Podcasts about Trisomy

If you've ever wondered if this is just how life feels when you don't become a mom, this episode is for you. Maybe your fertility journey ended with heartbreak instead of a baby. Maybe you've been told (by the world, by your inner voice) that life will always feel incomplete, lonely, or second-best now. Maybe you scroll past pregnancy announcements and family vacation photos, not because you're bitter, but because they hurt. And maybe you've started to believe the quiet story that society tells women like us: That life without children will always feel like you're just holding on. But what if that story isn't true? In episode 172 of The “So Now What?” Podcast, Lana shares: The truth about the emotional aftermath of IVF and infertility that no one talks about. Her own story of navigating the grief of a chromosomally abnormal embryo (Trisomy 16) and what came after fertility treatments ended. Why the world's attempts to “fix” you with adoption, donor eggs, or surrogacy often leave you feeling more invisible. How guilt, shame, and comparison can keep you frozen in time, and what it takes to finally move forward. You'll hear how women inside her 12-week coaching program, go from surviving each day to actually loving their lives again. One client shares how she stopped obsessing over what people with kids were doing and started finding confidence, peace, and simple joys in her everyday life. This episode invites you to imagine a summer, and a life, where: You wake up excited for your day, not dreading another reminder of what's missing You reconnect with your body and stop treating it like it failed you You feel connected to your partner again, building a future that feels like yours You finally stop pretending to be okay, and actually are If you're ready to stop surviving and start living a life that feels meaningful and fulfilling—even without the children you always dreamed of—this episode will show you what's possible.

Send us a textIn this episode, I talk with Katelyn—a mom of three kids with different disabilities, including Trisomy 21, Aicardi-Goutieres Syndrome & Autism, whose parenting journey started at just 19. Her story includes foster care, childhood trauma, a cancer diagnosis, and learning how to feel her emotions for the first time as an adult.We talk about what survival mode looked like for her, how therapy (and a really good life coach-turned-therapist) helped her start healing, and the beauty of learning to set boundaries and feel again. There's a lot of laughter, honesty, and even a little discussion about why she wants to throat-punch anyone who says, “God won't give you more than you can handle.”Katelyn's story is raw, real, and full of unexpected wisdom. Whether you're in the thick of it or reflecting from the other side, you'll find something here that resonates.Connect with our Guest, Katelyn Johnson:Instagram FacebookEmail: Katelynmarietheimer@gmail.comGet The Special Needs Mom Survival Pack HEREConnect with Kara, host of The Special Needs Mom Podcast:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thespecialneedsmompodcast/Website: https://www.kararyska.com/

In this profoundly moving episode of Ageless Future, Regan Archibald sits down with the energetic and big-hearted Ben Laws, financial entrepreneur and transformational coach, to explore the deeper dimensions of love, loss, and what it means to truly live. Ben shares the heart-wrenching and inspiring journey of his son Benny, who was born with Trisomy 18 and lived just 16 days. Through Benny's story, Ben reveals the immense power of love—how it heals, connects, and transforms. The conversation dives into the emotional frameworks that guide Ben's coaching philosophy, his commitment to living a purpose-filled life, and how he and his wife Jenna turned sorrow into impact by founding the “16 Days” charity. This episode is a raw, real, and life-affirming reflection on choosing to live deeply and love unconditionally.MaxLife Podcast:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-maxlife-podcast-with-ben-laws/id1807089251https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/maxlife-with-ben-laws/episodes/8-The-Curiosity-Quest-Creating-Teams-that-Thrive-with-Shannon-Waller-e31im0f#:~:text=Hosted%20by%20Ben%20Laws%2C%20the,moments%20that%20shaped%20their%20success.Social:https://www.youtube.com/@MaxLifeBenLawshttps://www.instagram.com/thebenlaws/https://www.facebook.com/benjamin.lawshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-laws-844b926/

Jim sits down with PGA Tour professional Hayden Springer to discuss his journey through professional golf and the profound impact of his daughter Sage's life on him, his family and others familiar with her life's story. The conversation explores Hayden's development from junior golf in Texas to competing on the PGA Tour and the personal resilience that has shaped his career.Hayden reflects on the lessons learned between his first and second years on tour, including the importance of experience, course management, and short game mastery. He shares stories from his standout moments, including shooting a rare 59 at TPC Deere Run and a recent strong finish at Torrey Pines, and the role that confidence and process have played in his progression.The heart of the episode centers around Sage Springer, Hayden and his wife Emma's daughter born with Trisomy 18. Despite devastating medical predictions, Sage lived for over three years, inspiring countless people with her joy and strength. Hayden opens up about the life lessons, deepened faith, and strengthened family bonds that Sage brought into their lives.The Springers' journey also led them to create the Extra To Love Foundation, which supports families navigating Trisomy 18 and Trisomy 13 diagnoses. Hayden shares how Sage's spirit continues to drive his purpose on and off the course.In Angle of Attack with Andrew Lewis, Andrew & Jim discuss the importance of staying rooted to a "home base", as demonstrated by recent successes from Justin Thomas and Scottie Scheffler.The Driven Golf Podcast is brought to you by FlagBag Golf Company and StrackaLine yardage books. Use code ‘DRIVEN' to receive 20% off your StrackaLine yardage book order or mention ‘Driven Golf' when ordering a FlagBag golf bag to receive a free custom headcover with your order.⁠@flagbaggolf⁠ on InstagramFlagBag Golf: ⁠https://flagbaggolfco.com/⁠StrackaLine: ⁠https://www.strackaline.com⁠Resources:Join the ⁠Driven Golf Podcast Group⁠ on Facebook for more discussions. Subscribe to the Driven Golf Analytics YouTube channel: ⁠Driven Golf Analytics YouTube Channel⁠. And please check out the all-new DRVN.Golf website for all of our content.Check out ⁠Andrew Lewis's YouTube channel⁠ for more content.Guest: Hayden Springer (@haydenspringer14; @extratolove)Host: Jim Colton (@drivengolfanalytics) & Andrew Lewis (@andrewlewisgolf)Producer: Joseph Kay (@joseph_kay)Music: "Extra to Love (Sage's Song)" by DG Beat Labs (@dgbeatlab)

Hey mama! In this short and sweet episode Trish breaks down everything you need to know about second trimester pregnancy testing. Get ready to feel educated, empowered, and like the queen you are as you navigate your pregnancy with confidence.Join the Calm Mama Membership: labornursemama.com/cmsLeave a review and include your Instagram username for a chance to win our monthly raffle!What You'll Learn:Second Trimester Visits: Expect weight checks, blood pressure monitoring, urine tests, and hearing your baby's magical heartbeat with the Doppler. Plus, fundal height measurements to track baby's growth.Fetal Movement: Those fluttery kicks start between 18-22 weeks, signaling your baby's thriving.Multiple Marker Screening (Triple/Quad Screen): Done at 16-18 weeks, this blood test checks for Down Syndrome, Trisomy 18, and neural tube defects. 20-Week Anatomy Scan: The big ultrasound! It measures baby's organs, bones, and more, plus reveals the gender (if you want to know). Be prepared for a long appointment!Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT): Between 24-28 weeks, you'll drink the dreaded glucola to screen for gestational diabetes. STI Screening & Emotional Check-Ins: High-risk mamas may get STI tests, and your provider will check on your mental health. Be honest—there's zero shame in needing support.Walk into every appointment informed and ready to advocate for you and your baby. It's your body, mama!More from this episode:Comment "#second" on any @labor.nurse.mama Instagram post for Second Trimester Prep PackGrab the First Trimester Prep PackGrab the Third Trimester Prep PackListen to Navigating Your 20-Week Anatomy Scan with Confidence | 150Listen to 11 Things to Do During the Second Trimester of Pregnancy | 82Connect with the Gestational Diabetes Nurse 00:53 Second Trimester Overview01:51 Routine Checkups and Measurements03:05 Important Tests and Screenings04:10 Emotional Well-being and Support04:37 The 20-Week Anatomy Scan05:54 Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT)06:40 Gestational Diabetes Management07:53 Empowerment and ResourcesResources: First Trimester Secret Podcast

Chuck Gaidica discusses being a Catholic at age 50+. Gabby McIntyre of ADF joins to talk over Medina v. Planned Parenthood. T's Two Sense looks into Planned Parenthood as well, as they claim they still need to receive government funding. Plus, Beverly Jacobsen shares her personal journey with a child diagnosed with Trisomy 18.

Chuck Gaidica discusses being a Catholic at age 50+. Gabby McIntyre of ADF joins to talk over Medina v. Planned Parenthood. T's Two Sense looks into Planned Parenthood as well, as they claim they still need to receive government funding. Plus, Beverly Jacobsen shares her personal journey with a child diagnosed with Trisomy 18.

With the cause for canonization officially open for Sister Clare Crockett, we talk with the postulator for the cause, Sister Kristen Gardner all about the life of this soon-to-be saint. From her amazing conversion back to Christ, her radiant joy and tragic death, and the many possible miracles as millions have been praying for her intercession, Sister Garnder shares intimate never-before-heard details about this beloved sister that she knew personally. Marking Trisomy Awareness Month, we also talk with Beverly Jacobson about her darling daughter Verity who was born with Trisomy-18, and why all life should be protected, especially the most vulnerable. We also hear from our TCA chaplain Msgr. Roger Landry on the witness of St. Joseph as we marked his feast day this week. Catch the show every Saturday at 7amET/5pmET on EWTN radio!

With the cause for canonization officially open for Sister Clare Crockett, we talk with the postulator for the cause, Sister Kristen Gardner all about the life of this soon-to-be saint. From her amazing conversion back to Christ, her radiant joy and tragic death, and the many possible miracles as millions have been praying for her intercession, Sister Garnder shares intimate never-before-heard details about this beloved sister that she knew personally. Marking Trisomy Awareness Month, we also talk with Beverly Jacobson about her darling daughter Verity who was born with Trisomy-18, and why all life should be protected, especially the most vulnerable. We also hear from our TCA chaplain Msgr. Roger Landry on the witness of St. Joseph as we marked his feast day this week. Catch the show every Saturday at 7amET/5pmET on EWTN radio!

With the cause for canonization officially open for Sister Clare Crockett, we talk with the postulator for the cause, Sister Kristen Gardner all about the life of this soon-to-be saint. From her amazing conversion back to Christ, her radiant joy and tragic death, and the many possible miracles as millions have been praying for her intercession, Sister Garnder shares intimate never-before-heard details about this beloved sister that she knew personally. Marking Trisomy Awareness Month, we also talk with Beverly Jacobson about her darling daughter Verity who was born with Trisomy-18, and why all life should be protected, especially the most vulnerable. We also hear from our TCA chaplain Msgr. Roger Landry on the witness of St. Joseph as we marked his feast day this week. Catch the show every Saturday at 7amET/5pmET on EWTN radio!

This week's guest is Michelle Vignault, who opens her heart about the unimaginable journey of losing both her brother to suicide and her husband within just six months. Michelle shares how she was suddenly thrust into solo parenting two daughters, ages 2 and 4 while navigating her own overwhelming grief. With raw honesty, Michelle reveals how writing became her lifeline—beginning as simple notes and evolving into heartfelt letters to her best friend before ultimately becoming her book, "Hold Back the Rain," titled after a meaningful Duran Duran song that resonated with her struggle to withstand life's torrential challenges. Despite eight years passing since these profound losses, Michelle vulnerably shares her recent unexpected grief relapse, reminding us that healing isn't linear, and even when we feel strong, grief can suddenly knock us off our feet. Our conversation tenderly explores how Michelle has broken generational patterns by creating space for open communication with her daughters. She uses honest, distraction-free moments to help them process their feelings while allowing herself to express her own sadness and anger authentically and openly. The poignant image on her book cover—capturing Michelle with her daughters as they release her husband's ashes—symbolizes their transformed family and the quiet strength they've discovered together. It offers listeners a touching testament to how families can find their way forward through devastating loss with love, honesty, and resilience. Michelle's story reminds us that while we cannot hold back the rain of grief, we can learn to dance in it, finding moments of connection and growth even in our darkest hours. Her journey inspires us to embrace vulnerability as strength and to recognize that healing happens in community—whether through writing, honest conversations, or the simple act of showing up for ourselves and our loved ones day after day. RESOURCES:Book, Hold Back the RainBook, Send Victoria a text message! Support the show_______NEED HELP? National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 Crisis Text Line provides free, 24/7 support via text message. Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a trained Crisis Counselor If you are struggling with grief due to any of the 40+ losses, free resources are available HERE.CONNECT WITH VICTORIA: Instagram Website LinkedIn Facebook This episode is sponsored by Do Grief Differently™️, my twelve-week, one-on-one, in-person/online program for grievers who have suffered any type of loss to feel better. Click here to learn new tools, grief education, and the only evidence-based method for moving beyond the pain of grief. Would you like to join the mission of Grieving Voices in normalizing grief and supporting hurting hearts everywhere? Become a sup...

Jennifer discusses her infertility journey, including going through IUI and IVF. She talks about her losses including a blighted ovum, the loss of her daughter who was diagnosed with trisomy 18, and embryo loss. Jennifer also talks about how she worked for Starbucks in order to be able to afford her fertility treatments.

When Marisol and Garrett welcomed their second baby boy, Dominic, on August 13th, they had no idea the journey they were about to embark on. Diagnosed with Trisomy 18, a rare genetic condition, their story has been one of faith, heartbreak, and God's undeniable presence. Many in the Nashville Catholic community have followed their journey, and in this episode, Marisol shares the incredible ways God prepared their hearts and guided them through every moment. From a meaningful connection with a cloistered nun to unexpected signs pointing to a Catholic geneticist on the path to sainthood, this story will leave you in awe of divine providence. Marisol's pregnancy seemed completely normal, even after a routine genetic test raised concerns. She and Garrett continued preparing for a peaceful home birth, trusting in God's plan. But looking back, she sees how He was planting little seeds along the way—dreams, names, and even a documentary recommendation that all pointed to St. Jerome Lejeune, the very scientist who discovered the genetic cause of Trisomy 18. When Dominic was born at home, things took a dramatic turn. He struggled to breathe, and in those crucial first moments, Garrett immediately baptized him, grounding their family in faith before calling 911. Those first 15 minutes, though filled with uncertainty, became some of the most sacred and beautiful moments of their lives. Marisol reflects on how God's hand was in every detail—allowing Dominic to go full-term, preparing them for what was to come, and surrounding them with peace even in the scariest moments. She emphasizes how deeply a mother's intuition is connected to the Holy Spirit, guiding her through decisions that ultimately saved her baby's life. This story isn't just about a medical diagnosis—it's about surrender, trust, and the overwhelming grace that comes when we lean into God's plan, even when it looks nothing like we expected. If you've ever struggled with trusting God in the unknown, this episode will remind you that He is always at work, even in the hardest moments. Jennie Guinn is a Catholic speaker, Life Coach, Podcaster, Weekly Radio Show Host on Nashville Catholic Radio and Radio Maria USA, and the founder of Catholic Moms in the Middle. After 26 years of working in Catholic education, Jennie felt God calling her "to step out of the boat" to serve in a new way. In her new ministry, she equips and encourages middle-life women to encounter the love of the Father and to be transformed and healed by the power of the Holy Spirit so they can MAGNIFY Christ in their corner of the world.

Our guest this week is Scott MacGregor of Fishers, IN who is Executive Director of Content and Storytelling at Eli Lilly and Company and father of three including one with Down Syndrome.Scott and his wife, Sara, have been married for 23 years and are the proud parents of three living children: Ainsley (16), Jack (18) and Abby (21) who has Down Syndrome.  Very sadly, their son Owen who had Trisomy 13, was still born in 2011. We learn about a wide range of organizations Abby has benefited from, including: Gigi's Playhouse,, Unified Track, Kids Dance Outreach and First Steps as well as DADS (Dads Appreciating Down Syndrome).Scott supported his wife Sara as she co-founded Same As U, a nonprofit organization, located in Noblesville, IN established in 2019 to serve young adults with developmental disabilities and to help them live the life they imagine.  Same As U is filling a need for more meaningful activities and programming that often stop upon leaving the traditional school system.We'll hear all about that school, Scott's gift of story telling and his commitment to family all on this episode of the SFN Dad to Dad Podcast.Show LinksPhone – (317) 440-4699Email – jsmacgregor@lilly.comLinkedIn –  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jscottmacgregor/Website - https://www.sameasu.org/Same As U - Vimeo - https://vimeo.com/957878602DADS. Dads Appreciating Down Syndrome  https://www.dadsnational.org Gigi's Playhouse https://gigisplayhouse.org Special Fathers Network - SFN is a dad to dad mentoring program for fathers raising children with special needs. Many of the 800+ SFN Mentor Fathers, who are raising kids with special needs, have said: "I wish there was something like this when we first received our child's diagnosis. I felt so isolated.  There was no one within my family, at work, at church or within my friend group who understood or could relate to what I was going through."SFN Mentor Fathers share their experiences with younger dads closer to the beginning of their journey raising a child with the same or similar special needs. The SFN Mentor Fathers do NOT offer legal or medical advice, that is what lawyers and doctors do. They simply share their experiences and how they have made the most of challenging situations.Check out the 21CD YouTube Channel with dozens of videos on topics relevant to dads raising children with special needs - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzDFCvQimWNEb158ll6Q4cA/videosPlease support the SFN. Click here to donate: https://21stcenturydads.org/donate/Special Fathers Network: https://21stcenturydads.org/  

Rev. Scott Heitshusen joins Steph to raise awareness of human trafficking and offer suggestions for how the Church can get involved in caring for victims.   Bio: Rev. Scott Heitshusen was born in April of 1969 in Ponca City, OK. In seventh grade, he moved to Houston, TX. He's been married to Jennifer Heitshusen (née Stein) of Houston since August of 1991. They have two sons: Daniel (b. March 1999) and Benjamin (b. February 2001). Ben has Trisomy 21 (the most common form of Down syndrome). Daniel is studying to be a pastor at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. Their wonderful daughter-in-law, Rachel, is also a student at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. She is a Deaconess. Daniel and Rachel are the parents of granddaughter, Hannah (b. August 2024).  Rev. Heitshusen graduated from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis in 1996, and has served four congregations thus far. He's been working in anti-trafficking efforts since 2013 and has been serving as the Texas District Life Coordinator in the area of trafficking since January 2020.  Resources: For more information on human trafficking, visit https://polarisproject.org/ and https://www.lcms.org/social-issues/human-trafficking  Email us at friendsforlife@lcms.org LCMS Life, Health and Family Ministries: lcmslife.org For resources on the family: lcmslife.org/family If you are in an emergency situation, please call 911. In a non-emergency situation, contact the 24-hour National Human Trafficking Hotline: 888-373-7888 or visit: humantraffickinghotline.org  Note: Your computer may be monitored while visiting lcms.org or any other website, and it is impossible to completely block tracking.  Not all the views expressed are necessarily those of the LCMS; please discuss any questions with your pastor.

Original Air Date: 03/12/24 We dive deep into the moral implications of prenatal testing, and discuss the heavy decisions expectant parents face when confronted with potential genetic disorders. We hear powerful testimonies - from Nora's choice to celebrate the life of her now-healthy daughter despite medical pressures, to heartfelt confessions about the pain of not acting quickly enough to prevent our loved ones from having abortions. With compassion and conviction, Patrick affirms the intrinsic value of every life, and the importance of providing support and accurate information to those grappling with these profound choices. This hour is a testament to the strength found in informed and caring counsel - a beacon for life in the often stormy seas of uncertainty. Cyrus shares some of the flood of emails coming in from listeners praying for George (who called in the previous hour) *Sophie - I have a good friend who isn't Catholic and they got results that their child might have Trisomy 13 and they might get an abortion. How do I talk to her about that? (04:08) Katie - My friend just went through this same thing. My friend had an abortion and I want to encourage Sophie and everyone else to speak up about this. Marie - My parents were told that I was going to be born with a number of medical problems and I’m now 25-years-old and perfectly healthy. (21:25) Bridget - The one thing that people need to remember is that the abortion is very painful. How do you want that baby to die? (35:24) Nora – I was told my baby girl would have down syndrome and we were encouraged to abort. She was born without down syndrome. (40:05) Can I take communion at the Lutheran church?

Join pediatric otolaryngologist Swathi Appachi, MD as she discusses the latest innovations in pediatric voice and sleep care, including Cleveland Clinic Children's Pediatric Voice Center and hypoglossal nerve stimulation for sleep apnea in children with Trisomy 21. Dr. Appachi also shares on update on our Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Residency Program, where she serves as Associate Program Director.

Taking care of patients with Down Syndrome requires a careful and multidisciplinary approach. Come and join us with our wonderful guest, Dr. Hannah Keppler, as we go over everything you need to know about managing patients with Down Syndrome in a primary care setting. In this episode, we go over what to look out for during an initial newborn evaluation of a baby with Trisomy 21, the important screening tests and specialist care involved, and why we don't get routine screening X-rays for atlantoaxial instability.

Send us a textIn this week's community huddle, we dive into a heartfelt follow-up on loneliness and grief—topics we've explored in recent episodes. Picture this: a cozy space to connect with moms who truly get it. We talk about whispers of grief in everyday moments, how resilience sometimes feels like a mask, and finding strength in vulnerability.I'm joined by Shantay, Alyssa, and Annika, three incredible moms who open up about their unique parenting journeys, the unexpected emotions they've faced, and the power of shared community. We also touch on creating safe spaces, both physically and emotionally, and the profound impact of feeling truly seen and understood.Whether you're listening on your way to an appointment or with a warm cup of coffee, this episode invites you to reflect, connect, and feel supported in your journey.Let's keep the conversation going! Got thoughts on this episode? I'd love to hear from you. Shoot me a text!Episode Resources:The Wild Edge of Sorrow by Francis WellerA Special Needs Mom's Gratitude Journal by Amanda OwenGuest Details:Shantay Hindia: Mom to an 11-year-old daughter and an 8-year-old autistic son.Alyssa Meyerhofer: Mom of three, including Gabby, who has Trisomy 9p.Annika Atkins: Mom of 10-year-old Ella, diagnosed with Infantile Pompe Disease.Give yourself the gift of COZY:https://cozyearth.com/Up to 40% off promo code: SNMPODCASTConnect with Kara, host of The Special Needs Mom Podcast:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thespecialneedsmompodcast/Website: https://www.kararyska.com/Join the Community:Pathway to Peace Coaching Community is currently open for enrollment. Instantly get access to authentic community and weekly coaching! Give yourself the gift of growing alongside moms who deeply understand you and will be with you in your joys and sorrows. --------> Apply Here or Contact Me

Anni is a mom of two young girls living in Okinawa, Japan where her husband is stationed with the Marine Corps. In addition to her work as a non-profit grant writer, she volunteers with the Military Birth Resource Network and Postpartum Coalition and hosts their podcast, Military Birth Talk. A big challenge for military parents is creating care plans for older children during birth. They often live far away from family or have recently moved and don't have a village yet. Anni's care plan was shaken up as her induction kept getting pushed back and conflicted with her family's travels.Though her plans changed, Anni was able to go into spontaneous labor and avoid the induction she didn't really want! Her VBAC was powerful and all went smoothly. She was amazed at the difference in her recovery. Another fun part of Anni's episode– she connected and met up with two other VBAC mamas living in Okinawa through our VBAC Link Facebook Community! We love hearing how TVL has helped you build virtual and in-person villages. Military Birth Resource Network and Postpartum CoalitionHow to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for ParentsFull Transcript under Episode Details Meagan: Hello, everybody. You are listening to The VBAC Link, and I am with my friend, Anni, today sharing her stories. Anni is one of our military mamas. This is the final episode of the week of military episodes. So even though it is a little bit after Veteran's Day, that's okay. We are celebrating our military mamas today. Welcome to the show, Anni. Anni: Thank you so much. I'm so excited to be here this week. Meagan: Me too. I also can't believe that you are here right now. We were just chatting before the podcast about time. You guys, it is 4:50 AM where she is at. I just can't even believe it. You're in Japan. Anni: Yeah. We live in Okinawa, so I've got to do stuff at weird times if I want to stay in touch with anybody in the States. It's the military thing. Meagan: Oh my goodness. Yes. She is in Japan. She is a mom of two young girls and like she said, she is living in Okinawa, Japan where her husband is stationed with the Marine Corps. Her personal values are community, joy, purpose, and creativity which all drive how she spends her time. In addition to her work as a non-profit grant writer, she also volunteers with the Military Birth Resource Network and hosts their podcast, Military Birth Talk. So mamas, if you are a military mom, and I'm sure a lot of people are flocking to these episodes this week, go listen to Military Birth Talk. Can you tell us a little bit more about Military Birth Talk? Anni: Yeah. So as you said, it's a part of the non-profit Military Birth Resource Network and Postpartum Coalition, so MBRNPC for short. That's an organization that provides resources for military families who are in the perinatal stage of life, so if you've just moved to a new duty station and you're like, “Oh, I need a doula who's covered by Tricare,” you can go to their website and reach out to one of their chapter leaders. They provide that kind of resource. Also, there is sort of an advocacy wing of the organization that works on policy changes impacting military families. This is our podcast, Military Birth Talk. Right now, we're featuring mostly just military birth stories, but we're in our third season and this season, we're going to be adding some additional episodes like policy conversations, interviews with experts, and that kind of thing. So, as you said, if you're a military-affiliated person listening and you want to hear some firsthand accounts of what it's like to give birth within the military healthcare system, we'd love for you to tune in. Meagan: I love it. Thank you so much for doing that and explaining more. Anni: Yeah. Meagan: I just can't wait for you to share your stories. I do have a Review of the Week, and then we'll jump right in. Today's review is by RiverW88. It says, “Gives me hope.” It says, “As a mama who had an unnecessary Cesarean and a poorly planned VBAC attempt that failed and resulted in a Cesarean, listening to these stories and information gives me hope for the future. Not only do I hope to have a third baby and a successful VBAC, but as a doula and an experienced birth photographer, I cannot wait to support other women through their VBAC journeys. I look forward to sending my clients to your website and podcast, and not too far in the future, take your VBAC doula course for myself. I love the way you present facts and inform while giving mamas a platform to share positive stories about a topic that is so scary for so many people thanks to the lack of education out there.” Oh my goodness, that is so true. There is such a lack of education out there and that is why we created the VBAC course that we did and the VBAC doula certification course. So, if you are a parent looking to up your game for VBAC, or if you are looking as a doula to learn more about supporting clients who are wanting a VBAC, definitely check us out at thevbaclink.com.Okay, Anni. Let's jump in. Anni: All right. So I am excited to share two birth stories. I'll focus mostly on my VBAC since that's why we are all here, but I'll give a little bit of context about my first birth. It was pretty routine honestly. I had a breech baby, and there were no breech vaginal birth providers in my area at the time, so that's the spark notes version. But to give a little bit more context, at the time, we were stationed in North Carolina in Newburn, North Carolina. There are a few providers out there, but not a ton. It's sort of remote-ish, but because my husband is in the Marine Corps, we were a little bit limited. I actually was on Tricare Select at the time, so for those of you listening out there who aren't familiar with military healthcare, as a spouse, you can be on Tricare Select which is where you get to choose your own provider. You don't have to be seen by the military healthcare system. You pay a little bit extra. Or, you can be on Tricare Prime which is completely free, but you have to be seen within the military network. I was on Select at the time, so I was paying a little bit extra to choose my own provider which is kind of funny because there was really only one provider in that town anyway. This is one of the reasons why flash forward to a few years later, I wanted to be a part of the Military Birth Talk podcast because we often as military families get a lot of advice that doesn't really fit our life. One of those pieces of advice is to pick your own provider. Do whatever you can to pick your own provider. Sometimes, that's just not possible. That's just not true for military families, right? It can be true for a number of reasons, but it's very true for military families, so choosing my own provider was not really that possible given where we were located. That didn't really come into play until the end when I found out that our baby was breech. Generally, the pregnancy was great. It was a really empowering, positive experience for me. I loved learning about birth. I really hadn't been involved at all in the “birth world” until I became pregnant, then I totally immersed myself. I was super excited to give birth. I was super excited for all of the little quirky things like going into labor and my water breaking, seeing my mucus plug come out, and all of the birth nerd things that I had heard people talk about on all of the podcasts like this one that I had been listening to throughout my pregnancy. It was a pretty routine, positive pregnancy. About halfway through, we found out that we would be moving to Kansas at about 6 weeks postpartum. This is another one of those military things that people would say, “Oh, enjoy nesting and have a really quiet, peaceful postpartum.” I was like, “Okay, that goes out the window. Our house will be packed up by the time the baby is born,” because with the military, you have to send stuff super early. There was no nesting, no quiet postpartum period. There was a cross-country drive at 6 weeks postpartum. That was my first wake-up call around how birthing within the military community can be unique. Up until then, because I was on Tricare Select, I was like, “Oh, I'm not really a part of this military thing when it comes to my healthcare.” That started to shift around then. Then around 36 weeks, we got a scan and found out that the baby was breech. I was so upset. I had just spent the whole pregnancy looking forward to this experience that I now wasn't going to have. It felt like I had been studying for a test or preparing for a final exam that now I wasn't going to get to take. That's obviously not true at all, but emotionally, that's how it had felt. I had gotten so excited about the possibility of seeing what my body could do. It almost felt like I had a sports car and now I was going to be forced to drive it in automatic or something. It just felt like I wasn't getting a chance to experience this thing that I had gotten so excited about. We were really upset, and my husband was too because he had gotten really excited about being able to support me in labor and all of those things. We decided not to do an ECV. I'm sure your listeners all know what that is. Partially, it was because I wasn't a great candidate for it. My placenta was anterior, so that increased the possibility of an emergency outcome. I had a high volume of amniotic fluid, so that also decreases the chances of success, and the position that the baby was in, she was completely breech. She wasn't transverse. She was totally in the wrong position. We were like, “I think we're not great candidates. Let's not do it.” We just booked the C-section. The C-section was fine. It wasn't traumatic, but especially now having had my VBAC and being able to compare the two, it wasn't a great day. I had surgery, anesthesia, and felt nauseous all day, I couldn't really hold the baby until 9:00 that night. The silver lining of that, I would say, is that my husband got to spend the whole day holding the baby because I didn't really feel well. I think that was really special for him after having 9 months of this abstract idea of a baby, and now he got to spend that day with her. I look back fondly on that aspect of it, but otherwise, it was surgery. The recovery was fine. I thought it was, at that point, again, now having had the VBAC and knowing the difference, not really that bad. It was a week and a few days of significant pain, and then after that, it was not too terrible. But again, just not the birth experience that I had hoped for. Then after that, I was not one of those people who was immediately gung-ho about having a VBAC. I think I was a little– I felt so disappointed that I didn't really want to go there in my mind. I was like, “You know, it might just be easier to schedule another Cesarean and not worry about the emotional disappointment.” I didn't want to do that either, so I just didn't really want to think about birth at all for a while. Meagan: That's a valid feeling and very normal. Anni: Yeah, so I took a big break mentally from birthy stuff. We did have a pregnancy in between our two daughters' births that actually ended at around 19 weeks due to Trisomy 18 which is a genetic chromosomal abnormality that is incompatible with life, so that is its own whole story. I don't like skipping over it because we appreciate his life, and it's a part of our story. We love our baby boy that we didn't get to spend enough time with. After that, I got pregnant again when we moved to Okinawa. When my first daughter was about a year old or a little bit less, we found out that we would be moving overseas to Okinawa, Japan. We arrived. We had the 19-week loss, and then a few months later, I got pregnant again with our second daughter who is now almost 9 months old. The pregnancy was so awesome for the most part. I had a little bit of anxiety around having just had the loss and feeling a little bit guarded. I would say it took a little bit of time to actually really be able to believe that she would be born. I think for a long time, I just didn't expect it to work. I think that was compounded by my Cesarean experience. I had this feeling of, maybe my body just doesn't work or something. That took a little while to get over, but for the most part, the pregnancy was great. Because we live overseas, we are not required to be seen on base, but the off-base options are very limited here, especially in Okinawa. The specific, weird thing about the community here is that because Okinawa is such a small island which many people don't know that it is a small island. It's not even off the coast of Japan. It's floating in the middle of the ocean. Meagan: Really? I did not know that. Anni: Yes. If you look it up on the map, you'd see that it's just a dot on the ocean. Because it's so remote, the local vibe here is basically that if the American military is going to have so much presence on this tiny island, they should be caring for their own people which is reasonable. So getting seen out in town is not as easy as it is back in the States because the options are just very limited. The other thing is that really, the only other option that Americans have out here as far as being seen “out in town” which just means off base, is a birth clinic and they don't accept VBAC patients there. Really, my only option, if I wanted to do the VBAC, was to be seen at the military hospital. So, my care there, I was being seen through Family Medicine. You can either be seen by OB or Family Med. I chose Family Med because I wanted to just continue to be seen by my regular PCM. I thought that that continuity of care was nice. Everything went really smoothly. I was sort of on the fence about the VBAC. I knew I wanted it, but again, I was emotionally guarded. Once we got into the second trimester and I started thinking more about birth, I started doing a little bit more digging thing, reading The VBAC Link Community posts a little bit more carefully. Actually, funny story, I posted something in that group. I can't even remember what the question was. Oh, it was about induction actually because it looked likely that we would want to schedule an induction so that we could plan to have family fly out to be with us. They had to buy plane tickets and stuff. Even though that was not at all what I wanted to do from a VBAC perspective, it felt like what we would need to do as far as getting care for our toddler. I posted in that group to try to see if people wouldn't mind sharing their positive VBAC induction stories. Two of the people who responded saw my picture and they were like, “That's in Okinawa. We're here too,” so we met up for coffee and I'm good friends with them now. Meagan: Oh my goodness. Anni: Yeah, so shoutout to Sarah and Tatiana if you're listening. That was really nice to feel like I had a little bit of community here in that way around this very specific topic. I started really committing to the idea of a VBAC. I also, when I say committing, my goal was that I really wanted to have a joyful birth, I didn't want to suffer. I wanted it to be joyful. I wanted to feel present like I didn't have the last time. My thinking about it was basically that those were my priorities. If it ends up being that having another Cesarean is what would get me those things, I would rather have that than lose the joy and the feeling of being present. I'm not willing to suffer just to get this outcome. That was my list in my head. I got a wonderful doula named Bridget who was totally on board with my priorities. She and I really aligned around our level of risk tolerance around VBAC because the hospital here on Okinawa, the Naval hospital, had a couple of specific things that they wanted for VBAC. They wanted me to come in right away as soon as I felt any contractions or if my water broke. They wanted me to come in right away, whereas my preference initially was to have labored at home. So that was one example of one of the things Bridget and I talked about around, okay. What's our preference around how we handle this? Do we want to say, “No thanks. We're going to labor at home for as long as we can”, or do we both feel more comfortable just getting to the space where you're going to deliver and knowing that you'll be there and they'll be watching to make sure that everything's fine? Where I shook out on that was that I'd actually rather just go to the hospital sooner. That was actually fine with me. It was really nice to have somebody to talk through that with. It was nice that we felt aligned in that way. She is really used to working with military families. She is a military spouse herself with two young boys, so that was really a really supportive relationship. My husband felt that way with her as well, and she is still a good friend. That was a really important part, I think, of my preparing for the VBAC. The hospital providers were super supportive which I was very surprised about. I didn't receive any pushback. Anybody who I saw during the course of my pregnancy was totally in support. In fact, I had a TOLAC counseling which they require so they can tell you all of the risks and benefits and whatever. The provider who gave me the TOLAC counseling, I think assumed that I would be coming in blind, so she did her whole spiel. At the end, she was like, “What do you think? What do you think you might decide?” I was like, “Yeah, no. I'm definitely going for the VBAC.” She was like, “Okay, great. I think that's a good choice.” I was surprised by that. I think people, myself included, expected military hospitals to be very antiquated or by the book or very risk averse, which they are, but in this case, it was really nice to see that they had caught on to the fact that in many cases, a VBAC is not actually more risky. Meagan: Risky. Anni: Yeah, exactly. That was really nice to feel like I wasn't going to need to be going in with any kind of armor on. So fast forward to the birth, as I had mentioned, I had “wanted” to schedule an induction for logistical reasons. The way that the hospital here works because they are chronically understaffed as many military hospitals are, if you're having an elective induction, so if it's not medically necessary, they give you a date, then you call the morning of that date and they tell you what time to come in based on the staffing ratios. Our family who we had called to come for the birth that we had scheduled this whole thing around, arrived, and the next morning, we called as it was our scheduled induction day. I will say that the only family who could come was my sister-in-law and brother-in-law, so my husband's sister and her husband. She's a surgeon back in New York, so she only had a 6-day period that they could come. That was part of the reason why we wanted to schedule an induction. They got here. The next morning, we called the hospital, and they said, “Oh, we're too busy right now. We can't safely bring you in, so call back at 4:00.” We called back at 4:00, and they were like, “We're still too busy. We're sorry, but you have to call back tomorrow morning.” My doula had warned me that this was very common. She was like, “Expect maybe 12-24 hours,” but I was just in this manifesting headspace that everything was going to go great, so I was super disappointed. We went to sleep. We were like, “Oh, we were supposed to be at the hospital tonight.” We woke up in the morning, called the hospital, and again, they said, “We are still too busy. For the third time, we can't safely bring you in, so you have to call back at 4:00.” I took a long walk by the ocean. We got lunch. We just killed time. I took my toddler to the playground. I'm like, “Okay, this is it.” We called back at 4:00 PM that day and they were like, “I'm so sorry. We're still too busy.” This was the fourth time. By this time, there was actually a day between when our family arrived and when we started calling. By this time, there was no way they were still going to be here if we had to go for the induction, have what was inevitably going to be a long induction because I never labored with my first, spend the 24-48 hours at the hospital, and then come back, there was no way our family was still going to be here.I was so stressed. They were like, “We know we've pushed you now four times. Why don't you call back tonight at 8:00 or something? We think we're going to get a discharge between now and then. We'll see if you can come in at 10:00, and we'll see if we can start the induction.” I was like, “You know what? Our schedule is already messed up at this point. It sounds like it's already a crazy situation over there at the hospital. I don't really want to go into that mess, and I don't really want to start an induction at 10:00 at night.” I was like, “Can we just come in tomorrow first thing, at 5:00 in the morning?” By this point, it was going to be a Saturday. We were supposed to go in on a Thursday. It got pushed all day Thursday and all day Friday. I said, “Can we push it to the first thing on Saturday morning?” The charge nurse who I talked to said, “Yes, that's fine.” We go to bed. We wake up in the morning, so happy that finally, today was the day. We say goodbye to our toddler. We get to the hospital at 5:30. It's super quiet. Nobody was there. We bring the bags up. We unpack. I had affirmations that I had printed out, Christmas lights, music, essential oils, and all of those things. We start unloading the bag. The nurse comes in and gets me hooked up to monitors to do a non-stress test. We do that. I'm sitting there on the monitors for a half hour. Then she comes in and she says, “The NST looks good.” She starts getting an IV ready because one of their protocols is that they want VBAC patients to have two IVs actually. Meagan: Okay, what is the deal with the two IV thing? I've been hearing this. I apparently need to dig really far into it. Why two IVs? Anni: They said that one was for hydration. Meagan: Okay. Hydration, like for ORs?Anni: Yeah, and the other is for medication, so if they need to hang a quick bag of something like Pitocin– I don't even know. It's so silly because I didn't have anything. When I eventually did get the IVs, I didn't have anything in either one. The second one was really hard to get in. They spent an hour and a half trying to get it in. I didn't even have anything in the first one. I was like, “Nothing is in the first one. If you need to give me meds–” Whatever. Meagan: Stop the hydration and put the meds in, or maybe they need that extra port that they can put in. That's interesting. Anni: Yeah, so she goes to put the IV in. A nurse comes in and goes, “Wait, don't put that IV in.” I'm like, “Why?” They were like, “We don't know. The provider wants to talk to you.” The provider comes back in and she was like, “I'm so sorry, but we didn't realize that you were a VBAC. We weren't tracking that. You got pushed, and we won't induce you on a weekend because we only have one OB and we want to have two,” so we had to go home. They were like, “You have to go home, and you can't come back until Monday.” I burst into tears. This poor OB was like, “You can totally yell at me.” I'm like, whatever. It was so ridiculous. We go home. We were like, “All right. Now, we don't know what we will do for childcare.” Thank goodness, my sister lives in San Francisco. Her husband had a work trip that week that got canceled, so she was like, “I can actually just fly out and be there for you.” She has two kids, so that's why she wasn't going to come before, but now her husband was going to be home. She hopped on a plane right when that happened. We go home, and we were like, “Okay. We will be coming in on Monday.” We go to bed that night on Saturday, and I woke up at 2:00 AM with contractions in labor. Meagan: Oh yay! Anni: I could cry now thinking about it. It was the beginning of a day that was the culmination of everything I had wanted from a birth experience for the last 3.5 years. I had been having a little bit of prodromal labor that week, but it would be one contraction at 2:00 AM and then nothing else. I woke up at 2:00 AM. My husband was sleeping on the couch by this point in pregnancy because I had one of those massive pillows, and he was like, “I can't. I don't fit.” Meagan: I can't compete with the pillow. Anni: Exactly. I was like, “I'm sorry, but I choose the pillow.” He was on the couch. I woke up at 2:00, and I was like, okay. I'm having a contraction. 15 minutes later, I had another one. I was like, “Okay, I had two, but 15 minutes apart is a long time.” But then, 15 minutes later on the dot, I had another one. Then it was every 15 minutes for the next 2 hours from 2:00-4:00 AM. My dogs were there. I was just really enjoying it, honestly. I was feeling emotional. Nothing was super uncomfortable yet, so it was just period cramps and that kind of a feeling. But I was like, “Okay.” We were supposed to take our in-laws to the airport that day because that was the day that they were leaving. I'm like, “Okay. I know how this works. I've heard a bajillion birth stories. I'll wake up at 6:00. The house will get busy. The contractions will peter out. I'll have the whole day to do whatever, then they'll probably pick up tomorrow night after I put my toddler to bed.” So in my head, I'm like, that's the day. That's what's going to happen. The plan was that I was going to drive my in-laws to the airport that morning because my husband was going to pick my sister up late Sunday night. That way, we could split the trips. I didn't want to do the late-night run. 6:00 in the morning rolls around. I wake up my husband and I'm like, “Hey, I've been having contractions for 2 hours, but no big deal. I'll take Megan and Paul to the airport,” which is an hour away. “I'll be back later.” He was like, “What are you talking about? You're not going to take them. Nobody's going to the airport an hour away if you're having contractions. They can take a taxi. They'll be fine.” I'm like, “No. They're definitely going to stop when everybody gets up. That's always what happens. He's like, “No. I don't care if nothing happens today. You're not driving to the airport if you're having contractions.” I was like, “Fine. That's silly, but whatever.” Everyone wakes up. I'm still having contractions, but they were very short. They were 30 seconds long and very tolerable. There were a couple that I was like, “Okay, I want to get on hands and knees and hang out on my yoga ball.” But for the most part, they were super easy. 8:00 rolls around. We called a taxi for my in-laws and we actually had a babysitter lined up for that day anyway. I can't remember why, but we decided just to keep her basically and have an easier day. The babysitter arrived at 8:30 and my husband went out. Right as she arrived, my husband went with my toddler to go do something quickly, so I was alone with Brittany, our nanny. I had this one contraction and I was like, “I don't want to talk to her.” We had just met her at that point. She was new to us, so I was like, “Small talk feels really hard right now. I can't make small talk.” I was like, “Hmm. That's kind of interesting.”Meagan: That's a sign. Anni: But in my head, it wasn't. It was going to be a 48-hour experience. That was just in my head. Again, I didn't labor at all with my first, so in my head, this was a first time birth. My body has not done this before. Once our toddler was with the babysitter, I went upstairs and I got back in bed with my dogs. I was just having contractions. I was snuggling with my dogs just trying to stay present. My husband came in and hung out with me for a little while. He said, “You know, if you're still feeling good, I'm just going to run over to the commissary (the grocery store on base) and grab some essentials because we didn't think we'd be here this weekend, and now we're out of milk and eggs and whatever, so I'll go grab some things, and I'll be back in an hour.” I was like, “Great, no problem.” He left around 9:00. At 9:45, I was like, “I can't do this alone anymore.” I feel crazy saying that because it was way too fast to be saying that, but I texted him saying, “I think I need you to come back.” He came back. He brought me some fruit salad because I hadn't eaten anything yet that morning which I could barely get down. I was in labor for sure, but in my head, I still was like, “This is going to be such a long experience. Nothing is progressing yet.”I got in the shower. That spaced things out for maybe one long gap between contractions, and then right after that, they started increasing. They were getting closer together, and they were more like 7 minutes apart, then 6 minutes apart. I was having to moan through them a little bit. We called Bridget, our doula, to be like, “Hey, what should we do?” I was able to talk to her with no problem in between contractions. I was fully present and lucid, so I was like, “Okay, this means I'm not in active labor because I'm totally present. I can have a conversation,” but then during the contractions, I would really need to put the phone down and moan. Meagan: Okay, I was going to say, but that was in between contractions. Anni: But in my head, again, I was so emotionally guarded around, “I don't want to expect that this is going to happen. I want to expect the worst.” She was like, “Okay, yeah. They are 6 minutes apart. I would really recommend that you wait until it's been at least 1 or 2 hours when the contractions have been that close together before you consider going in, but if you want to call the hospital and ask them what their preference is, you can do that.” I was just starting to feel really anxious about laboring in the car. I also just had this feeling that I just wanted to be there. I just wanted to be where we were going to be and feel settled, which surprised me. I thought I would want to stay at home for a long time, but it was the feeling when you have an afternoon flight. You don't want to hang out at home before your flight. You just want to get to the airport. That was how I felt. I was surprised by that feeling. We called the hospital. We told them what was happenind, and they actually did say, “Yeah, why don't you just come on in?” We told Bridget. I was a little nervous. I was like, “Ooh, I bet she's going to think that this is a misstep. We are going in so early.” But I just was like, “That's what I want to do.” We got in the car. We went over to the hospital and got checked in triage. I was a 1. I had never had a cervical check before ever because my last baby was breech and in this pregnancy, I hadn't been checked yet. I was super, super tense, and the provider, the nurse, was like, “I can't really get up there. Your cervix is really high and hard. I can't really get a good feel, but you're definitely a 1 or a 2.” So I was like, “Okay, not great.” She left and was gone for a while, I guess, to talk to the provider, and then when she came back in, my water broke, and there was meconium in the water. So I was like, “Okay. All of these things are not great. I'm at a 1. I'm a VBAC. My water is broken, and there is meconium. All of these things are going to make the providers feel urgency around getting this thing going.”But I was like, “Ugh. I definitely don't want to get an epidural if I'm only at a 1 because that's a terrible idea, but I also really don't want to get Pitocin if I don't have an epidural.” I was really hoping that I could have a natural birth without any medication, but I also again, going back to my list of priorities, I was like, “I want the joy. I want to be present. I don't want to suffer. If I can check all of those boxes and also experience an unmedicated birth, then that would be amazing, but I'm not willing to sacrifice any of those things.” So after my water broke, they brought me into the delivery room. I just started laboring. They came in maybe a half hour later and said, “We probably want to start some Pitocin.” I was like, “Let me wait on that. Just give me a minute to think about things,” which we can always do. Ask for more time if nothing is an emergency. Thank goodness I did that because in the half hour, I was thinking about it– not thank goodness that there was an emergency, but there was an emergency, and the only OB who was there that day got called away to do emergency surgery, so he became unavailable for the next several. The Pitocin was off the table for the time being, and so I just got to labor on my own. Bridget arrived, and she had me get into a whole bunch of funky positions. The baby was posterior which I knew because I was feeling this all in my back, and so she was having me get into all of these really uncomfortable, asynchronous positions with my legs in all kinds of weird places. It was super uncomfortable, but I knew that it was effective. I kept laboring. As I said, they had trouble getting the second IV in. That took a really long time even though there was nothing in the first one they had put in. I guess I also had two monitors on me. They were Bluetooth monitors, so one for me and one for the baby. I don't remember that at all, but my doula said that they were messing with them the whole time because they kept moving. I don't remember that. I think I was just more in labor land than I realized. But I had the two monitors. They finally got that second IV in. The anesthesiologist came to do it, and after he did the IV, he gave me the whole epidural spiel which they have to do for legal reasons which I wasn't paying any attention to because I was just moaning and groaning and ignoring him. So he left. I kept laboring, and then around– we got to triage at noon and we got checked into our room around 1:00. Around 3:30, they came back in and asked about the Pitocin. I was like, “I need to get more information about this because I need to figure out what I'm going to do for pain management if we're doing Pitocin.” Bridget was like, “Why don't you just get checked again and see where you are?” I was a 7. So either I made a ton of progress in that 2 hours, or I wasn't really a 1 when I got there, and my body was stressed and it clamped up, or the provider couldn't get a good read. Whatever it was, in my head, I went from a 1 to a 7. Meagan: Massive change. Anni: Yes. I think I giggled. I was just so happy. So they were like, “Okay, well we don't need to do any augmentation. You're progressing just fine.” I was like, “Okay. We're doing this. We're just going to keep going.” Bridget recommended that I go to the bathroom because I hadn't peed in a while. I went over to the toilet, emptied my bladder, then had a huge contraction and felt super like I needed to get off the toilet immediately. I hopped off and went back to the bed. A little bit of time passed, and then I started feeling like I had to throw up, but it wasn't a nausea throw-up. It was like my abdomen was heaving kind of thing. I was like, “Am I pushing right now?” It was this involuntary feeling. I knew about the fetal ejection reflex, but in my head, I thought that was more of a sustained bearing down feeling and this was a more grunty thing. Everybody heard what I was doing, and the nurse who was phenomenal, her name is Cassie. She was such a godsend. She checked and she was like, “Yep, you have no cervix left. You're good to go.” This was at 5:00. Meagan: 2 hours later. Anni: Yeah. I just couldn't believe it. I still thought it was going to be hours and hours and hours because I was so guarded, but it wasn't. There were about 15 minutes between when she checked me and when I really started pushing. I labored down a little bit. The providers lost the baby's heartbeat at one point which is super common when they're in the birth canal, but because this provider knew I was a VBAC, and he had experienced some things before and was very risk-averse, he wanted to do an internal fetal monitor. I was like, “You know what? Not ideal. I don't love it, but that's fine.” I wanted to maintain that calm environment in the room. I didn't want people to start freaking out. I was like, “That's fine. Do what you need to do.” They did the internal fetal monitor. I rolled over to my hip. I wasn't having those grunting urges anymore, but I could feel the baby moving down on her own. I felt her head start to stretch me, then she sucked back in. It started to feel scary like, okay. There's no way out at this point. I'm the only one who can do this. I'm going to feel all of this.I gave a couple of really strong pushes. Up until then, I had been breathing and pushing because that's what my pelvic floor therapist and I had talked about, and I had really practiced that. But the provider again, had nervousness about the heartbeat. The internal monitor wasn't picking up what they wanted it to, so the nurse was like, “Okay. Let's give this one really good push.” I gave one really good push. I felt her head come out, then shortly thereafter, her body. My husband said, “Oh my gosh, she's here. You did it!” They put her right up on my chest, and it was just incredible. Looking back, now I say it was incredible. In the moment, I think I was completely shocked because it was so fast. I had a ton of adrenaline. I had the labor shakes, so my chin was chattering. My husband moved the baby down a little bit because he was like, “You're going to knock her in the head.” It was just amazing. I felt so empowered. It took me a few hours to come down from feeling shocked, but 3 hours later, we were in our room with the baby, and I had showered already at that point, walked myself to the maternity room where we would spend the next day, and it was just so beautiful. I look back on that day all the time in my head. I relive that day all the time in my head. I would do it again in a heartbeat. It was so incredible, and it was an experience that I will draw strength from for the rest of my life. It was just amazing, yeah. Meagan: Oh my goodness. And being pushed, and pushed, and pushed, and having a plan, and then it changing, and having a plan, and it changing, I mean, it was meant to work out this way. Anni: Yeah, yeah. Meagan: I'm sure you can feel that now. Oh, it is just amazing. It just goes to show that sometimes first-time vaginal births don't take 40 hours. They can go quickly if your cervix is ready and your body is ready and your baby is ready. I love that your doula was like, “All right, let's get in these positions.” You talked about going from a 1 to a 7. You may very well could have been a 1, but positional changes and getting better application with the baby's head to the cervix can make a big difference. Anni: Yeah. I will say I think one of the things that also made a huge difference was that I mentioned I had seen a pelvic floor physical therapist. I had started seeing her around 20 weeks because I thought I had appeased knees at one point. I was like, “I want to nip that in the bud right away.” I went to go see her, and we really worked a lot on relaxing my pelvic floor and how I would need to do that during labor. I thought I was one of those people who was like, “I'm relaxed. I can relax my pelvic floor. That just means not clenching,” but it's so much more intentional than that. Meagan: It is. Anni: Practicing actually really relaxing my pelvic floor through pregnancy was so helpful because I knew what I needed to do during a contraction to not tense up at all. I think that really helped things progress. Even with a posterior baby, usually that can take a really long time, but it was a really fast labor. I give my pelvic floor therapist at Sprout Physical Therapy if anybody is looking, she was wonderful. Meagan: I love that so much. I love that you pointed out that you did it before pregnancy. A lot of people, me included– I didn't think of pelvic floor therapy before I had my baby. Why would I have pelvic floor therapy before I even had a vaginal birth? That's just where my mind was, but it's just so, so good. Now, I personally have seen a pelvic floor therapist, and I understand the value and the impact that they can make so much more. Like you said, they teach you how to connect and truly release and relax because we might think we are, but we are not. They can help avoid things like really severe tearing and that as well. Anni: I had no tearing. I had a first-degree tear. It was easy peasy. Yeah. Meagan: Yes, yes. I have heard that a lot of people who do pelvic floor therapy can reduce their chances of tearing based on what they know and how they connect to the pelvic floor. Anni: Yeah. Yeah. I'm just super grateful and so grateful for resources like this. I think storytelling is such a powerful tool and listening to all kinds of VBAC stories was really helpful, even the ones that didn't go as planned because that's always a possibility. I really wanted to be mentally strong against that. I didn't want to be crushed and feel like I lost my hopes and dreams. I wanted to come out on the other side of what happened with some sense of acceptance, so hearing all of the stories was so helpful, and having the community here and having my VBAC friends here in Oki was amazing. Meagan: I absolutely adore The VBAC Link Community, and I love hearing that, not only did I meet people who were my friends online, but we connected in our own community because there are Women of Strength all over. You never know, if you reach out there, you will probably have someone down the street. There are thousands and thousands of people in there, so I highly suggest to go to The VBAC Link Community on Facebook. Answer the questions and dive in because there are also stories being shared there daily. Anni: Yeah. I felt so reassured. I think I got 40 responses when I asked for positive VBAC induction stories. There were so many responses, so I was like, “Okay. I can totally do this.” It made the pregnancy easier. Regardless of what the outcome was going to be, it alleviated the anxiety that I had about the induction. So even though it didn't end up going that way, it definitely made a positive impact on my pregnancy. Meagan: Absolutely, and I know that VBAC groups can make a negative impact as well like it did for me. I was in the wrong VBAC supportive group that I thought was supportive and it just wasn't. That is why we created this one. There are other amazing ones as well, but that's why we created this one because we do not handle the B. S. We just do not tolerate it. It is a loving community and only a loving community. That is what it's for. Anni: Yeah. I was also in the chat feature. There was a chat group for people who were giving birth in the same month. I was in the January group. That was an amazing group of people too. I got so familiar with those names and those stories. People were so supportive of every outcome. There were people there who got their VBACs. There were people who ended in unplanned Cesareans. There were people who at the last minute, decided that they wanted a Cesarean, and everybody was loving and supportive. It was just an awesome vibe. Meagan: It really is. Oh, that makes me so happy because these are exactly the goals that we had when we created these groups. Oh my goodness. Anni, thank you so much for taking the time to be with us today. Congratulations on your VBAC, and I am so, so happy for you. Anni: Thank you so much, Meagan. It was so awesome to be here. I love this podcast. Thank you for everything that you do, and thank you so much for having me on here today. Oh, do you know what? I had one more thing I wanted to share with Tricare, everybody. I'm a Tricare doula. I work with Tricare here in doula. Definitely talk to your Tricare rep if you're out there listening to see because some of them do offer coverage for doulas. Anni: Yes. Meagan: I just wanted to let you know. Anni: Yes. They just announced a new set of regulations around that. Literally, new laws just came out around that so there are new details around that, but if you are on Tricare Select, you have the option to have your doula be covered by Tricare. Just a quick advocacy plug here, if you're being seen at a military hospital, you cannot access that benefit which is a huge problem because Servicemembers have to give birth at military hospitals, so Servicemembers themselves cannot access this benefit which is a huge problem. That's one of the things MBRNPC is trying to advocate to change coming up. So if you are listening out there and you have any access to any kind of advocacy channels, please get the word out that we need to fix that. Meagan: Yes. It does need to be fixed. Talking about hiring the doulas because it's Select and you go outside, we do have to have referrals from that provider. We have to actually have a referral from that provider for the doula before we can start, and we cannot start before 20 weeks so just to let you know. Even though a lot of people hire doulas early on, Tricare does not allow us to be seen until that 20-week mark. So gear up, plan, know that at 20 weeks, you can start seeing a doula and learn more about it. Oh my gosh. Thank you again so dang much. Anni: Thanks, Meagan. 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

We humans, typically, have 23 pairs of chromosomes. Sometimes, for a variety of reasons, we have an extra chromosome or we are missing one. Down syndrome, also known as Trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder that occurs when an individual has a full or partial extra copy of their 21st chromosome. Down syndrome is the most frequent of the chromosomal disorders in humans, occurring in approximately 1 in 700 births in the US. With improved care of often life-threatening clinical challenges, individuals with Down syndrome are living much longer. In this month's podcast of Your Child's Brain we are going to talk about Down Syndrome and especially focus on how the increased lifespan of those with Down syndrome is impacting treatment and research for people living with this diagnosis.   Resources · Down Syndrome Association of Maryland (dsamd.org) · National Down Syndrome Society (ndss.org) · National Down Syndrome Congress (ndsccenter.org) · Global Down Syndrome Foundation (https://www.globaldownsyndrome.org) · LuMind IDSC Foundation (https://lumindidsc.org) · NIH – research plan across the LifeSpan - Project INCLUDE for co-occurring medical conditions (www.nih.gov/include-project) · Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (nih.gov) · National Task Group on Intellectual Disabilities and Dementia Practices - Intellectual Disabilities and Dementia Resources | The NTG (the-ntg.org)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch The Extended Uncensored Version Of this Episode in The True North Movement https://www.patrickcoffin.media/the-true-north-movement/ In this episode of The Patrick Coffin Show, former presidential candidate, Congressman, and Senator Rick Santorum opens up about his deep Catholic faith and how it shapes his perspective on politics and life. He reflects on the changing ethos of American politics, lamenting the drift away from traditional values and the growing polarization in society.  Santorum emphasizes the importance of protecting the sanctity of life, discussing his pro-life advocacy and his commitment to defending the unborn in a political climate that increasingly challenges these views. A poignant part of the interview focuses on his daughter, Isabella, who was born with Trisomy 18, a life-threatening genetic disorder.  Santorum shares the profound lessons he and his family have learned through her life, underscoring the dignity and value of every person, no matter how vulnerable. This episode pulls back the curtain to show the human and Christian side of a politician known for public verbal fist fights and controversial stances. Topics covered in this episode: Why he got into national politics early and became a Congressman by 32 How his marriage to wife Karen led to a deeper commitment to his Catholic faith The time Donald Trump read Santorum's book “Blue Collar Conservatism” and told him this inspired him to run for President What happens when pro-life purists refuse to accept small victories in the right direction A moving account of losing his son Gabriel, who died in his arms after three hours How his daughter Isabella defied all the odds and thrives after being diagnosed with Trisomy 18. The importance of principles and moral courage in public office Resources mentioned in this episode: Blue Collar Conservatives: Recommitting to an America That Works by Rick Santorum https://amzn.to/48uja9j @RickSantorum on Twitter Patrick Coffin: Website: https://www.patrickcoffin.media/ Twitter: @coffinmedia Facebook: Patrick Coffin Media Insta: @realpatrickcoffin Rumble: The Patrick Coffin Show

Colleen's first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage at 6 weeks. At 12 weeks along with her second pregnancy, Colleen and her husband found out that their daughter would be born with a genetic condition called Trisomy 18. Colleen shares her experiences with Trisomy 18 and how she found the right support to help her navigate through it all. Due to IUGR and other medical concerns, Colleen had her daughter via Cesarean with an 85-day NICU stay afterward. To her surprise, Colleen had a third pregnancy just 6 months after her daughter's delivery which ended in a heartbreaking second-trimester miscarriage. After discussing her pregnancy and birth histories at an appointment, Colleen's doctor referred her to be screened for a MTHFR gene mutation for which she came back positive. MTHFR (methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase) is a gene that impacts your ability to process and absorb folate. It can be responsible for complications during pregnancy and is detected through a simple blood test. Colleen and Meagan talk more about what MTHFR means, and what Colleen was able to do to have a fourth uncomplicated pregnancy and a beautiful, smooth VBAC delivery! Needed WebsiteHow to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for ParentsFull Transcript under Episode Details Meagan: Welcome to the show, everybody. We have our friend, Colleen, on with us today sharing her stories and navigating through this amazing journey that we call birth. Birth is such a journey, wouldn't you agree, Colleen?Colleen: Absolutely. Meagan: One of the most unique things about it is obviously through the stories we all hear. They are all unique and individual to us and even one birth that you've given doesn't mean the next birth is the same. So we're going to be talking today about navigating through birth and we know that a lot of the times through these journeys whether it be because of a Cesarean or because of how we were treated or because of how our body responded or whatever it may be, sometimes and a lot of the times, we experience trauma. Trauma is viewed differently from everybody and processed differently. We are going to be talking about navigating through trauma. Then Colleen is actually going to share some of her fertility journey as well. I think that's also a really important thing because we have so many mamas out there– we know. We know. We see it. They have to navigate through fertility challenges. We're going to be talking about that along with a VBAC. Let's get into that here in just a minute. We do have a Review of the Week then like I said, I'm going to introduce Colleen and turn the show over to her so she can share her beautiful stories. This review is from lexieemmarie. It says, “So thankful. I just wanted to say thank you for creating this podcast. I had my baby girl via emergency Cesarean at 30 weeks due to several medical complications with my baby. We spent 95 days in the NICU and while in there waiting for my sweet girl to grow, I started to research VBACs to see if it was right for me. Once I found this podcast, it sealed the deal. I absolutely can't wait to VBAC with my next pregnancy. You all are incredible to listen to because you provide the wealth of knowledge and positivity but are also fun and entertaining to listen to. Amazing job, ladies.” Aww, that just made my heart so happy. Oh my goodness. Thank you so much, Lexi, for your review. As always, we love these reviews. They make our hearts and our minds so happy. You guys, this is what we want. We want you to have that wealth of knowledge. We want to have you feel inspired and guided and uplifted and educated along the way through all of these stories. As usual, leave a review if you haven't yet. We would be so grateful. Meagan: Okay. We have Ms. Colleen. She lived in Michigan. Did you have your VBAC baby in Michigan? Colleen: I did, yes. Meagan: You did. Colleen: My husband and I live in a suburb of Detroit in Gross Point so that's where I gave birth in August of 2024. Meagan: Awesome. Awesome. Okay. Wait, 2024? Just right now?Colleen: Yeah, I'm 2 weeks postpartum. Meagan: Yes, I love it! So really, really fresh. Colleen: Fresh. Meagan: I love sharing stories that are so fresh like that. It is right there in your brain. Colleen: Exactly. Meagan: Oh my gosh. Okay. She has two beautiful children now and one two-week-old baby. Your two-year-old daughter is Gianna? Colleen: Gianna, yes. Meagan: She was born via Cesarean due to chromosomal abnormality. Do you want to share what that means?Colleen: Yeah, I would love to. Gianna has a chromosomal condition called Trisomy 18 that we did find out about through the genetic screening early on in pregnancy that she was considered high risk for coming down with Trisomy 18. As the pregnancy progressed, it became pretty evident that it would be the reality. For those of you who don't know, Trisomy 18 on its surface means that the baby will have an extra 18th chromosome in some or all of their cells. How that manifests itself is through some pretty serious medical complexities that require quite a bit of care. I will get into that a little bit more with my story but that is the quick version of Trisomy 18. She is also now 2 years old and a bubby, sometimes sassy, little girl. Meagan: Is there another name for it with an E?Colleen: Edwards Syndrome, yes.Meagan: I have another friend who has that and I seriously adore him. He is thriving and doing amazing in life. Colleen: Yes. She is a warrior. She is so strong. She is so beautiful and has brought nothing but love and joy to everyone who knows her or who don't know her. There are so many people from near and far who love her. It's great. Meagan: Yes. Awesome and then we've got Sonny who was born via VBAC just two weeks ago you guys. She says, “As a mama of a medically complex child, she is passionate about awareness and education for those within her daughter's condition. She also enjoys running, reading, cooking, and volunteering.” Colleen: Yes, that's a little bit about me. Meagan: I love it. Welcome to the show and thank you so much for being here with us. I would love to turn the time over to you to start sharing Gianna's story. Colleen: Amazing. Thank you so much for having me on. The VBAC Link was a staple on so many of my walks when I was getting ready to give birth. I just found it to be so uplifting and empowering and I'm so glad that I found you as a resource. A little bit of background before getting to my VBAC– it really does begin in about 2022. It starts out with some of those fertility issues that you had mentioned at the start of the podcast. My husband and I decided to start trying after about two years of marriage and we got pregnant pretty quickly. That ended early in a miscarriage at about 6 weeks. But we said, “Okay, let's try again.” We had processed and accepted that miscarriages do happen so we quickly said, “Let's give it another go.” But we had those reservations and that in the back of our mind of moving forward cautiously. We did get pregnant quickly again. Throughout the first trimester, we just kept it tight-lipped. We just told immediate family and then decided we wanted to do the genetic testing of course to find out the gender. We didn't really give too much thought to what else you learn from that bloodwork. As my pregnancy progressed throughout the first trimester, I was feeling confident then at about 12 weeks, we received a call from my midwife. She told us that it was a girl and that she came back high-risk with Trisomy 18. We weren't expecting that. It was scary and a shock and the more we learned and the more we read in those early days was devastating to us. We were just coming off the heels of a miscarriage so then to have this thrown at us was just a real curveball. In order to move forward and navigate that, my husband and I were always planning on keeping the pregnancy so it just meant, what does that mean going forward? After talking with more specialists and maternal-fetal medicine at the health system that I was at at the time, it became very apparent that they weren't really willing to help. We needed to find another health system. We are so fortunate because we were living out of state for quite some time then moved home before we started to try. We were living in Chicago and then moved back to Michigan. University of Michigan, so CS Mott Children's Hospital is for sure the best in the state and one of the best in the country for caring for kids with my daughter's condition. We switched all of my prenatal care there and they provided us with hope and were willing to monitor me and have a very wonderful NICU. They were willing to provide interventions and things after she was born. But as it related to my pregnancy, it completely deterred any sort of plans and any sort of “normalcy” that one might have. It was shrouded in sadness and anxiety and fear and unknown. Each ultrasound and each week was closer and closer to meeting her but also closer and closer to what does this mean for her? What does this mean for our family? I completely abandoned any apps or what size fruit she was going to be at a certain week because she had intrauterine growth restriction. That rulebook and those guidelines went out the window. I was really afraid to connect with her when I was pregnant. A lot of the time I would say, “Okay, be in tune with her. Read to her and rock her and listen to music with her,” and I would just end up in the nursery that we decorated in tears because I just had so much fear and sadness around what was to come. With that being said, because my plans had been derailed, I really threw myself into learning about her condition and learning about what would come afterward. That gave me hope as a very Type A person. I needed to be doing something to prepare and connected with other families from around the country to give me and my husband hope and learn about what life with children with Trisomy 18 looks like and what they are capable of really was our main driver throughout pregnancy. With that said, I did not prepare for birth at all. I didn't learn about how it could possibly go. I really just, like I said, focused on what care for her would look like. Just as a very small example of what that even looked like was when I came to write my birth plan, I probably wrote a couple of things like, “Oh, open to epidural. Do you have a birthing ball?” I honestly had a line in there that said, “If she is born not breathing, resuscitate her.” That is where my head was throughout pregnancy and it just came to however she was going to arrive, that was second to her being here and us starting to care for her. Meagan: Yeah. Colleen: That said, my care team, obviously I was being seen by the MFM department at CS Mott. They were very supportive. I never felt like they weren't looking out for both me and her. I think they wanted me to deliver vaginally and with the understanding that if it came to a Cesarean that would be what it was. My husband and I made it very clear that we wanted to be treated however they would handle a typical pregnancy. Meagan: Anybody else, yeah. Colleen: Yes. Yes. If it meant a C-section, that's what it was going to be kind of thing. She was showing that she wasn't tolerating labor. We got to the end of pregnancy and we were discussing what birth would look like. We all agreed that an induction at 37 weeks was going to be the plan for a couple of different reasons. From our perspective, we wanted to just start caring for her knowing that she was going to have complexities. We were in the best place possible to start that process. There is some research that would show that the longer that babies with Trisomy 18 are in utero, you could run into a stillbirth situation. Now again, it's a little bit more on the anecdotal side because many, many kids with Trisomy 18 are born vaginally at 40-41 weeks and it's how you want to play it. Meagan: You have to weigh it out for what's best for everybody. Was IUGR becoming a problem at all or was she still small but staying within her own growth chart?Colleen: Toward the end there, we were seeing some stagnated growth so yeah, they were very much of the mindset, “Let's just get here here,” kind of thing. She was born at 3 pounds, 12 ounces. She was just a peanut. Meagan: Little tiny, yeah. Colleen: I was induced at 37 weeks without having much knowledge of what the induction process was going to look like for me and I went in at a centimeter. They started with a cervix softener so that they could then insert the Foley balloon. I was in bed a lot. I utilized the tank of nitrous oxide. I labored that way for a while just to mitigate that pain. I was walking around a little bit but honestly, the Foley balloon for me in the whole induction process was probably the worst part. I was in quite a bit of pain after that. Meagan: Were you dilated at all before when they tried to insert that or was it a closed, posterior cervix? I'm assuming at 37 weeks, it's not doing much. Colleen: I was a centimeter when I came in and I was maybe a 2 when they inserted it I believe. Yeah. It was very apparent that my body was probably not ready for that process. Meagan: Yeah. Colleen: Yeah. That also became apparent once the Foley balloon came out but then pretty much I got to 5 centimeters and just parked it there for quite a bit. The pain was pretty intense so I received an epidural after laboring I would say probably 14-16 hours or something like that. The attending OB wanted to take additional steps by breaking my water and my husband and I were talking. We said, “If they break my water and then I don't progress, then what situation are we in?” We also knew beforehand that my daughter did have a confirmed heart defect. We wanted a more gentle approach to induction especially when it came to Pitocin. We really wanted to take it slow and monitor her to make sure she was tolerating it and things like that. We opted for Pitocin before breaking my water and took it slow. I would say probably another 6-8 hours went by. We were taking it very slow. I wasn't progressing and then we started to see some sporadic, not super consistent but enough to keep make us aware of her, decels that she was having. Again, the attending OB really wanted to continue on. She wanted to break my water. She wanted to optimize my chances for a vaginal birth, but again, I think my husband and I were so zeroed in on having her here safely that even the attending OB after observing some of the decels into the night was like, “Okay, I think–”Meagan: That was enough. Colleen: Exactly. She arrived via C-section on October 28, 2022 at 3:18 in the morning which we find incredibly special because 318 is a universal number around Trisomy 18. We just feel that she was meant to be here just as she is. That was enough for us to say, “Okay. We did what we think we needed to do to get her here safely.”Meagan: And happy birthday to her today. She will be 3?Colleen: She's actually turning 2. She's turning 2. Yep, yes. So that was my obviously first birth experience and it was– I can't even say different than what I expected because again, I really went into that not having much of a reference or much preparation at all. I say, “Okay. That was my experience. It was a C-section.” We weren't thinking at the time. We always knew we wanted future children but with the timeline, we had an 85-day NICU stay with her. There were other things that we were focusing on. Meagan: You and the reviewer. You NICU mamas are amazing. Colleen: Perfect review for today. After 85 days, we came home in January of 2023. We were getting settled into home life and then fast forward to about 6 months postpartum. We had just been home for a couple of months and much to my husband and I's surprise, we were pregnant again. From the first miscarriage to my daughter, we had that hope and that mentality of, “We have no reason to think that anything is going to go wrong so let's just operate from the stance that everything is going to be okay.” We took a similar approach this time around. We said, “Okay. We're going to roll with the punches. Gianna's going to get a sibling a little bit sooner than we initially had thought. Let's just play it like everything is going to be okay.” We had met with a geneticist and knew our risk for having another child with Trisomy 18. We were just slightly above the general population when it comes to the statistics there. We weren't super concerned. It was a very, very low risk. We decided to do the genetic testing anyway. I didn't consider myself to be high risk so I moved my care to a little bit closer to home. The University of Michigan is a little over an hour for us. I had a great experience but wanted to move just a little bit closer to home to a practice that is very utilized on this side of town by many women. I did the genetic testing and everything was good. We were having a boy and then the very next day, I woke up to a very large gush of blood. I went to the emergency room. This was on a Saturday. They did an ultrasound and said, “Baby is looking good.” I was again, about 12 weeks at this point. They said, “Sometimes just bleeding in the first trimester happens.” I took that at face value. I came home Now mind you, with my daughter's condition, she has a lot of medical equipment and lower muscle tone so it's a lot of carrying her around and at that point, she was still pretty small but again, I'm pregnant and I'm hauling her medical equipment plus her some days. I'm a stay-at-home mom so I'm trying to navigate all of that. I'm going about my daily life not really thinking much of it just saying, “Okay, that's what it is. The first trimester bleeding.” I went back to the OB that week and they also confirmed, “Oh yeah, it could just be bleeding.” I said, “Okay.” Then about 2 weeks later I'd say, again on a Saturday, it happened again. The bleeding had tapered off then it happened again. I went back to the emergency room to make sure everything was okay and it was a different emergency department. The nurse practitioner came back in after the ultrasound and said, “You have a really large subchorionic hematoma.”Meagan: I was going to ask if that's what it was. Colleen: Yes. We had done research obviously between the two ultrasounds and people said, “If you do, it likely will heal on its own.” Meagan: It takes time, but if you do activity and things like that. Colleen: Yes. I would say probably about 2.5-3 weeks went by with me not knowing I had it. I hemorrhaged again. This time, I really tried taking it easy leveraging my husband, my mom, and my mother-in-law to really help care for my daughter so I would be able to rest and recover. When I had gone to the OB that Monday just because I had been in the emergency room over the weekend, they painted it like there was not much you can do. If you can take it easy, great. If not, I actually went in that Monday and I had brought up the subchorionic hematoma and the provider that I met with said, “Oh, yeah. You have it but actually, I want to talk to you about something else.” It was a potential marginal cord insertion or a velamentous cord. Meagan: Okay. Colleen: She said, “I actually want you to be more aware of this than the subchorionic hematoma.” Again, it was pushed to the side. At that point, in partnership with some other pretty inappropriate and I would say frankly bad bedside manner from the practice, I was looking to move again. They were very insensitive around my daughter's condition. They made me to be othered because of her. I just didn't appreciate that. I was like, “This is a different birth.” I didn't appreciate that treatment. They asked very inappropriate questions about her and her life expectancy and things that were very triggering for a) someone who was fresh out of birth and a very traumatic pregnancy. I just felt that was very inappropriate to ask those things especially when we are also not talking about my daughter. We are talking about this pregnancy at hand that was having some issues. I was looking to switching providers. I have my best friend in the area. I loved her. She was pregnant at the time as well. She loved her OB so I was looking to switch. I couldn't get in for a couple of weeks so I just said, “Okay.” At the next month's appointment, I would switch practices away from where I currently was. In the meantime, I would say about a week and a half later, I was bleeding again. It was on a Monday so I got in that day and I personally had a little bit of peace around it because I just said, “Okay, this has happened before. Baby has always been okay, but let's get in.” So I got in that Monday and I was given an ultrasound and the ultrasound tech put the wand over my belly and then very quickly went out of the room. My heart sank. I just knew what that meant. She came back and I asked, “Was there a heartbeat?” She just shook her head no. I was by myself because my husband was home with my daughter and it was just completely unexpected and devastating. It crushed us because we again had just come off of something so difficult and had so much hope and for that to be the result was quite crushing. I had reached out to the OB that I had planned to switch to and I just explained the situation. She said, “I'd like to still see you.” I went in about 2 weeks after my miscarriage and just laid everything out for her. She shook her head after me telling her about my first miscarriage and then my daughter and this most recent miscarriage. She took it all in and she goes, “I think there is something going on. I don't think these are just flukes so I want to run some tests.”She ordered some pretty extensive bloodwork mostly in the autoimmune space but she also ran for MTHFR. After many vials of blood and a few weeks of waiting, I came back negative for anything autoimmune but I did in fact come back for MTHFR and she is a provider who believes that it does make a difference. She said at the time that she provided us with this glimmer of hope. She said, “If I know that a patient has that, I start them ideally on a pretty ‘easier' regiment or something to get them started to see if that makes any difference in their pregnancies. If not, we can build with Lovenox injections and things like that.” Basically she said, “I want you on additional folic acid.” I took methylfolate and a baby aspirin. But she posed it to my husband and I. “Do you just want to go the Lovenox route? Once you go on Lovenox, I won't be able to walk you back on additional pregnancies. If you have a successful pregnancy–”. Again, knowing this wasn't going to be the answer and that we could potentially have another loss or more issues with pregnancies but we wanted to start on that first step before jumping forward.She said, “Pick up those supplements when you feel like you are ready.” We needed time. We needed months of healing and of focusing on my daughter's care to just really level-set for our family. But in December of last year, we felt strongly that we wanted Gianna to have a sibling so we decided to try again. I got pregnant and began those supplements. From that perspective, my pregnancy was very difficult. Now, it also gave me that time both prior to getting pregnant and then throughout my pregnancy to really– I really wanted to level-set my approach and my outlook on pregnancy. I had felt like I had been always in this cycle of seeking out information or researching based on issues and I think my and as well as my husband, the trauma aspect always played into it of, okay. Here's a symptom. It could be something very normal or it could be these very unique, rare things that we got used to feeling comfortable in that space. Meagan: Yeah. Colleen: I sort of recognized that as something that I needed to work through. I needed to work through some things that were either emotions I pushed aside. I pushed aside the thoughts and feelings around especially that second miscarriage because I said, “Okay, I have a daughter with medical complexities.” I needed to jump back in and I think that distraction helped me push those thoughts away but then I will say they came back. They reared their head and I said, “Okay. It's time for me to deal with them.” So going back to talk therapy has been really helpful for me for working through some of those emotions as well as unprocessed things with my daughter's pregnancy and birth and care and things like that, the realities around her life and how it's impacted myself, my family, and things like that. I went back to talk therapy and then also got pregnant. I thought that was the perfect time to really sort of level-set my outlook on pregnancy. We forewent the genetic testing around. We just said, “What will be will be.” For now, the fourth time, we are choosing to believe that all will be well. We will have these feelings. My first trimester almost felt like the closer I got to the end of my first trimester, the more anxiety I had because I had that second-trimester miscarriage that I just had the opinion that it could happen at any time and why wouldn't it just happen to me again?There were some friends who didn't know that I was pregnant until my anatomy scan just because I felt like I needed to hold it close to my chest. Meagan: Just keeping your space safe. Colleen: Exactly. Exactly. And protecting my own emotions. So the first trimester for my son did have some of those thoughts and feelings. The OB who I had switched my care to was very accommodating. She had a little portable ultrasound machine in her office if I felt like I needed that reassurance that she would provide the ultrasound for me. She asked me how often I wanted to come see her. She was just very understanding and accommodating based on my previous circumstances. It also allowed me the space, especially as I moved through pregnancy, to really think about birth and think about how that process could be healing as well. In my second trimester, I remember going on a walk because I needed to clear my head and just feeling so overwhelmed by not knowing where to start and then I was being hard on myself because I was like, I should have done this with my daughter. I should know these things already. This is my second birth. I was being very self-critical as if I didn't have other things to focus on with her. That's when I came across The VBAC Link. I actually came across it because my husband and I had taken some on-demand birthing classes through Mommy Labor Nurse and we very much so said that we needed a refresher and probably to take some more diligent notes this time around. It was a resource that she has promoted so I checked it out and I just immediately felt like it was going to be so helpful as it was throughout pregnancy just listening to the podcast episodes, referencing the blog, getting your emails, and just really feeling like I had a resource that was going to support me. I can't express how grateful I am for that because– and I'm about to get emotional– of how along pregnancy and that journey has felt. I've constantly felt like I've been up against walls that it's been exhausting to have to overcome and to break down. Meagan: Yeah. It's a terrible feeling to feel so alone in this really big moment in your life and not feel like you know the direction all the time and then also making decisions and then having the world pretty much question why you are making that decision. It's so heavy and that's why I love this community so much because they make you feel connected to people that are not even within reach. They are hundreds and thousands of miles away. Colleen: Absolutely. Absolutely. Just to have that support because it very quickly became my goal to VBAC because I flipped the script after finding The VBAC Link. I said, “There is nothing pointing to my body not being able to do this. I'm going to go for it.” I'm a competitive person and sometimes I'm competitive with myself and I said, “This is going to be a competition and I'm going to do this.” I will say getting into the true VBAC part of it, my OB was very supportive. She said, “I think you are the perfect candidate to VBAC.” She did want to see what my body did closer to which made me a little bit nervous. She was like, “I'm not for induction but I would do augmentation.” I was like, “Okay. Let's see.” Again, it was a motivator to me to do all of the things that I could do to edge myself along kind of thing. The biggest thing I leveraged was walking. I walked a ton and I just found a routine in the business of life that worked for me that I could rely on each and every day and say, “Okay, these are the three things that I'm going to do throughout the rest of pregnancy to a) give myself peace mentally and physically, but also just to say life is busy, but this is what I'm going to do to move myself forward.” It was a lot of walking. It was a prenatal that I just really adored and I just committed to a pretty nutritious diet to make sure that I was nourishing my body in all the ways that I could. Around 36 weeks, I received a cervical check and was starting to dilate and efface. I was about 2 centimeters. Meagan: Wow. Colleen: Yes, with about 70% effacement at that time. My OB said, “Things are looking good. You are on the right track here.” I just kept doing what I was doing. I did opt for a membrane sweep at 38 weeks and I will say having never labored before, between that 36 and 38-week mark, I was having a ton of prodromal labor which was very frustrating because I never knew what was real. We went to labor and delivery once. I got turned away and sent home. I thought it was the real deal. Yes. Prodromal labor is a tease. But after the membrane sweep, it became very apparent that I was actually in labor. That afternoon, my husband and I and my daughter lay on the couch. I was having closer and stronger contractions and we joke that it was absolutely the real deal because all the times leading up with prodromal labor, everything was squared away. My meals were prepped. Everything was squared away with my daughter. My in-laws and my parents were ready to go and jump in. The day that I started to be in labor, our basement flooded with our sewage backed up. Meagan: Oh no. Colleen: I'm actively in labor and my husband comes up and says, “This is absolutely the real deal because this wouldn't have happened if you weren't.” I'm in labor and my father-in-law are bleaching the floor and scrubbing. It was a whole thing and I was like, This isn't funny right now but it will be funny one day. And it's funny. I was able to labor at home for a few hours. I got to the hospital. I had the membrane sweep at noon that day. I got to the hospital around 9:30 PM and was at a 5. I was feeling pretty good about that. I was feeling those contractions of needing to pause. I wasn't really able to talk through but still at that point now knowing what later labor felt like that it was just the beginning of things. I had a wonderful labor and delivery nurse who was super supportive. I never felt being there like I had to convince anybody. They knew that my plan was a VBAC. The attending OB was cool with it. My OB lived just a few minutes away from the hospital and said that she would be there within a moment's notice when I did deliver so I would have her for the moment of. I got to a 5. They did put me on the monitors and had me hooked up so my movement was pretty limited which kind of limited what I was able to do. I wanted to walk a little bit more. I was only able to sit on the birthing ball in a certain area of the room. That was a little bit tricky. The shower was really nice and I did appreciate laboring in the shower but it was the attending OB who had checked me when I first got there and determined I was a 5. A few hours later, the labor and delivery nurse checked me and said, “Oh, I think you are a 7.” My goal was to get to active labor before I decided if I wanted an epidural but ideally, I wanted to go unmedicated. So when they said I was a 7, I was like, “Oh, okay. All right. That's the motivation I needed to keep pushing on. I can do this.” My contractions were becoming more frequent but they weren't getting stronger. It almost felt like at a moment's notice when they had to put the IV in or if the pain was too intense that I would start to space out again which I found to be interesting. But when a few hours went by, the pain was intensifying. They wanted to check me again and it was the OB this time who had checked me earlier and she said, “Oh, you're a 6.” My husband and I said, “Well, they said I was a 7 when they checked me last time.” She said, “Yeah, but I've got the frame of reference and you're more of a 6.” That messed with my head. Meagan: I'm sure. Colleen: My breathing was no longer effective. The pain was getting to me. The next step they wanted to take was breaking my water. I just didn't feel like I was in the headspace to continue on without the epidural. Meagan: You were mentally derailed. That can happen. Colleen: Yeah. When it came to my birth plan this time around, I was a little bit more descriptive because I had done more research. I wanted to go the unmedicated route if I absolutely could. If not, at least active labor. I really didn't want any augmentations or interventions when it came to breaking my water or Pitocin. I really wanted to be able to do it on my own but I will say and I think this is one of my bigger takeaways from this birth is that even when things don't go according to plan, you really have to trust your gut. I will say in those moments, my gut was telling me I think what needed to happen to service the overall goal which was my VBAC. I said, “Okay. I think in order for my body to relax, I want the epidural.” I get the epidural. My body did just that. I was able to relax. My contractions were getting closer together again. They did break my water and now we were into the morning hours here. I get a call from my OB and she said, “Hey, I'm aware of your situation. I see that your contractions are getting closer together but they are still not at that strength that we are really wanting to see.” She said that, “If you are okay with it, they want to start me on very low doses of Pitocin.” She said, “I think you will need a whiff of it in order to get to where you need to be.” My husband and I looked at each other and I think because of our experience with Pitocin previously and not wanting to stall out or anything go wrong, we really struggled with that piece but I think ultimately, we said, “Okay, we're already here. If this is what my OB thinks this is what I need–” and again, I personally felt okay with moving forward in those directions, “then, let's give it a try.” She was absolutely right. They started at a 1 and bumped it up 45 minutes later. I was feeling some pressure and I wanted to switch positions. I had the nurse come in to help me. She lifted up the blanket to move me and she said, “Oh, his head is right here.” He had been crowing for we don't know how long.Meagan: Oh my gosh. Colleen: My husband looks down and he goes, “Yeah, his head is poking up.” My OB gets there. It was super relaxed. She just walked in. She had her sunglasses on. She was just like, “Okay, let's do this.” She was getting set up. He had a bunch of dark hair and she was giving him a faux-hawk while she waits for things to get set up. For the moments that led up to that with anxiety around the interventions, the moment of his birth was very relaxed, very calm– Meagan: Lighthearted. Colleen: It had this great energy around it. I pushed for about 15 minutes and he was born. Meagan: Oh my gosh. That is amazing. What a way to end such a lead-up to get to this moment in your life. Colleen: Yes. His birth, the moment of his birth and the half-hour leading up was so joyous and healing like I had always hoped it would be and exactly what I think my heart needed. Just not necessarily VBAC-related, but I think I also struggled with all of the needs of my daughter and having now split time, I think going from one to two for some mamas can conjure up those feelings and that guilt around what your firstborn is not getting especially with all of her extra needs and things. I was really feeling that guilt. Now he's here and he is exactly what my family needed. He is just this puzzle piece that was missing. We didn't know it. We didn't know it until he was here and now we feel that way on so many levels. Meagan: Isn't that crazy sometimes? This is one of the coolest things I think about being a doula is that we see these couples and they think that their life is so amazing and it is. Don't get me wrong. It is amazing. They think that they love each other more than they ever could love each other. I can see the love in their eyes. I can see the support as the labor goes and then this human being enters their family and like you said, it's just this puzzle piece that fit that you didn't know you were missing. It's this extra joy and this deeper love that they didn't even know existed and it's one of the coolest things to see families transform. Yeah. It's absolutely amazing. Even from no kids to one kid and from one kid to four kids, it doesn't matter. Like you said, it's the puzzle piece that they didn't know they were missing. Colleen: Absolutely. I just can't wait to watch my daughter learn from him and him learn from her. That relationship– I even had the thought where I was like, “I'm the most important thing to my daughter,” then I'm like, “Okay, but she's going to have a sibling and that is such a gift in and of itself that I just am happy to be able to provide that,” but to your point, it is. It's a love unlike any other love. You will always obviously hold your partnership with your partner. It's so important and so instrumental to providing that love for your children as well but that love that you get from birthing a child is unparalleled. Meagan: Oh my gosh. It's so amazing. It is so amazing. I feel so grateful as a doula and as someone who is done having kids– my youngest is 8 years old now but I get to keep living through all of these couples. It's just so amazing. Oh, well congratulations. Colleen: Yes. It's so beautiful. Again, it didn't go on the micro-level according to plan, but on the macro-level and in my big-picture goal of having a VBAC, it was all I could ask for. Rolling with the punches and I will say again, going back to the beginning of the podcast and sharing that I'm a very Type A person, I think had my past not happened, any of these little interventions that were needed throughout this birth could have also derailed me or discouraged me and I just think all of these experiences I had up until this point taught me that rolling with the punches and just understanding that things might not always go according to plan but healthy me, healthy baby– Meagan: And a good experience. Colleen: Exactly. Meagan: Rolling with the punches while trusting your intuition because some of those punches might look like punches but it's actually what you need. Colleen: 100%. Trusting your gut, advocating for yourself, also important to keep in mind. Meagan: Super important. Well, before we go, I wanted to quickly give some more depth into some of the things that you had brought up along the way. We talked about your daughter's condition and then there was something that you said that is a really big tip that I give to my clients when it comes to breaking the waters versus starting Pitocin. It's okay if you don't agree with me, everybody out there. A lot of people would rather break water over starting Pitocin because it's the “more natural way to get things going”. But I'm such a person of, let's try a whiff of Pitocin that we can turn off, but if we are artificially meaning we are breaking the bag of waters by ourselves against mother nature's choice, we can't patch that back up and we don't know what's going on so we don't know if baby's in a weird position. We don't know if baby is too high. We don't know what's going on so sometimes I think just starting that 1-4 mL drip of Pit and then you can always turn it off and it's gone. I was going to say that's weirdly one of my suggestions that over all of my years of doing this, I would weirdly suggest that sometimes over breaking your water. That really depends on where we are at too. If we are 9 centimeters and baby is +2 station, we're really engaged, I dont know. It might change. But if we are at the point where you were at, I actually would suggest that. I wanted to really quickly talk about VCI and marginal. So velamentous cord insertion. You mentioned that the OB was like, “Yes, subchorionic and we're here but then we've also got this.” With VCI, that is where the cord is inserted abnormally into the placenta. It can cause things like IUGR which we talked about earlier so intrauterine growth restriction. I don't know if they gave you any stats on this but it's a 1% chance of that happening with a singleton baby, a 6% chance with twins and then if they do share the same placenta, it can go up. I want to say it's upward of 15%, so much higher. But a lot of the time, even VCI babies carry to term and everything is okay. I do want to throw it out there that a lot of providers do suggest a Cesarean with VCI. I don't know if you've ever heard of that. People can have vaginal births but a lot of providers will suggest Cesareans. If you have VCI or are being told that you have VCI, just know that might be a conversation and you want to discuss that with your provider earlier on. She also mentioned a marginal cord insertion which is where that attaches to the side I believe so also an abnormal insertion. I don't know. Did your provider tell you anything about that? Colleen: Not the statistics around it but they also said that I was 6 months postpartum, post-C-section when I did get pregnant again so their recommendation I think regardless was going to be a repeat C-section. Meagan: Yeah, so it can happen. Then last but not least, I just want to throw out anything that you have about MTHFR to the listeners who may have gone or are going through experiences like you. MTHFR really depends on a provider. Some people still roll their eyes at it but it's definitely a thing. Do you have any suggestions toward anybody who may have it or maybe finding out that process?Colleen: Yeah. Meagan: Or going through the process?Colleen: For sure. Just through my own research, again, my OB was like, “Just additional folic acid.” Meagan: I love that you mentioned that by the way. Colleen: So I obviously am no expert or dietician or nutritionist but when you do have MTHFR, you can either have homozygous or heterozygous mutations. There are also two different variations. There's the A variant and the C variant. I think there is research around the severity or the impact of each of the variants on fertility and things like that but sort of the biggest takeaway when it comes to MTHFR is that it can make you more prone to clotting issues as well as malabsorption or the inability to use folic acid effectively. That is why a lot of research will indicate that you should be on the purest form of folate which is methylfolate because it's so easy for your body to absorb when you do have the MTHFR mutation and then when it comes to having additional methylfolate, essentially I found a prenatal that had methylfolate and was just chock-full of a bunch of good stuff. I was also taking additional micrograms of methyl folate on the side just as a pure supplement. Personally, I found that to be helpful and again, that is something that I baked into that consistent routine of mine making sure I was on a really optimal prenatal as well as taking the methylfolate every day. In addition to the baby aspirin, that was to mitigate some clotting issues. The other thing I will plug is a resource and a follow on Instagram if you don't already follow is Lily Nichols. Meagan: Yes. We love her. She has been on the podcast. We have her books. Colleen: Yes, exactly. In addition to when you know you have MTHFR, just really ensuring that you are getting proper nutrition and that is top of the line in pregnancy when you are trying every day of your life basically. I definitely broke and cheated with my little guilty pleasures here and there of course. But I really largely throughout pregnancy tried to stick to a really vitamin and nutrient-dense diet. Meagan: Yes. I don't know what prenatal you took and I don't judge you for any other prenatal of course. We love Needed but you said the optimal amount. That's what we are finding. So many of these prenatals don't have the optimal amount and they don't have the purest forms. We love Needed and truly 100% suggest it. But yeah, exactly what you said. It's so important. It's so important.Colleen: Exactly. That would be my advice to anyone who wonders. I would also advocate and press to be tested if you are having issues. I just think it would be so beneficial just to have that piece of information in your toolbox so that if you do want to ask either on your own or you do want to press your provider to take it seriously, then I would definitely recommend just saying, “Hey, can I get the bloodwork to find out?” Then you can go from there. Meagan: Yeah. Yeah. Bloodwork. You can start there and know. Colleen: Exactly. Meagan: Oh my gosh. Thank you so much for this amazing information along the way, your beautiful stories, and thank you for taking the time to share with us. Colleen: Thank you so, so much for having me. It was such a pleasure. Meagan: Absolutely. 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

Send us a textOur next guest has struck a balance between work, family, and hobbies. He's known to some as a jiu jitsu phenom by consistently training 6 days per week on top of his already busy schedule with work and fatherhood. We reflect on his journey through school and pivoting from a solely finance career to a tech career with a focus in finance. We explore his love for jiu jitsu and how he got so good at it. He's currently part owner of the second iteration of the Valko Jiu Jitsu Academy and he shares what their goals are with their second location. We chat about his streetwear/training gear company, ANTIHERO and the importance of finding something that puts you in a state of flow. We end the episode with his experience of discovering when his son, Noah, could possibly be diagnosed with Trisomy 13 during pregnancy to eventually processing Noah's death at 33 weeks. Overall, it was a discussion of balance, fulfillment, and meaning. Please enjoy my conversation with Rex Vargas.https://www.instagram.com/rexvargas/https://www.instagram.com/antiherofit/https://antiherofit.com/https://www.instagram.com/valkostudiobjj/

We dive deep into the moral implications of prenatal testing, and discuss the heavy decisions expectant parents face when confronted with potential genetic disorders. We hear powerful testimonies - from Nora's choice to celebrate the life of her now-healthy daughter despite medical pressures, to heartfelt confessions about the pain of not acting quickly enough to prevent our loved ones from having abortions. With compassion and conviction, Patrick affirms the intrinsic value of every life, and the importance of providing support and accurate information to those grappling with these profound choices. This hour is a testament to the strength found in informed and caring counsel - a beacon for life in the often stormy seas of uncertainty.   Cyrus shares some of the flood of emails coming in from listeners praying for George (who called in the previous hour) *Sophie - I have a good friend who isn't Catholic and they got results that their child might have Trisomy 13 and they might get an abortion. How do I talk to her about that? (04:08) Katie - My friend just went through this same thing. My friend had an abortion and I want to encourage Sophie and everyone else to speak up about this. Marie - My parents were told that I was going to be born with a number of medical problems and I'm now 25-years-old and perfectly healthy. (21:25) Bridget - The one thing that people need to remember is that the abortion is very painful. How do you want that baby to die? (35:24) Nora – I was told my baby girl would have down syndrome and we were encouraged to abort. She was born without down syndrome.  (40:05) Can I take communion at the Lutheran church?

Published on Anna's 5th birthday, this episode features Megan DeRuiter, mom to Anna who has Trisomy 13. She discusses the confusion of Anna being given a poor prognosis despite presenting well, the impact of her healthcare background on her early journey and what she has learned about the Trisomy 13 community.  Extra To Love is a non-profit organization that aims to improve the lives of people with Trisomy 18 and Trisomy 13 by supporting their families. Through Extra To Love: A Trisomy Podcast, we hope effected families will be empowered, connected, supported and educated by hearing personal stories from parents and healthcare providers. To receive support or learn more about our mission, visit www.extratolove.org Follow us on socials!https://www.facebook.com/extratolovehttps://www.instagram.com/extratolovehttps://www.instagram.com/extratolovepodcast

In this episode of Extra To Love: A Trisomy Podcast, host, Jenn, and her husband, Matt, reflect on the impact of parenting a child with Trisomy 18 on their marriage over the past 6 years. They share their personal experience, lessons they've learned, ways they are still trying to grow and more. They also share the unique experience of navigating a trisomy diagnosis when one parent has experienced medical complexity and loss before with a child. Whether you are also navigating marriage while parenting a child with a trisomy diagnosis, or you are just embarking on this journey, there is so much community and wisdom to be found in this episode.  Extra To Love is a non-profit organization that aims to improve the lives of people with Trisomy 18 and Trisomy 13 by supporting their families. Through Extra To Love: A Trisomy Podcast, we hope effected families will be empowered, connected, supported and educated by hearing personal stories from parents and healthcare providers. To receive support or learn more about our mission, visit www.extratolove.org Follow us on socials!https://www.facebook.com/extratolovehttps://www.instagram.com/extratolovehttps://www.instagram.com/extratolovepodcast

Are belief and faith the same thing? Listen as Julie compares the two, and discusses that God not only wants us to have faith, but commands it! Extra To Love is a non-profit organization that aims to improve the lives of people with Trisomy 18 and Trisomy 13 by supporting their families. Through Extra To Love: A Trisomy Podcast, we hope effected families will be empowered, connected, supported and educated by hearing personal stories from parents and healthcare providers. To receive support or learn more about our mission, visit www.extratolove.org Follow us on socials!https://www.facebook.com/extratolovehttps://www.instagram.com/extratolovehttps://www.instagram.com/extratolovepodcast

Type of Loss: Life-limiting diagnosis, Infant loss, Early-term loss, Multiple losses More about Danielle's Story: Listen as Danielle shares the emotional story of her daughter Daniela. After a smooth pregnancy at 45, Danielle's world was turned upside down at 42 weeks when unexpected complications arose. Born not breathing and quickly taken to the NICU, Daniela was later diagnosed with Trisomy 18. Despite her brief but impactful 23 days, Daniela left a lasting mark on her family's hearts. Danielle reflects on the bittersweet moments of meeting her long-awaited daughter and the heartache of losing her too soon. Learn more about Emma's Footprints: ⁠⁠⁠www.EmmasFootprints.com⁠⁠⁠ Facebook: @EmmasFootprints Instagram: @EmmasFootprints

Chelsi, mom of 5 year old Jazz who has Trisomy 18 (Edwards Syndrome), joins Extra To Love: A Trisomy Podcast to share her wisdom and perspectives on how Jazz's life has impacted their family, if this journey is worth it, the importance of connecting with the trisomy community and more. You definitely don't want to miss this episode! Follow Jazz's journey and connect with Chelsi on instagram @journey4jazz and Facebook: Chelsi Crawford  Extra To Love is a non-profit organization that aims to improve the lives of people with Trisomy 18 and Trisomy 13 by supporting their families. Through Extra To Love: A Trisomy Podcast, we hope effected families will be empowered, connected, supported and educated by hearing personal stories from parents and healthcare providers. To receive support or learn more about our mission, visit www.extratolove.org Follow us on socials!https://www.facebook.com/extratolovehttps://www.instagram.com/extratolovehttps://www.instagram.com/extratolovepodcast

Re-air from 3/4/24 Today's guest is Keara Burke. She and her husband Rory are blessed with five beautiful children.  In January 2019, following her twenty-week checkup, their unborn son, Baby Rory, was diagnosed with Trisomy 18- a life-limiting condition.  We were offered the option of termination.  That wasn't an option for us, so we decided to carry him to term and care for our sick son no matter the length of his life.  We wanted Baby Rory to write his own story and allow his life to unfold as designed.     Baby Rory was born June 12, 2019, and lived on earth for five precious days.  We were able to meet him, spend time with him, and bring him home with us.  His four sisters were able to hold him, give him his first bath and make many memories with their beloved brother until his gentle and natural death.   There are options in caring for your son and daughter during this difficult and heartbreaking illness that bless the family.    For more information : https://rorysway.org     St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish

We are joined by Audrey Brock (M.S. CCC-SLP) and Olivia Lane (M.S. CCC-SLP) join us to share all about speech therapy, communication using AAC, and more. Although most people with Trisomy 18 or Trisomy 13 are non-speaking, that does not mean they are non-communicating. Communication can look many different ways, and speech therapists have a wonderful arsenal of tools to assist with that! Extra To Love is a non-profit organization that aims to improve the lives of people with Trisomy 18 and Trisomy 13 by supporting their families. Through Extra To Love: A Trisomy Podcast, we hope effected families will be empowered, connected, supported and educated by hearing personal stories from parents and healthcare providers. To receive support or learn more about our mission, visit www.extratolove.org Follow us on socials!https://www.facebook.com/extratolovehttps://www.instagram.com/extratolovehttps://www.instagram.com/extratolovepodcast

In this poignant episode, we sit down with Jessica, a brave mother who shares her heartfelt journey of navigating the complexities of Trisomy 18 after the loss of her daughter, Annie. Jessica opens up about the myriad of emotions surrounding infertility, infant loss, medical challenges, and the journey of stillbirth. With raw honesty, she talks about her coping strategies and the vital role that community support plays in healing. Listeners will find solace in her story and may feel empowered to honor the memories of their own loved ones while being purposeful to seek out support, community and inspired to tell their own stories. Trigger Warning: Infertility, infant loss, medical challenges and stillbirth. To further support families grappling with similar experiences, we encourage you to explore these valuable resources: https://bornabel.org/https://www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org/https://veritysvillage.com/https://www.cradlingmemories.org/https://trisomy.org/#/ Join us for an inspiring conversation about love, strength, and community in the face of life's hardest challenges.To learn more about the show, donate to support the mission or to inquire about sharing your story- visit www.therewovenpodcast.com

In this Ministry Moment, Julie shares on resilience and the call to persevere through trials. With an encouraging call to reframe our thinking, let this Ministry Moment give you a new wind to continue to be resilient through the obstacles you are facing.   Extra To Love is a non-profit organization that aims to improve the lives of people with Trisomy 18 and Trisomy 13 by supporting their families. Through Extra To Love: A Trisomy Podcast, we hope effected families will be empowered, connected, supported and educated by hearing personal stories from parents and healthcare providers. To receive support or learn more about our mission, visit www.extratolove.org Follow us on socials!https://www.facebook.com/extratolovehttps://www.instagram.com/extratolovehttps://www.instagram.com/extratolovepodcast

In this episode of Faith Talks, Anna Faith interviews Deneen Sikma, a mother of eleven, about God's faithfulness through trials. Hear her inspiring story of trusting God with a child's Trisomy 18 diagnosis and the blessings that followed. Be encouraged by her wisdom on waiting for God's perfect timing and embracing His gifts.Faith Talks is a monthly program on the Thee Generation podcast designed to help young ladies discover greater ways to nurture and exercise their faith in their day-to-day walk with Christ. To leave a question for the Faith Twins or our guest, send an email to faithtalks@theegeneration.org. If you've been encouraged by this podcast, please take the time to give us a five-star rating and write a brief review. That would help tremendously in getting the word out and raising the visibility of the Thee Generation for others. For more faith inspiring resources and information about joining Thee Generation, please visit theegeneration.org.

At Extra To Love, we are firm believers that a child's value is not based on the number of their days here on Earth. Evie, who had Trisomy 13 and lived 56 days, had an impactful, love-filled life. Evie's mom, Emily, shares about how their journey changed her, how she includes Evie in her baby sister's life, and her favorite memories shared with her daughter. Join us in remembering Evie and appreciating the special impact her life had.  Extra To Love is a non-profit organization that aims to improve the lives of people with Trisomy 18 and Trisomy 13 by supporting their families. Through Extra To Love: A Trisomy Podcast, we hope effected families will be empowered, connected, supported and educated by hearing personal stories from parents and healthcare providers. To receive support or learn more about our mission, visit www.extratolove.org Follow us on socials!https://www.facebook.com/extratolovehttps://www.instagram.com/extratolovehttps://www.instagram.com/extratolovepodcast

In this Ministry Moment, Julie provides the ever-empowering reminder - If God is for us, who can be against us? In God we are strengthened and equipped to face each challenge, with Jesus - the source of our strength - walking right beside us.  Extra To Love is a non-profit organization that aims to improve the lives of people with Trisomy 18 and Trisomy 13 by supporting their families. Through Extra To Love: A Trisomy Podcast, we hope effected families will be empowered, connected, supported and educated by hearing personal stories from parents and healthcare providers. To receive support or learn more about our mission, visit www.extratolove.org Follow us on socials!https://www.facebook.com/extratolovehttps://www.instagram.com/extratolovehttps://www.instagram.com/extratolovepodcast

Type of Loss: Early-term loss, Life-limiting diagnosis, Infant loss More about Emily's Story: Listen as Emily shares her journey to motherhood with us. She shares her difficult journey to get pregnant and then how her first pregnancy ended in an early term loss. Her second pregnancy resulted in the healthy delivery of her, now 3, year old son Rhett. Her third pregnancy was not planned but they were very excited about it. Unfortunately, their excited soon turned to fear and anxiety when they were told their baby had genetic abnormalities. Their son Dylan was officially diagnosed with Trisomy 18p monosomy q. Dylan was born at 37 weeks gestation and passed away about 48 hours after birth at home. Follow Emily's blog: joyinthechaos.com Learn more about Emma's Footprints: ⁠⁠www.EmmasFootprints.com⁠⁠ Facebook: @EmmasFootprints Instagram: @EmmasFootprints

Our guests this week hold special meaning to ETL, as they have been the physical therapy providers for the kids of our ETL team members and have been cheerleaders for them every step of the way. In this episode, Rianna Silverstein, DPT and Kaitlyn Evers, DPT share their perspectives on their experience treating children with trisomy 18, discuss what to look for in a PT, explain the purpose of DMI, and speak to the power of intensive therapy. We hope you will feel encouraged by hearing the way these two amazing therapists champion the trisomy community and the abilities of children with a trisomy diagnosis. Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this episode are personal perspectives and experience and are NOT meant to replace the guidance of your child's licensed healthcare and therapy providers. Please consult with your child's therapists and doctors for care specific to their needs.  Extra To Love is a non-profit organization that aims to improve the lives of people with Trisomy 18 and Trisomy 13 by supporting their families. Through Extra To Love: A Trisomy Podcast, we hope effected families will be empowered, connected, supported and educated by hearing personal stories from parents and healthcare providers. To receive support or learn more about our mission, visit www.extratolove.org Follow us on socials!https://www.facebook.com/extratolovehttps://www.instagram.com/extratolovehttps://www.instagram.com/extratolovepodcast

In this Ministry Moment, Julie encourages listeners to lean into community with the reminder that scripture repeatedly demonstrates the power of joining with others, especially in challenging times.  Extra To Love is a non-profit organization that aims to improve the lives of people with Trisomy 18 and Trisomy 13 by supporting their families. Through Extra To Love: A Trisomy Podcast, we hope effected families will be empowered, connected, supported and educated by hearing personal stories from parents and healthcare providers. To receive support or learn more about our mission, visit www.extratolove.org Follow us on socials!https://www.facebook.com/extratolovehttps://www.instagram.com/extratolovehttps://www.instagram.com/extratolovepodcast

EP084: Keara Burke“Your child will be born in terrible pain. This will put your fertility at risk. Abortion is the compassionate response.” This is the advice most frequently given to parents when they receive a life-limiting fetal diagnosis like Trisomy 18 or anencephaly for their baby. But is fear and death the only answer? Keara Burke lived through this experience when her son Rory was diagnosed with Trisomy 18 in utero – her story proves firsthand that life-affirming and beautiful alternatives exist.In this episode, Keara joins Erika to share her story and her work through Rory's Way. Keara's mission is to educate and guide parents through this difficult time with the support of perinatal care that dignifies the lives of babies regardless of how long they last. Erika and Keara cut to the heart of this emotional but crucial subject, discussing why letting nature take its course is not the default for society and how the number of babies misdiagnosed and aborted for defects is shockingly high.  Learn more:Rory's WayNew York Times study on prenatal testing misdiagnoses Follow us on social media! Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube

Jeanna Polacek, mom to 5 year old Mia who has full Trisomy 18 and co founder of Edwards' Syndrome Association joins Extra To Love: A Trisomy Podcast to discuss their surprising birth diagnosis, the milestones Mia has reached, the relationship Mia has with her baby sister, as well as the heart and mission of Edwards' Syndrome Association. We also discuss the intentionality behind choosing to use ‘Edwards Syndrome', following in the foot steps of the Down syndrome (trisomy 21) community. To connect with ESA visit edwardssyndrome.org or find them on social media @edwardssyndromeassociation Extra To Love is a non-profit organization that aims to improve the lives of people with Trisomy 18 and Trisomy 13 by supporting their families. Through Extra To Love: A Trisomy Podcast, we hope effected families will be empowered, connected, supported and educated by hearing personal stories from parents and healthcare providers. To receive support or learn more about our mission, visit www.extratolove.org Follow us on socials!https://www.facebook.com/extratolovehttps://www.instagram.com/extratolovehttps://www.instagram.com/extratolovepodcast

In this episode of Wake Up, Look Up, we explore the profound and often heartbreaking topic of Trisomy 18, a condition where children are born with severe defects and live only a short time. We'll delve into the difficult conversations surrounding abortion and the value of life, challenging the notion that life's worth is measured by its length. Through touching stories from families who have navigated this journey, we reveal how the brief lives of these children are incredibly meaningful and impactful. Keep listening as we discuss how God uses suffering to bring about good for all people.

This week Julie discusses nurturing a spirit of gratitude and choosing to see God's hand in the midst of difficulties. If you are struggling to feel gratitude, let your challenge this week to be acknowledging your blessings. When you notice the good things in your life, even something like air conditioning in the summer heat, write it down or say thank you to God.  Extra To Love is a non-profit organization that aims to improve the lives of people with Trisomy 18 and Trisomy 13 by supporting their families. Through Extra To Love: A Trisomy Podcast, we hope effected families will be empowered, connected, supported and educated by hearing personal stories from parents and healthcare providers. To receive support or learn more about our mission, visit www.extratolove.org Follow us on socials!https://www.facebook.com/extratolovehttps://www.instagram.com/extratolovehttps://www.instagram.com/extratolovepodcast

We dive deep into the moral implications of prenatal testing, and discuss the heavy decisions expectant parents face when confronted with potential genetic disorders. We hear powerful testimonies - from Nora's choice to celebrate the life of her now-healthy daughter despite medical pressures, to heartfelt confessions about the pain of not acting quickly enough to prevent our loved ones from having abortions. With compassion and conviction, Patrick affirms the intrinsic value of every life, and the importance of providing support and accurate information to those grappling with these profound choices. This hour is a testament to the strength found in informed and caring counsel - a beacon for life in the often stormy seas of uncertainty.   Cyrus shares some of the flood of emails coming in from listeners praying for George (who called in the previous hour) *Sophie - I have a good friend who isn't Catholic and they got results that their child might have Trisomy 13 and they might get an abortion. How do I talk to her about that? (04:08) Katie - My friend just went through this same thing. My friend had an abortion and I want to encourage Sophie and everyone else to speak up about this. Marie - My parents were told that I was going to be born with a number of medical problems and I'm now 25-years-old and perfectly healthy. (21:25) Bridget - The one thing that people need to remember is that the abortion is very painful. How do you want that baby to die? (35:24) Nora – I was told my baby girl would have down syndrome and we were encouraged to abort. She was born without down syndrome.  (40:05) Can I take communion at the Lutheran church?

Rosa Crumpton BSN, MBA, RN Holistic Wellness Guide and Family Nurse Practitioner Student  Go to www.thejasoncavnessexperience.com for the full episode and other episodes of The Jason Cavness Experience on your favorite platforms. Sponsor CavnessHR delivers HR companies with 49 or fewer people with our HR platform and by providing you access to your own HRBP. www.CavnessHR.com Rosa's Bio Rosa Crumpton, BSN, MBA, RN, is dedicated to holistic health and serving underserved communities. With over 18 years of nursing experience, she founded Melanated Health Secrets, a blog dedicated to empowering individuals, especially fibroid sufferers, to manage their conditions naturally by balancing hormones and resetting their nervous systems.  She will graduate in a few weeks with a Doctorate of Nursing Practice in Family Practice at Pacific Lutheran University, where she focuses on cultural aspects of care. Her innovative approach and dedication to holistic health have earned her features in several prestigious publications, including Slate, Nurse Journal, and Thrive Global, and appearances on platforms like the Black Women Rising podcast.  Rosa's passion for health advocacy shines through her work with Melanated Health Secrets, where she combines her extensive nursing background with a deep understanding of holistic wellness to guide individuals toward improved health literacy and self-care practices. As a Tacoma native, Rosa's journey is also deeply personal, as are her fibroid and thyroid experiences. A mother to a vibrant blended family and a proud member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., her life is a testament to her belief in community, advocacy, and the transformative power of culturally competent care. Rosa Crumpton's vision for the future of healthcare is one where everyone has access to information and treatments that honor their whole selves, bridging gaps in health equity and promoting wellness across communities.  We talked about the following and other items Self-care and burnout in the healthcare industry. Nursing challenges and responsibilities. Nursing challenges and underappreciation. Nursing challenges and workplace dynamics. Nursing challenges and work-related stress. Nursing responsibilities and liability in patient care. VA healthcare and addiction issues among veterans. Challenges faced by veterans in receiving proper care. Nurse burnout and challenges in caring for veterans. Building teamwork and specialized medical care. Nursing education and career choices. Gender disparity in STEM fields. Sewing, quilting, and STEM skills. Negotiation skills and life lessons from a father's teachings. Career development and negotiation skills in the workplace. AI in healthcare and biases in technology. Telehealth and nurse practitioner licensing. Healthcare career challenges and job opportunities. Nursing career, patient-centered care, and diversity training. Setting goals and health equity. Life challenges and mental health. Sharing personal stories and experiences to help others. Trisomy 18 diagnosis and treatment options Pregnancy, delivery, and NICU care. Medical missions, family, and personal growth. Cultural competence in nursing practice. Cultural aspects of pediatric palliative care. Identity, goals, and family. Weight loss, health, and societal standards. Weight gain and mental health stigma. Body image, health, and representation. Health disparities faced by black women. Healthcare advocacy and patient-provider relationships. Health goals and sustainable changes. Primary care providers and the healthcare system. Nursing career, mentorship, and retirement plans.  Rosa's Social Media Rosa's Instagram: @rosacrumpton  Rosa's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosacrumpton/ Rosa's TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rosacrumpton Rosa's Blog: https://melanatedhealthsecrets.com/blog/ Rosa's Advice  Number one, if you don't have a primary care provider, please find one today. I know it's a struggle. It can take a couple of interviews to try to find the right provider. Now, if you don't have a good relationship with your provider, shop around. We are fortunate to be in that kind of time that we're able to do that. But it's really important for you to have somebody that knows your health when you are somewhat healthy. Because if you do have something happen and you go to the emergency room or the urgent care. They don't have your whole record, they don't know all the stuff that's going on with you. That's not where you get treated, especially with chronic health issues. My second thing is if you are a veteran and you have not signed up for your veterans benefits, please do that. You can file online, you could call the number, just Google like VA benefits or whatever. Fairly straight forward process, but it does take time. So go ahead and get that started today.

Join Abby for a heart-to-heart conversation with Hillary Little, a mother whose journey with her son's Trisomy 18 diagnosis unfolds in a powerful discussion. Together, they delve into the sensitive topic of abortion, shining a light on the Kate Cox case and examining the complexities surrounding abortion decisions following adverse diagnoses in the womb. FOLLOW ABBY ON SOCIAL MEDIA- Instagram- Facebook- Twitter

Today we're joined by Daniel and Kelly Crawford of Abel Speaks, an organization that supports families who have chosen to carry a child with a life-limiting diagnosis. They share their own story of finding out their baby son Abel had trisomy 18 and how doctors were quick to suggest abortion, deeming their son incompatible with life. We discuss how they processed the news and how important community grounded in compassion and truth was for them during this time. Kelly explains the birth experience and how much time they were given with baby Abel beyond what they were told to expect. We also discuss their motivation to help other families in similar situations and what the gaps in support are for families of children with life-limiting diagnoses. --- Timecodes: (01:16) Abel's story (06:08) What is Trisomy 18? (16:30) Finding support (26:40) Finding a provider they trusted (29:08) Abel's birth and last days (44:40) 'Abel Speaks' (01:06:05) Allie's VBAC --- Today's Sponsors: Range Leather — highest quality leather, age-old techniques and all backed up with a “forever guarantee." Go to rangeleather.com and use coupon code "ALLIE" to receive 15% off your first order. Patriot Mobile — go to PatriotMobile.com/ALLIE or call 972-PATRIOT and use promo code 'FRIDAY76' to get a free smart phone with activation! Netsuite — gain visibility and control of your financials, planning, budgeting, and inventory so you can manage risk, get reliable forecasts, and improve margins. Go to NetSuite.com/ALLIE to get your one-of-a-kind flexible financing program. --- Links: Abel Speaks: https://abelspeaks.org/ --- Relevant Episodes: Ep 921 | To the Texas Mom Suing to Abort Her Baby https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-921-to-the-texas-mom-suing-to-abort-her-baby/id1359249098?i=1000638357091 --- Buy Allie's book, You're Not Enough (& That's Okay): Escaping the Toxic Culture of Self-Love: https://alliebethstuckey.com/book Relatable merchandise – use promo code 'ALLIE10' for a discount: https://shop.blazemedia.com/collections/allie-stuckey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earlier this week, the Texas Supreme Court said Kate Cox couldn't have an abortion.Cox's doctors had diagnosed the fetus with Trisomy 18, an almost certainly fatal genetic condition. On top of that, there were concerns about whether or not Cox would be able to have children again in the future if she continued with this pregnancy. None of this was enough for nine judges in Texas to allow Cox to have an abortion. Cox's story isn't unique. Amanda Zurawski almost died after a Texas court said she couldn't have an abortion. Today, she's the lead plaintiff in Zurawski v. State of Texas. She joins Amicus this week to show the real, human effects of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Zurawski is joined by one of the lawyers representing her in the case, Jamie Levitt. In this week's Amicus Plus segment, Slate's Mark Joseph Stern talks about another made-up case that this time, won't make it to SCOTUS.  Sign up for Slate Plus now to listen and support our show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Stonestreet and Maria Baer discuss prenatal genetic testing and Trisomy 18 after a Texas woman's request for an abortion was denied by the Texas Supreme Court. Also, Rob Reiner is releasing a negative documentary on Christian Nationalism, and SCOTUS will hear a challenge on access to the abortion pill mifepristone.    Recommendations Colson Center National Conference Segment 1: Prenatal Genetic Testing and the Texas Abortion Case  "TX Supreme Court Rules Woman Can't Get In-State Abortion" "5 Things to know about the latest abortion case in Texas" Segment 2: New Documentary on "Christian Nationalism" "Rob Reiner Takes on Christian Nationalism Threat in “God and Country” Trailer" "Rob Reiner is deluded about ‘Christian Nationalism'" Segment 3: Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Case on Abortion Drug Access  "Supreme Court Agrees to Take Up Case on abortion drug access"  "Appeals Court Rules FDA Must Restore Safeguards for Chemical Abortion Drugs"