Podcast appearances and mentions of Bradley Method

“Inhale peace, exhale tension.”Did you know that the cascade of interventions can not only contribute to a Cesarean but may cause one? Melanie believes that was the case with her first birth. Her difficult recovery included going to EMDR therapy to help with her PTSD. Her OB/GYN did mention that she would be a great VBAC candidate. Not knowing VBAC was a thing, Melanie's research began. Cue The VBAC Link!Melanie vigorously dove into VBAC prep before she was pregnant again. Her journey is one that shows just how powerful intuition and manifestation can be. Melanie went from having PROM with her first to arriving at the birth center at 7 centimeters and even being able to reach down to feel her bulging bag of waters as her baby began to emerge en caul!Other talking points in this episode include:Achieving a VBAC without a doulaHusband support Birth affirmationsRecommended podcasts and booksSpecific ways to avoid PROMHypnobirthing by Siobhan MillerThe VBAC Link Blog: 9 VBAC Books We RecommendThe Birth HourDown to BirthNeeded WebsiteHow to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for ParentsFull Transcript under Episode Details Meagan: Hello, everybody. Happy VBAC Link Podcast day, whatever day it is that you are listening. We are so happy that you are here. We have our friend, Melanie, from Texas. Texas, is that where you are? That's where my mind is thinking. Melanie: Yep. Yep. Wiley, Texas just outside Dallas. Meagan: Perfect and did you have your VBAC in Texas?Melanie: Yes. In Dallas. Meagan: In Dallas, okay. We have her sharing her stories with us today you guys. At the end, we're going to be talking about PROM. Right before we got recording, I was talking about how important I think talking about PROM is which if you haven't heard lately what PROM means, there are all of these acronyms all over the place when it comes to VBAC birth, but it's premature rupture of membranes. We are both PROM moms here and so we are very passionate about the topic. If you have had your water break before labor really started and got going in the past, definitely hang on in the end because we are going to be talking more about that and maybe some ways that could or maybe not, we are hoping these are the ways that helped us avoid premature rupture of membranes. We are going to be talking about that and of course, her beautiful VBAC story. I do have a Review of the Week and this is by milka. It says, “VBAC Podcast Review.” It says, “Hi. I love listening to your podcast. I had an unplanned C-section with my first birth and am preparing for my second birth now. I didn't know what to do to make sure I didn't end up with the same situation. Hearing so many women's stories and experiences validated mine but most importantly, I learned so many tips and ideas to help my VBAC. I had a successful VBAC and now recommend this podcast to all expecting moms. Just such a great no-pressure and enjoyable way to learn.” I love that she talked about no pressure because that is what this podcast is about. This is a place where people share their stories, where they share information both on VBAC and CBAC, and all topics when it comes to birth. We want you to just be here, be in this space, and have it connect with you how it connects with you and take these women's stories and these providers who are coming on and the information given and apply it however, it looks for your journey. Melanie and I were just talking a little bit before the episode about how it just feels so full circle. So many of these Women of Strength who have come on before Melanie here and have shared their experiences and people listening, it really is so impactful. Right, Melanie? You were saying that I was in your ear. We were in your ear and these people's stories were in your ear doing what? Empowering you. Melanie: Mhmm. Oh yeah, it's incredible. It feels very full circle to be here. Meagan: Yes. We are very excited that you are and you guys, we are going to jump right into her story in just a second. Okay. The table is yours. Melanie: Okay, so happy to be here. Meagan, like you said, you guys have been in my ear for over a year so it just feels incredible to be here. As I was listening to these stories, I was always hoping to find that birth story that was like mine just to find out what went wrong with mine and also on the flip side, what did people do? What were people seeing in things that went right and how they were able to get a successful VBAC? I was very motivated and inspired by the podcast. I listened to every episode so hopefully, my two stories out there can hit home with anyone. But yeah. I'll start with, of course, the C-section just briefly. I got pregnant in March 2021 so everybody remembers it was COVID times still. Meagan: Wild times. Melanie: Wild times. Actually, at the beginning of my pregnancy, my husband wasn't able to come to the appointments. But thankfully, it being 2021, by halfway he was able to come. That pregnancy, I was really healthy. I ran. I'm a big runner so I ran every day. I had no morning sickness. I was very active. I never even until the very end– I ran the day my water broke and I never had that feeling like I didn't want to be pregnant.Not the case the second time as we'll hear, but the first time—Meagan: And you do that competitively, right? Did you compete during pregnancy at all? Melanie: I've ran my whole life so I ran cross country and track division one in college. Now, I do more marathons. Yeah. I ran both pregnancies. Not anything too crazy. During the second pregnancy, I did run a half marathon. I was 16 weeks but then it went downhill after that. But yeah. I run pretty competitively. I take it really seriously and it's a passion of mine. Yeah, the only thing I got the first time and the second, but I did. I've heard it before on the podcast is SPD, symphysis pubic dysfunction. The first pregnancy, so the one I'm talking about, a prenatal chiropractor literally cured it. I had to go back a couple of times because it would get out of alignment again, but for anyone who is suffering from SPD like I was both times, it's amazing. I would just call them witches because they would literally cure it and it would get me back to running. It was amazing. So my birth education the first time around, I thought I was educated like so many women here. I read the typical What to Expect When You're Expecting. I did a podcast but it was more so of what size is your baby? What's going on in utero? I didn't listen to many birth stories and I became so obsessed with that the second time. And truly, I feel like you get the best birth education through birth stories because you just get the whole shebang. We did take a hospital birth class and now I know that a hospital birth class is really just the hospital policies. I remember there was a section that they had mentioned very quickly in passing, “If you're going to have a C-section, you should take this class. Okay, the next thing.” I thought like so many women, That's not going to be me. I'm not going to have a C-section. I'm healthy. I feel great. Most C-sections are not planned so I feel like it really did a disservice to not even mention anything about a C-section in that class, but anyway, I just assumed that you have a baby in the hospital. You get an epidural. You take a nap and then you wake up and you push out a baby. I was not against hospitals or anything. I was not against the epidural or anything like that. I mentioned that I ran the day my water broke. This was past 40 weeks. 40 weeks came and went. A couple of cervical checks I got I was not dilated at all. They had scheduled a 41-week induction date. When I was checking out at the front desk at the time, I just remember it feeling really, really wrong scheduling that date. Meagan: Your intuition was speaking right there. Melanie: 100%, yeah. Of course, I didn't realize it at the time. It was my first baby and everything but when I look back, that just felt so wrong. 41 weeks came and I was supposed to go in at 9:00 PM that night but the interesting thing is that my water broke actually 4 hours before I was supposed to go in. It was 5:00 PM and I was supposed to go in at 9:00. Like you mentioned Meagan, it was PROM so it was a trickle. I was like, Wait. Am I peeing? What is happening here? No contractions at all. And with the little education I did, I knew that just because your water breaks, it doesn't mean that you have to go in and you should labor at home as long as possible. However, because I was set to go in and I guess because I was 41 weeks, I called them and I just remember they were like, “No. You're in labor. Come in.”I was like, “Okay.” Meagan: This is labor? Melanie: Yeah, I was like, “Oh, okay.” So I got to the hospital literally not dilated at all. I was maybe half a centimeter and they inserted the Cervadil at 9:00 PM which hurt really bad because it turns out if you are not dilated, it really hurts to get Cervadil inserted. Meagan: And if your cervix is posterior, it's hard for them to get it into your cervix so that can also cause a lot of discomfort. Melanie: That's exactly what it was too because I think they had a hard time. I didn't even think about that. It was probably posterior. Man. Yeah, see? My body just wasn't ready for that. But contractions did come eventually. I don't know if Cervadil can cause it or if it was just time. I was going into labor but that was around 1:00 AM. The contractions started to get uncomfortable. I had not practiced coping with contractions at all because I was planning to get an epidural. I never had any inkling of going unmedicated or anything so this is where I think everything went south.This is where I just think it was the cascade of interventions. First I had fentanyl which I don't know why because I think I was trying to delay the epidural for whatever reason. I don't know why. I had fentanyl first. It was awful. It felt like I was so drunk. The room spun and it was terrible. Then an epidural, which has fentanyl in the epidural. That was fine. After the epidural, of course, you feel amazing, but you are stuck on your back forever. I just think this cascade of interventions, being stuck on my back, not moving, I never ever take medicine as it is. I think my body and my baby just hated all of this. So then eventually, terbutaline was given around 6:00 AM. Meagan: To stop the contractions. Melanie: Yep. I think that's when some decels started happening then they did pull the Cervadil to stop the contractions. There were some decels then yeah, eventually it's all a little bit fuzzy but at 6:45 AM the decision was made for a C-section. At 8:01, he was born. They called it an emergency C-section and now I look back and I'm like, yes. I do believe that it was needed. However, I'll never really know but I really think it was caused and also, if it's an emergency, I understand that they don't wait hours like they did for me and they usually put you under. I think it was more unplanned and I look back and I really think it was caused. Meagan: That is the hard thing to know. A lot of these Cesareans, I would agree with you that they are caused by the cascade of interventions and things like that and then a lot of providers will say “emergent” so there are emergent Cesareans where we need to get this baby out quick and then there is a crash where they do put people under with crash Cesareans. But if they are waiting for hours, it's almost like they gave the emergency title to make themselves feel better or make it look valid to justify that Cesarean. Melanie: Yeah, I definitely agree with that. That experience was really awful for me. I think for some women, I think it's awful for a lot of women and then I think for some, it's not that awful. For me, no skin-to-skin. I know that's not very common at all. It felt like it was forever for them to bring him to me. No one was talking to you in this moment and I just don't think these doctors realize in the moment that you're being robbed of something that you envisioned and a really important experience. It just felt like forever for them to give him to me. It was 30 minutes or so. He was fine. He came out completely fine with great APGARS. I was fine. It just ended up in the way I didn't want it to. I did have PTSD from that experience because I was having a lot of flashbacks to it. I went through some EMDR therapy. I had a great therapist and of course, I talked to her about it. She was there for my VBAC as well. But yes. That postpartum was just– the healing sucked. I just felt really awful and I think mentally, it took a really big toll on me. Breastfeeding was really hard. A lot of that I attributed to my C-section. It was not desired. It was just not great. So that was the first birth. I never knew VBAC was a thing or a big deal at all. I don't even think I knew the term VBAC. I went to the 6-week post-doctor's visit and I remember she was like, “Yeah, you'd be a great candidate for a VBAC. However, you have to go into spontaneous labor by 39 weeks.” I'm sitting here like, okay. He was just a 41-week baby. My mom has a history of going late. I don't think that's very likely that I'll go into spontaneous labor by 39 weeks so I already made up my mind that I wasn't going to go with her. I learned later that that is a very common thing that hospitals and OB/GYNs will say to you. Yeah, that was the first one. So then cue The VBAC Link. I started listening to The VBAC Link Podcast before I was pregnant. Maybe my son was a year old and I binged every episode. You and Julie were in my ear a ton. The thing that I heard from The VBAC Link was that the likelihood of a successful VBAC for many of these women did happen out of the hospital and like you yourself, Meagan. That's not to say that of course, you can be in the hospital. You can have an epidural and get induced and have a successful VBAC, but when I just heard the overwhelming thing was how much of a better chance you have. I should also mention that my husband works in medicine too. He's a physician assistant. I will talk about that. He had a little bit of a hard time just with the safety aspect of it. But once I let my mind go toward the possibility of an out-of-hospital birth– because I wanted a VBAC so badly. I was so motivated. Then I realized that it was something that I actually really desired, a physiologic birth and unmedicated. When I look back, I think that's why I had such a hard time mentally with my first birth because I think I didn't know that I cared how my babies come into the world and I wanted to experience that. I don't know and in some weird way too, it felt like doing an unmedicated out-of-hospital birth made me almost feel connected to my ancestors. It seems really weird, but I was like, this is what they did. I just think it's something really cool that our bodies do. I wanted to experience that. But I do. I recognize that it was a trauma response for me for sure to become obsessed with research. I binged all of the episodes. I would look for anything related to VBAC. I read so many books and I actually toured. I had a neighbor and a friend who was pregnant at the time and she was going with the birth center that I ended up going with. We would go on walks and she would talk about her experience and how amazing and wonderful it was. I was just like, man. I want that, especially knowing that we were planning to most likely have just one more child. I hated to have that thinking of, this is my last chance, but I did. Meagan: I understand that so much because my husband told me that too and I was like, “I really want this VBAC. I really want this VBAC.” Melanie: Yeah and that's okay. We're okay. It's okay if we have these desires and these wishes. You only get one life. It's okay to want what we want. I'll never forget. I toured the same birth center that my friend was at and again, I was not pregnant yet. It was an education class. I was like, let me just see what these midwives are all about and what birth centers are like. It just immediately– again, it's that intuition. It immediately felt so right. I remember I walked in and just before even finishing the class, before we even really heard them out, I just knew that this was where I wanted to give birth in my next pregnancy. It felt so right. And also, I'll never forget. I had asked questions about VBAC because unfortunately, not all birth centers support VBACs which I don't understand, but I had asked a lot of my questions related to VBACs and I remember the midwife saying, “Well, unfortunately and fortunately, we do a lot of VBACs.” I'm thinking, why would I not want to be with a provider who does the most VBACs? Hospitals don't do a lot of VBACs comparatively. A lot of people are like me. They go to a birth center because they really want a VBAC. That just was really calming to me. I felt like I was with experienced hands. I was safe and there also was not really anything different about a VBAC. I'm with people who understand and trust birth. I brought this up to my husband and I mentioned that he had his reservations because he's a physician assistant and he works in orthopedic trauma but he was in PA school, he had to do OB/GYN rotations. He unfortunately saw some bad birth outcomes so to him, the hospital was a safety net but I was so, so grateful that he was supportive of my desire to go out-of-hospital even though it seemed kind of crazy to him. He came to– we had one meeting with the midwife so he could ask questions and everything. She was so great and answered all of his questions and I actually was unknowingly pregnant at the time. I didn't know it.Meagan: No way. Melanie: It's really weird. I toured the birth center first by myself and it's almost like my body needed that to be like, boom. You found the place where you are going to give birth and then I got pregnant. It was really weird. We were trying but also, it takes my body after coming off birth control some time so it still was a shock. I was like, oh wow. So anyway, the second pregnancy was much harder as I mentioned. I was not able to be nearly as active. I ran that half marathon like I mentioned and then– it was the Dallas half– then my body just went downhill. It was much, much harder. My sleep was horrible. I have an Aura ring and it tracks your sleep and everything then at the end of the year, it will give you a summary of every month's sleep. I will never forget because I got pregnant in September and it's like, January, February, March, April everything is fine and you look at the bar graph time series and it plummets in September. It stayed that way. It was my deep sleep. My deep sleep really, really decreased a ton. Maybe that's normal and I just didn't know that the first time, but I did not tell many people I was going with a birth center. I lied about my due date which I learned from this podcast which is very smart to do. I highly recommend it just because I didn't want to let in any of that negative energy or anything. The couple people I did tell, I did get a couple of people who would be like, “Oh, they're going to let you do that,” like the “let you” language. Meagan: We both did the same thing at the same time with the air quotes. The “let you”. Melanie: Yeah, exactly. I don't blame them. I just think that a lot of people don't have that birth education. And in hospitals, it's very normal to do a repeat C-section even though we all know it's not evidence-based. So very briefly, I want to talk about the prep that I did in this pregnancy that made such a huge difference for me. Number one, all of the podcasts like I mentioned. This one, of course. The VBAC Link, I binged it. I found the Down to Birth podcast at the end and that's a really, really good one. I know everybody does The Birth Hour as well which is good but that one has everything. I loved the more VBAC-specific ones. Then also, they haven't produced any episodes in a while but the Home Birth After Cesarean Podcast was really good too because they were all unmedicated. I was hoping to do that and they were all VBACs. Then books– I read a lot but these were my favorites. Of course, Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. Emily Oscar's Expecting Better is really good. Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way is a little outdated but that one I really loved. It really taught me what productive contractions looked like because I didn't really experience labor the first time. I never made it past a 3 the first time. I didn't know what that meant. I didn't have coping mechanisms. They really focused on breathing. The best book I read and I hadn't heard this one on it. Maybe you know of it but I had never heard about it but it was Hypnobirthing by Siobhan Miller. There are a lot of books on Hypnobirthing but Hypnobirthing by Siobhan Miller. I was just thinking of Hypnobirthing as a possible way to cope. That book was the best book because I really like the science, the physiology, and what is actually happening in your body when you're getting contractions and how do you work with your body. It just had such a great way of explaining all of that.That was the last book I found. I was 3 weeks away from my guess date. That one was great. She also creates the Freya app if you've heard of that. The Freya app times contractions and it helps you with breathing. They give you a lot of mantras. Yeah. That book was amazing. I did get the Freya app too. I did not know I was going to rely on it so much in labor. Also, in that book, it was really big on affirmation cards. I would make affirmation cards then I would read them in the bath and sometimes practice my breathing through the app. I did some pelvic PT and then, of course, the prenatal chiropractor like I mentioned, I continued to do that. Like I mentioned, the care with the midwives was great. Very positive language. I noticed what was really important to me was not, “I hope I can do this,” because of course, I hope that. But my midwives were amazing because every time, they would just speak it. They would say, “You are going to have a beautiful, redemptive VBAC.” They would just say that. Of course, I know I am 50% of the birth story. The baby is the other 50%. Of course, I know that but it was so important for me to have that positive language. I really worked on my mindset this time around. I only followed accounts that served me. I unfollowed news accounts. I had to be very careful about what I watched and things like that. I don't think women realize how important our mental state is. I get very sensitive. Meagan: Yes. So talking about that, protecting your space, our bubble, or whatever it may be. Protecting our space is so important because mentally, like you were saying, I don't know if people really understand how precious our mental space is but mentally, if we are thrown off, it is sometimes really difficult to get back onto that rail. I had a situation on Facebook in a VBAC-supportive group. I've talked about it in the past. I was so excited to announce that I was going to birth outside of the hospital. I also wasn't telling people that I was birthing out of the hospital. I didn't really tell people my plan I thought I could in that group and I wasn't supported. I had to leave that. Sometimes it means leaving groups. Sometimes it means staying off social media. Sometimes it means muting people who may be sharing their opinions or telling people flat-out, “I appreciate you so much but unfortunately, I can't have you in my space,” because mentally, they are not serving you well. Melanie: 100%, yeah. I hate that that happened to you and I know that happens to so many women. It's just so unfortunate and I hate that there is such a stigma with VBAC because if you do the research which people who have really “easy” births don't have a reason to really do the research but if you are like us where we are all very motivated to have a VBAC because we already have this stigma going against us, it's all unwarranted. It's not evidence-based to not be supportive of a VBAC and if you really research and do the stats, you realize that it's not a big deal. The craziest thing that I heard on the Down to Birth Podcast was, “You have a chance of uterine rupture even as a first-time mom.” Meagan: Yes, you do. Melanie: It's not that much higher as a VBAC and first-time moms go their entire pregnancy never once hearing about uterine rupture but yet if you are a VBAC mom, that's all you hear about. So it's so crazy to me. Meagan: Yeah. Yeah. So mentally, you were unfollowing. You protected your space there. Is there anything else that you would give tip-wise to protect your mental space?Melanie: I think just believing in your body and believing that we are made to give birth. I think that's a really big one. Of course, like you said, unfollowing and maybe not talking about it with people, unfollowing accounts that do not serve you. I think the most important thing, I know we've heard it a million times on this podcast, but where you give birth and who you give birth with is the single most important thing because you want to be with a provider who believes that you can do it, whoever that is. Yeah, believing in yourself. I think that's going to look different for everybody of what they need. For me, I am a data person so I needed the stats. I needed to read the books and also listen to lots of women who have done it before me. Meagan: Mhmm, love that. Melanie: So okay, here we are. I was 40+5 so again, not 39 weeks with spontaneous labor but 40+5. I woke up at 5:00 AM to what I thought was contractions. I had some Braxton Hicks at the very end which I never experienced before. I didn't know if maybe it was prodromal labor but it didn't feel like Braxton Hicks because it was waking me up. I just tried to move through them a little bit. They were coming very, very sporadically. I would get a short contraction one time an hour and this went on for most of the day and they were not long at all, like 30 seconds. In my mind, I'm thinking, I'm a hopeful first-time vaginal birther. So I'm like, okay. This could be 24 hours. It could be 48 hours. Who knows? But I did not want to waste any energy timing the contractions so I was just guessing the whole day. It was a Sunday. I stayed home with my toddler. Yeah, I should mention that he is 2.5 so I waited about 2.5 years between the two births. So yeah. I just labored at home with my toddler and my husband. We are big track fans so it worked out perfectly. There was a Diamond League track meet on so I did the Miles Circuit while I was watching that. I texted my midwives and kept everybody updated but I think again, we all thought I still had a ton of time. Then I would say around 4:00 PM that day, I started to notice them a little bit more. They were still pretty inconsistent. I would say maybe 8-10 minutes apart and still only 30-45 seconds long. That was something I learned from again, that Bradley Method book I read is that productive contractions for most women– I will say not for me. We will get into that. But for most women, they are a minute plus. Those are the most productive contractions. I texted my midwife then that I felt like it would likely be that night. I felt pretty confident that they were coming but I was like, it could be the middle of the night. It could be tomorrow morning. Who knows. She texted back and she advised that I take some magnesium, take an Epsom salt bath and then go to bed and try to reserve my energy for when they are 4-1-1. We had a birth photographer this time so I texted the birth photographer. I texted our friends who I'm so grateful for. We had a neighbor and a friend who was going to come to our house and be with my toddler. So, so sweet. Yeah. I took the magnesium and then my husband, Brandon, drew me a bath and then disappeared with our toddler. I sat in the bath and I was reading my affirmation cards. This makes me so emotional but I discovered that my husband had snuck in his own affirmation cards into my pile and that's when I found them. Oh, it was so sweet. Meagan: That's adorable. Melanie: I know. It still makes me cry when I think about it because it just meant so much. It makes me so emotional. It was super sweet and one of the best things he's ever done for me. I found those and was reading through them in the bath and just trying to relax and really work with the contractions. I know from my research that you need to relax. To get them to be productive contractions, you have to relax. You have to get your body out of the way and it will go faster that way. They really started to ramp up when my husband was putting our toddler to bed around 7:30. I got in the bed and I put the pregnancy pillow in between my legs. I lay there and was trying to establish a pattern. Yeah. I know manifestation sounds pretty woo-woo but I want to say and this is where I'll start sprinkling these in because there were 10 things that I had manifested or really, really prayed would happen and I was very intentional that I really, really hoped that this happened. This was the first one. I don't know why I had envisioned laboring with my dog. You have a dog. You understand. My dog is my firstborn. She is my baby. I love her. You know, birth is so primal so I was just like, She's going to know. She's going to know when I'm in labor and she's going to know what to do. She did. She followed me. I didn't even realize it at the time. She followed me in my bed and I took a picture with her at 8:19. She was lying next to me on the bed as I was going through these contractions and it's a very, very special memory for me. I was already starting to get the labor shakes at this point. It's 7:30 and laying down in bed did really help to establish more of a pattern but they still were not a minute long. They were 40-50 seconds long. Then I moved to the toilet as many women do at this point, backward on the toilet. I lost more of my mucus plug because I had lost it sometime earlier in the day then at some point, I looked down and realized that I was having my bloody show. Again, none of this I had ever experienced before with my first. My husband was an absolute rockstar in this moment. He was so cute. He was running back and forth between the toilet and then packing up the car because I think he realized it was starting to get pretty serious. He brought me water and he put on the back of the toilet, cleaned it, gummy worms and things. That was not what I wanted at that moment but it was super cute. Oh, and I should mention that I did not have a doula so he was kind of like my doula. I was trying to prepare him as best as I could beforehand but he didn't need it. He did really well. I know the hip squeezes are great and I learned that from this show of course. As they were coming, I would scream at him, “Hip squeezes! Hip squeezes!” He would come over and do it and he did awesome. He was saying that I left my body in this moment and I was possessed because when I was having a contraction, again, I was trying to do the deep moans and really trying to relax but it's just funny. He was telling me about it after and he was like, “Yeah, it was like if you were looking at it from the outside, it's like you were possessed then you would scream at me and just moan.”Then by 9:24, they were coming. I mentioned they were not a minute long, but they were coming on top of each other. So every 2.5-3.5 minutes apart, but still not quite a minute long so my husband was calling the midwives and she still was like, “Well, they're not quite a minute. Just have her keep laboring at home until they are a minute.” Eventually, he called her back and I think he put it on speaker so she could hear me and that's what did it. Meagan: Uh-huh. She's like, “Load her up.” Melanie: Yes. Because we live outside of Dallas. The birth center was in downtown Dallas so it's pretty far. It's usually a 45-minute drive for us so I think my husband was just like, “I don't want to have a car baby.” Meagan: Sure. Melanie: Yeah. It was ramping up. So yeah. She called back. I mentioned the Freya app. I really relied heavily on the Freya app because when you are timing the contractions, it helps you with the breathing, in for 4, out for 8, and then one of the mantras I learned from that Hypnobirthing book that I did not know I was going to rely on so much– and I think you never really know when you're going into it and when you're in labor. You never know what's going to stick. My mantra that I must have repeated to myself 500 times was, Inhale peace, exhale tension. Every single contraction, I just repeated that over and over and over. I was trying to make it until 10:30 PM when we called them again, but that's when we got in the car and started heading there. He made it to the birth center in 33 minutes. The car ride was not fun like many women talk about. I think I hardly opened my eyes and I was just timing them, repeating my mantra, Inhale peace, exhale tension. I arrived at the birth center at 11:00 PM. I had a contraction on the step right there as I was trying to get out of the car and trying to make it. I eventually made it inside and I had my first cervical check of the whole pregnancy. I again, something I had manifested was that my two favorite midwives would be there and they were. One of them, she wasn't even on call but she came anyway. So many sweet things happened. I got on my back. She asked if she could check me and I was like, “Yes. I really want to know.” One thing again, I manifested that I really wanted to be at least a 6 when I showed up. The first thing she said was, “You are much farther along than you ever were with Rhett.” You are a 7 and you are very stretchy. I can feel your bulgy back of waters and the baby's head is right behind it. That's the other thing. We mentioned PROM. Here I am and my water still had not burst and it was amazing. Being on my back felt awful by the way. That's why I just don't understand. Being unmedicated in a hospital must be so, so hard because I know a lot of the times they want you to be on your back and I just can't imagine because that was the worst position ever. She started filling up the tub right away. Like many women, I was like, “I have to poop.” I get on the toilet and I was like, “I swear I do.” But no, I don't. Nothing was happening but it feels like I do. I got in the tub right away. I did a couple of contractions. They were still coming on top of each other. I was sitting down and eventually, I moved to hands and knees. Very shortly after, that was very fast. That was only about 5 minutes after getting checked. Very shortly after, my body was starting to push and I was like, “This can't.” I mentioned something. I don't really remember this but I mentioned something to my midwife about how it seemed to soon to push. I was like, “You just checked me and I was a 7-8. Why is my body pushing right now?” I was really wary of a cervical lip or a swollen lip which I learned from this podcast. I can't remember exactly but she said something to the nature of, “If your body is ready to push, let it push. This is your body getting ready to birth your baby,” which is again, something else I had really, really envisioned. I would have loved my body to do the pushing and it did which was amazing. My water had not broken still at this point and the really cool moment was that the baby was en caul for a while. I remember her saying something on the phone about baby being en caul. I was birthing the sac before I birthed the baby. It felt like a water balloon. She kept telling me, “Feel down. Feel the sac.” It felt like a water balloon coming out of you. It was so weird. Yeah, my midwife stayed behind me so quietly the whole time. I never knew she was there. My husband set up my birth playlist and music and he just was such a rockstar in this moment. He was getting a cold rag and putting it over my shoulders which felt amazing, getting water and electrolytes and continuing to help me with that. Yeah. My body pushed for about 30 minutes and I don't want to scare anybody, but truly, that was the worst part. I remember– I guess maybe it's the ring of fire, but I just remember feeling like my body was ripping in half. But then it goes away. Meagan: Yeah. It's intense. It's intense. Melanie: It's so intense. I don't think anything can really prepare you for that. I follow that account, Pain-Free Birth. I don't understand and I would watch videos of women who were smiling and they look great. I'm like, oh my gosh. That part was so, so painful. Handling and dealing with the contractions is one thing and I felt like I was really strong. I felt like I did a good job with that, but that pushing part is something else. His head was out. It was a boy. His head was out for a little while but nobody panicked and my husband was ready to catch him. His hand was right there. At some point, I remember my midwife was like, because again, my body was doing all of the pushing. I didn't do any of it. I guess after the head was out of a little bit, she was like, “You can try to push.” My husband told me because his hand was right there that my pushes were nothing. They were baby, tiny little pushes compared to the ones my body was doing. Then at some point, my midwife asked if she could help or something and I was like, “Yes, please.” I don't know what she did. My baby was kind of big which I'll say in a second, but I think maybe his shoulder was stuck or something. She did something that was pretty painful but then within a second–Meagan: A sweep. Melanie: Yeah, like a maneuver because I definitely felt more stretching then a second later, he shot out. He did have the cord wrapped around his neck one time but nobody freaked out and they just literally took it off then he pinked up right away, cried, and he ended up being 9 pounds, 5 ounces. My first was 6 pounds and 14 ounces. I'm like, “No wonder running felt awful. He was pretty big.” I look back and I just feel very proud. I was never once scared for myself. I never once thought about uterine rupture and I never was scared for my baby. I do have some memories of– they did the intermittent checking and I have this memory of the decels. That is why I ended up having the C-section so I was always very curious to see how he was doing during the check. He was always fine and I was never scared. Yeah. We got out of the tub quickly. They waited for me to deliver the placenta on the bed. It was about 30 minutes and yeah. My baby latched right away which was such a relief because I mentioned we had some struggles the first time. The crazy thing was– we sat there. We ate. We chatted for a little bit then once they did all of the newborn tests right there, we were home by 3:45 AM. My toddler went to bed as an only child and then he woke up to a little brother. And that's his story. The postpartum has been so different and it's been so much better. I can't help but think that a lot of that is because of such a smoother birth and the recovery has been so much better than a C-section. Different, but still so much better. Meagan: Yeah. Melanie: Yeah. I just thank this community so much. I also was on the Facebook page and I just got so much strength from all of the women before me. Meagan: Yes. Oh my gosh. Such an incredible story. I love– okay, a couple of things. One, we talk about it on the podcast. I love when people go and look for providers before they are pregnant. I absolutely love it. I think it's very powerful. But two, you were actually pregnant and you didn't know it. Melanie: I know. Meagan: That's so cool that you were doing that and it felt so right and not only was your intuition before pregnancy kicking in but you were actually pregnant and it felt right. You were like, this is the place. This is the place. Then you showed. You went past that 39-week date. You never had gone past 3 centimeters before. So much strength and power happened through all of this and then you pushed out a 9-pound baby. All of these things that a lot of the world doubts. Did you look at your op report? Melanie: I did and everything was normal. Then the main thing was the decels and that's why they said was the reason. Meagan: Decels. I just wondered if they said anything like CPD or failure to progress. Melanie: Yeah, no they didn't. I was looking for that specifically. I just barely made it. I was 2-3 centimeters before the decels started happening and then they called it. Meagan: Yeah. A lot of the time we are told and the world doubts us in so many ways so if you told a lot of people who are uneducated about VBAC the things that happened with the first and then the stats of your second, I bet people are like, “You did that?” But you guys, this is normal. This is beautiful. This is what you deserve. You deserve these experiences and these joyous moments. I'm just so proud of you. I'm proud of you. I'm proud of your husband. He sounds absolutely adorable. Shoutout to him. Melanie: He's so sweet. Meagan: Your midwives and everybody. You did it. Melanie: Aw, thank you. Meagan: I'm so happy for you. Melanie: Thank you. Thank you so much. I'm glad I didn't know how big he was before but also with my midwives, there was no pressure at all to even see how big he was. Meagan: Mhmm, yeah. Melanie: The second baby, I always say that he healed me because he really did. My first birth was really traumatic for me but then my friends all laugh because they say, “You're the only person who would say a 9-pound baby would heal you.”Meagan: Seriously, though. But how amazing. It's so amazing. Our bodies are incredible. Okay, we talked about PROM. This time, total opposite. Encaul for a little bit. I did some things. You did some things. Let's talk about if you've had PROM, premature rupture of membranes, there are things you could do to try to encourage no PROM next time. I am PROM, PROM, then with my third, I was contracting. My water did break way earlier than pushing but it still waited a little longer. I still feel like my efforts in a lot of ways helped. So anyway, tell us what you did. Melanie: Yes. So mainly two things. Again, being with providers who are more holistic, they are more likely to mention nutrition. We talked about nutrition a ton during the whole pregnancy. I think two main things. The first thing was collagen. They got me on collagen from the get-go. I know research shows that upping your collagen helps a strong sac. Then the second thing was Vitamin C. I didn't take any Vitamin C supplements or anything, but again, your body is amazing. I was craving oranges in my pregnancy so I think that's part of it. My body was craving oranges. I ate a lot of oranges so I think the combination of collagen and oranges really made my sac strong. And it was. It literally did not break until he came out. It was so different. Meagan: So incredible. I would echo that. Vitamin C and you can supplement with Vitamin C 100mg a day starting anywhere between 18-20 weeks. Some providers even say to do it from the very beginning as the placenta is forming and things like that. Collagen absolutely and protein. Protein and collagen. I know you guys have heard about Needed but I absolutely love their protein collagen. As pregnant women, we don't get enough collagen and we don't get enough protein in our daily eating habits so supplementing with that and getting more collagen really, really can create a healthier, thicker sac. Something that was interesting that I found out after my second– so back story. I had kidney stones. I don't know if you had any infections or anything like that with your first that made you be on antibiotics but antibiotics is what an OB told me can also weaken membrane sacs. I got UTIs and kidney stones and was put on antibiotics. The OB described to me that my OB was fighting in other areas so the nutrients that my body was getting was going to fighting and healing versus creating a stronger sac which is interesting. I've never seen any research about it but he was pretty adamant about avoiding antibiotics during pregnancy with my next one and I did. I didn't have what I had before. Melanie: That's interesting. I never heard that. Meagan: I know. I know. This is a doctor who doesn't even practice anymore. This was years ago but I was like, it kind of makes sense. It kind of makes sense. I haven't researched it. Melanie: Yeah. I can see that. Meagan: Antibiotics wipe our gut flora and things like that anyway so I can understand that but protein, collagen, Vitamin C, and possibly avoiding antibiotics. Nutrition is so huge with our bag of water. Then big babies. You guys, big babies come out of vaginas. I just have to say that. It happens. 9 pounds is a healthy, beautiful baby. Melanie: Yeah. When he came out, everybody was very shocked even before weighing him. He's thinned out now but he was swollen. Everybody was taking bets on how big he actually was. Meagan: I love it. I love it. I've seen so many babies when they come out and their cheeks are so squishy and you're like, that's a big baby. You can tell just by their face. Melanie: Yes. That's exactly it. Meagan: Oh my gosh. Well, thank you again so much for completing the circle, for helping other Women of Strength out there. I too believe that women listen to these podcasts and they want to find stories that are similar with theirs in so many ways. You didn't dilate past 3. An induction that didn't turn out to be a vaginal birth so an “unsuccessful” induction that turned VBAC. A lot of people, I think, do doubt their body in that way. They are like, “Well, I was induced. Not even medicine could get me there,” but there is a lot that goes into that. Sometimes our body is just not ready or our babies aren't ready or something is going on. It doesn't mean that's your fate for all future births. Melanie: 100%. Yeah. So well said. Meagan: Awesome. Well, thank you again so much and huge congrats. Melanie: Thank you so much, Meagan, and thank you to everybody. Everybody who has told their story, the community, and everything was so helpful for me. 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

What influences your birth choices? It's helpful to look at this, to see what matters to you when it comes to birth, and how you can create a birth environment and culture around you that supports you best. Today we're chatting with Martina Cifiello about her birth journey. From a hospital birth with her first child to a birth center with her second to a home birth with her third, Martina walks us through the factors that inspired the changes and evolutions of her births along the way.  Martina shares how supportive and helpful her husband Simone has been over the years as well, taking a team approach to everything. And fun fact: Martina used the same midwife for her home birth that we had for our home birth, Debbie Schneider of Dawning Life Midwifery. So cool to have that connection! Things we talk about in this episode: hospital birth, birth center, water birth, Bradley Method, pelvic floor health, birth during COVID, family-centered birth Links From The Episode: Martina's Bradley Method teacher page: http://www.bradleybirth.com/martinacifiello Martina's PT page: https://benchmark.urpt.com/locations/marietta-east-cobb/ Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://bit.ly/2DuMBxP - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order Splash Blanket: https://bit.ly/3JPe1g0 - use code DIAH for 10% off your order Esembly: https://bit.ly/3eanCSz - use code DIH20 to get 20% off your order More From Doing It At Home: Send us your birth story: https://bit.ly/3jOjCKl 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: www.diahpodcast.com/merch Give Back to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“It was perfect. It really was. I would do it again and I would do it the exact same way. I felt safe and I felt respected and I felt like there was never a moment in it that I was scared.”Emmy's first birth was a medicated hospital birth turned C-section after two hours of unsuccessful pushing. Her greatest trauma was being so out of it that her first thoughts after her baby was born were, “I don't care.” Her multiple failed epidural/spinal placements caused intense postpartum spinal headaches. Overall, Emmy's difficult experiences were a recipe for postpartum depression and anxiety.After finding The VBAC Link, Julie and Meagan became Emmy's virtual friends helping her through tough postpartum days. When she became pregnant again, Emmy knew that Julie Francom needed to be on her team. Emmy shares how she made the choice to switch from planning a hospital VBAC to an HBAC and how home birth relates to cows! Her birth was powerful, intuitive, and healing.After her husband caught their baby and Emmy pulled her up to her chest, she shares the most healing moment of all. “I wasn't thinking in my head, ‘I don't care'. I was thinking that I had this beautiful little baby in my arms. It was what I had dreamed of. “CDC ArticleThe VBAC Link Doula DirectoryThe VBAC Link Facebook CommunityDown to Birth PodcastDr. Stu's WebsiteThe VBAC Link Blog: Choosing Between Home Birth or VBACBirth Becomes You Birth Photographer DirectoryHow to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for ParentsFull Transcript under Episode Details Julie: Hello, hello. Surprise! It's Julie here and I'm super excited to be here with you guys today. I always love coming on the podcast with Meagan you guys know. I love to get a little bit salty and a little bit straight-up talk on the podcast. I quite enjoy my time here but I am a little extra excited and a little bit less spicy and salty because I have a client of mine. Her name is Emmy and she just had a VBAC about 3 weeks or 4 weeks ago. Has it already been 4 weeks? Oh shoot, I owe you your gallery already. It'll be done in a few days. But I photographed her birth and she is incredible. It is super exciting because she is going to tell you more about this. She actually reached out to me 2 years ago when I was still doing doula work at the beginning of her journey after her C-section baby and it's just super fun to be here full circle with her and have her share her story. I want to hear it from her perspective. I haven't heard it from her perspective yet. We are just going to have lots of fun chit-chatting. You guys are going to come to love Emmy just like I do. But before we do that, Meagan has a Review of the Week for us. Wait, did I say it's Julie? Did I introduce myself? Meagan: Yes, you did. Julie: I feel like some people don't know. You have been doing solo episodes for a really long time and I feel like some people don't know who I am anymore which feels kind of weird to me. Meagan: You are the famous Julie. Julie: The famous Julie. Anyways, Julie Francom, co-founder of The VBAC Link. I separated a couple of years ago but pop in every once in a while to get a little bit salty. If you know, you know. Anyway, here's Meagan. Meagan has a Review of the Week for us and I'm going let her do the rest of the things. Meagan: If you know, you know. Okay, we have a review. It's from lar23 and it's titled “Love Your Podcast”. It says, “Hi Meagan. I love your podcast so much. I always end up crying at the end of them. So happy for these moms who get their VBAC. Thank you for creating this podcast. It's so inspiring to hear these stories. I'm 38 weeks pregnant currently and hoping to get my VBAC here soon. Keep doing what you're doing. You're helping so many people and doing so well to achieve their birth dreams knowing that we are not alone. Thank you for that.” That was left on Apple Podcasts and that was actually just about a year ago so lar23, if you are still listening, we always love to know how things went so maybe write us in at info@thevbaclink.com. If you haven't left us a review yet, please do. We love them. They make us smile and guess what? I actually even still share them with Julie today. Julie: It's true. I love getting a good screenshot of a review. It makes my heart happy still. Meagan: Right? They do. Every single time they come in, my smile immediately grows from ear to ear. Okay, are we ready? Julie: Yeah. Meagan: Julie, Emmy, let's do this. Let's hear this amazing birth story. I was reading a little bit of her bio part and can I just tell you that there is one little thing that stuck out? It all stuck out, but there was one little thing. “I found a doula I loved. I hired Julie Francom as my birth photographer. You bet I felt starstruck.” It says, “I interviewed multiple midwives before choosing one. Originally, I planned a hospital birth, but the more research I did and after listening to the podcast with Dr. Stu, I felt very strongly that a home birth was right for me. I was just as shocked as the guy that I told the next day that I felt that way.” Can I just say that stood out to me? You hired the doula. You found an amazing photographer who is also a doula. You interviewed multiple people. All right. I'm just going to leave that right there for the intro to your second story and let's cue the first story. Julie: Let's go. I'm excited. “I felt starstruck”. It's still weird to me when people are like, Oh my gosh. I don't know if that's what you were like, but it's just so funny. Anyway, sorry. Go ahead, Emmy. Emmy: Yeah, we'll start with the first one and then I'll talk about my starstruck interview with Julie. Yeah. It was 3 years ago almost exactly because I had my kids a day apart 3 years apart– March 14th and March 15th so it was 3 years ago, I was teaching 6th grade and it was a new subject and a new school so that was my focus. I did zero prep, but I was so optimistic. I'm like, Everyone goes in and has a baby. We did nothing. Suddenly when my water at 39 and a few days started to leak, we were like, Okay, we go straight to the hospital. My water hadn't even broken. It was just a leak. Meagan: That's what you're told a lot of the time. If your water breaks, you go in. Emmy: Yeah, so you'd sit down and a little gush would happen. We high-tailed straight over to the hospital. I was feeling Braxton Hicks contractions. They weren't even painful yet. They checked me and to quote, I was maybe a half-centimeter dilated. I said, “Great. When can I get the epidural?” She was like, “You can get it right now.” I'm like, “Fantastic. This is greater than my wildest dreams right now,” because at that moment, I had done no prep so my fear was of the pain. The fact that I was getting this epidural before I even felt pain was amazing in my head. I get the epidural at maybe a half-centimeter dilated and I lay on my back on a bed for 30 hours. I did do the peanut ball a little bit back and forth. There was some movement there, but as far as any other real movement, there was nothing. Little did I know, he was OP and now I've done a lot more research on OP babies and learned a lot about how OP babies need movement. I read a whole article from Rachel Reed that was just talking about how the most important thing for an OP baby was movement and I did not move. It was probably no surprise now looking back that I started to have really horrible back labor having an OP baby which if you've had back labor, it's not like a normal contraction where you have a 60-second contraction and then you have a 10-minute break. It is continuous and it is awful. Meagan: Not great. It's not great. Emmy: Excruciating and it goes all the way up your back. I'm numb from the waist down but it was going all the way up my back to my neck and it was continuous. I was just in excruciating pain for hours and hours. I was just holding on to the side of the bed just dying.Meagan: I can already relate so much. I was holding. I'm like, Help me. Do something. Emmy: That's so funny. Do something. I was dying. I finally get to complete and I pushed for 2 hours and I remember the OB pretty vividly. I remember him being like, “Okay. You've pushed for 2 hours. When I went to school, they said to let a mom push for 4 hours and now they say to let a mom push for however long she wants.” She was like, “You can either keep pushing or you can just go in for a C-section and we can get this over with.” I mean, I was done. I was like, “Cut him out.” Meagan: Sure. Yeah. And if you are given that, it's like the golden ticket. You could have your baby right now and not continue this. Sign me up. Yeah. Emmy: So I was like, “Yep, please cut him out.” So they wheeled me into the OR and sorry. While I was pushing, I guess from the hours of back labor, my back had seized. I could not bend it. While I was in that pushing phase, he kept saying, “Okay, do a crunch. Sit up in a C formation.” I was like, “My back is not moving. It is unresponsive. It's not that I won't. It's that I can't.”Then they wheeled me into the OR and I'm getting a spinal block and they are telling me, “Your epidural needs to be a C position.” I'm like, “My back is not moving. I've never experienced this before. It is unresponsive right now.” He tried three times to get the spinal block in. Two times it came out and the needle was bent because it was just hitting. Meagan: Oh my gosh. Emmy: Third time's the charm. So I had five. Three times from the spinal block and then it had taken the epidural twice to get it in so I had five punctures which makes more sense when I talk about my spinal headache later on. They finally get the spinal block in and they lay me flat on my back. It went from the back labor had been agonizing, but for some reason when they laid me on my back, it was intolerable. I started thrashing. I was like, “My back, my back!” I started thrashing. I'm under the impression that he gave me morphine, but whatever he gave me, I went warm. My whole body went warm and numb. I couldn't move anything and in my head, I'm like, Thank heavens. I don't care what he just gave me but I'm so grateful right now that this pain has gone away. But then like I said, I believe it was morphine. It moved up into my lungs and my breath started getting shallower and shallower and shallower. I'm like, I'm suffocating right now. My breath was getting more and more shallow and I started to panic more and more. Meagan: Scary. Emmy: I turned to the anesthesiologist to say, “I can't breathe.” Nothing came out. The morphine had also affected my vocal cords and so I'm looking at him, I'm like, I can't breathe. I'm just mouthing the words and he's not looking at me. So then I look over at my husband who is also not looking at me. I'm like, “I can't breathe.” I'm looking between these people like, I'm going to die on this table and nobody is going to even know because they are not looking at me and I can't talk right now. Meagan: Oh my gosh. Emmy: Yeah, finally my husband looked at me and he's like, “She says she can't breathe.” He looked at my stats. He's like, “No, her oxygen levels look fine. She's fine.” In my head, I'm like, No, I'm dying. He put an oxygen mask on me and in that moment, I closed my eyes and I'm like, I'm just going to focus on breathing because right now I'm in a complete panic attack that I'm dying. They got him out. I heard him cry. They took him to the NICU and for however long they were gone, I remember a nurse saying to me, “Do you want to meet your baby?” In that moment, in my head, I was just like, I don't care. I don't care. Colin comes walking in with a swaddled baby with tears rolling down his face. Colin is my husband, sorry. Colin comes in with tears running down his face holding a swaddled baby and I could have truly cared less. Out of all the traumatic things that have happened to me in my birth up to that moment, that is the moment that sticks with me the most where it's like that is the moment you dream of as you are preparing especially for this first child to come into the world. It's that moment when you get to hold your baby for the first time and for me that first moment in my head was, I don't care. That really slingshotted my passion for this next birth. It was going to be amazing and I'm going to make sure of it. I heard a quote recently that was like, “Passion a lot of the time stems from trauma.” I felt that so deeply in my bones at that moment. I was like, I look back at the last 2 years and some months since I've had the baby and I've been so passionate about it. It definitely stemmed from my trauma from my first birth. Julie: Oh my gosh, yes. I relate to that too. That is why I'm so salty dang it. Meagan: I know. It's hard. It's hard when you do have that passion and then you are seeing people going in the direction that we were going that created that passion and possibly trauma. It's hard because you are like, No, no, no, no! Don't go there. Come over here. We want to help and save and yeah, do whatever we can do, right? Emmy: Yeah, and unfortunately, my postpartum experience wasn't really that much better. I really struggled with postpartum as I not only was recovering from a C-section but a few days later, I developed a spinal headache which is where they have punctured the membrane around your spinal cord so it starts leaking fluid. You'll sit up and it starts leaking fluid and it's an immediate migraine. You're trying to go to the bathroom. You're trying to feed your baby and you are dying from a migraine. It's kind of a peculiar thing because the moment you lay down, the moment your head hits the pillow, it goes away. When you sit up, it's leaking this fluid but when you are lying down, you're not leaking the spinal fluid and it goes away. I called my sister and she was like, “Oh, I've heard of that. It's a spinal headache.” I called my OB and told him my symptoms. He was like, “Yeah, you can either go into the hospital and get a blood patch or it'll go away in two weeks.” I'm like, Two weeks? I'm not waiting two weeks for this to go away. I can't even sit up to try and feed my baby let alone function. Meagan: Oh, so did you go get the blood patch? How was that? For someone who may have experienced this or if they experience it, can you explain the process of that? Emmy: Yeah. I mean, it's uncomfortable and kind of painful. You go in but it's also pretty amazing too. You go in and lie down. They pull quite a bit of blood from your arm. They numb the spot that is leaking which was where I had five dots from all of the different needles and they put that blood into that spot and so the blood goes in and it clots where it is leaking and you lay there for about a half hour and you sit up and it's gone. It was pretty amazing. I sat up and I was scared and it was immediately gone, but you add so much blood into that area that it is filled with pressure for three days so it's like you can't really bend your back. That's kind of the theme of my story I guess is I can never bend my back. For three days, I couldn't bend my back or it would spasm from that spot. But it did get away from the spinal headache and if I had another spinal headache, I would do it again. Meagan: Okay, good to know. Emmy: But yeah, so I did go in and get the blood patch. It fixed the problem, but I recovered from a C-section. I had this blood patch. I really struggled with breastfeeding. I know now that I had a lactation specialist, an IBCLC come to my house after my second birth. She looked at his tongue and she was like, “Oh, he's got a heart-shaped tongue. That's a severe tongue tie.” I didn't know that at the time. I know about tongue ties now but I didn't know about it then. I was just really struggling with breastfeeding and the pain from it. I was like, Something has to go and the only thing I have control over right now is breastfeeding. I chose to exclusively pump which comes with a whole other host of pros and cons but I chose to exclusively pump because I was like, Something needs to go pain-wise here and breastfeeding is the only one I can let go.Looking back, I really had a recipe for postpartum depression and anxiety. I had a traumatic birth and recovery from a C-section. Breastfeeding wasn't going well and he was a terrible sleeper for 3 months. I was extremely sleep-deprived and I didn't really plan my postpartum care well. I got one week that my mom and my husband were home at the same time and then they were gone but I still needed care after that for at least another week or two. My nutrition was poor because I was worrying about my nursery and cute clothes and my baby shower and stuff. I hadn't really thought about postpartum care with freezer meals and snacks and things like that so I was just starving which I'm sure didn't add to helping with postpartum depression and anxiety when your nutrition is poor. I was still worrying about work and had to go back to work 6 weeks later which was a stressor. Isolation is a big contributing factor to depression and anxiety and I just hadn't found a group of mom friends yet too. I was just giving out so I was home all day for the first 6 months. For the first 6 months, I really struggled with postpartum depression but I learned what a VBAC was the first week post C-section. I was like, What is this? What is this VBAC they speak of? Then I found The VBAC Link about the same time because I was Googling VBAC and I found your website which led me to the podcast. I was taking multiple walks a day at that time because I was just bored and I was just devouring The VBAC Link. Julie and Meagan were my best friends for the first– they were my only friends for the first 6 months. Meagan: Aww. Julie: I love that but it's also kind of sad but I also kind of love it. Emmy: Yeah. I was listening to your guys' voices. You were the people I talked to the most each day for a while. I just devoured it and I went from believing my C-section was necessary to seeing how one thing probably led to another and led to the cascade of interventions and just being like, Oh, I actually think I really could have done this if I had done things differently and prepared differently. I think I actually would have been able to do this the right way. Then listening to people talk about having this redemptive second birth, I'm like, Wow. People have births and like their births. I thought everybody just hates birth. I'm like, No. People are actually having births and enjoying their births. How do I get that? So it really spawned into this passion which came out of trauma but turned into a really great thing and about a year postpartum, I reached out to Julie because I was anticipating getting pregnant probably in the next year. I was like, I know I'm going to build the greatest team that I can in this area. In my vision, Julie is on that team. I reached out to her and you said in that first interview, you were like, “Okay, I am still doing doula work but I am starting to switch over to photography but I will honor your request for a birth doula.” I was like, “Great! Do you know any hospitals or midwife groups in-hospital who are VBAC friendly?” That was still in my head was that I was going to end up in a hospital. Julie gave me some midwife groups and some hospitals that she had good experiences with for VBACs and that was my plan moving forward. It wasn't until a year and 3 months later that I ended up getting pregnant and by that time, Julie was like, “I'm really just doing photography.” Julie: I told the Universe that this is the thing and Katie, your doula, will attest to this. I struggled going back and forth where my passion was and where my heart lay. I was like, Okay, I will do doula and photography for a little while. I told the Universe 16 times that I was only doing photography and then I felt like I had to stay committed to it and I really thought that you would be best served by a fully dedicated doula. In the end looking back, I think that was super the right choice. Anyway, yeah. That's kind of where that was. Emmy: Yeah, I'm really just doing photography now but I have a really great friend who has done the VBAC Link course and I'd love to do your photography. At the time, photography was not in the realm of my birth vision at all. It was actually something that was kind of weird to me. I thought, People photograph their births? But Julie was such a core keystone part of my birth that I was like, I don't care if you are there to be my massage therapist for this. You will be there. I ended up hiring a photographer because I wanted Julie to be there so badly. I wanted her knowledge there and then it ended up in the end being that I am so glad I have photos of this. This is so cool. I think all around we made the best choices having Katie. Shoutout to Katie who is the doula that Julie recommended. Meagan: She is amazing. Emmy: Yeah, she was not a bad recommendation at all. It was amazing. So I think in the end it turned out great to have Katie there and have Julie there. Everyone was in their right place. But yeah, when I reached out to Julie, I hadn't even thought about home birth. Home birth to me was woo-woo. I didn't have an interest in natural birth but I actually ended up listening to Dr. Stu who I know you have had on your podcast, but the first time I heard him was actually on the Down to Birth podcast, episode 111 if anyone is interested where he talks about his journey from being a regular OB/GYN to being a home birth OB/GYN. He dispelled the fears around home birth and the questions that everybody asks like, “What if things go wrong?” In those 45 minutes, I literally went from, I'm only having a hospital birth to I'm going to have a home birth. It spoke to my heart and I immediately was like, This is what I need to do. I felt really strongly. It was really bizarre. I've never had a full shift in what I was thinking before. I just felt very inspired that that was what I needed to do. I was a little worried about convincing my husband, Colin, but I showed him that podcast and he seemed immediately on board. He's a dairy farmer actually and listening to the podcast, there were a few things where he would pause it and say, “That's very interesting. I actually see this in cows.” I was like, “Great. I'm glad that you feel really connected to this.” Meagan: I love that. Emmy: Yeah. Julie: Okay, but seriously now, we have all these animals in the wild giving birth in these natural ways and nobody thinks to interfere but we humans need all of this help. It doesn't make any sense. Emmy: Yeah, like for example, Dr. Stu said a woman will be home laboring and the labor–what's the word I'm looking for? The contractions are coming regularly. Let's say it that way. The contractions are coming regularly and she comes into a hospital which is an unfamiliar environment with people she doesn't know who are touching her bits and stuff and it's really not common for your labor to slow down or completely stall. He's like, “We are mammals. If a mammal in the wild comes into an unfamiliar place or feels that there is a predator or feels nervous or anxious, the labor is going to stop until she feels safe again.” Colin was like, “I see that with cows. You see a cow in a pasture laboring great and the legs are poking out. We bring them and we bring them into the barn where we have fresh straw. She'll be by herself. In our heads, we think we are helping her but we have just done an intervention and her labor will stall. She'll sit there for hours without any progress. We see that with cows.” Meagan: You know what? We as doulas see that too. We are laboring at home. We are laboring at home. Things are going really well and then we transition to the hospital or a birthing center or that other location. Even just that move that makes you think you would be more comfortable and this is where I wanted to give birth, you still have to acclimate to that space. Like you said, it's an intervention. Emmy: Yeah, so he trusted my gut and I”m going to be forever grateful for that because he was very trusting so the prep really began once I got pregnant, it was like, Okay. We've got Julie and my number-one priority was building a strong team. I interviewed Julie in person and went out to lunch with Katie who became my doula and felt really connected to her right off the bat. Julie also gave me a list of home birth midwives in the area. I probably interviewed 5 or 6 midwives and for me, I wanted somebody who was really experienced, had a lot of years, had seen the good, the bad, the ugly, and had a good, calm energy because I have a lot of energy. I was like, I feel like in my birth, I just need calmness. So after interviewing them, I picked a midwife who I thought was the best for me and had the most experience. She truly was amazing in the birth and I think I made the right choice for sure. Midwife care is so different than OB/GYN care as well. You have a 5-minute appointment with an OB/GYN but you have an hour long appointment with a midwife where you do the same things but more. They sit and talk to you about any symptoms that you have. I really, really liked the midwife care. I was really impressed. I didn't know what I was stepping into but it is leaps and bounds better care than I had at an OB/GYN office. That was my first priority. I felt like I built a great team from the get-go then it was all about educating myself and preparing for postpartum. That was a big part. One thing I did was instead of having a baby shower, I did a mother's shower. I had all of these people come and we made freezer meals. It was really fun. I planned better postpartum care. Colin came for a week. My mom came after that for 10 days so I just did a lot better focusing on my postpartum care which has made a huge difference. Colin and I took a Bradley Method class which ws intense but I'm so grateful that we did because really, Colin was my doula for the next birth for the 23 of the 26 hours and he was doing hip squeezes, counterpressure, acupressure, talking me through each of the contractions, massage techniques– he was amazing and it really came down to us preparing really well. He was my little doula for 23 of those 26 hours and I will never forget that. It was very bonding for us and special. I guess for my second birth which was a much better experience, the contractions started at about 3:00 AM and they were about 10 minutes apart. My labor was 26 hours and interestingly enough, until I hit transition at 23 hours, my contractions did not get closer together than 10 minutes apart the whole time even though the intensity increased. I had a 60-second contraction 10 minutes apart the whole day. I texted Julie and Katie at 8:00 AM, “Contractions have started guys! I'll let you know.” 4 hours went past and I'd be like, “What's the update?” Julie: “Are you doing okay? How are things going?”Emmy: Then I'd be like, “Yeah, sorry nothing.” Then four hours later, they'd be like, “Are you good?” I'm like, “Yep. Still contracting 10 minutes apart, guys. Sorry.” So yeah. I contacted them. I had a chiropractor appointment already just by coincidence at 10:00 AM. I went to that. It didn't really seem to kickstart anything like I hoped but I just figured it couldn't hurt to get in. I think Meagan, didn't you go to the chiropractor? Meagan: I sure did. I actually did twice during labor. Emmy: Wow. Meagan: One in early, early labor and then one in that middle stage. Well, a little bit less. It was early, early and late early labor. I got adjusted and I swear to you that even though like you said that it didn't kickstart or dramatically change one contraction to another, I know that it changed the outcome for me. I fully believe that it helped change the outcome by helping me balance out my pelvis. Emmy: Okay, yeah. My doula, Katie, felt very strongly about it too that she felt like going to chiropractic in labor was very helpful for her too. She said that her contractions immediately changed afterward. Meagan: Yeah, and I have seen that happen. Emmy: I didn't feel like for me that was the case and I still didn't have her until 15 hours later, but still being aligned and having things be in the right place was probably still very helpful. It just wasn't immediate. So we labored and we had fun. We watched Survivor while he was helping me and I was laboring all around the house which I didn't think I would care that I was in my own house, but I actually in the end really loved being in my own shower and being in my own bed, being on my own toilet and laboring in my own environment actually ended up being really helpful for me and I enjoyed that. It wasn't until I did the Miles Circuit at 11:30 at night. I was like, I'm going to do the Miles Circuit. When I was doing lunges on our stairs, that's when my contractions were 10 minutes, 9 minutes, 8 minutes, 7 minutes– immediately they just started boom, boom, boom, boom getting closer together and I started to shake. I called my midwife, “Can you come check me? I think I'm getting closer now and it's really intense.” She showed up at about 12:30 AM and she checked me. She said, “Okay, you're dilated at about a 6 with a bulging bag and I think you're in transition right now. You're shaking.” So she stayed and then it was like the parade came in. Kate shows up. Julie shows up. Another midwife shows up and it was go time at that point. I really felt like they all came at the right time becuase I was really struggling through those last contractions for the last few hours. Between Katie doing hip squeezes and everyone, I remember laboring on the toilet because they say that's the labor station, right? What do they call that?Julie and Meagan: Dilation station. Julie: I got there when you were on the toilet and Katie says I got there right at the time when things were really picking up but I just remember because it was a 40-minute drive for me and when she said that you had a bulging bag and were 6 centimeters, every time I go to a birth, I have a heart attack that I'm going to miss it because 2 years ago, I missed three births in a row because things went so fast. Two of them were VBACs. I'm just like, Oh my gosh. I'm praying, like, Please, Jesus. Let me get there before this baby is born. This would not be fair if I miss it because I have had this relationship for 2 years. I'm begging. I think we got there right at the right time. Maybe a little sooner would have been better, but really, I think that I'm just so glad everyone arrived for you when they did. Emmy: Yeah. I thought they were like, “Why don't we try the toilet?” I honestly thought that was where I was going to die. I thought that was a cruel, cruel joke that you guys played on me. Those contractions were no joke on that toilet. So I was like, “Get me out of here.” That was the first time that I think I was like, “I can't do this.” You were like, “Yes, you can.” Just that resounding– all of the women in the room were like, “Yes, you can. You're doing it.” It was amazing. Julie: It's this weird diad between seeing a woman– I don't want to say in pain but I don't know what other word to use. But because all of us look at each other and smile whenever someone is like, “I feel like I'm going to throw up,” everyone in the room just looks at each other with this knowing look. We smile and we are like, “Yes! I'm so excited that you are going to throw up,” because it means that things are getting closer. We have seen this so many times. We know that it just means labor is progressing well and you are doing great even though that feels like the moment where you are really going to die. It's really good that you feel that way. Emmy: Yeah. Yeah, I was like, “I can't do this.” You were just like, “Yes, you can.” We labored on the bed a little bit after that and I started to have the urge to push. We moved to the tub which we had set up in the living room and Colin took his place in front of me holding my hands and then the doula and the midwife both did counterpressure on me and I started to push and that was intense. I think that was the only time. I didn't make a lot of noise besides breathing, but that was where I started to feel like the animal grunting. I also had this outside perspective in that moment of, I know this sounds weird probably to Colin in his face, but I was like, This is working. I was feeling pretty powerful at that time that I was going to be able to push this baby out. My water broke while I was pushing in the tub and I mean, it felt like a half an hour. I remember they told me afterward that it was an hour and a half of pushing. I think that was the most suprrising part of my birth was how long everything still took. It was 26 hours with an hour and a half of pushing. I was surprised at that but I also now look back and am like, Man, had I gone to the hospital, because I still felt like even with an epidural, without an epidural, going natural and pushing, I still felt like it took me a minute and took me a while to figure out the pushing and to feel like I was being fully effective. I was like, Man, if I was in the hospital with an epidural on my back, I bet the same thing would happen to me again. It still took me an hour and a half with no pain meidcation to figure out how to push and push this baby out. What would have happened on my back in the hospital? Quite possible, the same thing. They may have gotten to 2 hours and been like, “Do you want to keep pushing or do you want to call this?” It might have ended up in a C-section again. I'm really grateful that I feel like this is how it was meant to be because I pushed for an hour and a half which was really intense and hard. I was on all fours and then I ended up on more of a squatting pushing. It was just like, “Get her out!” Everyone was just encouraging me all the way around. Colin, once I was in the squatting position, was behind me and it was really special to me. When she was about to come out, Colin was like, “Colin, come switch me places.” He came up to my knees and he was able to be the one who pulled her out and hold her for the first time and bring her up to my chest. Well, bring her up to my chest, I was the first one to hold her, but he pulled her out and brought her up to my chest. We were just able to have that moment of holding this baby and I wasn't thinking in my head, I don't care. I was thinking that I had this beautiful little baby in my arms. It was what I had dreamed of. It was 3 years. It was exactly 3 years in the making of this very moment right now and this is what I knew it could be. Then we went to the bed and got to have that golden hour– not hour, golden hours– with her. It was perfect. It really was. I would do it again and I would do it the exact same way. I felt safe and I felt respected and I felt like there was never a moment in it that I was scared. I remember that there was one moment where I was like, Oh my gosh. I'm having a VBAC right now. Do I feel any scar pain right now? Nope, I feel great. Then I never thought about it again. It was wonderful. I am so grateful for this podcast and for the prep work that I did, the team that I built and to be able to have done that with Colin. It was very special and bonding for us. Julie: First of all, you are amazing. Second of all, are you going to do it again? Because sign me up for it.  I'm inviting myself. Third of all, yes. We need shirts this time. I can't believe we didn't order three amigo shirts. That was a missed opportunity. Emmy: We will not forget that this time. Julie: Fourth of all, I want everyone to know that this is probably the coolest trade for services I have ever done. I literally traded– I don't know how many pounds of natural, grass-fed, antibiotic-free beef. Half of my payment, I feel like I got a quarter of a cow or half of a cow maybe. It's cool. We are still eating it. It's the best beef ever. My husband, every time I make some of it for dinner or we go to a restaurant– we were at Zion National Park for spring break and he had a steak or something for dinner and he was like, “This steak is awful compared to the stuff we cook ourselves.” Meagan: Amazing. Emmy: That's right. Julie: If you want, next time, you obviously should have whoever you want, but I am fully open to trade for more cow. It was seriously the coolest trade ever and the fourth thing is that first of all, I can't believe it's been 4 weeks. I feel like so much h as happened since then that it also feels like last week for real. I have been sitting here just polling through your photos as you are telling your story and reliving all of these moments as you are telling them and I am just so inspired by you first of all hearing your story and second of all, just being able to look through these. I will have your gallery to you by this weekend for sure. I like to say 3-4 weeks turnaround and I've been just a titch behind in the last few galleries. I'm off my groove or something. I cannot wait for you to see them. I remember after I sent– I don't know. I was talking to Katie about this the other night at the positive birth group. Sorry, I'm not trying to center this around me. I promise. It might seem like it's going a little bit that way. Anyway, Katie hosts a positive birth circle for expecting parents and things like that because I love hanging around pregnant people. We were talking at the end and I was like, “I sent Emmy her gallery,” and her first words were, “Those are some real rough photos of me.” I was like, “I hope she liked them,” and Katie was like, “Actually, I talked to her about that at her first postpartum visit,” and the thing is that me and Katie go through all of these pictures and I love seeing that rawness and that vulnerability and your power and your strength and those are the ones I am naturally drawn to. I see all of that and yes, I guess even the one on the toilet which I think is so cool. It's super cool. There is so much power and strength, and the one of your husband catching the baby as he is coming out in this beautiful white birth pool in your beautiful white house. Those power ones are the ones I am super attracted to and Katie was like, “I think she maybe would have liked just a couple of just her and the baby holding the baby softly after the birth.” I was like, “Oh. Oh. Okay, yes. I've got to be more mindful of that when I send these sneak peeks to people sometimes.” Because it's true. I feel like as birth workers, we are drawn to that rawness and that vulnerability and that space. It is super cool. Especially you not quite being super 100% on board with birth photography ahead of time, I feel like yeah. Maybe I should have thought about that. I'm sorry. I've edited a few more that you can use. I sent them to you. Emmy: They were wonderful. Julie: There are plenty of those. It's interesting the relationship of your birth photos and how it evolves over time when you first get them, you will feel completely different about them in a year or in 2 years or in 5 years. My kids are 6, 7, 9, and 11 now. We go through all of their birth photos and their videos from their birth every year and it's so exciting and the emotions are just so different as we look at them over time. I feel like they get more valuable the farther away I get. I'm super excited for you to see those. I also recorded a full video for you so if you ever want a video, let me know because I have all of it. I record video at every birth. Meagan: And you can share it with this community. Julie: I have specific instructions for what I'm allowed to share or not and we are going to go over all of the ones I want to share after I deliver her gallery, but yes. I just think it is so cool because when I tell people I am a birth photographer– see, now I am centering this around me. I'm sorry. When I tell people I'm a birth photographer, I get one of three reactions. People are like, “Ew, why would you want photos of that?” Or people are like, “What's that like?” Or people will be like, “Oh my gosh. That is so exciting. I had a birth photographer. I love looking at birth photos.” I think that people who have that disconnected reactions are the people who really don't know the true power that the imagery holds especially for the birther so I think it's really cool to just listen to your transition or your transformation around that and have it evolve. I seriously am going through all of these. You are going to have 400 pictures I think. Okay, so my camera was in lower light. Sometimes it struggles to focus so I shot a little bit more than I usually would because I was scared of missing focus and normally I shoot about 600-800 photos at a birth and go through them and narrow them to about 150 roughly in that range. At your birth, I shot 1276. Emmy: Oh my gosh. Julie: I'm going through and– Emmy: Not a moment missed. Julie: No. Not a moment missed. I'm super excited. You'll probably get between 150-200 final photos but seriously, I'm like, “Yes. That hands picture and that hands picture. Oh yes. I see everybody squeezing her hips right now. That's super awesome. Colin is right in front of you squeezing your hands.” I don't know. I think it's just priceless to be able to relive these moments through the imagery. I think it's so cool and so powerful to see how awesome you are if you didn't know. I have photo and video evidence. Meagan: You are awesome. I love your journey. I love your journey from– I don't love that someone has a bad experience, but I love that someone can grow from a bad experience and truly, hearing you transform into the person you are now, I mean, I feel like for me, I changed as an individual after my birth. We talked about that earlier with the passion and stuff, but it's more than the passion. There was something inside of me that changed. It's amazing to hear when we have these stories. You can hear the shift. If you are listening, Women of Strength, keep going through these episodes and you can hear this shift. It is just so cool. It's so cool. It's actually one of my favorite things about being a doula. There's a CDC National Vital Statistics report that was sent out in 2022 and it shows that the percentage of U.S. home births rose from 1.26 in 2020 to 1.41 in 2021 which is a 12% increase since around the 1990s. It's kind of an interesting thing and there is so much more about home birth. That's just a really quick CDC stat, but it's really cool to see that people can feel comfortable at home. Like you said, in your own bed, on your own toilet, in your own shower, in your own kitchen, kneeling on your own floor. I just think there is something cool about that and home birth. So if you are exploring home birth listening to this, definitely go listen to all of our other HBAC stories and go listen to Down to Birth– what did you say it was? Emmy: Oh, 111. Meagan: 111 with Dr. Stu. Go check out our episodes with Dr. Stu or just go even listen to him and Blyss talk about home birth on their own podcast because home birth can be a safe, reasonable, and amazing experience and something that, like Emmy said, shocked her too. It shocked her as well. I think that you never know until you explore the option and get the facts. We also have a home birth blog and all of those things. We are going to have all of those links in the show notes. I'm going to find the Down to Birth podcast and link it in the show notes so it is easy to find. Thank you so much, Emmy. Your energy is just so fun. I am so happy for you and I hope that I get to see some more of these photos and if you decide to share a video, I love videos and it was honestly one of my biggest regrets. I was so focused on my VBAC that I forgot about the photography aspect. I'm so glad that you got looped into that because Julie became just a photographer because still to this day, like Julie said, my son actually just turned 8 this month so I tend to look at those images at those year marks and I really still to this day cherish it and look at it differently every time. I'm so glad that you have them and obviously for anyone listening, if you want a birth photographer, check it out. It is worth it. Emmy: It is. It is worth it. Julie: I think we should put a plug-in. To find a great doula, build the right birth team obviously. You can find a list of supportive VBAC providers on the community on Facebook in the documents and you can a VBAC doula at thevbaclink.com/findadoula and if you are looking for a birth photographer which I obviously think you should, there's a really good group called Birth Becomes You. It's kind of like The VBAC Link but for birth photography. You can follow them on Instagram. You can follow them on Facebook, but they have a database just like we do for VBAC doulas for birth photographers all over the world. You can find their search database at birthbecomesyou.com/find-a-photographer. That will be linked in the show notes too. I'm putting Paige to work here. Obviously, if you want to reach out to anyone of us, me or Meagan, to support you in your birth, we are happy to do that as well. If you need to find out information about Katie, she is in The VBAC Link Doula Directory as well. I am super excited that there are so many resources available. I feel like it's even way better than when I was having babies. There is just so much more information available and it wasn't even that long ago. It's just so cool that there are all of these resources that we have to help parents find the right support team for them no matter what that looks like. I don't know. I think it's really amazing. Meagan: Absolutely. Okay, well thank you again so much, Emmy, and have a wonderful day. Emmy: You too. Thank you so much for having me on. 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

In this episode, I interview Michelle Gabriel Caldwell, owner of Baby Please, and a colleague of mine for over a decade.  We discuss how she transitioned from being a childbirth educator to a doula and how she manages her roles as an active doula/doula agency owner and a full time chemical engineer, a part of her life that she loves, that keeps her balanced and that she is not ready to let go of, no matter how big her doula business grows. We also cover the importance of highlighting positive birth stories and Michelle talks about her focus on being a strong voice in the black and brown birth community.  She shares her insights into managing a doula agency, cultivating relationships with other professionals, and organizing her busy schedule to split her energy between her full time career, her passion for supporting her perinatal community and also cultivating the doulas that work with her.  For Michelle, being an agency owner is way more than just running a business, it educating and mentoring the doulas in her community and watching them thrive.So when we are thinking about growing our doula businesses, Michelle proves that you can think BIG!  You can have everything you want and need and there is no reason to sacrifice the things that make you happy.More about Michelle:Michelle is the owner of Baby, Please Birth Services Agency LLC located in NJ, additionally serving NY, PA, CT, MD and GA. She is a certified Doula and Childbirth Educator teaching the Bradley Method ®, Dancing for Birth ® and her own Holistic Course expressly for The Birth Center of NJ of which she is the Doula Director. Michelle is also a NBDA (National Black Doulas Association) Instructor, training and mentoring aspiring new doulas in Labor, Fertility and Postpartum support. She holds over 18 years of experience in the birth industry; helping over 450 families navigate their birthing spaces, training and mentoring birth professionals while ensuring birth justice through state and national initiatives, serving on nonprofit boards and panels, enhancing the platform through blogs and podcasts, Michelle empowers others by offering education, support and advocacy. She holds degrees in Chemical Engineering and Chemistry.Where you can find Michelle:Instagram: @creole_jerseygirlFacebook: @babypleasebirthserviceshttp://www.babypleasebirthservices.com/You can find me at:www.hiptoheart.comhttps://www.instagram.com/hiptoheartJoin the Hip to Heart Birth Boss Academy here:https://www.hiptoheart.com/birth-boss-academyApply to the Hip to Heart AgencyProgram here:https://www.hiptoheart.com/agency-transition-classJoin my Facebook group for Birth + Postpartum Professionalshttps://www.facebook.com/groups/businessforbirth

The Bradley Method. By using this simple and effective technique, couples are taught how to effectively work with their bodies to achieve a successful natural childbirth experience. So, what are the main principles behind The Bradley Method? How does it differ from other childbirth preparation methods? And what can you expect if you sign up for a class? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During her first pregnancy, Selah's doctor predicted that her baby would be over 10 pounds. She insisted that it was not safe to deliver vaginally. Selah went right into her first Cesarean. She didn't even have the chance to try. Her baby went to the NICU shortly after birth due to lung and blood sugar complications.When her fluid levels were low with her second pregnancy, Selah consented to another scheduled Cesarean remembering how her first one went pretty smoothly. Unfortunately, a turn of events resulted in an emergent situation, another NICU stay, and once again, Selah was not able to bond with her baby like she thought she would. Selah's journey to her VBA2C included discovering The VBAC Link, building her supportive community, prenatal chiropractic care, and relentlessly educating herself to make sure she was set up for success. Though her labor was MUCH longer than expected, the spiritual, emotional, and physical transformation she experienced was completely worth it. Selah had a beautiful, empowering VBA2C with no complications. The best part– she got to hold that sweet baby immediately and for as looong as she wanted. Needed WebsiteHow to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for ParentsFull Transcript under Episode Details 01:04 Review of the Week 04:08 Selah's first pregnancy07:25 First C-section 09:36 NICU11:10 Second pregnancy13:02 Low fluids16:29 Scheduled Cesarean turned emergent21:39 Surprise third pregnancy27:33 Changing providers36:33 Going into labor39:20 Going to the hospital44:54 Pitocin48:35 The final hours56:47 A crack in the catheter1:00:00 The best feelingMeagan: Hello, hello everybody. You are listening to The VBAC Link and this is Meagan, your host. We have our friend, Selah, today. Hi, Selah. Selah: Hi. Hello. Meagan: Thank you so much for being here with us. I feel like there are so many parts of your story that truly are things that people are going to relate to. We're going to be talking about bigger babies. We're going to talk a little bit about that. We're going to talk about changing a provider really late in pregnancy. I actually love this topic because I did it myself and it's one that is scary sometimes to do. Selah: Yeah. Meagan: It's intimidating. We'll talk a little bit about low fluid. She's got a NICU stay. There are lots of little things. Selah: A little bit of everything. Meagan: You are going to have relations to her story. She is a VBAC after two C-section mama story so if you are a VBAC after two C-sections, listen up. It's going to be amazing.01:04 Review of the Week Meagan: We have a review of the week so we are going to get into that then we are going to turn the time over to you, my love. Selah: Yay. Meagan: This review is– if I can find them. I just lost my reviews. It is from hannahargentina and it was on Apple Podcasts back in 2023 in February so just over a year ago. It says, “I have had a natural birth center birth, then moved out to the country and had a very traumatic C-section. I am now 37 weeks pregnant and back stateside working with an amazing birth team. I am really hoping for a VBAC in a few weeks and I love listening to all of the stories. Hearing different perspectives, and outcomes, and gaining wisdom, I feel so much more confident in my VBAC after listening to this podcast.” Well, it's been just over a year so hannahargentina, if you are still with us, reach out at info@thevbaclink.com and tell us how it went. Selah: Aww, that's awesome. Meagan: I know right, and here we are for you and your baby's birthday is in a couple of days. Selah: I can't even believe it and I got tears in my eyes listening to that review because that was me. That was me listening to every single podcast, your story, all of the stories, and it helped so tremendously. I can't even tell you. To be on today is such an honor because I was so helped by you and your podcast and the community. I could not have done it without you so thank you. Thank you for having me. Meagan: Yes. Thank you and I also want to toot the horn of the community. They are so special. If you guys have not checked it out yet or if you are not on Facebook, I would say create a secret Facebook just to be in that community because the Facebook community is amazing or join us on Instagram. These other Women of Strength truly do provide so much power. Selah: So much power and help and resources. I mean, I was on there every day just looking and posting every single worry and concern. Yeah. It's a lot. It's a lot to learn and to do. You need that community. You need that support. Meagan: Absolutely. Well, let's dive into that first story of yours that began this journey to you being here right now. 04:08 Selah's first pregnancySelah: Yes, so the back story is I had my first son in 2018 and he was an IVF baby. We struggled with infertility for four years about, I think. Finally, we did IVF and we were successful on our first try which was great. However, toward the end of my pregnancy, my doctor looked at me and said, “How big are you willing to push out as far as baby goes?” Meagan: Oh. Selah: Yeah. I looked at her and by the way, I considered myself very well-educated. I was not in hindsight. I had read a few birth books but I did not know what I know now thanks to you and the community. I did, by the way, do The VBAC Link Course so I did all of it. Meagan: Oh you did? Selah: Yes. Yes. So I was not educated to the point that I am now, but I thought I was. I looked at her and very confidently said, “12 pounds.” I didn't even flinch. Meagan: I love that. Selah: Her eyes turned really wide and was like, “No, no, no, no, no. You cannot push out a 12-pound baby.” Meagan: Then don't ask me what I'm willing to do here. Selah: Exactly. I was a personal trainer. I was a group fitness instructor. I consider myself very strong so I thought, “I could do that. No problem.” She said, “No. I will not let you do that. This baby is measuring bigger than 10 pounds.” At that point, I think I was just at my 40-week mark so she was like, “He's only going to get bigger. You're not going to be able to deliver this baby vaginally. In fact, I won't even really let you try.” Meagan: Wow. Selah: I know. Meagan: That took a really fast turn from, “Hey, how big are you willing to? Hey, let's offer an induction” to “Hey, I'm not even willing to let you try.” Selah: Exactly. And looking back, I'm pretty shocked at that that I wasn't even offered an induction or anything. In fact, my water– so we scheduled the C-section for three days from then and my water ended up breaking naturally the day before the C-section. I know. I was like, “Oh. I'm going to do this. I can do this. I don't care how big the baby is.” Meagan: Yeah. Selah: Even then, they would not let me try because there was meconium in the water. Meagan: Which isn't a reason for a Cesarean, right? Selah: It is not. Right. Right. That's what I know now, but back then–Meagan: You didn't know. Selah: I didn't know and ironically, I had a doula who said, “Oh, you need to go straight to the hospital.” I know. Meagan: Interesting. Selah: Very interesting. That is also a lesson in really interviewing your doulas, understanding birth more really, and also knowing what the doula's experiences with both C-sections, of course VBACs, and with everything. This doula, looking back, did not have a lot of experience, I don't think, especially with big babies, but in general. I think also she was older and not that there is anything– listen. I am older. But I think she was from a medical mindset where that would be very scary to her, meconium in the water, where now, the doula that I had for my VBAC was much more like, “No. This just means the baby is ready to come out and it means a lot of things.” 07:25 First C-sectionSelah: I rushed to the hospital. They said, “Yes. There is meconium in the water. Yes, you have a very big baby. We're going straight to the C-section. You don't even get to try.” I never even felt a contraction. I was pretty devastated. I had all of these plans for a drug-free birth. I had read The Bradley Method. I had done HypnoBabies. My mom– I'm one of eight kids– had pushed every single one of us out naturally without drugs. I knew I could do it. Do you know what I mean? I just was like, “Wow. This is not happening for me and I'm shocked.” I was very shocked. Meagan: Yeah. Yeah. Selah: So we went into the C-section but I also felt like I had no choice at that point. This was definitely–Meagan: You were stuck. Selah: Yeah. “You're going in. That's it.” Everything was just black and white to the medical team and even to my doula frankly. So we went in and my doctor was lovely. I have to say she was very empathetic and she knew I really wanted a natural birth. She was as lovely and empathetic as you can be. She let me play music and set up the room in a way that felt very loving. She let the nurse and everyone take pictures and videos which they are not always supposed to do. So it was as good as it could be. I got to hold him right away. We had the first 12 hours together. But then because he was so big– 10 pounds, 15 ounces, his blood sugar started dropping, and his lungs, because of the C-section, weren't fully developed. You know how they get the practice. Meagan: Yeah. Yeah. Sometimes there is fluid left in the baby's lungs too so they can have a harder time. Selah: Exactly. There was fluid left in the lungs. It's like that sponge where not all of the sponge is there. Meagan: That's a really good analogy. Yes. Selah: That's what they told me which is what happened. When they go through the canal, their lungs get that practice going back and forth. 09:36 NICU Selah: So he went to the NICU after about 12 hours with me and that was a terrible experience for lack of a better word. My heart just goes out to every NICU mama who has had that experience. It's really, really hard. I was only there for five days. I can't imagine where you have been there for months. There are so many reasons why it is hard but for me, it was hard because I was recovering from a C-section. We were breastfeeding but now he's hooked up on wires so that was super hard. I all of a sudden found myself having to bottle feed and pump and now I'm engorged because I'm pumping so much. It just was this crazy cycle. Eventually, like I said, he got out after five days and that was fine. I felt like my healing from that C-section was good because I didn't have any other children to watch. Meagan: Yep. It makes a difference. Selah: It makes a huge difference and I had peace about the C-section. I really did. When he was pulled out of me, my first thought was, “Oh my gosh. He is humongous. He is a giant. He is so chunky. Maybe this was the right thing. Maybe I couldn't have.” His head was huge. Everything was huge. You know, you do worry about pelvic floor damage and shoulder dystocia, all of that stuff. So I did have peace. I thought maybe this was the right decision and it was good to have that closure and that peace. 11:10 Second pregnancySelah: But then flash forward to my second pregnancy which, by the way, was natural. It was not through IVF. I should have known I could get pregnant naturally but I thought it was a fluke after trying so hard. My second pregnancy was in the thick of the pandemic. In fact, at our first prenatal appointment, she was like, “Don't worry. By the time you give birth in August 2020, this will all be over.” Little did we know. Meagan: Nope. That was really thick right there. It's not over. It's trudging. Selah: Yes. Exactly. Going to all of the appointments alone, I was lucky to have my partner in the birthing room and in the OR. Same OB, by the way. Same OB. I didn't know what I didn't know. I just assumed I would have a VBAC. I told her that at the first appointment. “This time, I'm having a VBAC just so you know.” I didn't prepare anything though. I didn't– again, I didn't know what I didn't know. I didn't know about this podcast or the community. I didn't go to a prenatal chiropractor. I didn't even have a doula this time because I thought, “Well, she didn't help me.” Meagan: Honestly, I bet your opinion of that was like, “Meh.” Selah: Yeah.Meagan: And rightfully so. You didn't have the best support there. Selah: Exactly. I did not. I just felt like, “Well, this time, I'm just doing it. I know what to do.” I did the HypnoBabies course for the first time. I didn't even do it again. I thought I was going to do it. Also, it was the thick of the pandemic. I had a two-year-old at home. It was just chaotic. Meagan: It was a lot. Selah: It was a lot. So I do give myself a little slack in that. Meagan: 100%. Please do. Selah: Right? 13:02 Low fluidsSelah: I go along on this pregnancy and he's not measuring extra big this time around but around week 38, I go to my appointment in the morning and it's August, very hot in California. I'm probably dehydrated and a lot of things. I remember going on a big walk the night before. Something my doula now has told me is that in the morning, you're obviously very dehydrated so if you go to your appointment, they may say your fluids are low. I went to the 38-week appointment and she said, “Your fluids are very low. You need to go see a specialist at MFM, maternal-fetal medicine.” Medicine, thank you. Meagan: Mhmm. Maternal-fetal medicine. Selah: Maternal-fetal medicine to go and check your fluid levels. Side note, I went to the same MFM on my first pregnancy to double-check his weight when they said it was a big baby. So I will say that was smart of me to get a second opinion and the MFM on my first pregnancy got the weight right within an ounce so I respected him and thought, “Yeah. I'll go back.” Sure enough, my fluids were low. He agreed with her that I should get the baby out that night and said, “You know, you have a history of big babies. This baby is measuring big already.” He was not as spot on with this baby, but he said around 9 pounds and my second turned out to be 8lb 11 oz. But it's not abnormally big, especially 8lb 11 oz is not that big. Meagan: No, and no talk of induction like, “Oh, your fluids are low. Let's induce.” Selah: No, and that's what I don't understand either. But she did say, I guess I do understand because she did say, “No, I will not induce because of your C-section before. I don't believe in induction.” Meagan: Mmm. So not evidence-based. Selah: Exactly which again, I have learned since then. Meagan: You didn't know. Selah: Yeah. I didn't know. I just said, “Okay.” She just said, “There is way too much risk of uterine rupture.” No numbers, just way too much. “This isn't a good idea.” Meagan: Yeah. Selah: And also she said with the fluids being low, it was too emergent of a situation. We need to get baby out. Meagan: Yeah. It can cause baby stress. It can. Selah: It can, but there was no stress. We did the stress monitor and there was nothing. Meagan: NST? Selah: Yes. There was nothing to be afraid of except for the fluids being low. She did give me an option to go get IV fluids in the hospital, but she did it with a caveat of, “It's probably not going to work.” Again, I felt helpless and stuck. I thought, “Well, I guess this is just my lot. I'm supposed to just have C-sections. I don't get to try again.” Because I didn't know what I didn't know. I didn't know to ask for a low dose of Pitocin. I didn't know to ask for anything or just to give it another try or even to try the IV or drink a bunch of water and come back. I didn't know anything. Meagan: Right. Selah: And I did not have a doula to help me or anything like that. I just went along with it. 16:29 Scheduled Cesarean turned emergentSelah: And in the C-section, this is where everything started to fall– oh, and I also thought, “Well, my previous C-section wasn't so bad.” I had peace about it. I healed very quickly. I was okay. It's going to be fine. Maybe this is just the way it's supposed to be. Sadly, I had so many friends who had two C-sections and people in my life. So I thought, “It's not so bad. These people did it.” Meagan: Right. Selah: Right. I go into it. I'm lying there. All of a sudden, it turns into an emergent situation. The doctor starts yelling/screaming for extra tools. “I need a knife. I need this.” Everybody is frantic. She starts yelling for more team members. “I need the NICU. I need this staff and this person.” Everybody starts running in. There are more people in the room. I hear my husband's voice shaking like he's going to cry saying, “Is everything okay?” Nobody answered for what felt like an eternity. Meagan: I have chills all up and down my body for you right now. So scary.Selah: So crazy. So scary. When I heard his voice, I thought, “One of us is not making it out alive. I don't know what's happening.” It was so scary. Obviously, I still get emotional thinking about it because I didn't know what was happening. Finally, I heard him cry and everything was okay, but they whisked him away immediately. My husband said I did put him on my chest for I think it was a minute, but I barely remember that. That's how traumatic it was. Yes. I do have a picture of me reaching my arms out to him so I know he did land on my chest, but my eyes are filled with tears reaching my arms to him. They whisk him away to the NICU immediately. Same problem with his lungs. He wasn't breathing. They were worse than my first actually. Later, I found out– my doctor came to visit me and she said, “What happened was when she made the incision, his head had moved,” so she didn't want to cut through the placenta from what I understand obviously. So she had to make a bigger incision. She needed special tools. Meagan: Special scar. Is it a special scar or just longer? Selah: It's just longer, yeah. Meagan: Okay, so it's not up. Selah: Exactly. Thank God because I think that would have made it scarier. Meagan: A little bit more difficult sometimes to VBAC the next time too to get support. Selah: Exactly. To get support, exactly. Yeah. That was good at least that she just made it a little longer. But that was why it became so emergent. Same thing. He was in the NICU the whole five days. I remember saying to my husband in the NICU. I looked at him and I said, “We are done. We are not getting pregnant again. I cannot go through this again.” I didn't think I'd ever be able to birth naturally first of all, so I cannot have another C-section. This was way too much. Meagan: Yeah. Selah: And then the healing was awful because I had a two-year-old at home. Everything about this was just not good. I did not want to ever do this again. 21:39 Surprise third pregnancySelah: So flash forward to 2022, two years later, I'm still breastfeeding my two-year-old just at night. I had my period back. I should have known, but I was tracking my ovulation cycle. I was not ovulating. I'm 41 years old and I think, “There's no way. I'm not ovulating. I'm 41. I'm breastfeeding,” but bam. I got pregnant. Surprise, surprise after 20 years of infertility, I'm like, “Why am I fertile Myrtle now?” Meagan: Oh my gosh. Selah: I know. It was crazy. I have a video on my Instagram of my husband's expression finding out. It was utter disbelief. So yes. We find ourselves pregnant again and I thought, “Oh no. What am I going to do? I can't in the operating room again. I can't do it. I will not do it. There has to be another way.” But I crazily called the same provider because I didn't know who else I was going to go to. Meagan: Right. That's who you know. Selah: It's who you know. The receptionist said, “Oh, she's not delivering anymore.” Meagan: Oh. Selah: I know. I got chills all over my body. I knew this was a sign from God. I just knew it that there had to be another way and that I was going to do something different this time. I was not going to be down that same road of a C-section in the OR and I didn't have to go through that again. I reached out to one of my friends I knew who had a VBAC. It was actually a home birth VBAC. It was a HBAC. She said, “You have to start listening to The VBAC Link immediately.” Meagan: Oh, tell her thank you. Selah: Yes. These are all of the resources. She knew this MFM in Long Beach. I'm in Los Angeles so it was about an hour away who also delivers and he is very VBAC supportive. In fact, he does all sorts of births. High risk births he is known for. He was an hour away so that wasn't my top choice, but she sent me a bunch of different ideas for a doula and different doctors. I set about on my journey. I interviewed five different OBs. The first two said, “Absolutely not. We will not do a VBAC after two C-sections and anybody who does is basically a bad doctor. It's too risky.” Meagan: Oh my. That doesn't make you feel good. Selah: I know. But by then, I had been listening to the podcast so I knew. I'm like, “Mmm, no. These are the reasons. This is the rate of risk for uterine rupture. This is the rate of risk for a third C-section. I am doing this and I'm just going to find someone who is going to let me.” So I then interviewed two more I now know as VBAC tolerant, not as VBAC supportive. They had a list of stipulations that I needed to meet in order to do it. Then the fifth one was a doctor that I had known previously. I was not crazy about him. He just had a weird bedside manner for lack of a better word. I just felt like I didn't mesh with him. He was very VBAC supportive, another high-risk pregnancy doctor in Los Angeles who is VERY well-known as someone who delivers triplets naturally, delivers twins naturally. He does breech births. I had been in my friend's breech birth– well, she wasn't breech when she delivered. He flipped baby before she delivered and I was in the room. This was pre-COVID when he was her doctor so I knew him really well. I just did not mesh with him personality-wise. So I chose the other doctor, one of the VBAC tolerant doctors. He was so kind and so lovely, but he did have a list of what I needed to meet. I was showing this list to the community members on Facebook. Everybody was like, “No. He is not a supportive doctor.” He said, “You're older. That affects things,” which there is no evidence of that at all. He said, “You have to go into labor by 40 weeks,” which again, there is no evidence of that. All of these stipulations. The worst part was that he made me go see an MFM that he worked with of his choosing by the way. I coudln't go to that other one that I really respected. I had to go to his MFM and that MFM had to monitor me and look at the uterine wall to see if the wall was okay throughout pregnancy. I know. Meagan: Mmm-mmm. Selah: I had to go to countless appointments. Every week I was in the doctor. I know. That MFM, around 20 weeks said, “Listen. Your uterine wall has a window of I think it was 1 centimeters and 3 millimeters thin. I do not think you are going to be able to do this because there is a window in your uterine wall.” This was at 20 weeks, so I thought, “It's only going to get worse for me from here.” Meagan: That would make sense for you. That would make sense to think that. Selah: I started thinking of other options because I had a sneaky suspicion that this MFM is not going to clear me which my OB said, “If he doesn't clear you, I will not do it.” Meagan: “I won't support it.” Selah: “I won't support it.” Right. 27:33 Changing providersSelah: I started getting a little worried now. Pause to say that I had been going to prenatal chiropractor appointments with an amazing Dr. Berlin in Los Angeles. Everybody knows him. Meagan: We love him so much. Yes. We've had him on the podcast and I actually just was on his podcast which was amazing. It was just so crazy that it was happening. We love Dr. Berlin. Selah: He's the best. He is so great. I mean, he was a doula himself and he obviously is such an amazing chiropractor. He was making sure the baby was in the right position, that my body was open, and all that. I was going every week. I mean, he just was so knowledgeable. He said, “Listen. You might want to give that first doctor you didn't mesh with another consideration. I've been in so many births with him. He is so good at high-risk birth. If you really want this VBAC, you might want to go back to him.” I started rethinking. He was in the back of my mind. Meanwhile, I also had this incredible doula this time around named Johanna, Johanna Story. She said the same thing. She said, “Listen.” She had been in 2500 births in Los Angeles. Meagan: Whoa! Selah: Yes. She is also a licensed midwife so she has delivered babies. By the way, I had considered a home birth for a hot second with Johanna, but my husband was not. He was so supportive of the VBAC that I didn't want to push him. He was the best teammate and not let me, but he was on board with everything I wanted to do. So I just thought, “You know, he's not crazy about the home birth with our two others running around. I get it.” I said, “Let's do the hospital birth with Johanna.” The reason I also liked Johanna is she was going to do– oh my gosh, I am blanking on the word– where they monitor you until you are about to– Meagan: Like Monitrice? Selah: Yes Monitrice. So Johanna, because she is a licensed midwife, she could do monitrice. I felt like that was the best of both worlds. Let's have her monitor me until the last minute then we will go in. As I learned on the podcast, that is the plan. Wait until the last minute so they can't do anything to you. Meagan: Labor as long as you can at home. Selah: Yes. That was the plan. That was why I had Johanna. She also encouraged me to go back to Dr. Brock. Meagan: I was wondering if it was Dr. Brock. Selah: It was Dr. Brock. He is very quirky, his personality. Meagan: We have had him on the podcast as well. Selah: He is wonderful and he just has a quirky sense of humor so that is what it is. I didn't know that at first. I kind of thought, “Who is this guy? What is he saying?” But both Dr. Berlin and Johanna encouraged me to go back to him with that frame of mind. He's just a little quirky. “Just go back and talk to him again.” But I wanted to wait until I went to my last MFM appointment with the MFM that my first OB had. Meagan: The one who said you had a window, that one? Selah: The one I had a window, yes. He said, “This window has only gotten bigger, obviously at 32 weeks. I do not recommend a VBA2C. I cannot recommend it to your OB. Sorry.” I cried in that office thinking maybe there was a miracle and things were going to change. I actually ended up going to see that first MFM who was an hour away for a second opinion. He explained to me, “Yes. There is what you can see a window on an ultrasound.” He said, “First of all, I do not find ultrasounds very accurate. I do not know how big it is and how thick it is. Secondly, even if there is a window, there is absolutely no evidence of a correlation between that and a rupture. There's no evidence.” Meagan: Yeah. They can't really do the measuring thing and tell you that you are going to rupture or not. Selah: That's what he said. He said, “I really think you're okay to try. You will know in the birth and your doctor should know if something is going wrong and your doula too.” He said, “I really think you should try and you need to try.” Oh, the other cool thing he did– I really love him. Dr. Shivera in Long Beach if anyone is local. He is really wonderful and does a ton of high-risk birth. I just didn't want to go that far so that was my thing with that. But he said, “I looked at what happened in the operating room with your second C-section, and exactly what you said before, it is not a special scar.” He looked at all of the details. It really made me feel that there was nothing wrong with that birth. Meagan: Or abnormality, yeah. Selah: No abnormality, yeah. He was like, “I really think you are okay to try.” That was really reassuring too. I cried with happiness. I cried everywhere. Meagan: Yeah. Lots of emotions. Selah: Lots of emotion. Then at 32 weeks, I went back to my first OB and he had gotten the results from that MFM and sure enough said, “I cannot support a VBA2C.” There, it was very interesting. I did cry there too but I felt this weird sense of shame like I should not have gotten pregnant. I should not be in this position because they made me feel like you are risking too much. You are risking your baby's life. You are risking your life. Why do you want this so much? On the other side, I thought, “I can't go into the operating room. I can't do it emotionally or psychologically. I just can't. Put me out then because I won't be able to be there.” That was where this weird shame came in like, “Why did I even get pregnant?” I even said it out loud to my husband then I even felt shame about that. We had this miracle baby. I couldn't believe it. But there were all of these weird emotions and things that were associated with that second C-section in particular. I went back to Dr. Berlin. I remember crying in his office too and he was just saying, “Go to Dr. Brock. Go to Dr. Brock,” and Johanna too. Finally, I made an appointment. I think it was at 34 weeks when I saw Dr. Brock. He said, “You've never tried to labor. You've never felt a contraction. You can do this. I think you can do this and the baby is in the perfect position. He is not measuring big.” I also loved this. He did the fundal measurement. Meagan: Fundal measurement is the whole from the pubic bone-up thing. Selah: It almost felt like a midwife technique to measure the weight and everything, not the ultrasound. I remember being so scared every time I went into the ultrasound, how big is he going to be? Yeah, but he didn't even want to talk about weight. He said to me, “Well, how big do you think this baby is?” I said, “Uh, 8 pounds. He feels normal to me. I don't know.” He said, “So then he will be.” He just was very calm and the other huge thing he did which I forgot to mention. The first OB with this MFM changed my due date because they said the baby was measuring early so they changed it to March 17th but according to my cycle, he was due March 31st. Meagan: That's a difference. Selah: It's a huge difference. 31st. The last day of the month. Meagan: The last day, uh-huh. Selah: The last day. That is a huge difference. So when I went to Dr. Brock, he said, “No. This baby is due according to your cycle, March 30th or March 31st. You don't have anything to worry about. You are measuring completely on time. Go on.” Now, in hindsight, he was born at 40 weeks and 3 days. So yeah, I guess it was March 30th. He was born at 40 weeks and 3 days. If it had been according to the first due date, there is no way the OB would have let me keep going. I mean, that was 10 days after. Thank God Dr. Brock changed my due date and was completely relaxed about everything. I never felt stressed. I never felt any anxiety that I felt going to the appointments from the first OB. Meagan: That's good. Selah: He was quirky, but now I saw him in a completely different light. I saw him as somebody who would support me and let me do my thing. 36:33 Going into laborSelah: Sure enough, going into the labor, I felt like the night of March 26th, there was bloody show at around 10:00 PM. I texted my doula and she said, “It could be any minute or it could be days still so just hang tight. Relax. Go to bed. Get some sleep.” I went to bed and I woke up with the wetness. It wasn't a huge gush like the first one. It was just a little bit of wet. Meagan: Trickle? Selah: Trickle, yes. I wasn't sure. My doula said it could be just a little bit of leakage or it could have been my water breaking. Let's just wait and see. Sure enough, a couple of hours later, I started feeling contractions and I was so excited. I was just happy. It was so crazy because obviously, most people would be like, “Ow, this hurts,” and I was just like, “Yes.” Meagan: Cheering them on, yes. Well, you had never experienced them before. Selah: Exactly. Exactly. I texted my mom. She was so excited. I just was thinking the whole time, “I can't believe this is finally happening.” Again, we didn't know that my water had broken for sure so we just wanted to sort of wait before we told the doctor because he didn't say, “Oh, there is a 24-hour clock once your water breaks.” He didn't say that at all, but we were concerned if we told the hospital– whatever. We just wanted to wait and see how labor progressed. The contractions did start progressing. It was about– I don't know– five or six hours at home and they started getting really fast and strong every four to five minutes. Yeah. I was like, “Oh, this is happening. This is happening fast. I may even have this baby at home,” which is laughable now looking back.I went in the shower. She encouraged me to go into the shower and try to rest. I couldn't because I was so excited then my kids woke up around 6:00 AM. My doula got there around 5:00 AM and the contractions again were coming super strong and hard. She was helping me. She was massaging me, but because they were coming so frequently, they started speeding up to every 2-3 minutes, I thought, “We've got to get to the hospital.” I really actually did think, “Maybe this baby is actually going to fly out.” This is crazy. I might have an accidental home birth which is the goal, right? That's what everybody wants. Meagan: To a lot of people, it's a dream, yes. Selah: It was. It was actually my dream. “Maybe it will just fly out. It will be fine.” We go. My doula, to give her credit, was like, “I still think you should stay home. You're just probably really excited.” I was scared too, I think, deep down. I said, “Oh no. I don't know. We should go to the doctor.” 39:20 Going to the hospitalSelah: We went to the hospital. We had called the doctor. He said, “When did your water break?” I said, “I don't know. It might have been this morning.” I kind of pushed it a little because I really wasn't sure. We got to the hospital and at that point, I had labored about 10 hours, but in the triage, a resident checked me and said I was only at a 1 and it had been 10 hours. This is the lesson to everybody. Please try to labor at home longer. I should have stayed at home longer. Meagan: Well and also numbers. We look at 2-3 minutes apart and we're like, “They're 2-3 minutes apart. They're 2-3 numbers apart.” But let's look at the length and let's look at that strength. How is coping? Are they so intense that you can't even focus on what is going on in the space and it takes you a minute to get back into that moment or is it like, “Whoa, this is really, really hard,” and you're talking through it, but then they're gone.Selah: That's right. Yes. I should have listened to my doula because I feel like it's exactly what you just described. I could have labored at home longer as we will see because I ended up laboring. Selah: I'll tell you the middle of what happened in between but it ended up being 48 hours total of being in labor. It was way too early to go to the hospital. The reason why that was a problem too is because they hooked me up to the monitor because it was a VBAC and because of all of the reasons they do. We insisted on a wireless monitor but they couldn't get a good connection so I ended up having to walk around with this wire which was not easy and I could only go so far. I feel like if I had labored at home and been able to move and do stretches or whatever more freely, it would have been way better to do that. That was kind of a bummer. Meagan: Yeah. Selah: But that still wasn't enough to deter me. I stayed very calm. I listened to worship music for the entire 48 hours and also HypnoBabies. I would say my mantras over and over. I was literally singing and praising God for each contraction. It was crazy. I would feel a contraction come on and I would thank God for it because I knew this was just getting me closer. To be in that state of gratitude and have that openness and open heart and be just thankful for it after all of this time and all of these years and wishes and dreams and desires of my heart to experience this– it was incredible– I mean, incredible to have that feeling. I honestly felt no pain. I know that sounds crazy because it was so long. Meagan: It doesn't. Selah: It was the most intense spiritual, incredible connection to God I've ever felt. I don't know. It was amazing. Meagan: Amazing, yeah. Selah: The doctor and the nurses were all encouraging me to get a catheter for an epidural to put in and I kept pushing it off. I didn't want it. I said, “I'm not going to need it. I don't want it.” This isn't to say there is any shame at all in having an epidural.Meagan: You just didn't want it. Selah: I didn't want it. I researched with you and knowing that it could cause more of a chance for a C-section, I just didn't want it. I said, “I'm not going to do it.” I put it off, put it off, put it off.I should say this was very interesting. The contractions were happening all day that Sunday 2-4 minutes apart. They felt very intense like they were building up, but again, it wasn't super painful and my doula kept having me switch positions. She and my husband were incredible with non-stop massages and encouraging words and putting me in positions to really help me. That is another reason I didn't feel the pain that maybe another person might. They really, really helped. But it was after certainly bedtime. I think it was after 24 hours and my doctor was like, “Okay.” Oh, I should say the contractions slowed down from being 2-4 minutes apart to happening 5-7, even 10 minutes apart. They really slowed down. At that point, after 24 hours, I was at a– I think, I want to say…actually let me look here really quick. Okay, so day turned into night around 8:00 PM that first day. I had dilated to a 4 and I was fully effaced at 0 station. I really thought I was going to keep dilating and I would meet my baby by the end of that night, that first night but soon, it got into I think about 24 hours of labor and that's when the contractions started to slow down to 5-7 minutes. The doctor wanted to start me on Pitocin. Yeah, it was the 24-hour mark at 2:00 AM to progress more. I did not want Pitocin because of everything I had learned. I just thought, “There's no way. This is going to lead to another C-section. I don't want it.” He promised me. He said, “Let me start you very low. We're just going to try to get these contractions going a little bit faster.” 44:54 PitocinSelah: So we started the very lowest dose. They stayed 5-10 minutes apart, but I did get to a 6 that way. I did not feel any pain on the Pitocin which I was very scared of. I know. So he kept upping it and soon, I was at the max level of Pitocin. I did not feel a difference. My contractions stayed 5-10 minutes apart. The good thing about that was between those long contraction breaks, I would literally fall asleep and everybody in the room was laughing because they were like, “She's snoring.” There was a running joke in my friend circle and family that I can sleep through anything and I'm a very deep sleeper so this is no surprise to them. My husband was laughing. I mean, I was sound asleep and then I would feel a contraction, wake up, and start singing out loud. It was hilarious. There were various positions that were better for me. Being on the toilet was definitely helpful. Being in almost like a child's pose position, but the best of all was side-lying with the ball in between. That really seemed to help open me up and it was also great because then after the contraction was over, I would fall asleep from that side-lying. That's how that kept working with the sleep breaks. Selah: But that being said, the Pitocin did not seem like it was doing anything. That's why he kept upping it. We are now at about 36 hours of labor. I was at a 6. So I was getting a little worried that he wasn't going to let me keep going, but he did. He kept letting me go and then the one thing he did insist on though, at about 4:30 on day two was that I get that catheter for the epidural in my back.That was the only thing that ended up causing pain. I don't know if it's where they placed it. I don't know what, but all of a sudden, I started vomiting from that area. It was really bad. That catheter hurt so bad and there was nothing they could do. There was no epidural in there. I didn't want the epidural. I didn't need it for the contractions. It was just that area. They put some numbing cream on it. That kind of helped, but that is what really hurt. I don't know if it was where the baby was. As he started dropping more, the pain lessened in that area, but that catheter really hurt. Everybody on the community page said not to get it which is why I pushed hard about not getting it. Now, I feel like they were right because again, I understand why people do get it just in case. My doctor said, “Have your seatbelt on. If you go to a C-section, we need that so you do not have to be put under.” You know what I mean?But I should have said in retrospect, “You know what? If go to a C-section, I want to be put under.” Meagan: Well, and the thing is that it still has to be dosed and that still takes time so–Selah: Right. Meagan: I don't know. Maybe, I guess it's a little faster but it still has to be dosed. Selah: It still has to be dosed. In retrospect, I don't understand why he insisted on that so much, but I really appreciated him so much at that moment and all he had done to support me that I thought, “This is the one thing he is insisting on. I'm going to go with it.” I said yes, but again, I wish I hadn't. It really, really, really hurt. 48:35 The final hoursSelah: The contractions were still 5-7 minutes apart, but all of a sudden, around 5:30 PM– this is on day two, and remember, everything had started around 2:00 AM the night before. So now, we're almost to 48 hours. At 5:30 PM on day two during one of my little cat naps, I all of a sudden woke up with this involuntary urge to push. I just kept pushing with each contraction. All sorts of stuff was coming out of my body. It was insane like, “What is happening?” Everyone in the room was like, “Oh my gosh. This baby is coming. This is awesome.” Imagine my surprise when the resident doctor came in and checked me and said I was only at an 8 and station +1. Meagan: What? Selah: I burst into tears. I think that was the moment I got really discouraged. Everyone said on the podcast and in the community that means baby is about to be born. You are getting close. Meagan: When you start doubting like that, yeah. Selah: Exactly. Exactly, but I just thought, “There is no way. How could I only be an 8? I don't know how much longer I can do this. It's almost 48 hours.” I heard myself saying this out loud. My doula reminded me. She was like, “These are just estimates. The residents want to estimate on the lower side because they don't want to fool the doctor and have him come in and be like, ‘Why did you say she was complete?' It would not be good.” Meagan: That happens. Just to let you know, that really actually does happen. I've seen it with my own eyes as a doula. Selah: Right? They err on the side that benefits them essentially. Meagan: They fluff it in the backward way. Selah: Yeah. Yes. Meagan: They fluff it like, “Oh, you're 9 centimeters,” when you're really 8. It's like you are 8 centimeters and they are saying you are 6 centimeters. They do this weird thing and it's like magical progression. Selah: Exactly. My doula kept reminding me of that even when we first got there and they said I was a 1. She said, “No. I think you are a 3 or a 4.” So yeah. Exactly. But I was so discouraged. I do feel like another side note God gave me the nurses at the right point that I needed. They were progressively more supportive. The first nurse I started off with was super intense. She, by the way, was insisting on a– is it called a UEP? A uterine– Meagan: IUPC. Intrauterine pressure catheter. Selah: Yes. That's right. IPCP. Meagan: IUPC. Yep. Selah: IUPC. There you go. She kept insisting on that. My doctor wanted that too, but he gave up basically because I said, “Nope. I'm not getting that. No.” I believe there is a small, small chance of rupture from that, right?Meagan: Well, it causes infection. It goes up into the body so anytime we do any of that, it can increase the chances of things like Cesarean. Selah: Right, so I thought, “I've come this far. I'm not doing that. You're monitoring me with the monitor. I'm not doing this other catheter.” By the way, I was in labor posting that on the community page and people were like, “Do not do that. This is why.” So again, this community is so helpful. So all that to say, the first nurse was very intense. The second one was fine, but the third one that I had during that moment– her name was Shamika. I will never forget. She said, “You are not giving up now. I have seen you. I have seen you singing. I have heard you singing. I have seen you thanking God during these contractions. I've seen you laboring with joy. You are doing this. Do not give up.” I am telling you, I felt like God put her in my labor at that moment because I needed that. My husband and my doula, Johanna, were saying, “You're not giving up now. You've come this far. You've got this.” And Johanna reminded me again, “This is just an estimate.” So sure enough, I was there. I really thought, I don't know, “Is it going to happen in another four hours like, 5:30?” Around 8:30 at night, they checked me again and I was complete. The doctor gets called in and he says, “All right. Time to push.” Johanna had warned me about this. She said, “Dr. Brock really likes women to push out on their back.” I know there's a lot of stuff about that.Meagan: Controversy. Selah: Yeah, controversy. “So I just want to warn you that he's going to have you on your back. You're going to be in the stirrups but if it doesn't work, we can go from there. But let's start in that position.” I'm so glad she prepped me because I have heard a lot in the VBAC communities that you shouldn't push on your back and all of that stuff. But for me, I actually did like on my back because he had me hold these bars. I don't know if that's normal. Meagan: Yeah. I've seen them. Yeah.Selah: I'm a workout junkie, so for me, it felt very strong to pull on these bars with my upper body muscles and then push with my legs. It felt doable in other words, but I didn't realize how much this is true which is the two steps forward, one step back. Meagan: 100%. Selah: That is so frustrating. I didn't know. I know I had heard it but I didn't realize how true it was. That was very frustrating to see his head come out and then go back in. But again, that's his little lungs getting more developed and everything. I did have a mirror which really helped to see and it felt like again, it was like you were going to the bathroom. Meagan: Yeah. Yeah. Selah: I feel like more people need to know that that it really is what it feels like. You just have to push it out. Meagan: The biggest poop you'll ever take. That's what I say. Selah: Yes. It's so true. It really is. I was just pushing and pushing. We are nearing the 48-hour mark. I was pushing for three hours. Meagan: Wow. Selah: Yes. It was close to three hours. Basically, the contractions stayed 5-7 minutes apart. I stayed resting in between. I was on the max dose of Pitocin. Dr. Brock was getting a little frustrated so he said, “Listen. You have less than an inch to go to get this baby out. He is going to come out. Don't worry. He's going to come out, but I really would like to use the vacuum to get him out all of the way.” I thought that was great because a lot of, I've heard, VBAC doctors will not use the vacuum because it's a little bit risky with cranial damage so I was actually grateful and obviously tired so I was like, “Yes. Do whatever it takes. Get this baby out.” “But,” he said, “I want to fill your catheter with an epidural.” At that point, now, I should say I had this prayer list and every single thing had been met from the nurses to not using drugs. I did not want the epidural. By the way, not only did I not want the risk of a C-section with the epidural. The other reason was that I had been so drugged with my other two C-sections that like I said, I barely remember holding the baby on my chest. I was so woozy and out of it. I didn't want that again. But he said, “I want to put some push epidural in so that you won't feel the vacuum and that he'll come out.” I was so tired. My fight was so done that I felt like I had to give in and let him do this the way he wanted to and if that meant having a push epidural, then I'd do it. I'll do the push epidural. 56:47 A crack in the catheterSelah: In comes the anesthesiologist. She looks at the catheter that's in my back and says, “There is a crack in the cap of the catheter.” Meagan: No!Selah: “We can't do it. We can't put an epidural here. There is a tiny crack. Bacteria could get in, whatever. We can't do it.” Dr. Brock was like, “Are you serious? This is insane.” I said, “Good because I didn't want it anyway.” My doula–Meagan: You're like, “Let's just get this baby out.” Selah: Exactly. I said, “It's fine. Listen. I've come this far. I'm sure it's not going to hurt that much.” He said, “Are you sure? Because also thought it would be good to do any sewing up after from any tears.” I said, “Yes. Just do it. I don't need it. It's fine.” By the way, there's no choice. You can't put it in. She said no. The anesthesiologist was like, “Nope. I'm out.” So I pushed and he said, “All right. You're going to feel a little pressure. I'm going to push on your stomach. You're going to push at the same time. I'm going to vacuum and he'll come out.” I said, “Okay, let's do this.” Sure enough, it felt almost like the C-section when they pushed on your uterus. Yeah, a little bit. But it wasn't painful. It was just pressure. It was just a very weird feeling actually of the vacuum. The sewing up of the tear– I had a second-degree tear which isn't that bad considering he was 9 pounds. Meagan: Very standard. Selah: Very standard. He was 9 pounds, 5 ounces– big baby. He also had a big head so that was pretty good actually that I only tore that much. It didn't even hurt when he sewed me up at all. It felt a little weird, but it didn't hurt and it was amazing. I couldn't believe it, the feeling that he came out of my body that way! He went right on my chest and he was crying so loud. He was so healthy. The best part of all, I mean, I was just so overwhelmed and so happy. I didn't even really cry. I was just happy. I was just joyful. The best part of all, though, he didn't have to go to the NICU at all. Meagan: Yes. Selah: He literally laid down by my side the whole night. We were never separated. I breastfed all night and by the way, you know they come in and they want to make sure he's in his bassinet. I'm like, “Nope.” I kept him right by me. That might be a little controversial, but I couldn't let go. I really couldn't let go because this was so mind-blowing that he could be there and that all of my fears, all of my worries, all of my hard work, all of that was over. All of the appointments, all of the wondering, I felt like, “I did it. God did it. We did it.” Meagan: You did it. Selah: It was incredible. Then bringing him home and knowing that there was no worry about his breathing, about his blood sugar, and that so far, my other two have asthma which is so sad. I don't know if it's related to the C-sections because my husband also had asthma so it could not be. Meagan: It can be thought. Selah: It can be, yeah. This one doesn't have asthma so far. No allergies. The other two have allergies. It's crazy the things that I've seen, but most of all, my healing was night and day. I know that's not always normal for a VBAC or a vaginal birth. Meagan: Yeah. Yeah. Selah: But I personally was up and about on day two. I mean, night and day, no problems. Of course, I was a little sore. It felt like I had just run a marathon, but nothing. And of course, now, I pee a little when I sneeze. Meagan: So pelvic floor therapy will help. Selah: Pelvic floor which I need to do. And that also happens, by the way, with C-sections. I also had that with my C-sections but I feel like all of it was 1000% worth it. Everybody said it would be and they were right. Everybody who I had read the stories or heard the stories about. It was so worth it. 1:00:00 The best feelingSelah: The feeling of having him come out that way but also being able to hold him and be with him and not have surgery. I mean, it was just night and day and such an incredible feeling of empowerment and for me, my faith, witnessing God do what I thought was impossible and what I felt like was natural. It was just an incredible experience knowing that everything was okay. The uterine wall window didn't happen. Meagan: Oh yes. Yes. Selah: None of those fears happened. Everything was okay and he was perfect. So perfect and beautiful and such a surprise baby to happen that way. Meagan: I am so happy for you. Selah: I feel like it was so redemptive. Meagan: Yes and it should have been. I'm so proud of you for going through the motions, doing the research, recognizing what's right, and what's not right, making the change, embracing the change, and then also still pushing forward through that whole birth. That's amazing. Such a long birth. Such a beautiful birth. Selah: Such a long birth. Meagan: I'm so glad you had the support. It was and I'm just so happy for you and that you are sharing this story today. Selah: Thank you. Well, and I will say like you said, the support is so– my doula stayed the entire 48 hours. Meagan: Wow. Selah: She did not eat. She did not sleep. She did not leave. She was amazing. Then, my husband– I feel like if your partner is not 100% on board, that you really need that. He was 1000% on board and he did not sleep, eat, or do anything either. Meagan: Yeah. Selah: I really am thankful for that and thankful for this community and The VBAC Link podcast and everything. It was really what was the driving force. I can't believe I did it. I really can't and I love helping other women now too. It's just such a blessing. Meagan: Full circle. Yes. It's the full circle. Oh, well thank you again so much. Selah: Thank you for having me. It was such an honor. It really was. 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

Kara joins us today from the Los Angeles area sharing her VBA2C story! Kara's first birth was a scary and chaotic emergency Cesarean. Though her second planned Cesarean went smoothly, Kara did not love how her birth felt like such a medical procedure. After experiencing a miscarriage during her third pregnancy, Kara experienced heartache and grief, but also shares how she gained a deep reverence for her body throughout the process. She just knew that her body was capable of having a vaginal birth. Kara pulled out all of the stops with her VBA2C prep. She built a birth team she felt great about. She prepared physically. She processed past fears and trauma. Though her birth had some intense twists, Kara was able to achieve the VBA2C she fought so hard for. She took the leap of faith, trusted her body, and saw what it could do.Kara's WebsiteNeeded WebsiteHow to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for ParentsFull Transcript under Episode Details 02:45 Review of the Week 05:09 Kara's first pregnancy 08:17 Kara's second pregnancy and planned Cesarean10:57 Miscarriage16:45 Fourth pregnancy and VBA2C prep22:30 Beginning of labor25:08 Thoughts about the hospital system28:49 Breaking waters32:28 Pushing, hemorrhaging, and the NICUMegan: Hello, hello Women of Strength. It is Meagan and we have got a VBAC after two C-sections story. Of course, I love VBA2C stories because I'm a VBAC after two C-sections mama. Her name is Kara and she is amazing. I'm just going to read your bio because you are just amazing. It says, “She is an award-winning creative marketer and mother of three. She is in LA.” If you have been listening for a little bit, she actually was on the show quite a few months ago at this point of being aired with her OB. Kara: Oh yes, with Dr. Brock. Oh my gosh, when I was pregnant. I don't know why I forgot about that, but we interviewed my practitioner, Dr. Barry Brock, together who is a very VBAC-supportive provider. That was a really fun conversation. I think I was 4 or 5 months pregnant at that point. Meagan: Yeah. We really wanted to ask him some questions about VBAC. He was with you along your journey and he was so gracious to come on and talk with us. So yeah. She has worked on so many amazing things, some of your favorite things I'm sure like Netflix, Stranger Things, which is definitely one of my favorites, Patrone Tequila, and some of your favorite women's apparel brands at Target which is also my favorite store. She started her own brand consulting agency, Always Friday, in 2019, and after the birth of her first daughter, Hadley, she experienced an emergency C-section with her and then a planned C-section, and then a miscarriage, and then went on to have a VBAC after two C-section story. We are going to hear all of the stories today. Thank you, Kara, for being here. Kara: Yes. I'm so excited to be here. I love this community and I don't think that I could have gotten to a place where I was having a VBAC without your podcast, without finding The VBAC Link Facebook group and just hearing other women really give me the encouragement to not do a third C-section. I am really happy. I'm just about three months postpartum now, so forgive me if I make no sense. Yeah. I'm just grateful for your guidance, your expertise, and all of the things that you pour your heart into as an expert on all things VBAC. Meagan: Aw. Kara: Thank you for that. Meagan: Well, thank you so much. I'm so excited to hear this story because I haven't even heard the full story. I just have this little blurb right here on my form, so I'm really excited to dive into it. 02:45 Review of the Week Meagan: We do have a review of the week and I put Kara on the spot you guys because she actually took Needed during her pregnancy and first, I'm obsessed with Needed and love and trust Needed. You took it throughout pregnancy and I would just love to hear your review on Needed today. Kara: Yes. I have obviously looked at all of these different types of prenatals and I ended up going with Needed and loved it. I did their prenatal multi and at first, I was like, “This is a little wild.” It's eight capsules which felt aggressive, but it actually was so much of the nutrients that I needed. I broke it up to four in the morning and four towards the evening. I felt the most energized during this pregnancy. I felt the strongest. I obviously did all of the things, drank all of the tea, had the protein, the dates, and all of that, and my baby was much– I mean, I don't know if this is correlated or not, but my baby was almost a pound and a half bigger than my previous biggest baby and I felt the strongest, the healthiest that I've ever felt during any of my pregnancies. I wish I would have taken it with the other two, but you live and you learn, so yeah. I highly recommend that to all of my friends and I always send people the link for the Needed vitamins whenever I can. Meagan: Yes. I believe it so much too. It's interesting that you said you have felt the most energy during this pregnancy because I feel like once you have one, two, and three– once we have more kids, during those pregnancies, they are more exhausting because we are not just able to rest and relax. Kara: They are. Meagan: We are being mom, right? So I love hearing that. 05:09 Kara's first pregnancy Meagan: Okay, let's get into your stories. Kara: Let's do it. Cool. I'm excited. Meagan: Perfect. Let's talk about Hadley's birth. Kara: Yes. I got pregnant pretty easily and had a healthy pregnancy. I think maybe had this false sense of confidence that my delivery would match my pregnancy. I did not do a lot of prep work. I went into maybe how everyone does to some degree, what you don't know you don't know kind of thing. I went into labor naturally. I was a little bit overdue and ended up sort of with the classic cascade of interventions. That was challenging. They broke my water and just set off a bunch of other things that then her heart rate went up, sort of the classic stories you hear, and they rushed me into an emergency C-section which was really scary. It felt like a true emergency like Grey's anatomy style just being rushed down the halls, with no time for really conversation. I finally asked for my operating notes and it was a class 2 which I guess if it's a class 1, you guys talk about it. If it's a class 3, you or the baby didn't make it. It was really scary and honestly, I was terrified after. I think it took three weeks for my shoulders to come down from that C-section. I've said this before, but the only way I could describe it was it felt like a car crash and I wasn't sure if my passenger made it. It was quiet in the room. I didn't hear a baby crying. Nobody was really talking. I just remember tears streaming down my face while I was on the operating table completely unsure if my baby had made it. Luckily, she's healthy and fine, but I don't think that took away from the birth trauma that I experienced with that first baby. Meagan: Yeah. That just gave me the chills when you described it like that. How scary. Kara: It was so scary. I've never seen my husband look so afraid before. I've never seen him pray out loud before. So yeah. It was just one of those things where I wasn't mentally prepared for that. I was not up to date on how many women have C-sections and what you can do to prevent it. I guess in this Instagram world that we live in, you see your friends pregnant and they are cradling their bump and then the next square you see in their feed is a baby announcing its name and weight. You never get to hear unless you ask people how you got from point A to point B, right? That was very just this naivety that you go into the hospital and you come out with a baby and you're fine. I don't know why I didn't maybe do a better job researching all of the options. That was baby number one. 08:17 Kara's second pregnancy and planned CesareanKara: Baby number two– I got pregnant about a year later. Again, quickly and easily thank God and all of that. It was the middle of COVID. It was 2020. I found out I was pregnant in March 2020 so it was sort of the peak of absolute fear and scare tactics to a degree. I kept trying to wrap my head around going into labor again naturally and I just couldn't get there. I would have borderline panic attacks every time I would think about it. The word birth trauma wasn't a word or a phrase in my vocabulary so I just thought you kind of toughen up and figure it out. I just really couldn't get there. COVID every day, a new study came out basically saying that pregnant women are going to die. Meagan: Yeah. Lots of scary stuff was coming out. Kara: I opted for a planned C-section. That just seemed like the logical thing to do at that point. My husband couldn't come to any of the appointments. I couldn't have anyone else in the room. I was delivering with a mask on. It was all of these things that just took away from what is a natural birth experience so to speak and all of the things that you need. It eliminated a lot of that and made it this very sterile process that resulted in a great, planned C-section. I can't describe it any other way than it just felt like surgery. I hate to say that because you get a beautiful baby at the end of it and you created this beautiful baby. I'm not trying to take away anyone's experience with a planned C-section. But for me, it felt like I scrubbed in for surgery and went into this sterile environment. I was put on a lot of different drugs, laid on the table, cut open, and a baby was handed to me. I have a beautiful three-year-old named Hazel from that experience, but it ultimately left me feeling– I don't know how to describe it, but not fulfilled in the way I wanted to feel. Meagan: Yeah. I can understand that. I can understand that. Like you said, not everyone is going to experience this, but there is often this disconnect. You went in. You scrubbed in and had a baby. Everyone is sterile and quiet. It's bright. There is beeping here and there. It just doesn't feel sometimes like birth. Kara: Right. Yeah. It felt like a surgery. 10:57 MiscarriageKara: So then we were going back and forth with if we wanted to have a third and ultimately decided we love being parents. I love being a mom so much. I love my work. I love the branding things I do but nothing compares to the purpose, fulfillment, and joy that I feel raising children and being a mom. I got pregnant again and it felt exciting but it also felt like it was coming at a time during my career that was potentially the busiest. Long story longer, I had a miscarriage with that baby and that pregnancy at almost 12 weeks. That was so surprising to me because once again, so similar to C-sections and all of that, it just was not on my radar. I maybe took a lot of things for granted with my very healthy and easy pregnancies. No issues, truly with the first two. That miscarriage was scary in that I was alone at home with the girls. I put down my children for sleep and then I got in the bathtub and basically delivered the placenta. I saw. It was my first experience and the closest thing I had to delivery so far because I normally have C-sections. I'm seeing a lot of blood. I'm seeing the placenta and I'm seeing what was my unborn child. Sorry to be so graphic. Meagan: It's hard. Kara: Yeah. Yeah. I felt like– and you have contractions and all of that for anybody who hasn't ever experienced a miscarriage. It's not anywhere near the same amount of pain as labor, but it is way above a period cramp or however else anyone might want to describe it at least for me. Weirdly though, I have to say that you would think that experience would make me really sad and it did. The number one thing I took out of it is that I felt incredibly empowered. I felt like my body knew what it was doing. I felt a deep sense of trust in that, “Wow. This was not the right thing to happen and my body was smart enough to get rid of what wasn't a viable fetus and pregnancy. It knew something was wrong and it got rid of it for me.” It's like, wow. All of that while I made chicken nuggets. That's so exciting. I really walked away from it feeling like, “Gosh. The female body is so incredible. It is so strong. It knows what it is doing. It is so powerful. Why wouldn't I go for having the birth that I want to have which was a vaginal delivery?” So yeah. It was sad but also strengthening in a way. Meagan: Yeah. A really sad situation and unfortunate circumstances, but in the end, it was that healing, empowering thing that happened to get you to this next step. Kara: Yes. There is something about listening to yourself and your own gut and your own body in a way that you really just start to know that you know what's best. My husband wasn't there and something took over in me that was like, “Get in the bathtub.” I have no experience. I visualized this pain leaving my body. When I did that and breathed through it, I was able to deliver the unborn baby. It was 12 weeks. Yeah. So for me, it was really incredible. It gave me just the strength to know that I can do it and that our bodies are so, like I said, powerful and women are just so strong. Meagan: Absolutely. Thank you for sharing that. Kara: Yeah. Yeah. 16:45 Fourth pregnancy and VBA2C prepKara: So then I got pregnant again and was confident I wanted a VBAC. I took your course and it gave me a sense of confidence and was so intelligently designed to make me think about visualizing fear, letting go of fear, and things that I really wish I would have done almost before I had a baby to be honest with you of just all of the things you don't realize you are holding inside of you of the unknown, of what could go wrong, what you don't know, what you want to ask, what you hope for, what you are going to let go of, and just filled with great information. That course was really helpful for me and my husband so for anyone who is looking to achieve a VBAC or do a VBAC, I highly recommend educating yourself with a course like The VBAC Link's course or just one that can get you to a place where you guys are both really–Meagan: Feeling confident too in the decisions you are making. Kara: Yeah. So I did that and honestly, with this pregnancy, I was like, “I'm going to do all of the things.” I think women, if you can, if you have the means to do that, I think you should take care of yourself in a way that is– I wish I could take care of myself when I wasn't pregnant at the level I took care of myself during this last and final pregnancy. I took the Needed prenatal vitamins pretty religiously. I hired an incredible doula, Lia Berquist at Your Natural Birth who teaches The Bradley Method and is also just such an advocate for VBACs. She actually is a VBAC-certified doula with The VBAC Link. Meagan: Yay. Kara: Yeah. Then I took her course. I read Ina May's books even though my heart was not dead-set on having a natural delivery which, I think if I had a fourth, I would love to go for that but for me, just getting past the C-sections and being able to have a VBAC was really what I wanted. Like I said, I took your course. I listened to a couple of my friends. My friend, Olga, had a VBAC and she recommended her doctor who I already mentioned, Dr. Barry Brock, who is VBAC supportive, and also her chiropractor, Dr. Berlin who also has a great podcast, The Informed Pregnancy Podcast. It's great and he is also a great resource and a great person.I had all of these people around me. I assembled an all-star team. Meagan: 100%. Holy cow. Kara: I went deep. I read a lot. I took it seriously. I got my head in the game. I did not let fear creep in and I really tried to focus on what I could achieve. I think that you will notice if you are someone who has had two C-sections and you tell people confidently when you are pregnant that you want to have a VBAC, you will get a really, really mixed response even today in 2024. You will get people asking you, “Can you even do that? Is that possible? I thought you couldn't do that.” It's not your job to educate them and enlighten them on what you can or cannot do unless you feel like it. Sometimes I was in the mood to tell them, “Yes!” and tell them all of the things I learned, and other times, I was like, “Yes, you can and I will,” and just left it at that and moved the conversation along. But yes. It is important to just not let other people's fears creep in. Meagan: Absolutely. Kara: I think if you are pregnant in general, people tend to want to tell you their horror stories. Meagan: Yes. Why? I don't understand. I don't understand why when you are pregnant, it's like, “Well, let me tell you how horrible my birth was.” I'm like, “Ahh. Don't share those things.” Kara: I would actually stop people and be like, “I'm sorry you had that experience. I personally don't want to hear it.” Meagan: Good for you. Kara: I know that is rude but I had to protect my own space and my own mental sanity. I needed to really do that. Meagan: Protect that. Yeah. Kara: Yeah. I mean, even when I would see people, there are things going on in the world. There are shootings and there are wars. People wanted to tell me that and I really tried to block all of that out, especially in the final months of getting ready to deliver. Meagan: Yeah. Good for you. Kara: Yeah. I was overdue and I went into labor naturally. Basically, contractions picked up. We wanted to wait as long as possible before going to the hospital– another mistake that I definitely made in my first pregnancy of getting to the hospital, getting checked in, and becoming a patient really just too early in the labor process. Meagan: In the labor process, yeah. Kara: What I didn't know and what I learned through your course, through the Bradley Method course, and through all of the different things that I did to prepare is that your body is not a business and labor is a natural thing that could take as long as it needs to take. Sometimes your contractions stop when the sun comes up. It's an incredible thing. Sometimes your contractions stop when you get afraid and you go into a space of needing to not– so I learned all of that because my contractions did slow down when the sun came up and my contractions did slow down when I finally did get to the hospital. 22:30 Beginning of laborKara: My husband and I went to a hotel actually that was near the hospital because if you have ever been to Los Angeles, the traffic is so scary. Yeah. It gave me peace of mind to be able to labor, be close to the hospital, be in a bathtub, and know that I was going to be okay and that I could also be as loud and visceral as I wanted without my other two children being frightened by my primal-ness so to speak. Meagan: Mhmm. Mhmm. Kara: Yeah. That was a really nice experience. Incredibly painful, but I basically got to the hospital and was able to labor unmedicated until about 7.5 centimeters. Meagan: Nice. Kara: At that point, I started throwing up. I think that's common. I mean, you would know. Meagan: It is. It's miserable. Kara: It's miserable. The other thing I didn't anticipate is when you throw up as much as I did, you lose that– we're talking bags and bags to the point where my doula, Lia, was like, “Wow. I didn't even know you could have that much in you.” We were like, “Whoa.” I felt so weak and so dehydrated and just not ready to run a marathon of pushing and all the things I knew were in front of me.At that point, I opted for the epidural. I'm glad I did because I needed to take a rest. I needed the contractions to stop a little bit, to slow down, to be lessened so I could just rest and get a little bit of my strength back before it was time to push. We did that. The contractions slowed down a little bit which was unfortunate because they were so strong for a while, but we did some Pitocin as well which I didn't want to do because I was trying to have a somewhat unmedicated delivery or birth experience. My wanting of that really was because I felt so helpless during my first delivery where I got an epidural early and then I just couldn't get up. I couldn't move and when her heart rate dropped during my first delivery, it just felt like I was at the mercy of the hospital staff and the doctors, and it just, yeah. I didn't want that. 25:08 Thoughts about the hospital systemKara: This was a great experience though. It did feel a little bit like I was on someone else's schedule. Another thing I learned is the hospital is a business. Meagan: It is. Yeah. It's not a bad place to give birth, right? But there is still a system. There are still policies. There are still things where you come in and you're not always just looked as an individual coming to give birth and that's it. Kara: No. Meagan: This is an individual coming in to have a baby and we need to have a baby. Kara: In order to bill. Meagan: Yeah, and move on so we can fill the room with the next person. Yeah. That is the thing. A lot of the time when an epidural comes into play, Pitocin is just in there right in the front saying, “That is the next step ‘naturally'” to them because it can slow labor down. It often does. Kara: Yeah. I really do like my doctor. Dr. Brock is amazing and he is so supportive of VBAC. It's not his fault. It's actually just how the system works. He had surgeries planned and he had a schedule to keep so in a way, it felt like my labor was taking too long and it was time to get things rolling. Yeah, that and he recommended pretty strongly breaking the bag so it was just another thing where I mentally, Meagan, was getting to a place where I was like, “Oh my god. I'm going to end up in another C-section.” Meagan: Same situation. Well, and a lot of triggers I'm sure. Even processed births, when things happen, even if you have processed them, they can trigger you very easily. Kara: That is such a good point because even though I feel I processed all of the birth trauma from my first situation, the second my husband and I walked back into that hospital, the last time we were there in labor was with our first one and we both almost started crying. It was so triggering. I did not expect it at all. Meagan: Yeah. You know, I as a doula– I had two C-sections at this one hospital, the same hospital. I as a doula, became a doula and I walked in. I wasn't even giving birth. I wasn't even giving birth and I was like, “Whoa.” I just felt that. When you are walking in, you are in a lot of discomfort. You are laboring hard, then you walk in and you feel that overwhelming space like you were saying earlier and sometimes they stop when our bodies are responding. Kara: Right. Meagan: That can happen. Kara: And that is what happened. I went to a place where my body didn't feel safe and my contractions, even though they were so strong back at the hotel, so strong to the point where I had the classic couldn't walk in, keeled over, grabbing– really just powerful. The second I got there, it was like I froze up and everything slowed down which is so incredible when you think about your body. If you don't feel safe–Meagan: It responds. It protects you. Kara: It protects you, right? It's like, “Oh, we are not ready to bring a life into this world if you are in a space of total fear.” Meagan: Yeah. Kara: Exactly. That was so crazy reflecting back on that. 28:49 Breaking watersMeagan: So you kind of went into that triggering moment of, “Hey, let's break your water.” We've already got epidural, Pitocin and now it's like, “Hey, we need to break your water.” Kara: I told him, “No.” Meagan: I was going to say, what did you say?Kara: I said, “No.” He said, “Well, it's what I would recommend.” It was a little bit jarring. It was a do you want to have a baby or not kind of a thing. I was like, “Okay. You leave. I'll think on it. I'll get back to you.” You know what I mean? I talked with my husband. We were both pretty afraid and ultimately, I decided to have the water broken. I think that if you are making the decision yourself and you are really taking time to come to that decision, it's not the wrong decision. It's an informed, empowered decision and you made the decision. Things could go right. Things could go wrong. The point is that you were not backed into a corner and then being forced to choose it. So I chose it because I knew I was getting to a place mentally where I was so tired and I don't want to say I was giving up on my VBAC, but kind of. Meagan: Yeah, starting to doubt it a little maybe. Kara: Starting to doubt it. 30 hours of labor with exhaustion, vomiting, and contractions were really starting to mess with my mental strength and getting me to a place where I was like, “Maybe I can't do this. Maybe this isn't going to happen for me.” Meagan: Yeah. Kara: That sucked. That's a scary place to be especially after I told you about all of my A student level prep. Meagan: I was going to say, a lot of work and mental prep and physical prep to go into that. It's hard to have that defeating feeling of, “I don't know if this is going to happen. I want it to but I don't know.” It's hard because we doubt ourselves. I don't know exactly why we doubt ourselves in labor. It's so common. I've attended hundreds and hundreds of births and the amount of doubt that happens is almost 100%. Kara: Right. Why do you think that is? Meagan: I don't know. I know it's getting intense and it's at the end. Okay, so you have an epidural because that's a very common stage at 7-8 centimeters to do it when they are unmedicated but here you are even with an epidural internally dealing with that. I don't know why we always doubt our bodies and our abilities, but for some reason, I'm not kidding you. It's almost 100% of births that I attend. At some point, there is doubt that crept in. Me too. I doubted it. I was 6 centimeters and I was like, “This isn't going to happen. This isn't going to happen.” Kara: I wonder if you are in so much pain at that point that you feel weak. Meagan: And exhausted. Kara: And exhausted. I didn't realize that your mental strength is almost if not more important than your physical strength during labor. Meagan: Oh yes. Kara: That part of it is just really the trick. Meagan: Well, the mental part can get us through the physical part. If we tell ourselves we are not doing well or we can't keep going, we physically stop feeling like we can. Kara: Right. Your body listens to everything your mind says and I carry that with me through everything now. It's the way you talk to yourself and the pep talks you are giving yourself. They are very important. 32:28 Pushing, hemorrhaging, and the NICUKara: Anyway, I then ended up going to the pushing stage and the epidural was starting to wear off so I could feel it a little bit. I pushed and pushed and pushed and yeah. A bunch of other things happened in that sort of period but I will spare you and ultimately, I asked for a mirror. I could see her head starting to come and that to me was so encouraging. I was just like, “You can do this.” I really gave it my all and was able to have my daughter. It was really magical and amazing and they put her on my chest. I was so excited that I did it. I was crying and all of that. I did end up hemorrhaging pretty badly and during that hemorrhaging, she had swallowed some of my blood on the way out. Meagan: Oh. Wait, so you were hemorrhaging internally as you were pushing? Kara: Correct. Meagan: Wow. Did they notice like, “Oh, we're having blood here?” Or bleeding? Kara: I feel like they should have but no one said that. Then all of a sudden, after I delivered the placenta, I had a minor tear internally. He was stitching that up and then all of a sudden, I just felt this huge gush of blood and of warmth around my legs. I was like, “What is that?” Then it became an emergency situation again where all of these people came running in to stop the bleeding. We had one person starting a second IV. The other person was jabbing a needle into your thigh. Someone was holding down your uterus to try and stop the bleeding. The baby at this point was taken and is being looked at because she is not breathing super well because she has my blood stuck in her lungs and stomach. As quickly as that beautiful moment happened, it went away. Meagan: Ugh. Which is so hard. Kara: Oh my gosh. It was so hard. It was so hard. Then the room was quiet essentially. The bleeding they were able to stop. My baby went to the NICU and my husband went with her and I was just there with my doula. I remember looking at her and being like, “Why did I ever want to do this? This was awful. This was terrible.” I just started crying and crying. Meagan: Yeah. Kara: By the way, I don't feel this way, but in that moment, I was like, “I just wish I would have done another C-section.” I felt this super high and then I felt this huge low. Any mom who has ever given birth, however you do it, when your baby gets put on your chest and you have your baby, you forget all of the pain and you are just like, “Yay!” Then when the baby is taken away from you, you are left with the most depressing feeling. Meagan: Yeah. I can't imagine. Yeah. Yeah. Like you said, the super high to super low. I mean, I think that's very normal for you to doubt your decision in that moment. Kara: Right, yeah. Anyway, so she went to the NICU and she was totally healthy and fine. They had to pump some blood out of her lungs and belly. I call her my vampire baby because she was sucking my blood. Meagan: Literally. Oh my gosh. Kara: I ended up doing two blood transfusions to build back my blood supply. My face was white. My lips were drained of all color. It was sort of like looking at a corpse, just absolutely iron-deficient. There was talk of sending me home and keeping my baby there which I just lobbied against. Meagan: To not happen. Kara: To not happen. Then finally I was able to leave and I achieved my VBAC so I took my celebratory VBAC photo in the parking lot of the hospital while I was leaving because I didn't have her in the hospital bed with me while I was there. Meagan: Yeah. Yeah. Well, I am so sorry that that happened. That's a lot. That is a lot. I don't know if you've heard our radical acceptance episode, but you should go listen to it not just to radically accept your situation. I think that in turn, it will be very powerful as you are healing through this. I can see right now you are still healing. You still are feeling this. I can see it in your face. Kara: Yeah. Right. Meagan: I can see it and I can hear it in your voice. It's okay to take time in healing that and also, be really, really happy while being really pissed off. That's okay. You can have those two feelings together. You can be so happy that you had your VBAC but you can be so ticked that it happened and appreciate the experience while also being angry about the experience. But yeah, through processing, I send you love and I wish you luck through your processing journey. I am so happy for you that you were able to get your VBAC. Kara: I am so, so happy. I really am. I know I just highlighted a lot of crazy things that happened, but ultimately, the way I feel about it when I think about it and when I talk about it is that I really just am so proud and so happy that I was able to have that experience, to trust my body again, and just to deliver my baby the way I wanted to do it. Meagan: Right. Kara: I really hate when people say, “All that matters is a healthy mom and a healthy baby.”Meagan: I know, met too. It drives me nuts. Kara: It really bothers me because it's like, “Well, duh I want a healthy baby and I don't want to be injured. That is so baseline. I don't even know why we are saying it.” Meagan: I know. Kara: But it's also taking away the fact of how you're getting there and the journey. Meagan: Yeah. Yes. Kara: You know. I think it's just something we say to make ourselves feel better kind of a thing. Meagan: Yeah. I do too. I feel like it's the same thing with CPD. Providers are quick to just be like, “Oh, we've got a too-small pelvis. That's why there was a C-section,” just because it makes them feel better. I swear it makes a lot of providers better just to say “CPD” because it justifies the– I'm trying to think of the right word– reason why it happened. Kara: Yeah. It makes it so that it's clearly a cause and effect. It's a simple black-and-white thing on paper. It simplifies it for everyone. Meagan: It makes it okay. Kara: It makes it okay. But to me, that's like saying to someone, “You got in a really, really bad car accident and you guys both survived the car accident. Yay!” But all that matters is that you survived. But you're like, “Yeah, but what about the fact that every time I get in the car now, I can't drive or I'm terrified?” Or the effects that it had on you? I don't know why we are so quick with every other trauma, if you are in a shooting or something horrific that you would be given the space to talk about it, process it, and be given that grace but when it comes to birth trauma, it just feels sort of like–Meagan: Dismissive. Kara: Very dismissive. Oh, but look at the healthy baby you have now. Meagan: Aren't you happy? Kara: It's like, they can exist in the same space. You can be happy to have a baby and be healthy and alive while also still being traumatized, disappointed, and saddened of how it all went down. Meagan: Yes. Absolutely. Kara: Anywho, I'll get off my soapbox now. Meagan: Amen. Mic drop. I believe that wholeheartedly. Julie and I in the past have talked about that. I've talked about that. They can co-exist together and you don't have to dismiss your feelings. Please, Women of Strength, do not dismiss your feelings because the world says you should. These feelings exist. They are in you and–Kara: They're valid. Meagan: They're very valid. They're very valid. Even if to someone else, Jane down the street, it seems irrational or ridiculous because you have that healthy baby, no. She can think that way or someone else can think that way, but you are not wrong for feeling the feelings that you failed. Kara: Right. Yeah. Meagan: Well thank you so much for sharing with us today. Kara: Yeah. I loved chatting with you and am so thankful to this community and you and your podcast and the space that you have created for everyone to talk about it and benefit from it. So yeah. Meagan: Well, good. This space is for everyone here. Kara: Thank you for having me. Meagan: Thank you, thank you and we'll talk to you later. Kara: Okay, bye. 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

In today's episode we're talking with Kimberly Huck, mama to Henry and wife to Dan. And we have a special connection with Kimberly. We live near each other and...we used the same midwives! So the same women who helped deliver baby Maya, delivered baby Henry just a few months earlier. Kimberly and I connected after she posted a cool home birth related article on Facebook that happened to make its way into my awareness (article link in the show notes). Kimberly is a chiropractor, and she and her husband Dan own a fitness studio in Marietta, Georgia called American Row House. They met while attending Life University, while Kimberly studied chiropractic and Dan studied sports health science.  The Huck household is very into health and fitness, healthy habits and lifestyle and living as natural and toxin-free as possible. Kimberly grew up in a natural home, being unvaccinated herself. She became interested in home birth after working for a chiropractor in her early 20s who had a home birth in their family. So for she and Dan, home birth is just a part of the world they live in. In their environment it's “normal.” Kimberly's story highlights the concept of honoring the body's natural process and timing. Also - birth is not an exact science. Enjoy her journey and story! Links From The Episode: https://crunchi.com/rep/KimberlyHuck/ http://arhfitness.com/ http://www.dawninglife.com/ http://www.bradleybirth.com/ http://www.birthtakesavillage.com/dear-home-birth-skeptic/ Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://bit.ly/2DuMBxP - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order Splash Blanket: https://bit.ly/3JPe1g0 - use code DIAH for 10% off your order Esembly: https://bit.ly/3eanCSz - use code DIH20 to get 20% off your order More From Doing It At Home: Send us your birth story: https://bit.ly/3jOjCKl 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: www.diahpodcast.com/merch Give Back to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I had the pleasure of talking with Mary Grace of True Leather Girl. She and I worked together last year and has lovely lightweight Catholic inspired leather earrings and other items. Mary has 2 young children and resides in Texas with her husband. To prepare for her first birth she got educated in the Bradley Method and her husband took a dad specific birth class from a male doula. During labor with her first she experienced an asymmetrical cervix/cervical lip and after her son was born they discovered he had a cleft palate (she shares some of that journey). For her second they decided to again use the hospital. During her pregnancy she experienced a bladder prolapse and received physical therapy. She decided to be induced due to small baby size and was successful with having an unmedicated birth. at about a week old her daughter got RSV and was transferred to the hospital by ambulance after they had started driving to the ER. To purchase THE CATHOLIC FAITH PREGNANCY AND BIRTH GUIDE for the special offer of $5 send "birth guide" to wombsmadeworthy@gmail.com Guadalupe Birth Co Website⁠ Follow along on ⁠Instagram --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wombsmadeworthy/support

“This is going to change the course of your life forever.”Ashley's first Cesarean was after a 48-hour labor at almost 42 weeks. She deeply desired and prepared for a VBAC with her second baby, but consented to a second Cesarean after another 48-hour labor at just over 41 weeks. With her third baby, Ashley pulled out all of the stops. She was committed to having a VBA2C in all the ways she knew and didn't know before. Perhaps the most impactful part of her preparation was processing fears more intentionally than ever before. She proactively went to therapy to heal from her previous births and to preemptively combat postpartum depression. She released the weight of failure and inadequacy that she didn't realize she was carrying.With exciting twists and turns, Ashley achieved everything she hoped she would in her third birth. She says that this VBAC experience has forever changed her and her belief in what she is capable of. Additional LinksBaby Bird Birth and Doula ServicesHow to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for ParentsFull Transcript under Episode DetailsMeagan: Hello, hello you guys. We are at the end of August. I hope you guys have had a wonderful summer and that it's still great weather wherever you are listening from. We have our friend, Ashley, today and we are going to be sharing her stories. Something that we had requested or asked on Instagram is “What kind of episodes are you wanting to hear?” It seems that every time we ask that, a lot of people are saying, “VBAC after two Cesareans” and even extended to that, VBAC after three or even four multiple Cesareans. So today we have a VBAC after two Cesarean story. As always, we've got to get into a review but I am really wanting to talk because there is something about Ashley that she wrote in her bio. She said, “Her birth experiences have given her the passion for all things pregnancy, birth, and postpartum and have even led her to be a doula.” I just resonate so much with that because that's exactly how I became a doula, Ashley. I think that's how a lot of us in the birth world find that passion and that drive to support and help. So congratulations on becoming a doula and finding your passion through all of these experiences. Ashley: Thank you. Meagan: I full-on believe but I sometimes say that we experience these not-so-desired birth outcomes, right? Not-so-desired birth outcomes, but sometimes I think that we have those because we are meant to do something more and meant to experience those to help inspire and encourage and empower someone in the future. So congratulations on all of that. I am so excited for you to join the doula world. It's a journey, but it's awesome. Ashley: Yes, I'm excited. Thank you. Meagan: Yes. And then a little snippet also, a little secret– by the time this episode airs, she's probably going to be holding a newborn because her due month is August. That's really, really exciting. I'm just going to congratulate you right now in advance. Review of the WeekWe also have a review, of course. This review is from– I actually don't even know how to say this– I'm going to spell it out. It's bshsjbxbd. The title is “Life Changing.” It says, “This podcast is AMAZING. I just had my VBAC two months ago and I can honestly say that it is thanks to everything I've learned by listening obsessively to this podcast and joining this community. I am still listening even after my VBAC because I love hearing the stories of these amazing women and the loving support the hosts offer. Julie and Meagan clearly care so much about what they do and it feels like they truly care about each and every mama they talk to and connect through with the podcast and the community. I recommend this podcast to everyone who will listen when they are going for a VBAC. An amazing resource for those of us who are on our upcoming journeys to birth after a Cesarean. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”And thank you, bshsjbxbd, for your review. We always love your reviews coming in. If you haven't had a chance, I will never shy away from asking for a review. Your reviews are actually what helps people just like you listening to find this podcast. It is what helps the algorithm and especially in Apple Podcasts and on Google. It helps the algorithm know that people like hearing these stories and want to give you more. So if you haven't had a chance, leave us a review. We would love it so much. Ashley's StoriesMeagan: Okay, cute Ashley. Welcome to the show. Ashley: Thanks. I'm so excited. I'm so grateful. Meagan: I'm so grateful for you. VBAC after two Cesareans is so hard because I'm sure as you know through this journey– both of us specifically are VBAC after two Cesarean moms– it can be a really hard road. It can be really hard and really lonely, so we don't want anyone to feel that. I think that through sharing stories and relating, it's going to help people out there know that they're not alone and it is possible. Ashley: Yeah, 100%. I don't know that I would have been able to achieve that without listening to all of the podcasts and searching your site religiously. There is so much power in sharing your story. Meagan: There really is. There really is. Well, let's turn the time over to you to share your stories. Ashley: Cool, well thanks. I'll try to keep it pretty concise but as you know, there's a lot of background that you have to get to. We dealt with infertility for about five years. It was really unexplained. There was no specific reason. I actually had a bilateral ectopic at one point. Meagan: Oh, okay. Ashley: One of two they were able to repair. With the other, I had to have that one removed. So when I miraculously got pregnant in May of 2015, we were shocked and over the moon and just super, super grateful. Really, from the beginning, I knew that I just wanted a husband-coached natural birth. We did the Bradley Method class and we created this cute little birth plan to share with our provider. I really had a healthy and normal pregnancy and I thought, “I know what I want, so I'm going to get it.” C-section didn't come out of my mouth. It wasn't on the birth plan. It just wasn't anywhere around. Then at 40 weeks and at 41 weeks and at 41.5 weeks, the appointments showed nothing of concern, but I still had an unfavorable cervix. At all of those appointments, we had to sign an AMA saying that we did not want to get induced. We kept trying to do normal, regular things. Then on March 1st, I was 41+5. I woke up with a slight abdominal pain. I just did the normal routine. I went for a walk and all of the things we were doing. I did have a dance party that day instead of my normal yoga. I was like, “Let's get this started. Let's get moving.” Then those pains intensified throughout the afternoon and I finally was willing to call them contractions at some point that evening. They were about five minutes apart and we decided to go to the hospital. And like normal, not normal but for a lot of people, I got to the hospital and everything stopped. We decided to go home, but a nurse told us that because I was about 42 weeks and it would be against medical advice, my insurance would not cover my labor and delivery cost if we went home and then tried to come back. Whether that is true or not, at this point it is 3:00 in the morning and we are like, “What do we do? I don't know.” So we were like, “Let's just hunker down and just try to relax a little bit then in the morning try to get labor moving again.” So that was what we did. We decided to stay at the hospital. At about 8:00 the next morning, my OB came in and she wanted to strip my membranes. She accidentally broke my bag of water at the same time. I refused any other interventions at this point except they said that they did require that I have an IV and some monitoring. So after a lot of pressure from every nurse that came in the room and my OB, we agreed to a Pitocin drip at about 5:00 PM. Then I labored throughout the night. Things got super intense at about 2:00 in the morning. I was frantic. I remembered feeling like I couldn't handle the pain. I remember that the room was pitch dark and I'm just laying in the bed super frantic, super exhausted, no idea what to do. I tried getting in the tub. I hated it with all of the wires and the monitors around me so I just hated it. The nurse suggested that I try Benadryl to help me rest. I didn't rest but I got super groggy and I think that just made it worse. I was just physically, mentally, and emotionally– it was bad. There was all of this constant pressure to do things that I did want to do or I didn't want to do. I just felt so isolated and frustrated. I was dilated to about a 7 the next morning. It was 7:00 AM and I agreed to an epidural just to try to relax and get some rest and some relief. Then my OB came in and checked me. She said that my cervix was swollen at that point and that I started to regress.  Knowing what I wanted, she said that she was going to try to hold open my cervix and let me push. I tried but nothing really happened. Looking back, I'm like, “I don't know if she thought that would really help or if she was trying to appease me and try to give me a little bit of a confidence boost or something. I don't know.” At this point, I'm in labor for about 48 hours. I'm done. I was out of it. She highly recommended a C-section and I remember before I signed the paperwork, I looked at her and said, “Will you let me try for a vaginal next time?” I already knew. Again, also looking back, I'm like, “I can't believe I asked her permission.” But we do because we think that it is in someone else's control. Meagan: We do. Yes, yes. Ashley: So anyway, we had a gentle, normal, healthy C-section. Perfectly healthy baby girl. Recovery was fine. It was normal. It was good, but I had that defeat in my head and in my heart. It just stayed there and I moved on. So then about two years later, in January 2018, I was pregnant again thankfully and we moved. That first birth was in Florida and we moved to Michigan which is where we are now. I did a lot of research just on social media and things like that to try to find who is the VBAC-friendly provider in our area. I was super excited when I got in with one of the most VBAC-friendly practices in the Grand Rapids area. I was really happy that I could work with their midwife team for a VBAC. This time I just felt like I did more research and that I knew what went wrong last time, so I was like, “The same thing is not going to happen. I know what happened. Been there, done that. Moving on.” But that was kind of all we did. I did a couple of meditations. I read a couple of more books. I just was like, “I think we've got it.” Then 40 weeks came. 41 weeks came again. I just felt like– you know, from providers that you start feeling the pressure, especially with VBAC. Meagan: You do. Ashley: So then at my 41-week appointment, we denied the induction again. We endured a pretty fear-based lecture from the OB that was practicing there, but he did do a membrane sweep at that appointment. A couple of days later, nothing had happened. He did another membrane sweep and then I was like, “Okay.” I started getting that frantic feeling again. He did the membrane sweep. I went straight to acupuncture. I went straight home and had a castor oil lunch. Then contractions started about an hour later. They were about three minutes apart the entire night and then the next morning, my parents arrived from out of state to watch our daughter and things stopped. They pretty much totally stopped. We went on a long walk. I did more castor oil. I took a nap and woke up with super intense contractions so I felt like, “Okay. It's time we call the midwife.” She was like, “Try to just do what you can at home until things are unbearable.” I got in the bathtub at home and that's when I remember things caving in. Mentally and emotionally, I went totally dark. The fear of things I hadn't totally worked through from the first birth just came tumbling in. I remember laying in the bathtub being like, “I'm done. I can't do it. I can't. I can't do this the way that I want to.” We did end up going to the hospital. We were admitted there at about 6:00 PM and I was dilated to a 5 so that was a little bit reassuring at that point. But as we got to the hospital and all of the tests and the monitoring and all of that stuff, I just was so scared. The fear and the worry and all of the anxiousness crept back in. I did agree to an epidural again even though that wasn't something that I had originally planned. I just felt like I needed something to help calm me down. At around 11:00 that night, I was dilated to an 8. I tried to rest. We did some nipple stim. The next morning with little progression, I did start Pitocin at about 10:00 AM. I just remember being in the bed. The midwife would come in and we would try a couple of different positions, but that was really it. I didn't know any different. We didn't have a doula with us. My husband is a great support, but we didn't know what else to do. I ended up trying to push. I pushed for about two hours because my midwife thought that I was ready for that. There was no progression. I remember her saying that the baby's position was why he wouldn't descend. Again, looking back now, I'm like, “Oh, yeah. That makes sense,” but at the time, I'm like, “I don't know what that means. I don't know what to do about that.” So later, after I pushed for a couple of hours like I said, the OB came in, the same one who gave us the scary talk. He came in and he offered a vacuum, forceps, or a C-section. I think at that point, again, I was in labor for 48ish hours at that point and just tired. A C-section felt like the thing that I knew. I didn't do the research on the other things and I didn't have a great relationship with him, so I was like, “Let's do the C-section,” so we moved to the C-section. It was the same experience. It was gentle. It was safe and healthy and everything went fine. Our little guy was born at 9:00 at night. He had some breathing issues but nothing of concern. It was great. But this time, I struggled mentally for months after that with just that feeling like I failed again. I don't know if I'm going to ever get a chance again to have my VBAC or to redeem what I thought was possible for myself and for my family. Anyways, two years later in May of 2020 in the middle of the pandemic, we had a third miracle pregnancy and again, it was a very healthy, normal pregnancy. I decided to stay with the same practice because one, I knew that they were still one of the most VBAC-friendly practices, however, their midwife team is not able to support VBACs after two C-sections. Meagan: Just after two C-sections. Ashley: Mhmm, yep. I listened to an episode of The VBAC Link and there was someone on who is from this area. I ended up connecting with her and she told me about a great OB who worked who now had transferred into this practice that I was at. She was amazing so I was able to work with her instead of the other person who again, is a great provider but I just wanted a little bit of a different experience. Meagan: Right. Ashley: This new OB was a doula actually before she got into obstetrics. I just felt so much at ease and comfort with her. I remember her telling me, “You're in charge.” She would offer me things or tell me and give me information and then she would say, “You're in charge.” That changed the game for me. It just made me realize, “Oh, you're right. I am.” Meagan: It's crazy to think what the words, “You are in charge” did for you. Ashley: Yeah. It was amazing. I knew that with this birth, I was like, “This is my chance to get the VBAC.” We didn't know if we would have any more kids. I pulled out all of the stops. I hired a doula finally. My husband and I were on the same page. He's always been really supportive of what I want, but we had to sit down and have some pretty in-depth conversations about why I wanted it and why it was so important. I listened to every VBAC Link episode and every Evidence Based Birth episode. I did as much research and educating myself as I could. I started chiropractic care. I did Spinning Babies and nightly meditations. I started mental health counseling. At the time, I did it mainly because I think looking back, after my second, I went through a pretty intense period of postpartum depression. I didn't know it at the time, but I knew that this time, I needed to get ahead of it so I connected with a counselor just so I had that relationship built for after my third baby. What I didn't realize until after I started therapy was the mental block that I had from those first two births and so much defeat, failure, and fear. They were so heavy and I quickly realized them after just getting into regular therapy sessions. My therapist really helped me work through a lot of that which I am so thankful for. So fast forward through all of that prep that we do for months and months, this time I was like, “Okay. I'm sure I'm going to go to 42 weeks. That's just what my body does and I'm cool with it. It's going to be fine.”Meagan: Right. Right. Ashley: I went in for my 40-week appointment. Everything was normal except I did have a slightly elevated blood pressure which was abnormal for me. We did the NST. They did lab work and then I agreed to a membrane sweep. My OB was a little bit concerned that if my blood pressure would continue to rise or continue to be elevated then I would need an induction so she thought that the sweep would be the most gentle way to just try to get started. I was already dilated to a 3 so she was like, “I think it's a safe way to go. It's not too much intervening,” so I felt good about that.I did really normal things for the next 48 hours. With the other two, I got the frantic, “Let's get started.” Castor oil is a pretty intense thing, so this time I stayed away from that. I did a lot of inversions and curb walking. I went to the chiropractor and then at my next appointment, everything was normal. Blood pressure was back to normal and I was so thankful. I went home. That 40-week appointment was a Wednesday and we had a couple of days. Then on Sunday morning, I woke up and I had some slight contractions so I went for a super long walk. I did a lot of curb walking. I started an abbreviated or my own version of Miles Circuit just to keep things moving along. Contractions became pretty regular around 2:00 that afternoon. I was still hesitant to call it labor because I had experienced such long labors before that I was like, “Eh, this is a long road.” Meagan: Right. You're like, “Whatever. We've got this.”Ashley: But I did ask my husband to come home. He was at work and I asked him to come home just to help with the other two. That was about 4:00. I was like, “I just need to focus. I need to get in my space.” He took them to Target and they roamed around Target. I stayed home. I sat on my birth ball. I put my birth playlist on and I actually colored pictures for them just to calm myself and get in the right frame of mind. By the time they got home, I was just laying in bed trying to relax through the contractions. I managed to make it to dinner and have dinner with them and help with the bedtime routine, but I had to keep stopping through reading them their bedtime story just to breathe. After that, I just moved to our bedroom and I was really struggling. I was laying in bed and just walking around the bedroom. I remember that I felt sick but hungry, but cold, but hot and all of these different feelings were coming in. I had to just lean into my husband and hold onto him through every contraction. We did that for about an hour and he was like, “I think we'd better at least call the doula.” I was like, “Okay, okay.” She just listened over the phone to a few contractions and I remember her saying, “I think it might be time to go into the hospital.” Even though I was really struggling to cope with the contractions, I was super against going in because with my other two, I got to the hospital and everything stopped. I was like, “I'm not doing that.” Things kept progressing through. It was probably another hour and so I finally agreed, “Okay. Let's go in.” My husband was making arrangements for someone to come stay with our kids and pack the car. My water broke. I hadn't had that spontaneous experience before so that was kind of cool. He helped me get changed and get into the car. I remember I couldn't sit down. I was kneeling over the front seat on my knees and he was like, “This is probably going to be the hardest part of the whole labor, the drive to the hospital.” I was ready to push. I remember yelling the whole time, “I'm ready to push.” He was like, “It's going to be fine. It's going to be fine. We're almost there.” He's driving through– it was February and there was a snowstorm here. He was trying to stay as calm as possible. We pull up to triage. It was about 9:50 PM. I got into my wheelchair still on my knees. They wheeled me in and I'm like, “I'm ready to push. I'm ready to push!” yelling at whoever was with me. A nurse checked me in the wheelchair. She came running out and checked me. Meagan: Turned around just backward.Ashley: Yeah. I heard her yell, “She's complete!” I was like, “Thank you, God.” It was the best thing that I could have ever heard. They wheeled me into a delivery room and they helped me onto the hospital bed. I was on all fours and I just started pushing. At that point, everything is kind of a blur. I was so focused on just pushing her out. I knew everybody there was looking at me like, “Is she going to do this? Is this actually going to happen?” I knew that until I was holding her in my arms, a C-section was still a possibility. Meagan: Yeah. Ashley: It was never off the table and I was like, “I've come this far. We're doing this.” I do remember that I got a saline lock. At one point, they put a monitor on baby's head. My doula put my hair up for me. They kept giving me oxygen to help me breathe. People kept urging me to change positions and I was like, “Nope. I'm good right here. I'm not moving.” My OB made it there for about 10 minutes of pushing and helped me through the last few pushes and then I heard her say, “The baby's head was out and then her body,” and then I just reached down and pulled her up and yeah. It was amazing. Absolutely amazing. Meagan: Absolutely. That's so flipping cool that you could get there and be that far progressed. For you mentally, I'm sure– like you said, “I knew it wasn't off the table,” but that had to have just been so huge and put you in a space. Even when they were doing all of these things, you were able to stay in your space and keep going. 10 minutes! Ashley: Yeah. It was crazy. I remember after things, I had pretty significant blood loss and pretty severe tearing just because it was so fast, but my husband said, “This is going to change the course of your life forever.” And he's right. It does because when you follow your intuition, right? And you really experience something so redeeming like that, that can change you. So yeah. I'm really grateful. Meagan: Yeah. It totally does change you. I hadn't had my baby yet. I was still in labor and I remember one of my doulas saying, “If this doesn't go the way she is wanting, I'm worried about what she's going to do with her career and if she's going to be able to keep going,” because I wanted it so badly. Then I had my VBAC and everyone was like, “This just changed you forever. This just totally did something for you.” I remember that it's the weirdest thing. It's really hard for me to describe, but to have a birth– and it's not even just a VBAC in general– but to have a birth where you feel like you were more in the driver's seat and more in control and like you said, following that intuition and trusting your whole soul, there's something to say with that. There's a power that that gave me. Ashley: Yep. Absolutely. Meagan: And it did. It's changed my life for the long term. It's just so amazing. It's so amazing. Ashley: And look at all of the community that you guys have built. Meagan: Yeah. Ashley: Your experiences have changed so many people's lives. It's just really cool. Meagan: It's really cool how it all circles around. And every single one of these stories– I mean, we're hearing it through these reviews how these stories are changing people's lives. This community and I may be biased, but there is something about this VBAC/CBAC community that is so special. We are so vulnerable.Ashley: I think so. I think also, people don't really get it. I mean, I have a great family and friends, but there aren't many that understand it. Meagan: There aren't, yeah. Ashley: So to be able to come somewhere like this and find other people who really get it and it's really important to them and it's really valuable and it just creates this sense of confidence and meaning. Meagan: Absolutely. It's so true. I remember that there were very few. I could count on one hand people that I could really go to. I love the people that would listen. I would always want a listening ear, but these guys didn't just listen. They heard and they felt. They felt it when I said, “I don't know what I should do. I have this provider, but I'm feeling called to this out-of-hospital birth. What should I do?” They could feel the struggle that I was going through. They could feel the desire, the want, and the hurt. I had a mother's blessing and I will never forget. I was in constant chills because I could feel their energy. Ashley: Yeah. That's amazing. Meagan: This community is absolutely amazing and you are amazing and then you're just going to keep going on. You're going to have this other VBAC and then you're going to keep going on as a doula inspiring. That's one of the reasons too why we love having our doula community. We have our certified doulas. When Julie was with me, she and I couldn't change the VBAC world. We're just here in Utah. Through this community and all of these birth workers out there and all of these parents inspiring, we have people on our team that haven't even had a VBAC and they're like, “Hey guys, did you know that this is an option? Did you know that this is a thing?” It's so cool the conversations that are sparked and can change someone's outcome completely. So thank you so much for being here and for sharing your story. Good luck right now and congrats in advance. And yes! Do you have a doula page yet where people can go follow you?Ashley: I do. Yeah, yeah thank you. It's Baby Bird Birth and Doula Services. So yeah. I have a website and Facebook and Instagram and everything. I'm getting things kicked off and I'm very, very excited to really start working with other families and helping them realize that your intuition is powerful. Your birth experience really matters. Meagan: It really does. It really does. It is not that it matters of the method, but the experience is impactful. Ashley: Yep. Yep. Absolutely. Meagan: Right? Well, thank you so much again. Ashley: Thank you. I really appreciate your time and everything that you guys do. 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

Links This episode is sponsored by Kindred Bravely. Use code BIRTHHOUR15 for 15% off your first purchase at kindredbravely.com Support The Birth Hour via Patreon! Know Your Options Online Childbirth Course - Use Code 100OFF for $100 off Beyond the First Latch Course

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

⁠*Subscribe for even more content!⁠⁠ Hi everyone!  Courtney was so much fun to chat with! She talks about her 2 hospital births, her homebirth with baby #3, and her experience using the Bradley Method. Follow/DM Courtney with any questions @mrs_graham Check out the Birth Naturally ⁠⁠Bonfire⁠⁠ store to see merch designs! Don't forget to give us a five star review on iTunes so we can continue doing what we do! And follow along on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠. Until next time, Cait

CEO and Founder of HealthyGirl Kitchen Danielle Brown just had her first baby and is back to share her birth story! Connect with HealthyGirl Kitchen podcast: https://podcast.healthygirlkitchen.com/ Check out HealthyGirl Kitchen online: @healthygirlkitchen Learn more about The Bradley Method on the Informed Pregnancy Blog: https://www.informedpregnancy.com/single-post/all-about-the-bradley-method-susan-martin-aahcc-clec-ppne Interested in more birth stories? Start your FREE Informed Pregnancy+ subscription here: https://www.informedpregnancy.tv/you-are-not-alone Keep up with Dr. Berlin and the Informed Pregnancy Project online! www.informedpregnancy.com www.instagram.com/doctorberlin/ www.facebook.com/InformedPregnancy www.twitter.com/doctorberlin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

Your baby's birth day is right around the corner and you want to be prepared. There are so many birth education methods out there. How do you know which one will be the best fit for you? I've taken the uncertainty and guesswork out of it all and created a quick and easy guide leading you through a high-level overview of the 5 most popular courses out there (including a few other ones that are gaining popularity). You'll find helpful resources at the end of each section to point you in the right direction so that you can dive deeper into any specific method. Wishing you a confidently calm birthing day! Learn more about the childbirth education method/courses highlighted in this episode:   Learn more at the official Bradley Method website Learn more at the Hypnobabies website Learn more at the  HypnoBirthing website Learn more at the Lamaze website Grab your Free PDF listing ten popular childbirth classes/courses here if you'd like to find more class/course options. Or Take the 2-minute childbirth personality quiz to find out which one of the five courses covered in today's episode might be right for you.

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

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

* 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

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

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

Join us today as Kaitie interviews Brittany! Brittany, first time mom, shares how she guarded her peace through the trials of miscarriage and unexpectedly being diagnosed with preeclampsia. This is a story of how to stand on God's Word and receive His peace beyond one's understanding! You can connect with Brittany through social media on: -Instagram - @brittanytprice -Supernatural Childbirth Mamas' Facebook Group Resources Brittany talked about on the show: - Teachings by Nerida Walker on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@NeridaWalker/videos)and her book, God's Plan for Pregnancy (https://neridawalker.cartloom.com/storefront/category/ebooks) - Supernatural Childbirth by Jackie Mize (https://www.jackiemize.com) - The Bradley Method (https://www.bradleybirth.com) - Kierra Blaser's A Heavenly Welcome on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@AHeavenlyWelcome )and her podcast, Birth in God's Presence (https://aheavenlywelcome.com/category/podcast/) - Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin (https://www.amazon.com/Ina-Mays-Guide-Childbirth-Gaskin/dp/0553381156/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1677085931&refinements=p_27%3AIna+May+Gaskin&s=books&sr=1-1) - Pain Free Birth with Karen Welton (https://painfreebirth.com) - The Happy Homebirth Podcast (https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com) We pray you are encouraged by Brittany's story and encounter God in your pregnancies and births!

PODCAST EPISODE - MEGGIE'S BIRTH STORIES - FROM TRAUMATIC HOSPITAL BIRTH TO EMPOWERING FAMILY BIRTH - #76 Join your host Sophia as she interviews Meggie on her two very different birth stories. They discuss how the Covid lock down affected her experience, her castor oil induction, her release from care from the birth center, newborn blood sugar issues, her wild pregnancy, and her free birth in the water.  Meggie is a Sonoma County native who now calls Dripping Springs Texas home. She is a stay at home mom to her 2 sons Cayson and Hayes. She has had a passion for holistic health for the past 10 years and her 2 recent births have sparked a new fire for birth work and motherhood.  Instagram : @meggieindia Birth Fit: https://birthfit.com/ Bradley Method: https://bradleybirth.com/ Free Birth Society: https://www.freebirthsociety.com/ Complete Guide to Freebirth: https://www.freebirthsocietycourses.com/cgtf Listen here: IG: linktree in bio FB: https://anchor.fm/bornwild/episodes/76--Meggies-Birth-Stories---From-Traumatic-Hospital-Birth-to-Empowering-Family-Birth-At-Home-e1qsv5t @sophiabirth @bayareahomebirth @ninabasker @huggasteele @familyfocusdoulacare @bornwildmidwifery Stay Wild

You will NOT want to miss today's episode!With her first pregnancy, Taylor was committed to having an unmedicated, vaginal birth. But after a 5-day induction at 37 weeks due to cholestasis and no cervical change or dilation, she knew it was time to consent to a C-section. Taylor knew she would fight for her VBAC even before she became pregnant again. 18 hours after her water broke, Taylor was barely 1 centimeter dilated. Labor continued for hours with transition-like symptoms. She knew she was close. Taylor agreed to a cervical check. She was 2 centimeters dilated. Find out how Taylor's resilience helped her overcome that HUGE discouragement we feel when labor isn't progressing the way we think it is.Additional linksHow to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for ParentsFull transcriptNote: All transcripts are edited to correct grammar, false starts, and filler words. Meagan: Welcome, everybody. You are listening to The VBAC Link podcast. This is your host, Meagan. Guys, I am so excited about this story today. This is Taylor.Taylor, we are so excited to have you on today. I am going to share a little bit about our course. Normally, we dive into reviews before we start the story, but I want to share a little bit more about our course. I wanted to let you guys know. We have a VBAC Prep Course. This prep course is for anybody wanting to explore their options for birth after Cesarean. You may or may not know if VBAC is right for you. This course is going to help you learn the pros and the cons of both VBAC and repeat Cesarean. We are going to dive into the history. We are going to give you tools. We are going to give you things to help you take with you to your provider to help establish a better relationship and help find out if that provider truly is supportive of you. Of course, there are some more stories in there and so much more information. This course is created for any birthing parent looking to know their options. And also, any birth worker wanting to expand their knowledge of VBAC and the history of VBAC and how to support future clients, especially if you are a doula on VBAC. Taylor is a labor and delivery nurse which is super exciting so we are going to talk a little bit more about that. I want to ask her some questions but even labor and delivery nurses, midwives, and birth workers, this course is going to be great for you. Learn more about our course at thevbaclink.com.Taylor's StoryMeagan: Okay, Taylor. I cannot wait for you to share your story. I was telling you in the beginning, when I saw your face pop up on our Zoom when we were getting ready to record, I just knew exactly who you were from your image. I just remember seeing it and having all of the feels so I can't wait to hear from you. Right from your voice, so thank you so much for being here with us today. Taylor: Yes, thank you for having me. I am so excited. Meagan: Seriously, I'm so excited. I would love to turn the time over to you. Share away. Share this wonderful story with the world.Taylor: Okay well, gosh. There are so many things. My first pregnancy was in 2020. July 2020 was when I had my first baby. That pregnancy was very uneventful. It was great. I didn't have any issues. I strongly desired an unmedicated, vaginal birth. I got my husband to read The Bradley Method twice. Yeah. I just was chugging along. I actually wasn't working labor and delivery yet. I was working in the mother/baby unit. That will kind of come into play later because I didn't know what I didn't know at the time. So just chugging along and then I got to about 36 weeks and I just felt like my feet were really itchy at night. I ended up telling a friend and she said that in her first pregnancy, that happened to her and she ended up having cholestasis. Meagan: Mhmm. I was going to say, cholestasis. Taylor: Yes, and so of course, I was just like, “Oh wow.” I went down the Google hole and I was like, “Oh, I have to tell my doctor. This sounds so scary.” I know y'all have talked about cholestasis on your podcast before, but basically, it's a random issue with your liver during pregnancy. The worst-case result is a stillbirth or arrhythmias in the baby and things like that. My mind was just going straight to that. I told my doctor and she was of course like, “Oh yeah. We need to draw some labs.” They ended up drawing some labs and sent me on my way. They take about a week to come back, so I just was going on with life. Meagan: Which is so crazy to me. Can I just say that? This is a potentially serious thing and it takes a week. Taylor: Right, yep. So yeah. She gave me some medicine that was supposed to help with the itching and things like that. Meagan: I think it helps lower your liver enzyme levels right? Taylor: Yeah. It really is supposed to slow things down. I took it and I didn't really feel like it helped, but I took it. Of course, I wanted the best thing for my baby. So I get to a little over 37 weeks at this point. I think I was 37 + 3. I was just at home. We had this really bad storm. My husband was normally off this day. It was a Monday. He was working late. The power went out. After the storm, I went outside to try and send him a text. He was calling me and said, “Hey. Have you talked to (one of my best friends who works at the hospital with me)? She's been calling me. She's been trying to get a hold of you.”I just was like, “No. I haven't had service. We lost power so the Wi-Fi went out.” So I called her and she was at work. She just said, “Taylor. The doctor's been trying to call you. Your labs came back and you have cholestasis. They want you to come in tonight.” I was just like, “What? What? Hold on.” You know, I just was—Meagan: Yeah, yeah, yeah. You've got to wrap your mind around it for a sec. Taylor: Yeah. I could tell that she was really sad to be the one to call me because she knew that I just really wanted this Bradley Method birth. So my husband came home and I just was like, “No. This is not what I wanted at all. Ugh.” I just was so sad. We ended up going in, of course, because I thought that was my only– they didn't give me any other options. I just thought, “Okay, well I need to do what they say.”So I went in and yeah. I was a little over 37 weeks. They got me admitted. I ended up having a Cervadil that night and I was closed by the way. My cervix was closed, thick, and high. So I had a Cervadil just thinking, “Oh great. I'm going to have my baby probably tomorrow.” The next day rolls around. It's still closed, thick, and high. I had another Cervadil which, if anyone has not had a Cervadil, it's like a sandpaper tampon. It is horrible. Meagan: Mhmm, yeah. Taylor: It's really horrible. So I had a second one with those and by the end of that day, still closed. I went in Monday night and between Monday night and Friday, I had had three Cervadils, Cytotec orally and vaginally, and a whole day of Pitocin. They tried to put a Cook Catheter through because, at some point, the furthest I got was a fingertip basically. The midwife was really, she was just trying so hard because I worked there and she knew I really wanted a vaginal delivery. So she was actually really awesome. But they tried to put a Cook catheter through my fingertip cervix. It was horrible. And yeah. So Friday morning rolls around and they came in. They were just like, “Yeah. There is really nothing else we can do at this point. I don't know why nothing is working.” The doctors had already been trying to have a C-section on Wednesday and this was Friday. I just remember feeling so exhausted, so tired, and honestly, just in so much pain from all of the things. I looked at my husband and I was just like, “I guess I just know. I know that I'm going to have to have a C-section.” They were just like, “Yeah. That's kind of your only option.” I ended up asking, “Can I go home? Can I go to antepartum? Can I just have some more time?” They just said, “No. We've done so much. You have cholestasis already. If it was going to work, it probably would have worked already.”I ended up having a pretty good C-section. It wasn't bad. It wasn't rushed. Nothing was wrong with my baby. He wasn't in distress or anything. We actually didn't know it was a he. We didn't find out what he was until he was born. But yeah, I just was pretty devastated. My husband was pretty devastated for me. We both were crying in the labor room all day until my C-section and then we just came to terms with it and it was fine. I had my C-section. I had my healthy little baby boy, Mason. And yeah. I had an easy recovery. I went home and I just knew that I was never going to have another C-section. That was my mindset when I went home because even though it was smooth and nothing was an emergency or anything, I just felt pretty devastated. I just remember even months after he was born, I would just cry in the shower thinking about it. I was like, “Why am I feeling like this?” I just never knew that your birth experience was just– now I know. It's just truly one of the most important things that you'll ever go through in life. Yeah. So I was determined that if I was going to get pregnant again, I was going to have my VBAC. So fast forward, my little Mason turned one. That was in July and I ended up finding out I was pregnant in September, so he was a little over one. I was ready. I was going to do all of my research and yeah. I started reading all of these books on VBACs. I went to the doctor and I knew– at this point, I was a labor and delivery nurse. My hospital is actually a community hospital and we don't have in-house anesthesia, so we technically don't do VBACs there. I went to see my doctor for my new appointment. She said, “Okay, well, we can put you down for a repeat C-section since you've had one.” I said, “No. I really want to have a VBAC.” She was great. She said, “Okay well, we, unfortunately, don't do them here. The hospital that does is 2 hours away.” I said, “Okay,” because I already knew that. I knew she was going to say that. I was like, “ I am doing this.” Of course, then comes the VBAC calculator. The biggest thing that everyone kept saying was, “Well, your cervix never dilated with your first pregnancy, so that's kind of a concern. We don't know why that happened.” But anyways, I just knew that I still had a chance. They did the VBAC calculator, and yeah. I just planned on having my VBAC. I went through my pregnancy and all of my appointments just knowing that that was what I wanted. I found The VBAC Link podcast and listened to y'all every day. Meagan: Aww. Taylor: Yeah. I listened to VBAC birth stories. Yeah. It was just the best. I was listening to all of those and I remember I was 20-something weeks pregnant and I was at work one day. Someone I worked with was just like, “You know, I am totally for VBACs. I think they're awesome, but I just don't know if you're a good candidate. There was a reason why you never dilated. I just remember I went in the bathroom and I just cried. I was devastated. She was not mean at all. It was like an honest conversation, but I texted my friend who had a VBAC after two C-sections. She ended up being my doula with my VBAC. I will tell you more about her. But I texted her and I was just so devastated. She was like, “Taylor. That is just not even true. You can do this.” I went forward and later in pregnancy, I went to the chiropractor, ate all of the dates, and drank the red raspberry leaf tea. I walked every day. I was chasing my toddler. I felt like I was healthier during this pregnancy, and yeah. I ended up being referred to that hospital that is two hours away when I was at 36 weeks. It's a big teaching hospital, and so of course, they were like, “We prefer probably to be induced around 39 weeks.” I said, “Nope. I am not going to be induced. I don't want that.”“Okay, well, we definitely want you to deliver by the time you are at 40 weeks.” I said, “Nope”. Meagan: “Thanks, but no thanks.”Taylor: I said, “Nope. I don't want to be induced.” The doctor was just like, “Okay. Well, then what we will do is every week we will check your cervix and do a membrane sweep and see if we can get things moving. After 40 weeks, you'll just have to come back for NSTs and things.” I said, “Nope.” I was like–Meagan: Way to advocate for yourself. Taylor: Yes. I, oh my gosh. That was just comical looking back. In the moment though, it was really scary because it is scary to tell a doctor, “No,” especially because we just assume that they know everything. Even being a labor and delivery nurse, sometimes it's hard for me and I have to advocate for my patients and things. In the moment, it was scary, but now, I'm just so glad I did. I ended up having an appointment at 39 weeks at my local OB here. She was like, “Can I just check you, and maybe can I do a sweep?” I was just like, “Okay,” but telling myself, “Okay. This is not going to change anything whether I'm closed.” I just knew that it could be a trigger for me because the whole week of being induced with my son, everyone was just like, “Oh, you're still closed. You're still closed. Closed, closed, closed.” This time, I was like, “Okay. I am not going to let it be a trigger. It doesn't mean anything.” I let her check me and of course, I was closed. But honestly, it didn't bother me. Of course, the doctor was like, “We'll have to talk to the other hospital and they're probably going to want you to be induced. If you're not dilated by 40 weeks, then I feel like they're going to want you to have a C-section.” I just left there and I was really just like, “Seriously, no. No. I have come so far,” because I had my other baby so early. It ended up being 38 weeks because I was there for so long. I was like, “No.” I did not schedule another appointment. I was like, “I am not going back until I have my baby,” which probably was not that smart, but I just knew I was going to pay attention to my body, pay attention to baby moving, and if I went too far past, I definitely would make an appointment, but I was like, “I'm not right now. I can't think about that because I don't want them to check me again. I don't want to have a weak moment and be induced.” So anyways, I went on my way. The day before my due date, I ended up drinking some midwife's brew castor oil. I drank that the day before my due date and I ended up within a couple of hours just having intense contractions every 1-3 minutes. This lasted for a few hours. My husband was like, “Okay. Is this labor? Do we need to go?” Because we have a two-hour drive. He ended up calling my friend, Cami, who was going to go as my doula. She, like I said, had a VBAC herself at the same hospital two hours away. So he calls Cami. She comes over and I was just really into these contractions. She said, “Yeah. We have a long drive. Let's just go.” These contractions continued the whole way down there. We get there. At this point, it had been past midnight, so I'm 40 weeks on the dot. They checked me and I was closed. Closed, thick, and high. Meagan: Oh, I bet that was hard. Taylor: Yeah, it was. I had actually had some bloody show on the way there, so I just knew I was going to be dilated. Meagan: Yeah. Taylor: I was like, “Okay, I am not dilated. This isn't real. This is just from the castor oil. I'm going home.” The resident was just like, “Oh yeah. I don't think that's going to happen. You're 40 weeks. You have a previous uterine scar and I just don't think we can discharge you.” I just said, “Yes, you can actually.”Meagan: “I don't think we can discharge you.” Huh. “Hello, I'm leaving.” Taylor: I just remember that my husband was like, “No, no, no,” because we had already been through so much with my first birth, and so I was like, “Yeah. Actually, can you go talk to someone else? Your attending or someone? I'm leaving. I know if I sleep, my contractions will stop. I'm not worried. I know all of the risks.” They tried to tell me the risks so many times. I was like, “Yeah. I know all of the risks and I still want to go home.”Anyways, they came back in, and actually, they made me sign out AMA. I was like, “Oh my gosh. I'm a nurse and I'm signing out against medical advice.” Meagan: AMA. So against medical advice is AMA, everybody. They'll say scary things like, “If you sign this AMA, you might not be welcomed back,” or “If you sign this AMA, insurance won't cover you when you do come back,” or “If you sign this AMA, no one is going to help you.” They scare you.Taylor: Yes. Yep, definitely. And honestly, if I hadn't just listened to so many people's birth stories and done so much research and I didn't know everything I knew, I probably would have been scared into staying which makes me sad for a lot of people because I know I would not have had my baby vaginally if I would have stayed. So I signed out AMA. I went home, slept the whole car ride home and sure enough, my contractions stopped. I was 40 weeks at this point and slept most of the day. I woke up in the middle of the night with these intense-seeming, regular contractions. I was like, “Oh wow. Maybe it's starting for real.” It happened for a couple of hours and ended up stopping. I was like, “Oh wow. Okay. Well, I guess that wasn't real.” So fast forward a few more days and that happened every night. It was horrible. I had some nice prodromal labor. Yeah. It was horrible because I just felt like, “Is labor ever actually going to start? What in the world? What is this?” I just remember my friend, Cami, who was my doula, she was just like, “Taylor, with every contraction, your body is just getting ready. Okay? It's doing what it's supposed to do. Don't be discouraged. You can do it.” She was just so encouraging. I just have to stop and say that a good doula is so key. Oh my gosh. I never even realized. Even as a labor and delivery nurse, I never realized how important. Meagan: It's so true. It's so true, yeah. Taylor: Yes, yes. My husband was so great too. He was awesome. It was the day before I was 41 weeks, so I was 40 + 6. It was my birthday, so my husband and I just went to a quick dinner out and we ended up stopping at the grocery store. I kind of had some random contractions that afternoon every 15 minutes, but again, I had this prodromal labor for a week, so I didn't believe anything was real. We go to the grocery store after dinner and I felt just like, “Maybe I peed my pants.” I went to the bathroom and I was like, “Maybe I did,” because there wasn't much of anything. I was like, “Caleb, I think maybe I accidentally peed my pants or something. I don't know, but we need to go home.” We go home and I just laid down. When I stood up, I felt a big gush. I was like, “No. No, my water's not breaking right now,” because I definitely was not in labor and that was kind of my worst nightmare was my water breaking and not being in labor. Yeah. I definitely knew my water broke. I was like, “Okay. I still feel baby moving. Everything feels fine. I am laying down. I'm just going to try to wait it out and see if maybe contractions will start.” I texted Cami and told her, “I think my water broke, but I'm going to lay down and see if maybe some contractions will start up.” They did. They ended up being every 4-5 minutes for two hours, but I ended up noticing some meconium in my fluid. I just knew, “Okay. Well, I guess we do have a two-hour drive.” I wanted to just stay home so badly just because of the last time driving down there and still being closed. But then I just knew, “Okay. There's meconium and I have been contracting for about two hours. Maybe we'll just go head down.” On the way down there in the drive, I could totally tell that the contractions were spacing out. I just kept trying not to think about it. I had my AirPods in. I was just listening to music trying to be comfortable, trying just to relax as much as possible. We get down to the hospital and get checked in. Basically, they remembered me from the week before. It was actually the same nurse. Meagan: They remembered me.Taylor: They did. They remembered me and basically, instead of a triage room, they took me straight to a labor room. They were not going to let me go home this time which, of course, I didn't. I go in and there were just so many doctors because like I said, it is a teaching hospital. There were so many people in the room. They were just telling me all of the risks again of having a uterine scar and, “Are you sure you don't want a C-section?” I was just like, “No. I don't want one. I've said this so many times.”“Okay. Well–” And I was super uncomfortable because all of these people were there. Bright lights were on and at this point, no contractions whatsoever. Of course, they checked me and I was closed. I was just like, “No. This is not real. This is my worst nightmare. I can't believe this is happening,” because immediately–Meagan: So frustrating. Taylor: Yeah. Immediately, it was, “Okay. Well, you need to sign this form saying you don't want a C-section and then we really want to start Pitocin.” I just said, “Yeah, no. I just need everyone to please leave me alone for a little bit. Can I just be alone in here?” I was so overwhelmed and it was the middle of the night. They were like, “Uhh, sure. We don't have much time because your water has been broken for a few hours and you're not having any contractions, so just know that we are going to come back and talk to you about Pitocin.” I said, “Okay. That's fine. I just, please, want to be left alone. I just want to sleep.” So we ended up being able to sleep for a couple of hours. The next morning came around because it was already 5:00 a.m. when we were there. I wake up and the day shift nurse comes on. She said, “Yeah, they're going to want to come in and talk to you.” I said, “Okay. I just want one person coming in.” I was determined because I tend to be a people pleaser and so I was just like, “No. I am not going to do that again because last night was so uncomfortable with all of those people here. Labor totally sucked. I just want one doctor coming in.” She said, “Okay.” A couple of hours later, a midwife walks in. I'm sure they were like, “This girl's crazy. Who wants her?” A midwife walked in and she was just so awesome and so calm. She asked me what I wanted. I said, “I just really don't want Pitocin. I want a VBAC so badly.” She was like, “Okay” and basically just said, “Well, how about you pump for a little bit, try and do some nipple stimulation to get some contractions started.” She's like, “I really wish that I could tell you to take some midwife's brew.” I guess she had worked at a birth center for 12 years before this teaching hospital. I said, “I have all of the ingredients. Don't worry.” She said, “Okay. Well, if you take it, don't tell me. It could take a few hours, so I'm just going to leave you alone for a while and we'll see if your contractions start up.” I was just so thankful. That just kept the momentum going because I kind of felt at a loss before that like, “Oh, I'm going to have to have Pitocin.” Anyways, I take the midwife's brew, pump, and that afternoon, it was a few hours later, and I did start having contractions. At this point, it was 18 hours after my water had broken, so yeah. I started having contractions and the midwife went off. A new doctor came on and they checked me and I was 1. I was 1 centimeter. I was just like, “Oh my gosh. My cervix dilated. Oh my gosh. I can't believe this is happening.” Even though I was just 1, I remember high-fiving the resident. I was like, “Yes. This is happening.” Little did I know, I still had a long way to go. But yeah. So they were like, “All right. We really want to start Pitocin. You're just really not progressing very much, but 1 is good. But we want to start Pit.” I said, “Okay. I want the absolute lowest dose and I want it as low as you can go basically.” They said, “Okay. We can do that. We'll start low.” My night shift nurse was amazing. They started Pitocin. Literally, after an hour, they had to shut it off. I just started contracting so much. It was really intense. It was, I mean, every two minutes at least. Every 1-2 minutes. They had to shut it off because I was contracting too much. I was in and out of the shower, just throwing up. It felt like I was in transition. It was that intense for hours. I think maybe 4 hours of just sleeping between contractions, again, up to the shower, just walking around the room, not being able to focus on anything but the contractions, my husband and my doula were like, “Man, we really feel like she's been acting like transition for hours. Maybe, Taylor, do you want to be re-checked?”So at 2:00 a.m., they came back in and I was 2. After all of that, legitimately thought the baby was coming and I was 2. The doctor was actually very happy about that. She was like, “You're 2. That's awesome.” I just really actually loved this doctor that was on. But of course, my husband, my doula, and I were like, “Seriously? A 2?” It just felt like all of the air was sucked out of the room because we were all exhausted and I just truly didn't know what I was going to do. They really wanted to start the Pitocin back up because they were like, “Maybe these contractions just aren't strong enough.” I was like, “I can't. I just don't think I can do this plus more Pitocin. This is just so intense.” So they were talking to me. I'm still having these really intense contractions while we are talking. They leave the room. My husband goes out because he just wants to know how he can continue to be positive for me because he basically just wanted to know if something was wrong. So he leaves the room. My doula and I, I was just telling her. I was like, “Is something wrong with me?” I'm crying and I'm just like, “Maybe my body wasn't meant for this. Maybe I really can't do it.” We all were sitting there and she was just trying to be encouraging. The doctor comes back in and she was like, “Taylor, I just really think you need to rest.” Because at this point, I did not have any pain medicine. I didn't have an epidural. I was still determined that I was going to have my unmedicated birth. I ended up going back and forth for a while. “No, I don't want an epidural.” I agreed to some pain medicine. I got to sleep for a little bit. I did end up getting an epidural around 5:30 in the morning and we all got to sleep for a little while. I woke up the next day. My day shift nurse came on and she was like, “Okay. We are going to change your position. We are going to get on this. We are going to have a baby.” I still hadn't had much Pitocin because I was still just contracting so much on my own. My nurse was just amazing. We did a whole circuit of all of these positions which actually, I already knew from being a nurse but a lot of people don't do them. I had actually taken a class that she had taken too. It was kind of like a Spinning Babies class. So I was just like, “Oh my gosh. What are the odds that I get this girl?” I just was so happy. So we did all of the stuff and I started feeling all of the contractions again. I was like, “Okay. Well, maybe the baby is in a weird position or whatnot.” They came in to check me and the doctor was in there for a while. I was like, “Great. She's trying to find my cervix. Can't find it. Oh wow. Still a 2 probably.” Meagan: Or it's gone. Taylor: Yeah, or it's gone.She was like, “Okay. Well, you are a 9.” Meagan: Oh! Really, actually, it was gone. Taylor: Yeah. I was like, “Oh my gosh! What? Are you serious? I'm 9? Because all of this emotion just came flooding because everyone had said, “You probably won't dilate again” or all of these things. I was just like, “I'm 9. Oh my gosh.”Anyway, so I ended up just having a super smooth delivery. I was complete. I just felt like the baby was coming out. I told my doula. She was like, “Yep. Baby is coming out.” I went and got my nurse and I pushed a few times and boom. She came out. I didn't know it was a girl until she came out. Yeah. I just remember being like, “Y'all. I did this. I cannot believe this.” I just was in so much shock. I didn't cry or anything. I just was like, “Yes to everyone who told me I couldn't do it.” It was just amazing. Yeah. I just couldn't believe that I did it. I still can't believe that I did it. Meagan: Yeah. Well, when so many people place doubt, even though we believe that we can do it, we start believing that we can't. We start believing that doubt, right? Taylor: Yes. Meagan: Then having to go through all of what you had to go through and sign an AMA then return at the same stage. All of these things, yeah. That could be a time when you would let self-doubt get you. But you did it. Taylor: Yeah, it was amazing. I did. Oh, I still can't believe it. Meagan: You did it. Oh, that's awesome. Congratulations. I kind of love the doubt stories. I know it sounds really bad, but I have this weird thing. I love proving things wrong because I did the same thing. My doctor doubted me and was like, “Yeah. No one is going to want you there.” I was like, “Yeah. You watch me. You watch me.” It drove me even further, so I love it. I love that you stuck with it. You advocated for you and your husband together. Just so awesome and then having that total shift of positivity and “Let's do this. We're going to have a baby.”It's so important. I want to talk a little bit about labor and delivery nurses as you are a labor and delivery nurse. What tips or suggestions would you give to people that are on the other side like you were? Giving birth and wanting certain things and maybe having a labor and delivery nurse that maybe isn't as supportive of your wishes or pushing hard whether it be them or the provider pushing hard against them. What would you suggest? Taylor: Yes. So my number one thing is to try so hard to research and just educate yourself before you go in. But the biggest thing is asking questions. If you're not sure about something or if you– let's say they want to come in and break your water. You're just like, “Okay. I don't know anything about that, but I don't actually know that I want to do that,” and you don't feel good about it, you don't have to do it. You can say, “No.” I think people don't realize that they can say, “No” or at least ask more questions about it. That is what even as a nurse, I always tell my patients. If a doctor comes in and wants to do something, I say, “Okay. Are you okay with that? Do you have any questions?” Just really advocate, advocate, advocate for yourself because luckily I had an awesome doula. And get a doula!I had an awesome doula and my husband who could bring me back down to Earth and say, “Taylor, no. You don't want this” or “Are you sure about that? Why don't we ask some questions?” But definitely just advocate, advocate, advocate. Ask questions. If they want you to be induced, why? Is there an actual reason? What other options do you have? Ask for options. When I had cholestasis, I didn't know that I could have had another option. My value was not high, my bio acids. It was only 16. Meagan: Ohh. Taylor: Yes. I didn't know. Maybe I could have asked. Could you trend that? Do I have to come in tonight? Meagan: Yeah. Taylor: Yeah. I didn't know and I didn't know then. I think a lot of people probably are like that. You don't know. Meagan: You don't even know that there are different numbers that could make it seem like you don't need to go in right then. Taylor: Right, yes. So advocate for yourself. Ask questions. You know yourself better than anybody. Meagan: Yes. Oh, I love that. I love that so much. Thank you so much again for being with us today. I love your story. It's just so hard coming in. There are so many times where you were like, “It's not going to happen. It's not going to happen. It's not going to happen. It's not going to happen.” But look at what patience and time did for you, and making choices like getting an epidural and getting some rest. Your body was able to rest and get the rest it needed to progress and the relaxation that it needed. A lot of people say that you can't have a VBAC without an epidural. Some people say that you have to have a VBAC with an epidural. It just is dependent on that person and that situation. You make the decisions that are best for you. It looks like you nailed it. Taylor: Yes. Thank you so much for having me on here. I still. Thank you so much, Meagan.Meagan: Oh, thank you. Okay, I can't wait for everyone to hear your story. 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. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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

How do we take disabilities into consideration when it comes to birth? Lo Nigrosh of The Milk Making Minutes podcast joins us to share details of her 2 birth experiences. Her first was in the hospital and her second was at home.  Her decision to home birth was largely influenced by the policies and care she encountered in the hospital.  When asked, “Why home birth?” Lo responded with: “I needed to be treated as an individual with individual needs. I had a hospital birth with my first child and was deeply impacted by blanket policy that made me MORE disabled than I already am.” Things we talk about in this episode: Gestational diabetes Bradley Method Hemorrhaging Collaborative care amongst providers Links From The Episode: Lo's website: https://www.quabbinbirthservices.com/ The Milk Making Minutes podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-milk-making-minutes/id1614255223 Lo's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lonigrosh/ Bradley Method: https://www.bradleybirth.com/   Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Splash Blanket: https://splashblanket.com/ - use code DIAH15 for 15% off your order 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

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ ALONG WITH THE SHOW, YOU CAN ACCESS THIS EPISODES TRANSCRIPTION BY CLICKING THIS LINK: . https://docs.google.com/document/d/11xcAJ18bhK9CdWPtzc5LEprMV4GuZ-br_KK7_pFArCA/edit . . Combahee River Collective was a Black feminist lesbian socialist organization active in Boston from 1974 to 1980. The Collective argued that both the white feminist movement and the Civil Rights Movement were not addressing their particular needs as women and, more specifically, as Black lesbians founded by Barbara Smith. . . Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw is an American Civil Rights advocate and a leading scholar of critical race theory. She is a professor at the UCLA School of Law and Columbia Law School, where she specializes in race and gender issues. . . Reproductive justice is a critical, theoretical framework that was invented as a response to United States reproductive politics. The three core values of reproductive justice are the right to have a child, the right to not have a child, and the right to parent a child or children in safe and healthy environments. It is “the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities,” according to SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, the first organization founded to build a reproductive justice movement. www.sistersong.net . . High risk pregnancy is one where a birthing person or the fetus has an increased risk of adverse outcomes compared to uncomplicated pregnancies. . . Preeclampsia is a pregnancy complication where high blood pressure and high levels of protein in urine indicate kidney damage. There can also be weight gain and swelling in the legs due to water retention. It can be managed with oral or IV medications and requires weighing the risks of early delivery versus the risk of continued symptoms. . . Medicaid in the U.S. is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and personal care. www.medicaid.gov  . . WIC is the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children is a federal assistance program of the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture for healthcare and nutrition of low-income pregnant people, chestfeeding, and children under the age of five. . . The Bradley Method of natural childbirth is a method of natural childbirth developed in 1947 by Robert A. Bradley, M.D and popularized by his book, “Husband-Coached Childbirth” first published in 1965. The Bradley Method emphasizes that birth is a natural process. Mothers are encouraged to trust their body, and focus on diet and exercise throughout pregnancy; and it teaches couples to manage labor through deep breathing and the support of a partner or labor coach. . . NICU is a neonatal intensive care unit, also known as an intensive care nursery, is an intensive care unit specializing in the care of ill or premature newborn infants. Neonatal refers to the first 28 days of life. . . Richmond Doula Project is a collective of full spectrum doulas in Richmond, Virginia offering support and education to people through all pregnancy outcomes, centering POC, LGBTQIA, and other underserved communities. www.doulaprojectrva.org  . . Richmond Reproductive Freedom Project is Virginia's grassroots abortion fund and seeks to further reproductive justice by providing practical and financial support for abortion services in Virgina and surrounding communities. RRFP strives to be a resource to the community by engaging in grassroots advocacy for the full spectrum of reproductive rights. www.rrfp.net  . . Ancient Song Doula Services is an international doula certifying organization founded in the fall of 2008 in Brooklyn, New York with the goal to offer quality doula services to women of color and low income families who otherwise would not be able to afford doula care and training a workforce of full spectrum doula to address health inequities within the communities they want to serve. www.ancientsongdoulaservices.com  . . Maven Clinic is a privately held New York, NY company that offers a telemedicine-based virtual clinic for women's and family health. www.mavenclinic.com  . . Gofundme is an American for profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. www.gofundme.com  . . Chestfeeding is  feeding your baby milk from your chest. It's often used as away for transgender and nonbinary parents to describe how they feed and nurture their babies. . . Lactation Happens is the first genderless chestfeeding class in Virginia created and taught by Aye J. . . The Afiya Center was established in response to the increasing disparities between HIV incidences worldwide and the extraordinary prevalence of HIV among Black womxn and girls in Texas. TAC is transforming the lives, health, and overall wellbeing of Black womxn and girls by providing refuge, education, and resources to ignite the communal voices of Black womxn resulting in our full achievement of reproductive freedom. www.theafiyacenter.org  . . Sister Song is a national activist organization dedicated to reproductive justice for women of color. www.sistersong.net  . . Black Mamas Matter Alliance is a Black women-led cross-sectoral alliance that centers Black mama and birthing people to advocate, drive research, build power, and shift culture for Black maternal health, rights, and justice. www.blackmamasmatter.org  . . Find more of Aye J, find them at @the_do_you_doula on Instagram . . www.queerdoulanetwork.com . . www.spajourneys.com Journeyspa_ on Instagram . . Original Podcast Beat Produced Mixed & Engineered By: Info Black Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/infoblack_ Twitter: https://twitter.com/infoblack_​ . . DONATIONS: . Patreon.com/symbaluna Paypal: journeyspa12@gmail.com Cashapp: $symbaluna Venmo: @symbaluna

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

Today, you'll hear my conversation with midwife and educator, Christy Gochez about the Bradley method. Here the are the topics we discuss:What is the Bradley method?What are your favorite relaxation techniques?What can a partner do to support the birth parent?What are the myths about the Bradley method?How can a birth parent motivate a hesitant partner to join a Bradley class?What can birth parents do if they want a vaginal birth and interventions?What should people know if they want a birth with no intervention?You can connect with Christy on her Instagram or her website. You can also learn more about how I support new and expecting parents on my website or Instagram. You can learn more about how I empower new and expecting parents on my Instagram and my website.

On today's podcast we speak with Kathryn Wells who teaches Bradley Method birth classes out of her home in Caledonia Michigan. Kathryn is a Mom of 4, and an experienced birth educator. She shares the story of her 3rd baby's birth, who was born breach in 11 minutes in the hospital. It took a remarkable amount of advocacy for Kathryn to get the birth experiences she wanted with all of her births, and she strives to help parents in West Michigan achieve the births they want. The Bradley Method of birth education is a partner focused birth class that centers the relationship between the birthing person and the birth partner. Join us for a discussion on what you can expect with when you take this class. Next class series May 31st. You can reach her via Email: Kathryn.wells5@gmail.com or Instagram: kathrynwellschildbirthedu Facebook: Kathryn Wells- Childbirth Education

Welcome back for another episode of “From the Heart”! Thank you so much for listening! - In today's episode Rick Binder sits down with Dr. Maria Rapp who shares about her journey to becoming a FertilityCare Practitioner for the Diocese of Salina. Tune in to this episode to hear more about how Maria felt called to become a FertilityCare Practitioner and the importance of Natural Family Planning in the Catholic faith. To learn more about Natural Family Planning visit https://salinadiocese.org/office/natural-family-planning/ Thanks for listening! - Dr. Maria Rapp is a chiropractor in Salina with her husband Dr. Jeffrey Rapp. She received her Doctor of Chiropractic from Palmer College in Davenport, Iowa in 1993. She trained to teach the Bradley Method of Husband-Coached Childbirth in 1996. Her practice has always been focused on pregnant women and babies, and this prompted her to earn certification in acupuncture to help with many conditions, fertility issues being one of them. Maria serves Salina and the surrounding area. Maria and Jeff have two children, Brandon and Haley. Free Introductory Sessions are held at 7:00 p.m. at Chiropractic Wellness Center in Salina. Private sessions can be scheduled at other times. Dr. Rapp provides both in-person and virtual instruction. drmaria@cwcks.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/fromtheheartcatholic/message

Ariel shares about her quick labor and unmedicated hospital birth after preparing for birth with a Bradley Method course. Links: Sponsor: Today's episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. As a listener, you'll get 10% off your first month by visiting our sponsor at BetterHelp.com/birthhour. Know Your Options Online Childbirth Course Beyond the First Latch Course (comes free with KYO course) Support The Birth Hour via Patreon!

In this episode (my client!) Anna Hill is sharing her birth story. At 36 weeks pregnant Anna's water broke, contractions started shortly after and picked up quick! Some things we talk about are PROM, Bradley Method, unmedicated birth, the NICU , CMPI, infant acid reflux, and more! ____________________ If you enjoyed this episode please subscribe and share with your mama friends! wanna be on the podcast? https://www.whatthebumpclt.com/podcast connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatthebumpclt/ our website / blog: whatthebumpclt.com --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/what-the-bump/support

On this episode of The Lamaze Podcast, Denise Bolds, MSW, Adv.CD(DONA), CLC, CBE, speaks with Dr. Michelle Gabriel Caldwell, a Certified Labor Doula, Evidence Based Birth Instructor and National Black Doula Association Doula Trainer & Mentor. Throughout this episode, Michelle discusses her personal birth experiences as well as how she and her husband teamed up to teach The Bradley Method, which focuses heavily on partner involvement and natural labor techniques.

Can you over prepare intellectually for birth? This is a topic that comes up in our interview with Shira Page, NP and CLC. According to Shira, when it came to her first birth: “I had been planning to deliver at home my entire life because my mom gave birth to my brother at home. We did Bradley, I read all the books, watched all the documentaries, and listened to DIAH non-stop. My labor at home was over 40 hours of nonstop stabbing back pain and non-progressive labor. We went to the hospital to get morphine and sleep and returned home to continue to try to labor. After another day at home doing all the things, we transferred to get an epidural. The hospital experience was okay but still had a lot of moments where I felt decisions were taken from me. I felt that I over-prepared intellectually and didn't focus on letting go, accepting pain, and being patient.”  We talk about the details of her first birth, then details of her second, including some of her postpartum and breastfeeding journey. Things we talk about in this episode: La Leche League, Business of Being Born, co-care model, Bradley Method, hospital transfer, mental preparation, prodromal labor, postpartum trauma and anxiety and placenta removal Links: Shira's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dyadsupport/ Shira's website: www.DyadSupport.com Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B098GVJ9KL?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860 DIAH website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ DIAH Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3jKtIYv DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGoKeBfEZ143sWU7V9I5Gdg DIAH Store: https://yoursuccessfulhomebirth.com/ DIAH Merch: https://bit.ly/3qhwgAe  Donate to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9

We are happy to introduce you to our new baby BOY! I had a peaceful and positive home birth, and I'm excited to share my story with you. You can listen to my other positive natural birth stories here- Daniel's home birth- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcGNfyWpSe8&t=61s Micah's home birth- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEVIR9j1JpM&t=506s Eli's van birth- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pjq2Y103Olw&t=3s Jude's home birth- https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/baby-jude-a-homebirth-story I shared a recap of all of my births on my podcast- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBapE2qGf3o Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way- https://amzn.to/3nTSlV1 (As an Amazon associate, I make a small commission on qualifying purchases.) Purely Parsons birth affirmations- https://purelyparsons.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Birth-Affirmation-Scripture-Cards.pdf WANT TO START YOUR OWN BLOG? Learn how our family supports ourselves full-time on our homestead with our blog and YouTube channel in my FREE blogging success masterclass: https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/masterclass-registration

In this episode you will hear from Rachael, Co-host of this podcast, Doula and Childbirth. She shares how to choose which childbirth education class is best to take. There are lots of choices out there and it can feel overwhelming and even paralyzing. You will learn about the different types, styles, and formats of multiple childbirth education programs. Rachael reviews the most popular methods including: Bradley Method, Hypnobirthing, Hypnobabies, and Lamaze. She walks you through all the things you need to consider to make a decision that aligns with your needs, your preferences, and your top priorities. Every person is different and thankfully there are many quality childbirth classes to choose from. The main goal is to pick one and go with it.  Taking a childbirth class has many benefits and can improve overall outcome and provide a solid foundation for a positive, safe, and healthy birthing experience.  Classes mentioned in the episode:Your Birth Site - Online Childbirth Prep Class 10/17 @ 2pm ESTLamaze InternationalBradley MethodHypnobabiesHypnobirthing This podcast was created from a desire to share conversations and interviews about topics from pregnancy and birth to motherhood and the importance of a healthy body and mind through it all.  Our goal is to bring you fun, interesting, and helpful conversations that excite you and make you want to learn more.We hope what we share will make an impact and help someone else along their journey.We believe that when you are aligned in body, mind, and your intuition, you can conquer anything!If you like what you are hearing and you don't want to miss our newest episodes, be sure and tap subscribe. Your support is greatly appreciated.Follow us on Instagram:Aligned Birthwww.instagram.com/aligned_birthDr. Shannonwww.instagram.com/sunrise_chiropractic_wellnessDoula Rachaelwww.instagram.com/northatlantabirthCheck out our individual websites:Sunrise Chiropractic and Wellness - www.sunrisechiropracticandwellness.comNorth Atlanta Birth Services - www.northatlantabirth.comDisclaimerThe 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, including but not limited to patients that you are treating.  Consult your own physician for any medical issues that you may be having.  This entire disclaimer also applies to any guests or contributors to the podcast.  The podcast hosts take no money from affiliate links provided in the show notes. Podcast Editing by:Chris Godfrey of Godfrey Sound: www.godfreysound.comMusic:"Freedom” by Roa - https://roamusic.wixsite.com/roamusic

In this week's episode of Food, Freedom and Fertility Sophia and Caitlin are back at with You are Pregnant, Now What: Birth Education Courses. Last week they guided you through the first steps of pregnancy and what things you should focus on but this week they break down the different types of birthing classes. Most people are familiar with or have seen in movies Lamaze classes… but in this podcast episode you will learn what to consider when considering what style of birth, you want. By knowing what kind of birth, you would like will help you choose your birthing classes. Hospitals all provide a basic class but those are designed to help you have a hospital birth and teaches you to be a good patient and explains hospital procedure. In addition to the hospital classes Sophia and Caitlin suggest looking into different midwife groups, doula collectives or birth centers for additional classes. They don't suggest skipping the hospital class if you plan on having a hospital birth but additional classes will gift you with more knowledge for your labor and delivery. Sophia and Caitlin will also break down the different methods of birthing such as the Bradley Method, Hypno Birthing, Gentle Birthing, Christian Hypno Birthing, Birthing from Within, Pain Free Birth with Karen Welton (use code TTC for 10% off). Also, if you are 100% planning on a hosptial birth, Mommy Labor Nurse is a wonderful resource, you can find her on Instagram at mommy.labornurse. We hope this episode helps you choose a birthing class that is best suited for you, your partner and your new baby.   Pain Free Birth 10% off with code TTC Mommy Labor Nurse  

We started this Podcast to be completely transparent about the challenges people face in their health journey and life.  This episode was not planned, we were supposed to have a guest on, and things didn't work out. We always have backup topics just in case something like this happens. But on this particular day, we both had so much going on personally, we ended up pressing record and just started talking about everything that was happening in our lives. No one is perfect, not even people in the fitness industry. Unfortunately, social media has a tendency only to portray the highlights and not the struggles. We believe that one of the ways to lead by example is by being honest and sharing our struggles openly and honestly.  In our clinical practice, we have found that most people won't be completely honest about their struggles if the professional they're working with portrays perfection. A sense of judgment can hold people back from getting to the root cause of their issues. This is why we have a realistic approach to all things related to health and wellness. In this episode you'll hear about all the things Managing stress Unexpected changes during pregnancy Supportive husbands  Thoughts about aging and procedures   Emily's pregnancy update [2:00] Imperfect Foods [12:18] National Board for Health & Wellness Coaching [12:46] Precision Nutrition [14:37] Kelly's initial life adjustments with a baby [15:16] Stress management techniques [20:00] Husband's attraction to us during pregnancy [25:00] The Bradley Method [25:30] Pregnancy issues you don't hear about [26:00] Thoughts about aging and procedures [33:30]   Follow us on IG: @wellness.unfiltered Follow Kelley: @kelley_bugger Follow Emily: @emilyzwilling

How do we deal with “expectations vs. reality” when it comes to birth? This is a great theme and pattern that shows up in today's interview, and one that many of us can relate to. You think something will go one way OR you don't think something will pop up and then what happens….you can guess! Miranda Cottrell, chiropractor and home birth mama shares her story. She always knew she wanted a home birth, planned and prepared accordingly.  One of the nuggets of wisdom from this conversation is that no amount of preparation can really, well...PREPARE you for the experiential aspect of going through birth. So there's a balance between the education and studying and then the preparation of your mind and emotions.  Things we talk about in this episode: Braxton-Hicks, The Bradley Method, preparing your birth partner, birth tub ambivalence, denial of transition, shoulder dystocia, Hypnobabies Links: Miranda's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.mirandacottrell/ Our website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3jKtIYv Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diahpodcast/ DIAH YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGoKeBfEZ143sWU7V9I5Gdg DIAH Store: https://yoursuccessfulhomebirth.com/ DIAH Merch: https://bit.ly/3qhwgAe  Donate to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9

The ladies speak with Michelle Gabriel-Caldwell this week about her doula services! Michelle and Brent have been married since 1997, they always knew they wanted children. Blessed with two great kids, they didn't realize how impactful the birthing experiences were until sharing theirs with friends and family. Michelle's first pregnancy was normal and perfect, she wanted the same for the labor and birth...normal, natural. She took Bradley Method Classes, hired a doula and had a low intervention, natural hospital birth. Second time around she was older and wiser, birth two would be at home on Christmas night...same birth team! Both ​of them were inspired to teach The Bradley Method and they have been doing so since 2006. ​ Michelle is also a Certified Labor Doula, Evidence Based Birth Instructor and National Black Doula Association Doula Trainer & Mentor. In her spare time she loves supporting The Birth Center of NJ as their Doula Coordinator and Childbirth Instructor.

Join us as Sara shares how she used The Bradley Method, deep breathing and positioning during labor and had a non-medicated birth. She also discusses experiencing PUPPP skin rash twice during her pregnancy, her breastfeeding experience and her struggles with PPD.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ ALONG WITH THE SHOW, YOU CAN ACCESS THIS EPISODES TRANSCRIPTION BY CLICKING THIS LINK: . . https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Abti-f9ofEoqBsXoXG0itJkWOzvrSCuKXYmUPGVg7dI/edit . . Dr. Michelle Gabriel-Caldwell is a Black Chemical Engineer, Birth Doula, Postpartum Doula, Doula trainer and mentor, and the owner of Baby Please Services who has been servicing in the birthworker industry for 16 years. She is based in New Jersey and offers virtual training and mentorship. To find more information about Dr. Michelle Gabriel-Caldwell and Baby Please Services, you can find her at www.babypleasebirthservices.com and email her at hello@babypleasebirthservices.com. . . The Bradley Method of natural childbirth is a method of natural childbirth developed in 1947 by Robert A. Bradley, M.D and popularized by his book, “Husband-Coached Childbirth” first published in 1965. The Bradley Method emphasizes that birth is a natural process. Mothers are encouraged to trust their body, and focus on diet and exercise throughout pregnancy; and it teaches couples to manage labor through deep breathing and the support of a partner or labor coach. . . DONA or Doulas of North America was formally founded in 1992, and the organization was the first of its kind to both train and certify the non-medical birth support of doulas and marked the start of professional doulas on a nationwide basis. . . CAPPA or Childbirth and Postpartum Professional Association is an international certification organization for Doulas, Childbirth Educators, and Lactation Educators. They were founded in 1998 and have certified thousands of perinatal professionals. . . NBDA or National Black Doulas Association connects Black birthing families with Black doulas nationwide. Our overall mission at NBDA is to help fight the Black Maternal Mortality rate in this country and beyond, through educational development and empowerment. We provide a professional Doula Directory and resources for Black Doulas. . . Fifth disease or parvovirus is a viral disease that often results in a red rash on the arms, legs, and cheeks. It's fairly common and mild in most children. It can be more severe for pregnant people or anyone with a compromised immune system. . . Facebook Pages: New Jersey Doulas of Color; New Jersey Parents and Birth Professionals of Color . . Find more of Dr. Michelle Gabriel-Caldwell at NBDA's website www.blackdoulas.org , Baby Please Birth Services at www.babypleasebirthservices.com and hello@babypleasebirthservices.com .   . Original Podcast Beat Produced Mixed & Engineered By: Info Black Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/infoblack_ Twitter: https://twitter.com/infoblack_​ . . DONATIONS: . . Patreon.com/symbaluna Paypal: journeyspa12@gmail.com Cashapp: $symbaluna Venmo: @symbaluna . Instagram: journeyspa_

In this episode, Holly talks with her friend Allie Jones about her journey through first time motherhood. Allie shares about and her experience with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome), an unexpected pregnancy at 21 &  having a hospital birth. She is also currently 39 weeks pregnant, and will be sharing about her experience through her second pregnancy, and some things she learned from her first pregnancy and birth that have informed how she is approaching this time differently. Mentioned in this episode: Bradley Method: http://www.bradleybirth.com/ --- 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

Монголд шинэ гэдэг ч өдөр бүр хөгжиж буй хөдөлгөөн заслын салбарт амжилттай ажиллаж буй Зинт Клиникийн хөдөлгөөн засалч, арга зүйч багш Г.Ганчимэгийг урин эм болон мэсгүйгээр эмчлэх боломжтой эмчилгээний чиглэлээр хэрхэн мэргэшсэн, энэ мэргэжлийг сонгоход юу нөлөөлсөн гээд чухал агуулгыг багтаасан дугаар ийнхүү хүрч байна. Тэрээр АШУИС-ийн Сувилахуйн сургуулийг 2017 онд хөдөлгөөн засалчийн бакалавр, мөн сувилахуйн магистрыг тус тус амжилттай төгсжээ. Түүнчлэн 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 онуудад АНУ-д жирэмсэн эхчүүдэд зориулсан эрүүл мэндийн боловсрол олгодог “Bradley Method” арга зүйд суралцах богино хугацааны сургалтууд, 2017 онд БНСУ-ын “Халлим” Их Сургуулийн Сэргээн засах тасагт Хүүхдийн тархины саа саажилт, хөдөлгөөний хоцрогдолтой хүүхдийн хөдөлгөөн засал судлал чиглэлээр тус тус мэргэжил дээшлүүлсэн юм. Байнгын идэвхтэй дасгал хөдөлгөөн хийх нь олон өвчнөөс урьдчилан сэргийлдэг гэдгийг дугаарт маань онцлон хэлсэн шүү. Зинт Клиникийн хөдөлгөөн засалч, арга зүйч багш Г.Ганчимэг

Want to start your own blog? Get my FREE blogging success masterclass: https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/masterclass-registration Berkey water filter with Simple Farmhouse Life podcast discount- https://www.berkeyfilters.com/collections/simple-farmhouse-life?a_aid=5b2cf1884101a&a_bid=d2a30b6f You can get the review here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8CaB1n31iI Grab my Ebook recently updated with ALL of my sourdough recipes here- https://withered-breeze-7467.ck.page/9aea28a530 Get my free 10 day course on how to start a blog here- https://withered-breeze-7467.ck.page/fc79cda297 Follow along with Farmhouse on Boone: The blog- https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/ The Youtube channel- https://www.youtube.com/farmhouseonboone Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/farmhouseonboone/ GRAB MY FREE EBOOKS 5 Steps to an Organized Kitchen Mini Guide - https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/5-steps-organized-kitchen-mini-guide Cleaning with Essential Oils - https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/cleaning-essential-oils-ebook 5 Kefir Smoothie Recipes - https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/5-kefir-smoothie-recipes-ebook Farmhouse Favorites Sourdough Recipes - https://withered-breeze-7467.ck.page/9aea28a530 Thanks again for listening and I'll see you in the next episode of the Simple Farmhouse Life podcast!

What influences your birth choices? It’s helpful to look at this, to see what matters to you when it comes to birth, and how you can create a birth environment and culture around you that supports you best. Today we’re chatting with Martina Cifiello about her birth journey. From a hospital birth with her first child to a birth center with her second to a home birth with her third, Martina walks us through the factors that inspired the changes and evolutions of her births along the way.  Martina shares how supportive and helpful her husband Simone has been over the years as well, taking a team approach to everything. And fun fact: Martina used the same midwife for her home birth that we had for our home birth, Debbie Schneider of Dawning Life Midwifery. So cool to have that connection! Things we talk about in this episode: hospital birth, birth center, water birth, Bradley Method, pelvic floor health, birth during COVID, family-centered birth Links: Martina’s Bradley Method teacher page: http://www.bradleybirth.com/martinacifiello Martina’s PT page: https://benchmark.urpt.com/locations/marietta-east-cobb/ Our website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3jKtIYv Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diahpodcast/ Donate to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9 DIAH Shop: ttps://bit.ly/3qhwgAe

The Bradley Method. By using this simple and effective technique, couples are taught how to effectively work with their bodies to achieve a successful natural childbirth experience. So, what are the main principles behind The Bradley Method? How does it differ from other childbirth preparation methods? And what can you expect if you sign up for a class? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s episode I had the pleasure of speaking with a husband and wife childbirth instructor team! I had the chance to interview Brent Caldwell and Michelle Gabrielle-Caldwell about their experience teaching the Bradley Method childbirth class. Michelle and Brent have been married since 1997, they always knew they wanted children. Blessed with two great kids, they didn't realize how impactful the birthing experiences were until sharing theirs with friends and family. Michelle's first pregnancy was normal and perfect, she wanted the same for the labor and birth...normal, natural. She took Bradley Method Classes, hired a doula and had a low intervention, natural hospital birth. Second time around she was older and wiser, birth two would be at home on Christmas night...same birth team! Both of them were inspired to teach The Bradley Method and they have been doing so since 2006.Michelle is also a Certified Labor Doula, Evidence Based Birth Instructor and National Black Doula Association Doula Trainer & Mentor. In her spare time she loves supporting The Birth Center of NJ as their Doula Coordinator and Childbirth Instructor. In today’s episode we discuss: Michelle and Brent’s background and  how they started teaching birth classesHistory of the Bradley Method What is the the Bradley Method Childbirth education philosophy? The role of a childbirth coach and a doulaWhat the 12 week class structure is likeClass 1: History of/Intro to Bradley Method and Get to Know your InstructorsClass 2: NutritionClass 3: GestationClass 4: Coaching class for partnersClass 5: Introduction to 1st Stage of LaborClass 6: Introduction to 2nd Stage of LaborClass 7: Birth PlansClass 8: Variations and ComplicationsClass 9: Advanced 1st StageClass 10: Advanced 2nd StageClass 11: Advanced CoachingClass 12: Newborn care, Breastfeeding and Postpartum  Who would be a good fit for a Bradley class?How to get in touch with/follow Michelle/Brent:WebsiteFollow 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)

 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)

Katherine's unassisted VBA3C was truly redemptive in every way. After three unwanted Cesareans and a traumatic VBA3C, she decided that her fifth birth had to be different. When Katherine's intuition told her that she was not getting the support she deserved, she knew that birthing unassisted was the path for her. Katherine worked hard to research, plan, and prepare as safely as possible. Her birth was intense, healing, and just what she needed. We talk about the risks and benefits of unassisted births and what things you can do to make sure you are making the best (and safest!) choice for your situation. While we will always advise birthing with a VBAC supportive provider over birthing unassisted, we also ALWAYS applaud women for following their intuition!  Additional linksThe 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: Good morning, Women of Strength. It is Women of Strength Wednesday and let me tell you, I couldn't be happier to say that. I love that alliteration, Women of Strength Wednesday. I don't know if that's exactly an alliteration, but it feels really cool to me. Women of Strength Wednesday. No matter what day you are listening to this on, this podcast was released on Wednesday and so you can proudly be a part of Women of Strength Wednesday.We have a really, really, cool, cool, cool story to share with you today. We have Katherine with us. She has five kids. She had three Cesareans and then two VBACs. Her first VBAC was a traumatic and really hard experience for her and her second VBAC after three Cesareans was a planned, unassisted birth. And so, we are going to talk about all those things. We're going to talk about when you might need to consider an unassisted birth and how to do that safely, although we always recommend first if you can possibly find a supportive provider to support you in your VBAC, we always are going to recommend that first. But we realize that that's not possible in every area and so we want to talk about it instead of going into an unassisted birth irresponsibly, let's talk about options. We'll go over the risks. We will talk about how to do it responsibly if you find yourself in that position. Review of the WeekKatherine's going to share her story with us, but before we share her story and before we get to meet sweet Katherine, Meagan has a Review of the Week for us.Meagan: Yes I do. I was scrolling through reading and I was like, “Oh, I totally want to show this one, and then we like to show who it is from. I scrolled over and guess who it's from? It's from Paige.Julie: Our Paige?Meagan: Yeah.Julie: Aww.Meagan: Yeah. I'm excited to read this. So the subject is “Best birth podcast in all the land.”Julie: She's so sweet.Meagan: And I love that. I was like, “That is the cutest.” It says, “The VBAC Link is THE most empowering space on the internet. The birth prep content combined with the safe, beautiful sisterhood and support is truly unmatched anywhere else. I have prepped twice for a VBAC-- once before The VBAC Link existed and the other having podcasts in my ear multiple times a day every day during my pregnancy. The transformation I was able to have physically from doing the bodywork they recommend and in my heart and soul has changed me forever.“Julie and Meagan become your virtual doulas. They hold space for YOUR story and stay with you every step of the way. I can't express enough what a catalyst their podcast was for me to find my strength, find my voice, listen to my intuition, and have the confidence to completely throw myself into a journey without a guaranteed outcome. I didn't get my VBAC or my VBA2C, but The VBAC Link gave me so much more than the natural birth I hoped for. Forever and ever grateful for these two women. For their hearts. For their mission. For this safe and uplifting community in a world that has never needed it more.”That gave me chills.Julie: Oh my gosh, Paige. You're the best.Meagan: Seriously.Julie: She's going to be transcribing this.Meagan: As you transcribe, can you say, “I am the best”?Julie: Give yourself a high-five from us because we love that review. I just wish I could be a fly on the wall when you are transcribing this episode so I can see your reaction to us reading your review on the podcast and how much we loved it.Meagan: I know. It's beautiful. Yes and we love reviews so if you haven't yet, please drop a review. We have tons of podcasts that we have to record and we love to read reviews of the podcast on each recording. So leave us a review. No matter where it is, just drop it even if it is just a message. Message us and say, “Put this on your review.” We would love it.Julie: We just read one of those the other day.Meagan: Yes we did.Julie: An email review. We never share email, instant messenger, or direct messages without asking permission first, but if you leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts or Google, just regular old Google, it's free game. So you're probably going to get your review read on the podcast one day. We are really excited about that. The warm and fuzzies really keep us going and we are grateful for our sweet Paige for giving us that wonderful review.Katherine's storyJulie: All right, all right. Now it is time for Katherine. We are really, really, really excited for her to share her experiences with us. She lives in Georgia. In Georgia and other states in the south like Florida, Louisiana, and Alabama, the Cesarean rates are really high. The VBAC rates are really, really low and it's hard to find a truly supportive VBAC provider. There are a few gems here and there, but you're a lot more limited in your options there than you would be in some other parts of the areas just because of legal guidelines, VBAC policies, and de facto VBAC bans where the hospital will allow VBAC, but no providers will support you through a VBAC or they are really barely tolerant best. And so, Katherine is going to share her journey with us navigating through all of that in the south and then she's going to talk about her to VBAC after three Cesareans, one in hospital and one unassisted. Before I just start rambling on anymore, I'm going to turn it over to Katherine.Katherine: Okay. I do want to add something. So I am in Georgia currently, but I was born in Virginia where I had my first two kids and my husband is military, so we moved to California and we had our third, and then our last two were in Georgia. So it's going to be kind of all over the place.Julie: You'll fit right in.Katherine: Yeah. My first two, I was 17 turning 18 with my first and like a lot of people on The VBAC Link podcast talk about, at that age, you don't know a lot. No one tells you anything. You just think about the movies and you think, “It's just going to happen like this,” and you don't realize that there is so much that goes into it. So where my story goes is, I didn't actually see a provider until I was 19 weeks. I found out instantly we were having a girl and had my first obstetric abuse type thing where a doctor called me “stupid” because I didn't want to get the genetic testing done.Julie: Oh my gosh.Katherine: Fast forward towards Christmastime when I was 36 weeks, I ended up moving back home because I was in college at the time. I moved back home and I switched to a practice that was well known around us and everyone heard good things. I was born at the hospital, all the classic stuff. I wanted to see as many providers as I could, but they kept scheduling me with the same lady. My daughter was breech all the time, essentially. Every appointment she was, but I kept telling them that she would flip at night. I felt it. I knew she was flipping every night and then for some reason in my morning appointment, she would be butt down again. And so, at my 38-week appointment, I remember talking with the doctor and I really didn't like this lady, but that's all put aside. She told me that I could have an ECV, but I asked her what was her honest opinion on it, and, of course, she gave me her honest opinion which is that it is really risky and it might end up in a C-section anyways.So with that being said, my mom had three C-sections, I am her VBAC baby, but because of her traumatic experience, she ended up having more C-sections. All I was told is, “Oh well, just have the C-section. It is okay.” I showed up at 39+4 to the hospital. You know, a scheduled Cesarean. They didn't check her position. We had a C-section and one of the things I can clearly remember is the doctor saying, “This baby isn't breech.” And so, there's that. I had an unnecessary C-section. I didn't know I could ask for an ultrasound. Didn't know it was supposed to be done. I just thought, “They know what they're doing.” Recovery for that was really easy, nothing traumatic. I didn't even really think about the trauma of it until years later.My second C-section was when I was 20 right before I turned 21. It was with my son. Normal pregnancy, everything was great. I wanted a VBAC but didn't know a lot. My mom was constantly in my ear about how traumatic her VBAC was. I still wanted it. I got to my 39-week appointment and I was still high and closed. I still didn't know a lot about birth and I remember asking if I could go another weekend. They were perfectly fine with it and then for some reason, they ended up calling me that night with C-section dates for that week.My then-boyfriend, now-husband was going back to school and I didn't want to do it by myself, so at 40 weeks exactly, we had another C-section. Probably the best C-section I've ever had. They made me feel like a person and not like someone just laying there on a table. The anesthesiologist got awesome pictures of my son. It was just a really good experience. Recovery was rough. But I feel like I guess, I don't know. It just came and went. You know? It was normal, kind of rough. I remember getting shots that were in my shoulders, I don't know how they did it. It just made my shoulders really stiff, so the first week of my son's life was rough because I couldn't really pick him up.But going past that, my next C-section was when I was 23. It was 2016. No, 22. I don't know. But with him, I really wanted a VBAC after two Cesareans. I was dead set on it. It was going to happen. I traveled 45 minutes to a provider who backed me up, didn't talk about C-sections until well, you know. She wasn't supposed to talk about C-sections until 42 weeks, but we ended up hitting a speed bump at 40 weeks. But before that at 37 weeks, he flipped to breech. 38 he flipped back on his own and then at 40 weeks he had severe decreased fetal movement. Our appointment came and we tried to do a non-stress test and he was really non-reactive on it. We had a serious talk about what we should do and how we should proceed. I was really scared because even though he had a heartbeat and he was doing fine, he wasn't moving like he was supposed to and I just decided that a C-section would probably be best.We had it the next day at 12. He was born perfectly fine. He had a double nuchal cord which sounds scary, but knowing that it happens in 30% of births, they said, makes it seem not as bad and that it is normal. So yeah, that happened. I had a really bad recovery, postpartum depression. I remember in my six-week check-up, my doctor who did my C-section was really supportive of me and she told me that the day before she had a VBAC after three Cesareans. She assisted one. I thought that was really cool because she was essentially telling me, “There is still hope.” Now, we were in California this time and where we're about to move to Georgia. I met a lady who was a doula who had a home birth after three Cesareans. We had met out of coincidence and she told me in Georgia about a well-known doctor there. So I was really excited to find out we would only be two hours away from him. We move and unexpectedly get pregnant almost immediately as we move. So thus, the panic set in. I decided that I was tired of being ignorant to birth, and what can happen, and how it works, and things like that, so I took a birth class. It was a really good one. It was The Bradley Method birth class. That ended up being probably one of the best decisions I ever made. I learned a lot. I learned coping techniques and then I spent a lot of my time healing my past traumas. So, working on the fact that I have to forgive myself for things I didn't know and for things that were always said to me and that I just kept believing. You know better, you do better. So I had my provider, had really good support. We were on top of things. I had a really healthy pregnancy until 35 weeks. At 35 weeks, I ended up having high blood pressure and my swelling was out of control. We had to have a serious talk about how we were going to proceed because he couldn't induce me because the hospital, even though it was a medical thing. We decided on a 24-hour protein.We did that and it came back that it was just above the line for what is diagnosed as pre-e. From there, we chose to do weekly monitoring, so BPP, NST, and at 39 weeks, my son flipped to breech. That was the biggest shocker of my life. I cried, and cried, and cried and got through the weekend, and then just decided, “It's going to happen as it's going to,” because my provider wasn't pushing me. He was breech supportive. It was like, everything was there and even when we were talking about our options, ECV was still an option, even though I was 39 weeks and I had semi-on the lower end of fluid.I declined that. I just knew he would flip back on his own. So I decided to wait and at 40 weeks he was back head down, to everyone's amazement. And then after that essentially, 41 weeks came and went, 42 weeks came and we had to have another serious talk about, “How are we going to proceed? Did I want to just settle for a C-section?” Because nothing was happening. I didn't do cervical checks at all for this pregnancy because, in past pregnancies, they just made me feel really defeated because nothing was happening. No effacement, nothing. He asked if I wanted one and I told him, “No.” He asked if I wanted the membrane sweep and I told him, “No,” because that goes with having a cervical check too. And so we decided no more appointments because at that point, it was sort of like I was meeting a goal each week. Every single week, I was just meeting a goal. So I said, “No more appointments.” On that day I had my NST, I swore I was having contractions, but none of them were picked up on the NST.I drove home. I woke up the next morning. I was 42+1 at that point, and I cried my eyes out because nothing was happening. I remember telling myself, “I should just do the C-section. On Monday, I'm just going to call. I am just going to get it over with. I can't do this anymore.” I remember I ate a pint of ice cream. I folded some clothes. This is at four in the morning. And you know, me and my husband did our thing. I took a nap and I woke up in labor. So from there, I did 19 hours out of the hospital. We labored at home for 11 or 12 hours and then, we moved to Atlanta, so we had to drive for two hours. Made one pit stop because I had to go to the bathroom and then, we got to the hotel. Spent 5 to 7 hours there. That's where our doula met us. I remember that deciding moment for us going to the hospital was my husband. I had just woken up from a nap. I guess I had passed out in the bathroom sitting on the toilet, best place to labor ever, and my husband and doula, I can hear them talking. He was like, “When do we go to the hospital?” She was like, “Oh, I guess it's whenever she wants to.” I really didn't want to. I honestly didn't even want to go to Atlanta. I wanted to stay home. I really didn't-- I don't know. I guess I was afraid, or I was just comfortable, or something.We go to the hospital. When I get there, I was 7 centimeters, -2 station and my water was bulging. I remember being in so much shock because I didn't think anything was going on. I was totally in denial that I was in labor even though it was really hard to get through. We ran into a couple of bad nurses. The first ones that we met were awesome, but the nurses that when shift change came were rough, but I'm not going to go into that too much.Yeah. Essentially from there, it took us five hours to go from 7 to 10 because I assume he was posterior. No one ever actually said that, but I was on my back a lot because I was really tired. This was going to 25 hours of labor. I remember the nurse looked at me and she asked if I wanted fentanyl. Mind you, I had no idea what that was. The way it was advertised to me was, “Oh, it will just take the edge off.” And you know, that could mean anything, but my tired self took it. From there, I remember passing out multiple times because I was so exhausted. That was part of where a lot of my trauma came from because I felt like I was really out of control. I could still feel all of the pain, but I couldn't control or focus on anything anymore. It was like the room was spinning and I would pass out, wake up to pushing. It was bad.So I had a cervical lip. We pushed that over the baby's head and then we did two more rounds of pushes. It was coached pushing. Not really my favorite thing, but I guess I needed it because I couldn't really control anything anyways. I think by the third set-- it was like, the first push did nothing, the second push got his head out, and the third push got him out. I suffered a second-degree tear. Recovery wasn't terrible. It was definitely way better than a C-section, but it took me a good eight weeks to feel anywhere close to back to normal. And then after that, I sat with myself and had to figure out how to process everything that had just happened. I noticed that the more I talked about it, the more I cried because it was just hard to deal with everything that happened. So we ended up getting pregnant again, Father's Day of 2019. We ended up losing that baby and then we immediately got pregnant with our son Logan. That pregnancy, I tried to stay with people closer to the area because I didn't want to travel again. I guess from my experience, I just couldn't do it again. I didn't want to go back there. It wasn't even the provider. It was the hospital. And so I didn't want to go back there, but I tried to look around. Essentially, I already knew most of the places around here were going to tell me, “No.” I knew that for a fact. I even looked into a midwife, but the backup that she wanted doesn't support VBAC for herself. I just decided that wasn't for me and I didn't want to go with that midwife. So I ended up at a teaching hospital and they had midwives there. They were just starting it and I was really excited. I kept hitting dead ends with them because they follow ACOG guidelines and ACOG doesn't have a stance on VBAC after three Cesareans So they kept saying, “No” even though I had already had one. Then from there, I decided reluctantly to go back to the old place. I was like, “Maybe it will be different this time.” So I went back and I met a new midwife who, in my first appointment with her, shamed me for everything that I had gone through with my son. Like the fact that we chose weekly monitoring instead of just getting a C-section and she was like, “Well, that's really dangerous. You shouldn't have done that because it could have changed any second,” to which we planned for that. I would've just gone to a hospital near me and just gotten a C-section. It wasn't like I was all or nothing.I didn't really feel comfortable anymore. When I finally got to see the doctor for the first time, the one that was so supportive, I didn't really like the answer he gave me when I talked to him about how to help myself from the nurse side when going to the hospital because obviously you can fire and nurses, sure, but it doesn't mean that your next nurse is going to be someone that supports your decision either.In that moment where I was so panicky and I needed someone to be calm, it was like I felt like they were yelling at me because I couldn't-- I don't know. I was really panicky and I just felt like they were yelling at me instead of going, “Hey, calm down,” and talking me through what was going on. So when he had said to me that, “Well, you just need to use your voice more,” I was like, “Oh. Well, that is not what I wanted from you.” I want you to tell me like, “Okay, we can try this this time,” or give me actual ways to try to work on what was going on. It sat with me for a while. I remember going to my ICAN meeting and talking to the leader there. She was really someone that helped me with my first VBAC after three. This time around, I just told her that I couldn't do it and I was really leaning towards unassisted. It was calling to me. I felt in my heart that I had to do it. Everything with my first VBAC after three Cesarean and wanting to stay home was the right choice. I should have done it the first time around.So from there, I joined a Facebook group that was recommended to me. I looked around for a little bit and I thought stuff out, and then I started doing my research on unassisted birth stuff going beyond what you learn in a birth class. My husband was on board the whole time. He actually was telling me today that if I hadn't known my stuff and made him feel comfortable, he wouldn't have been comfortable. So he trusted me explicitly to make this decision and know how safe that was. And that's okay. Because it really was my body, my birth, so I'm just happy that he was really supportive of me. And really, everything went great. I remember doing Brewer's diet for my last birth also because I wanted to make sure that pre-e wouldn't be a thing again and if it did, I would have gone to the nearest doctor and gotten stuff sorted out. But everything went well. No swelling, no BP issues. I just kind of sat through it and my doula was behind me also.So it was really nice to have all that support for something that is so, I guess, I don't know the word to use for it. Like, man. I don't know. I don't want to say risky because it's not risky. I mean, you determine your level of risk and for me, it didn't--Julie: It's just not common. It's just not common.Katherine: Yes, uncommon. I don't know. So essentially going past that, like I said, everything was great. I was wondering how far I was going to go this time because the last time was 42 weeks and I was getting really antsy. I was so hoping I would go into labor sooner, which I did, but it wasn't by much. It was only by like a week. So I went into labor at 41+1 weeks. This was after two days of spotting. Oh man, I feel like things went so differently because I chose to do the Miles Circuit and I chose to do Spinning Babies actively. I went into labor at nine at night and had him at 5:18 in the morning. It picked up so quickly and I think it was just because I tried to keep off my back and keep myself moving. I remember that I wanted to do a water birth and so we had our tub and everything set up. My husband was filling it and everything and I remember getting that feeling like something was between my legs, like that bowling ball feeling that I had never felt before, and I was like, “Oh, I have to get in the tub.” So I got in the tub and I think within 30 minutes, he was born.That was interesting to me because it's so night-and-day to the experience I had the first time around. One of the things that I always found so interesting too is with my first one, I remember feeling nauseous, but I never puked and I feel like that's something that's hardly talked about in birth, but then with this one, even though I hadn't eaten anything, I remember puking at least two or three times before he was actually born. And that was so uncomfortable, but you don't even think about it once they are born. It's just like, “Oh my God, you're here.” He was perfect. Honestly. It was so nice to finally be able to have that time with my baby. No one is messing with you. No one is touching you. He was just so perfect. I can't even tell you how beautiful that moment was for me because it's hard to even explain. For such a night-and-day experience, it was just the best thing that has ever happened to me to be surrounded by love, and support, and people that aren't doubting you or putting unnecessary pressure on you to stay in bed. No one is offering medicine to you. I actually just had my experience. It was me, the labor, and the baby. We were together and we were one. It was just so nice.But yeah. I have been doing, I guess, as much support as I can on the VBAC side for other moms since then because I feel like after my first VBAC I didn't feel that, not responsibility, but I didn't feel like I was ready to because I still had a lot to process and to deal with from my first VBAC. So the fact that my second VBAC went so well, it's like, okay. There is a redeeming factor for some people. Just because you had one bad VBAC doesn't mean that your next one has to be horrific also. So, yeah. I think that's it. I am sorry if I rushed through anything. I just didn't want to get into too much.Meagan: No, you didn't rush.Preparing for an unassisted birthJulie: No, you did great. Yeah, I want you to talk a little bit more about things you did to really prepare for that unassisted birth and what you would recommend people do if that is an option that they are considering.Katherine: Okay. That's a fun one. Okay. So first I would start with-- I think when you're first considering that, you should really sit with yourself and evaluate your own risks for your births. Like past births and even possibilities for a current birth. Once you sit with yourself and if you feel in your soul and in your heart, however, you want to explain it, your gut, if you feel like that's a good feeling and that it's possible, then from there, it's finding the right outlet. So for me, it was asking people who have had an unassisted birth what groups they went to for support. There is one group on Facebook that I really loved. It's not like something where they sit there and tell you how to do everything. It's more of how you should look at this resource or if you really have a question that you can't find the answer to, they point you in the direction of resources you can use. It was also really nice to see so many like-minded women talking about herbs and tinctures, delayed cord clamping, or even just going full-on lotus birth. It was so nice to see that and experience that environment. And then from there, you just do your own independent research on birth emergencies, and how often they happen, and how to handle them if you can handle them because sometimes you can't and that's just a fact of life. There are certain things that you can't handle and you do need to get medical attention for. And then from there, so specific to me, one of things I really looked up was breech birth because I've had three breech babies. I have no idea if my fifth ever flipped to breech because I wasn't seen by anyone. I did all of my own prenatal care. I didn't really feel like he ever flipped, but it's possible that he did.So I needed to look that up for myself and to say, “Okay. How is breech birth handled?” And you know, a lot of the time you'll see it's hands-off. And so doing that research about hands-off and what to look for in an emergency with a breech birth, I am very thankful I didn't have to do that because I feel like my husband would have freaked. And then I think after you do your research, then comes making sure you know how to handle prenatal care and learning about how to take your blood pressure, what urine test strips you look for, and what everything on it means. And then from there, I took my weight religiously. I took my blood pressure religiously. I had my own Doppler. Lots of unassisted birthers use fetoscopes instead, but I had not even heard of that until after he was born. So I used a Doppler and we tracked his heart tones. During his birth, I wanted to check it more, but it ended up being something where we tracked it in the beginning and how I was feeling. If something felt wrong, I would have asked, but we only checked my blood pressure and his heart rate one time throughout the eight hours because I didn't feel like anything was wrong. I feel like a lot of unassisted birth, that's what it is. It's going off your intuition and how you feel. You have to feel secure in yourself when you're going for an unassisted birth because if you don't feel secure, that's where the problem lies. You can't go into it not knowing what's going on with yourself and your baby. I don't know. I think that's where I would cut that off because it goes, I feel, so much deeper than that too.Meagan: Yeah. It's a big decision. It's a very big decision and you have to be prepared. You have to be prepared on all aspects. You have to be prepared for a great outcome, a not-so-great outcome, and a bad outcome. And yeah, it's hard for some. You know? But then there are some people that are like, “Nope. I've got it.” And then they do. They dive in and they do. They just sponge it all up and they are ready.Katherine: Yeah. I love those types. I love those women. I am so serious. I have met a few of them and they are just beautiful people. I love how they're just so solid in themselves. And I understand. You can be a mom and not be solid in yourself and that is perfectly fine because I mean, it took me what? Four births to even feel that way about myself? So, you do. You have to understand, and really trust yourself, and trust your baby, and you have to trust that things are going to work out how you want them to and if they don't, how to handle those outcomes.Meagan: Yeah, but it happens. There's seriously some areas where there's not even a provider if they wanted a provider.Katherine: Yep.Meagan: They can't even get where-- like the times right now that we live in, it's wild. It's just wild. And it's scary sometimes when you're like, “I don't know what to do.” So the only thing you can do is educate yourself and prepare yourself.Katherine: Speaking specifically towards a VBAC after three or more Cesareans, the ICAN leader I had hosted a really beautiful seminar on what to do when you are going for a VBAC after three Cesareans and you keep hitting dead ends. That largely lies in knowing your rights. So if you are in a place where they are telling you, “No, you can't do this. Hospital policy won't let you do this. Yada, yada, yada,” it's then knowing your rights and that they can't deny you care if you are in labor. They can't force a Cesarean on you, but coercion is a thing. They will say and do very scary things to make you submit to what they want. It's knowing that you have to fight for the right. That's terrible to say, but you have to fight for that. You have to fight for the birth that you want. I think that's interesting how unassisted birth and that ties together because it's, I don't know. I don't know how to explain it. It's just interesting. If you're not going unassisted, that's what you're doing essentially is, you're telling doctors, “No. I am doing this,” and it's being okay with that. That's interesting to me.Megan: Oh, thank you so much. Julie, is there anything else that you want to say? I know you were wanting to close it up?Julie: No I just want to say, we always encourage you to do your best to find a provider that is going to support you and your VBAC journey, but here's the thing. You need to be able to trust your provider, but if you can sense that your provider doesn't trust you back, there is a big disconnect there and it's going to cause a lot of problems. We know like I said earlier in the episode, that there are some states and some parts of the world where it's not easy or even possible to find a VBAC supportive provider. Especially now, in the COVID area where hospitals are forcing parents to birth alone. Now, husbands are allowed at least, or birth partners, or baby's fathers, or the other parent, whatever you want to call it, are allowed in the hospital now, but at the beginning of this coronavirus, women were birthing alone and providers were coming into the room in hazmat suits. Women were being forced to choose and not always making responsible decisions about their care. And so I think the thing that we really want to hit home here is, we don't necessarily say, “Hey, if you can't find a supportive provider, go have your baby by yourself,” but what we do want to encourage is finding that provider that you can trust. Interview as many providers as you need to, but if you feel like you are forced in this position between birthing in an environment that you feel is hostile, or that does not support you, or give you the autonomy over your own body and birthing unassisted, you need to get busy. Get educated and learn all of the things and then there's going to be more and more to learn. The more you learn, the more there is to learn about all of these things. You have to be diligent. You have to know all about different types of emergencies and how to handle them, and how to react in different types of situations, and really trusting your intuition and your gut instincts about what's right and what's not right, and learning how to follow that really really well. And then, there you go. If it feels like that's the right thing for you, then trust that. We always encourage people to trust their intuition. If your intuition is telling you to go down that route, do it, but do it in a very prepared, and educated, and smart way. All right. Well, Katherine. We are so grateful to you for sharing your story with us today and being an inspiration for people who might choose to birth a little bit outside of the box. We always want to make sure that we are covering all types of birth scenarios and all types of birth outcomes on our podcast. We are happy you shared your story with us here today and we hope that those listening learn something from you. I think that everybody should.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

When can you change care providers/plans? Answer: any time you want. This comes up frequently on the podcast. As long as it’s an important and relevant part of the pregnancy and birth experience (which it will always be), we will keep addressing this theme. Because for one thing: many do not know or realize that they are actually allowed to change care providers, whenever and for whatever reason. And there are others who might be aware of this, but are hesitant or afraid to.  Today’s guest, Sarah Schlichter shares her journey of shifting from a planned hospital birth with midwives to a home birth with midwives, at 36 weeks pregnant.  Sarah had a cesarean birth with her first child Camryn. She fell into what she referred to as “the traditional way of thinking”...aka you go to the hospital and have a baby. Her first birth left her with some feelings of trauma and being “gypped” and “disappointed.” When it came to her second pregnancy, taking a course in the Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth was a turning point. Finally around 36 weeks, Sarah’s husband Ed asked, “why don’t we just have the baby at home?” In this episode we talk about: hospital cesarean birth, switching care, HBAC, dual care, faith vs. fear, GBS positive, and a bunch of helpful resources (links in description below!) From Sarah: Hannah’s birth is a day I will forever remember, and was perhaps the coolest thing I’ve ever done just because of the circumstances of her birth. I never thought I’d do a homebirth, but I wanted a supportive atmosphere for my TOLAC/VBAC and everything worked out like it was supposed to. At 36 weeks pregnant, I switched care providers. Yes – very late in the game! Ed and I had taken a Bradley Birth Class virtually and resonated with so many of the principles and beliefs of the Bradley Method.  We truly wanted this birth to be as “natural” as possible. And while it is completely possible to have a natural birth in a hospital setting, I knew it would raise the stakes and make things more difficult for me Based on my prior C Section. Links: Sarah’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bucketlisttummy_rd/ Sarah’s website: https://www.bucketlisttummy.com/ Give Birth a Chance: https://www.amazon.com/Give-Birth-Chance-Prepare-Empowered/dp/1683505190#:~:text=Give%20Birth%20a%20Chance%20is%20a%20must%20read%20for%20anyone,informed%20about%20the%20birthing%20process. Business of Being Born: https://www.thebusinessof.life/ ICAN: https://www.ican-online.org/find-a-chapter-2/ Spinning Babies: https://www.spinningbabies.com/ Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth: https://www.amazon.com/Ina-Mays-Guide-Childbirth-Gaskin/dp/0553381156 Bradley Method: http://www.bradleybirth.com/ Riverside Midwifery: https://riversidemidwifery.com/ Our website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3jKtIYv Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diahpodcast/ Donate to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9 DIAH Shop: ttps://bit.ly/3qhwgAe

Jessica (Jesse) Peterson,  joined us to share her wisdom on many subjects including pregnancy, birth, co-parenting, blending of families, supportive and healthy partnership, and how her passion for perma-culture has transformed the way she views the world. Among the many, many roles Jesse has played in her life, she is now the owner of Wild Willow Wellness where she offers beautifully crafted, hyper-local apothecary products as well as healing and heavenly massage experiences in Helena, Montana. We're grateful for Jesse's kind and powerful presence, her willingness to have honest conversations, and her commitment to walk in her values every day. Hope you enjoy this conversation and that Jesse's strong confidence boosts yours.Show notes:Wild Willow Wellness (Jesse's apothecary and massage offerings):   https://www.wildwillowwellness.com/The Bradley Method: http://bradleybirth.com/More about Jesse: https://www.permaculturewomen.com/jessicapeterson/Book Recommendations:Ina May's Guide to ChildbirthSpiritual MidwiferyNaturally Healthy Babies and Children: A Commonsense Guide to Herbal Remedies, Nutrition, and HealthNourishing Traditions for BabiesVideos that Claire mentions (if you need a good laugh)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh4f9AYRCZYhttps://youtu.be/-Ojvk-4IcOEConnect with Healthy Mothers, Healthy BabiesWebsiteFacebookInstagram Need Help Now?  Visit www.postpartum.net for resources to help you on your postpartum journey.  For statewide resources please visit the Linking Infants and Families to Supports athttps://hmhb-lifts.org/

What kind of birthing experience would you like to have? Who would be supporting you? In this podcast we talk about our positive experience with the Bradley method. This method of birthing is a more natural route and involves your partner to be your coach. Utilizing this method not only brought us closer but fall deeper in love with each other. Join us as we dive deep in discussing our experience with the Bradley method. Please subscribe and visit us on our website community, and we look forward to reading your comments. ❤️

Daniela John and Michael discuss their real life experiences with pregnancy and childbirth from an under represented  perspective.

I could talk to Briar forever. Not only is she down to earth, but kind and smart as a whip! Mother of nine, three she’s always known about, and wife for 32+ years, Dr.Briar Flicker-Grossman has her Master’s Degree in Social Work and a Doctorate in Psychoanalysis. She is a Doula, certified Childbirth Educator through the Bradley Method, and teaches at the Psychoanalytic Center of California. She has a private practice in Woodland Hills, California Dr. Briar is the international best-selling author of Love, Laugh, Be, How I Wound Up With Nine Amazing Kids (When I Only Knew About Three) And Other Extraordinary True Stories That Matter, and recently received the Best of LA award for Best Motivational Self-Help Book - 2020. She has been a public speaker and written blogs about love, being, appetite, cancer, epilepsy, and parenting. She loves contributing to podcasters and their communities as part of her mission to increase the imprint of love and understanding in the world. Website: www.drbriar.com

On October 28th, 2020, my wife Mallory birthed our newborn son, Justice Michael Justice. Like with our first son, Noble, Mallory made the choice to do an all natural home birth. We also utilized the Bradley Method of natural childbirth, which places the partner (myself) in the role of coach.Many people have asked us to share more about our birth story, so we thought it would be fun to record it in the form of a podcast episode. We recount the 9 months of preparation leading up the Justice's birth, the highlights of the labor and birth, the background behind his name, and other interesting tidbits related to child birth. We hope you find it insightful, inspiring, and elevated!For more information on the Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth:http://www.bradleybirth.com/

On October 28th, 2020, my wife Mallory birthed our newborn son, Justice Michael Justice. Like with our first son, Noble, Mallory made the choice to do an all natural home birth. We also utilized the Bradley Method of natural childbirth, which places the partner (myself) in the role of coach.Many people have asked us to share more about our birth story, so we thought it would be fun to record it in the form of a podcast episode. We recount the 9 months of preparation leading up the Justice's birth, the highlights of the labor and birth, the background behind his name, and other interesting tidbits related to child birth. We hope you find it insightful, inspiring, and elevated!For more information on the Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth:http://www.bradleybirth.com/

On August 10th, 2019 our precious Henry came into this world. Ryan joins me in telling the story of his natural delivery. Hear how we prepared by following the Bradley Method and our thoughts on natural childbirth. And as a special treat meet baby Henry in his podcast debut!

Anna and Luca are expecting so they're telling you what kinds of things they're expecting from their lives with a newborn. From how they plan on getting sleep when the baby comes, to how they're dealing with the prospect of their parents not visiting them because of the Coronavirus. This is their plan, for now... Be sure to follow us on Instagram (@yourbestlifepodcast)! Also, join our official Facebook Group, "Your Best Life Podcast," to keep the conversation going.

I could talk to Briar forever. Not only is she down to earth, but kind and smart as a whip! Mother of nine, three she’s always known about, and wife for 32+ years, Dr.Briar Flicker-Grossman has her Master’s Degree in Social Work and a Doctorate in Psychoanalysis. She is a Doula, certified Childbirth Educator through the Bradley Method, and teaches at the Psychoanalytic Center of California. She has a private practice in Woodland Hills, California Dr. Briar is the international best-selling author of "Love, Laugh, Be, How I Wound Up With Nine Amazing Kids (When I Only Knew About Three) And Other Extraordinary True Stories That Matter", and recently received the Best of LA award for Best Motivational Self-Help Book - 2020. She has been a public speaker and written blogs about love, being, appetite, cancer, epilepsy, and parenting. She loves contributing to podcasters and their communities as part of her mission to increase the imprint of love and understanding in the world. Website: www.drbriar.com

Birthing, the gift of life meets the reality of what really goes down in labor and delivery. Learn the science behind the Bradley Method of delivering, the pros and cons of water births, and what is precipitous labor and do you want one? I also have 10 natural ways to relieve labor pains and the inside scoop on what really works. This podcast is the what to expect when you’re expecting BIRTHING EDITION. Pregnancy Pukeology Podcast is perfect for all women who are pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant and want answers for the best information about pregnancy that there is to date. Think of Pregnancy Pukeology Podcast as your answer to all things pregnant as told to you by your best friend who happens to be a doctor. And our podcast wouldn’t be complete without a few pregnancy puke stories that will give you the comical relief you need with tips to stop the up-chuckle. Comedy + Science + Edutainment = Pregnancy Pukeology Podcast Episode 39: What to Expect When You're Expecting Birthing Edition!

Birthing, the gift of life meets the reality of what really goes down in labor and delivery. Learn the science behind the Bradley Method of delivering, the pros and cons of water births, and what is precipitous labor and do you want one? I also have 10 natural ways to relieve labor pains and the inside scoop on what really works. This podcast is the what to expect when you’re expecting BIRTHING EDITION. Pregnancy Pukeology Podcast is perfect for all women who are pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant and want answers for the best information about pregnancy that there is to date. Think of Pregnancy Pukeology Podcast as your answer to all things pregnant as told to you by your best friend who happens to be a doctor. And our podcast wouldn’t be complete without a few pregnancy puke stories that will give you the comical relief you need with tips to stop the up-chuckle. Comedy + Science + Edutainment = Pregnancy Pukeology Podcast Episode 39: What to Expect When You're Expecting Birthing Edition!

Join me as I speak to my Bradley Method Instructor Laurie Steinbarge. We discuss The history of The Bradley Method, why the Bradley Method works, and birth in the time of COVID-19!  Here are some resources discussed in today's episode: Riverside Natural Childbirth Classes Laurie's Email for anyone looking for more information: LaurieSteinbarge@hotmail.com  The Bradley Method Website Husband-Coached Birth Book Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way Book Latchkey Mama Instagram

Lia Berquist is a mom of two, Doula, Bradley Method Instructor, Evidence Based Birth Instructor and self-proclaimed birth fanatic. Lia was introduced to the Bradley Method in 1998 after giving birth naturally in a hospital. Ten years later with the knowledge and understanding on how to advocate for herself she gave birth to her second child at home. She believes that no matter what type of birth you choose, it should be your choice and you should have the tools and knowledge to advocate for yourself. Key Takeaway: When it comes to childbirth education, do you research, make your selection on the method you prefer and stick with it, otherwise you'll find yourself second guessing your choices and will feel overwhelmed. Lia's website: yournaturalbirth.net Instagram: @yournaturalbirth Facebook: @yournaturalbirthlb Resources: Bradley Birth Method website: bradleybirth.com Spinning Babies: spinningbabies.com Evidence Based Birth: evidencedbasedbirth.com Favorite Parenting Book: No Cry Sleep Solution When selecting a Doula these are the certifications you want to look for: DONA, CAPPA, BADT. Lia recommends when you interview your Doula, ask hard questions and see if this person is the right fit for you.

Hear my story of how I prepared for my first natural birth , how I failed and why

What happens when your birth turns out different than how you pictured it? Two-time DIAH mama Kimberly Huck can relate to this question for her second home birth. We’re so excited to have Kimberly back on the show (she joined us back in episode 53 sharing her fast labor and Bradley Method influenced water birth with her son Henry) to share the birth story of her daughter Josie. We talk to Kimberly about her process of preparing to go from one child to two and the different emotions that came along with that. She also shares some of the energy work that she utilized to help her connect with baby while she was pregnant and set herself up for a powerful birth experience. Then the birth itself - with interesting factors like her midwife being two plus hours away at another birth when Kimberly went into labor and the need for a postpartum transfer when it appeared that Kimberly was bleeding significantly.  Plus another thing that we think happens with lots of moms, but isn’t discussed - the “what if” conversation, applied retroactively. When maybe things did go well, but you find yourself going back to the event and thinking, “what would have happened if xyz….?” This is such a magical conversation - and especially for those who might have experienced a postpartum hospital transfer or for those who might be nervous about that possibility.  Links: First interview with Kimberly: https://www.diahpodcast.com/single-post/The-Super-Fast-Bradley-Method-Water-Birth-with-Kimberly-Huck Kimberly’s Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/simplythrivingmama/ The Body Code: https://www.drbradleynelson.com/the-body-code/ Our website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ DIAH Shop: https://www.bonfire.com/store/diahpodcast/ Parents on Demand Network: https://parentsondemand.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diahpodcast/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/diahpodcast Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1904721379788084/?ref=bookmarks

Victoria discusses giving birth at a birth center, using the Bradley Method, and breastfeeding.

I love a great birth story and this one takes the cake. Johana describes her no medicine natural birth for both her babies. This episode is full of all the gritty and laughable hospital details but you can handle it, your'e a parent. You have experienced worst. Enjoy!

In this episode, Colleen, mother of six and creator of the YouTube channel, Uncomplicated Motherhood, shares a beautiful home birth story along with her philosophy on simplifying motherhood and empowering women during pregnancy and childbirth.The link to Colleen's YouTube channel is here: https://www.youtube.com/uncomplicatedmotherhoodFor more on pregnancy, postpartum and parenthood, visit MasteringMotherhoodPodcast.com. Or follow on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.Music from https://filmmusic.io"Bossa Antigua" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/masteringmotherhoodpodcast)

Yes, it is 100% beneficial for women to be physically active during pregnancy and that can be anything from walking to participating in different types of classes or resistance training with modifications and restrictions taken into consideration. - Stephanie Paplinskie   Learn more about The Official Coffee Diet Get on the waiting list for the Sky Fit Challenge Join our Open Sky Fitness Podcast Facebook Group! Do the 7 Day Paleo Reset     There's a lot of misinformation out there when it comes to whether or not women can exercise while pregnant so this week, we are happy to bring on Founder of StrongHer Fitness, Pre/Postnatal Fitness Coach, International College Lecturer, Stephanie Paplinskie CSCS, to set the record straight. Spoiler alert! Yes, you can exercise while pregnant BUT there are some important things you need to know about first as a soon-to-be mom or if you would like to start a family someday.   In this episode, Stephanie and I covered a range of important topics including: How she and her team helped to revise the 2019 Canadian Guideline for Physical Activity throughout Pregnancy What lifting and resistance guidelines you can follow in addition to your aerobic training. Common modifications women make when lifting weights while pregnant. What your fitness focus should look like after giving birth including seeing a Pelvic Floor Physio. The importance of the pelvic floor, what it is plus what a prolapse is and when it can happen during or after pregnancy. The Bradley Method® of Natural Childbirth and their experience of it with their daughter, Charlie and the importance of increasing protein intake.   We hope you enjoy this episode! There's so much great information packed in it you may want to tune in again!   Stephanie Paplinskie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARAfmJ3ko5c   About Stephanie Paplinskie Stephanie Paplinskie is a prenatal and postpartum fitness specialist who specializes in resistance training during and after pregnancy. She teaches part-time at Western University and Fanshawe College while pursuing a Ph.D. in the Exercise and Pregnancy Lab at Western University under world-renowned pregnancy researcher Dr. Michelle Mottola. Stephanie is an International Lecturer (German Sports University), business owner (StrongHer Fitness), Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (NSCA), television personality (Rogers TV), and keynote speaker. She has been featured in Shape, Strong Fitness Magazine, Inside Fitness Magazine, among others.     StrongHer FIT PREGNANCY - Second Trimester Exercise Modifications with Stephanie Paplinskie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me99pPmOuik   Claim Your FREE Bacon + $10 Off With Our Sponsor - ButcherBox That's right! By listening to the Open Sky Fitness Podcast, you get the chance to get a free order of bacon plus $10 off your first ButcherBox purchase!! ButcherBox delivers 100% grass-fed beef, free-range organic chicken, and heritage breed pork directly to your door. Think of them as the neighborhood butcher for modern America.   Introducing: The Official Coffee Diet Group I've launched The Official Coffee Diet Group on Facebook! It's now closed but you can check out the main OCD Coffee website here for updates! What is The Official Coffee Diet Group? It's a group in which I'm going to share how you can get started with The Official Coffee Diet, transform your lifestyle, lose weight, roast your own coffee beans, and start feeling great!     Let Us Coach You On The Podcast! Come on the podcast and let us be your coach for an hour on the show! We talked about this a while back but we want you, the listener, to be a guest on our show by allowing us to be your personal coaches for a 1-hour call. Your call will be featured as an actual episode on our podcast but can always keep your identity hidden by changing your name because we know that our health is everything and some things we'd like to keep to ourselves. Here's how you sign up: Go to http://openskyfitness.com/contact/ Fill out your name, email address, and message In your message, please include: Your goals What obstacles you believe are standing in your way Your expectations and how you think Devon and Rob can help you     What You'll Hear on This Episode 00:00 Open Sky Fitness Introduction 1:15  Opening comments with Rob and Devon 2:00 Today's topic: working out while pregnant. 5:00 About Stephanie and how she came interested in understanding how women can work out while pregnant. 9:00 What so much of society misunderstands about the benefits of working out while pregnant. 10:00 How she and her team helped to revise the 2019 Canadian Guideline for Physical Activity throughout Pregnancy 11:00 What lifting and resistance guidelines you can follow in addition to your aerobic training. 12:00 Common modifications women make when lifting weights while pregnant. 13:35 What workouts are best to avoid including HIIT exercises which quickly elevate the heart rate. 16:00 Is it safe to do core strength exercises like crunches? 18:30 What exercises to do post-partum especially for your core and how to prevent injury. 20:00 Why periodization and progressive overload are the two key principles that you want to utilize. 20:40 What your fitness focus should look like after giving birth including seeing a Pelvic Floor Physio. 23:00 The importance of the pelvic floor, what it is plus what a prolapse is and when it can happen during or after pregnancy. 26:50 How do you know if you're not ready for jumping exercises like burpees, jumping jacks, or jump rope. 28:30 The difference between whether you can and should do an exercise. 29:40 How she works with clients who are experiencing a lot of mental shifts and are extremely concerned about their weight gain and need should focus on eating twice as healthy. 32:30 The Bradley Method® of Natural Childbirth and their experience of it with their daughter, Charlie and the importance of increasing protein intake. 34:30 Her nutrition advice and how to avoid cravings that lead to consuming an excess amount of carbohydrates. 36:50 Miscarriages and how to approach recovery from it through fitness, talking about it, and letting yourself go through the stages of grief. 39:10 The biggest questions and concerns that come up while coaching and at international speaking events. 43:30 DNA blueprinting and how the decisions a woman will make while pregnant can impact not only her child but her grandchild as well. 50:00 Her recommendations for doing your own online research for more on working out while pregnant. 51:40 How to get trained for your baby's delivery and post-partum recovery. 58:00 Internal temperature while a woman works out or is in a sauna and how that can impact the baby. 1:02:00 What workouts an early-stage pregnant woman can begin to do now if she's never worked out before. 1:05:00 Workouts pregnant woman can do throughout different stages of pregnancy. 1:14:150  Closing comments with Rob and Devon 1:18:00 Open Sky Fitness Closing   RESOURCES MENTIONED DURING THE SHOW: Leave us an iTunes review Subscribe to our podcast and take your health to the next level! Join The Open Sky Fitness Podcast Group on Facebook Learn more about the Sky Fit Challenge Clean up your diet with our  7 Day Paleo Reset Contact Rob and Devon to apply for One-On-One Coaching Sessions Learn more about our new sponsor - ButcherBox Check out our other latest  podcast  episodes: Self Love: Why We Have To Work For Our Own Happiness with Briar Flicker-Grossman - Ep. 268 Learn more about Stephanie's Core Restore Program Find out more about The Bradley Method® of Natural Childbirth Read the recommended articles and online sources: 2019 Canadian Guideline for Physical Activity throughout Pregnancy British Journal Of Sports Medicine Connect with Stephanie Paplinskie via: Stephanie Paplinskie's personal Instagram Business Instagram Facebook LinkedIn YouTube JOIN THE SKY FIT CHALLENGE! CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE The challenge consists of: 8 Weeks of Equipment Free Bodyweight Workouts in 20 minutes or less. (No gym membership required) SIMPLE Whole Food Meal Plan w/Tasty Recipe Cookbook Featuring 60+ recipes! Foolproof Schedule so you know EXACTLY what you’re supposed to do every day. Access to our New Private Facebook Group – Sky Fit Challenge Group to share your progress with everyone as well as receive support and be held accountable. Do The FREE 7 Day Paleo Rest Simply go to 7DayPaleoReset.com to sign up now One of the best things you can do for your mind and body in your mission to get healthier is to focus on your nutrition. That's why we're allowing people to sign up now to join us for our next Free 7 Day Paleo Rest! It's all done via Facebook so no annoying emails that will fill up your inbox. As part of the 7 Day Paleo Reset, we will provide you with: Introduction to what the Paleo Diet is all about 7 Day guide to easy Paleo recipes What batch cooking is and how to incorporate that into your lifestyle Various content resources including generational eating habits, the importance of building a wellness community, and how to begin a new healthy lifestyle. How to make an impact on your life and life a life full of wellness.   Look Out For Our Upcoming Throw Back Thursday Podcast Episodes! We'll be releasing new podcasts episodes on Thursdays that discuss previous episodes we've done, but we need your help! Go to the  Open Sky Fitness Facebook Group and tell us what your favorite episodes are. Then, Devon and I will re-listen to that episode, pick out the best parts and share even more insights on the topic. We won't just be regurgitating the same information over again. Since we began this podcast, there's so much more information out their on health, nutrition, fitness, and personal wellness. So, each Thursday we'll really just be going deeper into your favorite topics!   Join The Open Sky Fitness Podcast Group! That's right! We have a closed Open Sky Fitness Podcast group on Facebook where you and everyone have the opportunity to talk about your health and fitness goals in a safe environment. We post workouts and start discussions about how to be strategic about finding a healthier you. Check it out! Start Building Your Own Workouts and Meal Plan! Download Results Tracker here! Click To Download Home Workout Templates or text the word, "lifting," to 33444 to download the templates. Download the OSF Food Journal Now! Have a Question or Review for Rob or Devon? We love answering questions and getting feedback from you, our listener! If you have any questions to ask us, want to share a review of the show, or tell us any suggestions for guests/topics that you think would be great to have on the show, just email Rob at rob@openskyfitness.com or Devon at devon@openskyfitness.com or you can also leave us a review at http://reviewourpodcast.com ask a question in the closed Open Sky Fitness Facebook Group and even text OSFreview to 33444 to get the link Get Fit with Free Downloads! To Download Rob’s FREE workout templates click below** Download Templates Ask Rob a Question or tell him what is working for you: Email Rob@OpenSkyFitness.com Support This Podcast To leave a Review for Rob and the Open Sky Fitness Podcast CLICK NOW!  Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show and I read each and every one of them. Contact our amazing sound engineer Ryan? Send him an e-mail here: info@stellarsoundsstudio.com Thanks for Listening! Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post. Do you have any questions (and would like to hear yourself on the Open Sky Fitness Podcast)? Click on the link on the right side of any page on our website that says “Send Voicemail.” And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. It’s free! Thanks for listening/reading Episode 269 -Yes, Pregnant Women Should Workout with Stephanie Paplinskie!  We hope you have gained more knowledge on how to be a healthier you.

How do you know you’re making the best choice when it comes to planning for your birth? This is one of the themes we unpack in today’s episode. We’re joined by Nicole and Al, parents to Eli, Karin, Eliza and Atreyu. We get to hear both mom and dad’s perspective on the birthing journey. From the first birth - unmedicated in the hospital, attended by midwives. The second - unplanned twin cesarean. And finally their home birth. Nicole shares her experience as a childbirth educator and Bradley Method instructor and how that influenced her decisions and how she participated in her care and planning. Al talks about his role as her partner and holding the space for her during birth. Links: Our website DIAH Shop Parents on Demand Network Instagram Facebook Page Facebook Group

Lynn Turcotte-Schuh was a marine mammal trainer before she gave birth to her daughter, which inspired her to become a Certified Childbirth Educator, Toddler Trainer, and coach of other moms through her practice Happy Mama Wellness. Lynn originally wanted to have a home birth, but after discussing it with her wife, they decided that giving birth in the hospital while creating a relaxing, supportive, home-birth-like environment was right for them. Lynn had a 53-hour labor, during which she, her wife, and her midwife were able to advocate for Lynn's ideal birth.  Lynn and I chat about her birth story on this episode, including why she didn't want to be hooked up to any machines or use any medication during her birth. We also talk about how she and her wife educated and prepared themselves for the birth, what she might have done differently, and why she now loves helping other moms create a holistic pregnancy and birth experience. In this Episode, You’ll Learn About: How Lynn decided that she wanted to work primarily with a midwife What she and her wife did to prepare themselves for the birth of their daughter Why Lynn originally wanted to have a home birth, but switched to a hospital birth How a doula or midwife can help you advocate for your unique birth plan in the hospital Why it's so important and empowering to educate yourself before birth How Lynn turned her good birth experience into a whole new career Lynn's top two recommendations for feeling supported during pregnancy and birth Links Mentioned In The Episode How To Make A Birth Plan That Works - Free Online Class! The Birth Preparation Course Lynn Turcotte-Schuh: Happy Mama Wellness  The Bradley Method of Natural Birth Spinning Babies Join my email list here!

Is it ever too late to change your birth plan or mindset? What about over the years, after multiple pregnancies and births? One thing we’re big on here at DIAH is supporting your process of evolving and figuring out what works for you and your family - and that it can happen over the course of however many years and children. Enter our amazing guest in today’s episode, Sarah Bode. Sarah is a podcaster herself, host of the show “Raw As A Mother,” an author, coach, wife and mama to 4. After 3 natural hospital births, Sarah felt led towards home birth for her fourth. Her birthing journey remarkable for many reasons - like after suffering PCOS as well as holistically healing from thyroid cancer, she’s been able to birth 4 healthy children. Her third birth really influenced the choice for home birth, as it was the “most traumatizing” of her births and she felt like she had no sense of control of the experience. Sarah’s fourth birth was a paradigm shift - a reprogramming. Listen in to learn more about her story and her work. Links:Our website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/DIAH Shop: https://www.bonfire.com/store/diahpodcast/Parents on Demand Network: https://parentsondemand.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diahpodcast/Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/diahpodcastFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1904721379788084/?ref=bookmarksRaw As A Mother podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/raw-as-a-mother/id1377833776Raw As A Mother episode with Sarah Bivens: https://bit.ly/2nDz1AfSarah Bode’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahbbode/?hl=enResources Sarah Bode shared:Hypnobirthing: https://us.hypnobirthing.com/Bradley Method: http://www.bradleybirth.com/First 40 Days: https://www.amazon.com/First-Forty-Days-Essential-Nourishing/dp/1617691836Mamaste: https://www.amazon.com/Mamaste-Discover-Authentic-Balanced-Motherhood/dp/145216956XBirth Light: https://www.birthlight.com/

Thank you to our sponsors: Hatched at Home-Midwife Carrie LaChapelle: www.hatchedathome.com https://www.facebook.com/MidwifeCarrieLachapelleLMCPM/ 864-907-6363 Stephanie Sibbio’s Glowing Mama To Be Course: www.myhappyhomebirth.com/glowingmamacourse  (15% off with the code: happyhomebirth15 ) Instagram: stephsibbiofitness Show Notes: “Holistic Hilda” is a health coach and podcast coach in the D.C. area. She has 4 young adult children, and a husband who is an athletic director Hilda’s own birth story: Hilda was born with a birth defect- a hole in her heart (because her mother was exposed to German Measles while pregnant). At 9, she had surgery to repair her heart.  As a child, she had to be very careful. After her surgery, she was ready to live life to the fullest!  This, she believes is what spurred her on to living such an active, healthy lifestyle. When Hilda became pregnant, although there were not as many resources regarding natural childbirth at the time (late 80’s-early 90’s), she did find The Bradley Method, which was everything she hoped it would be. She learned about avoiding the cascade of interventions Hilda self-describes her body type as being small in stature. She found out later that when she walked into the hospital, her doctor thought, “She’s definitely going to have a cesarean.”  Hilda proved her wrong! Hilda had a friend who was working as her doula. She was there to support Hilda and her husband, and remind them of their plans of how they wanted to give birth. Baby #1 weighed 9 pounds, 15 ounces! Although Hilda has learned a great deal more about nutrition and holistic health since her childbearing years, she was still eating a relatively healthy diet and was certainly keeping active. “For all the moms out there, don’t ‘should’ on yourself. All we can do is move forward from this point in time.” I mention that the Weston A. Price Foundation focuses a great deal on eating a diet for growing healthy babies and nursing, but they also focus a great deal on pre-conception. I ask Hilda to explain what this looks like, and what we can be doing to encourage health, no matter what stage we are in: Hilda reminds mothers that if they have been on birth control for preventing pregnancies, we cannot immediately expect our bodies to become pregnant once we go off. There’s a time of rebalancing and releasing the hormones that have been given. “Detox”- shed little by little the things you can that you know aren’t favorable. “Your body needs to have the signal that you’re in abundance, and you’re able to bear.” Don’t have a scarcity mentality, which means avoid “dieting”.  “Let your body know, ‘we’ve got what we need to produce a healthy baby’”. Detox your environment- get rid of air fresheners, perfumes, perhaps over-the-counter creams, and chemicals you can’t pronounce—these things are getting into your body through your skin, and they’re being absorbed by all of your cells. Take on and embrace: healthy foods. Nutrient-dense foods—a great example of which is liver.   Take on and embrace: your intuition. Trust that your body knows what it needs, and don’t live in a place of fear.  Consider, what is your emotional and spiritual state to have a baby?  Hilda emphasizes the importance of giving your baby a peaceful environment to grow in—so work on the anger and anxiety beforehand! “I just feel like I was burning the candle at all ends- not just both ends! And it was to my detriment.” So go ahead and make those peaceful changes before conception.  Take self-care seriously! Hilda discusses the work of Dr. Weston A. Price (whom the foundation is named after), and how his travels showed that all of these strong, healthy cultures had very specific pre-conception protocols and rituals. The mother and father would eat special diets of highly nutrient dense foods, like fish eggs. Finding good sources for these types of food is critical. The Weston A. Price foundation actually has an incredible resource for this through local chapter leaders.  Find your local chapter leader and learn where to source the best food in your area! https://www.westonaprice.org/category/get-involved/local-chapters/ Hilda’s births: With her first, she focused on relaxing her jaw. She had her husband quote scripture- 1 verse- over and over.   The nurses even commented afterward that it was like her husband was giving her drugs whenever he would do that for her! Hilda did struggle with some amount of preterm labor. In fact, with her 3rd birth, her doctor informed her that she needed to go on bedrest.  For a fitness person like Hilda, this was rough news. Hilda talks about the benefits of not being so dogmatic in our beliefs about exactly how everything is supposed to go.  She gives an example of a friend who planned a homebirth, but then ended up having to go into the hospital.  Of course, this woman was disappointed not to have the homebirth she was expecting, but was grateful for the necessary care she received.  On a lighter note of this- Hilda and I talk about routines with small children: She mentions that she used to give her kids baths at night, then put them to bed in the clothes they would wear for the next day.  Her mother-in-law tended to raise an eyebrow at that!  I mention how on the opposite end, I don’t bathe my daughter every day, which stresses my mother out! Hilda goes on to discuss the benefits of children not being raised in too-sterile environments. She mentions how health-giving it is for children to be exposed to the ambient temperatures of their surroundings, no matter what climate they live in.  This is even helpful during the newborn phase, where expose to the outdoors helps set baby’s circadian rhythm correctly—meaning more sleep for everyone at night! Hilda’s last recommendations (3 factors): What we’re putting on our body in terms of light, especially at night. Red light is great for night, and maybe even use it in the baby’s room, and making sure that kids are getting out in the sunlight, and inform yourself about vaccinations, as it’s something that goes directly into your child’s bodies.  Stay in touch with Hilda!: holistichilda.com  and Instagram.com/holistichilda Episode Roundup: Don’t should on yourself Take out that which isn’t serving you, bring in that which does Let your kids be kids- get them outside, expose them to their climate, and let them PLAY Whatever decisions you make for your child- surrounding food, surrounding screens, even vaccinations- give yourself the empowerment of looking into these topics. There are so many touchy topics—whatever decisions you decide to make, feel confident in them by being informed.        

For this episode of the Not A Mama Yet podcast, I’m speaking with Lina O’Connor. Lina is a serious #girlboss and mom of two boys who are 8 and 10. Growing up, she was never sure of what she wanted to do but each step she took in school while attending the Cornell University of Hotel Administration and post-grad while working at Wolfgang Puck and Marriott International led her to become one of the first employees of Tender Greens where she is now the CFO. Just last year she received the Rising Star CFO of the Year award from the Los Angeles Business Journal. I wanted Lina on the show to discuss how she built her career while being a hands-on mom, to hear more about her two drug-free deliveries, and what it’s like raising boys in 2018. She inspires me to approach pregnancy and motherhood in a way where I really trust my gut and follow what I feel is best for myself and my child. She was adamant about doing everything she could during her pregnancy to set herself up for a drug-free birth and she was lucky to have that happen twice. She knew what she wanted out of her career and made it happen and now she is doing that as a mother. In addition to a great conversation, she really reminded me that women can have it all in whatever way they define it without making themselves crazy to make it happen! My main takeaways from this episode are: -Even if you are at a really great job where you are comfortable, something exciting can come along and taking the risk to give it a shot can be totally worth it! -The most successful founders hire people who can challenge them. -I really need to watch “The Business of Being Born” because a few people have now brought it up to me! -The Bradley Method is a husband-led method of delivery that is described on their site in the following way, “Natural childbirth is an important goal since most people want to give their babies every possible advantage. Without the side effects of drugs given during labor and birth. The Bradley Method® classes teach families how to have natural births. The techniques are simple and effective. They are based on information about how the human body works during labor. Couples are taught how they can work with their bodies to reduce pain and make their labors more efficient. Of over 1,000,000 couples trained in The Bradley Method® nationwide, over 86% of them have had spontaneous, unmedicated vaginal births. This is a method that works!” -They even have a detailed nutrition plan you can find here. -Talking to your kids like adults and explaining your reasoning as a parent to them will help them understand where you are coming from. -It’s important to stay true to what’s important to you and ask your employer for what you need to be the best employee. You can find Lina here: Instagram: www.instagram.com/linaoconnor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lina-o-connor-a904594/ Tender Greens: https://www.tendergreens.com Thank you for listening! On next week’s episode, I’m talking with Rachel Gellman, a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist in San Francisco. If you aren’t familiar with your pelvic floor, it might be good to do a little research on that but you will definitely hear more about it next week! Natalie --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/notamamayet/support

As always, thank you SO MUCH to our sponsors! Stephanie Sibbio’s Glowing Mama To Be Course: https://glowing-mama-courses.thinkific.com/  (15% off with the code: happyhomebirth15 ) Instagram: stephsibbiofitness Hatched at Home-Midwife Carrie LaChapelle: www.hatchedathome.com https://www.facebook.com/MidwifeCarrieLachapelleLMCPM/ 864-907-6363   Show Notes: -Kerry is the founder and creator of Hypnobabies, which was created in 2001. -She created the program after having her own two births.  At that time, she was a Bradley Instructor. -Both of her babies were posterior (“sunny side up”) which caused for labors that she describes as extremely painful.  She felt that the Bradley Method was wonderful for teaching about labor, but did not help her cope well enough with the pain. -After 26 hours of pain, she had an epidural, which she says helped her become a more understanding childbirth educator- she could certainly understand the need/desire for a mother to have an epidural. - During her second birth, her sister saw her in agony and said, “It should never have to be this hard.” -Kerry set forth to find a way to make childbirth easier for women. -She soon saw a tv program about a doctor who was using hypnosis for his patients, and how their birthings were going much better. -Kerry went to a training for this.  She then attended births using this method, and the women were all still clearly in pain. -She decided there was something else that she needed to find.  She became a Certified Hypnotherapist, and took several specialty courses.  One of which was Gerald Kein’s “Painless Childbirth” program. -She transformed Kein’s information with his excited permission, into a childbirth education program.  -“The goal of Hypnobabies is to have the easiest, most comfortable birthing possible” by using deep, somnambulistic hypnosis.  -Hypnobabies is considered “medical grade” hypnosis.  This type of hypnosis is used for patients who are allergic to anesthesia.  They use this type of hypnosis when having surgery.   What Makes Hypnobabies Different?! - Kerry’s philosophy is that if you are learning childbirth hypnosis, you need to learn your childbirth education at the same place.  This ensures that the hypnosis and education support a mother’s mindset and belief that she can in fact have an easy, joyful birth experience. The Hypnobabies program covers all aspects of childbirth education: nutrition, how a mother can help keep herself low-risk, the stages of labor, how to use hypnosis throughout those stages, hypnosis for pregnancy, selecting a compatible care provider and birthing place, questions to ask care providers, information about doulas and midwives, natural comfort measures for pregnancy, risk/benefit analysis for interventions, creating a birth plan, informed consent, optimal fetal positioning, anatomy and physiology of late pregnancy & birthing, avoiding induction and cesarean, benefits of delayed cord clamping, birth partner preparation, and even a birthing rehearsal.  -Hypnobabies even provides information about new mothers and babies: how to take care of the new mother and baby, etc.  -Hypnobabies provides a “change of plans” script: This allows mom to stay in hypnosis, even though something might be changing from the original birth plan. -Eyes Open Childbirth Hypnosis- this is unique to Hypnobabies.  Moms learn to walk and talk an change positions all without losing focus in hypnosis. -Hypnobabies Birth Visualization Track:  Mom goes through a mental birth rehearsal (the way they want it to be) as she listens to this track.  Practicing whatever they want to do or accomplish helps on the actual day of labor… the repetition programs your subconscious mind to produce the birth you want.  It’s practically a blueprint for the birthing. -Joyful Pregnancy Affirmations Track: They really do change the state of mind of the mother during her pregnancy.  -Kerry mentions that birth often times progresses more quickly than expected with the Hypnobabies mother.  This is why the program comes with a Quick Reference Booklet.  More than other times, a mother might seem completely calm and relaxed when she is actually very close to having her baby. -Many women have told Kerry that they chose to have a homebirth after taking Hypnobabies because they had the confidence of knowing they could give birth peacefully without the use of medication. -She discusses the fact that Hypnobabies acknowledges how every mother knows what she needs.  The program is there to give information, and to allow the mother to feel confident in whatever choices she decides are best for her and her family. -Kerry mentions that sometimes, for whatever reason, a mom might do all of the practicing, but then not follow through during her birth.  She reminds moms that to get the full effect, it’s important to use the cues, listen to the tracks, or have their birth partner read the scripts during the actual birthing time. -“Peace” is the most powerful hypnoanesthesia cue.   Moms Wanting to Learn More About Hypnobabies/Find Local Instructors: hypnobabies.com You can select from an online homestudy course, the “classic homestudy”, or find a local instructor Make sure you also check out: -Becoming a Hypnobabies Childbirth Instructor: the training is coming up in late April of 2019 -Becoming a Hypnodoula   You can also find more on facebook, twitter, Instagram and Hypnobabies even has a youtube channel!   www.facebook.com/hypnobabies www.youtube.com/hypnobabies www.twitter.com/hypnobabies https://www.instagram.com/hypnobabiesofficial_/     Episode Roundup: Labor does NOT have to be scary and painful- prepare yourself for this life-altering event by taking the time to educate yourself about childbirth. I 100% recommend finding a private course, not just the one your hospital dishes out at their tour. If you decide to use Hypnobabies, commit! Use the advice and resources given here by the actual creator of the course to give yourself the most joyful, peaceful labor you can have. Be sure to involve your birthing team in your childbirth preferences. If you choose to use Hypnobabies, make sure your midwife/doula/OB and birth partner are on board and know what that means for their role.

Ellen Trachman is the Director and Co-Owner of Bright Futures Families, which includes Colorado Surrogacy, New Mexico Surrogacy, Montana Surrogacy, Texas Surrogacy and New England Surrogacy. She is an attorney specialized in family formation law and Managing Director of Trachman Law Center, LLC and the co-host of the I Want To Put A Baby In You Podcast. Listen as Ellen and her spouse, Will, chat about: • The 9:00 pm call from the hospital telling them to come in right away. • Their adventures in Bradley Method classes and preparation for their first child in San Francisco. • Cramps on the way and in the middle of a court hearing—which, you guessed it, progressed into full-fledged labor (eek)! • The doula’s TSA violations in an attempt to make the birth. • AND…a special BONUS interview with the product of that birth, Ellen’s daughter and Jennifer. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: iwanttoputababyinyou.com
 Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: brightfuturesfamilies.com
Learn more about Ellen’s law firm: trachmanlawcenter.com

Aren't Doulas and Midwives the same thing? What's the difference? Join me for an inspiring and eye-opening discussion with today's guest all the way from Miami, FL: Eyla Cuenca birth Doula, birth photographer and Bradley Method Coach. Learn about her path to birth work, what Doula work is, what the Bradley Method aims for all within the context of conversation among we childhood friends. Of course no episode would be complete without our birth stories and discussion about bringing empowerment back to birth. Take a listen, you'll be glad you did =)

Two things we learned from Kimberly, there is power in your intuition and normalizing birth for older siblings!To prepare for the birth of her children Kimberly and her husband took the Bradley Method childbirth education classes along with the Hypnobabies series. Kimberly explains these as being very beneficial. They provided her with the tools to help alleviate the fear of birth and allowed her to find peace with the experience.As you listen to her stories, you find this to be very real. Her first birth was 17.5 hours, with the rest of her children coming into the world much faster, especially her fourth child with her labor only being 2 hours. Many families hope for speedy births, but what we don't realize at times, is that these types of experiences require families to birth on their own, unintentionally and for them to trust the process.We hear all the time that birthing bodies know what to do, it's the mind we have to convince! Kimberly's experience is an excellent example of letting the education around birth elevate your mind to the level it needs be.Another way of tackling that is for us to change what society has taught us about birth, and that begins with educating our children, normalizing birth for them. To include her older children in adding a family member, Kimberly would accompany them in watching birthing videos and explain to them what was happening.During the birth of the new baby, her children went about their regular routines but were always welcomed to join her as she labored throughout the house. We love that after the birth of her daughter, Kimberly sons, snuggled next to her on the living room couch and just observed her postpartum care and their new sister. Taking it all in, for them, this is birth, at home surrounded in love!Kimberly has currently begun training as a doula, if you are interested in connecting with her find her at Mama Bean Birth Works and Black Mamas Parenting Naturally.

For my latest podcast episode, I spoke with Sarah Carter of Natural Baby Doulas, a Triad-based doula group that Kevin and I partnered with as we prepared for Maggie's birth. My pregnancy and birth experience with Maggie were both about as close to perfect as you can get, and I credit that in large part to Sarah. Kevin and I took her 12-week Bradley Method course and, as a result, felt so informed and supported in the months leading up […] The post curiouser & curiouser Podcast: Episode 16 (Digging Into Doula Services With Sarah Carter Of Natural Baby Doulas) appeared first on curiouser & curiouser.

“Wellness spaces” can be less than welcoming, especially if you don’t see other people who look like you in class (or even on the posters). Personal trainer, nutrition coach, and marketing expert Chelsea Burrell of Leah B. Wellness talks with us about her experience as a curvy, multicultural fitness enthusiast and professional, and she offers advice on how we can make the world of wellness open to people of all races, sizes, and life experiences.Links in this episode: Chelsea’s website, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Nutritious Life Studio, Splendid Table piece about restaurants and race, The Bradley Method birthing classes

The Bradley Method. By using this simple and effective technique, couples are taught how to effectively work with their bodies to achieve a successful natural childbirth experience. So, what are the main principles behind The Bradley Method? How does it differ from other childbirth preparation methods? And what can you expect if you sign up for a class? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we sat down with Jenna Hull, prenatal yoga instructor at Awaken Yoga and birth junkie, for a conversation on the benefits of yoga during pregnancy.  Show Notes  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 5:59 – Anna What’s Up 9:20 – Jenna What’s Up 10:04 – Jenna Bio DONA Doula Training Rebozo Workshop with Gena Kirby Spinning Babies Prenatal Yoga at Awaken Yoga Baby and Me Class at Awaken Yoga Birth Partner Class 11:40 – Switching from a medicated hospital birth to a homebirth at 30+ weeks pregnant Homebirth Option of Cleveland 18:03 – Jenna’s path to becoming a prenatal yoga instructor 22:12 – Prenatal yoga teacher training at Awaken Yoga for yoga teachers, doulas, midwives, birth workers, and anyone else interested! 23:58 – Goddess Intoxication Workshop at Awaken Yoga 25:16 – Benefits of prenatal yoga 28:38 – When can someone begin taking prenatal yoga? 29:50 – What does a prenatal yoga class look like? 31:38 – BIRTHFIT Cleveland Prenatal Fitness 34:00 – Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth 34:25 – Other prenatal yoga offerings in Northeast Ohio Blue Sky Yoga in Willoughby with Paula Gardner 34:50 – Non-pregnancy specific yoga during pregnancy Hot yoga 38:30 – Incorporating Spinning Babies into prenatal yoga 40:30 – Optimal fetal position 47:13 – Birth partner workshop at Awaken Yoga 50:10 – Baby and Me Yoga at Awaken Yoga, offered monthly 52:12 – How do you feel like you’re Delivering Strength to the families in NEO through what you do? Find Jenna Online: Awaken Yoga Studio Website: http://awakenyoga.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/awakenyoga/ Chrysalis- Yoga Mama Doula FB Page Instagram:  @jennahull27 Other shout-outs from Jenna: Mother Rising Studio Light Footsteps 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.

This episode is just the three of us, and man we have some fun. We talk about why some people include Santa Claus and other myths in their childhood, and others are anti-myth/magic etc. and opt out of teaching their kids something that isn't true. David also discusses the arrival of his boy, the Bradley Method/natural childbirth, and fatherhood. Huge shout out to Sarah Hill for supporting us via Patreon! Episode 22 friends:) music credits Legacy - Matt Wilton Inception - The Squid and the Whale www.thesquidandthewhale.com Harbor Hearts - James Price http://jamespricemusic.weebly.com/ https://www.facebook.com/EverythingisOklahoma/ https://twitter.com/evrythngsOK www.everythingisok.net https://www.facebook.com/EverythingisOklahoma/ https://www.patreon.com/EverythingisOK

In today’s episode we’re talking with Kimberly Huck, a new mama who used the Bradley Method during her water birth at home. Kimberly is mama to Henry and wife to Dan. And we have a special connection with Kimberly. We live near each other and...we used the same midwives! So the same women who helped deliver baby Maya, delivered baby Henry just a few months earlier. Kimberly and I connected after she posted a cool home birth related article on Facebook that happened to make its way into my awareness (article link in the show notes). Kimberly is a chiropractor, and she and her husband Dan own a fitness studio in Marietta, Georgia called American Row House. They met while attending Life University, while Kimberly studied chiropractic and Dan studied sports health science. The Huck household is very into health and fitness, healthy habits and lifestyle and living as natural and toxin-free as possible. Kimberly grew up in a natural home, being unvaccinated herself. She became interested in home birth after working for a chiropractor in her early 20s who had a home birth in their family. So for she and Dan, home birth is just a part of the world they live in. In their environment it’s “normal.” Kimberly’s story highlights the concept of honoring the body’s natural process and timing. Also - birth is not an exact science. Enjoy her journey and story!   Show notes Kimberly's Crunchi page American Row House Dawning Life Midwifery The Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth Birth Takes A Village article "Dear home birth skeptic" Dr. Bootstaylor's gynecology, midwifery and perinatal practice Dr. Rubin's chiropractic practice   Sponsors Check out www.momsneedsleep.com/home to learn about Reverie and their amazing power bed that helps pregnant moms and new moms get the best sleep possible. 

Debra Cerruti's knowledge and passion for all things birth-related began with the natural childbirth of her firstborn, Rebecca, in 1990.  Becca's birth inspired her to become a certified Bradley Method Childbirth Educator and spread the word about birth's amazing possibilities and power.   She had a son, Willem, in 1997, and soon after became a D.O.N.A. certified Birth Doula.  She has guided and encouraged many couples on their own unique birthing adventures both in the classroom and in the birthing room. Deb is also a Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance, teacher of Calm Birth Meditation, Birth Photographer, and professional Actress.  She takes great pride in the way she can communicate and meet couples precisely where they are, then intelligently, sensitively, and with good humor, guide them where they want to be.  For more information about the Bradley Method visit http://www.bradleybirth.com/

All encompassing, the Bradley Method is the only childbirth class where you learn about pregnancy, birth and post partum. Almost 90% of women who use the Bradley method deliver their babies without medication. What are some of the pain coping techniques? What is your partner’s role? When should you start the classes? Bradley instructors, Kyla & Joel Festerly, share what the Bradley Method is and how it might work for you and your partner.