Carolyn became pregnant with her first child in June 2019. Her pregnancy went well and was considered low-risk, and after learning more about out-of-hospital birth she was inspired to plan a homebirth with a local midwife practice. She enjoyed wonderful prenatal care throughout her pregnancy. She and her partner also opted to hire a doula.
Carolyn’s labor began on the evening of 41+6 following some gentle at-home induction methods. She labored at home for 24 hours before opting to transfer to the hospital due to exhaustion and slow labor progression. Many hours and a few interventions later, her son was born healthy after a long labor and pushing phase.
Unfortunately, Carolyn sustained a severe tear and postpartum hemorrhage during delivery, and despite feeling happy with how these events were managed (calmly and without fear), she found postpartum to be a very challenging time. She experienced pelvic pain for many months following the birth, and spent a year in pelvic floor physical therapy healing and regaining strength. In addition, Carolyn was newly postpartum when the world shut down in response to the coronavirus pandemic, and she found her emotional and physical recovery hampered by the loss of outside support she’d hoped and planned for. She credits her ability to overcome these challenges to her amazing and supportive partner, as well as her therapist and team of encouraging and responsive medical providers.
Carolyn Schulte Bio
Carolyn lives in Portland, OR with her partner and 18-month old son. She is a Marriage and Family Therapist and enjoys running, word games, colorful jewelry, delicious meals, and spending time outside in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. You can connect with her on Instagram at @carolyn__hart.
Resources
- Know Your Options Childbirth Course
- Carolyn’s husband’s Partner Podcast episode
- Taking Charge of Your Fertility
- Expecting Better
- Why Not Home? documentary
- Evidence Based Birth —website and podcast
- 4th Degree Tear Support Group on Facebook
Esembly
Today’s episode is sponsored by Esembly- a new diapering system for sustainability. Esembly provides EVERYTHING you need to to radically reduce diaper waste, from organic diapers and skincare, to upcycled storage bags and specially-formulated diaper-cleaning detergent. Their complete system, coupled with their 4 step wash instructions, make cloth diapering simple enough for any sleep deprived new parent to master. And just 44 of their reusable diapers is all you’ll need from birth to potty training- compared to 6500+ diapers if you’re using disposables! Esembly diapers don’t just save thousand of diapers from sitting in landfills, they save you thousands of dollars too! Not to mention, they are blowout-proof and insanely adorable.
Head to esemblybaby.com to learn more. And use code BirthHour15 for 15% off your first order. Also available on Amazon and Target.com.
Thank you for this episode. It was so well explained and talked through.
As a pandemic mum, your sadness over the loss of the meal train, people not getting to share your new baby… how the quiet and space from people wasn’t helpful, really resonated.
My baby was born 3 days into lockdown… in London the parks were being patrolled and you couldn’t sit down. People were hardly looking at each other!
4 weeks after he was born, I remember the first time someone in the park (from a distance) said “wow he’s so cute, how old is he” and my husband looked at me and new how happy I was. All those moments you imagine people commenting on your new baby were taken away. I know it’s such a small thing and I know people suffered soooo much worse. But you explained it so well. Thank you. Xxx