Creatives Jenni & Bryson had built a life together, centering their work in music and writing before their baby girl joined the family. Their pregnancy journey started with extreme nausea for Jenni. She sought medical support for her discomfort and found relief in prescription nausea medication. Jenni was interested in midwifery care but was “risked out” due to blood pressure issues. However, she was able to find medical providers that met her needs.
Deep-seated fear surrounding dying during childbirth under the care of hospital providers had settled into Jenni’s psyche. Routine prenatal appointments left her second-guessing the information she received from her providers. Jenni reached out to other Black medical and birth professionals for reassurance and additional information. The challenges of being a pregnant Black woman felt mentally heavy, constantly trying to read between the lines and discern information for accuracy. She found herself being very direct when with her care providers as she needed an induction. Jenni was concerned about a pulmonary embolism as she saw it in the media as a common cause of death or challenges during childbirth. She discussed a plan of care if she developed clots before consenting to her subsequent surgical birth.
Jenni and Bryson chose a surgical birth after a prolonged, four-day induction. The surgery was a shift from her vision but ended up being the most positive and relieving part of her labor and birth story. Jenni felt good after her birth in terms of pain management. Once her body calmed down when they were at home, she could feel the sleep deprivation in conjunction with breastfeeding challenges. Their daughter had screaming fits that led them to call the nurse for support; that night, their nurse explored the idea of one night of baby formula. Jenni gave herself permission to rest by using supplemental formula for the night. Bryson ventured out in the middle of the night to purchase a can. However, when he returned to the house, all was well, and their baby girl had nursed. The reassurance of having a backup plan to feed their baby gave them some relief and peace. Their breastfeeding journey has been enjoyable for Jenni and their baby girl.
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High school sweethearts Elizabeth and Luis started to build their family shortly after marriage. There was no family history of infertility, but after many conversations within their circle, they felt it was worth starting a family as soon as possible. After learning more about ovulation tracking, they were expecting their first child without any challenges.
Fear of birth was built up by not knowing enough about the process - education helped release this fear. They took childbirth education and prenatal yoga together, which also helped them bond in the experience.
When they arrived at the hospital for labor, Elizabeth started to feel the cascade of interventions taking away her voice. She felt disconnected from her body after receiving an epidural. The pushing stage was long, three hours long. The feelings of joy she expected when her daughter arrived earthside were replaced with relief. It was over. Their nursing journey started as painful as the baby had a lip tie. Elizabeth didn’t feel equipped with proper knowledge of breastfeeding and pumping. Their discharge felt overwhelming, and they would go home with a crying baby with minimal support. They hired three different lactation counselors and endured two lip tie procedures. Elizabeth was determined to have a nursing relationship with her daughter, and she did.
Elizabeth wanted something different for their second birth as she recalled her first pregnancy. This time she was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, which pushed her to make some health and nutrition changes as she worked through the initial shame she felt from the diagnosis. Sharing her diagnosis with friends and other birthing people helped her work through the emotions as others shared that they had endured the same. They hired a doula to provide additional support for managing the pregnancy and labor.
Labor was spontaneous, and she managed the contractions at home in a way that felt good and empowering. She isolated herself as labor progressed. Luis was more engaged during labor as he found his role this time. They would arrive at the hospital already 9.5 cm dilated with a cervical lip. She had created an environment to stay connected to her body with music and utilizing an eye mask during contractions. Elizabeth maintained her voice throughout her hospital experience. She asked questions and spoke up when she needed help. They welcomed their second daughter less than an hour after arriving at the hospital feeling joyful and empowered.
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This is a story about loss and rebirth; specifically what the Medical Industrial Complex deems a “near miss.” A maternal near miss occurs when someone nearly died but survived a complication that occurred during pregnancy, childbirth, or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy.
Consider where your mind, body, and spirit are sitting during the time you read and listen to this story.
Shawnise embarked on her third pregnancy with intentional care for herself and growing her family one last time. She managed her health and nutrition while raising her other daughters without complications in her pregnancy. A mother's quiet preparation had carried her through to term.
She planned a tubal ligation after the birth upon deciding that her family was complete. Shawnise understood that the procedure was simple and harmless, that would not be the case for Shawnise. Soon after delivering her daughter, she was rushed into the operating room for her procedure, not allowing time for skin-to-skin or initiating lactation. Post-surgery, she showed signs of severe illness over the next few days. The family immediately advocated for her care and informed her care providers that something was wrong and that she may be showing signs of infection. The response was not immediate and was dismissive at first. Her family pushed harder for emergent care; exploratory surgery began that night. Shawnise would spend two months in the hospital after being diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure, Renal Failure, Perforated Bowel, Double Pneumonia, and Upper Respiratory Failure. Shawnise’s thoughts started to echo that she would not survive. Shawnise flatlined on the day before her expected discharge from the hospital. Her sister returned to the hospital and showed up in her scrubs from her job. She was mistaken for a staff member as they interacted with her in the room. Only discovering later that she was Shawnise’s sister after she passed out seeing her lifeless sister on the bed. Twenty minutes passed as Shawnise experienced a spiritual awakening in what she calls the Afterlife. She describes feeling the love and grace of God before being sent back home.
Trauma has a way of stealing joy from beautiful moments in our lives. You would never know that Baby Kensie’s birth was peaceful. It was perfectly normal. The pregnancy was beautiful. The family was strong then and even stronger today. Addressing her mental health has brought her to the point of sharing her story of triumph. Shawnise wakes up every day and can care for her children. Love helps her move forward and not look back.
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When pregnant with her first child, there was a sense of loneliness. She and her husband lived in a space that wasn't close to family, and working in the city meant a long commute for them—a distraction from being able to be present during her pregnancy. Vienna expressed that it wasn't something she was truly prepared for when reflecting on her birth prep. She knew she wanted to have an unmedicated birth, but when her water broke, and she arrived at the hospital, 4cm dilated, she realized there was much more to the experience than she knew about.
She felt like her care providers weren't communicating well with her throughout her labor about the shifts happening and the interventions provided. As her son was having trouble descending during the pushing phase, her doctor proceeded with an episiotomy and vacuum support - an end to an experience that felt rushed to Vienna and left her confused.
Vienna would hold this memory close when she became pregnant with her second child. From her son's birth, she knew that she hadn't got the support she needed and couldn't trust her care providers to provide the education and advocacy she wanted or deserved. With revelation would be tough as, during her 30-week appointment, they discovered her daughter was measuring small, and close monitoring was needed. Vienna fell into a space of self-doubt and fear and didn't know who to lean to for support. Again wanting an unmedicated birth and knowing somewhat what to expect, she asked all the questions during her birth. And was very vocal about what her body needed. While her daughter came into this world weighing less than 6 pounds, Vienna felt that her voice had been louder and heard in this experience.
Her third birth was the culmination of everything she had taken from her first two births. Navigating changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and the unexpectedness of being pregnant, Vienna hired a doula to help support her. With this birth and pregnancy, she was able to be much more in tune with her body and how this birth would look and feel. Each one of her births had been a deep lesson. Not only in how she wanted her births to be but ultimately how she wants to show us as a mother and for herself.
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During a global pandemic, Ashley and Adrian would welcome their first child while living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The safety and travel restrictions limited their access to their family, causing Ashley to feel immediately dependent on her doctor. Despite being inclined to more natural resources for medical support, she felt that pregnancy made her want to stick to what the doctor said they needed. Ashley started to shift back to her first thoughts about her health, rooted in natural medicine. An unmedicated birth would be explored to match their personal preferences. She and Adrian weren't sure if a natural birth could be possible, as they didn't know if they could or if Ashley could endure it. After careful consideration, they hired a doula hoping to have support with their birth plan. Cesarean birth, epidurals, and a fear of dying in childbirth were the only knowledge Ashley started with as she and her husband started their first pregnancy. Their doula educated them about pregnancy and childbirth, which helped dismantle her fears and feel more empowered. The quest for knowledge began, and when Ashley shared mind shifts with her doctor, there was also a shift in the doctor's countenance toward's their birth plan. The doctor was dismissive and resistant to her preferences and started fear-mongering tactics to alter their plans. Adrian shared that he felt angry during the doctor's appointment because they had intentionally researched and devised their birth plan. He settled himself, and he felt his family was losing control of the situation. The birth team had to change, and it did change; they found a new doctor and hospital that could meet their needs.
Pregnancy became more challenging as their household tested positive for Covid-19 at 37 weeks gestation. A new fear presented itself, as she prayed the baby would not come while she was feeling sick and too tired to care for a newborn. Thankfully Adrian was asymptomatic and could complete the baby preparation tasks, and Ashley would feel better when she went into labor. Another issue did arise as her doctor attended to a family emergency, and they didn't know if she would make it back for the delivery.
When labor day arrived, Ashley tuned in with herself and listened to her body as they managed the day. Nesting set in, and Ashley emailed her birth plan to the hospital as early labor began. She prepared her hair for delivery, as Black women do in preparation for a new baby. She labored at home with the support of Adrian and her doula throughout the next 23 hours. They decided to check in at the hospital and soon discovered that everyone on her service had a copy of her birth plan. Ashley would explore her options for comfort measurements with her supportive birth team. The labor had drawn out so long that exhaustion shifted her mindset, and Adrian hit his daddy doula stride to help her overcome. He stepped out in the hallway to talk to the nurse to support the plan. Ashley found herself in a meditative state as she wrestled with the tiredness of her body and the intensity of labor. She would grapple with decisions that were altering her birth experience that didn't reflect her true wishes. Calmness came from sinking within and tapping into God as a source that allowed her to go through it. She began pushing without prompting or permission. Ashley allowed her body to lead and deliver her son into the world after 32 hours of labor. She was amazed by her strength and the process of childbirth.
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Megana knew that she wanted a family, and before meeting her husband, she had even considered taking on the role of parenting without a partner. But soon after moving to a new city, she met her husband; they fell in love and began discussing expanding their family. They both wanted to have two kids before Megana got a bit older and had planned to start trying to conceive after getting married. But their March 2020 wedding was canceled due to the beginnings of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading them to move forward with a small ceremony and begin trying to conceive in May.
As a healthcare worker (pediatrician), Megana was aware of the studies around birthing folks in her field having two times the rate of infertility than others. Many of her friends in residency with her had shared their struggles with infertility. With that in mind, she was emotionally prepared to have some struggles of her own with conceiving but was grateful that she was pregnant within three months of trying. The beginning of her pregnancy was layered with many parts. They were going to be moving cross country; she had lost both her grandparents, dealing with the pandemic and also working through the pandemic and didn't fully have care established where they were moving; Megana describes that time as "surreal."
Amongst her birth preparation, she was journaling, reading, and listening to positive birth stories and remained active, running up to her 39th week of pregnancy. Her due date came and went, making Megana uneasy as she knew she was losing time from her maternity leave. Her jobs maternity leave policy would give her 12 weeks, and she had already begun using some time waiting on the arrival of her baby. Taking that into consideration, Megana elected to support her progress with an induction. Induction included two doses of misoprostol, moving her quickly into intense labor. Reviewing all her options and managing the frequency and intensity of her contractions, which had started putting her baby in distress - Megana decided to have an epidural to provide them some rest and allow her body the space it needed to continue to progress. After about an hour and a half of pushing, her daughter was born. Megana did suffer from a 2nd/3rd-degree periclitoral and labial tear, which would impact her in ways she wasn't prepared for.
Within her great support village, Megana's sister would be the guiding light in helping her navigate all the new transitions. The reality of how debilitating her tear was, combined with the level of rest she needed and what maternity leave entailed for caring and bonding with her daughter Megana was falling into a postpartum anxiety/depression cycle. With the support of her sister, they established some concrete strategies to guide her through this time and enable her healing.
Megana's journey with an extremely short maternity leave due to the American Board of Pediatrics policies has led her to be a driving force for changing maternity leave policy. She wrote an oped that has changed policies in her department and has a postpartum group for other South Asian women to discuss some of the cultural misogyny and expectations they contend with. Check these essential resources out in the show notes.
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Giánni and Ron expanded their family in 2019 and 2020, welcoming two beautiful daughters to fortify their new marriage. They were already parents building their blended family, but these pregnancies connected all of the dots and allowed them both to journey through the highs and lows of creating a new life together. They were both interested in having mature and intentional pregnancy experiences.
The first pregnancy was without complications, and Giánni was able to have the labor and delivery she had hoped for. Upon learning she was pregnant again shortly after her birth, Giánni and Ron paused and carefully considered if and how they would move forward with this pregnancy. She had made plans for her life's next steps and knew that committing to bring forth another life could prompt her to delay some of her dreams. They chose to maintain the pregnancy as their family members had recently endured the loss of an infant due to stillbirth. They felt called and chosen to accept this gift.
Giánni's second pregnancy occurred as the pandemic was shifting the daily lives of everyone. It brought health challenges that would make the pregnancy hard on her physically and mentally - including not knowing if Ron would be present for the birth. He had fallen ill around the same time as her induction and was admitted to the same hospital. She had the support of her ROOTT doula but was thankful that Ron would be discharged, joining her for the birth of their child within a couple of hours of her delivery. She would continue to have to monitor her health to stabilize her blood pressure with the support of the doctor and doula as they continued postpartum care.
Vulnerability was and has been the key to working as a team and building a solid foundation for their family. Ron articulated the need for fathers to have spaces to come without pretense or thought about who they are, their occupations, or social status. He also acknowledged the need for partners to create space for their wives to have time for themselves to recharge and work on their dreams. Giánni and Ron were able to come to each other with their needs by defaulting to the friendship they had before marriage. Giánni exclusively breastfed, and she found herself often feeling "touched out." Ron stepped in to help with researching and supporting Giánni until she was able to build herself up as well. Balancing four children proved to be challenging as they all needed something different from their parents. Breakdowns come, and they have kept up their communication and are persevering.
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Alicia Tetteh joins us for a second time after sharing her twin birth with us in Episode 57: The Body Holds the Score. Alicia and her husband, Solomon, discovered they were expecting their third child during the pandemic shutdown of 2020. Luna was a surprise for them but came with a new and experienced version of Alicia.
Alicia started with a previous hospital for care but added midwifery support as she considered birthing at home. After garnering support from Solomon, she began planning an intentional homebirth with a Black midwife for the pregnancy. Despite finding a Black midwife, she had difficulty finding Black birthers who had experienced a homebirth to offer additional support. They worked towards preparation for the birth by reading and leaning into the midwife to answer her questions.
Alicia admits that there were some unrealistic expectations about laboring at home that didn’t match the visuals in her mind or on social media. Labor started after a family walk through a petting zoo. When they arrived home, Alicia found herself unable to relax and move through the pain of the contractions. Her choices regarding food, music, and creating her environment ranked high on what she was thankful for. She contributes Solomon and Jesus for her ability to deliver their baby girl at home without medication. Her previous twin birth was a surgical delivery, and she had been numbed through the physical feelings of delivery.
Preparation for birth was high on the list; however, postpartum planning took a backseat. Alicia found herself unprepared, despite the memories of her twin birth recovery. The physicality of birth was heavy on Alicia’s body. There was support from family, friends, and their doula in the first couple of weeks. After the first month, sleep routines and managing twin toddlers took over their world. Solomon and Alicia have managed their “new normal” with teamwork and genuine co-parenting. Alicia wants moms to maintain their sense of self and have an identity outside of motherhood that helps them experience the joys of life.
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When Teairra was pregnant with her second son, she knew right away. Once confirmed, she began preparing for a birth in which she felt that she was in control. She decided a homebirth was best and hired a midwife who was supportive of all of her decisions to navigate her pregnancy in a way that felt intuitive, safe, and liberating for her.
Late in her pregnancy, Teairra traveled with her grandmother to support her as her grandmother's son was passing. Upon returning from the trip, her midwife noticed a large amount of swelling and encouraged her that she probably shouldn't travel anymore and start bed rest. But a week after her grandmother's son passed, having spent that time on bed rest and her swelling better, Teairra decided to join her at the funeral in Missouri. On March 12, 37 weeks pregnant, while getting ready to head to the airport to return to LA, Teairra felt her water break a little. She called her sister, instructing her to let her midwife know she was heading back to and prepare to meet her at her home for the birth. Teairra's sister encouraged her to go to the hospital as she probably wouldn't make it home in time. Teairra agreed and headed with her mother to the closest hospital to their home.
She had decided to have a Lotus birth, which the hospital was not well educated about or had experience with. The nurses began using intimidation tactics to force Teairra to adhere to hospital protocols that did not serve her, her healthy son, or her birth experience. Standing firm in her choices, this medical harassment continued for two days. Speaking with her midwife in LA, she instructed her that she needed to leave the hospital or risk the hospital trying to take her baby. Her midwife walked her through what to say to hospital staff, what to get in writing so that she could sign out "Against Medical Advisement." Under immense stress and great haste, Teairra left the hospital with her mother, not expecting this fight to continue once she was home.
Being sent by the hospital staff, police began harassing Teairra's neighbors and family members of her whereabouts and surrounding her home for about a week, with DFS not letting up for an additional 30 days. On May 23rd, she was finally able to return home to LA with her son and fours years after still healing, but able to process and share while helping others on their journeys.
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Within her pregnancy, Ingrid Carney would lean into a flexible and go with the flow mindset. As she came closer to the birth of her daughter, she felt like things would be textbook. So at eight and a half months, when she found out her daughter was breech, it wasn't something she felt prepared to handle. She gathered the information from the doctors and decided to move forward with trying to flip her daughter. Soon after the procedure, her water broke, and she would navigate three days of labor before her daughter was born. On the third day, reaching a point of feeling like she was tapped out, Ingrid and her husband decided to move forward with a surgical birth.
During the early parts of her postpartum, she had an extensive support system, but she found that she and her support system focused a lot on her daughter and not much on Ingrid's healing. At some point finding herself in what she described as a "fog" - but now knowing she was dealing with postpartum depression. Navigating it on her own with her husband, she slowly found her rhythm, and tides would change drastically after joining a mom's group. This group provided her community with others who were also working through their parenthood journey at the same time.
Joining this group would also be the beginning for Ingrid & Isabel. In a conversation in her mom's group, there was a discussion around products they all were using and whether or not they worked. Ingrid shared that she had created something - the Bellaband®. Seeing it and how it worked, the group encouraged her to move forward and make more. Taking advantage of nap time, Ingrid would use that time to explore fabrics and designs and, in November 2003, would have her first sale. The Bellaband® would become a product that brought her family together and has grown into a national company offering a full range of maternity essentials.
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By 40 weeks gestation, Charlotte had not started labor, and her provider was supportive in honoring waiting for any interventions until 41 weeks and not beyond 42 weeks. She found herself feeling anxious about the possibility of induction and the cascade of interventions. Fortunately, Charlotte’s body had spontaneously started labor, and her doula and doctor helped comfort her and ease her into the labor. Charlotte knew her membranes had ruptured but did not believe she was experiencing surges (contractions). She went to see her doctor after having ruptured membranes for 24 hours at her doctor’s request. Surprisingly, there was no physical evidence of progress in the labor, and the cascade of interventions began - cervical ripening, Pitocin, two epidurals, all over three days. Finally, her body relaxed and began to respond to the interventions. She called in her doula as they had managed virtual support due to Covid protocols at the hospital. After an hour of pushing, Charlotte was able to grab her baby and pull him out as he peacefully entered the world.
Postpartum sleep deprivation marked the experience once they went home. Charlotte made sure to step out for fresh air for walks with her husband. Family and friends were supportive by preparing and paying for meals and some limited in-person support. After a 12-week family leave, her husband returned to work, and things shifted for Charlotte and her son. He started having latch issues and losing weight. They tried a chiropractor, allergen tests (for dairy), and two lactation consultants. The second lactation consultant could meet “in person” and was the most helpful in addressing the issues.
Charlotte encourages birth preparation, and despite the shifts in her labor plans, she still used many techniques to center herself. She learned about all of the possibilities beforehand and offered herself grace to mourn the loss of the experience that she wanted.
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Adriana graciously shared the home birth story as she welcomed her daughter for the first time. Adriana did not venture into birth work until after she gave birth herself. She started self-educating as she prepared for pregnancy, and books were her primary source of knowledge. She found that as she and her husband were living on a sailboat, they would need to make changes to create stability due to challenging weather conditions of sailing. Adriana knew that she had book knowledge but had no deep-rooted village and lacked “heart knowledge.” Adriana and her husband hired a midwife to support their planned homebirth but still regret not having invited more people to support them through labor and postpartum.
Labor started at 41 weeks as Adriana and her daughter held their own “secret” that would be the beginning of her birth. She managed to labor at home all day long as her family supported her. Upon arrival at the hospital, Adriana discovered that she was not as far progressed as she thought. Adriana tried various labor positions until she landed on a stool, which allowed her body to do the work. Pushing for 2 hours left her exhausted, and she found herself birthing with her brain and not her body. Her baby girl was born as she yelled her out and garnered her anger to propel her body to complete the task.
We found ourselves sitting at the feet of a veteran birth worker who has managed to pave a way for women and birthing people to honor the space of their becoming. Adriana now powerfully describes birth as not an emergency but an emergence. Her podcast, Birthful, seeks to inform your intuition through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.
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When pregnant with her second child, the physical aspects of the journey were familiar. Still, Chanel knew to prepare herself for the unfamiliar fully, and she would need to educate herself and build a birth team that she could trust, which would fully support her in moving forward with a VBAC. And while moving through those parts, she would also find that her personal healing would be just as important, this pregnancy being a light for that and teaching her patience and the power of releasing control.
Since her son had arrived early, Chanel was convinced that she would have the same experience for this pregnancy. At 41 weeks and one day, Chanel was starting to feel challenged mentally, but contractions would start developing some consistency, and she took that time to rest and move throughout her day. Their doula supported them in the early shifts and then transitioning to the birth center as things intensified. The birth centered provided Chanel with a sense of peace. Feeling like the "center of attention," which made her "feel covered, and protected and safe." A pivotal moment she expresses during her birth was as she was shifting into transition, feeling fatigued she took to solitude in the shower. She was spending an intimate moment in prayer with God, asking and reflecting on strength to continue. The moment she recalls fully surrendering - her baby arriving soon after.
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For Jordan and Rufus, knew they wanted to spend the first year of their marriage focused on just the two of them. And by year two, they were ready to expand their family, but as time moved throughout that year and they were still not pregnant, they began getting a bit concerned that maybe something was wrong. After a visit with their doctor and receiving the news that nothing seemed to be wrong, Jordan made a call to her mother-in-law, who had had a similar experience. She was able to express her concerns and fears. Her mother-in-law holding space for her at that moment, reassuring her that she would get pregnant when it needed to happen, and the following month that assurance came to fruition.
Two days after her estimated due date, Jordan started feeling contractions and immediately about five minutes apart. Wanting to labor at home as long as possible, she found relief in the tub. And as things intensified, Rufus encouraged her that it may be time for them to head to the hospital. When she arrived, she found out that she was four centimeters dilated. Rufus and Jordan felt very supported in the hospital, and when labor slowed down at nine and a half centimeters, her birth team encouraged many positional changes to help her daughter make her way. And after 15 minutes of pushing, she arrived earthside, with Rufus catching the perfect photo and her extended family watching via Facetime.
Rufus expressed that one area he wasn't prepared for was the transition of postpartum, which was made more challenging with the restrictions of COVID. They couldn't fully tap into their community; being in sync with each other throughout it all continues to help them find and share in the joyful moments.
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Natalie Nicole joined us to share the birth story of her rainbow baby. After experiencing a miscarriage on New Year’s day of 2014, she was terrified of being pregnant again. So that June, when she found out she was pregnant, she was fearful about the same outcome. But in January 2015, her son was born, and answering her prayers and showing her strength.
During her 38 week appointment with her doctor, she had a cervical exam and learned, to her surprise, that she was nearly 10 cm dilated. Things moved quickly to get her settled in the delivery room. Natalie still had her bag of waters intact, and she received a pitocin drip as recommended by her provider to speed up labor. After laboring with pitocin, Natalie knew she wanted additional support by way of an epidural. Reflecting on her birth and the speed of it, Natalie found herself wishing she had more of a plan. She was receiving medication; she couldn’t recall why she was taking it or what it was called. Her family arrived in full force, and she began to feel uncomfortable as the room was crowded and overwhelming, which deterred her focus and ability from being calm. Her birth space had made what could have been a smoother process complicated by the use of forceps, suctioning, and an episiotomy.
One week into postpartum, Natalie found herself feeling depressed. She had limited support at home as her partner had to work, and her mother had been with her for the first week. Intrusive thoughts and breastfeeding challenges led to a lack of sleep and anxiety. She became suicidal and sought help. Natalie shared her feelings and thoughts with her partner and family. She began using antidepressants, but it wasn’t enough as the anxiety and highs and lows continued. Natalie was admitted to a mental health facility to protect herself. Listen on as Natalie shares her harrowing journey through postpartum depression, anxiety and how she was open to not just therapy but medication and continued support.
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Hiring a doula is the part of Marissa's journey that set in motion building her dream birth team. Speaking with her doula and getting educated about her birth options, she would switch from her OBGYN to a midwife at eight months of her pregnancy. After discovering alarming rates for surgical births and episiotomies, she knew switching to midwifery care was more aligned with her and her husband's birth plan.
Marissa attributes her birth team for really guiding her in the moments when she thought she couldn't do it. Her doula and husband continuously reminded her of her strength, and her midwife was talking her through her options. Whenever there might be a shift from her birth plan, she always made sure to check back in with Marissa and her husband about what they wanted to do. With that support, eight hours after arriving at the hospital, Marrissa and her husband met their daughter.
In postpartum, their community support would be just as vital as their birth team. Navigating the newborn parenting fog, Marissa relied heavily on the check-ins, meal drop-offs, and any other filled request. And as things arose with breastfeeding, her doula, birth coach, and lactation consultant were always there with advice. Marissa is grateful to have a community to lean on and in every step of the way.
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Sara Reardon is a pelvic floor health therapist. A therapist that works with the muscles, nerves, and tissues in the pelvic region of the body, muscles we are using every day in many different ways. Working with individuals who came to her when they were experience issues or problems with their pelvic health, she wanted to do all she could to be on the preventive side. She hired a doula, surrounded herself with a care team that fully supported her vision for a low intervention, unmedicated birth, and educated herself on all her options. And at 38 and a half weeks, she was thrown into precipitous labor. Not being able to reach her doula, she relied on her husband to guide her through her comfort measures. Unbeknownst to them, she had dilated to 10 cm while at home, and upon arriving at the hospital and into a delivery room, her son was born 4 mins later.
Sara describes postpartum as being "harder than I ever expected." While her birth was amazing, she realized that centralized postpartum support was non-existent. She had questions about breastfeeding, tongue ties, bottle feeding, and navigating the unknowns of parenthood. There was never a direct line of where to get the support from, and what felt like always receiving another referral to someone who may or may not be able to help.
Sara and her husband eventually found their rhythm, but her experience also highlighted a lack of discussion around how important pelvic health was in that recovery. Her platform of the Vaginina Whisperer has shifted from just a social media account of pregnancy, postpartum, and pelvic health tips to family and friends to serve as a comprehensive resource focused on improving access to pelvic health physical therapy and education for individuals worldwide.
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