86 | Leaning Inward - Destiny Benson

When Destiny found out she was pregnant with her second son, she expressed initially being in a place of denial. While she had always wanted a second child, feelings of hesitation began to arise as the age gap between her first and second was more extensive than she wanted and there was also being nervous about how she would be as a mother of two. But, being able to lean into her ROOTT doulas and husband allowed her to ensure that even within the doubt, she was taking care of herself and understood that she had within herself everything she needed for this birth and transition.

Before becoming a birth worker, Destiny had always been interested in holistic care. At that time, with her first child, she had a birth plan but wasn't able to find a doula she connected with. That pregnancy was fine, but unfortunately, her birth did not go as planned and did include some birth trauma. Having experienced that, she was more diligent in planning and building her birth team, allowing her throughout the whole process to feel supported and empowered to make informed decisions about her care.

At 37 weeks, due to pre-eclampsia symptoms, she needed to be induced. Destiny would need to tap into that part of herself. After some time to re-center and regroup from this unexpected turn, Destiny knew moving through the induction, she wanted to take her time, introducing medical interventions very slowly and always starting at the lowest dosage available. Doing this gave her the space to work through challenging and tiring labor. To make the call to get an epidural because she knew she needed to allow both the mental and physical parts of herself to relax. And when it was time to push, she knew, and delivered her baby in a position that felt most comfortable for her, caught him and her hands were the first to lay him on her chest.

Sponsors:

Restoring Our Own Through Transformation (ROOTT) | reproductive justice organization

ROOTT is a collective of concerned Black families, community members, advocates & interdisciplinary professionals dedicated to decreasing Black maternal & infant mortality in Ohio. ROOTT’s mission is to comprehensively restore our collective well-being through collaboration, resource allocation, research & re-empowerment, in order to meet the needs of Black parents & families. If you and your family are planning, pregnant, or in your postpartum period, please reach out to ROOTT at www.roottrj.org. Financial assistance is available. You can also connect with ROOTT at 614-398-1766 or email general-info@roottrj.org