108 | Pressing Through With Love - Cristina Hernandez & Sy Bernabei

Cristina Hernandez and her partner Sy Bernabei shared how they navigated their journey through assisted reproductive technology (ART), planned for homebirth, and ended at the hospital with a belly birth. Their story delved deeply into the world of fertility support and the mental and physical highs and lows that can affect both partners. Cristina bravely walked us through her each step with Sy by her side. The process of becoming pregnant grew in intensity, and they experienced loss of an embryo - not to mention the loss of Sy’s brother during the pregnancy. Nevertheless, they sought solace and stepped away from their daily lives to regroup and carry on their pregnancy. Cristina cautiously carried the twins until birth.

They had worked on their birth plan by hiring a midwife and a doula to support them to birth at home. This, of course, was after Sy felt more educated and felt comfortable and agreed to a Homebirth. They worked with a queer-inclusive provider but experienced challenges with transferring care from a doctor to a Homebirth midwife with additional support from a High-Risk doctor due to carrying twins.

Cristina attended a prenatal appointment at 35 weeks and was informed that her blood pressure was high and one of the babies was breech presenting. She returned at 37 weeks for a stress test and again had high blood pressure; in addition, there was protein in her urine sample. They immediately began to plan for a scheduled belly birth to mitigate additional health issues for Cristina and the babies. The twins were full-term, and Cristina’s body had started to show early signs of labor. But through all of their planning, this was not a scenario that they had considered. Nevertheless, they brought home their healthy children, both a boy and a girl.

Bringing home their babies came with additional challenges. Cristina still had to heal from the blood pressure complications and a surgical birth with twins. However, Postpartum was a timeframe that helped their family develop a deeper bond and evolved their communication styles. Cristina has channeled her energy to become a birth worker now. She has utilized her experience to support other families through childbirth and especially those having belly births.

Resources:

Vida | full spectrum birth services

@sy.the.gender.rebel | Sy Bernabei Tik Tok discussing gender identity, LGBTQIA2+ and history

Gender, Justice Nevada | statewide advocacy, education, and policy reforming organization

Taking Charge of Your Fertility | the definitive guide to natural birth control, pregnancy achievement, and reproductive health