40 | Paving a New Way: Against the Grain - Codie Elaine Oliver
Codie describes her pregnancies and births as a full-circle experience. Even before being pregnant, she had always immersed herself in all things birth related. When Codie found out she was pregnant with her first child, she began looking deeper into all of her options about what her experience could be. A disconnect for Codie was from all the births she had seen, read about, and heard of; these individuals didn't look like her or represent what she thought birth for black women was like. Many of her friends and family had medicated births or c-sections. It wasn't until she had a conversation with a dear friend who had homebirths of her own, that the reality that she could have an out of hospital birth was possible for her as well.
Codie Elaine Oliver in 2016 with son Brooks (Photo courtesy of Chika Chukudebelu)
Codie Elaine Oliver with son Brooks
Codie Elaine Oliver and Husband Tommy Oliver during the birth of their twins Langston and Aristotle
While Codie and Tommy had planned to birth in a birth center, a turn of events would have them shifting to have a home birth, supported by midwife Heather Schwartz and student midwife Kim Durdin. As we know, birth plans change, and Codie went from a homebirth to a transfer to a hospital with an epidural and a c-section. While she was ecstatic to have a healthy baby and be a mother, a thought that did linger in the back of her mind was that those who said this would be her story were right.
Codie Elaine Oliver with student midwife Kim Durdin and midwife Heather Schwartz
When she found out, she was pregnant the second time, and with twins, there was a mix of excitement but also fear that she wouldn't be able to have a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean). From the beginning, she was intentional about her support and ultimately built an empowering birth team, with care providers who supported her in trusting and believing herself to do that.
Resources :
Kimberly Durdin | IBCLC & Student Midwife
Kindred Space LA | a hub for midwifery care, doula support, lactation consulting, education, support groups, enrichment, meditation and movement.
Black Love | a docu-series created to highlight love stories from the Black community.