Podcasts about meconium

Did you know that meconium at birth is very common?Did you know that meconium is not always threatening for the baby?Did you know that normal delivery with meconium is possible when we individualise care and see the benefits vs risk from a case to case basis?Swati's story of natural birth with meconium is one where an experienced doctor did not scare her. He observed and as the baby was not distressed, he waited and Swati was able to birth the baby vaginally. Her son was taken in for observation in NICU but she was allowed to nurse inside and visit frequency. All of these show us the possibilities of what can and ideally should be a choice every woman should have. We are creating more health issues with the number of surgical births that are happening.We also explore in our discussion why another woman with a similar scenario had to undergo a surgery.Swati is a mother, an artist and an art teacher, she grew up in bangalore and was lucky enough to have had her child there too. She enjoys learning new forms of art, reading a good book and cooking. Other resources on Meconium:Dr Rachel Reed's site: https://www.rachelreed.website/blog/meconium-stained-amniotic-fluidBirthing Instincts Podcast: https://episodes.fm/1552816683/episode/YTFjY2UxODYtYjhiOS00ZjU0LTkyOTItZDQ5YmMxYzI2Y2UzSupport the showSign up for Childbirth Preparation Programs! visit www.birthagni.com/birthclasses This episode is supported and made possible by podcast recording and hosting tool Zencastr, it is impeccably made! Use my link : https://zen.ai/vxmuJUgYKKGTF3JuTuFQ0g to sign up and record flawless remote podcast , USE my code : BIRTHAGNI Support the show:Donations (India) - https://birthagni.com/birthagnipodcast#podcast-listDonations (world) - buymeacoffee.com/birthagni If you like what you hear, leave us a rating on Spotify app and answer the question at each episode! a review on Apple podcasts. Share on Whatsapp/Insta/FB Share on Instagram and tag us @divyakapoorvox Support the production by making a donation at ...

Send us a textIn this episode of our mini-series on homebirth transfer, we share the story of Tiahn, a mother who, inspired by the documentary Birth Time, knew that homebirth was the path for her. As she approached 42 + weeks, concerns about potential pre-eclampsia arose, but she made the choice to decline induction and continue her pregnancy.Throughout her journey, Tiahn faced significant pressure from friends and family, especially towards the end of her pregnancy and even during labour. Despite this, she stayed firm in her decision to follow her instincts and birth her baby on her own terms. After a long labour at home, she opted to transfer to the hospital. During labour, she chose to rest with an epidural, but complications soon emerged when her baby's heart rate dropped and meconium was found in the waters after an artificial rupture of membranes. A caesarean was quickly recommended.Links:Birth Time DocoSpinning Babies Support the show@homebirthstoriesaustralia Support the show by buying us a coffee! Please be advised that this podcast may contain explicit language. Listener discretion is advised.The information, statistics, and research presented in this podcast are for informational purposes only and are not intended to constitute or replace medical or midwifery advice. All information discussed can be found online and is provided in the links in the show notes. It is always recommended to conduct your own research and make informed decisions. We advise you to discuss any topics or concerns with your healthcare provider. While we strive to incorporate the most up-to-date research in our episodes, we do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy of the information discussed on the show.

In today's episode we're hearing from Alice about her two births; the first in the birth centre, the second at home. Her eldest daughter Izra, who was born in the pool on the MLU, needed some special care after the birth due to meconium aspiration and Alice shares her experience of having a prolapse soon after the baby arrived. When she fell pregnant again, despite her husband not supporting her choice, she planned to have her second baby at home. This is such a brilliant birth story as Alice ended up doing a park run in early labour on Christmas Day, birthing her baby at home whilst her family were visiting and still managing to squeeze in a festive roast before bedtime.   My website: www.serenalouth.com My IG: https://www.instagram.com/serenalouth/

On this week's listener episode, we welcome Sarah. Sarah shares her two birth experiences with us. Her first pregnancy resulted in an undetected infection and meconium aspiration, which led to her daughter's hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) diagnosis.  Sarah also shares about her subsequent pregnancy and birth which she describes as part of her healing.On this episode, you will hear:- Maternal infection - Meconium aspiration- Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE)- NICU journey- Healing and support: finding community- Second birth experience as redemptive - Advocacy and intuition You can find Sarah on Instagram: @Sarahber88If you have a birth trauma story you would like to share with us, click this link and fill out the form. For more birth trauma content and a community full of love and support, head to my Instagram at @thebirthtrauma_mama.Learn more about the support and services I offer through The Birth Trauma Mama Therapy & Support Services.

Send us a textAnnouncement: Between now and year-end, we will be releasing a 50/50 mixture of new episodes interspersed with old-favorites, due to the sudden loss of Cynthia's husband in November. We have a new episode coming next week, and will be back to our usual production schedule by New Year's. If you'd like to donate a gift to the GoFundMe that was set up for Cynthia and her family, you may do so here. Thank you to everyone for your beautiful messages, gifts and prayers.Please keep an eye out for new content and an expanded Down to Birth platform on Patreon, including a new Community feature where listeners can post questions for us and each other. To join and gain instant access to our entire library of video content, go to our Patreon and sign up.Onto the show:For this December Q&A, we kick it off, with a follow-up conversation based on one listener's response to  episode #188 on RhoGAM. Next, we jump into our questions discussing the actual risks of going past 24 hours or ruptured membranes without contractions and how you can mitigate those risks. We break down why meconium becomes more concerning after 42 weeks gestation and what those actual risks are. One mother who has the flu in the third trimester wonders if this is harmful to her baby and what she should do about it; another mom is curious if it is more helpful or hurtful to use assistance to birth her placenta and questions if a hep-lock or IV port is really necessary in labor. Furthermore, is vitamin D supplementation truly necessary for breastfed babies? Also, we discuss how to accurately calculate your due date based on your specific menstrual cycle, not the average cycle. We discuss delayed cord clamping and where to clamp the cord, two-vessel cords and the implications for induction and the safety of home-birth with midwives who have restricted access to emergency medications. Additionally, we have a great quickies segment on pregnancy headaches, aging placentas, newborn rashes, breast changes in pregnancy, cold-plunging postpartum, water birth and infections and whether or not sleep training babies is really needed.Remember you can hang with us twice a month during our interactive and educational livestream for our Patreon community members!Thanks for joining us, and remember you can call our phone line with your questions 24/7 at 802-GET-DOWN. (That's 802-438-3696) Connect with us on Patreon for our exclusive content.Email Contact@DownToBirthShow.comInstagram @downtobirthshowCall us at 802-GET-DOWN Work with Cynthia: 203-952-7299 HypnoBirthingCT.com Work with Trisha: 734-649-6294 Please remember we don't provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed medical provider for all your healthcare matters.

There are a lot of misconceptions about meconium, or baby's first poop, when it comes to safety in birth. Does meconium always mean there has to be a Cesarean? What is the problem with meconium, anyway? Why do babies pass meconium in the womb? The midwives answer all these questions and more in today's episode.  --- The Homebirth Midwife Podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of midwifery, medicine, or other professional health care services. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast are at the user's own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. https://hearthandhomemidwifery.com 

Wilke raakt makkelijk in verwachting. Vanaf 30 weken wordt haar zwangerschap medisch door een hoge bloeddruk. Vervolgens blijkt het zoontje van Wilke in stuit te liggen. Ze probeert van alles om hem te laten draaien; acapunctuur, moxa therapie, spinning babies en uiteindelijk een versie. Het mag niet baten en de baby blijft in stuit liggen. Er volgt een lastige keuze. Wil ze een keizersnede of gaat ze toch proberen vaginaal te bevallen? Wist je dat je bij mij ook een geboortecursus kunt volgen? Ga naar medisien.nl voor meer informatie. Ik geef ook regelmatig een gratis online training over omgaan met pijn tijdens de bevalling. Klik hier en schrijf je in en leer 10 methodes, zowel natuurlijk als medisch, zodat je ontspannen en met vertrouwen de weeen kan gaan opvangen. Heb je vragen of wil je mij een berichtje sturen? Dat vind ik altijd leuk! Je kan onder de podcast een reactie achterlaten of me een berichtje sturen via instagram of mijn website. 

In today's episode we're hearing from Rochelle about the birth of her son, Jude. Despite having had a previous early pregnancy loss, she felt confident and intuitively very positive right from the beginning of her pregnancy. Thanks to minimal symptoms she was able to stay busy with work, but as a result feels she might not have prepared for the birth as much as she would have liked. When her labour began a few days after her due date, Rochelle noticed meconium in her waters so was advised to attend the hospital. Whilst her labour had been progressing nicely at home, things slowed down after a long wait in triage so she had her remaining waters released to help things along. After some concerns around her blood pressure and the baby showing signs of distress, Rochelle accepted an epidural and Jude was born not long after. Rochelle shares how positively she feels about the experience despite things deviating so far from what she hoped for, plus a little about Jude's feeding complications in the early days. And as she was 38 weeks pregnant at the time we recorded, she tells us a bit about her plans for the upcoming birth of her second child.   Rochelle's IG: https://www.instagram.com/roshiimcinscottii/    My website: www.serenalouth.com My IG: https://www.instagram.com/serenalouth/

“The 9 lb 2 oz baby that they said I could never push out and could never have had her vaginally– I ended up going on to have a 10 lb 10 oz baby girl.”Brittany first gave birth to twins via Cesarean at 34 weeks and 1 day. She didn't get to meet her babies until 36 hours after delivery and they had to stay in the NICU for 10 days. While Brittany was so thankful it was not a longer NICU stay and the babies got to come home at the same time, she grieved the introduction into motherhood that she thought she would have. Brittany's next birth ended in a difficult CBAC under general anesthesia. Once again, she was not able to hold her baby right after birth like she so badly wanted. Her physical and mental recoveries were intense and tough. Not long after her third baby was born, Brittany felt called to understand more about her births. She wanted to learn why things happened to her the way they did and if there was a way to help prevent other women from going through the same things. She became a doula with Joyful Beginnings Doula Care and absolutely loves it!With her fourth baby, home birth was on Brittany's heart. With the education from doula work and her own births, Brittany set herself up for success by surrounding herself with a beautifully supportive birth team. Her HBA2C was quick, uncomplicated, redemptive, and empowering!Brittany's WebsiteThe VBAC Link Blog: Preterm CesareansTVL Blog: Everything You Need For Your HBACTVL Blog: Provider Red FlagsTVL Blog: VBAC/HBAC PreparationTVL Blog: VBAC MidwifeTVL Blog: Big BabiesHow to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for ParentsFull Transcript under Episode Details Meagan: Hello, Women of Strength. We have our friend, Brittany, today with us sharing her HBAC. If you have not been with us very long or are still unsure about all of the crazy terms in the VBAC world, HBAC is home birth after Cesarean but she is a home birth after two Cesareans so HBA2C so similar to what I am. I am a VBAC but I was in a birth center, not a home. I'm so excited to share– well, I'm not going to be sharing it, but she is sharing it today so welcome, Brittany. Thank you so much for being here with us. Brittany: Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to get to share my story. Meagan: Absolutely. Me too. We will get right into that. I'm just going to do a quick review then we will do our intro and we will dive right in. This review was left by Brianna Moody and this was left in 2023 and it says, “So binge-worthy.” Okay seriously, I could not agree already with her because I feel like this is the type of podcast that when you are looking for your options for birth after Cesarean, you just want to hear every story and I get into those binges especially with podcasts so I could not agree more. I believe that this podcast is bingeworthy. It says, “I found The VBAC Link Podcast in my second trimester after my midwife suggested that I start listening to positive stories to get in a good headspace as I prepared for my VBAC.” Okay, I also love that her midwife is suggesting that. I 100% agree there as well. It says, “What I didn't expect was to hear so many different types of birth stories in one place. I was floored by the amount of information in each episode and by how much these stories impacted me. I found that I love listening to all of the different stories, even the CBAC stories. Honestly, I think those helped me process some of my fear about potentially having a CBAC.” Okay CBAC, Cesarean birth after a Cesarean, just want to make sure we know what that means. It says, “--as could be something that could still be beautiful and empowering. I tell everyone I know about the podcast, even first-time moms because there is truly something that could benefit every birthing mama on here. I am so happy to say that I had my VBAC baby in January.” Ah, so amazing. Congratulations, Brianna Moody. It says, “--in January and it was the most beautiful experience. I still cannot believe I really did it. I took so many things from the podcast that helped make it possible. Thank you so much for sharing your heart and passion for VBAC with the world.”Okay, I'm obsessed with this review. So many amazing things right here. Yes, binge the podcast. You're going to learn so many incredible things, like so many. Every story, just like she said, has its similarities but also it's very different. That's something that I love about birth then I love that she pointed out that CBAC could even be viewed as beautiful and empowering. I love that because I want you to know, Women of Strength, VBAC doesn't have to be the right answer. If it's not feeling right for you, that's okay. You can go and have a Cesarean birth and it can be absolutely beautiful. Know that it's an option to do both and you can still have a beautiful, empowering experience. Okay, all right. I'm going to let you guys go. We're going to get to the intro and then we're going to dive into Brittany's HBAC after two Cesareans. Meagan: All right, Brittany. A long intro. It's time for you to share with us your beautiful stories. Brittany: Yes, thank you. Okay. So I'm going to start at the beginning and give a little brief overview of my history and kind of what led me to pursuing an HBAC after two C-sections. In 2019, I had my first pregnancy and I was actually pregnant with twins so that was a big, exciting thing for us. It was very unexpected and overall, I had a pretty normal pregnancy. I didn't really have a whole lot of issues until the end. My blood pressure started to creep up here and there and then at 33 weeks, I went in for an appointment and I was diagnosed with preeclampsia. That was very overwhelming. I did not have a lot of knowledge about birth really in general. I was one of those who went in and just trusted everything my OB said. I just rolled with it and they looked at us and they said, “We need to admit you. Your blood pressure is too high. You have protein in your urine.” So my husband and I went over to the hospital immediately following and realized that we were going to be staying there for a little bit. They were able to manage my blood pressure for about a week and then I needed to deliver the twins at about 34 and 1. So it was actually July 5th, so it was right after the 4th of July and it was hard. It was definitely a hard, all of a sudden transition that we weren't expecting. We were thrown into the hospital. My husband had to come out of work and things just continued to get worse. At 34+1, we did another ultrasound and both were breech like they had been the entire pregnancy so we really were not given any options besides a scheduled C-section. I didn't really think twice about that. I just thought, “Okay. This is what you do. We have breech babies. We need to do it.” So at 34+1 on July 5th, I went in for my scheduled C-section. I had the twins and obviously, being born early, they were taken to the NICU so it was a very abnormal experience in the sense that I had these babies. My body knew I had just had babies, but the babies were taken from me. They were instantly taken from me and I had to go back on magnesium for my blood pressure post-C-section so I actually did not even get to see my babies, hold my babies, or touch my babies until about 36 hours later. So it was just a very abnormal experience, especially for a first-time mom. I got wheeled to recovery and they were like, “Here's a breast pump. You need to start pumping.” It was all of these things that I just wasn't prepared for and I hadn't done before. It was such a new experience. Thankfully, they were only in the NICU for 10 days, but as you can imagine, recovering from a C-section, going back and forth to the hospital, trying to figure out pumping and how often to pump. It was just a lot. It was a lot and it was very unnatural. It is just not a natural experience to be separated from your baby or babies after they are born, but we made it and we got through that trial. We were very, very, very lucky that they got to come home together 10 days after being born. Meagan: Wow, 10 days? Brittany: Yes. A miracle within itself. Meagan: That is very fast. Yeah, that's great. Brittany: It was very fast. They were doing great. They were just considered those eaters and growers. They really didn't have any major issues. My son was on CPAP for maybe 48 hours but after that, they were just learning how to eat and grow and they got to come home together which is also very rare for twins. Meagan: That's awesome. Brittany: Yes. We were very thankful for that. Following that pregnancy, we got pregnant again unexpectedly when the twins were only 9 months old. As you can imagine, that is a lot. That was in 2020 and it was right in the thick of COVID. Things were different. Things were crazy. They weren't even really, at least at the practice I was at, allowing women to come in for appointments until the second trimester. Just all of these different things. It was a lot. It was a lot to process that I was pregnant again. I was wondering if I was pregnant with twins again. There were so many questions that I had and I just was not getting any answers or any support during that beginning period.So at about 13ish weeks, they finally allowed me to come in person and be seen in person. We were pregnant with just one which we were thankful for. It would have been a lot to have twins back to back. But I didn't have a significant amount more knowledge at this time. I knew a little bit more about birth. I knew I didn't want to have another C-section. I knew that there was something called a VBAC. I was hoping to be able to do that. I didn't want to have to go the same route, but I really didn't have much education. So we kind of just went with the flow. We were at a smaller hospital closer to us this time around and looking back, I would 100% say that my provider was VBAC tolerant, not VBAC supportive. I don't think that I could identify that at the time not having the knowledge and the resources, but definitely now, I can tell that they were very just VBAC tolerant. Meagan: Sorry to interrupt you, now looking back–Brittany: No, go ahead. meagan: I was going to say that at the time you weren't able to identify which is very, very, very common but now looking back, what were some of those very first signs? Is that what you were going into? brittany: Yes. We kept having conversations about can I have a VBAC. Do I have to have another C-section? It was like, We'll see. When we get closer, we'll see. We don't want to risk anything. It was a lot of the nonchalant I'm going to beat around the bush, but really, I'm probably going to pull the rug out from underneath you at the end. There were a couple of appointments where I left really discouraged and in tears like, I feel like this isn't going to happen. I don't understand. But again, I just didn't have the knowledge to really be able to question what they were saying. I just assumed that if this isn't going to work out, it's not going to work out because it's not safe or x, y, and z reasons. My pregnancy went on and of course, in the back of my mind, there was the concern of preeclampsia again because I had it with the twins, but I had no blood pressure issues. I had no issues with that pregnancy. Obviously, carrying a singleton compared to twins is very different and so we got towards the end and at about 38 weeks, they started talking about wanting to induce me. I was like, “Why are we doing this?” But again, I just didn't have the knowledge to really question their reasoning behind it. So they had actually scheduled me for an induction at 39 weeks. My husband and I left that appointment and we knew enough to know that we didn't feel good about it. We were like, “This just doesn't feel right. Something feels off about this. Why are we brushing this?” So when the time came, we actually canceled that induction and didn't show up. We went to just another regular appointment that following week and I was getting ready to go into my 40th week. They were okay with the fact that I had not done the induction, but they were really, really pressing an induction for 40 weeks which was a couple of days after. meagan: Which is also another red flag. brittany: Yes. Yes, very much so. Again, something I couldn't identify at the time besides the fact that I felt insecure about it. So we decided to do the 40-week induction and when we got there, we were going to start with a Foley bulb but it ended up that I was already 3 centimeters dilated. My body had made some good progress. I was already effaced, so they jumped right to the Pitocin induction. Because this was in the thick of COVID, there were no doulas allowed. I did have a discussion with my husband about potentially hiring a doula. I knew of doulas. I was like, I think this would probably be going for trying for a VBAC, but that was not an option. You had one support person allowed. That was it. My mom couldn't be there. Nobody could be there. No doulas could be there. It was just a really, really hard time in the hospital system. We did the best we could to prepare for what was to come but just did not have the education and the support that we needed going into the situation that we were going into. To make a very long story short, it was intervention after intervention after intervention after intervention. It was basically the definition of the cascade of interventions from Pitocin to epidurals to just everything in between.Thankfully, by morning, the induction started at about 6:00 PM, and by 9:00 PM, they were like, “Oh, we're going to have a baby. This is going to be before lunch.” I was almost 10 centimeters dilated so we were really excited about that We got to the pushing phase and things just didn't move. I mean, I was making very little progress and knowing and having the knowledge that I have now, I look back and realize there was very much a disconnect happening with my mind and body which I've seen happen in some other women sometimes when having epidurals. We pushed. I pushed for a total of about 5 hours. meagan: Wow. brittany: We did have some breaks in between. Yes. There was actually not an OB on the floor so it was with a nurse. She left to go home and the one that I was going to have was in the office, so they basically just let me keep at it and the nurse did try. I will give her credit in that she tried to get me into some different positions, but we just could not make any progress with her and we did know when my water broke that there was some meconium in my fluid so we knew that that was there and that we needed to be aware of it.But after about 5 hours, we were exhausted. It was like, “What is going on? Do we need to make some decisions? Why can't we get an OB over here?” So finally, the OB I guess had finished her shift across the way in the office and made her way over. At that point, it was about 6:00 PM. It had been a very, very long afternoon and she came in and she did an assessment and she said, “There is a lot of meconium, so we need to make a decision. We either need to get this baby out with a vacuum or we take you back for a C-section.”I was like, “Well, what's a vacuum?” We had no knowledge of what that was or what the pros and the cons were. They literally brought in a pamphlet and were like, “Here's a pamphlet to read about it.” meagan: They didn't just tell you all of the pros and cons right there? brittany: No. meagan: They gave you a pamphlet after 5 hours of pushing and feeling exhausted? brittany: Yes. They gave one to us. meagan: I'm sorry, but that's silly. brittany: It's terrible. Yeah, it's terrible because I was in no head space. I was just beyond exhausted. She said, “I'm going to give you about 30 minutes and we are going to prep the OR. When I come back, let me know what you want to do and we can try the vacuum or we can go back for a C-section.” I was like, “Okay.” My husband and I are talking through this and really have no idea what to do. Reading a pamphlet in that time and place is just not okay and not adequate. So she came back in and she gave me another assessment and she said, “Okay, I'm really sorry but we need to go back for a C-section right now. Meconium is very thick and this is becoming very problematic.” She took the vacuum option off the table and said, “We need to go and we need to go now.” So we went back for what I consider more of just an urgent C-section, not an emergent C-section and it was an experience. About halfway through, I started to feel what I felt like was way too much. They actually did end up putting me to sleep fully after she was born. meagan: After she was born?  brittany: She came out, and she actually– after she was born. So when she was born, she didn't cry. I panicked about that and my husband was like, “It's okay. It's okay,” and we found out that she did have a lot of meconium and she did need to be resuscitated. She actually had an APGAR score of 2 which was much, much less than my twins who were born at 34 weeks so thankfully, they got that addressed very quickly and by that 5-minute mark, the APGAR score was back up to an 8, but at that point, I told them, “I am feeling way too much of what you are doing to sew me back up.” I started to really panic. My pain level was very high so I saw her briefly and then they took her to the NICU and then they actually ended up just putting me to sleep because I woke up back in recovery following. She was a 9-pound, 2-ounce baby. They very much threw the label of big baby, this is why you couldn't push her out. She was stuck, and things of that nature. She was sent to the NICU again. She was my third NICU baby. This is my third baby that I haven't held or touched post-delivery. Just a weird, weird experience. So this C-section was much, much more challenging for me than my first. Obviously, I had labored down for many hours. I had pushed for many hours and then went into a C-section which makes a huge difference but I also had an infection post-birth which one of the OBs said was probably from the numerous amount of cervical checks that they gave me after my water broke. So I just had a really, really hard time. I went into postpartum already struggling. I was struggling before I even had left the hospital. Thankfully, our little girl only had to stay in the NICU one night. She was able to be with me the second night and then was able to come home with us, but still, it was just a very abnormal situation where you wake up from the surgery. You just had a baby. Your hormones are all over the place but your baby is not there. You are in pain. It was just a very unnatural situation. I really went into postpartum already a few steps behind. I just was really struggling physically. I dealt with a lot more pain this go around and mentally, I struggled a lot emotionally. I didn't know it until later on, but I really believe that it's healthy to grieve a birth that doesn't go the way that you had maybe envisioned or planned and that's such a healthy thing to do. It felt so silly to me at the time. You're like, Okay. My baby's healthy. My baby's here. Why can't I get this together? But really, it's so much more than that. I know so many people will say, “But we have a healthy baby,” which is what you want and is so great. It is not the only thing that matters though and I think so many people, so many women don't realize that. People mean so well. Family and friends come in and say, “Oh, but thank God the baby's okay.” Yes, of course, thank God the baby is okay, but it's not the only thing that matters. You essentially have a grieving mom in the thick of postpartum who also just had a major surgery, so it was a lot. It was a lot. It was honestly a really miserable postpartum recovery for me and I also had twins who were 17 months old. It was just a lot. So at my 6-week visit, the OB who did my C-section said, “Okay. That's it. It will be C-sections from here on out. VBAC is off the table. You just need to know that.” I left that appointment and I actually remember texting my cousin just about it and I was like, “Okay, I guess that makes sense. I've had two C-sections.” Then weeks following, I just was more and more unsettled with that. I really was grieving the whole situation. I was grieving the fact that I had three babies and somehow hadn't gotten to hold one of them after delivery. It was all of these emotions that I was trying to process and through that, I became very obsessed with birth like, I need to understand. I need to know. I need to educate myself and I want to know as best I can what happened in Lyla's birth. How did we end up here? I really began to educate myself. I delved into all of the things. A few months later, I really felt the Lord calling me to pursue becoming a doula. I mean, we had three kids under two-years-old, so it was crazy to think about taking anything else on, but I remember it was that following July, I went to my husband and I was like, “Listen. I know this is crazy. I know we have so much on our plate, but I really, really feel like the Lord is calling me to pursue becoming a doula so that I can help educate and empower other women and hopefully help them avoid being in the same situation that I was.” He, being the man that he is, was like, “I think you would be great.” He was like, “I'm totally supportive. I'm totally on board.” So then that started my journey of becoming a doula and it was about a year where I went through my program. I worked with those first initial moms. I did all of those things and I really, really loved it. Then I found out I was pregnant again and that was January of 2022. I knew for sure I needed and wanted a different situation. I could not walk through the same scenario that I walked through, especially with my second daughter and I wanted things to be different. I really had home birth on my heart and where I live, I live near Charlotte, North Carolina, there was actually only one hospital that would allow you to pursue a VBAC after two C-sections. meagan: Really? brittany: All of the other hospitals will not, yes. So I started to pursue home birth but then also thought, Maybe I'll do co-care because then I will have something lined up if something does go wrong, blah blah blah. So I tried to get into that hospital with their OB/GYNs and at all three of their locations, they were not accepting new patients. Initially, I was very discouraged. I remember crying that day, texting my husband, What are we going to do? This is the only hospital that will even allow this and that will even potentially let me come in and try. He very simply said, “The Lord closed that door to co-care. Focus on home birth. That's where your heart has been.” At the time, that overwhelmed me, but looking back, it was one of the best decisions and I'm so thankful for it. I do believe there is a time and place for co-care for certain women, absolutely, who want to do home birth but want to have that co-care piece, but for me, looking back, I think co-care would have destroyed me mentally just with all of the appointments, all of the extra things being said even though I knew and had that VBAC knowledge. It's hard when you are constantly getting little bugs in your ear of, “You shouldn't do this. We need to induce,” or things like that so in the end I was very thankful for that. I simply pursued home birth. I interviewed a lot of midwives and I ended up with, I'm very biased but, who I think is just the best midwife ever. She's really, really awesome and received just such amazing care. My visits were an hour long. It was very proactive care trying to stay ahead of things that could come up just with nutrition and supplements and things like that. So I hired my team, my midwife. I hired a doula because I told my husband, I said, “I know I am a doula but I also know what happens when you are in labor.” I said, “Everything goes out the window and you go to labor land.” I said, “I want somebody there who I know can be my brain and can help me with all of the things when I can't think straight.” He was super supportive of that and I hired a really awesome doula. So once I had my team in place, I felt really, really good about it moving forward. My husband was so extremely supportive. He's one of those where anybody who is a doula, their husband is extra educated at birth. I feel like he has to listen to all of my stuff all of the time, but he was so supportive. At that point, I had a really standard pregnancy. The biggest things that I did were to continue, I used The VBAC Link a lot just whenever that doubt crept in my mind of Am I making the right choice? Is VBAC after two C-sections really safe?” I would go back to some of those resources that you guys put out. That knowledge that I had just to read through again to give myself that sense of peace that I made again. I listened to every VBAC after multiple C-section podcast that you have and really tried to focus on those positive birth stories. The biggest thing I did was that I really made the effort to protect my mental health meaning we kept the decision we made very, very private from family and friends which was hard because everybody, especially after my last experience was like, “Where are you giving birth? What is the plan?” But I knew that I didn't need the opinions of everybody. I didn't have the time or energy to educate everybody around me in the decision that I had made. My husband, myself, and our birth team were confident in the decision that I had made in moving forward so we just kept it very private. My best friend and my sister-in-law knew and they were my support throughout then once we got toward the end and I reached that full-term mark of 37 weeks, we did tell all of our parents because we wanted our parents to know. My mom was going to be there and his mom was going to come at some point. Thankfully, our family was very supportive. My mom used to be a labor and delivery nurse so she had a lot of questions, but my midwife sat down with her and let her ask all of them. So our family was on board, but I really just made the point to protect my mental health and only view and read things that were positive and only talk to people who I knew were going to be encouraging and positive about it. That was truly one of the best decisions I made throughout my pregnancy. Fast forward, we get to 39 weeks and 4 days. I thought for sure that I was going to go over 40. With that doula mindset, I always tell my clients, “Prepare to go over 40 weeks so that mentally you're not distraught when 40 weeks comes.” Oh man, I was like, “It's going to be over 40.” I was so secure in that that when it happened, I was not ready almost. I was a little overwhelmed like, “Oh my gosh. I'm not 40 weeks yet though.” I'm 39 and 4. We had actually went out with some friends that morning. We took our kids somewhere and my mom was there. I remember my mom putting us back in the car. She got all emotional and she was like, “I just feel like it's going to be so soon.” I was so frustrated I remember because I was like, “No, mom. I'm not 40 weeks. It's fine.” She's like, “Call me as soon as something happens.” I'm like, “Mom, we have time.” Little did I know I was going to have a baby that night. Later that afternoon, I decided, I need to go to Costco. I need to stock up. My best friend was like, “You are crazy to go to Costco on a Saturday. That is going to put you into labor.” Sure enough, that is exactly what it did. I went to Costco and got everything I needed. I ran into Target and my first contraction started. I had Braxton Hicks most of my third trimester so I was very aware that this was different the first time it happened. But again, that doula mind, I was like, This could be nothing. I'm just going to ignore it. We're going to continue on. They kept coming as I finished my shopping about every 10-15 minutes apart so when I left, I decided to text my husband and say, “Hey, this could be nothing but just so you know, I've had some contractions. They are about 10-15 minutes apart. We'll see what happens.” They had started at 6:00 PM when I was out. I finished up getting when I needed, came home. My girls were already asleep on the couch and my husband put them to bed. We ate dinner. My son hung out with us for a little bit and things continued to pick up. I was like, Okay, this is definitely happening I think. At about 7:00, I alerted my midwife just to let her know, “Hey, it's probably going to be a long night, but I'm definitely having contractions.” I let my doula know and our photographer. I got everybody in the loop. After I ate, I was like, “I'm going to get in the bath with some Epsom salt and try and relax. See if I can relax these contractions enough to maybe get some rest.” In my mind, I was like, This is going to be an all-night thing. Let's see if I can get some sleep. But that is not what happened. I got in the bath for maybe 10 minutes. I had a few contractions and was like, I cannot sit like this. This is not comfortable. I called my mom and I was like, “Hey, I'm having contractions. Don't worry about coming over yet though. We've still got plenty of time.” Thankfully, she ignored me because she was about 50 minutes away at the time. She ignored me and got in the car and came anyway which was a huge blessing because things continued to pick up really quickly. My husband continued to set our room up and the birth pool up but also tried to support me through contractions. Thankfully, all of our kiddos at this point were asleep upstairs which was something we had just prayed about because I wanted them close by, but I also knew that I just needed my space especially with them being so young. So that was such a blessing. They were all asleep. It was just me and my husband. So around 9:00 PM, my mom thankfully arrived which was a blessing because moments before, I was like, “Okay, you need to tell my mom to come,” because things were just moving really, really quickly. I particularly found a lot of relief in one position and that was the position I wanted to stay in. I was on all fours on the ground rocking back and forth on my yoga ball and everybody said, “Hey, try this. Try this.” I was like, “Nope. This is what's working for me. I just want to continue doing this,” so that's what I did for a long while. Shortly after my mom got there, we called my doula to tell her to go ahead and come because she was about 45-50 minutes away as well. With that phone call, she was able to tell because I had prior talked to her as well that things had definitely picked up. We were definitely probably in full-blown active labor. She had told my husband, “Go ahead and start filling the birth pool,” because anybody who has had a birth pool knows that it can take some time. He went ahead and started to fill the birth pool while my mom stayed by me, helped support me, and my doula left and was on her way. Shortly after that, my water broke. A lot of pressure, a lot of pressure, then my water broke. I remember being so panicked telling my mom, “Please check for meconium,” because I just kept thinking about Lyla and the situation that I had with my prior daughter. I said, “Check for meconium. Check for meconium.” She looked and everything looked fine. Following my water breaking, I moved right into transition. It was game on at that point. My husband called my midwife. He said, “Okay. We definitely need you to leave and come.” Thankfully, he had gotten the pool all ready so the pool was ready. Warm water was in. I was able to get in and that was about 10:45 PM. I was able to labor through transition in the water which was a huge blessing. I'm one of those who loves to be in the water. I love to be in the bath. I find it to be very relaxing. I remember at this point telling my mom, “I feel like I'm getting no breaks.” I still at the time did not know I was in transition. Looking back, I was very easily able to identify the phases, but when you are in it, even having that knowledge, you're like, “No. There's no way. This is going to go all night. How am I going to do this? I'm not getting any breaks.” But I had so much great support and my doula arrived not long after I got in the pool. She was doing some counterpressure and giving my husband some things to do to help. I have a lot of tension in my face so giving him some suggestions of things he could do. Not long after getting in the pool, that fetal ejection reflex definitely kicked in. I had heard obviously people talking about it. I had studied it in my work becoming a doula, but until you really experience it, you're like, Wow, this is no joke. People are like, “How am I going to know when to push?” Oh, you will know. Your body is going to do it whether or not you want it. That is exactly what happened. My body was doing these little pushes without me even doing anything. Soon after, I started to really lean into that and continue with that pushing. I remember feeling such relief when I got to the pushing phase because it was very challenging. It was giving me that purpose through contractions and something I could focus on. I actually got a little bit of relief when I was doing some of the pushing. I remember being really thankful for that. My photographer arrived. My mother-in-law arrived during that time and my midwife team got there at about 11:15. I already started pushing a little bit, but I remember although yes, it's challenging to not have an epidural, it was also so amazing because having had the experience of Lyla where I pushed for 5 hours and they were like, “Well, she's not moving. She's in a bad position. She's stuck.” I could feel nothing. I could feel everything. I could feel the progress of my baby being moved down frequently during pushes. I could feel her in the birth canal. I could almost feel the progress I was making at different times with her which was so motivating and so helpful for me. That was just such a night and day experience from my prior experience pushing with Lyla and then after about an hour and 15 minutes give or take a little bit, my daughter, Charlie, made her way into the world. It was about 12:25 AM and it was a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful experience. She was born in the water. Literally, my overwhelm of emotions following was like nothing I could ever really articulate in words. The oxytocin was on full blast. I was on this birth high and having had prior C-sections, one of the downfalls of a C-section is that you are on so much medication and so many pain meds that I always felt like when I came out, I was in a haze like I didn't really know where I was and things like that so to be so present and to literally feel my hormones doing what they were designed to do was such an overwhelming experience. I remember talking to my husband about that days later and I was like, “It was just such a high after she was born.” This was obviously my first experience getting to hold the baby post-birth so that was very emotional for me getting to pull her up to me and have her right there and just be able to hold her. My husband was there and people who we loved most were just surrounding us. It was a very, very beautiful, overwhelmingly positive experience. One of the benefits of home birth is that you get to move from the pool or wherever you gave birth to get comfortable in your bed. So that was just awesome. I remember when they got me comfortable in my bed, I was looking at my birth affirmations wall. I had a bunch of stuff hanging up by the pool and I remember thinking, “Oh my gosh. Thank God that's done. that was the hardest thing I've ever done,” then a minute later, I was like, “I feel like I'm going to have to do this again.” I was so overwhelmed with the experience and the emotions. My husband and I got to lay in bed. We got to cuddle our girl and pray over her. Everybody was so great. They were cleaning everything up. My mother-in-law was making food for everybody. It was just such a beautiful experience. Then about an hour into it, we decided to do just her newborn checks and have the midwife look her over, weigh her, and stuff. We knew she was big. There was no denying it when she came out, but never once did I look at her and be like, “Gosh, she's a giant baby. She's so much bigger than Lyla,” or anything like that.We weighed her and everybody made their guesses. She ended up being 10 pounds, 10 ounces, and 22 inches long. The 9-pound, 2-ounce baby that they said I could never push out and could never have had her vaginally, I ended up going on to have a 10-pound, 10-ounce baby girl. She also had a nuchal hand. Her hand was up at her face when she was born which can make things a little bit more challenging, but I delivered her and I had no tearing. It was just such an amazing redemptive story after being told, “You never could have birthed this 9-pound baby. You're never going to have a vaginal birth. The door is closed for you,” and really have the exact opposite happen. I went on to have a much larger baby and she was great. She was healthy and had no issues. My children were just thrilled the next morning to wake up and come and meet her. To this day, they will still bring it up. “Do you remember when Gigi brought us downstairs and we had a new baby?” It was such a beautiful, redeeming story for all of us, my husband included. I think sometimes we forget how much of an emotional experience it can be for the dads and especially to see their wives go through so much so it was just so healing for both of us. It was just such a beautiful experience. I feel like I could go on and on about it. I had the best postpartum care. For those who aren't familiar, with a home birth, your midwife comes to see you multiple times. Mine came to see me six times. She came at 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, one week, and two weeks, so she was constantly there checking on me, checking on my baby girl, and it was just care like no other. All I had known was I had major abdominal surgery then 6 months later, they brought me in and were like, “You're cleared for everything.” It was so overwhelming and this go around, I had somebody who was like, “How are you doing mentally? How are your emotions? How are things healing? How is your nutrition? Are you resting?” All of these things are so, so important for postpartum, and I think so many women don't even realize these things about what postpartum should really look like. I will forever be thankful for that care as well. That was just unlike anything I had prior experienced obviously as well. So yeah. I mean, overall, it was such a beautiful experience. I'm so thankful for how it played out. The Lord had answered so many of our prayers throughout and I'm so, so thankful to my midwife who believed in me and in my body's ability to birth my baby no matter the size and that team of people who I had, I will forever be grateful. Meagan: Are you willing to share your midwife with those in your area who might be feeling restricted because of the lack of support in your area?Brittany: Yes. I will say I had a certified professional midwife. I live in North Carolina. I live outside the Charlotte area in Monroe. We are very lucky. We have such a fantastic group of midwives in the Charlotte area of certified professional midwives. There are truly multiple great midwives. My midwife's name is Brooke. She is just the best of the best. She is a dear friend of mine and I have been really lucky as a doula to get to work with some of her clients and still see her at births and things following. If you are in the Charlotte area and you are considering home birth, things can be a little bit hairy because we do have some restrictions in regards to certified nurse midwives compared to certified professional midwives, but feel free. I think in the show notes, my information will be there. I would be so, so happy to help guide anybody in this area and give you a list of names of some really, really great providers who support VBAC or VBAC after multiple Cesareans because it can be a hard world to navigate whether you are in the hospital system or planning a home birth. It still can be really hard to navigate if you don't know where to look. Meagan: And can people find you somewhere if they have any questions they can write you to on your own doula page? Brittany: Yes. Yes. You can find me at Joyful Beginnings Doula Care. You can find me on Facebook and Instagram. I also have a website at joyfulbeginningsdoulacare.com. Please feel free. I love nothing more than helping guide moms in finding that right support and then also obviously, I love working with VBAC moms as a doula. But you can find me there. Feel free to reach out. I love doing whatever I can to just help other women have more positive experiences especially when it comes to VBAC because that's really, really hard sometimes. Meagan: Absolutely. It is. It's hard and it's frustrating that it's hard so it really takes a village to find the right support. Let me tell you. I've been taking little notes along the journey of your story and there are so many things.One, you had a preterm Cesarean so that's a thing and we don't even have time to go through all of these things so while she was sharing, I was like, “Ope, we have a link for that. Oh, we have a blog for that.” We have so many blogs. We have all of it. I already sent it off to our amazing transcriber, Paige, who will make sure that this is all in the show notes. But preterm Cesarean, then a close duration between Cesarean and her TOLAC that ended in a CBAC. Talking about red flags in finding the right provider, processing the birth, and co-care– I wanted to explain for anyone who didn't know what co-care means. I love that you pointed out to the fact that it's really, really great for some people and it's not great for others. I think that if you're interested in co-care or if you are interested in it, you need to tap into you as an individual and the type of place that you're in because co-care can be amazing and it can be tricky because of what Brittany said where you can go and you can be getting this information from a hospital and then this information from your home birth midwife or your birth center midwife and they are not the same. They can pull your mind out of a very positive space and start putting a lot of doubt and questions. So if you're going to do co-care, I think it's super important no matter what, but you really, really need to know your facts because it's going to be important and it will likely come into play where someone might say something and it's the opposite of what the other professional is saying so you need to know what the evidence is. Big baby– I'm going to include a blog about big baby if you are being told that you have a big baby or if like Brittany, you were told that you would never, ever get a baby out of your pelvis because your babies are too large and it was a whole pound plus bigger baby for her VBAC. Oh my gosh, what else? I love that you also talked about something that is so unique to home birth in my opinion and I just wanted to touch on it really fast. That is the care after. Here in the U.S. and I know that if you are not listening from the U.S., it's very different outside of the U.S. Here in the U.S., it is very standard to have the type of care like what Brittany described even with a Cesarean. It's an abdominal surgery. It's a pretty big deal to have surgery or to have a baby vaginally and to not be seen, called, or asked anything for six weeks. Six weeks– let me tell you how much can happen in six weeks. A lot can happen. I love the uniqueness that home birth does offer and I love that you even felt that and that you saw it yourself. You saw the difference of 24 hours, 72 hours. You're getting those mental checks. You're getting, “How are you sleeping? How are you eating? Where are you at? What are you doing?” We're getting those check-ins. It is so important. It is so important. So if you are birthing at a hospital and you are likely going to be in the traditional line of the six-week follow-up, I highly suggest with checking in with a postpartum doula or getting someone who is a professional that can check in on you– a therapist even if you have gone through therapy. Have a 72-hour checkup with your therapist after birth. If that means you just talk and you're like, “All things are peachy. Great.” There are things in the U.S. that we have to do where we, unfortunately, have to take it upon ourselves to take care of our mental health because it's just not the way the standard care is. I'm going to leave it at that. Brittany is shaking her head. She's like, “Mhmm, yeah.” Do you have anything to add to that? Brittany: The only thing I would add to piggyback off of that especially if you are a VBAC mom, take the time. Do the research. Reach out to a local doula who you know is VBAC supportive if you need extra help doing this but take the time to find a provider who is supportive and not tolerant because your providers and your birth team, the people you are allowing into your birth space, can truly make or break your birth experience. I have witnessed it. I have experienced it so do your due diligence on the front end. It is not always easy, especially navigating the hospital system, but there are people out there. A lot of local doulas do know, “Hey, I've had a lot of great experiences with this OB/GYN when it comes to VBAC”, or “Hey, stay away from this practice.” Do your due diligence. Find a team who really believes in your body's ability to birth your baby vaginally. They need to believe in it as much as you do and just take the time to educate yourself. I believe that education is the key to empowerment. That's such a big piece of the work that I do with my moms leading up to birth with both birth and postpartum but take that time. Educate yourself. Find a team who believes as much as you do in your VBAC. Meagan: I am just going to leave it right there because I think that is a nice way to zip it right up and complete this beautiful episode. Thank you so much for sharing. Congratulations. I love so much that your kids still talk about, “Remember how she brought us downstairs?” So awesome. I'm so happy for all of you and congrats again. Brittany: Thank you so much for having 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 did you think?Episode 40! Today we hear how after 4 obstetric led hospital births, Kate began exploring her options for birth at home - but with uncertainty around private midwife availability, Kate instead chose to have a freebirth with her 5th baby. Whilst we don't cover her 4 hospital births in detail Kate does not go in to detail about her 4 hospital births however it is helpful to note that she experienced a post partum haoemoorraheg with her 3rd baby and her 4th baby was diagnosed with meconium aspiration syndrome and spent much of her first year of life on       oxygen. I think it's important to include such details because it really contrasts how different her freebirth journey was - in a complication free birth and post partum. Kate also reflects on the importance of good support and self belief.Resources: The Rhomus of Michaelis https://www.sarawickham.com/articles-2/the-rhombus-of-michaelis/Support the Show.

Today, this is what's important: Chuck town, alien art, weed, sports fans, khakis, wigs, Ben Franklin, bathing, farts and boners on planes, baby poops, getting old, & more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Send me your feedback!Episode 36 is shared by mum to 4 under 6 years, Shelby. Shelby felt naive going in to her first 2 births, and although she learnt about homebirth (via freebirth first!) after her 2nd baby, she chose to have another birth centre birth. It wasn't until after reflection many months later, that she decided for her 4th baby she would plan a homebirth. An episode that makes you think about why 3 non-homebirths had so many issues, but her 4th baby who was born at home, was so different. Resources: Velamentous Cord Insertion https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24111-velamentous-cord-insertionPreterm Premature Rupture of Membranes https://evidencebasedbirth.com/ebb-281-mini-q-a-on-the-evidence-on-preterm-prom/IVF & Induction https://www.therealbirthcompanyltd.com/2021/04/28/ivf-and-stillbirth/Meconium in waters https://midwifethinking.com/2015/01/14/the-curse-of-meconium-stained-liquor/Learn more about me, my offers as a doula & the podcast here: https://www.birthingathome.com.au/CHAPTERS00:00Shelby's Birth Center Births06:15Discovering Home Birth08:08Overview of First Two Births11:21Dealing with Shoulder Dystocia28:36Bringing Baby Home on Oxygen33:25Considering Induction for Future Pregnancies34:53Making an Informed Decision39:59Dealing with Others' Opinions41:22Finding the Right Midwife43:31Unexpected Early Labor48:43The Excitement of Catching the Baby54:07Creating a Comfortable Birth Space57:41Returning to Normalcy After Birth01:03:13Passing on the Knowledge of Home Birth01:05:24Challenges with Publicly Funded Home Birth01:06:45The Power of Physiological BirthSupport the Show.

Breast Milk Enema and Meconium Evacuation Among Preterm Infants: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Zheng L, Gai L, Wu Y, Kong C, Sun F, Gao J, Yuan W, Liu M, Jiang H, Tuo N, Yang F.JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Apr 1;7(4):e247145. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.7145.PMID: 38648060 Free article. Clinical Trial.As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy!

Abi is Mum to 4 year old Bill, 2 year old Freya, and 8 week old Ida, living on their rural property 2.5 hours drive from the nearest hospital. Her first two births were medical affairs, involving epidurals, induction and a large postpartum haemorrhage. Her most recent birth, however, was a gentle water birth experience at home, an utterly ordinary, yet simultaneously extraordinary occasion.  Abi shares with us the journey she went on to confidently prepare for a rural home birth, and the buzz of ordinary delights like climbing into bed together as a family after a wondrous birth at day break.  Also discussed in this episode: Meconium stained liquor Lack of initial mother-baby bond Tongue tie Milk oversupply Hypnobirthing The Freya app Breech at 36 - 38wks TENS Sibling involvement with birth Retained membranes Learn about Carla's Soulful Birth course here: https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/birthprep Listen to Carla talk about birth and birth trauma related topics on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@healingbirth Follow Carla on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healing.birth/

In today's episode Nicole shares her experience of consciously conceiving and birthing her son Oakley. She loved being pregnant and spent her time preparing for the transition from maiden to mother by hiring a doula, listening to positive birth stories and nourishing herself with good food, movement, yoga and massage. Having planned for a homebirth, Nicole and her husband spend the majority of her labour at home but eventually transferred to hospital to birth her baby with ventouse assistance. She shares how she found pregnancy, birth and the early months of motherhood to be the ultimate lesson in trust and surrender and how she found peace with her birthing experience despite things not turning out exactly as she had envisaged.   Nicole's IG: https://www.instagram.com/the.grounded.mama/  My website: www.serenalouth.com My IG: https://www.instagram.com/serenalouth/

This episode of Kiwi Birth Tales is proudly brought to you by Huggies NZ.In this episode of Kiwi Birth Tales, I speak to Lucie. Some of the topics we cover:Easy journey to pregnancy after Copper IUD Overdue (41+4)Braxton Hicks Expressing Colostrum Spontaneous labour at homeMidwife appointment (2cm dilated) Planned Hospital birth 5cm dilated when arrived at HospitalVariable baby heartrate on CTG monitor (190-70)Emergency C-section under General Anaesthetic Meconium AspirationFlat breathing when born SCBU stay (12 days) Waking up from birth under GA Recovery from CsectionBreastfeeding journey Mental health and birth traumaPlease seek support for any mental health concerns, some helpful links are below:Mental Health in PregnancyPerinatal Depression and Anxiety Aotearoa Plunket - Dads Mental HealthLittle Shadow - Private Counselling NZYour Birth Project Online Hypnobirthing CourseFind me @kiwibirthtales and @yourbirthproject Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Mel describes what the current research says about meconium stained amniotic fluid. What is it? Is meconium truly ‘sterile'? Is meconium always a problem? and what might happen to your baby if there is meconium in your waters. Time stamps 00:55 Summary of episode content 02:35 What is meconium 04:40 Microbiome of meconium 08:00 Types of meconium and their level of ‘seriousness' 10:50 Primary vs secondary meconium 16:50 why would there be meconium stained liquor 20:15 Consequences of meconium stained fluid To get on the mailing list for the podcast and to access the resource folders for each episode, visit www.melaniethemidwife.com Premium podcast members Hub Being a premium podcast member gives you access to the transcript and additional resources for each episode AND the 'ask Mel a question' button so you can submit questions for the monthly 'Ask me anything' episode. Only available in the premium podcast members hub. Find out all the details here You can find out more about Mel @melaniethemidwife Disclaimer: The information and resources provided on this podcast does not, and is not intended to, constitute or replace medical or midwifery advice. Instead, all information provided is intended for education, with it's application intended for discussion between yourself and your care provider and/or workplace if you are a health professional. The Great Birth Rebellion podcast reserves the right to supplement, edit, change, delete any information at any time. Whilst we have tried to maintain accuracy and completeness of information, we do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy or currency of the information. The podcast accepts no liability for any loss, damage or unfavourable outcomes howsoever arising out of the use or reliance on the content. This podcast is not a replacement for midwifery or medical clinical care.

Dive into the essentials of infant feeding and pooping in our latest episode of Your Checkup! From mastering breast milk storage rules to navigating the transition to solid foods, we break down common conversations around infant nutrition. Learn when to introduce water, and learn what color baby poop is normal and healthy, and what type isn't.Show notes below: Eating and Pooping The first six months are crucial for your baby's nutrition.Whether it's formula or breast milk, these are all they need to thrive unless something else is prescribed by a doctorFeeding Tips:No microwaving breast milk; it alters its composition.Follow the rule of 4s for breast milk storage: 4 hours at room temp, 4 days in the refrigerator, 6 months or longer in the freezerUse the oldest milk first.Formula lasts for 2 hours at room temperature and 24 hours in the fridge.Never prop bottles for feedingSolid Foods:Start around 6 months after assessing readiness or when your doctor suggestsSigns of readiness include head control and interest in food, and keeping food in mouthGradually introduce thicker textures as baby adjusts.Transition to Cow's Milk:Can start cow's milk after 12 months, preferably whole milk.Be cautious due to iron deficiency and protein content.Limit to about 2 cups per day and ensure varied iron-rich foods.Cereal in Bottle:Not recommended except for reflux, as it may cause choking or excessive weight gain.Introduction of Water:Small amounts of water can be introduced alongside solids.No water in the first 6 months because of possible electrolyte disturbancesAddressing Allergies:Introducing allergenic foods late doesn't necessarily prevent allergies, can introduce them earlier, talk with pediatrician.Monitor for changes and consult a pediatrician if concerns arise.Understanding Baby Poop:Changes occur when solids are introduced.Meconium, the first stool, is odorless and dark.Normal baby poop varies in color and consistency, but normally look like mustardLook out for abnormal colors like white, red, or black ( after the first few poops), and consult a pediatrician if concerned.Credits:Script and Content : Nicole Aruffo, RNProduction and Editing: Ed Delesky, MDCover Artwork: Olivia Pawlowski 

Danica shares with us her experience of preparing for birth, and what made the biggest difference on the day. Her early labour involved some starting and stopping, and ultimately it was a walk that kicked her labour into the next gear. She shares with us how her partner supported her to find comfort, and what she focused on with her mind. During her labour, there was some meconium which required some extra monitoring. Danica also shares that her biggest fear was tearing up, and discovered that even when it happened, she was surprised to discover that it was no big deal. There are some great little tips in this episode - certainly worth listening to. Links: Transform Parenting website Transform Your Birth Today Free pregnancy gift    

Episode 20 is here! And what better way to celebrate than with TWO homebirth stories from Emma in Woollongong, NSW.  This is a beautiful episode & I was so excited to hear the birth of Dara as well, because Emma listened to this podcast whilst she was pregnancy with Dara! How full circle. Links to people/business/resources for this episode:Birth Time Documentary - get 20% off with code CICADA20 when you use my link> https://www.birthtime.world/a/2147503775/TEzXryDMGroup B Strep https://www.melaniethemidwife.com/podcasts/the-great-birth-rebellion/episodes/2147792078Gestional Diabetes and the Glucose Tolerance Test https://midwifethinking.com/2018/03/20/gestational-diabetes-beyond-the-label/Negative Blood Types and Anti-D https://themidwivescauldron.buzzsprout.com/1178486/8664928-an-interview-with-dr-sara-wickhamFree! Core Floor & Restore Antenatal Class https://coreandfloor.com.au/products/antenatal-classesSex for 'natural' induction of labour  https://evidencebasedbirth.com/evidence-on-pineapple-and-sex-for-natural-labor-induction/Rebozzo Sifting https://www.pregnancy.com.au/rebozo-sifting-demonstration/Meconium in waters Rachel Reed's Blog https://midwifethinking.com/2015/01/14/the-curse-of-meconium-stained-liquor/Birthing Instincts Podcast https://open.spotify.com/episode/0blrYkGkDK2O5MjzRoSWFz?si=9d2910b4272e45a0After birth pains https://www.cochrane.org/CD004908/PREG_relief-pain-caused-uterine-cramping-or-involution-after-giving-birthCHAPTERS: 03:18Discovering Home Birth06:11Challenges with Hospital Birth08:09Choosing Home Birth09:06Pregnancy Experience11:20Declining Tests14:21Education and Preparation23:00Working During Pregnancy28:48Onset of Labor31:02Midwife's Arrival36:37Progression of Labor41:14Feeling the Baby's Head45:04Transition and Pushing46:57The Birth of Emma's First Child at Home50:31Deciding on a Home Birth for Emma's Second Child51:26Dealing with Morning Sickness During Pregnancy56:43The Role of a Doula in Emma's Second Birth58:32Declining the Glucose Tolerance Test59:53Finishing Work and Preparing for Birth01:04:24Emma's Waters Breaking and Waiting for Labor to Start01:07:13Contractions Begin and the Midwife's Advice01:12:26Emotional Challenges and the Midwife's Support01:19:16Active Labor and Getting into the Birth Pool01:27:43The Birth of Emma's Second Child at Home01:30:26The Afterbirth and Postpartum Experience01:32:28Difficulties during labor and recovery01:33:54Lack of appetite and dehydration01:35:43Factors contributing to the challenging labor01:36:38Importance of rest and recovery01:37:38Advice for women with pre-rupture of membranes01:38:32Home birth experiencesSupport the show

Fontanelles, tastebuds, blue eyes and more

Henry Kissinger is still dead. How was your weekend?

In this episode, Carly shares her story of an unplanned induction after going past her due date thanks to low amniotic fluid measurements. After laboring for over two days, Carly adapts her original birth plan, opting for an epidural and Pitocin, and ultimately experiences a vaginal birth that left her feeling grateful and empowered! Carly also talks about how her son was rushed to the NICU due to meconium aspiration, and stresses the importance of being flexible yet supported in parenthood.  In This Episode: 0:00 Introductions 01:22 What Does Low Amniotic Fluid Mean? 07:41 Carly Prepares for Birth with MamasteFit 10:11 How Carly Chose Her Provider 11:26 To Induce or Not to Induce? 20:39 Time For An Epidural 26:49 Meconium Aspiration Sends Baby to NICU 32:51 Carly's Advice ---

Welcome to the official launch of our Listener Stories series! You can find a new episode every Monday. For the month of September, we will be highlighting several NICU journeys as it's NICU Awareness MonthIn this episode, we welcome Lindsey, from Arkansas. Lindsey's story begins with her miscarriage and the anxiety that followed with her pregnancy after loss. Her second pregnancy was healthy up until delivery and therefore she was not expecting complications or the 21 day NICU stay that ensued. Their NICU journey began when their daughter aspirated meconium during delivery. Lindsey shares her experience of pregnancy after loss as well as the challenges of postpartum recovery while in the NICU learning how to care for her daughter. Lindsey also shares her difficult experience with breastfeeding including a diagnosis of D-MER.  You can find Lindsey on instagram - @sunlindsOr on her podcast Mom's Alright ! If you have a birth trauma story you would like to share with us, click this link and fill out the form!For more birth trauma content and a community full of love and support, head to my Instagram at @birthtrauma_mama.Learn more about the support and services I offer through The Birth Trauma Mama Therapy & Support Services.

Kelsey would title her VBAC story, “When Everything Goes Wrong”. This episode is a must-listen as she shares her VBAC birth after testing positive for Group B Strep.Kelsey's first provider: Pushed a scheduled C-section due to a possible big babyChose elective C-sections for all of her own birthsKelsey's second provider:Wasn't concerned about Kelsey's blood clotting disorderDidn't push for induction upon borderline amniotic fluid levels Limited cervical checksSuggested a Cook's Catheter at 0 centimeters dilated with ruptured membranesDidn't push for C-section after 24 hours of ruptured membranes with GBSWe are incredibly grateful for all of those VBAC-supportive providers out there! They make ALL the difference. Additional LinksThe VBAC Link Blog: Group B Strep Prevention and Your Options for GBS+ BirthHow to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for ParentsThe VBAC Link Facebook CommunityFull Transcript under Episode DetailsMeagan: Hello, hello you guys. Welcome to The VBAC Link. This is Meagan, your host of The VBAC Link. We have a story for you today that has been something that we've been seeing trickling in our inbox a lot. So I went onto our VBAC Link Community on Facebook and said, “Hey, I'm looking for some stories with this specific topic.” That specific topic is GBS, so Group B Strep if you don't know what GBS means. That is something that we've been seeing in our inbox of people being told they cannot have a vaginal birth if they test positive for GBS which we all know, I hope through listening to these episodes that you'd know by now, is false. If you are told that you absolutely cannot have a TOLAC, a trial of labor after Cesarean because you have Group B Strep, that is not true. That is just simply not true. We have our friend Kelsey today from outside of Dallas, Texas is that right? Kelsey: Yes. Yes, yeah that's right. Meagan: Yes and she is going to share her story just proving that. Another fun twist to her story is that she had a rupture of membranes. One of the things providers fear more or worry most about is GBS and rupture of membranes and the longevity of the membranes being ruptured increasing risk of infection. So a lot of providers will say, “If you have GBS, the second your water breaks, TOLAC or not, you need to come in and start antibiotic treatment immediately.” There is definitely some evidence with treating with antibiotics and we're going to talk about some of that in the end and also some ways that you can try and avoid testing positive for GBS, but one of the crazy things or cool things I should say about Kelsey's story is that her rupture of membranes was 24+ hours. So a lot of the times, we have providers also saying after a certain amount of hours and they have a cutoff or a certain number of doses of antibiotics, we're at a high risk for the newborn getting GBS and then we need to have a Cesarean. So I'm excited to hear Kelsey talk about her journey with 24+ hours with a rupture of membranes with GBS. Then another twist to her story is when she did arrive, she was a certain centimeter that a lot of people also think can't be helped. I'm just going to leave that right there and we'll let Kelsey talk about that. Review of the WeekBut of course, we have a Review of the Week so I want to dive into that. This was back in 2021, so a couple of years ago actually from mckenna_123 and her subject is “You're Not Alone, Mama.” It says, “When I had my first baby 7 months ago via C-section due to placenta previa, I was left discouraged and sad with little to no tools to help me process all that had happened. It was hard for me to tell my story to others confidently and joyfully because I felt so isolated by the experience. Enter The VBAC Link.” Ooh, that just gave me chills actually.“I spent my early postpartum months listening to an episode every day while I nursed my newborn. When I came across the placenta previa story on the podcast, I felt so seen and understood. This podcast gave me the opportunity to feel bound to other strong mamas who have healed from similar experiences. All of a sudden, I didn't feel so alone. I'm not pregnant with baby #2 yet, but when that happens, I will be armed with invaluable tools and knowledge for my journey to have a beautiful and redemptive VBAC. Thank you ladies for being the voice for moms who feel alone and unseen.” Whoa. I got chills all while reading that whole thing. She is so right. You are not alone. We are here with you. I know I've said this before and I'm going to say it a million times again but here at The VBAC Link, we truly love. I know we don't know you, but we love you and we don't want you to feel alone. That is why we created The VBAC Link because we felt alone. We were in that spot. Julie and I years and years ago felt alone wanting to have this vaginal birth which seemed so normal. Vaginal birth just seems like it should be normal. That's what happens, right? But then we had these C-sections, unexpected and undesired and we didn't know where we belonged. We didn't know what we could do. We didn't know who was saying whether that was true or not. That is why we are here. That is why The VBAC LInk exists. So thank you, McKenna, so much. Congratulations on your baby that is now probably almost two. Kelsey: And we need an update, McKenna. Meagan: We need an update. Are we having another baby? Where are we at? Are you still with us? Let's hear that update. Definitely email us. If you haven't had the time or a chance to put a review in, we would love that. We love getting them in the email box, on Apple Podcasts, and on Instagram. We love seeing your reviews. I'm not kidding you. When I was reading this review, I would get chills and then they would go down and then I'd get chills again and then they'd go down. They mean so much. So definitely if you haven't, drop us a review. Kelsey's StoryMeagan: Okay, Kelsey. Welcome to the show. Kelsey: Hey, thanks for having me, for having me on the VBAC podcast. I'm so excited to be here. Meagan: Oh my gosh. Well, I am so excited that you are here and sharing, like I said, such a great topic because I don't know. Tell me what you have heard about GBS. Have you heard that you can't have a vaginal birth with GBS? Or have you heard anything like that?Kelsey: Oh absolutely. Not from my doctor per se and I'll give you some more info about that as I share my story, but I believed that everything had to go according to plan despite listening to y'all's episodes, despite hearing other VBAC stories, I just felt like there is no way that I can have this vaginal birth after a Cesarean unless everything goes just as it should. My story is one that should be titled, “When Everything Goes Wrong”. Meagan: Okay, “When Everything Goes Wrong”. Kelsey: Yes, yes. I definitely heard that. One of the things that I kept in mind and I'll mention this too is that when you have ruptured membranes longer than 24 hours– I mean, I Googled this last night just to be sure. You'll see all over the place, “You've got to get baby out. You've got to get baby out. You've got to get baby out,” and that just wasn't the case for me. So yeah, I've got a lot of fun to unpack with you. Meagan: Yeah, and actually, my water was broken for over 24 hours too and so I connect so much to that because I hear it so much with our clients, “Within 24 hours, if you haven't had a baby, we've got to get baby out.” Some people are like, “Oh, within 8-10 hours, if contractions haven't started, we have to induce.” But that's not necessarily the case and we are two people that are living proof of that. Kelsey: Absolutely. Absolutely. Can I start by giving you just a little rundown of baby #1?Meagan: Absolutely. I was going to say, let's unpack where it all began. That's exactly where it began, right? Kelsey: That's exactly where it began. My son was born via scheduled Cesarean in July of 2018 at 40+2. I had never felt a contraction prior to having my son. I was diagnosed with polyhydramnios in the latter weeks of that pregnancy which of course as you know, leads to increased ultrasounds, and the more ultrasounds you have, the more– I don't want to say that things can go wrong, but he did get the big baby label because he was seen so much. Of course, you guys have shared that those can be up to 2 pounds in either direction. I remember somewhere along the 36-38 week mark, my provider because discussing delivery with me and she mentioned that she would hate to see me run out of the clock on a 24-hour labor which should have been red flag #1. Meagan: Uh-huh. Kelsey: She said that I would be so tired from laboring all day only to have a newborn that would not let me get any rest. She mentioned shoulder dystocia and that he would get stuck. She pulled out all of the stops. Then she even said– and you're going to die when I tell you this– she said, “I've seen too many things go wrong with vaginal deliveries during my residency and it's why I chose elective Cesareans for the births of my own children.” Meagan: Oh, dear. Oh, dear. She is in the wrong field. Kelsey: I don't want to demonize her. I trust that she was–Meagan: Probably speaking from her heart. Kelsey: Yes. She was. She was not out to get me. Meagan: No, and this is the thing. A lot of the time, these providers have this bad rap. I'm like, “Oh dear, red flag.” They do take, a lot of the time, from what they have maybe seen. She was mentioning shoulder dystocia. Maybe she's seen really hard shoulder dystocia so she fears that. She fears that but she's labeling every other birth that way to the point where she even scheduled her own Cesarean because she was that scared of vaginal birth. Right?Kelsey: Right. Meagan: If you have a provider that is that scared of vaginal birth for herself, then that is a red flag for sure. Kelsey: Yeah, absolutely. Meagan: But we don't even think about that. Kelsey: Yeah, and I didn't have the knowledge or experience to present a case for vaginal delivery for myself nor did I feel like I had the ability to so I walked in and had a scheduled Cesarean. It was very routine, very rote. My son did weigh 9.5 pounds, but there I was a first-time mom. I felt like this experience that I so desired to have, this vaginal birth, was snatched right out from under me. I had never felt a single contraction. I don't know why that was so important to me, but I just felt like I was missing something. Meagan: It's a signal to our minds and our brains that our baby is coming. Kelsey: Yeah. Meagan: It's a sure sign when we start having contractions and experiencing labor that, “Okay. We are now entering this stage.” I swear because the same thing, I remember the last time I felt a contraction with my second and I was sad. I'm like, “Wait. Where did they go?”Kelsey: Yeah. So that feeling really set the stage for the birth of my daughter. She didn't come until about 4 years later, but I knew that the first weapon in my arsenal would be to find a new provider. I conducted some interviews with two providers here in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. You are a part of the Facebook pages like DFW VBAC and you see names pop up over and over again. I chose Dr. Downey who you guys actually, one of your very first episodes was with a gal named Rachel and she used Dr. Downey for her VBAC. I remember there were 13 months between her Cesarean and her first VBAC. Meagan: Wow. Kelsey: So we've got a repeat doctor on here. Meagan: Yeah, that is really good to know. Dr. Downey. Kelsey: Dr. Downey, yeah. He was amazing. He never batted an eye. He briefly mentioned induction by 41 weeks due to health concerns on my end. It was nothing major, but I had a few markers for antiphospholipid antibody syndrome. Meagan: I don't think I've ever heard of that. Kelsey: It's a blood clotting disorder. Meagan: Oh, okay. Kelsey: So I was on Heparin shots. Lovenox shots and then moved to Heparin shots closer to delivery. But he was largely very patient. Very, very patient. He said, “You're going to be getting a call from the hospital to schedule an induction by around 41 weeks.” I kept waiting, waiting, and waiting for the call. I hated the waiting. I wanted to decline the induction, but I also, to be honest with you, wanted to follow my doctor's advice so I felt like I was in a really weird place. Anyway, I never got that phone call. I never got that call to schedule an induction. I never had to make that decision because the hospital was packed and they didn't have room for me and it was not truly medically necessary so I left my 40-week appointment with my next appointment scheduled for 41 weeks and he was like, “Okay. I guess we're just going to wait for you to go into labor.” I said, “Great. I love that.” So fast forward to my due date, I texted my doula that afternoon an update, and at about 9:30 PM that evening, to my surprise, I started cramping sporadically but because I had never felt a contraction as I said, “I just kept thinking, is this it? This can't be it. This is it. It has to be. It can't be. What is going on?”I even got out my contraction timer just to see. My sense of time was so distorted because I was excited but confused. So I got out my contraction timer just to see how long were these cramps. How much time was between them? I didn't expect any regularity, but I did continue to cramp until early morning. I woke my husband up. Talk about excitement. That guy got showered, packed a bag, and was fully dressed in 7 minutes. Meagan: Oh my gosh. That's awesome. Kelsey: I very kindly reminded him that this could take a while. He should probably rest. I was resting as best as I could, eating, and drinking, and at 3:21 AM the next morning, I felt that little pop that everyone talks about that you just don't really know until you experience it. I was glad. Is there such a thing as TMI on this show? Meagan: No. No. Kelsey: I had a pad on by that point because I had some bloody show. I was so glad because I didn't have this massive gush of water. It was just some leaking. When I went to the restroom, I noticed that it was not clear. I think one of the things that I hope people glean from my story is that you have to do what you're comfortable with despite risk and statistics and all of the numbers. I knew that yes, I could stay at home and I could continue to labor but I just felt more comfortable going to the hospital with the fact that my waters were not clear. Meagan: Yeah. Kelsey: I called my doula. I send her pictures, God bless her, and with my own gut feeling, my husband's urging and her advice, we headed to the hospital about 2 hours later and we were admitted by 7:30 AM that next morning. Meagan: Yeah. I just want to talk about despite what evidence may say, “Oh yeah, I'm safe to be here but my heart says that I shouldn't.” That is so important to listen to. We talk about it on the podcast all of the time. What does your heart say? What does your gut say? But it really, really, really is so important. I love that you had a doula to validate you and say, “Yeah. That's totally fine. That's a great idea. You can go on in.” Kelsey: Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. I think you have to take into account all of your experiences in the past too. What is going on in your life as you're experiencing this labor, as your baby is coming into this world? I kind of felt like I was taking a risk by having a VBAC. I know that I wasn't necessarily, but that was big enough for me so I needed to mitigate the other smaller risks by just going to the hospital and being in a place where I felt comfortable. That might not be the case for others listening and that's okay. Something else I decided fairly early on in my pregnancy was that I did not want to know how far dilated I was. I didn't want to know baby's station. I knew that this was a mental game, so whether I was a centimeter dilated upon admission or 6 centimeters, I just did not want to know. I wanted to do what my body was doing, lean into that. My husband was told how far dilated I was. He relayed that info to my doula until she was present and then obviously, my doctor knew as well. You mentioned at the beginning of the show, I was a certain centimeter dilated when I was admitted and that was 0. Meagan: Not dilated at all. Kelsey: Not dilated at all. Meagan: A lot of the time, with people who are wanting to VBAC, if you walk in with ruptured membranes, nothing is really happening, and you're not dilated at all, Pitocin doesn't help when not much is happening. It helps us dilate but usually, they want it to be something. Do you remember how effaced you were? Kelsey: I don't remember how effaced I was. I don't know if I even was at all. Meagan: Okay, yeah. See? And then right there, a provider sometimes might say, “There are no options here.” Kelsey: Yeah, and let me tell you. Because I was not having any contractions, I didn't know how dilated I was, but I do remember my labor and delivery nurse saying, “Because you're not having contractions, Pitocin is really your only option.” My doctor came in right after that and said, “I don't see why I can't insert a balloon catheter. He was the one who was like, “Wait a minute. I'm the doctor. I'll make that decision.” Meagan: Let's not let the nurse call the shots. That's good that they were willing to give you Pitocin because sometimes, we'll have providers say, “We'll try to give you Pitocin and try and help you efface and open just a little bit to help us get a Foley or a Cook in,” but some providers are like, “No. No contractions, no dilation, no effacement, rarely is Pitocin going to help.” But it can. Kelsey: We didn't do Pitocin yet. We started with a balloon catheter. Meagan: Can you tell people how uncomfortable or comfortable it was and how you could get through it? Because not dilated at all, you're literally putting a catheter through a closed, hard cervix. Kelsey: Absolutely. It was painful. It was painful getting it in, but the real painful part– and I'm sure that your listeners know and you'll have to correct me if I'm wrong– the balloons are inserted. They are pumped with saline to manually being to dilate the cervix. They fall out by themselves somewhere around 4 centimeters. Is that right? Meagan: 3-4 centimeters, yep. Kelsey: Putting it was painful, but the real pain came when my nurses would try to put some tension on the balloon to tug on it to see if it would come out. My husband will say, “That looked like it was the most pain that you were in the whole time.” That was so painful. And of course, I don't have an epidural at this point. It's not coming out, lady. It's not coming out. Give it a minute. So that was pretty painful. Meagan: Yeah. And they pull and push and put pressure on it to try and encourage it and see because sometimes it will just slip out but it also needs to come down and put pressure on the cervix but it's obviously not the funnest. But could you say manageable or worth it or would you say, “I'd never do it again in my life”?Kelsey: No, absolutely. No. I would absolutely do it again because it worked for me and really, only one of the balloons that came out was painful. I got up to use the restroom at about maybe 5:00 PM that night. It was inserted at 9:30 in the morning. I got up to use the restroom one time at 5 and the second one just popped out like that. It was easy peasy. So I would absolutely do it again. It was not that miserable but it was certainly not comfortable. Meagan: Yeah, not pleasant. Kelsey: Yeah. And I love what my doctor said. He came in whenever that second balloon fell out and he said, “You're dilated. We know you're dilated to a certain point at least.” I was very conservative with cervical checks. I was like, “You can check me when I'm admitted but other than that, I really don't want anyone up there,” because I know that increases the risk of infection. So he said, “There's no reason for me to check you. We know that you're at a certain point, but now we've got to work to get your contractions to match your dilation,” which was such an easy way for me to understand what was going on. And you'll have to forgive me because I don't remember when they started the antibiotic drip. I was diagnosed with GBS as we mentioned and I did choose to go the antibiotic route just because– and this takes into another point that we talked about earlier– I had a friend whose daughter did contract GBS during delivery and she was very, very sick, hospitalized the first week after she was born. So I knew statistically the odds were very small for my little one to experience any adverse consequences but that was a risk I just didn't want to take. I wanted to mitigate it. Meagan: And that's great. Kelsey: So I did take antibiotics. I don't know how much, but I did go that route. Meagan: Yeah, most people do. Most people do. Kelsey: Yeah. So we did begin to work to get contractions to match my dilation. I pumped a little bit. I moved around. We began Pitocin and this was honestly my favorite part of labor. I would do the hours from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM when I did get an epidural over and over and over again. I put my headphones in. I got in the zone. I spent a lot of time on the birthing ball and on the toilet. When people say the toilet is a magical place to be when you're in labor, they're not wrong. They're not wrong. Meagan: I loved it too. I loved it. Kelsey: I loved it so much. Meagan: It was this weird way to put counterpressure, open the pelvis, take off the pressure, but also at the same time, get the good pressure. I don't know. I loved it too. Kelsey: Yes, and my doula had set up candles in the bathroom and the lights were turned off. It was a moment when I was unhooked from the machines. She had some essential oils in the toilet. I don't know. I never knew the hospital restroom could be so relaxing, but it was great. Meagan: I love that. Kelsey: It was so great. I did work through contractions for about 5 hours. I was getting so tired by this point. I had been up for 24 hours without a drop of sleep. I didn't have the same fortitude that I maybe would have had 12 hours prior, so I began to no longer work with my contractions. I was just fighting against them. I was yelling, “No” a lot. I was saying things that– I don't know. Laboring brings out a whole other individual within a woman I believe. At about 10:00 PM that night, Pitocin was up to a 5. I was dilated to about 7 centimeters and I decided to get the epidural which is something that I necessarily didn't plan on, but I'm glad that I did. It was a good decision. Meagan: I love that you say that because I think that there's so much shame sometimes about having this goal and desire, but then “giving up” which is not giving up, just to let you know, listeners. The epidural can really come in as such an amazing tool when you're exhausted. Sometimes we're holding so much tension, so getting an epidural actually offers relaxation. There are other pros and cons to epidurals, but the epidural can be such a great tool and you should never feel bad or question your decision to change your mind. Kelsey: Yeah, absolutely. And this is another thing that I learned as I was laboring or really reflecting on the labor and delivery process is that first of all, for the most part, none of your decisions have to be instantaneous and I remember my doula telling me this. She was like, “You can take a minute. You can ask everyone to step out of the room and it just be you and your husband. You can think through the pros, cons, risks, and advantages. For whatever decision you make, for the most part, you have time.” I was always afraid that I would be pressured into, “Okay, you're in here. We've got to make a decision. What do you want to do?” and I wouldn't know what to do. So I was so glad that there was time and that there were options. I feel like my epidural was one of those things. I remember asking everyone to leave the room and it was just me and my husband. We were talking through it, but it allowed me to rest. I got to sleep a little bit. Because of my doula and nurses, they positioned me just so that baby moved several stations. I dilated to 9 centimeters and I was 80% effaced in a matter of hours. Meagan: Wow. That is awesome. Kelsey: Yes, it was great. I still didn't know how far dilated I was until this point. My doula, nurse, and husband decided it would be– I mean, they let me make the ultimate decision, but they thought it would be a good idea to know that I was 9 centimeters because I was 24 hours into this thing and kind of discouraged to be quite honest. Anyway, we were quickly approaching the 24-hour mark since my water broke. That was another thing that I was starting to freak out about. I felt like, “Okay, because my water is broken and it's been 24 hours, this is going to be an automatic C-section,” but that was not the case. I remember– my doctor didn't really come to see me that much, but he just seemed so unbothered by it. Meagan: So what you're saying is that he didn't even treat you any differently? Kelsey: No, no. Meagan: That's amazing. That's amazing.Kelsey: He is so– if you're ever in the DFW area– Meagan: That's what we want. That is what we want. If you in your mind are like, “Oh, I've got this C-section. I've got this and I've got that,” and your provider is just acting like you are any other person coming in and having a baby, yeah. That's awesome. That's what you want. Kelsey: That's how my nurse was too. I remember telling her, “I'm so scared every time you come and take my temperature because I'm afraid that I'm going to have spiked a fever.” Meagan: That you'll say I have an infection, yeah. Kelsey: Yes. I remember she put her hands on my knees and she looked me in the eye and she said, “Even if I come in and you've spiked a fever, a C-section is not the only way to get this baby out. She's right there. She's right there. There are other options. It's going to be okay.” Meagan: Yes. That's awesome. Kelsey: So we just kept on keeping on. I slept. I kept sleeping a little bit. I rested from about 2:00 AM until 6:15 AM when I was complete. We started doing some practice pushes, but on the first practice one, the baby's head started coming out. Meagan: Ah! That first practice push. Kelsey: Yes, so my nurse was like, “Can you hold on a minute? Let me go get the doctor.” I'm pretty sure he came from home. This is probably one of those do as I say not as I do situations. I was so tired of waiting and I was so tired in general. I just started pushing even when contractions weren't necessarily helping me, but that girl came out in 30 minutes. She was born and put in my arms. It was the very best. I never heard a single, “Well, you've got Group B Strep or your waters have been broken this long.” I mean, none of that from my doctor, from nurses, no one. Meagan: Awesome. Kelsey: I feel like they treated me as an individual case because I was. I was not a textbook that they were reading in nursing school or medical school or anything like that. It was, “At this moment, how is your baby doing? How are you doing? What are the signs that we have from data and all of those kinds of things and experiences? I think we're okay to keep going.” So that's what we did. Meagan: I love that. This team sounds really awesome. Kelsey: They were great. Meagan: It would be really cool if we could just replicate them and send them all over the world. Kelsey: I know. They were awesome. Meagan: There are providers just like them for sure, but that just sounds so awesome and so non-pressuring especially when you have all of these little factors that could really impact a provider's view. Kelsey: Yeah. Meagan: Ah, it's so awesome. Well, I am so happy for you. Huge congrats. Huge congrats. Kelsey: Thank you. Thank you. Meagan: I'm so glad that along the way you were one, supported, and two, you were able to follow your heart and feel validated for following your heart, and being able to shift gears based on what you were giving. This is so important to know. Plans can change. Things can change and you didn't go with the same exact provider. A lot of the time, we do so that's another little tidbit I would like to talk about it providers and how important providers are and can really impact. This is even before having a C-section. From the get-go, right? If we have a provider that is really against vaginal birth in the beginning or really prone to induction and pressing and pushing Pitocin really hard and then we stress baby out and then we're not doing well and then we have a C-section, we needed to be supported and not pressed from the beginning. Know that if you are feeling these red flags as a first-time mom if you're listening because I know we have first-time moms listening. Know that if you're feeling weird about a provider, it's okay to change at any point. It's really okay. Find a provider like this that supports you and says, “Okay, this is what we've got. Everything is looking okay. Here we are. Let's keep going,” and really helps you as your guide. Kelsey: I remember there were two things. I guess I just want to rave about him more. Towards the end of my pregnancy, we were doing– oh gosh. What is it? A non-stress test. We were doing that at every appointment because of my blood clotting disorder and just making sure that baby was doing okay. My amniotic fluid level was kind of decreasing. It was getting pretty close to that line where most doctors would say, “Oh, it's getting too close. You've got to come in tomorrow. We're going to induce at 39 weeks.” He just said, “Oh, we'll check it again next week. Just make sure you're drinking a lot of water.”When I came in to be admitted, there was meconium because I had that rupture of membranes and there was meconium. It wasn't clear so I was freaking out and he said, “That's actually pretty normal for full-term. We're not going to be worried about it.” And I didn't know that!Meagan: Yeah. Yeah, it is. The longer-term the baby goes, it's common. I mean, it can happen really anytime, but yeah. Meconium is more common than the world knows. Kelsey: Absolutely. Absolutely. Meagan: There are so many babies that are born with meconium that the nurses and the staff pay attention to a little more after birth but have no complications. Kelsey: Yeah, yep. That's exactly what happened with us. Meagan: Yeah, yeah. That's important to know. Well, I want to talk a little bit about GBS. Let's talk about the actual evidence. The risk of a newborn getting a GBS infection– you kind of mentioned that it's pretty low, but based on your own experience you're like, “Yeah, it wasn't worth the risk to me.” It's the same thing when we're talking about TOLAC. Okay, uterine rupture risk is pretty low, but then we have to evaluate what risk is acceptable to that individual. Kelsey: Absolutely. Meagan: Not treating meaning no use of antibiotics which is usually Penicillin via IV and it's usually done about every 4 hours, especially after a rupture of membranes. The risk of serious infection including so serious death is 1-2%. Kelsey: Yeah. It's small. Meagan: It's very small, but again, it's what risk you are willing to take. Some people are 100% willing and say, “I would really rather not receive antibiotics,” and that is okay too. There's not a ton of evidence with Hibicleans and stuff like that. It's a vaginal wash. Honestly, it's like a douche. Sorry for saying that word everybody, but that's what it is. You put it on up there and it cleanses the canal. So the risk of infection with the treatment of antibiotics is about 0.2%. So, still very low.Kelsey: Also small.  Meagan: Also very small. But still, there you go. And then one thing that– and it's from a small trial and it was quite a few years ago. I think it was 7 years ago maybe in 2016. They did a small trial and they found that women that were GBS positive that took probiotics decreased their chance by 43%. 43% of them became GBS-negative by birth. Kelsey: Okay, interesting. Meagan: So really interesting. Probiotics. I believe in probiotics not even pregnant, just all the time. I think it's really a good thing because there is so much in our food and everything these days but that was kind of an interesting thing. Again, like I said, it was a smaller trial. It was done quite a few years ago, but 43% of them became negative by birth. That's pretty high. Kelsey: Absolutely. Meagan: 43%. So knowing also that if you test positive, you can retest closer to birth because it can go away. It doesn't always though, so don't think that if you get positive and you start probiotics that you are for sure not going to be positive, but know that there are things that you can do or the garlic and things like that. We'll have a blog in the show notes today linked about GBS. We'll have these trials and things linked as well so you can go check them out for yourself and make the best decision for you. Kelsey: Yeah, I think it goes without being said too that there is going to be a risk with antibiotics as well. Where there is risk, there has to be choice. I made my decision but probably hundreds of thousands of women listening to this are going to choose differently. Meagan: Yeah. Yeah, and that's okay. That's one of my favorite things about this show. We all have opinions and we all have things that we would do versus someone else, but there's no shaming in any decisions that anyone makes. I was actually never GBS positive so I never even had to make that choice which I'm grateful for. A lot of people will say, “No. No way. I don't want antibiotics because there's risk with antibiotics.” But then a lot of people will say, “Well, I'd rather have the risk of taking the antibiotics than this risk too.” So you just have to weigh out the pros and cons and decide what's best for you. But yeah. I love your story. I love that you had a long birth, premature rupture of membranes, walking in at no dilation, and a less-ideal cervical state. Kelsey: Yes. Adding that to my resume. Meagan: A less-than-ideal cervical state with my VBAC. And a Cook catheter and that took time and all of the things. Here you are and you had a vaginal birth. Kelsey: I did. I did. I would do it all over again. Meagan: A lot of people ask me that. “Would you do it again?” because I had a really long labor as well and I'm like, “Yeah. Yep. I totally would do it again. 100%. Absolutely.” Well, thank you so much for being with us today and sharing your story. Kelsey: Thank you for having me. It was great. 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

As Mary Massery would say, “if you cannot breathe, you cannot function” and she was right. Today's episode explains the respiratory conditions of prematurity and how they impact the lungs and breathing. Breathing is a foundation skill and is the priority of our early treatment. I also talk about some of the early feeding issues associated with RDS, BPD and MAS. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cheri-fraker/message

Sameha was waiting for her labor to begin as she was already past 10 days of her estimated due date. Little did she know her labor would be a quick one and she would have labored majorly at home only rush to the birth center when she felt the first pushing sensation. Her water had already broken and there was meconium .Now you may want to know if her hospital was close or far off. What happened when she reached the birth center? Was everyone worried about the meconium and reeled her into an emergency?Tune in to listen to the entire story now!Sameha Arora is a mother of a 15 month old baby boy.  She is a technical product manager at Amazon India , Hyderabad.A very passionate mother and a close friend.Prepare for Birth, explore Prenatal and Postnatal Preparation Classes, visit www.birthagni.comSupport the show: If you like what you hear, leave us a rating on Spotify app and answer the question at each episode! a review on Apple podcasts. Share on Whatsapp/Insta/FB Share on Insta and tag us @divyakapoorvox Support the production by making a donation at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birthagni. This ensures the continuity and quality and a good coffee on sleepless recording nights! Subscribe to the FREE newsletter at https://www.birthagni.com/#subscribe and receive DISCOUNTS, SALE updates and GIFTCARDS on our premium 'Own your Birth' program You can book a 20 min FREE Discovery call at https://www.birthagni.com/bookfreesession ...

Jonny takes a trip to Red Lobster. That's all you need to know. 

Following a promising four games pre-bye, the Dockers have now dropped two games in a row. In this episode, we deep dive into a disappointing result, look at the lighter side of infant poop/such Freo performances, and answer a heap of Listener's Questions.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Kiwi Birth Tales, I speak to Anna about her pregnancy, birth and postpartum journey with her children Hugo + Lucia. In this episode, we discuss:Midwife based in a different townPelvic painPregnancy MassageSpontaneous labourMeconium in watersSterile water injectionsGasTransitionEpisiotomyBreastfeeding challenges Tongue and lip tie MastitisOvulation sticks 2nd pregnancy Marginal cord insertionAntepartum HaemorrhagesBirth centre birth Waterbirth Covid Positive Please seek support for any mental health concerns, some helpful links are below:Perinatal Depression and Anxiety Aotearoa Plunket - Dads Mental HealthLittle Shadow - Private Counselling NZFind me @kiwibirthtales and @yourbirthproject Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we hear from mum of 3 Ashleigh from Durham. She shares her journey from non-hypnobirthing-perfect induction, to nearly-in-the-ambulance hospital birth, and finally to her long-awaited freebirth at home. Ashleigh shares how her visions for each birth evolved, how her history of addiction surfaced when taking pain relief, and how important it has been having a known and trusted HCP for support. We hear how Ashleigh's location was a turning point towards freebirth, and the realities of moving house across boarders. Ashleigh used the amazing resource of the Physiological Birth Club on clubhouse to ask a question after an appointment, and birthed very soon after. The Physiological Birth Club is a resource created by Kemi BirthJoy Johnson that meets regularly to speak on subjects connected to physiological birth. You can listen to the session we discuss in this episode here. Ashleigh's freebirth dream came true, and her kids just made it through the door in time to see their sister being born. Thanks for sharing your story Ashleigh

Birth Education is crucial to a positive , women centric birth experience, every birth worker would say that!In India, the industrialization of birth is rampant. The wave is being supported by hospitals where the birth classes are often filtered to suit the different commercial scenarios that may be taken into consideration during your Labor. I often, still see a lot of confusion on what birth looks like, "what can I do? Are my fears going to interfere with the process", asked a mother inspite of the preparation from the hospital.". This , in an independent birth preparation set up where your coach has no alignment with the system, is better able to prepare you for birth and postpartum, keeping you and the baby at the center for all scenarios.There are so many questions:Why prepare for birth when I can ask my doctor or family?Did our previous generation in the cities have positive births, what stories have you heard?What is Informed Decision Making?Who owns the responsibility for the Birth?What are the interventions that an informed mother and family can decide upon say a meconium stained liquor, need of a surgery , epidural etcWhat does Birth Education give you in a nutshell?We answer all of it in this episode. Tune in to know more!With, Tapasya , a natural birth advocate , birth doula and traditional birth attendant, talks about the fear of birth and its impact in this episode.Contact Tapasya : tapasya.choudhary@Gmail.commotherdivinebirthservices@gmail.comScroll through our Prenatal and Postnatal Preparation Classes, visit www.birthagni.comSupport the show: If you like what you hear, leave us a rating on Spotify app and answer the question at each episode! a review on Apple podcasts. Share on Whatsapp/Insta/FB Share on Insta and tag us @divyakapoorvox Support the production by making a donation at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birthagni. This ensures the continuity and quality and a good coffee on sleepless recording nights! Subscribe to the FREE newsletter at https://www.birthagni.com/#subscribe and receive DISCOUNTS, SALE updates and GIFTCARDS on our premium 'Own your Birth' program You can book a 20 min FREE Discovery call at https://www.birthagni.com/bookfreesession ...

Jonny had a travel day(s) from hell and Ryan's showering Babby. 

In this episode, we review the high-yield topic of Meconium Ileus from the Pediatrics section. Follow Medbullets on social media: Facebook: www.facebook.com/medbullets Instagram: www.instagram.com/medbulletsofficial Twitter: www.twitter.com/medbullets

Hello everyone! It is that time of the month, and we are back with our December Q&A. To kick it off, we have a follow-up conversation based on one listener's response to  episode #188 on Rhogam. Next, we jump into our questions discussing the actual risks of going past 24 hours or ruptured membranes without contractions and how you can mitigate those risks. We break down why meconium becomes more concerning after 42 weeks gestation and what those actual risks are. One mother who has the flu in the third trimester wonders if this is harmful to her baby and what she should do about it; another mom is curious if it is more helpful or hurtful to use assistance to birth her placenta and questions if a hep-lock or IV port is really necessary in labor. Furthermore, is vitamin D supplementation truly necessary for breastfed babies?  Additionally, we have a great quickies segment on pregnancy headaches, aging placentas, newborn rashes, breast changes in pregnancy, cold-plunging postpartum, water birth and infections and whether or not sleep training babies is really needed.In our extended version, over on Patreon and Apple Subscriptions, we dive into a very important topic: How to accurately calculate your due date based on your specific menstrual cycle, not the average cycle. We discuss delayed cord clamping and where to clamp the cord, two-vessel cords and the implications for induction and the safety of home-birth with midwives who have restricted access to emergency medications. It's an extra-long extended episode this month - happy new year!Remember you can hang with us twice a month during our interactive and educational livestream for our Patreon community members!Connect with us on Patreon for our exclusive content.Email Contact@DownToBirthShow.comInstagram @downtobirthshowCall us at 802-GET-DOWN Work with Cynthia: 203-952-7299 HypnoBirthingCT.com Work with Trisha: 734-649-6294 Please remember we don't provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed medical provider for all your healthcare matters.

“Trauma is anything that overwhelms your nervous system's ability to cope.” On paper, Camden's first birth went really well. It was an elective, scheduled C-section. There was no emergency. Her physical recovery was smooth. Yet Camden was later able to realize and admit that she was actually carrying significant emotional trauma from her birth. She often felt powerless, helpless, overwhelmed, and robbed of the birth experience her heart truly wanted. EMDR therapy not only helped Camden heal from her first birth, but also gave her the tools to cope during her second delivery through over four hours of pushing, severe postpartum hemorrhaging, and a tough recovery. Though her VBAC was much more dramatic on paper than her C-section, Camden hasn't felt any emotional trauma this time! Her hard work was all worth it.   Additional linksThe VBAC Link Blog: All About Third Trimester UltrasoundsFind an EMDR TherapistThe VBAC Link Facebook CommunityHow to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for ParentsFull transcriptNote: All transcripts are edited to correct grammar, false starts, and filler words. Meagan: Hello Women of Strength Wednesday. It is Meagan with The VBAC Link and we have our friend, Camden, here with you today. She is from Tennessee. Camden is amazing. She is a wife and a mother of two. She had a C-section with her first one and then had a VBAC. We're going to have her story shared today. I'm so excited to have her share her story. She's got a couple of things that really happen often. One with her first is the third-trimester ultrasound. If you have ever been told, “Hey, we're going to do a third-trimester ultrasound and see how big your baby is or see what's going on,” stick with us because that is common and at the end, we are going to go over some information on that. She also has an awesome thing that I think is added to her story. She went through EMDR therapy. I am very fascinated with this, so I cannot wait for her to share more. She's actually a licensed clinical psychologist. Is that correct Camden?Camden: That's right. Meagan: Perfect, yes. She has a private practice and is a coach, a writer, and a speaker. She specializes in women's issues and relationships and faith. She is just a wealth of knowledge. I am so honored to have her here today and to be sharing her story. Review of the WeekMeagan: Of course, we have a Review of the Week. I'm going to dive into that and then we will get into the nitty-gritty of these beautiful stories. Today's review is from Katelyn and I'm hoping that we did not read this review already. It was given just two weeks ago on Google. If you didn't know, you can Google The VBAC Link and leave us a review there. We love your reviews. We know we say it all the time. I know I say it all the time. I don't know when “I” is ever going to come naturally. It's always “we”. I just miss my Julie. But we love reviews and we need your reviews to read on the podcast. So if you wouldn't mind, drop us a review on Google, Apple Podcasts, social media, or anywhere and we would love to read your review on the podcast. Katelyn says, “I honestly can't recommend The VBAC Link enough. I had my son via C-section in 2021 and even though I'm not pregnant with number two yet, I feel so ready and even excited for when that time comes because of all of the stories and education from The VBAC Link. I have been binging the podcast for the past couple of weeks and I have a note on my phone that is specifically for VBAC resources and education that has been mentioned on this podcast. “I am looking into providers and planning on starting interviewing some soon. I can't tell y'all enough. Thank you for all that you do and I hope one day I can share my VBAC story.”I love that Katelyn. I love that you're starting your journey even before you're pregnant. I also did that. For me, it felt right and everyone has a different time that it feels right to start their journey and start their prep and interview providers. But for me, unfortunately, it took a while. I'm glad that I started that journey before I fell pregnant because I was able to really decipher who and what I wanted as well as what answers were truly something that I believed to be supportive. So congratulations on starting your journey and I too hope that you are with us one day to share your VBAC story. Camden's StoryMeagan: Okay, Camden. Are you ready to share your stories? Camden: Yes, I'm ready. Meagan: Well, I'm ready to hear them and share them with the world. Go ahead. Camden: Okay, well thank you for having me on here, Meagan. I do a lot of podcast interviews for my work as a therapist and a coach but not a lot about me personally, so this is a little bit different for me. Meagan: Yeah, that's awesome. Camden: Yeah. I am a licensed clinical psychologist but I'm really going to talk about my own personal experience here as a mom. As you said, I had my first child which is my daughter from a C-section in 2018, and then I had my son this February 2022 as a successful VBAC which was so exciting and felt so empowering. It just was a great experience. I knew as soon as I had my daughter from a C-section that I wanted to try for a VBAC, so I did a lot of preparation to get me there. Mostly just educating myself about how her birth as a C-section was unnecessary. As you said, I went into that third-trimester growth ultrasound. I was 36 weeks. That's where they estimated her size. The ultrasound estimated that she already was 8 pounds at 36 weeks and that she was going to be about 10.5 pounds by the time I had her. They said at over 10 pounds, they recommend a C-section. Meagan: Yeah, and that number alone just saying, “Your baby could be 10-10.5 pounds.” You're like, “What?” You know, that's overwhelming too to hear as a mom. Camden: Yeah and I didn't realize how off those estimates could be at the time. They did tell me, “Oh, it could be off about a pound either way. She actually could be a pound bigger.”Meagan: Uh-huh. Camden: Yeah, and as a first-time mom, my husband and I were just freaked out. They told me, “You could get 3rd or 4th-degree tears. You could have shoulder dystocia. She could get stuck and not have oxygen to the brain.” Just all kinds of problems that they said could happen if I tried to have a vaginal birth with her. So from 36 weeks on, I was a basket case. I had a lot of anxiety. I went in at 39 weeks to have another ultrasound and that was when they said she was estimated to be about 10.5 pounds, so we went ahead and scheduled a C-section, but very begrudgingly. I don't feel like they forced me to, but yet they had some really strong words to say. We spoke with several different doctors at our practice and one of them said, “At this point, the risks of having a vaginal birth are higher than the risk of a C-section with her.” One said, “If this were my wife, I would recommend that she would have a C-section.”Meagan: Ugh, I hate those comments. Camden: Yeah. One doctor said, “Maybe you could try for a vaginal birth and maybe she won't be as big and it will be fine, but if something bad happens, you never forgive yourself.”Meagan: Mmm. Mmm. Camden: I was just thinking, “Yeah, I couldn't live with myself if something bad did happen to her because I was stubborn and tried to have her vaginally.” And so we went ahead and scheduled the C-section on her due date. I did not go into labor at all. I didn't have contractions or anything like that. The C-section went fine. She was healthy. She was 9 pounds, 2 ounces, so she was over a pound less than what they estimated, although still on the bigger side of things. She was healthy. I was healthy. They had thought I had gestational diabetes and I had been tested so many times. I did not have it, so there was really no explanation for why she was a little bit on the bigger side. Not a family history of it, nothing I did because I kept feeling like I did something wrong. I have PCOS, so that does make you a little bit more at risk for developing gestational diabetes, but they tested me many times and I did not have it. I was relieved when she was born healthy and everything went fine, but then I had breastfeeding difficulties. I had a low milk supply and they encouraged me to supplement in the hospital because she had lost weight. It was like, first the problem was that she was too big and now she is losing too much weight. It all really psychologically affected me. Even though everything was healthy and safe and there were no complications, and my recovery was also pretty good, I still felt psychologically traumatized from the experience. Meagan: Mhmm. Well, and then you felt as though, and this is what my perception of it is, you felt as though you must place blame on yourself for that. You were searching for this reason when like you said, it just happens. Sometimes babies grow bigger. It just happens. Camden: Yeah, and I also had this sense, “This is so unfair because I've done everything right.” I stayed active during my pregnancy. I watched what I ate in moderation. I took my medication for PCOS. I managed everything and stayed healthy and tried to do everything right, and still just didn't get the birth experience I wanted. And then with the breastfeeding difficulties and low supply persisted, so we supplemented her with formula throughout her life. To keep breastfeeding and pumping with me going back to work and everything I managed to do for 8 or 9 months makes me proud that I kept up with it for that long with her, but all of that contributed to developing postpartum depression/anxiety. Like I said, I am a psychologist and therapist. I do therapy in private practice, so I was familiar with those signs and that that is a common occurrence, but as a first-time mom, I didn't realize that it was more than the baby blues. I was crying every day for several weeks after her birth. I felt like a failure. I felt not good enough. I just really grieved my birth experience and also grieved my life before becoming a mom. Even though I loved her, it was just so much responsibility, such a huge life change, and an identity change. It was just a really tough transition. Meagan: You know, I feel like I can relate to that so much. It's not that I didn't love being a mom and having that role, but the identity change was weird. I was like, “Who am I? Am I mom? Am I Meagan? Am I the return-to-work coordinator at my work? Who am I?” It can really throw you. Camden: Yeah, my career had always been so important to me and that had always been where a lot of my identity and value came from, so being on maternity leave was really weird. I went back to work after 8 weeks which now, I wish I had taken more time, but I was almost relieved to go back to work and feel like, “I know what I'm doing here. I'm valuable here and I don't feel like a failure all of the time,” like I did at home breastfeeding and being a new mom. So that was my first birth experience. Yeah. I struggled with postpartum depression and anxiety for quite a while. It took me almost a year before I started seeing a therapist myself who specialized in postpartum mental health. I also took antidepressant medication to help with my mood too. That helped a lot, but really just giving myself time to adjust to being a new mom too. Meagan: Good for you. Camden: Like I said, I knew I wanted to have a VBAC, so we waited quite a while to try getting pregnant with our second. Of course, the pandemic happened during all of that. I got laid off from the job I was at. I was a college professor when I had my daughter and I got laid off from that, then transitioned to private practice. So starting a new job, all of that led to us waiting a little bit longer than we had planned. But as soon as I got pregnant, we interviewed doulas and I switched practices to stay with the gynecologist who had been treating my PCOS for a long time, but who had left the practice I had been at for my first birth. I switched to that practice and I just did a lot of research. I'm somebody who likes to be really prepared. I listened to your podcast a lot which was really helpful. I read a lot of books and had my doula as support. Yeah, I listened to your podcast. I started seeing a Webster chiropractor and just really advocated for the birth experience I wanted. I was very clear with my OB that I wanted to try for a VBAC. That was my intention. Setting that goal for myself and putting in as much preparation as I could really helped me feel more empowered. I started going to EMDR therapy. I was still seeing my therapist who specializes in postpartum and maternal mental health, but she did not provide EMDR therapy and I actually do not either. It's something that requires specialized training and certification. It stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing or EMDR. It's really the most effective treatment for trauma and one of the most popular ones right now, one of the most requested ones. It's in high demand. My regular therapist referred me to someone for EMDR and I started doing that, but I'm not knowing what to expect. It ended up being, I think, the number one key to my healing from my first birth experience and setting me up for success with my VBAC. Even more than having a doula, as wonderful as she was, and even more than– I took a HypnoBirthing class. Those things were all great, but I really attribute my mindset success to the EMDR. Meagan: What do you feel like a part of this program and this therapy, what do you feel impacted you the most? Was it processing? Accepting? Camden: Yeah, so EMDR is a unique treatment in that you really don't verbally process your trauma experience a lot. You don't have to talk about it a lot which is good for people who feel uncomfortable talking about it. It's really working with brain science to help your brain process the trauma. When it feels stuck in a certain spot, it involves bilateral brain stimulation meaning both hemispheres of the brain, and so I wore these headphones that played sounds in each of my ears going back and forth while the therapist would prompt me to think about times during my birth or to think about statements I believed about myself like, “I am a failure,” and then replacing them with statements like, “I did everything the best that I could. I am the best mother for my baby.” Things like that. Yeah, so it's really working the sides of your brain without a lot of verbal processing, but a big healing part of it for me was actually admitting that my birth was traumatic. I had a hard time just even admitting that because nobody was hurt. Nobody came close to death. She was fine. It wasn't an emergency C-section. It was scheduled, so I thought, “There are people that have such worse experiences than me. I can't call this a traumatic birth experience.”But for me, it was because it overwhelmed my ability to cope. That's really what we now understand as trauma is anything that overwhelms your nervous system's ability to cope. It left me with these feelings of powerlessness and helplessness and fear which is what trauma does. You have this sense of, “I'm helpless. I'm not in control.” I felt powerless and just a lot of fear. Owning that it was a traumatic experience for me helped put words to it, processing it in EMDR, and then coming up with new ways of how I wanted to cope in my VBAC was a key part of the therapy too. Meagan: I just love that. I actually don't think I realized that it's not talking it out. I thought it was finding the trigger and then working through that verbally, so I am learning. I'm learning. This is awesome. Camden: Yeah. Most therapy is talk therapy and that's what I do myself as a therapist. It's processing your memories, talking about them with a therapist, and looking at stuck points or thoughts that are keeping you stuck and replacing those with healthier thoughts. So EMDR does a little bit of that, but it's really not as verbal. It's really not telling all of the details of your trauma to the therapist, but thinking about them while you allow your brain to process them. Meagan: Yeah, I was going to say that I'm learning it's a tool. Learning how to by yourself, solo, work through those, and then learning how to even find out what is triggering or what is affecting you. That's awesome. Cool. Camden: Yeah. Toward the end of my treatment, before I was due, we worked on setting a future template. That's what she called it. “How do I want to cope and what do I want to think and believe about myself in my future births?” The one that hadn't happened yet. We did some, “What if I do need a C-section? How am I going to cope with that? What if there is an emergency situation and I'm separated from my husband and my doula? What do I want to believe in how I cope?” That ended up being really helpful in my birth experience. Meagan: Yeah, I think that's good. I think sometimes we shy away from the what if's or other scenarios because we don't want to think of those. We don't want to bring those into the atmosphere. We don't want to bring those into our space, but sometimes it's really good to plan for X, Y, and Z scenarios. Camden: Yeah, for me, I'm already a worst-case scenario type of thinker, so we didn't go worst, worst case. We didn't go death, but we did process like I said, if something does go off plan or if I'm separated from my husband, and yeah. That ended up helping because that did happen at my birth. Meagan: Mhmm, yeah. Camden: So bringing me up to my VBAC now. I went into it with three words of how I wanted to feel. I wanted to feel calm, empowered, and prepared. The preparation was all of the reading, courses, and therapy I did. The empowered– I wanted to speak up and advocate for myself and I wanted to feel calm. I did HypnoBirthing. I had tracks playing during it and I just wanted to really be focused and calm about everything. Meagan: I love that. Camden: I think I was able to. Meagan: I absolutely love that. So you just picked those three words and defined them. Camden: Yeah. Those were the three words for me. I was a few days overdue and I had listened to all of your episodes about due dates, so I was getting a little anxious about, “Oh no. If I'm induced, that's going to lower my chances of success.” I was getting a little anxious and nervous about it, but I did agree to a membrane sweep when I was 40+3 days. That ended up, I think, doing the trick because the next day, I went into labor. I saw the doctor on a Wednesday and did the membrane sweep. On Thursday, I was in early labor all day at home. You know, it was every 30 minutes or so, and I was tracking and telling my doula what was going on, but I was still walking around the house and doing stuff. We decided to call my parents to come to spend the night with us in case something happened during the night and then the contractions definitely intensified Thursday night and all through the night. I did my HypnoBirthing breathing during the night during my contractions at home. And then Friday morning, I was in my bathtub at home and my water broke. Yeah. I was going through contractions at home. My water broke, and so at that point, we did go to the hospital. Of course, I wanted to wait as long as possible, but when that happened, we felt like it was time. We called my doula. We called my OB, so we went in then which was a Friday morning. Meagan: Were things picking up more actively or just went in because of that? Camden: Yeah, I would definitely say it was more active. I was having to concentrate and breathe more through them. They were a little bit closer together. They still weren't probably as close as we had planned, but it seemed to progress fairly fast at that point. Yeah. We went to the doctor. I declined the cervical check because I did not want to know how many centimeters I was dilated. I knew that was just either going to frustrate me and discourage me later on or give me false hope. I don't know. I just didn't want to know. Meagan: Well, and it doesn't really matter. It really doesn't. You're in labor. You're going to have a baby. Your body will tell you when it's time to have a baby. Camden: Yeah and I was not in a hurry. I just wanted to stay calm and let things come as they came, but the funny thing was when we checked in to the hospital, we had called ahead of time of course, so when we checked in, they said, “Oh, you're here for the TOLAC” and I said, “No. We are here for a VBAC. We are VBACing.” Meagan: I know, right? We talk about this. We actually talk about this in our birth course about TOLAC versus VBAC and just the terminology. You're like, “No. I'm here to VBAC.” Sometimes, that can really actually throw someone off. It can really throw them off because they are like, “Well, no,” because trying, right? I love that you were like, “No. I'm here to VBAC.” You pushed it aside. Push it aside and be like, “Okay, I get that that's what you guys call it from a medical standpoint. A TOLAC, a trial of labor after a Cesarean, but I'm here to VBAC, so I'm just going to keep saying that.” Camden: Right, yeah. I was very determined and yeah. I labored with my husband, my doula, and a really supportive nurse by my side. She was assigned to us, the nurse, and it ended up being the same nurse who was there when I had my C-section with my daughter in 2018. That felt really redemptive to me because she had actually been really supportive during my C-section, and so kind, so being able to see her and be there with her and her being a part of that experience. She didn't even remember us but my husband and I remembered her. That was just really cool being able to come–Meagan: Some familiarity too and it was a positive part of your last birth. Camden: It was, yeah. The hospital I was at had one room with a tub, so I requested that room. I got it which was so exciting, but then they saw meconium, is that what it's called? Meagan: Yeah, in the water. Meconium is baby poop. It's actually a very common thing. We actually had a mom the other day write us and say, “Hey, I had a C-section because when my water broke, there was light meconium.” I was like, “Oh, that's actually pretty common.”Camden: Yeah, yeah. They saw that, so they would not let me get in the tub because of that. I guess because of the increased risk of infection. Meagan: Yeah. Every hospital has its different policies. Yeah. Camden: That was a bummer because I was really looking forward to that. I had used the tub weekly if not more than that at my home during the late weeks of my pregnancy when my back was really killing me and stuff, so that had been very common for me. I did use the shower a little bit. I tried laughing gas, the nitrous oxide. I tried that and I could just not get the hang of it really. The timing of when to breathe it in and the contractions and everything, I just didn't quite get the hang of that. Meagan: Yeah. I used that for my VBAC as well and everyone was like, “Oh, it was working.” I just remember feeling sleepy in between the contractions, but now that I look back I'm like, “Oh yeah, I guess.” I think I should have started when I started feeling them versus when it started hurting. Camden: Right, yeah. I just couldn't get the timing right and of course, at that point, you're just frustrated in many ways and not thinking clearly, so I kind of gave up on that. I did get checked and I was 6.5 I think at that point, maybe 7 centimeters. Meagan: That's great. Camden: Yeah. At that point, I did get an epidural. I had been open to it either way. I didn't go in dead set on an unmedicated birth, but I didn't go in dead set on one either. I was just kind of, “We'll see.” I ended up getting one. I don't regret it. With the epidural I got, I still had some feeling. I could still move around and get on all fours and move side to side, so I wasn't just flat on my back. I was using the birthing bar on the bed and I could feel when a contraction was coming on, so I asked for uncoached pushing, so I pushed on my own. Yeah. I didn't regret getting it. I think it ended up working out getting the epidural. Meagan: Yeah, a lot of people say, “I don't feel like I can VBAC if I don't get an epidural,” which, it's just simply not true. People have VBACs with epidurals all the time. You just have to do what's best for you. It's a great tool if that's a tool that you are needing or desiring. Just know it's there and if you use it, great. If you don't, great. It is what it is. Use it if you need to. There's no judgment. There's no failing. But with epidurals, we have this weird stigma of failing if we get an epidural. I'm like, “Can we please stop? Can we stop?” because it was a great decision it sounds like. Camden: Yeah, I think sometimes there is a badge of honor if you had a “natural” birth. I call it unmedicated, not natural. Meagan: Yeah, yeah. Camden: I didn't feel that way. I was open either way. Yeah. At that point, I had been pushing for a really long time. The doctor who was on call– that was the bad thing about the OB practice was that whoever delivered you was whoever was on call. It wasn't my regular OB that I knew and trusted. The one who was on-call said, “You've been pushing for a really long time. Your contractions have really slowed down, so we want to give you some Pitocin to pick them back up.”They did that and they did pick back up a little bit. I mean, I was really chill. I was doing my HypnoBirthing, my breathing baby down birthing, and uncoached pushing, and the doctor was like, “No. You need to let your nurse coach you. You need to hold your breath and push,” because, in HypnoBirthing, you don't hold your breath, you breathe down. Meagan: Yeah. J breathing.Camden: Yes. Yes. Yeah, so they wanted me to switch it up and I was okay, but they were like, “You've been at this for a really long time.” It had been four hours at that point. I tried it just to see, doing a little bit of a more hold your breath pushing and then went back to my breathing pushing, so I just mixed it up. But yeah. So after four hours of pushing, he finally came out. It was so empowering to feel him come out. Even with the epidural, I could feel the head come out, and then I felt the rest of the body. They immediately put him on my chest and it was just the wonderful moment that I had been waiting for. That was the moment I felt like I had been robbed of my daughter with the C-section, just being able to hold him right away, and yeah. It just felt so gratifying to be able to do that, to have him on my chest right away, and to know he was safe and to know that I did it. Meagan: Absolutely. I can hear the emotion in your voice just right now. It really is. It's an amazing moment and like you were saying too with an epidural, you can still feel things. There are still pressures. There are still sensations, so it's really awesome that you got to feel that and redeem that moment that you didn't get to have last time and have that redemption birth. Camden: Yes. Yeah. My husband and I had already decided that this was our last baby too. It was my first and my last vaginal birth experience, so I really wanted that moment. He was fine. After that, I started hemorrhaging. Meagan: Yes, from pushing for a while? Camden: They thought it could have been from pushing for a long time. I also had second-degree tears so they were stitching that up, but then, of course, the doctor was also concerned about uterine rupture because of all of the bleeding and couldn't get it under control, so they said, “We're going to move you to another room where they have better lighting and your husband and doula can't come with you.” That's why I said I'm glad I prepared for that moment with EMDR because I was able to try to stay calm and remind myself of the words and phrases we had practiced. “I'm safe. I am cared for. These people are all here to take care of me. I'm not alone.” I just kept repeating those to myself as I was not without my support team. Meagan: Did they take you to the OR?Camden: Yeah, I think so. They were stitching and trying to control the bleeding, so at that point, I would have had an epidural even if I hadn't already had one, so that's why I said that I didn't regret it. That was one of the other reasons. I was back there, it felt like a long time to me, but my husband said maybe 30 minutes or so. They kept saying, “I don't know. We might have to open her up. It might be a uterine rupture.” I literally said, “You guys aren't going to tell me. I just had a healthy baby and you're still going to open me up?” The whole goal of this was to not have surgery. Meagan: Yeah. Camden: I said, “Can't you do an ultrasound? Can you look at it?” So they did. They did do an ultrasound. They did not have to open me up thankfully, but they did this thing where they put a balloon up inside. To control the bleeding, they had to put a balloon and I had to keep that in until the next day. Yeah, so that was really unpleasant. Meagan: Yeah. That is a hard way to end. Being taken away and having that issue. I also had some weird things. I had some weird bleeding after and it was frustrating to feel like, “I just had this amazing birth.” Camden: I know. Meagan: And then you had this weird ending that was maybe less than ideal, but I mean, look at all that you did before and what it did for you. It prepared you for that very moment and you were probably meant to go through that for some reason so you could help your patients down the road, connect with someone, or share here on this story so someone is like, “Oh, I had that moment too.” It's okay to be bummed that that happened and to be happy for your VBAC. Sometimes things like that happen. Just like every C-section is not butterflies, sometimes every VBAC doesn't have all of the warm, fuzzy butterflies, right? There are little things here and there that happened. I'm so sorry that you did have that happen, but I'm proud of you for staying strong and still carrying on your words. You advocated for yourself. “Can we just do an ultrasound instead?” You carried on those three words the whole time. Camden: Yeah. Meagan: That's something hard to do when you're alone, so you can be proud of yourself for sure for that. Camden: Yeah. I did. I stayed calm and I had prepared for that moment. You're right. I did feel empowered still that I could speak up and advocate for myself and ask questions. Yeah. I don't carry the same trauma over that moment even though maybe on paper it seems scarier than my C-section. Meagan: Yeah, I was going to say that. If you look at it then you're like, “Okay, scheduled C-section, healthy baby, everything's good,” but then with this one, “pulled away from her support team, by herself, had this procedure done,” it sounds bigger and scarier. Camden: Yeah, I think because my baby was right there and he was fine, that gave me a lot of reassurance and I think yeah. The preparation and those phrases of, “I am cared for. I'm not alone. All of these people here are taking care of me.” Just reminding myself of that as there are a dozen people all looking at your vagina. Meagan: I know, right? Camden: It just helps to remind yourself that they are all here to take care of me. Yeah, so the bleeding, they eventually got it under control. I was able to recover and didn't have to have a blood transfusion or anything like that, but it did make my recovery more challenging. I think that was my biggest surprise with the VBAC. I had expected the recovery to be so much easier than a C-section recovery. That's what I had always heard. For me, it wasn't. It was probably smaller amounts of pain drawn out for a longer amount of time if that makes sense. Meagan: Yeah, totally. Camden: Yeah, my C-section was more intense pain but a shorter amount of time. The VBAC was, it was hard to sit. It was hard to stand because of the tearing and the swelling. I had a ton of swelling from pushing for four hours, and then I was just weak and low energy because of losing so much blood, so I had to take iron and rebuild that backup. It took a lot longer, I think, to physically heal myself again. But emotionally, I was so much better. I was not crying every day. I was not feeling like I don't know who I am. The transition emotionally for me was so much easier even though I did have some breastfeeding challenges again. It was a low milk supply and I just did all of the things to try to help that. With my first baby, I did them all again with my second and then some. Nothing really seemed to make a difference, so I just had to come to peace with it and accept that, and grieve that my breastfeeding journey was not as I would have liked. But yeah. All in all, I would definitely not trade my VBAC for it. It was so worth it and so empowering. Yeah. Just how I was doing emotionally afterward was a world of difference from my first birth experience. Meagan: Yeah. Well, congratulations. So happy for you. So so happy for you. It's crazy. It's crazy how everything can just unfold and like you said, you would expect to bounce back with a VBAC and sometimes you don't. Camden: Yeah, I think that's helpful to know. I mentioned that in The VBAC Link Community Facebook group. I shared my story there and I've mentioned that to people. Don't think that something is wrong with you if your recovery is harder or in a different way than your first birth. It's okay. I'm doing pelvic floor PT again, so that's definitely helped from some of the pain from the tears. I definitely recommend that. But yeah. It's been such an empowering experience overall. Good. Well, I'm so happy for you. I want to talk a little bit about our blog that talks about the third trimester, all about baby weight prediction and third-trimester ultrasounds because you did have that. Like you said, it wasn't like they said, “Baby is 8 pounds right now,” and then your baby came out 6 pounds. You know, baby was growing and it was somewhat accurate. That's the hardest thing with these ultrasounds. They can be somewhat accurate, but they can also be really far off. I was just going to list a couple of reasons why a care provider may suggest a third-trimester ultrasound. One, because during the 20-week ultrasound which is the big anatomy one where a lot of people find out the gender although people are finding out the gender at 8, 9, and 10 weeks now, but at that one, sometimes the placenta is positioned low and covering the cervix, or called placenta previa. They are going to want to make sure that the placenta did in fact make its way up and get away from the opening of the cervix. That is a valid reason for an ultrasound. That's a really good reason because if the placenta for some reason did stay and cover the cervix, it needs to be a C-section. We can't have a baby vaginally for that reason. Confirming position. Maybe if we are unable to tell or we are suspecting baby is breech or transverse, that may be something to do. Or if maybe baby was breech and then they did a version and wanted to confirm that baby was head down, that would be a reason. Failed a non-stress test. If there was for some reason there was a non-stress test, which, I'm also learning that some people are getting a million non-stress tests during pregnancy for no real crazy reasons, but if your provider ordered a non-stress test for a medical reason and it was nonreassuring, sometimes they may do an ultrasound to check everything and check fluid and things like that. But yeah. They can be effective for monitoring baby's weight and some medical concerns, but they can be super inaccurate and like you were saying, it can be up to 1-2 pounds plus or minus. So when we hear, “You're baby is probably going to be 10 pounds,” and you're like, “Wait, larger?” Because there was one time I went to an ultrasound with a client and they did say that her baby was 10 pounds. She was like, “Wait. My baby could be bigger than 10 pounds?” It's very scary and very daunting. So yeah. If your provider is suggesting a third-trimester ultrasound, it's okay to question. It's okay to say, “Hey, I don't want to,” or “Why are we doing this?” and then for them to just schedule a C-section even just without really inducing too, those are not great things. Those are not great reasons. You never even got to labor. Did they even say, “Hey, let's try?” They didn't say anything like that? Or was it that you opted for it because you were nervous about that?Camden: No, they really presented it as the best option because I asked, “Is an induction an option?” They said, “No. We wouldn't induce a big baby.” Meagan: Mmm. Camden: I said, “Well, what if I just wait?” But at this point, it was a couple of days before my due date and they checked my cervix. I wasn't dilated and of course, now I know that doesn't necessarily mean anything, but at the time, I was thinking, “Oh my gosh. I could be a week away and she's just going to get bigger.” Meagan: Right. Camden: Yeah, so it really was presented as the best option, but if I knew then what I know now, I think I would have just waited. Meagan: Yeah. Waiting it out or maybe opting for a slow gentle induction and just because the cervix isn't dilated doesn't mean they can't do anything to help get baby here. Oh, man. Yeah. It's a hard one. It's a hard one, but like you said and the same thing for me, I wish I knew then what I know now, but I don't and now I've grown and now I've got these journeys that I can share. I mean, that's why I'm here. Right? That's why I'm doing what I'm doing because I've been through that and I want to help people know so they don't necessarily always say, “I wish I knew then what I know now.” Right? Camden: Right. Meagan: Let's just know now. Let's learn now. Yeah, well thank you so much for sharing your stories, and congratulations again. You got me all tingly in the eyes hearing your emotion. You are just amazing and I am so grateful for you being with us today. Camden: Thank you. I wanted to just share a resource if anyone wants to look for an EMDR therapist, you can go to emdria.org. It stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing International Association. Meagan: Whoa! Camden: They have a Find an EMDR Therapist link there. Meagan: That was a tongue twister. That's amazing. I don't even know how you just said that all. I mean, I can barely read a review on a podcast like that. That was amazing. Okay. Would you mind emailing us that and we will make sure that we will include that in the show notes? Camden: Sure. Meagan: That would be awesome. Well, thank you again, and have a wonderful day. Camden: Thank you, Meagan. Bye. Meagan: 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 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

After catching up on life and listener stories, Blyss and Dr. Stu flush away the fear and confusion on the topic of meconium and Meconium Aspiration Syndrome. They discuss how meconium is quite common, and how birth may change when it is present. Dr. Stu and Blyss also get into the topics of cord clamping, stolen cord blood, and Dr. Stu's experience with “Bait and Switch.”In this episode of Birthing Instincts:The commonality of meconium in pregnancyMeconium, home births, & what to expect if meconium is presentWhat to know about Meconium Aspiration SyndromeThe timing of cord clampingStolen placentas & cord bloodDr. Stu's experience with “Bait & Switch”Updates on government tyranny This show is supported by:LMNT | Go to drinklmnt.com/birthinginstincts to get a free sample pack!Connect with Dr. Stu:Instagram: @birthinginstinctsWebsite: birthinginstincts.comConnect with Blyss:Instagram: @birthingblyssWebsite: birthingblyss.comThis show is produced by Soulfire Productions

  For full episode go to https://www.patreon.com/chapofym

In this episode of Kiwi Birth Tales sponsored by Your Birth Project, I speak with Grace about the pregnancy and birth of daughter Heidi.In the episode we discuss: - Irregular periods and contraception- Active pregnancy- Reduced movements - Your Birth Project | Hatched Antenatal - Spontaneous labour- Meconium in waters- Epidural - Ventouse delivery - Positive breastfeeding and birth recovery Check out Your Birth Project to create your best birth the online hypnobirthing course made for ALL births, as well as the online store with everything you need for pregnancy, birth and postpartum. 

This morning, Glenn more takes up the social ammo duty in Matt's absence and informs us we all have ancient ears and we hear your controversial movie opinions - nothing like dividing the nation on a Monday morning!

Amielia is a 21 year old Djab Wurrung woman and this week we would like to share her birth stories in celebration of NAIDOC week.Amielia only found out about the details of her indigenous ancestry when she was 12 and who her family were related to. She grew up learning about her cultural practices and a part of the disappointment in her first birth was the disconnect between these practices and the public hospital system. Later she would learn there was a program dedicated to indigenous women that she would seek to be a part of in her next pregnancy.When she first fell pregnant it was unexpected but despite this her partner vowed to support her no matter which path she took. She speaks about the lack of knowledge she had going into the pregnancy and how it felt going through her first pregnancy amid Covid lockdowns in Victoria.At 41 and 5 days, doctors suggested an induction which she agreed to. She had tested positive for Group B Strep. After what was deemed ‘failure to progress' at 2cm dilation Amielia felt powerless and agreed to an emergency caesarean after her baby's heart rate started to show signs of distress.After this experience Amielia did not want to be induced again. She hired a student doula and ended up experiencing the vaginal birth she always wanted at almost 43 weeks. Due to her baby passing meconium in her womb she agreed to have her baby tested for infection and tells us how her baby ended up staying in hospital for 5 days and what that experience was like for her.Thank you Amielia for sharing your VBAC journey with us. NAIDOC week: https://www.naidoc.org.au~ PATREON ~Please consider joining our Patreon if you are enjoying the podcast and would like to help support us by making a donation:https://www.patreon.com/vbacbirthstories~ AFFILIATES ~Access discounts with our amazing affiliates:Birth Time film:USE DISCOUNT CODE: CICADA20https://www.birthtime.world/a/2147503775/Eb2KfvxtPartum Panties:USE DISCOUNT CODE: Vbacbirthstorieshttps://www.partumpanties.com.auThe Birth Store:USE DISCOUNT CODE: VBAChttps://thebirthstore.com.au~ Notes ~Doula: Courtneyhttps://beyondbirthcollective.com.auInstagram of womb specialist: @rosewomb_xVBAC Australia Support Group (Facebook):https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=vbac%20australia%20support%20groupPerinatal Depression & Post Natal Depression/Anxiety support: If you or anyone you know is affected by PND symptoms please don't hesitate to contact the following support networks.The Gidget Foundationhttps://gidgetfoundation.org.au/get-support/,PANDAhttps://www.panda.org.au/info-support/pandas-national-perinatal-anxiety-depression-helplineBeyond Bluehttps://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/get-immediate-supportCopehttps://www.cope.org.au**VBAC Birth Stories features women's lived experiences. It is not intended to replace medical advice. Should you have any concerns during your pregnancy please always consult your healthcare provider.Please connect with us on Facebook or Instagram: @vbacbirthstories

Today we meet Tina a registered nurse and mum of two who lives with her husband in Melbourne. She shares her two very different birth and postpartum experiences with us. After Tina's son was born via an emergency caesarean he experienced what is called TTN (Transient Tachypnea of the Newborn). Babies with TTN have extra fluid in their lungs or the fluid leaves too slowly from their lungs. It is more likely to occur in c-section babies. She shares what it was like for her having a baby in special care and then the NICU ward. Having an unexpected surgical birth played a heavy role in her overall mental wellbeing in those early days.In her VBAC pregnancy Tina opted to have a student midwife follow her on her journey, and we are very thankful that Tina invited her student midwife, Rebecca, to join us in today's interview. You'll get to hear her perspective on VBAC and following women on their journey to birth during the show.~ PATREON ~Please consider joining our Patreon if you would like to show your support for the podcast from just AUD $2.00 a month:https://www.patreon.com/vbacbirthstories~ AFFILIATES ~Access discounts with our amazing affiliates:Birth Time film:USE DISCOUNT CODE: CICADA20https://www.birthtime.world/a/2147503775/Eb2KfvxtPartum Panties:USE DISCOUNT CODE: Vbacbirthstorieshttps://www.partumpanties.com.auThe Birth Store:USE DISCOUNT CODE: VBAChttps://thebirthstore.com.au~ Notes ~Student Midwife: Rebecca. Instagram: @beclettsResources:The Birth Map. Instagram: @birthmapping. Website: https://birthmap.lifeCore & Floor Restore: Instagram: @corefloorrestore. Website: https://coreandfloor.com.auEvidence Based Birth: Instagram: @ebbirth. Website: https://evidencebasedbirth.comThe Naked Doula: Instagram: @thenakeddoula. Website: https://thenakeddoula.mePerinatal Depression & Post Natal Depression/Anxiety support: If you or anyone you know is affected by PND symptoms please don't hesitate to contact the following support networks.The Gidget Foundationhttps://gidgetfoundation.org.au/get-supportPANDAhttps://www.panda.org.au/info-support/pandas-national-perinatal-anxiety-depression-helplineBeyond Bluehttps://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/get-immediate-supportCopehttps://www.cope.org.au**VBAC Birth Stories features women's lived experiences. It is not intended to replace medical advice. Should you have any concerns during your pregnancy please always consult your healthcare provider.Please connect with us on Facebook or Instagram: @vbacbirthstories

Meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS) occurs when the infant breathes in meconium either before, during or after labor. In this episode, we'll be talking through the four pathophysiologies of MAS, who is at risk, and nursing implications using the Straight A Nursing LATTE method. Want to maximize your learning by reading this information, too? Check out the article and references here. If you'd like to learn more about pediatrics, come right this way!     RATE, REVIEW AND FOLLOW! If this episode helped you, please take a moment to rate and review the show! This helps others find the podcast, which helps me help even more people :-) Click here, scroll to the bottom, then simply tap to rate with 5 stars and select, "write a review." I'd love to hear how the podcast has helped you! If you're not following yet, what are you waiting for? It takes just a quick moment and the episodes show up like magic every Thursday. And, when I release a bonus episode, those show up, too! You'll never miss a thing! In Apple Podcasts, just click on the three little dots in the upper right corner here. Know someone who would also love to study with me? Share the show or share specific episodes with your classmates...when we all work together, we all succeed! On Apple Podcasts, the SHARE link is in the same drop-down as the follow link. Spread the love! Thanks for studying with me! Nurse Mo

After a conscious conception, Ally went into labor at almost 43 weeks. Her epic, three day long birth process included many things that could be considered a “problem” or otherwise pathologized, but with the right support, and unwavering trust in herself and her body, this birth initiated Ally into a more powerful, sovereign version of herself. You can follow Ally on instagram @ally_aura JOIN OUR ONLINE MEMBERSHIP HERE! https://www.healingbirth.net/membership If you love the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon! www.patreon/healingbirth JOIN OUR LIVE WEBINAR EVENT: Discovering Your Mothering Superpower with Emily Bruce on May 15, 2022 4PM PST https://www.healingbirth.net/event

5:20 Matthew says “distillery”, but he meant to say “dispensary”.  11:09 The show Lindsey is referring to is True Detective.  16:55 The nerve Lindsey mentions is called the vagus nerve. According to the Mayo Clinic, stimulation of this nerve leads to the stabilization of abnormal electrical activity 23:05 Meconium is the first feces from a newborn.  24:52 Read about Lindsay Ridgell's case in AZ: https://www.thelily.com/a-mom-was-charged-with-child-neglect-for-using-medical-marijuana-while-pregnant-the-arizona-case-could-set-a-precedent/  26:56 Most states require a call to CPS if a mother tests positive for cannabis, but laws vary, as well as personal experiences. We encourage you to do your own research on your state laws and regulations when considering consuming cannabis while pregnant.  45:50 Follow-up study on Jamaican women that consumed cannabis while pregnant: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1957518/  *Unfortunately, we were not able to add any clips in order to maintain the privacy of the nurses present in the video. 

It is time for our monthly Q&A episode!  This month we kick it off with a follow-up conversation on the impact of early, frequent breastfeeding on significant jaundice. Next, we address the question of why babies who are born "big" get heel sticks for blood sugar monitoring; the impact of a c-section birth on your pelvic floor;  how to manage family boundaries around your birth and birth preferences with your sister and mother-in-law; if you tear during vaginal birth and get medication for stitches, is it still considered an unmedicated or natural birth? Is there a way to monitor your baby's heart rate and still be able to move freely and change position? Will an anterior placenta impact my labor? Tune in to catch all these great questions and more. Thank you to everyone who submitted questions for our monthly Q&A. If you have  a questions for a future episode, please submit on our website downtobirthshow.com * * * * * * * * * *Connect with us on Instagram @DownToBirthShow, where we post new information daily related to pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum. You can reach us at Contact@DownToBirthShow.com. We are always happy to hear from our listeners and appreciate questions for our monthly Q&A episodes. To submit a question, visit the Down To Birth website or send us a voice memo through Instagram messenger.This show is sponsored by:Silverette USA*DYPER*NOM Maternity*Serenity Kids*Wildbird.co*Beautiful Births and Beyond*Postpartum Soothe**Use promo code DOWNTOBIRTHConnect with Cynthia and Trisha at:Instagram: @downtobirthshow on InstagramEmail: Contact@DownToBirthShow.comCall: (802) 438-3696 (802-GET-DOWN)Work with Cynthia:Email: Cynthia@HypnoBirthingCT.com Text: 203-952-7299 to RSVP to attend a free information session live on Zoom. Upcoming dates are posted at HypnoBirthingCT.com. You can also sign up for our Fourth Trimester Workshop,  Breastfeeding Workshop or Cynthia's HypnoBirthing classes and weekly postpartum support groups at HypnoBirthing of Connecticut. Work with Trisha at:Email: Trisha.Ludwig@gmail.com for online breastfeeding consulting services or text 734-649-6294 for more info.Remember - we're in CT but you can be anywhere. We serve women and couples coast to coast with our live, online monthly HypnoBirthing classes, support groups and prenatal/postpartum workshops. We are so grateful for your reviews and shares - we love what we do and thank you all for your support! Please remember we don't provide medical advice, and to speak with your licensed medical provider related to all your healthcare matters. Thanks so much for joining in the conversation, and see you next week!Support the show (https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/cynthiaovergard)

Meconium is brown stained amniotic fluid and represents the passage of stool from the bowels of the baby in utero.    We'd love to hear your feedback.  Our practice website can be found at: Maternal Resources: https://www.maternalresources.org/ Remember to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.  Please consider leaving us a review on iTunes Our Social Channels are as follows Twitter: https://twitter.com/integrativeob YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/maternalresources IG: https://www.instagram.com/integrativeobgyn/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IntegrativeOB

CW: Animal neglect in second segment from 19:18 to It's been awhile, but we've got a baby name dispute that can only be described as a slow descent into madness. A man can't take care of a good, fluffy dog for two days while OP is out of town. OP projects her trad wife morals onto her sister. We end with dual dead donkeys - or shall we say, dead goats: El Chupacabra and Meconium.Subreddit shoutout: /r/BigBoobProblemsTwitter: @rYouSeriousPodEmail: rYouSeriousPod@gmail.com Intro/Outro Music is "Place on Fire" by Creo: freemusicarchive.org/music/Creo

This social worker and aerial hobbyist shares her prenatal experience with gestational diabetes and her birth story where her daughter suffers from meconium aspiration. It's when the infant swallows the mud-like fecal matter in the amnionic fluid before being born. She spends five weeks in the NICU before going home. Both mom and baby are now thriving and Jenn lets us in on the entire story.   Register for the FREE Mini Course by Wrap Your Head Around Silks HERE.

There are a lot of misconceptions about meconium, or baby's first poop, when it comes to safety in birth. Does meconium always mean there has to be a Cesarean? What is the problem with meconium, anyway? Why do babies pass meconium in the womb? The midwives answer all these questions and more in today's episode.  --- https://hearthandhomemidwifery.com