultant, and CBE trainer in The Bradley Method and Birthing From Within, and ran LaLeche League meetings with a passion for supporting women who have become Moms. Jenn is grateful to be a Certified Birth & Bereavement Doula® to help families struggling with grief and loss, as well as an Adoption & Surrogacy Doula. She is also married to an amazing man in Reno, NV, and is a runner, minimalist, and healthy lifestyle enthusiast. CONNECT WITH JENN! https://linktr.ee/momofeighteen --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/becoming-parents/message

The Synchronicity of Birth Support and Postpartum Support with Birthing from Within's Program Director, Christine D'Esposito

Sacred Window Podcast: Nurturing Awareness in Postpartum Care

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 9, 2023 40:36

In this episode, I speak with Christine D'Esposito, Director of Programs at Birthing from Within. During my own first pregnancy in 2007, Birthing from Within was an incredible support model for me in exploring the more subtle aspect of birth readiness, and harnessing my own feelings of empowerment to trust my body and honor the changes I was going through. Now, as a proponent of conscious postpartum care, I love how the tenants taught by Birthing from Within support the foundations of our work! This is a beautiful episode you don't want to miss! Christine D'Esposito is a Mentor, Doula and Facilitator with over fifteen years of experience in the field of birth work. She lives in Duluth, MN and is the Director of Programs at Birthing from Within. Birthing from Within was founded in 1998 by midwife Pam England when she realized that something was missing from birth preparation in our culture. While lots of organizations address parents' brains and bodies, very few address their hearts. Birthing from Within works to fill that gap by providing parents with preparation for the deep psychological and emotional transformations of birth. Christine discovered Birthing From Within in 2003 at her first doula training. It was the concept of honoring birth as a rite of passage and a transformational experience for everyone involved that spoke to her most. Christine has a passion for the intersection of birth and social justice work and aspires to be an agent of change in the world. www.birthingfromwithin.com Social media for FB and IG @‌birthingfromwithin

director fb mentor programs mn program directors doula facilitator birthing synchronicity duluth esposito postpartum support christine d birthing from within birth support pam england

23 Years Married, Entrepreneurs, Speakers, Filmmakers, and Best-Selling Authors with Christina & Edward Sledge - S6 E58

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2023 32:11

We have been married for 23 years and have been parents for 22 years. We managed two careers and two daughters while completing four degrees between us. We are now parents to a teenager and a young adult. MORE ABOUT THEM: Married couple, entrepreneurs, speakers, filmmakers, and best-selling authors Edward and Christina Sledge wrote and published their memoir, The Story of Christina and I. Their memoir is about triumph over tragedy. Both are first-generation college graduates. The high school sweethearts met in Brooklyn, NY. Their romance was predestined since they were both born in the same hospital, and their families lived within blocks of each other. They were also the first to obtain master's degrees in their families. They got engaged when Edward was a soldier in the U.S. Army while Christina was a senior at Temple University. They eloped two months later and have been married for twenty-two years. Edward and Christina founded Sledge House Media, a Maryland-based multiplatform entertainment company created to share diverse and compelling stories through books, films, TV, and digital and audio projects that highlight relationships, unique perspectives, and experiences. Together they have published seven books and produced two short films, with more on the way. FIND THEM HERE: Website: https://www.sledgehousemedia.com/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/sledgehousemedia FB: https://www.facebook.com/sledgehousemedia Twitter: https://twitter.com/house_sledge BECOMING PARENTS: Sharing stories about infertility, miscarriage, pregnancy, labor and delivery, bottle feeding, breastfeeding & relactation, self-care after birth, sex to get pregnant and after kids, birth options, to medicate or not to medicate, adoption, midwife vs hospital, the struggles, surprises, joys and exhaustion, and - holy cow - you've become a parent! WHAT NOW?! Jenn Taylor is Mom Of 18 (yes - 18 kids!). She has written the blog - Mom's Running It since 2011, has been a published author since 2016, and host of the Becoming Parents Podcast since May of 2017. She is an NLP Practitioner, Speaker, and has 15+ years in the foster care sector as both a parent and a trainer. Jenn spent 12 years as a doula, lactation consultant, and CBE trainer in The Bradley Method and Birthing From Within, and ran LaLeche League meetings with a passion for supporting women who have become Moms. Jenn is grateful to be a Certified Birth & Bereavement Doula® to help families struggling with grief and loss, as well as an Adoption & Surrogacy Doula. She is also married to an amazing man in Reno, NV, and is a runner, minimalist, and healthy lifestyle enthusiast. CONNECT WITH JENN! https://linktr.ee/momofeighteen Share your experience! I answer all comments personally and will select one to read at the beginning of the next show. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/becoming-parents/message

Conversation, Education, and Empowerment for Women who are still on their way to Motherhood with Beth Rivelli - S6 E57

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 18, 2023 32:47

I personally missed motherhood which is why, as a Motherhood Story Coach, I am creating a movement of conversation, education, and empowerment for women who are still on their way to motherhood. The status quo silence of our culture contributes to a mindset that we are just supposed to know how to become and be moms and that we have to do it alone. I consider this a mindset "virus" that stays with us at every stage of motherhood and feeds shame. When I talk with moms, I inevitably hear, "I wish I had had something like this when I was younger." I see your listeners as mothers of the younger generation who are desperately grasping to create their own motherhood lore and find models they can look to. - There is very little dialogue about the journey TO motherhood until we have issues - the downstream effect - The silence around this part of the journey leaves us feeling alone - Let's shed the "one size fits all" mentality when it comes to our bodies and fertility - Educating ourselves before our backs are up against the wall and emotions are high - Creating a new motherhood lore - We are humans first, then women, then mothers I am a professionally trained coach. The movement I'm starting is known as Blow Up the Clock. Its intent is to bring awareness, clarity, consciousness, and an elevated conversation to women who are CONSIDERING motherhood. Not to moms, not to women who have missed motherhood, but to women CONSIDERING. This movement can be distilled down to this simple invitation...Let's Talk About It! Because we don't. That is why I create spaces of connection so that women can break the silence, shift their inner narrative, unlock their vision, and claim the beauty, freedom, authority, and power that is their birthright. FIND HER HERE: www.bethrivellicoaching.com https://www.instagram.com/Bethrivellicoaching https://www.facebook.com/bethrivellicoaching https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethrivellicoaching BECOMING PARENTS: Sharing stories about infertility, miscarriage, pregnancy, labor and delivery, bottle feeding, breastfeeding & relactation, self-care after birth, sex to get pregnant and after kids, birth options, to medicate or not to medicate, adoption, midwife vs hospital, the struggles, surprises, joys and exhaustion, and - holy cow - you've become a parent! WHAT NOW?! Jenn Taylor is Mom Of 18 (yes - 18 kids!). She has written the blog - Mom's Running It since 2011, has been a published author since 2016, and host of the Becoming Parents Podcast since May of 2017. She is an NLP Practitioner, Speaker, and has 15+ years in the foster care sector as both a parent and a trainer. Jenn spent 12 years as a doula, lactation consultant, and CBE trainer in The Bradley Method and Birthing From Within, and ran LaLeche League meetings with a passion for supporting women who have become Moms. Jenn is grateful to be a Certified Birth & Bereavement Doula® to help families struggling with grief and loss, as well as an Adoption & Surrogacy Doula. She is also married to an amazing man in Reno, NV, and is a runner, minimalist, and healthy lifestyle enthusiast. CONNECT WITH JENN! https://linktr.ee/momofeighteen --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/becoming-parents/message

Single Mom Using Anonymous Sperm Donor, & Children's Author Of Her Own Story - S6 E56

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Play Episode Listen Later Apr 11, 2023 33:56

* At 38, I decided that having kids was more important to me than finding a partner. * This started my journey of becoming a single mom by choice, using an anonymous sperm donor * At 40, I gave birth to my daughter! * Now, I am raising my 4-year-old, working full time, writing, and trying to find time for hobbies. * A large part of my focus has been normalizing our mommy & kid family and making sure my daughter knows her origin story IN HER WORDS: I am a web developer at Georgetown University and, as of recently, a children's author. I wrote my debut picture book, "Sweet Little You", after struggling to find a picture book that felt authentic to our mommy-plus-donor-conceived-kid family. FIND HER HERE: * Main website: https://jhalabi.com/ * Pregnancy blog: https://jhalabi.com/blog/pregnancy/ * "Sweet Little You" on GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61153715-sweet-little-you * Twitter: https://twitter.com/jonihalabi * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonihalabi/ BECOMING PARENTS: Sharing stories about infertility, miscarriage, pregnancy, labor and delivery, bottle feeding, breastfeeding & relactation, self-care after birth, sex to get pregnant and after kids, birth options, to medicate or not to medicate, adoption, midwife vs hospital, the struggles, surprises, joys and exhaustion, and - holy cow - you've become a parent! WHAT NOW?! Jenn Taylor is Mom Of 18 (yes - 18 kids!). She has written the blog - Mom's Running It since 2011, has been a published author since 2016, and host of the Becoming Parents Podcast since May of 2017. She is an NLP Practitioner, Speaker, and has 15+ years in the foster care sector as both a parent and a trainer. Jenn spent 12 years as a doula, lactation consultant, and CBE trainer in The Bradley Method and Birthing From Within, and ran LaLeche League meetings with a passion for supporting women who have become Moms. Jenn is grateful to be a Certified Birth & Bereavement Doula® to help families struggling with grief and loss, as well as an Adoption & Surrogacy Doula. She is also married to an amazing man in Reno, NV, and is a runner, minimalist, and healthy lifestyle enthusiast. CONNECT WITH JENN! https://linktr.ee/momofeighteen --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/becoming-parents/message

Stay At Home Dad, Entrepreneur of 2 Businesses, & Multiple #1 Bestselling Author with Naresh Vissa - S6 E53

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 21, 2023 28:33

I'm a stay-at-home dad to two boys under the age of 4 years. To manage my stress, I place an emphasis on mental and physical activity - basketball, beach volleyball, tennis, yoga, meditation, chess, and sleep. I do one of these activities five out of seven days a week. How I stay focused and provide a formula to this practice. How I can accomplish everything while taking care of my sons 90% of the time I have homeschooled until 3 walks around the park basketball drills soccer chess swimming MORE ABOUT NARESH: My book FIFTY SHADES OF MARKETING: Whip Your Business into Shape & Dominate Your Competition helps people work and make money from home so they can spend more time with their families. Naresh Vissa is the Founder & CEO of Krish Media & Marketing – a full-service e-commerce, technology, development, online, and digital media and marketing agency and solutions provider. He has worked with CNN Radio, Clear Channel Communications, J.P. Morgan Chase, EverBank, The Institute for Energy Research, Houston Rockets, Houston Astros, the American Junior Golf Association, Agora Financial, Agora Publishing, Stansberry Research, and TradeStops. He is the #1 bestselling author of FIFTY SHADES OF MARKETING: Whip Your Business into Shape & Dominate Your Competition, PODCASTNOMICS: The Book of Podcasting... To Make You Millions, THE NEW PR: 21st Century Public Relations Strategies & Resources... To Reach Millions, TRUMPBOOK: How Digital Liberals Silenced a Nation into Making America Hate Again, and the new book FROM NOBODY TO BESTSELLING AUTHOR! How To Write, Publish & Market Your Book. He has a Master's Degree from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and has been featured on USA Today, Yahoo!, Bloomberg, MSNBC, Huffington Post, Businessweek, MSN Money, Business Insider, India Today, Hindustan Times, and other domestic and international media outlets. He hosts the brand new podcast, The Work From Home Show, which is rapidly growing during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. He lives in Tampa as a "stay-at-home dad and husband" with his wife and two sons. FIND HIM HERE: www.NareshVissa.com www.KrishMediaMarketing.com www.WorkFromHomeShow.com BECOMING PARENTS: Sharing stories about infertility, miscarriage, pregnancy, labor and delivery, bottle feeding, breastfeeding & relactation, self-care after birth, sex to get pregnant and after kids, birth options, to medicate or not to medicate, adoption, midwife vs hospital, the struggles, surprises, joys and exhaustion, and - holy cow - you've become a parent! WHAT NOW?! Jenn Taylor is Mom Of 18 (yes - 18 kids!). She has written the blog - Mom's Running It since 2011, has been a published author since 2016, and host of the Becoming Parents Podcast since May of 2017. She is an NLP Practitioner, Speaker, and has 15+ years in the foster care sector as both a parent and a trainer. Jenn spent 12 years as a doula, lactation consultant, and CBE trainer in The Bradley Method and Birthing From Within, and ran LaLeche League meetings with a passion for supporting women who have become Moms. Jenn is grateful to be a Certified Birth & Bereavement Doula® to help families struggling with grief and loss, as well as an Adoption & Surrogacy Doula. She is also married to an amazing man in Reno, NV, and is a runner, minimalist, and healthy lifestyle enthusiast. CONNECT WITH JENN! https://linktr.ee/momofeighteen --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/becoming-parents/message

Second Interview on Three Second Trimester Miscarriages & A Growing FB Group with Tiffany Alvarez - S6 E52

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Play Episode Listen Later Mar 16, 2023 31:08

Today we took a deeper dive from our first interview and discussed faith, how God gets us through, helping others, the growing FB group and lots of insight on how we can help women more. Three 2nd-trimester losses Navigating blood clotting disorders and having an incompetent cervix Scared to try again and worried as hell when I am pregnant Sharing my story and how it helps me cope I want anyone to feel safe and open to speak out about their loss. It's too common of a thing to lose a baby Her Facebook page is - Miscarriage: Breaking the silence https://www.facebook.com/psalms34.18/ FIRST PODCAST EPISODE: https://youtu.be/A0_B8gJuquw BECOMING PARENTS: Sharing stories about infertility, miscarriage, pregnancy, labor and delivery, bottle feeding, breastfeeding & relactation, self-care after birth, sex to get pregnant and after kids, birth options, to medicate or not to medicate, adoption, midwife vs hospital, the struggles, surprises, joys and exhaustion, and - holy cow - you've become a parent! WHAT NOW?! Jenn Taylor is Mom Of 18 (yes - 18 kids!). She has written the blog - Mom's Running It since 2011, has been a published author since 2016, and host of the Becoming Parents Podcast since May of 2017. She is an NLP Practitioner, Speaker, and has 15+ years in the foster care sector as both a parent and a trainer. Jenn spent 12 years as a doula, lactation consultant, and CBE trainer in The Bradley Method and Birthing From Within, and ran LaLeche League meetings with a passion for supporting women who have become Moms. Jenn is grateful to be a Certified Birth & Bereavement Doula® to help families struggling with grief and loss, as well as an Adoption & Surrogacy Doula. She is also married to an amazing man in Reno, NV, and is a runner, minimalist, and healthy lifestyle enthusiast. CONNECT WITH JENN! https://linktr.ee/momofeighteen --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/becoming-parents/message

Episode 58: Fourth Trimester Wisdom from a Postpartum Doula with Colleen Goidel

Kumbay'all: The Whole Woman's Resource

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 15, 2023 30:46

The fourth trimester is a time of HUGE adjustment, no matter how many babies you've had, and our guest today will share some great advice and suggestions for how to help ease this transition. Today's episode is part two of a two-part series on doulas. In episode 57 we learned about birth doulas and why you'd want to have one on your birth support team. You don't have to listen to these in any particular order but if you haven't checked out that episode you'll want to go back and listen to it for sure! Today's episode is about postpartum doulas, with wisdom from a very experienced postpartum doula. Yes, you can get doula support not just for your birth, but for after baby arrives as well! Our guest, Colleen Goidel, has supported hundreds of laboring, postpartum, and breastfeeding clients over the past two decades. She has great information and insight to share! In Kumbay'all episode 58 Colleen discusses: What a postpartum doula is and how they can help new parents What benefits a postpartum doula offers vs having a friend or family member help out Some ways to prepare for the fourth trimester Why she encourages being a ‘good-enough' parent vs being your ‘best self' How to have compassion for your baby when they're crying at 3am and you're sleep-deprived Why it's important for new parents to support themselves What questions to discuss with your partner to help you plan for the fourth trimester About Colleen Goidel: Colleen Goidel, CPD(CAPPA), CLE(CAPPA), CBE(BFW) is a certified postpartum doula, ‘Birthing From Within' certified childbirth educator, certified lactation educator, newborn care educator, and the co-founder of Two Doulas and You. Colleen has also developed a full-spectrum education program that includes evidence-based childbirth, lactation, and newborn-care classes. Inspired by her own experience as a parent and grandparent, Colleen is passionate about helping expectant and new parents discover and manifest their birth, feeding, and parenting priorities without judgment, and with an open heart and mind. If you enjoyed this episode please share it, leave a review, and subscribe to the podcast. We love hearing from you and we appreciate your support! hello@kumbayallpodcast.com - Let us know what you thought of this episode! Two Doulas and You - learn more about how you can work with Colleen or take her classes Progressive Pelvic Education - check out Amanda's current course offerings and get on the wait list for her homebirth prep course! @progressive.pelvic.ed on Instagram or Facebook Renew Pelvic Health - Amanda's practice in Atlanta, GA @renewpelvichealth on Instagram or Facebook

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Episode 57: What is a Birth Doula and Why Should You Hire One with Colleen Goidel

Kumbay'all: The Whole Woman's Resource

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 1, 2023 36:03

If you have a midwife or doctor attending your birth, why would you need a birth doula? Listen in to learn why and much more! This episode is the first in a two-part series about doulas. Today we're going to learn about birth doulas and why you'd want to have one on your birth support team. Episode 58 will be about postpartum doulas - and if you didn't know that there's such a thing as a postpartum doula, you'll definitely want to listen to that episode too! Our guest, Colleen Goidel, has supported hundreds of laboring, postpartum, and breastfeeding clients over the past two decades. She has great information and insight to share! In Kumbay'all episode 57 Colleen discusses: - What a birth doula is and what they do - Why it's so helpful to have a birth doula - How birth doulas can help birthing people with pain management - How to feel empowered even if your birth doesn't go the way you planned - What benefits a birth doula offers that might be difficult for a friend or family member - What things to consider when deciding who to have at your birth - What the process is like when you hire a birth doula on her team About Colleen Goidel: Colleen Goidel, CPD(CAPPA), CLE(CAPPA), CBE(BFW) is a certified postpartum doula, ‘Birthing From Within' certified childbirth educator, certified lactation educator, newborn care educator, and the co-founder of Two Doulas and You. Colleen has also developed a full-spectrum education program that includes evidence-based childbirth, lactation, and newborn-care classes. Inspired by her own experience as a parent and grandparent, Colleen is passionate about helping expectant and new parents discover and manifest their birth, feeding, and parenting priorities without judgment, and with an open heart and mind. If you enjoyed this episode please share it, leave a review, and subscribe to the podcast. We love hearing from you and we appreciate your support! hello@kumbayallpodcast.com - Let us know what you thought of this episode! Two Doulas and You - learn more about how you can work with Colleen or take her classes Progressive Pelvic Education - check out Amanda's current course offerings and get on the wait list for her homebirth prep course! @progressive.pelvic.ed on Instagram or Facebook Renew Pelvic Health - Amanda's practice in Atlanta, GA @renewpelvichealth on Instagram or Facebook

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Colleen Goidel: Navigating the Fourth Trimester | WAM177

Well-Adjusted Mama

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 7, 2023 41:28

Colleen Goidel is the co-founder of Two Doulas & You, an Atlanta-based doula collective offering consistent, continuous, compassionate support from pregnancy through postpartum. Their team-based approach ensures that clients receive more attention, flexible scheduling options and timely support as their journey unfolds. Colleen is a retired labor doula, a CAPPA-certified postpartum doula, a CAPPA-certified lactation educator, a Birthing From Within certified childbirth educator and a postpartum/newborn-care educator. She has developed a full spectrum of virtual and local in-person education offerings for expectant parents that includes comprehensive childbirth, lactation and newborn-care classes. Colleen has two grown children and four grandchildren and lives in Hoboken, NJ. For more information, check out her website at www.twodoulasandyou.com. Please click the button to subscribe so you don't miss any episodes and leave a review if your favorite podcast app has that ability. Thank you! Visit http://drlaurabrayton.com/podcasts/ for show notes and available downloads. © 2014 - 2023 Dr. Laura Brayton

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10th Day of Christmas: Coping With Pain During Labor- Jingle/Poem Repetition

Labor Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 30, 2022 2:24

This tool comes from the book "Birthing From Within", by Pam England and Rob Horowitz. Pam calls it a "self-hypnotic jingle". It's a rhythmic affirmation that states an outcome you want. In this episode, I share the story behind Pam's "chocolate cake" jingle, and the one I created for myself for my second labor. Birthing From WithinSong "Christmas" by TELL YOUR STORY music by ikson™https://ikson.com/musicMusic by @iksonmusicLaborLessons.comEnjoy listening to Labor Lessons? Leave a review here! Let me know what your favorite episode is and why!Follow me on Instagram: Labor LessonsDisclosure: Links to other sites may be affiliate links that generate us a small commission at no extra cost to you.

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415: Home Birth After TTC Struggles and Preterm Labor with Sophia Pavia

Doing It At Home: Our Home Birth Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 7, 2022 71:46

How do you feel in a hospital environment? Many choose home birth because of a bad experience (whether birth-related or not) or general dislike with the hospital. In today's story with Sophia Pavia, an unpleasant experience in the hospital during her first pregnancy added to her reasoning for having a home birth. But that wasn't the only reason. She herself was born at home and her sister had home births before Sophia started having children. For her, it was the best choice. Sophia is a fertility dietitian and at the time of this recording she is pregnant with her second, just weeks away from birth! We talk about details from her first birth along with intentions and plans for her upcoming home birth. Things we talk about in this episode: TTC journey Spinning Babies Using the birth tub Placenta delivery Postpartum insomnia and anxiety Affirmations and intentions for birth Links From The Episode: Sophia's website: www.ttcnutritionist.com Sophia's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ttc.nutritionist Food Freedom Fertility Podcast: https://www.foodfreedomfertility.com/ Birthing From Within: https://birthingfromwithin.com/ Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Esembly: https://bit.ly/3eanCSz - use code DIH20 to get 20% off your order Needed: https://bit.ly/2DuMBxP - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order or DIAH100 for $100 off a Complete Plan More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://bit.ly/3qhwgAe Give Back to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9

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Miscarriage & Loss, Adoption, Medicaid and Opioid Drug Use in Pregnancy with Jenn - S6 E36

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Play Episode Listen Later Nov 9, 2022 19:51

It's time to update what's going on for me and the podcast! It's been 9 months since I changed the podcast's direction from sharing stories of struggle to success to becoming parents. I spent 12 years as a doula, lactation consultant, and CBE trainer in The Bradley Method and Birthing From Within, and ran LaLeche League meetings with a passion for supporting women who have become Moms. I thought I'd pick up where I left off - 18 years ago - and go to school to become a midwife, but that's not what happened. Instead, I went back to school to be a doula and breastfeeding counselor again! I've completed some specialty certifications, the first as an adoption doula. With 5 adoptions and 15 years working with social services, I love the idea of helping a biological mom deliver a baby and having support through her pregnancy, delivery, and healing, as well as helping adopting families with the transition, breastfeeding, and relactation, and working with the bio mom. It also opened up being a surrogacy doula which has many similarities. The other certification that I'm incredibly passionate about is as a bereavement doula through stillbirthday.com As a mama who has experienced 3 miscarriages, including twins at 16 weeks, I decided to make this the pro bono part of my business. I work with women who have or are experiencing miscarriage, fatal diagnosis, stillbirth, or NICU and I can do so much while you're going through this. I also have a program if time has passed. This has taken off in several directions that I'll discuss on a specific episode and I love being able to make such a difficult situation, as positive as it can be. I will be one of the first doulas in NV to become a Molina Medicaid provider and realized through a few other options that most likely 100% of my doula clients will be Medicaid. I'm currently at the end of licensing. I am also planning on taking training through the hospital as well as opioid drug use training, to work through Medicaid and the hospitals to serve these women. I thought I'd go back to working predominantly with homebirths, however, God has different plans for me and I am ecstatic! I'll be serving an almost un-served population of women, and quite honestly - they deserve it. The first episode of becoming parents: https://youtu.be/2QWHPs94HqM --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/becoming-parents/message

60. Perceptions of Birth: Birthing From Within Student Kristin Maresca

Womb Wisdom

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 14, 2022 55:43

This was a super fun conversation with Kristin Maresca and was part of a birth processing course she is enrolled in. She asks me to share about my lifelong birth perceptions. It's a raw and vulnerable chat, that left me feeling open & free to share from my heart. About Kristin - "I am a mother to two amazing girls, both birthed at home; a wife to an incredibly supportive partner; a yoga teacher; a birthkeeper; a Reiki Master; and soon to be a Transformational Coach. 13 Moons is the culmination of decades of study, exploration, introspection, and passion. I have a background in corporate strategy consulting and international development and have been teaching yoga since 2004. The birth of my oldest daughter shifted the trajectory of my life in ways I could never have imagined. Through my pregnancy, birth, postpartum journey, I was brought to my knees and shown a deep power within myself. I found my calling as a doula and have been working as a birthkeeper and childbirth mentor since 2009. In 2021, I moved to the UK to study midwifery but was immediately struck by the similarities between the mainstream midwifery approach there and what I had witnessed in the United States. In a moment of deep reckoning, I chose to abide by a deep Call within. I left the midwifery course I was studying and, through weeks of intensive yoga and meditation practice, crafted a path forward that would provide me with the experience and structure needed to construct a new paradigm for birth and conscious connection. I now work as a doula and birthkeeper, childbirth mentor, and soon-to-be Birth Story Listener and Transformational Coach based in York, England." Find Kristin: Website - https://www.13-moons.co.uk/about Find Holly: Community – https://www.facebook.com/groups/241111264443799 Website - https://rosebudwellness.com/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/rosebud_wellness/ Shop - http://rosebudwellness.com/shop/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wombwisdom/message

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Childbirth Preparation Methods: Birthing From Within

Preggie Pals

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 5, 2022 44:54

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Episode 112: Making Birth Better in Our Culture: Interview with Marissa Mignone

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Play Episode Listen Later Aug 14, 2022 46:02

Thank you so much for listening. In today's show we are going to be talking about how to make birth better in our culture. Our guest to talk about this is a fellow Birthing From Within educator, Marissa Mignone. Marissa is also a Birth Doula, Postpartum Doula, and Prenatal/Postnatal Yoga Instructor in the Truckee/Lake Tahoe, CA areaIn this episode we discuss: How impactful a birth experience can be on someoneWhat isn't working in birth in our culture todayWhat is workingWhat might make things betterHow to get in touch with Marissa:WebsiteInstagramHow to get in touch with me: NEW: $29 Birth ClassGet the Postpartum Online Class!Follow me on Instagram and on TikTokFind other episodes at: www.findingyourvillage.com/podcastClick here to see the Soothic Sitz Bath!Use code: FYVILLAGE10 for 10% off!Support the show

The Life of a Mom of 18 - Yes 18! With Jenn Taylor

Pretty Little Tribe

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 24, 2022 45:58

In this week's episode of the Pretty Little Tribe Podcast, we are joined by Jenn Taylor. Jenn is a mom Of 18 (yes - 18 kids!). She has written the blog - Mom's Running It since 2011, a published author since 2016, and the host of Becoming Parents Podcast since 2017. She is an NLP Practitioner, Motivational Speaker, and has 15+ years in the foster care sector as both a parent and a trainer. Jenn spent 12 years as a doula, lactation consultant, CBE trainer in The Bradley Method and Birthing From Within, and ran LaLeche League meetings with a passion for supporting women who have become Moms and is grateful to be relicensing with a specialty in helping Moms through grief and loss as a Bereavement Doula. She is also married to an amazing man in Reno, NV, is a runner, minimalist, and healthy lifestyle enthusiast. If you enjoyed this episode of the Pretty Little Tribe Podcast, make sure you rate us five stars wherever you're listening, and we'll see you next week! Find Jenn: Website: https://momsrunningit.com/ Podcast: https://momsrunningit.com/podcast/ Follow us on Instagram! @prettylittletribe Music: Miss Summer by Roa Music | https://soundcloud.com/roa_music1031 Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US

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182 We're back! Frances' VBAC + Big Babies

At Home with Linda & Drew Scott

Play Episode Listen Later May 4, 2022 53:37

After a LONG break, The VBAC Link podcast is back again! We have missed hearing your stories and feeling inspired by your strength. We promise that you will smile, cry, and celebrate with Francis as she shares her beautiful heart with us today. While pregnant with her hopeful VBA2C baby, Francis created these birth goals:“I wish for a healthy mother and baby, both physically and emotionally. For my intuition to guide me and to be trusted by those around me. For labor to begin and continue as hands-off as possible and to feel heard, empowered, and respected.”She strived for an empowering birth experience no matter what the outcome was, which only made her successful VBA2C that much sweeter. We also discuss why you shouldn't be afraid to birth a big baby and how your intuition can be your greatest asset in the birth room. Additional linksThe VBAC Link Blog: Get That Big Baby OutThe VBAC Link Shirt ShopThe VBAC Link on Apple PodcastsHow to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for ParentsFull transcriptNote: All transcripts are edited to correct grammar, false starts, and filler words. Julie: Welcome to The VBAC Link podcast. We have Francis with us today. And my gosh! I did not sing. I was going to sing a song, “Guess who's back, back again?” Oh, yes. I was going to sing it. I was going to sing it, but I did not sing it. Meagan: Guess who's back? Julie: Back again. Meagan: Oh, I love it. Julie: Julie's back. And Meagan! Meagan: Yeah! Julie: Dang it. I sang it. Gosh. The only other time I have sang on the podcast was when I sang myself “Happy Birthday” for me in Korean on my birthday episode. That was fun. Do you remember that? Meagan: Yeah, that was forever ago. Julie: That was super fun. Julie: Oh my gosh. We are back! Meagan: We're back! Julie: It's been a while. Meagan: Yes it has. Julie: Holy cow. Meagan: We have had a lot going on, but it feels good. It feels really good. It feels a little weird and out of sync, but I am excited to be back. I'm sitting here. I'm so excited to have guests again. I'm excited to be with you. It's going to be great. Julie: Wow. So much has happened since we aired our last episode. Do you want to just kind of give a couple little things about what you have been up to and I'll do the same, and then we will get into our story? Meagan: Yeah. My life is always crazy with children. What have I been up to? Gymnastics meets, soccer games, working on children's mental health. COVID impacted my kids more than I ever even realized. And so, working with kids and their mental health, getting ready to move– a sporadic, spontaneous move. Yeah. Working with my husband, just letting him work, doing doula stuff for my doula business, hiring new doulas. It's been a lot but it's been great. Julie: Yeah. Holy cow. I know all that already and I am starting to feel a little bit overwhelmed for you. Kind of the same for me, keeping up with kids. My oldest has had some mental and physical health struggles as well, and so lots of things going on for him, and soccer, and gymnastics. My oldest two boys are doing bouldering classes, so learning how to climb big rocks. Meagan: That's awesome. Julie: I know. It's super fun. Super fun for them. And I actually have shifted in my role in the birth work field and I am a birth photographer now. So still a little bit of doula-ing, but birth photography mostly and that's been really fun. I really love it a lot. Meagan: And you're great. You're so great at it too. Julie: Thank you. Thank you, thank you. Yeah. It's been really fun. Really interesting, but it's also kind of like starting a whole new business while restarting everything with The VBAC Link so it's kind of been a lot. We have been up to a lot recently. So thanks everybody for hanging in there with us while we took a little bit of a break to catch up, and maintain, and restart some things in our busy lives. We appreciate everybody for supporting us while we were hanging out in the background for just a little bit, but we're back. Meagan: We're back. Julie: We're back. Review of the Week Alright, as always, we have to start the episode with a review of the week. Thank you so much, everybody, for leaving reviews. We love them so much and Meagan is going to share one with us right now. Meagan: Yes. We have a review from holmclaugh90 and the title is “I listen every single day.” It says, “After a traumatic cesarean with my first baby five years ago and multiple miscarriages in between, this is a breath of fresh air as I await my chance to have a VBAC this October with my second. Love every story I hear on this podcast and it makes me feel so much stronger in knowing that I can do this.” I love it. Julie: I love it too. I love it. Meagan: That was in July of last year, so she definitely has had a baby. So holmclaugh90, if you are still listening, email us at info@thevbaclink.com. We would love to know how your birth went. Julie: Yeah. Or tag us in your birth story on Instagram or Facebook and we can share it. Meagan: Yeah. Francis' Story Meagan: Alright. Julie: Alright. Meagan: I can't wait for this new story. Julie: I know. We are really excited. We are bringing it back with a classic story about– can you guess? Drumroll please. Big babies! Meagan: I was gonna say, VBAC with a big baby. Julie: VBAC with a big baby, and we are also going to sprinkle in some talk about maternal mental health, and the importance of trauma processing, and working through prior births, and some cholestasis there for a little bit of variety. But before we do that, I want to introduce our guest, Francis. Francis is a married mother of three from Raleigh, North Carolina. She balances motherhood with a full-time job in international business. Wow. Really need to hear more about that. She enjoys swimming, CrossFit, outdoor adventuring, and traveling. So Francis, welcome. Thank you so much for being with us. We cannot wait to hear more about your story. Why don't you go ahead and tell us a little bit more? Francis: Sure. Well first of all, it's so good to be with you guys. I am so glad that you're back doing this. Julie: Thank you. Francis: It was just such a resource that I used in my pregnancy, and so I am so glad that there are more episodes for women to listen to, and hopefully be inspired by, and learn from. You guys are just amazing and congratulations on all that you guys have been up to. And Julie, I think that's awesome that you are doing birth photography. We had a birth photographer at all three of our births and it's just something that I hold so precious and dear to my heart. So I think it's incredible that you are doing that and giving that back to moms as well. Julie: Aw, thank you. Meagan: I would totally agree with you. It's actually one of my biggest regrets not having one at my birth. I wish so badly that I had someone there to take more pictures and videos so I could experience it from a different perspective too. Francis: Yeah. Meagan: Because when you are in the thick of it, it's hard to even comprehend what is happening. I wish I could have just seen, I don't know. I wish I could've seen it from a different angle. But yeah. She's awesome. Francis: Yeah. And you know, it's funny. I didn't even think about this as part of my birth story when I was thinking about it, but we did have a birth photographer with all three of my births and as you'll hear, my first two births did not go as planned, but I still have the photographs from that and it actually really did help in my healing when I had the courage to go through them to look back and see, you know what? Even though this didn't go as I thought it might, there is still a lot of beauty in my births. Meagan: Absolutely. Yeah. Francis: So I think it is for any woman. To have that moment captured is special, no matter how the birth turns out. You know? Julie: Yeah, I love that. Thank you. Francis: Yeah. Julie: Nice plug-in. Francis: Yeah I know, right? So speaking of– my first pregnancy was in 2012 and prior to getting pregnant, I had been introduced to homebirth by my sister who had a really beautiful homebirth for herself. Prior to her having a homebirth, I honestly didn't really know that that was a thing that people were doing. I just assumed everyone had hospital births and that was just the way it was. And so when I saw her experience and I educated myself on what a homebirth was, I decided I really wanted that for myself. So after I got pregnant, I looked into having a homebirth, but unfortunately in the state where I am at, it's not real easy for midwives to operate in a homebirth setting. So it wasn't in the cards for me, but I did find a freestanding birth center that was about 30 minutes from my home staffed by midwives and then backed up by physicians where I could give birth. I hired a really amazing doula and took a Birthing From Within class with her, and then I hired the birth photographer. We had everything lined up. My pregnancy was super easy and very normal up until I got to about 40 weeks and started stressing out, like a lot of moms do. I knew it was normal and natural to go past 40 weeks, but I don't know. I guess I just thought it would never happen to me. I don't know. But I started to get really stressed out. I hit 41 weeks and my provider wanted to do an ultrasound to check the fluid and check in on baby. Everything was healthy, but they did end up measuring my baby and they estimated that my baby was over 12 pounds. So as you can imagine, I really started to freak out. My provider was still supportive and supportive of me trying for a natural birth at the birth center if I could go into labor on my own, but I do know that it planted some seeds of doubt both with them and honestly within myself. But I do know that women birth big babies all the time and that ultrasounds can be wrong. So we moved forward. I luckily ended up going into labor on my own right before I hit 42 weeks. I had a long labor, but it was steady. I was at the birth center and everything was normal, kind of until it wasn't. I didn't know this at the time, but I ended up basically stalling at 8 centimeters for a number of hours and then my labor basically stopped. And so we decided to go to the hospital which was really devastating to transfer, but I knew it was necessary at that point. So we transferred. I did get an epidural and some Pitocin to try to pick things back up. But at this point, it had been 36 hours and I was just kind of ready to be over it. There was this question mark of how big my baby was and maybe my baby really wasn't going to fit. So I consented to a Cesarean and my baby did end up being really big. He was a surprise gender. He was a boy and he was 11 lbs. 2 oz. So not quite 12, but still really big. Meagan: Wow. Julie: Really big baby. Meagan: Yeah. Julie: That's a big, chunky baby. Francis: Yeah, exactly. So my Cesarean was fine. You know, physically I was fine. My recovery wasn't bad. But I mentally struggled as I know a lot of Cesarean moms do. I was just really disappointed in the outcome. I went from really wanting a homebirth, to then being at the birth center, to then transferring to the hospital, and then having a Cesarean. I felt like a failure. And I know looking back now that I wasn't, but it felt that way at the time. I've been a physically active person my whole life, and so I think for the first time ever, I really felt like my body failed me. That was really hard. I had a hard time swallowing that. I also felt guilt. I felt like it was my fault, like maybe I ate too much pie and that's why I had an 11 pound baby. Or maybe I should have kept trying at the birth center and not gone to the hospital. But either way, you know, it worked out the way it did. We were healthy, and that, of course, is the most important thing. But I was really– I did struggle for a while with that birth and just processing everything that I went through. Fast forward a couple of years later, my husband and I decided that we were ready for another. I had regained some confidence in myself and in my body, and decided that I did want to go for a VBAC. I was able to go back to the birth center midwives from my prior pregnancy, but in my state, you can't do VBAC out of the hospital, so they have admitting privileges in the hospital. So I knew it meant an automatic hospital birth which was disappointing because again, I really didn't want to be in a hospital environment, but I didn't have much of a choice. But I found the midwives were really supportive and I was ready to go. We had the same doula and the same photographer, and everything was really great. And then at right about 40 weeks, I got cholestasis, which, I know you guys have covered on the podcast before, but it causes insane itching and it can be harmful to the baby. So at that point, we decided I really needed to be induced. That was, again, really devastating, I had hoped to be able to go into labor on my own and labor at home as long as possible before going to the hospital, but having an induction that I knew in my heart was really medically necessary, I had to be at the hospital. I am super grateful our midwife group– I didn't know a whole lot about VBAC protocol at the time with induction, but what I know now, I know that they really followed it to a T. We did a low and slow induction. We did a Foley and very gentle Pitocin. I was honestly kind of on and off Pitocin for about three days trying to get this baby to come out. At the end of the third day, I think I had gotten to 3 centimeters. I got a cervical check and they felt my baby‘s ear instead of the top of her head, so she was almost completely sideways. Julie: Oh wow. Francis: Yeah. So that was obviously quite unexpected. We spent a little bit of time with the doula and the midwife trying to sort of shimmy and shake and get her to move, but after some time, it just wasn't happening. I had already been there over three days. We had a toddler that was being shuffled around between family at home. I just knew in my heart at that point it was time to consent to another Cesarean. That was a super difficult decision, but honestly, I came to it really feeling genuinely supported and that I had been involved in the decision making every step of the way, so it wasn't a bad experience. Rght about that time, the concept of family-centered Cesareans was coming to the forefront, and so I was able to have a really gentle Cesarean. I did have a clear drape. I think I was the second person at this hospital to have a clear drape and it was fine. Again, I did end up having another really big baby. This was also a surprise gender. It was a girl. She was 10 lbs. 10 oz. So at that point, I realized I just grow really giant babies. Again, processing the Cesarean was difficult, but probably not as difficult as the first time just because I had been so well supported by everybody. You know? So after that, life moved on. My husband and I weren't entirely sure that we were done having kids, but pretty sure we were done having kids, and so I just fell into life. You know, work, being a mom. I unfortunately had a couple of really difficult personal situations that came about during the couple of years after my daughter was born. The biggest one being my mother was diagnosed with cancer and then passed away. That was really difficult. Meagan: Yeah. That's heavy. Heavy, heavy. Francis: Yes. Yeah, very. Meagan: I'm sorry. Francis: Thank you. I decided I really needed to take some time to work on myself. You know? So I found an amazing counselor who I went and saw very frequently. We just spent a lot of time processing everything. Some of that, of course, was my births, and processing the trauma of my births, and just those feelings of failure, and disappointment, and guilt. And then, we just spent a lot of time processing everything else that life throws at you. Through that, one of the things, and probably the most important thing, that I learned was that I have really good instincts. I think that honestly, most of us do, especially mothers. We have really good instincts, but it takes some time, and some practice, and some patience to learn how to trust them and how to follow them. Going through all of the counseling really helped teach me how to lean in to my intuition and how to trust my gut. That was an experience that just has obviously helped me in every area of life. Julie: That's such a valuable thing to learn. Francis: Yeah. Julie: It's a hard way to learn it, but it's such a good skill to have and a good thing that came out of that. Francis: Yeah, exactly. Yep. So I was in a really good place and then 2020 happened, right? The pandemic and then in July 2020, I found myself surprised pregnant. Obviously, my husband and I had not closed the door on having children, but we weren't really planning on it. So when I found out I was pregnant, it was a bit of a shock. Honestly, it took us a little bit of time to really get excited about it. It was just such a surprise that we weren't really sure how to feel about it, but eventually, we did come to be very surprised. To be honest, I didn't know right away whether I wanted to try for a VBAC again. And honestly, I didn't know whether it was an option for me, like whether the hospital would allow me to or whether my personal circumstances were right for a VBAC. So I started doing a little bit of research and then seeking out some opinions and taking into consideration my personal circumstances. And I do have, like I've mentioned, I have a history of big babies. I had cholestasis in my last pregnancy. I had this “failed VBAC”. I was almost 40 years old and was just like, “I don't know. Is this a good idea for me to try for a VBAC? What happens if I fail again? What does that mean?” So I really spent some time thinking about it and I did briefly check out a different healthcare provider just to see if maybe a change in my provider would be helpful. Also, this one was a bit closer to my house. I'll never forget at that first appointment, I was just trying to feel out what my options would be and they said to me, verbatim, “No doctor at this hospital will ever support you in a VBAC.” I just remember thinking like– I didn't know a lot at that time about a VBAC after two Cesareans, but I knew that that didn't feel right. Meagan: Yeah. Francis: Yeah. That like, “Wait. I don't have a decision in what happens to my body?” I knew that didn't feel right. And so I decided. I was like, “Okay. I'm not going to stay with this practice. Let me do more research and let me seek out additional opinions.” So I ended up going back to the midwives with the birth center that I had been with before for my prior two pregnancies. And again, they only do VBAC in the hospital. I inquired with them whether they would take me on and they said, “Yes.” They did share some of the same concerns as me, but ultimately they did support me in being a part of the process and making a decision of what happens with me and my baby. So at that point, that's when I found you guys. Meagan: That's really how it should be, by the way. When you said that, it reminded me of my conversation with my old doctor. I went to go get my medical records and he said, “Good luck. No one is going to want you out there.” And it was like, “Okay.” And it wasn't even like, “Yeah. Let's talk about it,” or “Let me tell you why I don't feel comfortable with it.” You know? Francis: Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Well, anyways. Yeah. I felt that someone shouldn't be making that choice for me. If I choose not to try for a VBAC, that's my choice. But for someone else to just say, “No. You must have major surgery.” It just didn't feel right and it didn't sit well with me. Meagan: Yeah. Yeah. Francis: But luckily, I was able to go back to my previous provider and find support. I know a lot of women don't find that, so I was really lucky in that regard. At that point, that's when I really, really start a diving deep into VBAC research and that's when I found you guys. I looked at all of the research you put out. I started listening to your podcasts and all of the other stories, and it really gave me strength and confidence. One of, perhaps, I think the most important things is in listening to other women's stories, it opened my eyes to this possibility of this perfect “birth” that I had in my head before. It didn't have to be like that. I could accept a hospital birth or I could accept interventions and that could still be a beautiful birth. It doesn't have to be this like, I don't know, what you see in a movie or just that perfect, serene birth. I realized and I accepted that I could open up my mind. Things might turn out not precisely like I hope they do, but that could still be okay. You know? Julie: Yes. I love that. Francis: I really shifted my mindset and in this pregnancy, I didn't worry about all the things that sometimes people do. I really just focused on taking care of my mind and taking care of my body. I did do chiropractic care, and I also did– I don't know if you guys have heard of the Arvigo abdominal massage? I did that. Meagan: No. What is that? Francis: Oh. Yeah, so it's really interesting. It's a Mayan technique and it's an abdominal massage. It's actually really great after a Cesarean. It really helps with scar tissue. But even during pregnancy, it just– I actually don't know all of the benefits of it other than for one, it feels really great. I think it can help with the round ligaments and stuff. It just helps the positioning of your baby and I don't know. I found it really relaxing and comforting, so I did do that. I also did go to an acupuncturist and overall, just stayed active and well. But I did all those things not for some arbitrary reason, but because it made me feel good. So I really just focused on that. With this different approach to this pregnancy and accepting that things might turn out differently than what I had initially hoped, I shared all of this with my provider. I think that was super helpful because I think that they realized that I was in this mental space where I knew I could trust myself and I could trust my instincts and make the right decisions. In turn, they really trusted me. So it really helped in that and having support from them. One of the things, though, that did bring up some concern was that I did do a maternal fetal medicine consult about halfway through just to talk about my prior Cesareans and go over my operative history. One thing that came up that was a bit unexpected was in my second Cesarean, the surgeon had noted that I had really dense adhesions from my first Cesarean. He put almost a note in there to say, “A note to future surgeons, you might experience a prolonged surgery because of all of this dense scar tissue that was in there.” Julie: Interesting. Meagan: Well, and I actually wonder if the dense scar tissue extended– because you said you made it to 8, and you stalled, and you made it to 3. We just had a client that, same thing. She only made it to 3.5 and her body was in active labor. Her cervix just wasn't going and she had super dense adhesions. Francis: Yeah. I mean, for sure. I don't really know, obviously, all of the ways that it can affect you, but I am sure, it's not natural to have all of that scar tissue in your abdomen, right? It's there because you've had this major surgery. So the one thing, though, that they did mention and why it concerned them is they said that if I attempted and it ended up in an emergent situation, it might not turn out well for me because they wouldn't be able to get through all of that scar tissue super quickly either to save my baby or me, right? That was a little bit scary to hear, but my first thought was like, “Well, if I have got all of the scar tissue and it's going to be super hard to open me up, don't you guys just not want to have to open me up? Wouldn't the best case scenario be to just not have another surgery?” Julie: Right? Meagan: And avoid that completely? Yeah. Francis: Right. And add more scar tissue. I know when you have these adhesions, they can accidentally cut into your bladder or things like that. So I was like, “Well, isn't it best case scenario just to not have surgery?” And they were like, “Oh, yeah I guess so.” It was kind of funny, almost like they hadn't really thought of that option, but they wanted me to schedule a repeat Cesarean before I went into labor so they could do it on their own time so they wouldn't have to rush. Which on the one hand, I understand, but the other hand I was like, “Well, let's just try to not cut me open at all.” Right? The other thing too with that was again, I really trusted myself to be able to make the right decision and I trusted that if I were to attempt a VBAC and get to the point where a Cesarean was necessary, that I was capable of making the decision to head to the OR before it was an emergency. I had done that twice before, you know? The other thing too was I had done the research. I know you guys have talked about this before how rare uterine rupture really is and that's kind of like the big deal with VBAC's, right? Also, not only how rare it is, but then when there is rupture, how few of them are really catastrophic. You know? It seemed a little bit silly to go in for a Cesarean just because there was a one in 1000 chance that I might have a catastrophic rupture. Julie: Yeah, exactly. Francis: Yeah. So ultimately, I respectfully appreciated their professional opinion, but decided I still wanted to go for a VBAC. So anyways, I went for it again. Basically, the rest of my pregnancy proceeded as normal. As far as I know, I did not get the cholestasis again. I did take some herbals that maybe played a role, but I didn't get itchy, so I was super happy about that. Although, I was in my head in it a lot about it. If you think about being itchy, you can find an itch on your body right now. You know? So it was hard not to be paranoid about it. But ultimately, I avoided getting it which was great. So I didn't have to be induced, because I was worried about that. My pregnancy continued to progress and I did again go past 40 weeks. There were times when I was mentally struggling, but my husband, and my doula, and photographer were super supportive. I was able to lean in on them for support. I did start having a little bit of prodromal labor about 40 weeks and that was really exhausting, but it was reassuring that something was happening. I was taking the wins where I could find them. As I approached 41 weeks, I started to feel a little bit of pressure about how late I was going to go again. I did agree and scheduled an ultrasound to check on the fluid and check on the baby, but I made it very clear that I would not consent to them measuring my baby because I just thought, “What good does it do to talk about the size of my baby at this point? I know I grow big babies. It's got to come out one way or the other.” Julie: Yes! Francis: Let's just not even talk about it. Julie: Absolutely. Francis: There were a couple of the midwives that would make comments about it that rubbed me the wrong way, but I did my best to just brush it off. Because again, this baby is coming out, so what good does it to really think too much about how big it's gonna be? As luck would have it though, I didn't even get to that ultrasound. I didn't have to put my foot down, but I was prepared to, to not have them measure my baby. So I ended up going into labor on my own. It was about 41 weeks. I happened to have an appointment with my favorite midwife and she just put me into this really peaceful place. Sure enough, that night, I went into labor. It started overnight and was kind of slow. My husband was in the other room, so I was up by myself for a bit and about 5:30 in the morning, I realized I was struggling to cope on my own. So I woke him up and he came into the room with me. About an hour later, he ended up calling our doula. Actually this time, we were only allowed one support person in the hospital other than my husband, so our photographer who had been with us before was double dutying as my doula. Julie: Nice. That's called a doula-tog. A doula photographer. I do that sometimes. Francis: Yeah. She's been with us in all of our births and she's had birth experiences of her own that she can really relate to, so she was really great filling both rolls. She came over because my husband, and we laugh about this now, but he was like, “You were making noises that I was really scared of.” So he called her over to help me and my labor did slow down a bit, when things kind of picked up. Some people came over to pick up my other children. I think that's pretty normal. But then once everyone left and my birth space was undisturbed, my labor really picked up really quickly. I was contracting about every 3 to 4 minutes I think. A solid minute contraction and after a little bit, I started throwing up. In my labor with my son, I started throwing up when I was pretty far along, so I was like, oh my gosh. Maybe this is really happening quickly. Like, we should go to the hospital. We headed over to the hospital which was about 30 minutes and not really a fun drive, but we made it. We got checked in and I knew I wanted to labor in the tub for a little bit. They just have hospital, small tubs but I was allowed to get in and they had the wireless monitors. I wanted to get checked just to know where I was starting from and I was only a 2. I was so defeated. Julie: Oh, that is so discouraging. Oh my gosh. Francis: Yeah. Yeah, I know. There's part of me that regrets finding out but it is what it is, right? But I knew at that point, I was like, “Okay. I am going to switch my mindset.” I already saw drugs in my future which I had decided I was totally okay with, but I wanted to see how much farther I could get. So I got in the tub and it really slowed down my labor, so my doula made me get out. I think I fussed and complained at her. I got out and I tried nitrous, but it did nothing for me. I'm honestly not even sure if that thing was actually working. I decided at that point, I was like, “Just give me the epidural.” The other thing too is, maybe this is coming from a little bit of an athletic background, I was really having trouble holding tension in my pelvic floor and in my bum. I just couldn't release, and so I knew that the epidural would help with that. That's one of the things that I have learned on this podcast and listening to other women's stories is that sometimes you can use these interventions to your advantage. Getting an epidural doesn't mean that that's the end of it for you. You can use it as a tool in your tool kit. Julie: Absolutely. It's available if you need it. Francis: Exactly. I knew at that point I did need it. So I got the epidural. I was only 3 centimeters and that really scared me because I really wanted to be farther along, but I did it anyway. I labored for a bit and then I got checked again and I was– I probably had been at the hospital about 12 hours at this point. I'm still only 3 cm and I was like, “What am I doing? Like why am I doing this?” The midwife that happened to be on call was such a saint. I look back and I'm like, “I couldn't have landed with a better midwife for me.” She looked me in the eyes. She said, “I will not recommend anything that will put you and your baby in harms way, but I will do everything in my power to help you achieve a vaginal birth.” It was just so reassuring to really know that she had my back. We did start Pitocin at that point, which I know can be a little bit controversial in a VBAC or a VBAC after more than one Cesarean, but we did a really slow Pitocin and I could tell it was working. I did have an epidural, but I could feel it working. I continued to labor throughout the night into the early morning. I tried to catch some rest, but there were definitely times I was looking around and like, my husband was trying to sleep on the floor and our doula photographer was there with us this whole time and I was just like, “Gosh.” I felt almost guilty, like I was putting them through the ringer with me. I just kept having these feelings like, “Will I end up in another Cesarean? I'm doing all this for nothing.” But I tried to quiet those doubts as much as I could and at one point in the middle of the night, I felt a pop and a gush of fluid. I called the nurse and I was like, “Hey, either I've just peed myself or my water broke.” She came in and confirmed it was my waters, so that was exciting. Julie: Yay! Francis: I was like, “Okay. Something's happening, right?” And then, as I was laying there trying to catch some rest, I could feel that I was having some pressure in my bum and my sacrum, but I didn't want to get too excited, so I kept it to myself. It was probably about 3 o'clock in the morning. My midwife had been tending to a couple of other women and she was going to try to catch some rest, so she was like, “Well, let me just check you really quick.” When she was doing it, I knew that it was a do or die moment for me. If I hadn't progressed anymore at that point, I felt like that was going to be it. So I was really, really nervous. She went to check me. She didn't say a word and she had this poker face. She checked me. She went to the sink and washed up. My heart is pounding, right? Like, “Oh my gosh.” She walks over to my bedside and then she looks at me and she said, “Francis? You're more dilated than you've ever been in your life.” Julie: Yay! Francis: And I just– yeah. I let out this scream and everybody in the room was cheering. I think the nurse might have even shed a tear. That was the first moment where I was like, “Oh my god. This might actually happen.” So I did labor down a little bit longer and at one point, the nurse rushed in. She had me change positions and got me on my hands and knees and I knew. She wasn't saying anything, but I knew that that meant they were having some sort of concern about baby. I tried not to panic, but I was really scared. The midwife got called in. She gave me another check and she was like, “You're at 10 centimeters. Let's just get this baby out.” So I was like, “Let's do it.” Julie: “Let's do it.” I love it. Francis: So my doula was like, “Hey, do you want the squat bar?” I was like, “Yes. Give me the squat bar.” Coming from an athletic background, I was so excited to feel useful. I was like, “Alright. Let's go.” I had never pushed before, so I didn't know what that was like. I was being coached. I was using the squat bar, basically squatting on the bed using the bar and apparently, according to the midwife, was really doing a good job. After about 45 minutes, my baby was right there. She was like, “Come down. Touch your baby's head.” I touched his head, and then she had me lean back a little bit. We did some of those slow, panty pushes to do it pretty slowly. I felt my baby's head come out, and then she had me push again for the shoulders. I could tell when I did that that she had a little bit of trouble, but he ended up coming out really without a problem. I really wanted to catch my baby. My husband was amazing support throughout all of it, but he had zero interest in being part of that process. And so I was like, “Well, I want to catch my baby then.” So my midwife was like, “Well, reach down and catch your baby!” So I reached down and she helped me, and I brought him up to my chest. He was beautiful and perfect, and it was that moment that I know we all dream about. Our photographer caught that moment and I have shared it on your Facebook page before. It's a little bit graphic. Not too much so, but it was just– you can see it in my face. I was just in heaven. My baby was on my chest for all of the nurse checks and everything. I remember when he was laying there, I was like, “Oh, I think he's my smallest baby. He's so small.” And then finally, they came and took him to do the weight and the measurements, and he ended up being 10 lbs. 12 oz. and 22.5 inches. Julie: Wow! Francis: He was not my biggest baby, but my second biggest and I just couldn't believe it. You know? Like, “Oh my gosh. I pushed that baby out of my body!” Meagan: Yeah! Francis: I did have some tearing. It was a third-degree tear and my midwife said it was from his shoulders. She did say he didn't have dystocia, but she had to give some traction, I think, is what she said. But I was repaired right there in labor and delivery and honestly, I didn't care because I had my baby with me and I was just in euphoria. The recovery was not a walk in the park, but so much better than a Cesarean. I avoided major abdominal surgery. One of the things in my birth plan– I had this long birth plan– but at the very beginning, I said that I had birth goals. These were my goals. This is where I'll get emotional. Sorry. I said, “I wish for a healthy mother and baby, both physically and emotionally. For my intuition to guide me and to be trusted by those around me. For labor to begin and continue as hands off as possible and to feel heard, empowered, and respected.” At the end of the day, my birth checked all those boxes. I couldn't have asked for more. I have no doubt that your podcast played a huge role in my success. If me sharing my story can help just one other woman achieve her own birth goals, then I am just overjoyed. So thank you so much for giving me this opportunity to share my story. Julie: Aww. Meagan: Wow. I have tears in my eyes right now. Francis: Aww. You guys are so sweet. Meagan: I just felt that. When you were talking about when you reached down and grabbed your baby, it was like I was flashing back to my son‘s birth. I just remember that feeling and I was feeling it for you. It's such an incredible feeling to reach down there and feel the baby's head, and pull him out, and have that support, and what your midwife said too. I am so happy for you and so proud of you. Francis: Well, thank you. I appreciate it. Like I said, I really, truly feel like I could not have done it without you guys. I really mean that. I know you've heard that before, but it's the truth. Julie: Well, I just don't think– I can safely speak for Meagan when I say we probably won't ever get tired of hearing that. We love it! Meagan: I don't think we will because this is what we are here for. This is what we want to do. We want to help. We want to empower. We want to inspire. We want to guide. We want to educate. We want to create that community where it's not even just us, right? It's you guys helping others and feeling that support all around the world. You have people rooting for you and you don't even know where they are at. That's what we want. That's what we want. We want our mission here too be better and make birth after Cesarean better. Sometimes, that means a repeat Cesarean and that's okay. Listen to how healing it can be. Francis: Yeah. Meagan: Especially coming back for the first podcast after taking so much time, it's so refreshing to hear, “Hey, this is still what people love and this is what people want. They want to hear the stories. They want to see all the stories.” The emotion I just felt with you sharing your story, and I'm not even pregnant or having anymore kids and I'm feeling it. I'm just imagining being in that room with you guys and cheering as you're the furthest dilated that you've ever been. That's such a huge moment. Just so many fun things. I am so glad to be back. Julie: Yeah. I love it. I think it's so incredible. I just think back– I know Meagan, maybe you are doing the same thing, just all the births I have attended as a doula and now I get to do that as a birth photographer– of parents who have had these babies over 10 pounds. I feel like sometimes maybe the big ones come out a little bit easier because they have gravity working on their side, right? Gravity gets to pull on them a little bit easier. Francis: True. Julie: I am on call right now for a threepeat doula client, my third time being her doula. The babies that I was with for her last two, one was over 9 pounds and one was over 10. It's not a VBAC birth, but her babies– She's 5'1” by the way. She's 5'1” and very petite. She births these ginormous, sumo wrestler babies. It's just so fun to watch her labor and birth because she just doesn't hold still. She's constantly moving. There's a lot to say about giving the birthing person time, and freedom, and space, and ability to let their body do what it needs to do instead of jumping to conclusions about the babies size and the ability of whether it will or will not work. I think that that's really cool that your midwife supported you in that way. It's really just neat when you hear about providers wanting the type of birth you wanna just as much as you do and it really kind of felt like that's what happened there for you. So it's really cool. Francis: Yeah. It did. It's kind of funny because when I was seeking out opinions about whether I should go for a VBAC or not, and then of course just checking myself, honestly, the fact that I grow really big babies was almost not even brought up. It was all of the other things that were more concerning. Like the scar tissue, or my age, or potentially having cholestasis and maybe having to get induced or just go for a repeat Cesarean. So it was interesting to me. One of the things I think I was most fearful of when I was thinking about having a VBAC was whether my baby would be too big, but my provider almost didn't even care. Do you know? Julie: I love that. Francis: That surprised me. Five Tips for Birthing Big Babies Julie: I love that. I love it a lot. Alright well, we are going to wrap it up but before we do, we have a blog all about big babies and how we can have the best chance at gettingg that big baby out vaginally. We are going to link it for you in the show notes. I am going to go over five tips for you right now. The first one is knowing the facts about macrosomia, which just means “big baby”. Macrosomia– it's really interesting because different organizations define what makes a baby big differently. Some places define it as a baby that's larger than 8 lbs. 13 oz. and some places define it as bigger than 9 lbs. 4 oz. I mean, your babies checked both of those boxes. So that's okay. So either way, 8 lbs. 13 oz. or 9 lbs. 4 oz. So sometimes, there is a little bit of flexibility about what really makes s baby big. And also know that estimated fetal weight– the only way to actually know the actual size of your baby is birthing the baby and getting the measurements after it's born. Ultrasound scans are notoriously inaccurate about measuring gestational weight. They can be off by a pound or two difference like yours. Your first was still really big, but about a pound different than what they measured it, right? Francis: Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Julie: Yeah. The second thing you can do to help get a big baby out is hire a doula. Studies show that having a doula improves just about every single aspect of your birth and delivering a large baby is no exception about that. A skilled doula will help you communicate your needs and your perceptions to help realize your dream of having a healthy, positive birthing experience. There are actually a lot of statistics that prove how doulas improve birth outcomes. They actually reduce your chances of having a C-section by 39% which is really cool for my data-junkie brain. The third thing you can do is move as much as possible, even with an epidural. Moving, switching sides, even just moving your legs a little bit every few contractions is going to help keep your pelvis being flexible and help create that space for your baby to move down. We say in our blog, “ditch the epidural”, but you don't actually have to to have an unmedicated birth in order to birth or to have a VBAC or to have any vaginal delivery. Go as long as you can without getting it, but it's okay if that's a lower number than you want. As we talked about earlier, an epidural is a great tool to have in your toolbox if you need it. Knowing how to use an epidural and how to move, and a doula is a great way to help you utilize this tool properly. As long as you are not laying down and staying still in one spot for too long, that's the biggest thing you need to take away from that. And the fifth one, we say, “believe in your body.” I know I'm probably going to get a lot of eye rolls for this. “Believe in your body. Woosah. You can't always manifest your baby your out.” Yes. That is very true. Sometimes things happen, and interventions are needed, and Cesareans are life-saving. We definitely believe that and we have seen it. But there is a lot to be said in believing in yourself, and believing in your baby, your body that knows that it can do this and that it is designed for the birth process, and having that confidence going into it and having the confidence in yourself, and your birth team, and your support environment. If you don't have that confidence, do whatever you need to do or change whatever you need to change in order to create that confidence and that belief in your environment because where doubt exists, that brings in the uncertainty that can shift your entire birth experience. I'm going to end that with a period and an exclamation point. Meagan, what would you add in there? I've been talking for a few minutes. Meagan: No, you're just fine. I mean, I feel like we have talked about the intuition and mama's gut the whole time. But I love that during your pregnancy and everything, you were able to hone in on that and not only learn what intuition necessarily is, but how to really tune into it because especially for birth and especially for a VBAC– I want to say it's for anyone. It really is, but with VBAC, there is so much coming at us with all the things. For instance, when you went to that different provider and they were like, “Yeah, no. Not one person in this hospital is going to touch you. Like, no.” A lot of people would be like, “Oh, okay. There's that many doctors that won't even see me. I better just have a C-section,” which is totally fine if that's what their intuition is how they feel. But a lot of the time, I feel like it's hard to tune into that intuition and to be like, “Wait. I still feel like I should probably still get some other opinions.” Right? Versus just being told what I said to you. I think that if we can, in life in general, just learn how to tune in to that intuition and really how to follow it, I think it's going to help us in so many things in life in general. That's one of the highlights of your story that I got because I had to personally work through a lot of that during my pregnancy because I was told that I would rupture if VBAC'd and I didn't realize how much that impacted me, but it impacted me. But my intuition was telling me otherwise, right? Anyway. That was one of the biggest things I took away. One of the biggest takeaways from your story is learning how to hone in on your intuition, following it, and trusting it. Trusting your gut. Francis: Yeah, precisely. Hit it on the nose. Julie: Alight. Meagan: I– yeah. Julie: Oh, go ahead. Meagan: I was just going to say, I love it. I loved everything about your story. So thank you so much for kicking us off with such a great empowering story. Julie: Yes. It was the perfect story for our welcome back. Francis, it was such a joy to have you on and share your story today. But before we leave, we want to ask you– I think I might know what the answer is– but I am going to ask anyways. What is your best tip for somebody preparing for birth after Cesarean? Francis: Well first, I thought you were going to ask whether I was going to have more children. And I am like, “Hard no.” Julie: I'm right there with you. Francis: That door has been closed. Yeah. I think it is, it's what I think– Meagan, what you just talked about is learning, taking the time to focus on yourself and your mental health. I think ideally before you get pregnant, but you can obviously do that while you're pregnant if you're already pregnant. But taking the time to really focus on your mental health and learn how to trust yourself because we all have good instincts. We just have to know where to find them sometimes. Julie: Oh I love that. “We all have good instincts. We have to know where to find them sometimes.” I'm going to make a social media post about that. Just one second while I write it down. Francis: You guys are too sweet. I appreciate it. Julie: Maybe it will go on a shirt. I don't know. I need to start making shirts again. Meagan: I know. Francis: Do I need to trademark that real quick? Julie: Yes, you need to. Meagan: She's like, “Wait a second.” Yeah. Trademark that for sure. Julie: I will credit you. What's your social media? Should I tag you? Francis: No no, not necessary. Thank you though. Julie: Okay. Speaking of shirts, we do have a bunch of VBAC shirts available for you to purchase if you want to rock, and represent, and support the podcast. You can find them at thevbaclink.com/bonfire if you want to head over there and rock some swag from the VBAC shop. So, Francis. You're amazing. Thank you so much for sharing your story with us today and everybody else, good luck on your journey. We are so excited to be back along for the ride with you.ClosingWould you like to be a guest on the podcast? Head over to thevbaclink.com/share and submit your story. For all things VBAC, including online and in-person VBAC classes, The VBAC Link blog, and Julie and Meagan's bios, head over to thevbaclink.com. Congratulations on starting your journey of learning and discovery with The VBAC Link.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transformed by Birth with Dr. Britta Bushnell

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 8, 2022 45:32

We're so happy to be experiencing a birth class as deep as this one. When researching various classes, we weren't sure what to look for beyond laboring positions and pain management (which she gets into as well and are super important!). So when we signed up for Dr. Britta Bushnell's Childbirth Class, which covers topics far beyond the technical aspects of birth, we immediately felt this was just what we needed. It has helped us recognize and embrace all the transformations we're going through individually and as a couple. Dr. Britta Bushnell (she/her) is a wife and mother, a specialist in childbirth, relationship dynamics, and parenthood. A veteran childbirth educator, for over 20 years, Dr. Bushnell has worked with individuals and couples as they prepare for the life-changing experience of giving birth. Her work with parents has been enriched by her doctoral work in mythology and psychology, her years spent as former co-owner of Birthing From Within, as well as her study of solution-focused practice, storytelling, and relationship tools to help romantic partnerships thrive even during parenthood. She is a celebrated speaker, mythologist, and author of Transformed by Birth. We can't wait for you to hear what she has to share!Connect with Britta@brittabushnellphdhttps://www.instagram.com/brittabushnellphd/https://www.facebook.com/BrittaBushnellPhD/https://brittabushnell.comHer book Transformed by Birth available in paperback, audiobook, and ebook formats. brittabushnell.com (She teaches childbirth classes, relationship workshops, apprenticeship for birth professionals, and relationship and parenting mentoring specializing in the new parenthood era)Podcast: Transformed with Britta Bushnell LINKS N' THINGS: Thanks to our friends at ADT for making it possible for us to share these stories in a safe and secure place, At Home. https://www.adt.com/AtHomeText 310-496-8667 with your questions for #AtHomePodcast !If you've enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe, rate and share with a friend! Thank you for being a part of the At Home community! Connect with Linda & Drew: instagram.com/athomeinstagram.com/imlindorkinstagram.com/mrdrewscott#AtHomePodcastTHEME SONG BY: Victoria Shawwww.instagram.com/VictoriaShawMusic Chad Carlsonwww.instagram.com/ChadCarlsonMusic MUSIC COMPOSED AND PRODUCED BY:Rick Russohttps://www.instagram.com/rickrussomusicSpecial thanks to all our At Home homies: PRODUCERS:Brandon AngelenoHanna PhanPOST AUDIO ENGINEER:Chris CobainNicole SchacterWEBSITE:Wesley FriendSERIES PHOTOGRAPHER: Dennys Ilicwww.instagram.com/dennydennSponsored by:ADT: It's important to have not just a beautiful home -- but a smart and safer home.https://www.adt.com/AtHomeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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38. Healing Birth Trauma with Bronwyn Addico

The Meg Pearson Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 3, 2022 44:11

How was your birth? Have you felt heard when sharing the harder parts of this magical (AND challenging) experience? Today on the show I speak with Bronwyn Addico about birth trauma and why ALL feelings are valid when unraveling our birth stories. We discuss: what birth "empowerment" can mean to different people the stages of working through the birth experience how to recognize if you need help and what options there are to assist you how to share your feelings with your family and friends as well as medical practitioners About Bronwyn: Bronwyn Addico (she/her) is the owner of Balancing Birth to Baby, a support company for expecting and new parents that offers prenatal education and Doula support in Southern Ontario, Canada. She has been a Childbirth & Early Parenting Educator since 2015 and a Birth & Postpartum Doula since 2016. After a difficult birth experience in 2013, she embarked on a journey to become a Birthing From Within childbirth mentor and spent time in California in the Spring of 2016 to further her in-depth training. Bronwyn has been deeply influenced by this program's view of birth as an initiation into parenting and how to examine your fears of birth and parenting. She uses the tools that she learned in this program within all aspects of her professional career and has developed them into a coaching program to help birthing people prepare for birth and work through a difficult or traumatic birth experience. She has supported more than 100 families during their births and early parenting journey. Bronwyn is a single mother to two wonderful kids. Bronwyn offers one to one coaching program to work through a difficult birth/birth trauma as well as so much more! Bronwyn's Website Instagram Contact Bronwyn via email: bronwyn@balancingbirthbaby.com

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Informed Decision-Making and Choices for Pregnancy and Birth with Amanda Gorman

Pure Nurture Pregnancy and Birth | A Holistic Approach

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 1, 2022 35:36

This week's podcast guest is Amanda Gorman, a wife, mother of two, host of the Finding Your Village podcast, and a certified Birthing From Within childbirth educator. (We have a lot in common.) In addition to her family, Amanda is passionate about: writing, speaking, addiction and trauma recovery, music, social justice, and birth work. Her podcast focuses on birth, postpartum, and parent mental health. She teaches online childbirth classes that not only inform parents about the physiological aspects of birth but also train parents to build a toolkit to cope with pain, become confident facing the unknown, and find their parenting village. In this episode, you'll hear about: The importance of patient advocacy while pregnant Non-outcome based childbirth classes Creating a Postpartum Plan Cheat Sheet Utilizing internal & external resources to create your parenting village My unmedicated and epidural birth stories Connect with Amanda: Website: findingyourvillage.com Instagram: @findingyourvillage TikTok: @findingyourvillage Coming up next is Austen Lincoln who shares typical and atypical sensory-motor development, one step at a time. Stay tuned!

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Encore: In the Middle of a Transformation with Dr. Britta Bushnell

Pure Nurture Pregnancy and Birth | A Holistic Approach

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 26, 2022 34:17

Dr. Britta Bushnell (she/her) is a wife and mother, author of Transformed by Birth, host of the podcast Transformed, veteran childbirth educator, celebrated speaker, mythologist, and specialist in childbirth, relationship, and parenting. For over 20 years, Dr. Bushnell has worked with individuals and couples as they prepare for the life-changing experience of giving birth. Her work with parents has been enriched by her doctoral work in mythology and psychology, her years spent as a co-owner of Birthing From Within, as well as her dedicated study of solution-focused brief therapy, storytelling, sustaining sexual vibrancy, and helping romantic partnerships thrive even during parenthood. What you'll hear in this episode: Britta's yoga career Episode 97: Birth Story Medicine with Pam England Transformed by Birth book by Dr. Britta Bushnell E X P A N D your birth expectations Global postpartum period The transformation brought on by birth and becoming a parent Dealing with isolation in 2020 The highs and lows of parenting The illusion of perfectionism Rites of passage and what they have to do with this moment in time Connect with Britta: Website: BrittaBushnell.com Instagram: @brittabushnellphd Facebook: @brittabushnellphd Book: Transformed by Birth Podcast: Transformed

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#83: Amanda Gorman: Finding Your Village

Teaching Artist Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 16, 2022 34:30

Amanda is a childbirth educator who uses the Birthing From Within methodologies. She talked about incorporating art-making as part of the preparation for birth and shared her own experience of moving from a “not creative” person to wholeheartedly believing in the power of art. She shared her process for building trust and working with students who don't have art experience as well as the reasons art-making is included in a birthing course. We also talked a bit about the racial inequities around childbirth and Amanda shared some wonderful links, including episode 16 of her own podcast, Finding Your Village, in which Cachet Prescott shares her birth experience as a Black woman. Amanda Gorman is a wife, mother of two, the host of the Finding Your Village podcast and a certified Birthing From Within childbirth educator. In addition to her family, Amanda is passionate about: writing, speaking, addiction and trauma recovery, music, social justice, and birth work. Her podcast focuses on birth, postpartum and parent mental health. She teaches online childbirth classes that not only inform parents about the physiological aspects of birth, but also train parents to build a toolkit to cope with pain, become confident facing the unknown and find their parenting village. Blog Post with links and images: https://www.teachingartistpodcast.com/episode-83-amanda-gorman www.findingyourvillage.com @findingyourvillage on Instagram @findingyourvillage on TikTok . . . Follow: @teachingartistpodcast @pottsart @playinspiregallery Teaching Artists' Lounge meeting registration: http://teachingartistslounge.eventbrite.com/ Submit your work to be featured: https://www.teachingartistpodcast.com/featuredartist/ Book an Art Critique Session with Rebecca: https://www.teachingartistpodcast.com/mentor/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/teachingartistpodcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/teachingartistpodcast/support

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46 | Sammy's posterior labour VBAC following an emergency caesarean with a posterior baby; Birth Trauma, PNA, MGP, Private Midwife, Doula, Tandem breastfeeding, Public Hospital

VBAC Birth Stories

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 16, 2021 85:00

Today we meet Sammy who is a mum of two living in Brisbane Queensland who is a trained doula and high school music teacher. She tells us of her first birth which ended in an emergency caesarean. Sammy, like 1 in 3 Australian women experienced significant birth trauma as a result of what happened and this birth went on to change the course of her life- inspiring her to help other women by providing emotional and physical birth support to those in need.We hear of her journey towards her VBAC, what tools she accessed to assist her towards her second birth and what she did differently to ensure a more positive experience.Sammy teaches us that sometimes the most important tool is within us- our ability to listen to our own intuition and to believe in our bodies ability to birth.We thank you Sammy for sharing your very personal birth stories with us. We hope you all enjoy and learn a lot from this episode.Connect with Sammy on Instagram @sammygriffinbirthsupport~ Notes ~Sammy's website: https://sammygriffinbirthsupport.comDoula & birth photographer: https://www.olivejuicelifestylephotography.comResources:Jane Hardwick Collings https://janehardwickecollings.com/pregnancy-ecourse/Ten moons (book)The Birth Map https://www.bellabirth.org/the-birth-map.htmlRhea Dempsey- Birth With Confidence (book)Pam England - Birthing from Within (book)Post Natal Depression/Anxiety and birth trauma support: If you or anyone you know is affected by PND symptoms particularly at this time of COVID-19 please don't hesitate to contact the following support networks.The Gidget Foundationhttps://gidgetfoundation.org.au/get-support/PANDAhttps://www.panda.org.au/info-support/pandas-national-perinatal-anxiety-depression-helplineBeyond Bluehttps://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/get-immediate-supportCopehttps://www.cope.org.au**VBAC Birth Stories features women's lived experiences. It is not intended to replace medical advice. Should you have any concerns during your pregnancy please always consult your healthcare provider.Please connect with us on Facebook or Instagram: @vbacbirthstories

18. Ashley of Rose Hips & Ritual: Hospital to Home, Pregnancy Release& Breaking Ancestral Patterns

Womb Wisdom

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 22, 2021 81:36

In this episode, I interviewed a friend and colleague, Ashley Sullivan. From her website: Ashley Sullivan is a Women's Wellness Coach & Therapist, devoted mother, folk herbalist and founder of Rosehips & Ritual, a women-centered resource that weaves ritual and ceremony into womb healing, transformation, and empowerment. Her work brings the magic and reverence back to the many rites-of-passage that we undergo as women throughout our fertile years. After her first pregnancy in 2006, she began serving women in their journeys home to themselves through the sacred understanding of birth, fertility, and the cycles and rhythms of womanhood. She has studied at The Farm in Tennessee, been a Le Leche League leader, Birthing from Within mentor, Placenta Specialist, and served as a birth doula. Her own experiences have continued to shape and deepen her offerings. She is now raising her family at Earthaven Ecovillage and serving her community of women through Arvigo Maya Abdominal Therapy, one-on-one & group Fertility Awareness mentorships, vaginal steaming experiences & handcrafted botanicals, as well as holding space for exploring the depths of the feminine landscape. She supports women throughout the entirety of their fertility journey from Fertility Awareness education, to self-care practices for all phases of the cycle, pregnancy loss and release. As a devoted wife, she understands the importance of having a partner that supports the decisions and practices around fertility and women's health, so she offers education, training and coaching for menfolk as well. She spends her days enjoying her homegrown, off-grid Appalachian life, circling with her sisters, mothering her four children, lovingly preparing nourishing foods and wild-harvested medicines, reading, studying, participating in earth-based ceremonies, sewing cloth menstrual pads, singing in the dawn, playing her drum to the waters, and delighting in exploring the wisdom of her own womb and sacred cycles. Her deepest gratitudes to all who have taught and supported her along the way, Pam England, Rosita Arvigo, Mary Francis & Harvey LittleBrave, her husband Joe, her children, and her ancestors. Mentioned in this episode: 'Vessel' Documentary - https://vesselthefilm.com/ Birthing From Within - https://www.amazon.com/Birthing-Within-Extra-Ordinary-Childbirth-Preparation/dp/0965987302 Matrona Institute - https://thematrona.com/ Find Ashley: Website - https://www.rosehipsandritual.com/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/rosehips.and.ritual/ Find Holly: Website - https://rosebudwellness.com/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/rosebud_wellness/ Shop - http://rosebudwellness.com/shop/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wombwisdom/message

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12: Birthing from Within with Gabi Pezo

The SALT Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 6, 2021 50:12

Full Show Notes Here Unlock the Hidden Gems Today's Birthing episode: Gabi is a birth worker and Birthing from Within childbirth educator supporting parents in Dubai and worldwide. She has a special interest in maternal mental health and loves to support birthing parents in the postpartum offering a safe space to share their experiences during this monumental rite of passage. The Simple: Birthing from Within Tips to Listen for: Getting to know Gabi How we connected Explaining Birthing from Within What to expect from BFW Childbirth Education How preparing for birth has been happening for years before you became pregnant: the first birth story, our birth plans over the years, and the stories we tell ourselves Birth Story Listening Birth Art Preparing Within Pain-Coping Techniques Childbirth as a Hero's Journey Laborinth Emotional Birth Plan Postpartum UNLOCK THE HIDDEN GEMS IN PINK PREMIUM! Links & Resources for Birthing from Within Find Gabi and her services at https://itsmegabi.com IG @its_me_gabi_birthworker Birthingfromwithin.com Birthing from Within by Pam England The Ancient Map of Birth by Pam England Labyrinth of Birth by Pam England Birthing with Heart by Caridad Saenz et al. Need More SALT In Your Life? You know I love to connect with you! Snap a screenshot and tag me @heavenlytreasureliving on Instagram as you're listening to this week's episode. And remember to hashtag #thesaltpodcast, that way I can share your screenshot on my story too! One more goodie! Want to connect with our community? Come join Women's Essential Wellness FB group --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thesaltpodcast/support

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Episode 53: Birthing From Within Childbirth Preparation: Interview with Nikki Shaheed

Play Episode Play 43 sec Highlight Listen Later May 2, 2021 31:16

In today’s episode I am kicking off the series about childbirth preparation classes. I am featuring a different type of birth education program each week in the month of May. I had the privilege of interviewing Nikki Shaheed and she is a certified Trainer, Mentor, and Doula for Birthing from Within, as well as the author of Heart Centered Pregnancy Journal. Nikki is passionate about bringing balance and self-compassion to the childbearing year. She lives in San Antonio, TX with her husband and three amazing children. In this episode we discuss: Background of Birthing From WithinCreated by Pam England, who is the author of Birthing From WithinHer birth experience led her to ask herself: what did I need to know as a mother that I didn’t know as a midwife? That question inspired her quest to find self compassion and a way to help people to have more realistic and holistic expectations before they give birthWhat is the BFW "unmethod"? There is no way to get it wrong with Birthing From Within, it is not outcome basedIt is all about developing self love, self acceptance and doing what the moment calls for without being held back by conditioning or judgmentWords we use in birthThe words we use are powerful and create imageryThe term “natural childbirth” makes Cesarean or medicated birth seem “unnatural”You cannot plan out your birthYou can prepare for birth, but you cannot control birth outcomesCenter preparation around the foundational concept that you are stepping into the unknownNikki likes to call Birthing From Within the “self compassion buffet” Self compassion is the most important thing to pack in your birth bagWhat will parents learn about childbirth, as well as themselves? Parents will learn the “nuts and bolts” of birthStages of laborCommon procedures that can occur during birthHow to prepare the for the unknownBirth ArtEmbodied experience that allows parents to practice figuring out what to do when they don’t know what to doWise and compassionate mentor is there to encourage them to keep goingEmphasis on the postpartum journey is a big differentiator between Birthing From Within and other birth preparation programsFind a Birthing From Within Birth Education MentorHow to get in touch with/follow NikkiHeart Centered Pregnancy JournalFollow on InstagramWebsiteHow to get in touch with me: Follow me on InstagramFind other episodes at: www.findingyourvillagepod.comEmail me at amanda@findingyourvillagepod.com Monthly Newsletter Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/findingyourvillagepod?fan_landing=true)

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Episode 52: Doulas are for Every Birthing Person: Interview with Kathryn Courtoy

The Radical Mother Village with Christa Bevan

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2021 40:00

Thank you so much for listening to the Finding Your Village podcast, before I get into the details about today’s episode. I wanted to let you all know that in the month of May, I will be publishing a series of podcast episodes all about childbirth preparation classes. As I finish the last steps of getting certified to become a childbirth educator myself, I wanted to feature different preparation philosophies and some popular classes. My opinion about birth preparation is that it is important, but it is also not one size fits all. I compare it to exercise programs. Exercise is important for everyone, however, not everyone likes the same kind of exercise class. Some may prefer yoga, another person might like Crossfit and another may be a pilates gal. Similarly, I believe that birth preparation is important, no matter how you are giving birth and that some people may resonate with one philosophy over another. So I will be featuring an interview with a birth education from Birthing From Within, Evidence Based Birth, Hypnobirthing, The Bradley Method and Hypnobabies. So tune in for that series in May!In today’s episode, I speak with Kathryn Courtoy of 3 Hearts Doula. Kathryn has 3 children that she calls her 3 hearts and named her business after, a son, a daughter and an "angel daughter". She is a Cappa Certified Labor Doula offering Childbirth Support in the North Metro Atlanta area. Kathryn believes there is no great transformational time in a person's life than bringing another human in the world and that every birth has a story. Kathryn and I discuss what labor doulas do and how they support all birthing people. In this episode we discuss: Labor Doulas are for every birthing person who would like supportYou do not have to be planning an unmedicated birth or a vaginal birth to have support from a Labor DoulaWhat a Labor Doula does before and during birth“Doulas catch the mom and Midwives catch the baby”I think of Labor Doulas as “birth consultants”Doulas don’t just get paid for being present during labor, but for all the support and expertise that they provide before labor startsThe difference in roles between the support Partner and Labor DoulaWhat holding space meansHow to get in touch with Kathryn: Website: www.3heartsdoula.com Follow her on InstagramHow to get in touch with me: Follow me on InstagramFind other episodes at: www.findingyourvillagepod.comEmail me at amanda@findingyourvillagepod.com Monthly Newsletter Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/findingyourvillagepod?fan_landing=true)

partner exercise crossfit birthing midwives doulas hypnobirthing meanshow evidence based birth hypnobabies bradley method birthing from within finding your village

EP16 Self-Compassion, Curiosity & How to be "Completitors": A conversation with Amanda Gorman

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 22, 2021 39:30

I'm chatting with Amanda Gorman, a wife, mother of two, and the host of the Finding Your Village podcast. The goal of her podcast is to make the early days of parenting more connected and focuses on birth, postpartum, and parent mental health.In addition to her family, Amanda is passionate about: writing, speaking, trauma recovery, music, racial reconciliation, and birth work. She is currently getting certified to be a childbirth education mentor through Birthing From Within.Amanda and I discuss:Amanda's concept of “completitors” and how we both see that as a strength and not a weakness when it comes to doing this work - both in business and in motherhood.How Amanda came to realize she was living in “the well of victimhood” and what changed for her around that.The two things that 2020 helped Amanda chase after “with full fury.”Why Amanda did not think self-compassion was for her and what helped her change her mind.How perfectionism steals our ability to let help into our lives and what we can do to help release that.How Amanda learned to connect to her body and how that allowed her to heal trauma from her past.How EMDR helped me start painting my life with a full palette of colorsFor the full show notes -->https://christagowen.com/podcast-amandagormanHow to connect further with Amanda:instagram.com/findingyourvillageFollow the Finding Your Village podcast on Spotify:https://podcasters.spotify.com/podcast/6KszWo5dm0Dsjw6GLOmCBK/overviewTo connect deeper, join the “virtual village” on Facebook at –> facebook.com/groups/theradicalmothervillageFollow me on Instagram –> instagram.com/radicalmothervillageGrab a FREE copy of the Radical Mother's Balance Blueprint –> christabevan.com/balanceGet started with a free 20-minute consult to see how I can support you on your journey of mothering radically –> http://christabevan.com/free-20-minute-phone-consultA radical mother is a woman poised in her power ready to disrupt cycles of generational trauma running through her family like wildfire. She's working to improve her life, the lives of her children, and shape the landscape of her community. If that's you - you're in the right place. This podcast is designed to connect you with resources, inspiration, and the reminder that you are not alone as you embark on your journey of radical mothering.I'm your host Christa Bevan and I'm a certified TRE provider (which stands for tension & trauma releasing exercises), trauma-informed yoga instructor, and also a dynamic self-care coach for moms. And of course, a fellow radical mother. My approach to this work blends neuroscience-backed tools and heart-centered intuition.Did you enjoy today's episode? Be sure to head to Apple Podcasts to subscribe, rate & review the show. Not only do these help me know you're enjoying the content, but they help this work be seen by even more Radical Mothers that need it in their lives too.

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Birth & Motherhood - "Birth and the Virtues" with Julie Gunby

The Weight

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 15, 2021 45:50 Transcription Available

Most of our culture's conversations about birth revolve around safety and legality. The cultural expectations surrounding birth negate a wide range of experiences that lead up to the birthing process and the virtues that birth requires of women. Though the nuances of pregnancy and birth are more commonly discussed in the medical field than in Church circles, all of a woman's experiences over the course of her life contribute to the way she delivers her baby. With this in mind, how can we have better conversations that connect birth and the virtues?In this episode, Chris and Eddie talk to Julie Dotterweich Gunby, a certified nurse midwife who has delivered over 1,000 babies. Julie describes the vocation of midwifery as a way of positioning oneself to help women articulate what it means for them to birth well. She speaks to the constraints that women face when sharing their needs and desires in the midst of preparing for mothering, and she shares the importance of creating space for women to reflect upon generations of mothers who came before them. Julie encourages mothers and future mothers that they can birth with greatness of soul no matter the circumstances.ResourcesTo see how birth ethics are often framed in terms of autonomy and individualism rather than virtue, click here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2667293/ Facing the uncertainty of birth requires both personal and societal virtue. For a summary of some of the complex race, class, and socioeconomic issues plaguing America's birth outcomes, click here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2667293/ Check out Birthing From Within, a classic book that does better than most to help women and families prepare for the demands of giving birth wellFollow Julie Gunby on social media:https://twitter.com/JulieGunby

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171 Sarah's HBAC + Little C Antibodies

Birth Words: Language For a Better Birth

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 7, 2021 42:53

Have YOU heard of little c antibodies? Sarah gives us information and inspiration as she shares her story with this rare condition. She fought for the redemptive home birth of her dreams while caring for herself and taking the highest precautions for her baby. Sarah built the supportive birth team she didn't have the first time around and made birthing choices that helped her feel the most in control. Her HBAC with a nuchal hand was a whirlwind and a story we know you'll love!Additional linksThe VBAC Link on InstagramHow to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for ParentsMamasteFit Childbirth EducationFull transcriptNote: All transcripts are edited to correct grammar, false starts, and filler words. Julie: Welcome to The VBAC Link podcast. This is Julie and Meagan here with you today and we are really excited about our guest today. I was just reading her bio, and then I was reading a little bit about her and her births, and then I had this “Aha!” moment. I am like, “Wait a minute. Are you the one that we were talking to before you had your baby?” And she was like, “Yes, I was.”And so, we have this really fun story, kind of a little established relationship I guess, before the birth and after the birth. It is always fun to be able to talk to people that have reached out to us before they have their baby and then hear from them after they have their baby. I am so excited to hear the full story.But before I tell you what made her story stand out to me, I'm going to read a little bit of her bio that I thought was really cute. If you can hear my three-year-old in the background, she escaped from quarantine upstairs. My husband will come down soon and rescue me from her.But Sarah‘s bio is really, really cute. She said she is a working mom of two tiny humans and two not-so-tiny cats. She has a quirky sense of humor and an affinity for superhero movies. That's where I was like, “Okay.” We have got to talk about this because superhero movies-- I really love superhero movies now, but before I got married, I didn't even know the difference between Batman and Superman. Now I know and I have a very strong opinion about Batman. We won't go into that though. But I married a geek and he is all about the superheroes, and the comic books, and everything. And so, I've come to really love the superhero movies and all of those things. It's a sentimental part of my life. So that made me really happy. She's part of the American Sign Language community. Her oldest is hard of hearing, so everybody in her family is learning American Sign Language. That is really neat. When I was younger, I was obsessed with sign language. I went to a class and I had a book I was learning and teaching my brother and sister how to do all the signs and stuff like that, but I haven't done any of that for-- oh my gosh, it has been way more than 20 years which really makes me feel old to say that. But anyway, the part of her story that-- actually, before we do that, should we do a Review of the Week, Meagan?Review of the WeekMeagan: Sure. Sure.Julie: Yeah. Let's do a Review of the Week and then we will talk about the part of her story that made me excited. Yeah, go ahead.Meagan: OK. This is from Jacqueline Lee and she was on Instagram. She said, “Just found you and will be keeping you. Hoping to VBAC with our second babe whenever they come along. I would love to share my stories when that time comes. I have been listening to your podcast and love how informative and diverse they are. Our first was born in Paraguay when we were teaching. She was breech and so I had a C-section. Hoping for a vertex baby to be able to have a VBAC, but I did labor with our first until an 8. It was a wild story full of funny cultural differences and language barriers.”I love that. I remember when she wrote us that we were like, “Oh, you're so sweet. Can we put you on our review?” And she was like, “Yes, please do.” We are so excited that she was able to share her review and we hope that when the time comes, she will be able to rock her VBAC and have an amazing story and then hopefully, one day, be on the podcast as well.Julie: That's awesome. I am excited. It just makes me happy when people come full circle and share they were listening to the podcast and then share their stories on the podcast. That is fun because we have been doing this VBAC Link thing for-- oh my gosh, it will be three years in May. It's really fun because when we first started out, I was literally stalking hashtags on Instagram to find people who had a VBAC to share their stories on the podcast. Now we have way more submissions than we can even record. And to have people who started out with us before they even got pregnant and listening to the podcast, and taking our courses, and sharing their story, it all is just really exciting to me.Sarah's storyJulie: All right. Let me tell you. This is the thing that you have all been waiting for. I know you have been holding your breath for the last few minutes just waiting to see what could possibly get me so excited about her story. And it's little c antibodies. If you don't know what that means, you are not the only one because Sarah reached out to us on Instagram Messenger, I think it was, asking if we had heard of any VBAC stories or VBAC information about how to VBAC with little c antibodies and Maegan and I were like, “What are little c antibodies?”Meagan: Yeah. I remember because I thought, “Isn't there a big C?”Julie: Yeah. Big C and little c. Meagan: But I've only heard of big.Julie: And we are like, “Is that a capital? Is that like a capitalized? What is a big C? What is a little c?” So we dug in and we found some research on it. It's really an interesting thing because it's not something that you hear about very often, but we are going to learn a lot about it in this episode. And before I go any more into telling how excited I am to hear the story, we should probably actually hear the story. So Sarah, why don't you go ahead and share your stories with us?Sarah: Hello. Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me. So obviously, being a VBAC mom, I had a first child that was born via Cesarean. She was supposed to be a birth center baby and I was just having all kinds of trouble with back labor and not being able to cope with everything. I don't think I did as well preparing for her birth and it was a lot. I felt very overwhelmed and I think my husband was doing the best he could, but looking back, I keep saying, I really wish I would've had some doula support there. I think that's one of my biggest regrets. I actually ended up transferring to the birth center about halfway through my pregnancy because I knew I wanted something that was a little bit less hospital-y. Hospitals make me nervous and it's just kind of how I am. Unfortunately, I did make that call. I think it was one of those 2:00 a.m., overwhelmed, not dilating any, and then going to the hospital. It was a lot.So I labored pretty much all day. I got an epidural and then I didn't have a very great supportive doctor. He just came in and he was like, “Oh, this is what we are going to do” and “Oh, I broke your water by the way. It already happened.” So just not a lot of consent. Things like that that I know now that I want and need as a mom, and as a mom in labor for sure. Once it came down to it, I think I pushed for about three hours and the doctor was like, “Well, baby is stuck. We are going to do a C-section now.” I didn't get a whole lot of information about what that meant or what that would mean for me moving forward. It was just kind of happening in that moment.I even remember the anesthesiologist. God bless her. She was amazing. She was the only person that was walking me through what was going on, helping me stay calm, and she goes, “Well, the doc is going to put some pressure to make sure you are numb.” And the doc goes, “Oh, I've already started cutting.” So like I said, I just didn't have a really great experience with my first being born. And then on top of that coming home, I didn't know how to care for myself postpartum. We had a lot of family stuff going on so I didn't have any family support, and then I ended up developing both postpartum anxiety and postpartum depression that went undiagnosed for probably about three months before I realized that I needed to start reaching out and getting help.As a result of that, I started looking around-- so that was about five years ago. I started looking around to the birth community as a whole to see what information was out there. I found out what a VBAC was and that's how I found you guys. It was just in the process of finding out what my resources were. Moving forward to the start of the pandemic last year. I found out I was pregnant and then a few days after that, my work went to remote, so I was working from home in my first trimester with a four-year-old. It was nonsense. It was about as fun as it sounds. I always say, “I love my kid and I love my job, but I do not like it when they go together.”So I knew I wanted to find a different kind of provider. I started looking around in my area and I found a midwife that would support a home birth. One of my first questions to her was, “Do you support VBACs?” She said, “Absolutely.” And she said it just like that. “Absolutely.” We had a wonderful conversation just talking me through how many VBACs she has been a part of through the years. A lot of my first visits were on the phone and everything was weird and everybody was working remote. I told her I was concerned because I had a couple of miscarriages and she was like, “No problem. We can be proactive and let's monitor your blood levels.” During one of those first rounds of bloodwork, we found out about the little c antibodies. I almost immediately called her and I am like, “What is this? Does this mean I can't have my home birth? Am I going to have to go back to the hospital?” Honestly, I was kind of freaking out and she said, “Listen. Let me do some homework and we are going to see what that means.”She decided that we wanted to make sure we were checking on this very well. So I drove-- I am down in Fort Myers. I drove up to Tampa General and that is about a 3-3.5 hour drive and I talked to a specialist. So she is a geneticist. I don't know. She does stuff with blood work. So I sat down with this lady and she is going through it. The best way that I can describe what she was trying to tell me is, “Your blood cells have different facets on them kind of like a diamond. It's similar to the Rh. Normally when we hear about blood stuff and a pregnant mama, it is that Rh factor. So that, we have heard of. That is fine, but this is a different part of that same cell, but a different facet.”It was very confusing to be quite honest. But she explained that when they test my blood, they are looking for those antibodies because my husband has an antigen. So he has got something on one of his blood cells that my blood cells don't like and as a result, my body creates these antibodies to try to attack it and the really crazy thing is it's almost exclusive to VBAC moms or second-time moms, but more commonly VBAC moms because when they were doing the incision, some of baby's blood, some of my blood may have crossed over and that would cause my body to start reacting even way back five years ago when my first daughter was born. It was crazy. Just the thought that that's been in my body this whole time and I didn't know about it. So that was kind of cool but kind of scary.She said that the levels that they found were very low. And it's just-- you know, “you have got a very low level of this kind of antibody that is freaking out on your baby, so we are going to keep an eye on it and as your pregnancy progresses, if it starts to rise, if that level starts to get more concentrated in your blood, then we are going to have to have a deeper discussion about getting baby out sooner and maybe not going to full-term. Are we going to have to have baby before 40 weeks? I don't know. We will keep an eye on it.” That sort of thing.So every time I went to a visit with my midwife, we had to do a blood draw. It was annoying, but ultimately, throughout my entire pregnancy, that level never changed for me. So thankfully it wasn't anything that I had to really do anything about, but it was always that little worry in the back of my mind. It was just frustrating because I had such an uneventful pregnancy before and I just wanted that again especially in the middle of a pandemic. Everything is freaking out in the world, why can't I just have an easy pregnancy? Then, we go in for the midway through ultrasound. I went back up to Tampa General. My wife here recommended it because she always says, “If there's anything to find, they're really good. They are going to be the ones to catch it.” Tampa General is one of the best hospitals in the state and their maternal-fetal medicine is top-notch, so I felt good about going up there. I've got family up there anyway, so we just made a visit out of it. While we were there for the ultrasound, obviously, I have to go in by myself because COVID. And so, my poor husband is out in the parking lot with the one bar of Wi-Fi signal trying to do a Zoom meeting with me to be able to see or hear anything. He's got a few minutes to see or talk to me and then they had a rule about how we can't record and we can't have the phone or a video through the whole visit. It was kind of crazy.So for the most part, I am in there by myself. I am trying to communicate with my husband on a weird connection and it was frustrating. But anyway, so during the first 20-week ultrasound, they go, “Well, we are looking and we are not seeing that other kidney on baby,” and I go, “Okay.” The doctor was very reassuring and he said, “Well, it could be in a weird spot. It could be that we are just not seeing it because baby is in a weird position, so we are going to have you come back in a month.” I was, again, just frustrated because we are in this crazy thing and just-- really? Why me? Why my baby? Why all the stuff? So we made plans to come back in a month. But I definitely know at that point I needed two things. Number one, I needed to check in with my mental health counselor. She specializes in mom stuff, birth-related things, mom-related things. She is awesome. And so, I was able to talk to her and talk through some of the things that were going on. And then number two, I knew that I needed a doula. Why on earth I waited so long, I have no idea, but I did find my doula around the 20-week mark. She was able to start checking in with me every week because I knew that if I was going into a birth that potentially had any kind of complications, I needed all the support that I could get. I followed up with them as much as I could as much as I needed to and tried to identify in myself if I felt like I was stressing out too much or if I was letting things overtake my mind too much just to know to check in with my doula, check in with my counselor, and I think that made a big difference trying to manage things throughout pregnancy. We even got a plan in place so if we did have to transfer to a hospital, having a backpack that I could keep in my closet. We talked about, “If it is in your closet, you don't even have to look at it, but that piece in the back of your mind that knows it is there will feel good about that and you won't be so stressed.” I am very glad that I did that. It really helped and I was able to have that calm reassurance. So as I am going through, I get to the end of pregnancy. We are still monitoring this little c blood thing, and we still can't find a kidney on baby, and on top of that, now I am measuring ahead. At 36 weeks, I was measuring around 42 or 43 weeks, so I went on a low-carb, low-sugar diet. It may have been before 36 weeks. It felt like a lifetime of no sugar and no carbs. When you're pregnant, all you want is pizza and you can't have it and props to all the mamas that do have gestational diabetes because that is so hard and thankfully, I didn't have gestational diabetes. I just had to eat like I did. Baby kept growing and growing and growing, and we were worried that if baby was going to be too big if there was going to be a sugar thing on top of everything else, that could be a problem. We wanted to make sure that the fluid levels in my uterus were good because that could mean that the kidney is working or not working depending upon what's going on there. So my midwife and I really started having some conversations about, “Do we want to go past that due date?” Legally, it's maybe measuring a certain size, like in the state of Florida if the baby is too big, she is not able to do a home birth for me. So I was freaking out, calling my therapist, doing all of the things. I spent the week of Thanksgiving in acupuncture, pumping, doing my Spinning Babies®, walking the curb, doing the whole list of things. I must have spent at least a good hour of my pregnancy upside down on my couch, I think.Meagan: Oh my gosh. How much did the baby have to measure up before they disqualified you? Do you remember?Sarah: I don't remember. I want to say it was 10 pounds.Meagan: Wow.Sarah: But I think that's if they measured on an ultrasound and she tries to do as few ultrasounds as she can because she very firmly believes your body is not going to make a baby that is too big for you, you know?Meagan: Yeah, Mhmm.Sarah: She supported me as much as she could, but because we had to monitor all of these other things, it was like, “Oh great. Now, we are finding out too much.”Meagan: I know, yeah.Sarah: Yeah. So Thanksgiving, we are doing all the things. That put me at 39 weeks. We had talked about doing the famous midwives brew. I took that on, I think it was Monday night of that first week after Thanksgiving and I started having contractions, getting all excited, and then everything completely fizzled out. I was like, “No!” But at least my body was doing something which felt good because before, with my older daughter, we went two weeks beyond. Nothing was happening. I thought I was going to be pregnant forever. You know, all that stuff. So I was like, “All right. Well, at least my body is gearing up for something.” Later that week, I started noticing I was leaking a little bit and I wasn't, you know, is it pee? Is it amniotic fluid? The world may never know, but thankfully, my midwife has a way to find out with that little stick thing. And so, she was like, “Check the stick. See if it is amniotic fluid. We talked about doing a lift and tuck. Apparently, in addition to everything else, I have a weird-shaped uterus that has a forward tilt which is probably why my first daughter was in such a terrible position, and I had back labor because she wasn't able to move into a good position. But I know that now. So one more chiropractor visit, one more visit to the acupuncturist, and the midwife said, “Let's see what is going on, but if you have more leaking, let me know.” That was Thursday. Yeah. So Thursday, I had my visit with my midwife. We talked about all of that and then that night, I had a little bit more leaking and she said, “Okay. Is it a little? Is it a lot?” I was like, “It is just a little.” And she goes, “Okay. We are going to have you try the brew one more time. Definitely call me because now that we have confirmed that your waters have started rupturing, we are on a time clock in terms of having the best chance for a VBAC. We don't want to have a long leak and drain out all the fluid, and then get you into a bad spot where baby can't maneuver.” So we did our last-minute chores, made sure my daughter had a bag packed. I went to bed as soon as I could. That night, around 11:30 or so, I woke up with contractions. I'm excited, trying to stay calm, use the bathroom, got my heating pad out. I was trying really hard to hold off on all of my pain management stuff just because before, I didn't have anything and now I didn't want to waste it all at the very beginning because I had a 30-hour labor the first time around and that's what I was gearing up for. My brain was telling me, “You are going to have a 30-hour labor. It's going to be long. Hold off as long as you can.” So I went back to sleep and I woke up a few hours later, around 2:00, and I felt a pop and a gush. My water definitely had broken. That was weird because I didn't have that the first time. Like I said, the doctor broke my water the first time around. So I was like, “All right. I've got to clean this up.” I'm trying to let my husband sleep and be quiet, but I am stumbling around because I'm having contractions and it is dark. I'm tripping on things. And so, I get to the bathroom and I'm trying to get settled, and then I'm like, “Oh yeah, the lift and tuck.” So I am having to lift on my belly and tuck my pelvis through every contraction. Normally, I think they recommend that you have someone else do that. It is very uncomfortable. It hurts, but I knew after those conversations with my midwife after talking to my chiropractor, they were like, “This is going to be what you need to do to help.” So I had that in mind and I felt the minute she shifted, the second that she shifted into position. It was crazy. I am like, “Okay. Now we are going.” It was around that time that things really picked up and I yelled out to my husband, I am like, “Get up.” And so, he wakes up and he was fumbling around in the dark. I think he knocked something over. But he calls the doula and she was like, “All right. I am on my way.”And then, he called the midwife. Because my contractions were not, I think-- what is the formula? It is 4-1-1. So four minutes apart, one minute long, one minute-- I don't remember. Whatever her thing was. It wasn't quite to that point. She said, “Keep me posted, but we are going to observe her for a little longer and keep me posted. I've got my stuff ready. I can be on my way.” She's on standby. So he is coming over and he's like, “All right. You have to get out of the bathroom,” because our bathroom is this narrow tunnel. There is a wall on one side and I think I'm stuck on the other side. It's just long, so no one could have gone behind me really well or anything. He was like, “You have got to get out of here,” and I was like, “I don't want to.” So he is trying to push me out of the bathroom a little bit and I was able to crawl out in between contractions. I made it to the foot of our bed and I just camped out there. I was like, “This is as far as I can make it.” He was like, “You're fine.”So then, my doula arrived. At this point, I have no clue what the actual timeline is, but I know she got there pretty quickly, my doula did. She starts helping put up the birth pool and get the hose set up. She's checking on me and he's checking on me. I remember she came in and she's doing hip compressions and I'm trying to move around a little bit. I think mostly I was on all fours and I was just swaying my hips. I tried getting up where my forearms were resting on the bed and I am like, “Nope. I can't do that.”I just was doing my best to keep on keeping on and using that low breath, or the low “ahhhh”-- the voice thing that they tell you to do. That was super helpful because just doing that, I knew-- and after taking, because I took three classes all in all. I did The VBAC Link course, I did another one with Mamastefit. She was on here at some point, I think, last year and she was talking about the physiology of birth. Her class is really good.Meagan: Mhmm. We love Gina. We love her.Julie: Yes. We love her.Sarah: Gina, her stuff is really good. Anybody who wants to know the physiology of what your body is doing, her course really nails that. And then, I did another course in-person with my doula service. Theirs was Birthing From Within based. She talked about the vocalizations, and movements, and things like that, but one of the things that really stuck with me was contractions are going to be a minute. It's not going to be five minutes. It's not going to be ten minutes. You can get through a minute. You can do that. We practiced holding the ice in your hand for a minute. Being able to practice that and having it in my head was so realistic. I think it really helped me mentally as I'm in the moment trying to go through. I remember I was trying so hard to talk to my doula because I don't think I wanted her-- she was rubbing my back or something and I don't even think I could tell her, “I don't like that.” I was so in the zone. At one point, I did manage to tell her, “I feel like pushing.” I was so scared because, with my daughter, my oldest, I felt like pushing, but I was not anywhere near ready to push which apparently, again, was a sign of being in the wrong position. I was scared that that was happening again.She said, “Okay. Well, where is the midwife? Hubby was like, “She told me to follow up and that was an hour ago.” So we call the midwife, she's on the phone, and then in the middle of that phone call, I go, “I think there is something in between my legs.” Tara, my doula, Tara comes over and she goes, “Yep. There is baby's head.”Julie: Oh my gosh!Meagan: Oh my heck!Sarah: Yeah.Julie: What?!Sarah: And so, I am like, “Okay.” She puts the midwife on speakerphone. My midwife is literally in her van coming my way and she goes, “Okay, so what is Sarah doing? What position is she in? What do you see?” And so, my doula takes over as the unofficial person in charge. I remember my husband telling me later, he was like, “I wanted to catch the baby, but Tara said ‘No.'”Meagan: Oh really?Sarah: Because she has been to several births. She ended up-- I think two weeks before that, one of the other moms that she supported, the same thing happened where the baby was born before the same midwife got there, so she caught that baby too.Meagan: Oh my gosh.Julie: Oh my gosh.Sarah: She is amazing. I love her. She's just an amazing person and she took over so well. But she comes over and my husband at least thought to turn on his camera on his phone so we have this very dark video, but she coached me through it. I hear my midwife on the phone going, “All right. She can push.” And so then, Tara's like, “Well, push, push, push, push and my baby shot out like a little torpedo. She was so fast. Her hand was up by her face, so I had an unassisted VBAC, HBAC because I was at home, with a nuchal hand. I just roared her out like a fierce lion mama. It was great. I remember the first thing I said was, “I eff-ing did it.”Julie: That is awesome. Sarah: The feeling of such relief after so much worry, and so much planning, and so much, just all of it coming to fruition in this weird moment at 5:30 in the morning and my poor midwife wasn't even there. There she was. I turned around and I started to look at her and I go, “Wait. What is it? It's a girl!” And so, I got to be the one this time to say that she was a girl and that was so important to me, but I didn't know it was until that moment. You know?Julie: Yeah. Aww.Meagan: I love it.Sarah: Yeah. After that, they tried to get me up on the bed and we are trying to get my placenta out. It kind of got stuck. So my midwife is trying to tell my doula, “All right. Give her some traction. Let's try nipple stimulation. What's going on here?” I was losing a lot of blood. It was probably 45 minutes later, so I had lost a significant amount of blood. I have a couple of pictures of me and baby and I am looking pasty in those pictures. When my midwife got there, she started going to work really quickly and she had her team. It was like a whirlwind of people doing stuff. It was awesome. I know at one point they were trying to figure out where they could hang an IV bag and I'm like, “There is a hanger right there and there's a flashlight behind the TV.” Like, I am directing things that are happening in my house. How I was so with it, I have no idea. They quickly decided that I needed some more support than they could give just because of how much time had passed, so they did end up calling an ambulance which, prior to all of the prep work that I had done with my therapist, I will tell you that that very well would have given me some major anxiety attack before. But I was able to roll with it. EMS got me up, got me downstairs, got me outside. They asked me questions. I somehow remembered my husband‘s telephone number at some point during all of that which I don't think I know that right now. So the fact that I knew that after I had lost half my blood volume was kind of a miracle. The hospital did have to go in and manually remove my placenta which was awful. I think that was worse than giving birth. I remember in all of that, I looked over at a nurse and I said, “I need you to tell me what's going on because that's going to keep me calm.” The fact that I was with it enough to be able to ask for that was pretty cool, but the fact that I knew that I needed that, again, because of all the prep work that I had done with my therapist mentally and emotionally. Knowing that I had somebody that could walk me through what was going on just helped so incredibly much. They got me patched up. They got some blood in me and I was able to tell them, “Hey, I have this little c thing. You might want to know about that when you are matching my blood type.” The doctor was able to verify all of that with my medical records and make sure that I got the most specified blood for my needs to help me get back up to speed. So that was really cool because I knew that having that information and being able to provide that to the doctor on a whim, I know that made a difference in me being able to recover quickly because it was just going to help. You know? Whether it made a huge difference physically to me, I don't know, but I think mentally it was like, “I am empowered and I have information about my body and about myself.” That was cool.So, second-degree tear. Three units of blood. I stayed at the hospital for a few days. But she came like a little whirlwind and she is the coolest kid let me tell ya.Homebirth midwivesJulie: I love that so much. There are so many things I want to highlight in your story besides the cool little c antibody educational piece. But I want to speak a little bit about home birth because people are afraid of home birth. It's definitely not for everybody, but there's a misunderstanding that midwives don't have as much medical knowledge and there's a higher chance that your baby will die, or you will die, or hemorrhage like in your case, right? You were hemorrhaging and I just want you to know that as a doula, and it sounds like your midwife and doula did the same thing, but as a doula, I have seen home birth transfers. These midwives that have attended hundreds and hundreds, and sometimes thousands of home births, are very in tune, and very on point, and very, very particular about all of the details around birth. It was really funny because when you were telling your story with the nuchal hand and then after birth, you were losing a lot of blood and they called the ambulance and everything, I attended a birth just like that, except the midwife got there before the baby was born, a couple of years ago. It wasn't even two or three minutes after the baby was born, the midwife was like, “Let's get EMS on the phone.” She was putting pressure inside and outside of the mom's uterus to stop the bleeding and then the ambulance got there. I was arranging for her son to go another way and then her husband was arranging things. It was just so seamless, and the midwife was so calm, and we transferred care. It was the same thing. The doctor had to go inside and manually remove the placenta, and then she had to have two D&Cs, actually two more in the coming weeks to get the rest of her placenta out. I guess the best way to describe it from my point of view is beautiful chaos. It was an emergency, but man, this midwife was just so skilled and trained. They don't take chances. They are highly educated. They have, depending on if they are a CPM, a Certified Professional Midwife, or a licensed midwife, and you can be both in some states, they carry the same drugs like Methergine and Pitocin to stop bleeding. They carry antibiotics to administer if you are GBS positive. They have IV fluids that they can do. They are so trained and skilled that if an emergency happens, they are going to be able to transfer your care to the hospital. They're going to know the things that they need to do to help you before you get to the hospital. Guess what else? There's this really cool system, I forget what the acronym is, but as a student midwife, I am familiar with all these things. But there's this information database where midwives can share their information with the hospital they are transferring to while they are en route to the hospital. They're on the phone with the hospital so that when you get there, the hospital is ready to receive you and they don't have to ask any questions. They just pick up where the homebirth midwife left off. I think that's just something that people don't really realize happens. They think, “Oh my gosh. If there is an emergency, we are going to die when we're at home.” Granted, in extremely rare cases, things like that do happen just like they happen in the hospital, but at no higher rate as far as maternal and infant death goes. So I think that's really important to note. I wanted to spotlight that because, well, nobody wants a home birth transfer whether before or after the baby is born. When there are emergencies these homebirth midwives are amazing. They are amazing.Sarah: Yes. That was something that I had talked to her in-depth about before because I had such anxiety with the hospital. I remember at one point, I think it was when she came for my home check-up visit at however far along in the pregnancy and I said, “Hey. I am really nervous about if we have to transfer to the hospital, but I know that if I need to, I trust you on that. I am not going to ask to go to the hospital,” because I had asked when I was at the birth center with my oldest daughter. I transferred because I wanted to because I was having trouble and I wanted an epidural. So I wanted to make it clear to her to say, “If I'm going to transfer it is because I know that you need me to transfer.” I am putting that trust in her and she said all the same things that you just said. She was like, “Well, we have this and we have that, but if we need to transfer, I have that on speed dial,” kind of thing. I am sure no matter what state you're in, there are all kinds of rules and regulations and whatnot, but just being able to trust your provider whether it is a home birth midwife or a doctor in a hospital. If you can trust the person that you are literally placing your life in their hands to have them make sure that you are okay, I think that's key too.Julie: Yeah. I agree. I think most importantly is birthing with a provider In a location where you feel comfortable with and having the trust in them and having conversations like that with your midwife or your doctor whether you are in or out of the hospital. I think that those are all important conversations. Meagan, you have just been letting me ramble on over here. Do you want to jump in?Meagan: No. I am in agreeance with everything. Something for me is like, I really wanted a home birth, but my husband didn't feel comfortable with the idea of home birth. I think that can be a hard thing too. The mom feels comfortable birthing at one place, but the partner doesn't feel comfortable with them birthing at the other place. I think, sometimes, that can make it a hard situation, right? And so, I just loved so much that you didn't-- one, that you didn't have to feel that way, but even with my situation, in the end, we really just came down to it. I gave him all the education and facts on it and he was like, “Oh okay. Yeah. I think that would be fine.” And then after we had a VBAC, I had a similar situation. We didn't find my blood.Sarah: Hmm.Meagan: Yeah. Neither externally nor internally, weirdly enough. But I lost half of my body's blood after my birth. I passed out a couple of times. It was really interesting.Sarah: It's a weird feeling.Meagan: It is a really strange feeling. I remember waking up, I am like, “Why am I on the floor again?” And everyone is like, “Well, it's because you passed out again.” But even after all of that is said and done, my husband was like, “You know, if we are having another one,” which we are not, “I wouldn't do it any other way and we would totally do it at home.” And so, it is just so interesting to see how that experience changed his perspective on where we birth, you know? So, I don't know. I just love that you had an educated doula and that you had the midwife on the phone. I loved all of it. And you know what? I actually don't think I knew that Cesarean moms were at higher risk for the c.Sarah: I think it's just because there's a higher chance of the blood passing through into-- cross-contamination they said.Meagan: Yeah, which totally makes sense.Sarah: Yeah. It can totally happen with a vaginal delivery as well if there is a tear or something like that, but it's a lot more common for a—Meagan: -- a Cesarean.Sarah: Not that it is common, to begin with, let's be real. I have a weird blood thing to go with my weird unicorn kid that only has one kidney, and my other weird unicorn kid that can't hear well, and my husband who has weird blood. So, yeah. We're a family of unicorns.Julie: Unique. You're not weird. You're unique. I like it.Sarah: Unicorns. I have two girls. There are unicorns everywhere.Julie: Oh yes. Yes, yes, yes.Sarah: Everywhere.Meagan: I love it.Julie: That is amazing. Well, wow. We are so grateful that you shared your story with us today. It was so fun to come full circle from our admin texting us. She was like, “Have you heard of little c?” I was like, “A little c? Is that like Big C?” But like, being kind of sarcastic because sometimes we hear some crazy things and she was like, “No, really. Little C antibodies?” And Meagan was like, “I've heard of Big C.” I was major impressed with Meagan because I hadn't even heard of that. And so, it was just so fun to have that conversation in our memory and then have you come on the podcast and share. Yeah. It was just really neat to have you. Thank you so much.Meagan: Yes.Sarah: Definitely. Hopefully, if there's another mom out there that has something like that, she'll feel less alone.Julie: Yes. We are putting it in our title so that if anyone searches for it, they will find it.Sarah: There we go. Perfect.ClosingWould you like to be a guest on the podcast? Head over to thevbaclink.com/share and submit your story. For all things VBAC, including online and in-person VBAC classes, The VBAC Link blog, and Julie and Meagan's bios, head over to thevbaclink.com. Congratulations on starting your journey of learning and discovery with The VBAC Link.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Unknown: An Interview with Birthing from Within Trainer Nikki Shaheed

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 22, 2021 22:18

In this week's episode, Nikki Shaheed talks about how to discover your heart's question to guide your birth, the various archetypes for approaching the birth experience, and the etiquette for Laborland. Nikki's powerful interview highlights the power of leading with questions, respecting the individuality of each birther and birth experience, and being okay with the unknown.

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EP 109: Transformed by Birth: Ordered Culture + Wild Nature + Archetypes Birth and Life with Britta Bushnell, PhD

MagaMama with Kimberly Ann Johnson: Sex, Birth and Motherhood

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 19, 2021 59:18

-Story of the Apollo/ Artemis birth -The role of twins in mythology- two sides of a coin -Artemis is the goddess of childbirth, when she is born, she immediately midwife’s her brother’s birth -Artemis- Moon Goddess, darkness, untamed; Apollo- Sun God, bright, civilized -How are these archetypes helpful in birth preparation? -Ordered culture over wild nature -In an Appolonian setting (hospital,) how do you bring Artemis? -Kimberly’s birth experience and handing over power in Apollonian way to midwife -Pandemic popped the Apollonian illusion of control and tossed us into Artemisian realm -Children are Artemisian -How do we compromise the Artemisian in Apollonian structure in spite of our ideals? -Parents beating themselves up in pandemic for kids falling behind -The blurring of public and private -Did birth move you to be more Apollonian or Artemisian? -The grief and loss through the pandemic Dr. Britta Bushnell (she/her) is a wife and mother, author of Transformed by Birth, veteran childbirth educator, celebrated speaker, mythologist, and specialist in childbirth, relationship, and parenting. For over 20 years, Dr. Bushnell has worked with individuals and couples as they prepare for the life-changing experience of giving birth. Her work with parents has been enriched by her doctoral work in mythology and psychology, her years spent as former co-owner of Birthing From Within, as well as her dedicated study of solution-focused brief therapy, storytelling, sustaining sexual vibrancy, and helping romantic partnerships thrive even during parenthood.

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Getting to the Heart of Birth | Nikki Shaheed

The BirthCircle | Birth, Pregnancy, & PostPartum Conversations

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 5, 2020 48:01

Today, we talk with Nikki Shaheed (www.nikkishaheed.com), one of the Co-Owners of Birthing From Within International. She is also a childbirth mentor and doula, and is the author of Heart Centered Pregnancy Journal (https://birthingfromwithinsanantonio.com/pregnancy-journal/). We begin with Nikki sharing how she got involved in the Birthing From Within courses. We talk about the importance of finding your inner wisdom and becoming aware of how your imprinted beliefs impact your decisions in preparation for birth and parenting. We talk about how to go from feeling primarily defensive through your birth experience to making your birth process a transformative experience. We talk about the importance of setting up your birth experience and preparing yourself beforehand so that you can feel protected internally and protected by people you trust. Nikki then tells us how self-compassion is everything in processing your entire birth experience. We discuss more in-depth the importance of self-awareness and doing the work prenatally to accept your emotions and responses to help you through your birth experience. Nikki then shares what makes Birthing From Within different from other birth modalities, including its focus on “the heroic journey” when training doulas and birth workers. We talk about crossing thresholds and making shifts without shame, and embracing the transformation and education that comes with your birth experience. We talk about defining your most sincere intention with your birth and building your birth team around that intention. We finish by discussing how the Birthing From Within program helps protect birth workers with burnout and trauma. We invite both birthing mothers and birth professionals to visit https://birthingfromwithin.com. 1:13 Nikki's Story 4:22 Practicing Self-Awareness and Rewriting Your Story 26:48 The Birthing From Within Program 42:03 Preventing Burnout for Birth Professionals “If we think about the hormone cycle, and we think about that dreamy state that people need to get into in order to feel less pain and intensity and have the oxytocin and endorphins flowing, and lose track of time, that does not align with having an argument with someone in the middle of labor.” 10:47 https://birthcircle.com For Any Questions, Email Me at media@birthcircle.com

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In the Middle of a Transformation With Dr. Britta Bushnell

Pure Nurture Pregnancy and Birth | A Holistic Approach

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 27, 2020 34:17

Dr. Britta Bushnell (she/her) is a wife and mother, author of Transformed by Birth, host of the podcast Transformed, veteran childbirth educator, celebrated speaker, mythologist, and specialist in childbirth, relationship, and parenting. For over 20 years, Dr. Bushnell has worked with individuals and couples as they prepare for the life-changing experience of giving birth. Her work with parents has been enriched by her doctoral work in mythology and psychology, her years spent as a co-owner of Birthing From Within, as well as her dedicated study of solution-focused brief therapy, storytelling, sustaining sexual vibrancy, and helping romantic partnerships thrive even during parenthood. What you’ll hear in this episode: Britta’s yoga career Episode 97: Birth Story Medicine with Pam England Transformed by Birth book by Dr. Britta Bushnell E X P A N D your birth expectations Global postpartum period The transformation brought on by birth and becoming a parent Dealing with isolation in 2020 The highs and lows of parenting The illusion of perfectionism Rites of passage and what they have to do with this moment in time Connect with Britta: Website: BrittaBushnell.com Instagram: @brittabushnellphd Facebook: @brittabushnellphd Book: Transformed by Birth Podcast: Transformed

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204: Britta Bushnell

The BIRTHFIT Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 14, 2020 82:33

Dr. Britta Bushnell (she/her) is a wife and mother, author of Transformed by Birth, veteran childbirth educator, celebrated speaker, mythologist, and specialist in childbirth, relationship, and parenting. For over 20 years, Dr. Bushnell has worked with individuals and couples as they prepare for the life-changing experience of giving birth. Her work with parents has been enriched by her doctoral work in mythology and psychology, her years spent as a co-owner of Birthing From Within, as well as her dedicated study of solution-focused brief therapy, storytelling, sustaining sexual vibrancy, and helping romantic partnerships thrive even during parenthood.

birth transformed bushnell birthing from within britta bushnell

#79 Birth Is A Body Based Event with Clancy Allen

SuperFeast Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 10, 2020 62:33

Tahnee is back with another soulful Women's Series episode on the podcast today. Clancy Allen joins us to unpack and explore the depth and nuance of the birthing process. Clancy is a Doula with prior professional experience as a civil litigation lawyer and training in kinesiology and yoga. It is Clancy's deep desire and burning passion to facilitate women on their birthing journey's, helping them cultivate their inner power, and find their voices within a medical system that is often unsupportive. Clancy creates a sacred container for women in the birthing space, helping them to recognise and dissolve fear and overwhelm, guiding them towards the harmony that exists between their intellect and intuition. Tahnee and Clancy explore: Clancy's story and birth journey. The role of the doula in the birth space. The value of creating a birth plan and what a birth plan can offer you. How to use your psychic antenna to align yourself with birthing allies. Pregnancy and birth as highly intuitive times in a woman's life. Birth as a portal to shadow work and self healing. Obstetrics and the technocratic model in child birth. The Birthing From Within paradigm. How to step into your innate power as a woman. Who is Clancy Allen? Clancy is a birth mentor and birth keeper, wise woman, and mother to a spirited 4 year old boy. Clancy honours the continuum of the childbearing phases from preconception, to pregnancy, birth and motherhood as potent opportunities for personal growth and transformation. After transitioning away from a half a decade career as a Lawyer to study yoga and kinesiology, it was pregnancy that catalysed Clancy’s interest in birth. Clancy’s passion to support women during the childbearing continuum was born with her son. Clancy went on to study as a Sacred Birth doula with Anna Watts (in the Byron shire), Birthing From Within, and the Radical Birth Keeper School. Clancy offers birth mentoring and birth keeping, postnatal mother support, mothering the mother ceremonies, and her online course, Yoga for Empowered Birth. Clancy holds space for women to recover their inner authority and voice, to remember their innate birthing wisdom and power, and to experience birth as a joyous initiation to mothering. Peaceful, primal, biological, loving birth is the revolution our world needs, now. Resources: Clancy's Website Clancy's Instagram Birthing From Within Website Q: How Can I Support The SuperFeast Podcast? A: Tell all your friends and family and share online! We’d also love it if you could subscribe and review this podcast on iTunes. Or check us out on Stitcher :)! Plus we're on Spotify! Check Out The Transcript Here: Tahnee: (00:00) Hi everybody, and welcome to the SuperFeast Podcast. Today I am joined by Clancy who happens to be a friend of mine, but she's also an amazing birth mentor and birth keeper. Her name is Clancy Allen, excuse me. And we'll link to all of her website and everything a bit later on, but she's got a really awesome Instagram and a great website, and online courses, so lots of resources out there for mums that are in that birthing time or birthing phase of life. Tahnee: (00:29) But I'm really excited to share Clancy with you all today because she's just someone that I've really enjoyed following her journey, and I've learned a lot from her sharing and her resources that she shares. She's got this really beautiful way of pulling in the facts and then also the weaving in the deeply intimate and personal experiences of birth. I'm really excited to have you here today, Clancy. Thanks for taking the time. Clancy Allen: (00:53) Thanks Tahnee. Thanks for that beautiful introduction. Tahnee: (00:58) Oh, that's so nice. But, yeah, I know we've had trouble lining this up because of life, but yeah, it's really nice to finally be here. And I was just thinking about you the other day and just I think I bumped into you, and you were really pregnant, and I remember you looked really beautiful; and at that point pregnancy was not even on my horizon. And, yeah, it's interesting we're both here now five years later with little people, so big growth for both of us, I'm sure. Clancy Allen: (01:25) Yeah. But it's interesting because it wasn't that long after we did have that encounter and bumped into each other that you were pregnant, I think. Or I feel it wasn't that long. Tahnee: (01:36) It's true. I don't know the exact dates but, yeah, it would have been no more than six months, I think. Well, when was Loui born? Clancy Allen: (01:44) He was February 2016. Tahnee: (01:47) Yes. Aiya's December, so yeah. Clancy Allen: (01:50) Not too far apart. Tahnee: (01:51) Yeah, so you do this amazing birth keeping work now. I know that you were in the holistic space then, but I imagine your birth was a really transformative way of you moving into this work. Are you able to tell us…? I know you were a lawyer at one time, how does lawyer Clancy become birth mentor Clancy? What's the journey there? Clancy Allen: (02:16) Yes. I was a lawyer and I practised as a lawyer for six years, so it was a good effort trying on that career and seeing if it was the right fit. And it absolutely wasn't. And I always had this inkling, I suppose, that it wasn't. But, for whatever reason, I ignored my intuition around that and pressed on. And it was a lot of ticking the boxes and doing the things that we think are going to be important. And making decisions as a 17, 18 year old after leaving school for the rest of your life is, you know... A little bit insane. Clancy Allen: (03:04) That was the decision I made and the path I took. And I practised as a personal injury lawyer in civil litigation for six years and just became very disillusioned with it all. And it was a very masculine career, long hours sitting at a desk. It really just wasn't fitting into how I saw my future. And the spaces that I was moving into, I guess, I'd discovered yoga and was really stepping away from that dominant narrative around our bodies and our health and medicine, and really starting to question all that and look at things through a more holistic lens. Clancy Allen: (03:52) I think I saw a naturopath for the first time when I was a lawyer. Yeah, I was pretty late to the party with all that because I grew up in a house with two parents who were nurses so they very much in that, conditioned in that way and indoctrinated into that system and everything it stands for. There was a lot of unlearning, I suppose, and seeing things differently. And I found yoga and yoga was the thing that kept me able to keep going in law for a couple more years until I finally got to a crunch point and I had to leave. Clancy Allen: (04:44) And I went travelling for six months in South America on my own and had no epiphany while I was there about what I wanted to do. Like I thought “Maybe the heavens will open while I'm on this epic backpacking journey in South America and I'm going to discover what I want to be,” but that didn't happen. It took more time. My partner and I moved up to the Northern territory and lived in Kakadu, and I did some yoga teacher trainings, and then I studied kinesiology for a year and I fell pregnant that year. Clancy Allen: (05:24) It wasn't.. It was sort of a conscious conception, but it was like we had a conversation and then we were pregnant. There wasn't this extended period of trying, which we thought that might be the case, so it was like, “Whoa.” I did have a bit of ambivalence initially, and it was a bit of a surprise and just wrapping my head around the fact that now I'm pregnant. Wow, this is sudden and I still don't know what I want to be. And I think I was 33 at this time. I actually booked my first anti-natal appointments with an obstetrician in Newcastle, even though we were living three hours out of Darwin. Clancy Allen: (06:23) And I thought, “Oh, yeah, I'll travel down there and see this obstetrician that a friend had recommended.” I'm not sure what I was thinking. But as I started to actually do some of my own reading and research, and learn about the obstetric model vs midwifery based model of care and what those two frameworks looked like and what the care might be like, I started to think, “Oh, okay. Then I think that's what I want. I'm really wanting to aim for a normal physiological birth here, so that doesn't feel like the right thing. Clancy Allen: (07:00) And why am I trying to make it easy for my family and everyone else down in Newcastle to see me when my baby is born and meet my baby? Why aren't I…” We lived up in Darwin at that stage, why aren't I doing the things that make life easy for me and having my baby up here. I discovered there was these publicly funded home birth service and jumped on that. And I was really excited and just totally devouring everything about birth; and started to think, during that pregnancy, that maybe this is what I want to do. Clancy Allen: (07:39) I heard about a doula and I just had this inkling that maybe working as a doula was what I would do after I'd had my baby. But I also thought it's probably just a phase and once he's born I'll be over it. But then nine months later, when I was still reading birth books, I realised I needed to do a doula training. And yeah, so it went from there and I've just done more and more trainings, learnt from more great teachers, have studied as an educator in the birthing from within frameworks, so really use their model a lot in my mentoring. And now have just started the radical birth keeper school with the amazing women who collaborate to found the free birth society. Yeah. Tahnee: (08:45) Yeah. For people that don't know, can you tell us what a doula is first? Because I think some people don't even really understand that particular type of offering in that birth space. Clancy Allen: (08:59) Yeah. It's pretty simple. A doula is a birth companion or birth support person who's there for the birth in woman's support but also the partner. Really it's not a medical role. She's there to meet the emotional needs of that woman and support her in that transition through the birth process. And usually there's prenatal education and getting to know one another, and building that trust and rapport with the woman and her partner, and up-skilling that partner so that he feels equipped to move through the process. And then post-natally they can also be some support as well depending on the doulas inclination to offer that. Yeah. Tahnee: (09:50) And so, and women by my understanding, would typically choose that person to support them in any kind of birth setting. It's not just a home birth or any kind of… Outside the normal birth, for want of a better word. But so did you end up using a doula yourself for your birth? Clancy Allen: (10:10) Yes. Yes. So I did have a doula. I had a nightmare at about 28 weeks that I ended up in the hospital. Whether this was a premonition or just one of those normal fears that women have about birth, I woke up and I thought, “Right, I need to get a doula because I've got this fear about ending up in the hospital and that's going to solve all my problems.” And it's only now, with a lot of reflection and hindsight, that I can see how I really handing my power away and looking externally for something or someone to save me from what I was perceiving as the worst case scenario in my birth. Clancy Allen: (11:06) And by doing that I really was avoiding the actual work of looking at the fear and unpacking the fear, and was jumping into this problem-solving mindset. And yeah, a big part of my work now is around really tackling and confronting fears, which are totally normal part of these huge initiation and transformation that we undergo as women. Yeah, it can be overwhelming and it can be scary and that's multi-factorial why it's scary and overwhelming and individual as well. But yeah, for me, that was an avoidance thing and it didn't serve me to do that because I was not willing, I guess, to look at my fear. Clancy Allen: (12:03) And I thought that by getting a doula that would just solve my problems. And doulas, unfortunately, are incredible and offer amazing nourishing support and space holding but they're not fairies who can come into a birth and wave a wand. They can't change the system and the inherent power dynamics and things that happen within that system that can be sometimes really negative and abusive. They're not bodyguards either. I guess, maybe, I had some misconceptions about all that. And there was a lot of other things too but, yeah. Tahnee: (12:47) Yeah. I think sometimes, and we talked about this before we came on, there's an assumption that they have some rights, I guess, to control the situation in a birthing situation, but that's not the case really. A doula is a support person so they're not really able to intervene too much, from what I understand. Is that correct? Clancy Allen: (13:11) Well, yeah. I mean, you have these institutions, hospitals, with a hierarchy within them where the obstetricians are at the top of that hierarchy. And then there might be nurses and midwives. And the doula is definitely way down the bottom of the line in terms of a pecking order and is, I think, seen by some medical providers, not all obviously, but as someone who's totally unqualified. And we don't have medical training usually, although there are some midwives who are doulas and that type of thing. Clancy Allen: (13:54) But for the most part there's no professional medical training. There's an understanding of the medical system and normal physiological birth, so I guess our perspectives are not valued really by that hierarchy. And yeah, there's not much ability to sway what's happening if it has started to spiral. If things are running pretty smoothly and it hasn't turned into a spiralling stressful situation, there's definitely scope for the doula to act as, I guess, an intermediary and also support the partner to be the advocate. Clancy Allen: (14:44) Because, let's face it, a birthing woman can't really advocate for herself to her full capacity because her prefrontal cortex is totally offline for very good reasons. She's in her primal brain and all those executive functions are just not there, which is how it should be. There's not much decision making ability, language. All that is compromised so it's really quite impossible for her, in such a vulnerable state, to be able to advocate for herself and even make decisions. Clancy Allen: (15:27) Now I'm going off on a tangent, but even to give informed consent seems like it's just a false concept, because how can you give consent when your whole thinking capacity is impaired. And I guess impaired doesn't really sound like the right word because it suggests that it's like a dysfunction, which it's not. It's perfect. It's biologically sound and intelligent and perfect for her to be in that place. But then we expect her to make decisions and give informed consent and it just doesn't fit. It's incongruent. Tahnee: (16:16) Yeah. That's so interesting you say that because… I mean, I chose to have a hospital midwife program home birth as well I remember lots of things I thought about before the birth. And then in it I just was like… I mean, the closest example I can have is like psychedelic drugs. I was completely on another planet and it was very embodied and very primal. But, yeah, they were asking me things and I was like, “I just can't process anything right now.” You know? Tahnee: (16:52) I was thinking, Mase knew what I wanted and it was all fine, and none of the questions were particularly hard, but I was thinking afterwards, “Can you imagine if I'd had to make a decision about do you want to be transferred or do this?” I mean, I wouldn't have had a hope. I think about that a lot. And when you said earlier about it's so difficult and you've seen so many cases of consent not being given or not being able to be given, I think that becomes a really grey tricky area in terms of giving care to a pregnant woman and supporting the birth process. Tahnee: (17:28) Given now what you know and what you've witnessed and your experiences so far, is there any advice or perspective you can offer on that whole idea of consent in birth and how that all fits together? Clancy Allen: (17:44) I think if women are choosing to birth in the system, and let's face it 95% or upwards even, are, this concept of having a birth plan is often scoffed at and ridiculed. And there's this perspective that, well, anything can happen so what's the point in planning. But a birth plan, the power of it isn't in the document itself and showing up to your birth with this document that you've written and saying what you want. The power of the planning is in learning and understanding what the system might be offering you, what you may or may not want, and formulating that document ahead of time and in communication with your care providers. Clancy Allen: (18:41) Having discussions with them about the various things that would normally go in the plan so that they're aware of your perspective on X, Y, and Z. And you have an opportunity, I guess, to iron out any possible philosophical differences, an opportunity to even leave that care provider if, during those discussions, it becomes apparent that they're just not willing to support the things that you want. Because it's never too late to find another care provider. Well, that I guess comes with the caveat that it depends on what the options are in your area geographically as well. Clancy Allen: (19:27) But if there is another option, you can leave when you're 39 weeks and go and find someone else if you've just suddenly realised they're not on board with what I want here and they're not going to support that, and if you've got alarm bells and red flags. The power of that planning process and that document is really in the many discussions that you should have with that care provider before about what you want so that it's not a surprise. Clancy Allen: (19:57) And when you're having those discussions, I think really important to be feeling into your body to get a sense of their body language because sometimes people can talk the talk but then when it comes to… And you hear that happening a lot with women who birth saying that I was fooled or tricked. They said that they would support this and then when I went into labour everything changed. You really have to have your psychic antenna on, I think. And we are all psychic but I guess we're all conditioned away from that. Clancy Allen: (20:43) But we're especially open when we're pregnant. We have that real openness in our field, so dropping into that and getting a real felt sense of how you're feeling in your body in those interactions and if that feeling is matching what they're saying. Because I think that's really important, that unspoken stuff. But, yeah. Tahnee: (21:11) I think what I'm really hearing is examining the full. I mean, I guess that was something I have witnessed and spoken with friends about. It's like this is how I'm going to birth and so I think it's important to do due diligence and actually examine the range of possibilities. And that was something, I know for me, we had to talk about. Well, what happens if I get transferred? And what happens if… And it wasn't to entertain fear as much as to make sure that everyone knew what we wanted in those stages, I suppose, and which hospitals we wanted to go to and which ones we didn't. Tahnee: (21:50) And, again, you don't know what you don't know but you can, with a bit of education, understand what the different possibilities might be. I think it's this sense, and maybe what you were saying before about how you were looking at a doula to fix it instead of really looking within. It seems like your work has really shifted to that inner journey toward… There's that great saying that goes around on memes all the time; but it's, how you birth is how you live. Right? It's like what we're not willing to examine shows up when we birth. Tahnee: (22:26) And I know that, for me, definitely I was in and out of my thinking controlling mind. I wanted to control the whole process. And then in the primal body the mind which was like, “Get out of the way. We've got this,” kind of thing. I could feel myself shifting in and out of those spaces. It was a really profound experience. But yeah, is that how your work has shifted. Is it more on the mothers in a landscape, I suppose? Clancy Allen: (22:55) Totally. Yeah. And I think there's a lot to be said about what you just said as well, about looking at all the different alternatives, I suppose, and pathways that might happen and understanding them. You knew where you wanted to go if you did need to transfer. And I think there's this misconception that you don't focus on the thing that you don't want to happen because you don't want to manifest it. Something like, yeah, if you're fearful of having a caesarian then let's just not talk about it. Clancy Allen: (23:33) And let's not focus on that because I don't want that to happen, so I just absolutely cannot go there. But we give the fear so much energy just by keeping it at bay and holding it away from our mind and our consciousness. Yes, my work is definitely about going into that and exploring that. And also we don't really recognise I think in our culture as well that we've been preparing for birth our whole lives but we just don't recognise that. We fall pregnant and then we think, “Oh, wow, I'm pregnant. What do I need to do to get ready for this?” Clancy Allen: (24:14) But we come to birth with all our baggage essentially. It doesn't happen in a vacuum. We come to it with our beliefs, our assumptions, our conditioning, all the narratives out there around birth being quite negative. And we definitely take that on at some level. It's everywhere, that narrative and that dialogue. And even our own birth imprint from when we were born, what happened then? How did we interpret the world in ourselves at a body level? Did we feel it as a safe place when we were born? Clancy Allen: (24:59) What's our own imprint there, because that can come into it? Our family stories and also the rite of passage of menstruation. What happened to us during that? And for me, at least, there wasn't really any celebration. It was exciting but it was like, “Well, here's the things that you need, pads, tampons,” and you just get on with it and carry on with life as normal. There was no awareness around the cycles and honouring and understanding the whole cycle and ovulation and all of that type of thing. That just was totally missing. Clancy Allen: (25:40) And if you suffered in any way from that monthly bleed, then just take drugs or let's just put you on the pill and suppress it. And so that's our initiation to our bodies being totally disconnected from them. If that's happened to us, which for a lot of us it has, that then plays into birth because birth is a body-based event. We're forced into our bodies. And if it's foreign territory for us to be in that and have that somatic awareness and to stay with all that, it can be really confronting. And we can just want to block it or numb it, I suppose, like we've been conditioned towards with that earlier rite of passage. Clancy Allen: (26:28) Yeah. And I didn't fully comprehend all that, I don't think, with my own preparation. I think I felt like by doing all the right things, getting the doula, doing the calm birth course, reading the right things and choosing to have a home verse through a publicly funded home birth scheme, that I'd covered all my bases and the formula was met, and I'd ticked my boxes, and I'd get the birth I wanted. I didn't understand the importance of really doing that inner work and looking at all my past stuff. And there was a lot there to look at. Tahnee: (27:11) Yeah, there was. Clancy Allen: (27:13) But I think it's never done. Tahnee: (27:15) No. Absolutely not. Clancy Allen: (27:18) That's what being human is, I think. Yeah, and that's where I really focus my work and my mentoring now with couples and women. Is looking at all that stuff. And also looking at the rules and agreements that we made as children. We decide how we need to be in the world when we're very young. We make rules that govern us even when we're adults. It might be, I need to be compliant and quiet to get love. That's when I get praise and that's when I get love, and so if I'm quiet and a good girl and obedient then I'm worthy of getting that love. Clancy Allen: (28:07) And even just an agreement like that one that we might've made when we were five or whatever can carry on and come into the birth space and influence how we engage with a system that has that authority platform as well with the expert. Yeah, it becomes a whole big tangled web of so many things that can influence us in that experience that is going back to our entire life history really. Tahnee: (28:46) I don't know exactly what happened with your son, but I know that you had some birth trauma. What was your experience in the end, and what was your process I suppose? I'm sure the work you're doing is part of your healing, but there are other things that really helped you transform that experience into something more meaningful. Clancy Allen: (29:08) Yeah. After it happened, yeah, I was in a bit of a dark place and just learning how to be a mother and learning breastfeeding and was overwhelmed with all that. The trauma that had happened, I just put in a box for a little while, compartmentalised and got on with it, and perhaps was in a bit of survival mode. And then it was no more than six months later though after his birth that I was ready to look at it. I know women carry their birth stories with them for their entire lifetime sometimes and it's a really deep wound, but maybe it was because… Clancy Allen: (29:55) I don't know why I was really willing to look at it pretty soon. I think that's a pretty early timeframe. At five months I started looking for someone who could help me unpack what happened and process my emotions and hold me in a container. I found a woman, she lives in your area, called Angela Fitzgerald. Beautiful woman. She used to be a midwife and a doula, and she's a mother and just holds really powerful space. I worked with her for at least six months, I think. We would talk on Skype and that was the beginning. Clancy Allen: (30:39) And then something that was really powerful was getting my hospital notes from the hospital and looking at them, because I was meant to have a home birth but had to transfer because of a resource staffing issue from their perspective. It wasn't because of anything to do with my body or the process, so I ended up in the hospital. And I guess a common internalised feeling that a woman who's had a traumatic birth would be my body failed me, my body let me down, because you get that label of failure to progress or whatever might have unfolded, but that's a common story. Clancy Allen: (31:30) Getting the records was really helpful for me because it confirmed that my body was actually progressing by their standards and measurements anyway, which I honestly don't hold that much value in. But at the time that was like, “Oh, okay. I was progressing.” And for a woman to even be able to progress in that environment is astonishing really because Dr. Sarah Buckley talks about the conditions that women need to birth and its darkness, privacy, not being observed, safety, familiarity, all these things. Clancy Allen: (32:10) And yet you step into the system and there's lights, there's strangers, there's a room you've never seen before in your life and you'll probably never be in again. There's surveillance with monitoring, there's technology, all the things that are totally the opposite of what supports birth flowing and the hormones working. For any woman to be able to birth a baby in that setting is just remarkable and just shows how- Tahnee: (32:42) Adaptable we are? Clancy Allen: (32:42) Yeah, exactly. That was helpful, to see that and look at all that. I've done so many things. I wrote a big blog post on it which is on my website, and I think there are about 20 things that I listed that I've done that have been really supportive in me getting perspective, and being able to sit with my story now and not feel triggered or upset, and to really see the lessons. And Pam England said… She wrote the Birthing From Within book and she's who I've studied with. And she had a traumatic first birth experience, which ended in a caesarian. And I think she was a midwife. Clancy Allen: (33:29) And so, her lifelong quest was working out what the hell happened to me. And she finally one day just cracked up laughing out loud and realised, just had this epiphany, that she'd been looking for a way to heal her birth experience and doing all these things and exploring and investigating; but the cosmic joke, and the reason she laughed, was because her birth healed her. Yeah, it just eliminated so much for her. And I feel like that's been the case for me as well. It doesn't take away that it was painful and it wasn't what I wanted, but there's been gifts that have come from it for sure. Tahnee: (34:16) Oh, that's really powerful. It's such an interesting thing, what you were just talking about with Sarah Buckley's work, because I remember listening to her podcasts with Daniel Vitalis when I was pregnant and they were just so.. It made so much sense. And I was reading Ina May as well and she was talking about how birth is the continuation of sex and if you're not comfortable having sex in front of strangers under bright lights why would you even think that you could birth that way. Tahnee: (34:50) And it is incredible to me that we come in… Some people do successfully navigate that system. And I think about my own mum because she birthed me in a hospital and she always said to me she had to tell the doctor to fuck off so that she could walk up and down the hallway. Because she was like, “I used to birth horses,” because she would bred horses when she was a kid. And she was like, “I knew that when you were birthing you don't lie down on your back. You walk up and down.” And she's like, “I had to tell them to fuck off so I could squat in the hallway,” and all this stuff. And I just laughed. Tahnee: (35:21) But it was interesting that her way of birthing sovereign was to be really strong and almost masculine in it and having to take her power. And I remember feeling those kinds of feelings when I was birthing and I can feel how my own tendency, I guess, is to muscle through something instead of to soften into something. And I think even if you've had a textbook good birth there are so many lessons from… Because it's such a big process and an initiation. And it's like if you take the time to reflect and to really nurture yourself through that process, you can come out with so much juice for your own development. Tahnee: (36:02) And here I am. Aiya's is nearly four and I'm realising I've still been doing the same things. And I was talking to Jane Hardwicke Collings and she was talking about how we menopause that way too. We menopause how we live so we'll muscle through it, or we'll whatever your personal shit is. That's my shit. And I think it's like we can use these opportunities. We can all come to these things, whether they're positive or negative or whatever the framework is, to just, to develop ourselves. Tahnee: (36:32) And that's what I've seen. Your work, to me, speaks so much to that opportunity that there is in this experience, that some of us have and some of us don't. Not everyone chooses to birth, but it can be such a rich fertile ground for self-transformation and for understanding ourselves better and for healing so much, I think. It was kind of a long way of saying it's so nice to speak to somebody who had a traumatic experience who's used it to fuel that positive change, I suppose. Tahnee: (37:05) And also, I think it's good to remember that everyone's having these huge initiations no matter what type of birth you're having, whether it's under hospital lights with obstetricians coming in and out or whether it's at home quiet. It's a big process. And the more, as women, we can all rise together and honour each other in that and support each other, I think that to me is probably the thing that's missing. And I didn't find it in the mothers groups and the women's groups. I just didn't find the depth, I guess, that I was looking for. Tahnee: (37:40) Because you've gone and studied all these things, I imagine you're having these conversations a lot with women who were interested in similar things. I know you do ritual and circle and ceremony, are there more of those things happening now and if women are, I guess, trying to honour their transformation through this time? Is it finding those communities and networks or is it…? Do you have any advice or suggestions on how to connect to like-minded women or that kind of thing? Clancy Allen: (38:12) Yeah, a great question. I guess right now we're in an unusual situation with the distancing that's been in place over the last few months. I feel really stumped with this question. Tahnee: (38:30) I know I probably through the biggest question at you. Clancy Allen: (38:32) Do I have to edit that out? Tahnee: (38:34) No. I think what I'm getting at… And it is a big question. Because what I'm really feeling is like women divide instead of leaning in. There's this tendency to like, okay, well I've got the baby now. I've done the birth. It was shit, but it's fine. It's done. I've muscled through the birth again, or I'll get through it if I ever want to do it again for a sibling. But, I've got the baby and that's the focus. I guess what I'm getting at is, to me, there's this really fertile territory that we're like if we ignore that opportunity, it's going to come up again and it's going to come up again. Tahnee: (39:16) Like you said, human life never stops. We keep going through these initiations and transformations. Yeah, I guess I'm just getting at I know you've worked in ceremony and ritual and that space. And I know in other cultures they honour the mother or there's the confinement phase and then I'm sure that grandparents and aunties and people hold space. We don't really have that in our culture, I guess. And I guess what I'm getting at is, in your experience, where do women find that? Is t through.. Are there women's circles? I know that that's becoming a lot more popular. Tahnee: (39:55) Now you do prenatal yoga. Are there postnatal yoga places where people talk about these things? Are there other spaces, I suppose, evolving or coming through in your experience that honour the process? Because a lot of what I've seen seems to be women doing it on their own or within a smaller group of friends that are similar minded. But, yeah, just I'm interested to know. Clancy Allen: (40:17) Yeah. I think what I'm really interested in when I create space in a circle setting for women is offering a different framework, because we have framed birth and everything really even around it, like the prenatal part and postnatal, as a medical event. And Robbie Davis-Floyd, an anthropologist that you might have heard of, she talks about the American rite of passage of birth and it being an initiation to the technocratic model of birth. And that worldview is that our bodies are machines that are subject to failure and malfunction, and we can't fix that with technology. Clancy Allen: (41:08) And that the whole thing is a medical event. And the prenatal stage is a series of obstetric rituals which are essentially grooming women towards accepting this technocratic model, and then the glucose test. And that these rituals really have no actual basis in any meaningful value. And then you see those rituals continue in the birth process with often meaningless interventions. And I see that that's pretty true really, because a lot of the birth practises that are being used are not rooted in evidence-based practise. They're just cultural norms. It's just the way things have been done, so we'll just keep doing it that way. Clancy Allen: (42:10) I think evidence-based practise only came in 15 years ago. No, it was in the ‘90s and then it takes 15 years for policies to change. Delayed or immediate cord clamping is still just done routinely even though we know that delaying it is preferable so that that baby gets all its blood. That's just one example. But we're really groomed towards just accepting this with all these rituals as part of this initiation. I'm really interested in showing women a different way, that there's another map, there's another framework. Clancy Allen: (42:52) And looking at some of the things from the Birthing from Within lineage like the symbol of the labyrinth, which is this beautiful, spiralling, meandering path, and applying that as a map to what the birth experience is like. Because a labyrinth have occurred across all cultures way before there was any communication or as far as we know. And it's a metaphor or a symbol for something across these cultures that's meaningful and so we can apply that to birth. Clancy Allen: (43:30) And when you walk through a labyrinth, it can be meditative but it can also be a little bit disorientating and confusing because there's these twisting turning hairpin turns. And you think, “Am I nearly there yet?” Or, “Where am I?” And that really parallels how it can feel in the birth dance. Sometimes you can start to think that. Tahnee: (43:54) Are we there yet?! Clancy Allen: (43:54) Yeah. Well, you're disorientated. It's this really beautiful metaphor and I'm planning to build one on our property here for women to actually come and walk through to have that real embodied sense of that as a different way for looking at birth, shifting this medical lens that we're so enculturated or acculturated towards. And it's just everywhere. And the story of Inanna, the Sumerian goddess who went to the underworld, that story as well really speaks to the descent that we women in that journey of descent during birth or it might even be postnatally. Clancy Allen: (44:45) Maybe you have this ecstatic birth but there's a challenge or a struggle, so your descent to the underworld is in that period. And those stories, those ancient mythologies, that's the first story that was ever recorded ever on clay tablets in Sumer, which is now modern day Iran or Iraq. One of those, sorry. But it's really powerful. And those stories are in our collective consciousness. A lot of the time, if we've never heard them before, we're not aware of it until we hear them. Clancy Allen: (45:22) And for a lot of us that awakens something deep within us, a deep recognition or comfort, because we can all relate to that journey somehow. Some of those tools are some of the things that I am weaving or planning to weave into circle when I get going again. Tahnee: (45:47) Yeah. Post-Rona? Clancy Allen: (45:49) Yeah. Yeah, post-Rona, just to show a different way and for women to connect in a different way, and to have more meaning around the experience. Tahnee: (45:59) Well, I think what I'm really hearing there is this is a non-linear journey. Our midwives were amazing, but it was very linear. It was like, “This weeks, that weeks, [inaudible 00:46:09].” It felt like, “Tick the box, tick the box.” You go through all the things. And I think that idea of not being held to a Gregorian calendar, not being held to, “Oh, you should birth in this amount of time.” Or even with my birth like, oh, you're a first time birth or you weren't to birth till tonight when I was telling them I was in labour at 6:00 AM. Tahnee: (46:35) And they were like, “No, no.” And I'm like, “No, no. Yes, I know I'm having a baby. I don't know why, but I [inaudible 00:46:41].” And they were like, “Oh, no, I said, "No, I am.” I was like, “No, I am.” I'm lucky because of yoga. I think that I really have cultivated more of a relationship with my body, but I think there's so much lack of education around the physiology and the body's wisdom, and that these things aren't linear and they don't occur on a timeline, and babies come when babies come, and the baby initiates the birth through its hormonal… All of that stuff. Tahnee: (47:11) It's like there's this really beautiful bigger story, I think, not being told. And then, yeah, I can really feel that when you said about an honour and, yeah, I can really feel that. Even if you had an ecstatic birth, I didn't have one, but I'm sure I remember being in the collective. I remember being with every birthing woman at one point and going like, “Oh my God. I totally understand” I mean, it was like one of those epiphanies you have when you're on another planet. But I get it. I just get it. I'm in it. I know it. And it was like if I've been not feeling safe and medicated and whatever, I wouldn't have had that experience. Yeah, I think- Clancy Allen: (47:51) That's so profound. Tahnee: (47:53) But it's so empowering too, because you come out and you see women differently. I see women now with so much strength, and I can admit to less judgement too. I used to think and go, “How could someone book in a caesarian?” But in that moment actually I was like, “Oh, I understand that decision. I understand all of it.” And I was like, “Here I am being all non-judgmental in my birthing.” I'm like [inaudible 00:48:19]. Clancy Allen: (48:19) You're in this great philosophical chat yourself. Tahnee: (48:25) I was like, “Oh, that's really…” I think I grabbed Mase and he was like, “Okay, crazy lady. Keep doing the things.” But what you said about ritual, and I'd never thought of it that way, but it's such a powerful way to think about. Everyone goes for the 20-week ultrasound and everyone goes for this and these are the celebrations of our culture and they don't celebrate the woman or the… It's like the device is celebrated almost or the technology. Clancy Allen: (48:56) It's a ritual towards compliance and towards acceptance of that dominant medical paradigm and the body as a machine. And I guess that's a symptom or an effect of the industrial revolution and the industrial birth complex. Tahnee: (49:16) Yeah. Clancy Allen: (49:17) And I find it really sad. Tahnee: (49:18) It is really sad. Clancy Allen: (49:20) Yeah. Tahnee: (49:22) I mean, it's dehumanising in a way because if you look at… I actually have a book that was written by a German author and it's The Body as a Machine and I think it was one of the first anatomy books, if not the first. But I don't want to make that claim because I don't know. But that actually mapped out all of the functions of the body as mechanical functions. And it's crazy to look at. It has the penis as this little… Clancy Allen: (49:51) Like a wind up toy. Tahnee: (49:52) Yeah, it's really funny. And all the organs, there's all these little factories pumping away. But I remember I was really shocked when I first saw it, but I also was like, “I can actually relate to this,” which shocked me as well. This part of me recognises that because I've been brought up in that culture and I was like, “Oh.”And I feel like that's so far from how we try and live but, yeah. And there's still a part of me that buys into that idea, I suppose, on some level, so more unravelling. But so tell me more about Birthing from Within. What else are you talking about or doing when you work in that paradigm? Clancy Allen: (50:33) Yeah. One of the things that I like to share, just as a starting point for someone who's interested in birthing from within, is the framework or the three ways of knowing to prepare for birth. The first way of knowing is the modern medical knowing. This is being or knowing the stages of labour, the physiology of labour, what the modern birth culture and system is like. It's pretty linear, like just assimilating the information you need to know, learning, taking it on. We're all pretty comfortable in doing that. Clancy Allen: (51:13) And that's the easy part of preparing because that's the part that's valued by society as well. That's got the research and the statistics and the facts and figures and the concrete knowing that you need to know. The second way of knowing is the intuitive knowing. That's your gut instinct and your connection to your body or your innate knowing, which is not particularly valued by the mainstream and really isn't in birth as well. Like in your example you said, “I'm having this baby now,” and they were like, “Oh, that's silly girl. No, you're not. You're a first time mum. You don't know.” Clancy Allen: (52:03) Of course, you know. You're the expert of your body. You're the one in your body having the experience. And so that way of knowing is really about cultivating your connection to that; which a lot of us are so disconnected from because we live, from the shoulders up, in a very mental place. And then this way of knowing is not valued because even if you're saying, “I know this is happening,” or, “Something's not right,” but if it doesn't correlate to what they understand about what might be happening and what the evidence and the statistics or whatever says, then, you might just be dismissed or disregarded. Clancy Allen: (52:43) And then, yeah, we really do have this whole doctor-God-expert complex, which if we are in that then we don't value our own knowing because we value what they say. We externalise the knowing. That's a big one. And I guess things like yoga can help people connect to that. And anything that's just, I think, quietening down the mind and getting into your body and connecting with the feedback that you have from your body can help you to cultivate that. A following what your intuition might say and seeing what the outcome is. Clancy Allen: (53:32) And so then, the third way of knowing is the inner knowing or knowing who you are. This is more about that excavation of your history and your background, and your beliefs, and what's lurking in your subconscious, and how much of the negative cultural narrative about birth being a medical event that you need to be saved from, that you've taken on, and what you really believe and what your you're birth imprint is. Yeah, that's really about unpacking all that and having a good hard look at it and confronting the fears and moving through them. Clancy Allen: (54:09) Things like, I guess, kinesiology or even just talking to someone experienced like a birth mentor or journaling and, yeah, looking at who you are and what you might bring into the birth space is that part. And that's the part that I just didn't really realise, I guess, when I was pregnant until after. And so that really needs to be the thing that you focus on the most, probably. Yeah. Tahnee: (54:41) If you're working with women, are you usually starting reasonably early in their pregnancy, or yeah? Because I imagine it takes time to go through. Clancy Allen: (54:50) Yeah. Yeah, that's ideal like spending an extended period of time. I've enjoyed that when couples have contacted me quite early on and we start at, say, 16 weeks or something. It really gives the space to build the relationship and to go deep into all those themes and things and for them to integrate it. Yeah, that's my preference, but that doesn't always happen. Sometimes people come in quite late in the piece. But for the most part I would say people are coming in at least halfway. Tahnee: (55:25) Yeah. My friend did a short fear session with you, but is that something you offer as well where you just work on specific aspects of what's coming up for someone, as more of a mentoring counsel? Clancy Allen: (55:41) Yeah. Those are usually an hour to 90 minutes. And if there's something specific that you're ruminating on, or maybe there's a few things, then we can look at that. And it's called a courageous excavation of fear process. It's about moving through it and really looking at it and picking it up and, hopefully, coming out the other side feeling more empowered, more confident. Tahnee: (56:10) That's what I heard. Clancy Allen: (56:11) Yes. Tahnee: (56:13) Yeah. But I think in even just speaking it. I spoke to that friend about it afterward and verbalising fear to someone who can hold it and who isn't going to react or be triggered by it. It's really powerful, I think. Clancy Allen: (56:30) Yeah. There can be some really good shifts with that work if the person is willing to be vulnerable. And your friend was, so she was the perfect candidate. Yeah. Tahnee: (56:43) Where does prenatal yoga fit into all this with you, because you've got your online course and stuff like that? Is that mostly an offering because people are at home or is there a value in people attending classes as well? Or what's your kind of take home with pre-natal yoga? Clancy Allen: (57:01) Yeah. The way that I do it is I structure it as a six week block that people commit to and come to so that there's that familiar container for the six weeks. And I was doing that in person, probably only three or four times a year, and that worked beautifully. And it's just evolved, I guess, over the years that I've been teaching it and it's become a really… I think it's a really awesome offering. And yeah, now the online version is the same. It's six modules, so you go at your pace. Clancy Allen: (57:42) But the idea is that it's education about birth from this lens of birthing from within and my own flavour fused with the yoga with a little bit of optimal maternal positioning, things that I've learned along the way. And it's really about that second way of knowing, so cultivating that connection really and that inner knowing and tuning into that. Because that's a big piece that we can all just have more practise with, but especially important to get ready for birth. I was going to say something else, but I've forgotten. Tahnee: (58:24) Well, you've moved into the online space. Clancy Allen: (58:26) Yeah. Tahnee: (58:26) Is that a version of that course, like a six week kind of... Clancy Allen: (58:32) Yeah, it's pretty much what I teach in person. In fact, it's probably a little bit more because I've put some other resources in there and some bonuses, and I guess you can keep going back to it. That's the benefit of that. And it was accelerated by the Rona. It was always something I was going to create before that all blew up, but it just happened a bit quicker. I was waiting for the perfect time till I was pregnant again and I was going to film it when I was pregnant. I was going to make sure I'd done another yoga teacher training before, because that was important too. Clancy Allen: (59:10) And then Rona happened and I'm like, “Well, I'm not pregnant and that teacher training that I was going to go to in Bali in August is not going to be happening. I guess I'll just stay to get this out now.” And, look, things are going back to normal, sort of; but, anyway, it's there as a forever thing. Tahnee: (59:29) Well, that's great for people that can't physically be with you so, yeah, a really good offering. We were talking about this a little bit before as well but you've recently, I think, gotten, a little bit uncomfortable with the word doula in your own work. Can you tell us a little bit about… You've been doing that for a couple of years, I guess just as a last question and what is it actually like to be there for a woman and then, as you've witnessed all of that, what do you want to see more of in that space from different care providers and just women in general? If you could remould the model a little bit, based on what you've seen, what do you think it would look like? Big question. Clancy Allen: (01:00:13) It would look like women knowing how powerful they are and really owning their inner authority, and unlearning the seeking that we do outside of ourselves to validate our experience or to approve of it or to make sure we're okay. I know I did, in a way, during my own pregnancy and I participated in that system. And in some of the ways I engaged and participated I can see now, with the benefit of hindsight and reflection and everything, that I handed over my power in many ways. Clancy Allen: (01:00:58) And there were opportunities in that journey to stand more in my power, but I can do that now. And I guess if I can impart anything to women who are navigating their experience and moving through the system it's for them to really own their experience and step into their autonomy over it, and be the expert of their body. And I think, yeah, the women I'm really speaking to now have just had some clarity on this in the past couple of days, so I'm speaking this out loud now for the first time. Clancy Allen: (01:01:40) But the women that I feel that I'm really here to serve are the women who have had an experience in the system that was less than ideal and they've come out saying never again. Or maybe they were traumatised or maybe it just was really average and they're like, “No, there's got to be a better way.” Or maybe they're a woman who's really disillusioned with her prenatal appointments and feeling like her body is just a faulty machine and there's got to be something more to this, more depths, more meaning, more spirituality. Clancy Allen: (01:02:20) Or maybe it's the woman who's had a child who's been damaged by that system in some way, or maybe she's had a chronic health condition in the past and moved through that system and found no answers whatsoever. And so I think the women I speak to, or that I'm calling in, are those women who are sort of… Yeah, they don't want to participate in that anymore. They're really willing to look within themselves for their own authority in their experience. Tahnee: (01:02:57) Exciting times for you. And the other bit of that was what it's like, I guess, just to finish on a positive note. I'm sure there are some really beautiful experiences you've had as a doula and working with women. Clancy Allen: (01:03:11) Definitely. Tahnee: (01:03:14) Just how rewarding that, maybe, is for you. Clancy Allen: (01:03:18) Yeah, it's been so rewarding. I just have had beautiful nourishing experiences supporting women. I've seen women in their power. I've seen women come back from having induced births three times and then on her fourth baby having this beautiful home birth experience. Yeah, but just being there after a woman has given birth and done that work and opened herself and expanded physically but also spiritually and being able to hold her and love her and shower her with kind words and compassion and tenderness is really rewarding. I love that. I Clancy Allen: (01:04:10) I've often stayed for hours after the baby has been born; and a recent experience, the mum, she really needed that support after so I had a little sleep on the floor in the hospital and was there when she woke up because she was in and out of consciousness. Those moments are really special, so I hold those really dear to my heart. And, yeah, doulas are incredible because I think for the most part we have so much love to give to women and, yeah, I really believe in women. Clancy Allen: (01:04:51) And I think what I was saying before about who I'm speaking to, remembering your innate power can apply to any woman wherever she chooses that she needs to birth, whatever the environment is that she feels safe in. It is a huge opportunity to step into your power. Yeah, that's the bottom line of it all for me, I think. Tahnee: (01:05:20) Yes. Full power. Awesome. Okay, well, I'll leave you with that and I think that's a really powerful note to end on. But if people do want to connect with you, obviously we'll put links in the show notes to everything but mostly through… Instagram and your website are your main communication channels. Do you use Facebook as well? Clancy Allen: (01:05:41) A little bit, yeah. Tahnee: (01:05:42) Yeah, like most of us. Clancy Allen: (01:05:45) It's like the poor cousin. Tahnee: (01:05:46) Yeah, but we've moved on. Clancy Allen: (01:05:50) Yeah. Tahnee: (01:05:50) And if people wanted to reach you, they can contact you through your site. And actually, if they wanted to arrange a Skype session if they weren't in your area, is anything like that possible? Clancy Allen: (01:06:00) Yeah. Tahnee: (01:06:00) Awesome. Clancy Allen: (01:06:02) Definitely. Yeah. Tahnee: (01:06:03) Oh, that's so great. I think there'll be lots of women out there that really can learn about you a lot and really connect to how you approach birth. I'm really grateful for your time and for telling us your story. And yeah, thank you so much for being here with us, Clancy. Clancy Allen: (01:06:15) Thank you. Thanks for having me, Tahnee. Tahnee: (01:06:18) It's a pleasure. All right. Well, I'll talk to you soon.

Episode 19: Birth Story Healing: Interview with Guina Bixler

healing doula birth stories bixler birthing from within

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2020 37:10

In today's episode, childbirth educator, Guina Bixler, discusses Birthing From Within and explains what Birth Story Listening is.The goal of today's episode is to explain why birth story listening is so important and how it can help you heal from birth trauma. For almost two decades Guina has nurtured birthing people and their partners. As a Birth Story Healer I help birthers, partners and birth professionals see what may feel like a traumatic experience in a new way so they are able to move forward with a healed and full heart. In addition to being a Birthing From Within Mentor, Guina is a Doula, Birth Story Listener and Grandparenting Educator. In the episode today, we discuss: What Birthing From Within is and how it differs from other birth education programs?my personal experience with taking the Birthing Again classBirth ArtBirth Story Healingwhat it isbook a sessionWhy it is so important to share birth stories? Grandparenting EducationHow to get in touch with Guina:Website: www.birthingfromwithinatlanta.comEmail: guinabixler@gmail.comSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/findingyourvillagepod?fan_landing=true)

Episode #010 - Childbirth and the Reality of Pain

Woman On A Mission

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 15, 2020 53:03

Bren talks with Daphne McIntosh about the choices of birth, general public health, and the reality of pain. Daphne's website: https://beckoningharmony.com/ Legacy of Hope International website. Resources mentioned: Emma May Gaskins “Spiritual Miswifery”. Birthing From Within. Breonna Brown “Power of Vulnerability”

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Birthing From Within | Preparing For an Empowering Birth

The BirthCircle | Birth, Pregnancy, & PostPartum Conversations

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 30, 2020 44:06

In today's episode, we talk with Erika Primozich, co-owner of Birthing From Within, a childbirth education course. Erika shares how she got interested in birth and empowerment during her pregnancy with her first child 21 years ago. She was inspired to become a doula when she read Birthing From Within (https://www.amazon.com/Birthing-Within-Extra-Ordinary-Childbirth-Preparation/dp/096598730), a book by Pam England and Rob Horowitz. Upon attending a training by the author, Pam England, Erika learned that the key to an empowering birth experience is by being flexible and fluid and being willing to lose your attachment to the idea of a perfect birth, and focus on self-awareness and growth as a human. As she continued attending and giving trainings, she was eventually made one of the leaders of the Birthing From Within organization. Erika shares how Birthing From Within differentiates itself from other courses by stepping away from the “information dump” approach that other courses take, focusing instead on helping mothers to develop the resilience and the personal connections that will guarantee them a powerful and positive birthing experience, no matter what happens. Their main goal is to help wake up parents' skills around another way of being that is more fluid, intuitive, creative, flexible, and resilient, and less attached to a specific outcome and more open to possibilities. We explain how, while not everyone has to take a Birthing From WIthin course, all parents need to embrace the reality that it takes more than just information to guarantee an empowered and positive birth. We talk about how Birthing From Within treats birth as a rite of passage, because they know that birth always causes a change (physically, mentally, and emotionally) within parents. We discuss how doulas, midwives, massage therapists, and all the range of birth professionals are encouraged to join Birthing From Within's programs to help them do their jobs well as well. We explain how the ideal birth is most likely to occur as we embrace the acceptance that is in the middle of the spectrum between avoidance and attachment. We talk about how beneficial the training can be for partners, to help them stay present, supportive, and connected during the time of exposure and vulnerability that is the birthing process. We invite you to learn more about Birthing From Within at https://birthingfromwithin.com/. How Erika Got Interested in Birth Work 1:00 What Makes Birthing From WIthin Different 6:41 Is Birthing From Within For You? How The Modality Can Help Birth Professionals 13:51 The Middle of Avoidance and Attachment is Acceptance 28:52 “I believe that there's a birth class for everyone, that there's a provider for everyone, and that birth trauma, a lot of times, is a provider-client mismatch, or an information-client mismatch. And so I'm adamant that people take the birth class that would best fit their personality, their needs, their expectations.” 5:57 Tell Us What You Thought About This Episode! Email media@birthcircle.com birthcircle.com

preparing empowering acceptance attachment avoidance birth work birthing from within pam england

Ep. 46 - Birthing a new career you want to get out of bed for with doula Clancy Allen

True To You with Ruby Marsh

Play Episode Listen Later May 26, 2020 63:28

Clancy Allen is a partner, daughter, mother to a spirited 4 year old boy and has worked as a doula since 2017 attending home births, birth centre births and hospital births. She is a Birthing From Within mentor and prenatal yoga teacher. She has also studied and practised kinesiology, and in her former career was a civil litigation lawyer for 6 years. She offers birth mentoring, postnatal doula support, mothering the mother ceremonies, and her online course, Yoga for Empowered Birth is launching on 4 June 2020. In this conversation, we chat about visibility - communicating with authenticity and speaking the truth (even when you know not everyone will agree), knowing when you’re not in the right career path, leaning into who you need to be to attract your ideal clients, perfectionism and finally starting out one way in business then shaping your offerings over time in line with the needs of your energy and growing a family. https://www.instagram.com/clancy_allen_doula/ Get your free guide - Your Best Business Idea by clicking HERE

yoga doula birthing clancy new career career you want birthing from within

Finding Feminine Power Through Birth and Fertility Awareness With Kristina Clayton

Find The Magic

Play Episode Listen Later May 26, 2020 78:40

Women’s health is such an all encompassing subject that that is so important to us, and its beautiful complexity strikes us with awe. There is so much that our bodies do, and there are both delicate intricacies and raw strength in the feats that womens’ bodies accomplish all the time. In this episode, we had had the amazing opportunity to interview Kristina Clayton, a Certified Birth Doula, about her experience in helping women through the process of of birthing their babies. She is becoming certified now as a fertility doula, which also has given her fascinating insight that is very helpful for those looking to get pregnant. She offers many tips around the core of her philosophy, which is the power of being aware of your individual body. Whether your trying to get pregnant, approaching a birth (your baby’s or someone else’s), or simply interested in getting to know your own cycle and having more information about the incredible workings of the female body, this episode is for you. You can listen to this episode on iTunes here, and an almost every other platform here:) Helpful Links: Hypnobabies: the course both Felica and Taralyn took to prepare for their babies’ births Some birthing course Kristina loves: Birthing From Within and Hypnobirthing VBAC link: an excellent resource for anyone looking towards having a vaginal delivery after Cesarian Section Hypnobirthing: the Mongan Method // Mary F. Mongan // This book Taralyn’s favorite book on the subject and is a great place to start, here in audio or printed versions. Temp Drop: a device that is a game changer in getting to know your own cycle and fertility You can connect with Kristina on her website and on instagram @douladoreen Connect with us: Our Website (You can sign up for our email list and find all show notes here, along with book recommendations and links to all past books): https://www.findthemagic.co Find us on instagram: Felica: https://www.instagram.com/felicaallen/ Taralyn: https://www.instagram.com/taralyngriffin/ p.s. Our secret to reading so many books is this little baby, a magical wireless earbud:) --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/findthemagic/support

women birth feminine power fertility awareness felica birthing from within taralyn

028 The Transformative Journey from Pregnancy to Parenthood

Mindful Birth Peaceful Earth Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 4, 2020 71:26

In this episode, Britta Bushnell will be sharing about the transformative journey from pregnancy to parenthood. From her recently published book, Transformed by Birth, Britta will share with us about some of the cultural ideals she has identified that impact how we prepare for birth and what each of us can do to help balance how these influence us consciously or unconsciously. Giving birth and becoming parents changes us, challenges us, and awakens us to a different identity. This journey is a rite of passage that alters our knowing of who we are. As such, it is normal to feel uncertain, anxious, or simply curious about traversing the unknown landscape of birth. There is much you can do to meet these normal changes, especially during challenging times. Resources: http://www.brittabushnell.com/ http://www.birthingfromwithin.com/ http://www.birthstorymedicine.com/ https://www.amazon.com/Transformed-Birth-Cultivating-Resilience-Parenthood/dp/1683644069/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1585513190&sr=8-2#customerReviews https://www.audible.com/pd/Transformed-by-Birth-Audiobook/1683644506?qid=1585513387&sr=1-1&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1&pf_rd_p=e81b7c27-6880-467a-b5a7-13cef5d729fe&pf_rd_r=7JZCSD4C8BCR62BVKQN4 Bio: Dr. Britta Bushnell (she/her) is a wife and mother, author of Transformed by Birth, veteran childbirth educator, celebrated speaker, mythologist, and specialist in childbirth, relationship, and parenting. For over 20 years, Dr. Bushnell has worked with individuals and couples as they prepare for the life-changing experience of giving birth. Her work with parents has been enriched by her doctoral work in mythology and psychology, her years spent as a co-owner of Birthing From Within, as well as her dedicated study of solution-focused brief therapy, storytelling, embodiment, and relationship dynamics. Britta is an engaging teacher, speaker, and presenter. Whether addressing a room of expectant parents, toddlers, or seasoned birth professionals, Britta has a way of captivating and inspiring them all. She has presented at conferences such as DONA International, MANA, ICEA, and Lamaze. Additionally, Britta has been featured on several popular podcasts including Informed Pregnancy, Birthful, Atomic Moms, and Insights at the Edge. Britta's new book, Transformed by Birth: Cultivating Openness, Resilience, and Strength for the Life-Changing Journey from Pregnancy to Parenthood, published by Sounds True, hit number one in new releases in both the Pregnancy and Childbirth as well as the Motherhood categories on Amazon.

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034 - Pregnancy, Birth, and Transformation with Britta Bushnell, PhD

Stacked with Joe DiStefano

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 24, 2020 92:20

Britta Bushnell, Ph.D, has been working with expecting individuals and couples for over 20 years, focusing on the transformational journey of pregnancy, birth, and new parenthood. Her work with parents has been enriched by her doctoral work in mythology and psychology, her years spent as a co-owner of Birthing From Within, as well as her dedicated study of solution-focused brief therapy, storytelling, and sustaining sexual vibrancy and helping romantic partnerships thrive even during parenthood. A celebrated speaker, author, teacher, and presenter, Britta shares her insights through classes and in her book, Transformed by Birth. Emilia and I recently attended one of Britta’s intensive two-day workshops, and it gave us both an incredible new perspective on the journey we’re about to undertake in becoming parents. It was such a privilege to get to sit down with her after the fact and discuss the strategies she uses to demystify the birthing process while preserving and honoring the wonder and transformation that occurs. Whatever stage you’re at in this journey, this episode is for you.Proudly Sponsored ByQuicksilver ScientificAre you flushing money down the toilet with less than optimal supplements? With most traditional supplements, the amount that survives digestion and general acidity in the gut is very low. That is why Dr. Chris Shade developed the world’s most advanced phospholipid delivery systems. Today, I wanted to tell you about Quicksilver Scientific’s NAD+ Gold, the currency of energy production. Every decade we’re alive, we produce less and less NAD naturally. Research suggests this loss is at the core of the aging process. But NAD+ Gold allows you to reverse-engineer aging and boost your energy quickly. It truly is Gold! Use code STACKED for 15% off your first order!SeedAfter first sitting down with Seed co-founder Ara Katz, I began to dig a little deeper into the traditional "probiotic" industry—only to be quite disappointed with the reality of the effectiveness of almost all probiotic products on the market. Seed, on the other hand, has 23 strain-specific clinical studies behind it that demonstrate its effectiveness. Their innovative 2-in-1 capsule also nests the probiotics inside a prebiotic (sourced from Indian pomegranate and organic wild-harvested Scandinavian chaga and pine bark) capsule for additional protection, ensuring the probiotics actually get where they need to be inside of you—your gut.Use code STACKED at seed.com for 20% off your first month of the Daily Synbiotic!Brain.fm Before every show, I find a quiet place, grab my noise-canceling headphones and head over to my brain.fm app. With brain.fm you can decide how you want to spend the next few hours of your day—focus, productivity, relaxation—and they will play music that has been scientifically engineered to shift your brain in that direction. (See more of the science behind this here).You can now save 20% on this already inexpensive app when you click here!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/join/stacked)

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277: Birthing From Within & Without Fear With Pam England

The Melissa Ambrosini Show

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 5, 2020 62:42

This podcast is brought to you by Nourished Life - Australia's home of clean beauty and living. To get 15% off full-priced items, head to nourishedlife.com.au and enter the code MATRIBE at the checkout.When a woman gives birth, it’s not just a baby that’s born… a mother is born too. For some women, this transition can be challenging, confusing, and even traumatic. But today’s podcast guest, Pam England, has a message of hope. She says birth can also be an incredible journey of self-discovery and healing — even if it wasn’t the birth you dreamed of. And in this powerful conversation, she’s sharing the tools, techniques and stories that can transform your experience of birth and trigger profound healing...Head to https://melissaambrosini.com/277 for full episode resources and more inspiring weekly episodes.Pam England is a former nurse-midwife who practiced in hospital, birth center, and home birth settings. After giving birth to her first baby, she experienced emotional birth trauma but could not find a counselor or support group that could listen to her birth story and guide her through the pain and confusion. This was the catalyst that led her to create the Birthing From Within approach, followed by the Birth Story Medicine method in 2006. Since then, Pam has also completed a Masters in Psych Counseling, written a number of books (including Birthing From Within and Ancient Map for Modern Birth) and now teaches others how to become birth story mentors to empower mothers from all walks of life.There are epic and surprising takeaways for EVERYONE in this episode — whether you’ve already given birth (even if it was decades ago), you want to have children in the future, or even if you simply want to learn how to better support and understand the women in your life. So if you want to deepen your understanding of the inner terrain of childbearing, prioritize the emotional and physical health of both mother and baby, and reframe your entire perception of this powerful rite of passage, then pop in those earbuds… this episode is for you.In this episode we chat about: Pam’s story and the life-altering question that changed everything (06:41)The importance of having a birthing mentor (and how to find the right one for you) (08:05)How to release fear before birth (11:30)How to overcome birth fear without a mentor (16:14)Pam’s step-by-step method to mentor women through their fears (17:32)Tracing back the seeds of birth trauma — where does it come from? (21:08)Her unique process to stimulate healing and recovery (25:01)Why talking about your birth experience with the right people matters (29:24)How art leads to self-discovery and self-awareness (33:22)Why a holistic approach to childbirth is so important (35:32)Why cesarean deliveries shouldn’t be judged or feared (38:18)The First Birth Story Process and how it works (40:59)How to look at birth as a heroic journey (45:11)The labyrinth analogy (and how this can transform your personal experience) (46:52) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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Childbirth Preparation Methods: Birthing From Within

Preggie Pals

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 20, 2020 44:54

There's a holistic approach to childbirth that helps mothers reclaim and celebrate the spiritual, emotional and psychological aspect of birth as a right of passage. How can this method, called "Birthing From Within", help you throughout your labor and delivery experience? How does it differ from other childbirth preparation methods? And what can you expect should you decide to take a class? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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1: Book review Birthing from Within

The Virtual Midwife

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 25, 2019 12:50

Season 3 is all about which books to ready during pregnancy, and first up is Birthing from Within by Pam England and Rob Horowitz. This is an extra-ordinary guide to childbirth preparation. Each chapter will take you on a journey of exploration into the profound mystery of birth that can never be understood with your mind but is known to your heart. The exercises and activities are the key to unlocking these insights and I encourage you to challenge your creativity and your curiosity as you explore your beliefs and expectations about birth as you work through them. It is not a script or even a rigid method, but you will learn everything you need to know to be able to birth in awareness rather than be focused on a specific birth outcome. As the title suggests, you will learn how to "birth from within" by gaining insight about what labor might feel like from your perspective. You will learn everything that you would usually learn in a traditional childbirth class, but in a way that uses story and metaphor to explain concepts until it resonates with what you intuitively know already. I encourage you to work through it slowly, savoring the wisdom of other women's stories and anecdotes from around the world. Don't be afraid to get your pencils, paints and paper out to play with the many examples of birth art, and don't be surprised at what you discover! There is a lot to learn about birth, and this book is a great place to start. I use many of the exercises in my own birth classes and love watching the transition to a deeper understanding that birth is an opportunity for growth and transformation as you become a parent. If you enjoyed this episode you can sign up for my free video series , check out my store or book a call to chat about signing me up to be your personal virtual midwife.

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Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Birthing a Coaching Biz Eps 39

Creative Bliss in Life & Biz

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 2, 2019 26:57

Birthing a coaching business is just like birthing a kid. Don't believe me? Check out these quotes from the Godmother of Midwives herself - Ina May Gaskin. I was one blissed out soon to be mama almost ten years ago when I was devouring Ina May's books. And I just about lost a mucous plug when I found out Ina May Gaskin was coming to speak in our town. The venue was in the basement of a church just a short walk from our house. Which was wild because nothing ever happened in our neighbourhood. And here's my natural birthing hero speaking just a short walk away. I remember that night time walk in so vividly. At that point I was carefully savoring every moment Craig and I were spending together knowing that things shall soon be very different. As I waddled into the church I saw many mamas I got to know from the attachment parenting playgroup I recently joined, the Birthing From Within workshop series we were halfway through and at the front of the room, with feathers dangling from her Princess Lea buns, was (sigh) Ina May herself. I feel reading her words helped me deeply enjoy two beautiful home births but, as you'll see, also my online coaching biz.

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Ep 99: Birthing From Within with Nicole Morales, LM, CPM

Birth Kweens

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 5, 2019 52:46

Nicole Morales, LM, CPM is a home birth midwife, Approved Spinning Babies Trainer, and Certified Birthing From Within Mentor from San Diego, CA. You may remember her from her episode 72 on breech birth. We invited her back to the show to talk with us about the childbirth prep method Birthing From Within. We hope you enjoy! Also, if you're located in San Diego and you're looking for a local BFW mentor, check out http://birthingfromwithinsandiego.com. --- If you liked this episode of the Birth Kweens Podcast, tell your friends! And go to iTunes, Stitcher, GooglePlay, and Spotify to rate/review/subscribe to the show. For more from us, visit www.BirthKweens.com to sign up for our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram @BirthKweens, join our Facebook group the Birth Kweens Podcast Community, and email us at birthkweens@gmail.com with your questions, suggestions and feedback.

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Evolve Wellness (15) Birthing from Within

Evolve Welness

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 5, 2019 58:00

Licensed & certified professional midwife & artist, Heather Rische is a heart-centered advocate for a family's many choices during their unpredictable journey.

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Exploring Birthing from Within with Koyuki Smith

Yoga | Birth | Babies

Play Episode Listen Later May 15, 2019 61:11

If only there was a way to script out your “ideal” birth and be guaranteed the experience unfolds in that exact manner. Unfortunately, that’s impossible. However, many of us try to overly plan and seldom allow ourselves to relinquish the illusion of control over the wild nature of birth. In this episode of Yoga|Birth |Babies, I speak with birth doula and Birthing From Within Mentor, Koyuki Smith. Koyuki and I talk about the Birthing From Within Method and how grasping at information may lead to disappointment and can not assure you the perfect birth. She talks about surrendering to the unexpected and the importance of leaning into personal fears around the perception of birth. This conversation is sure to spark curiosity and inspiration for pregnant people, birth partners and birth workers. For the full show notes visit prenatalyogacenter.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Motherhood & Identity

Yoga | Birth | Babies

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2018 48:56

The day your child is born, you assume a completely new persona and identity. Many grapple with this shift from maiden to motherhood and embracing this new title and responsibility can be challenging. In this episode of Yoga | Birth | Babies, Dr. Britta Bushnell discusses working through the bumps of the 4th trimester and maintaining a sense of self while adjusting to this new role. In this episode: Common themes she hears when working with women making the shift from maiden to motherhood. Britta’s personal experience making the shift to motherhood Is there really such a thing as “innate, instinctual knowledge” mother’s are supposed to have? Is this setting women up for failure ? How to prepare for the transition from maiden to motherhood What to do if you are feeling feeling lost and overwhelmed in the “4th trimester” Embracing this new “motherhood” identity in the midst of feeling a huge loss from leaving their former life Discussing the shift from leaving the work force to being a stay at home mom Do we as a society talk about this transition enough and offer support? The relationship between postpartum depression and adjusting to the new identity. Identity with your partner Is the American culture different in the way women transition from maidenhood to motherhood? Feeling disconnected from non-parent friends What Britta is up to now! About Britta: Britta is a teacher, speaker, and presenter. She has presented at conferences such as DONA International, MANA, and ICEA (April 2018). Additionally, Britta has been featured on several popular podcasts including Informed Pregnancy, Birthful and Atomic Moms. In 2016, in recognition of her transformative childbirth classes, Britta was awarded “Educator of the Year” by the Southern California Doula Association (DASC). Britta spent more than a decade with the organization Birthing From Within where she led trainings, ran the mentor program, taught classes for parents, Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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150: Healing your birth story, with Pam England (renewed)

The Birthful Podcast | Talking with Pregnancy, Birth, Breastfeeding, Postpartum & Parenting Pros to Inform Your Intuition

Play Episode Listen Later May 2, 2018 59:35

Birth does its own thing, and often it’s harder than expected, even for women whose experience matched their birth plan. How can you heal? Is there a way to prevent birth trauma? Pam England from Birthing From Within tells us more. Get the most of this episode by checking out the resources and links listed on the “show-notes” page at: http://www.birthful.com/podcast-healing-birth-story-trauma/ If you enjoy what you hear, make sure to subscribe! Support our sponsors: Go to birthful.com/simplybreastfeeding and use the code BIRTHFUL for 15% off Go to expectful.com/birthful to get a free, two week trial. If you want to support the making of the Mother May I? Documentary, go here. And if you want to connect with Adriana, reach out at: facebook.com/birthful twitter.com/birthful instagram.com/adrianika Title music: “Vibe Ace” by Kevin MacLeod, at freemusicarchive.org/music/Kevin_MacLeod/ (©CC BY) Sponsorship music: “Air Hockey Saloon” by Chris Zabriskie, at freemusicarchive.org/music/Chris_Zabriskie/ (©CC BY)

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4| Koyuki Smith

Wild Womb

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 13, 2018 64:44

Welcome back to the Wild Womb podcast. Episode 4! Yay! One whole month of magic! This week is a truly lovely and informative chat with Koyuki Smith a childbirth educator and doula as well as THE Birthing From Within facilitator for New York. I knew nothing about Birthing From Within before our conversation, and this was such an educational treat. This childbirth education perspective is truly supportive of all experiences and really helps birthing folk (and professionals!!) navigate the winding, and often messy road that is birth. My favorite part of Birthing from Within is that there really is NO judgment. One of my biggest goals with this podcast is to create an environment that is moving away from judgment and towards honest support of each other. I think Birthing from Within falls so in line with my personal beliefs and goals and I think a lot of you will be happy to hear that it does for you as well.

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005-Patricia K. Robertson

Trufaux Sho

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 4, 2018 94:42

Recorded 2018-02-25 Patricia tries to get a word in edgewise while Michael goes on and on. We did talk about her books though, so that’s good. Thank you all for listening, sharing and reviewing the show! Welcome to the Trufaux Sho! 5:00 - Welcome Patricia K. Robertson http://www.peacefulpossibilities.ca/ 7:00 - Family Tree DNA https://www.familytreedna.com/?idev_id=1910&utm_source=1910&utm_medium=affiliate 12:00 - Find your Scotish history bits https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0sOE3dzC2QIVT2p-Ch27pwmOEAAYASAAEgKFofD_BwE 13:00 - Systemic Constellations http://www.systemicconstellations.com/ 18:00 Francesca Mason Boring https://allmyrelationsconstellations.com/ 27:00 - Famine Gene Study https://io9.gizmodo.com/how-an-1836-famine-altered-the-genes-of-children-born-d-1200001177 30:00 - Anne Ancelin Schultzenberger https://www.amazon.ca/Ancestor-Syndrome-Transgenerational-Psychotherapy-Hidden/dp/0415191874 33:00 - Book 1 https://www.amazon.ca/Connect-Your-Ancestors-Transgenerational-Constellations/dp/1543912915/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1519620115&sr=1-3&keywords=transgenerational+healing&dpID=51eVfYIehgL&preST=_SY344_BO1,204,203,200_QL70_&dpSrc=srch 43:00 - Nap's podcast https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-defeated/id1353292773?mt=2 53:00 - Birthing From Within https://www.birthingfromwithin.com/ 59:00 - Living in Agency 1:12:00 - Rituals 1:30:00 - Book 2 https://www.amazon.com/Your-Tears-Flow-Transgenerational-Constellations/dp/1543913601 peacefulpossibilities.ca trufauxsho.com grimerica.ca/support

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DS 010: Preparing the Body & Mind for a Natural Childbirth with Jolynn Radin

Delivering Strength Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 31, 2017 53:01

This week we sat down with Jolynn Radin, owner of The Womb Wellness Center, for a conversation on preparing the body physically and mentally for a natural childbirth. 1:10 Expectful – Expectful – We are proud to share with our listeners a great resource – Expectful: A guided meditation app for your fertility, pregnancy and motherhood journey. Sign up for a free two week trial at expectful.com/delivering. 3:00 – Candace What’s Up BIRTHFIT Professional Seminar- http://www.birthfit.com/education/seminars/ 5:26 – Anna What’s Up 7:44 – Jolynn Introduction 8:20 – Jolynn Bio 13:18 – Preparing your body in a physical way for birth 14:26 – Prenatal massage in the first trimester and types of massage techniques Maya Abdominal Massage- https://arvigotherapy.com/ 16:26 – Why is massage important in pregnancy? 19:10 – Addressing imbalances in the pelvis for optimal fetal positioning and birth prep 21:45 – Ideal body mechanics during pregnancy 24:58 – Spinning Babies Spinning Babies- https://spinningbabies.com/ Spinning Babies- Daily Essentials 28:07 – Baby positioning and belly mapping 30:50 – Just because you are pregnant, does not mean you need to be in pain during pregnancy 32:27 – Supporting herbs during pregnancy Light Footsteps- http://www.lightfootsteps.com/ Light Footsteps Facebook Page- https://www.facebook.com/LightFootsteps/ Susan Weeds- Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year Aviva Rams- The Natural Pregnancy Book 35:10 – Tonifying the uterus 36:10 – Mountain Meadow Herbs Gentle Birth Formula- 2oz Gentle Birth Formula- 4oz Gentle Birth Formula w/o Blue Cohosh- 2oz Gentle Birth Formula w/o Blue Cohosh- 4oz **Talk with your care provider before adding any new herbal formulas or supplements into your routine. These links are a reference as to what our guest discussed on the podcast from her personal experience, not as a professional recommendation.** 37:44 – Preparing the mind for birth Expectful- Sign up for a free two week trial at expectful.com/delivering. Bountiful Beautiful Blissful by St. Martin’s Griffin 38:33 – BIRTHFIT Online Programming- http://www.birthfit.com/education/coaching/ 42:52 – Birthing From Within by Partera Press 45:38 – Favorite Birth Mantras 47:30 – OP Baby 49:20 – How do you feel like you’re Delivering Strength to the families in NEO through what you do? Find Jolynn Online: The Womb Wellness Center Website: http://thewombwellnesscenter.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheWombWellnessCenter/ Instagram: @thewombwellnesscenter Power provider link on our website: https://deliveringstrength.com/portfolio-items/the-womb-wellness-center/ Delivering Strength: Find Us Online Website – com Facebook – com/deliveringstrength Instagram – com/deliveringstrength Facebook Community – com/groups/DeliveringStrength/ If you have show topics or guests that you’d like to recommend to us, please feel free to send us a message through our website or send us an email at info@deliveringstrength.com. Our next Cleveland Birth Worker Coffee Date is this week! Join us on Thursday, November 2nd from 10am-1pm at Erie Island Coffee Company in Rocky River to network with other birth workers in Cleveland.

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0: The importance of Birthing Choices and Community with Lori O'Donley

The Postpartum Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 31, 2017 46:06

Today it was such a joy to talk to my dear friend Lori O'Donley! Lori is a public affairs specialist for the US Air Force, has a master's degree in communications, served in the Air Force herself for 4 years and is mom to two kids. Lori and I met when we were both starting that master's degree program when she had just had her second baby. She is someone I will always have to thank for the career path I ended up on because of her encouragement to look into my birthing options when I was pregnant with my daughter. Lori is such a light, enjoy! In her episode we chat about: The importance of knowing your birth options Her difficult postpartum period with her first child The unkind care she received in the hospital during her first birth The amazing difference when she had a midwife for her second The importance of knowing what to expect from your body during birth How much she loved Birthing From Within for Birth Preparation Starting a grad school program when her daughter was 3 weeks old The importance of giving new parents space and time to bond Scary Mommy for your sanity! And more! This episode of the Postpartum Podcast is sponsored by ICON UNDIES. Did you know that 1 in 3 women experience little bladder leaks when they run, jump, sneeze, or laugh? This is especially true for new moms. But because of Icon, You don't have to worry! Their undies feel like a regular, beautiful pair of underwear, but can hold up to 6 teaspoons of liquid without the bulky, bunchy plasticy feel of a pantyliner. Icon is also offering listeners of the podcast $5 off your order with code postpartum at checkout. ICON is also giving away THREE pairs of Icon Undies to one lucky winner this month for Mother's Day! Enter to win at the Rafflecopter Giveaway HERE. *** As always, please consider subscribing and leaving a review on iTunes here. Your reviews really help the show out because they allow it to be more visible so that we can reach more moms. Do you shop on Amazon? Use this link and do your shopping as you always would and the show will get a teeny tiny kickback. The podcast is also sponsored by Audible.com. To get your FREE audiobook and 30-day trial, please go tohttp://www.audibletrial.com/postpartum You can also support the show by becoming a patron on Patreon. No donation is too small, for as little as $1 per episode, you can make a huge difference for the show. Click here to learn more. Thank you SO much for your support!

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The sharing of positive birth stories with Pam England

Play Episode Listen Later May 31, 2017 27:48

Does sharing birth stories actually benefit those preparing for their birthing time? I ask Pam England, "isn't it a good thing to share positive birth stories?" You maybe surprised to hear what Pam says. This episode features sharing our birth stories, and in-particular listening to positive birth stories as a form of birth preparation. My guest for this episode is Pam England, Pam lives in Albuquerque New Mexico USA, author of Birthing From Within, Labyrinth of Birth and her latest released book Ancient Maps for Modern Birth. Pam also is the founder of Birth Story Medicine a unique approach to emotional healing after or witnessing a difficult child birth experience. Pam was a certified nurse midwife for 18 years, practicing both within hospital and home settings, she also has a masters in counselling. Pam England - www.sevengatesmedia.com & www.birthingfromwithin.comProduced and presented by Lara Martin Copyright 2018 PBB Media and Lara Martin www.pbbmedia.org

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The sharing of positive birth stories with Pam England

Play Episode Listen Later May 30, 2017 27:48

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Pam England on Birth as a Hero's Journey

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 10, 2017 27:50

This episode features an interview with Pam England, author, midwife, artist and founder of Birthing From Within. Her first book Birthing From Within An Extra Ordinary Guide to Childbirth Preparation released in 1998 has sold over a 1 million copies. Pam's newly released book is called Ancient Maps for Modern Birth. One of the themes in this new book explores the Hero's Journey as a map for childbirth preparation. In this interview we ask Pam 'What is Birth as a Hero's Journey?' Aired live on 99.9 BayFm April 2017. Host: Lara Martin Guest: Pam England www.sevengatesmedia.com www.birthingfromwithin.com

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Pam England on Birth as a Hero's Journey

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 10, 2017 27:50

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"Will I be able to have a VBAC"

parenting birth pregnancy raising children tariq vbac pregnancy birth sarah buckley birthing from within

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 25, 2017 28:01

"I think I had the sense, at the time, that my body didn't work and I wanted to feel like it did work. At the time, I didn't realise all the ways my body was working for me" Nikki Shaheed reflecting back on her birth experiences. This episode of Pregnancy Birth and Beyond is an interview with parents Nikki and Tariq Shaheed on the births of their three children, in particular their VBAC, Vaginal Birth After Caesarean. For the birth of their first baby, Nikki and Tariq had planned and prepared for a natural birth at their local hospital. Things didn't go as they had hoped for. Take a listen to hear their story and insights from unplanned caesarean birth to VBAC and home birth VBAC #2. Nikki Shaheed is a doula, Birthing From Within mentor and provides Birthing From Within Birth Story Healing and a mother of three. Key words: VBAC Birth story healing Episode references: bfwsa.com, Nikki Shaheed's website. BirthingFromWithin.com Midwifethinking.com Raisingchildren.net.au Sarahbuckley.comDr Michel Oden't 'The Caesarean'Produced and presented by Lara Martin Copyright 2017 PBB Media and Lara Martin www.pbbmedia.org

"Will I be able to have a VBAC"

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Play Episode Listen Later Jan 24, 2017 28:01

Birthing From Within to Ancient Map for Modern Birth, a lively conversation with Pam England

Yoga | Birth | Babies

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 12, 2016 38:40

In this episode of Yoga | Birth | Babies, I speak with Pam England, author of Birthing From Within and Ancient Map for Modern Birth. This lively conversation covers quite a bit of ground- Pam and I discuss how Birthing From Within was born, how the philosophy and approach differs from more traditional methods and her work with Birth Story Medicine and her latest book, Ancient Map for Modern Birth. Topics covered: How the Birthing From Within approach differs from other traditions of childbirth education, methods – specifically when it comes to the idea of self awareness and personal growth as a means to diminish or prevent “stalled labor” or any other complication Incorporate multi-sensory and holistic philosophy into Birthing From Within approach The impact of worry, fear and belief systems around fear, and denial or avoidance of it and it’s impact on birth The new model and belief system behind Ancient Map for Modern Birth. How stories and media, both positive and negative impact one’s personal perception of birth and what that will mean for the birthing woman. Birth Story Medicine workshops People can find out more about Pam England at http://www.bfwnewmexico.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Lara Martin on Birthing From Within

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Play Episode Listen Later Oct 18, 2014 29:19

This week on the Pregnancy Birth and Beyond show we hear about BFW, Birth as a Rite of Passage and the labyrinth as a symbol for labour, birth and postpartum, also fathers and partners support in birth. Aired live on bayfm 99.9 16th of Oct 2013.Guest Lara Martin consciousbirth.com Produced and presented by Taneal Cadou-Blake Copyright PBB Media and Lara Martin PBBmedia.org

Lara Martin on Birthing From Within