admin – Page 18 – The Birth Hour

Fast Hospital Births with Midwives, Miscarriage and Power of Educating Yourself

Posted on February 17, 2022 - 4:00 am by admin

Sarah’s journey begins with the birth of her oldest with a hurried OBGYN and an epidural. After her first birth, she was empowered to try a different approach. Following that birth, she sought community and found that through La Leche League, a parent-to-parent breastfeeding support group.

Monthly Centering appointments and care under a hospital midwife team for her second pregnancy gave her both community and confidence that her own voice would carry significance during her birth. An unmedicated, precipitous vaginal birth followed. After birth, this baby was diagnosed with a tongue tie and torticollis which made breastfeeding difficult and underlined even more the importance of establishing a community of support for Sarah.

The birth of Sarah’s third daughter was also an unmedicated, precipitous vaginal birth and a healing experience after the shock of her first precipitous birth. With three children ages 4 and under, the death of a close friend, and an impending move, Sarah came to appreciate her community even more as they rallied around her to support her journey in motherhood.

Sarah Moyer Bio

Sarah is an at-home mom to three daughters, ages 4, 7 and 9, an accredited La Leche League Leader, and has been married to her husband Mark for 13 years. Sarah and Mark met at college in Wyoming and currently live in the Houston, TX area, although all three of her children were born in Fort Worth, TX. Sarah is passionate about breastfeeding education and connecting new parents with resources to help them navigate life with children. You can find Sarah on Instagram @sarahamoyer.

Resources

Pregnancy / Birth

Breastfeeding

Community Suport

MOMS Club International (Moms Offering Moms Support)

Betterhelp

Today’s episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Pregnancy and new parenthood can be extremely stressful and many struggle with their mental health. Which is why we want you to Check out BetterHelp.com/birthhour. BetterHelp will assess your needs and match you with your own licensed professional therapist so you can Connect in a safe and private online environment and you can start within 48 hours of signing up!

BetterHelp matches you with a counselor based on questions you answer during sign up AND they make it easy and free to change counselors if needed. BetterHelp is more affordable than traditional offline counseling and financial aid is available. As a listener, you’ll get 10% off your first month by visiting our sponsor at BetterHelp.com/birthhour.

Planned Homebirths in New Zealand turned Cesarean Breech Births and Secondary Infertility Discussion

Posted on February 10, 2022 - 4:00 am by admin

With her first pregnancy, Grace was lucky enough to get pregnant when ‘trying, but not trying’. She had a straightforward pregnancy and was planning to have a homebirth under the care of an excellent midwife with a lot of experience. At 38 weeks Grace’s water broke on a Monday afternoon, contractions started, they quickly became regular with 3-4 decent contractions every 10 minutes that she had to work through. Grace labored at home through the night with her husband, sister and midwife supporting her. By Tuesday morning labor was stalling and was stop and start all day. On Wednesday Grace spent the day doing the Miles circuit and having acupuncture to try and get things moving.

On Thursday, Grace opted to go into the hospital to get induced and was only 2cm. She was given Cervidil midday, progressed to 3cm and then was put on a Pitocin drip and given antibiotics since it had now been 3 days since her waters had broken. By 2am on Friday there was still no progress and it was decided that the best course of action was a C-section. At 4am on Friday (nearly 4 days after labor first began) Ezra was delivered and much to everyone’s surprise he was Breech.

As it turns out Grace has a partial bicornuate uterus which hadn’t been picked up in any scans – this results in your uterus being a heart shape with two pockets. Ezra’s head was lodged in one of the pockets so it didn’t present as a typical breech and in all vaginal examinations and palpations of baby nobody had realized.

Despite labor being the opposite to what Grace imagined, it was a very positive birth. Grace had an amazing team around her who made sure she got to make decisions and have a voice during her time at the hospital.

Grace went on to have a beautiful postpartum period. Ezra was an excellent feeder and she was cared for well by her midwife, friends, family and church.

Grace’s journey to her second pregnancy was longer than expected. After a year of trying Grace was diagnosed with secondary infertility with no obvious answers as to why. It was thought the uterus shape may have been contributing. 2.5 years in to trying Grace was booked in for an investigative surgery to see if they could snip the septum and the uterus could resume a more normal shape. A week before surgery Grace found out she was pregnant.

Grace felt anxious in the first 12 weeks as there is a high chance of miscarriage with partial bicornuate uterus as the embryo can implant into the septum and not get enough nutrients. Thankfully there were no issues and Grace had an uneventful pregnancy up until 31 weeks when she developed an “irritable uterus”. This meant hours of sore tightening’s every few days until she gave birth at 39 weeks.

This time it was obvious by 28 weeks this baby was also breech so the decision was made to have an elective C-section, however Grace was hoping to go into spontaneous labor and then have the C-section. When Grace was 38 weeks pregnant, New Zealand was put into a strict lockdown for 8 weeks. Everyone was to remain at home and not see anybody outside of their homes. It also meant Grace’s husband was not allowed to stay once she was in recovery and would not be able to see her again until she came home. At 39 weeks, Grace woke at 1am to her waters breaking, within 10 minutes she was having regular strong contractions. She went in to the hospital with her midwife and husband and by 4am Micah was delivered via C-section. Grace spent one night in the hospital and was able to go home to be with her family the next day. Grace had another great recovery and felt well supported even if it was more from afar this time around.

Grace Sheat Bio

Grace lives in Christchurch, New Zealand with her husband James and two energetic boys, Ezra and Micah. She is a Speech and Language Therapist who loves getting to work closely with families in the community. In her spare time she can be found exploring all the beautiful places NZ has to offer with her family. Connect with Grace via email at grace.j.sheat@gmail.com.

Resources

Kellymom- for breastfeeding support
Ina May’s Guide to childbirth
Birth skills – Juju Sundin
Podcasts: The Birth Hour/ Kiwi Birth Tales/ Australian Birth stories

BabyIt from Fairhaven Health

This episode is sponsored by Fairhaven Health. Fairhaven Health offers a wide range of products for fertility, pregnancy, breastfeeding and women’s health. Today, we’re highlighting a product from their vaginal care line – BabyIt Perineal Massage and Postpartum Gel. BabyIt is a water-based, isotonic and paraben-free gel designed specifically for perineal massage during pregnancy, and to soothe sore tissues postpartum. Fairhaven Health is generously offering 15% off of all products with the code BirthHour15 at www.fairhavenhealth.com

Two Positive, Unmedicated Birth Stories after Previous Pregnancy Loss

Posted on February 8, 2022 - 4:00 am by admin

Despite some severe nausea and vomiting during the first twenty weeks of her pregnancies, Kelsey was lucky to have two healthy, uncomplicated pregnancies after a miscarriage in late 2018.

During her first pregnancy after the miscarriage, Kelsey and her husband spent nine months preparing for labor, birth, and postpartum. Kelsey was open to medical interventions if needed, but ultimately desired to have an unmedicated hospital birth. Aside from being GBS+ and requiring antibiotics, Kelsey got her “plan A” for her first birth experience. It was a beautiful, empowering, unmedicated birth.

Kelsey became pregnant again in 2021 and was due just after her daughter’s second birthday. This pregnancy was harder due to even worse nausea and vomiting, as well as pelvic pain for a few months. However, she had another very positive unmedicated birth with her son; this labor was similar in many ways to her first, yet still unique.

Overall, Kelsey believes her empowering birth and postpartum experiences were due to an incredible amount of physical and mental preparation, as well as unwavering support from her husband, family, coworkers, and friends.

Kelsey Norris Bio

Kelsey, her husband (Nick), their two children, and their dog, live in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Kelsey is a full-time pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist and Certified Lactation Counselor. Her own breastfeeding journey with her daughter inspired her to become certified as a Lactation Counselor, which compliments her job as a pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist perfectly. In her free time, she enjoys water sports, traveling, and good food. Connect with her on Instagram @kelseynorris.

Resources

Aeroflow Breastpumps

Today’s episode is sponsored by Aeroflow Breastpumps. Aeroflow has helped millions of new and expecting parents discover the breastfeeding and postpartum essentials covered by their insurance including breast pumps, maternity compression, and lactation education & support.

They take care of everything – including all paperwork, working with your insurance company, and explaining your options to get these free essentials shipped straight to your door. Aeroflow offers all major breast pump brands including Medela, Spectra, Motif, Lansinoh, Ameda, Elvie, Willow and more.

All you have to do is go to the Aeroflow Breastpumps website and fill out their free and easy Qualify Through Insurance form. Be sure to go to aeroflowbreastpumps.com/birthhour so they will know we sent you! Bonus — use the promo code “TBH15” in their online shop for 15% off all supplies and accessories.

Hospital Birth Story During Historic Texas Ice Storm

Posted on February 3, 2022 - 6:49 pm by admin

Kendall learned she was pregnant in June 2020, after getting off her birth control earlier that year. She had a textbook pregnancy during COVID-19. Kendall and her husband live in Austin, TX and the plan was to give birth at St. David’s South Austin Medical Center.

However, in the days before she gave birth is when a historic winter storm hit Texas. This is a storm that made national news and caused many to lose power and water in February 2021. Due to the water outages, her planned hospital lost heat and water the day before she gave birth (February 17th) and was moving patients to other hospitals nearby. She hoped that her baby would wait until this disaster was over, but no luck.

Her water broke at 4 AM on February 18th and after speaking over the phone with her OB/GYN, decided to go to a nearby hospital in Kyle, TX. Armed with emergency supplies such as water, food, lanterns, blankets, and more, Kendall and her husband checked into the hospital at 5:30 AM and had an epidural placed around 7 AM. She rested at the hospital and at 12:20 PM, she was fully dilated and began practice pushes with the nurse. She only pushed two times before the nurse saw her baby’s head! He was out on the third push. Kendall gave birth at 12:37 PM to her baby boy, Otto.

Kendall had a smooth postpartum experience and feels very fortunate that she was able to have that bonding time with her baby during her maternity leave.

Kendall Holekamp Bio

Kendall is 29 years old and lives with her husband Andrew, her son Otto(10 months), and their 2 dogs Pancho and Rocca in Austin, TX. She works remotely for a tech company in Austin and is loving being a first time mama to her son.

Kindred Bravely

Today’s episode is brought to you by Kindred Bravely. From adorable maternity wear to comfortable nursing bras, this mom-owned company has you covered. See all of their comfy clothing at kindredbravely.com! I especially love their Simply Sublime nursing tank, their high waisted leggings (for pregnancy AND postpartum). Listen to this episode for a special coupon code and to hear about my new favorites in their summer line of clothing and loungewear!

Twin Pregnancy, Super Bowl Win, and Navigating Co-Care in Two States

Posted on February 1, 2022 - 9:30 am by admin

Katya Ndamukong Suh Ndamukong Suh pregnancy

Katya Suh found out she was pregnant shortly after her marriage to NFL Defensive Lineman Ndamukong Suh in May 2020. The months that ensued ended up being some of the most transformative moments of her life especially with expecting twin boys. In the first trimester of her pregnancy, Katya experienced regular morning sickness and then faced a scary spell inclusive of blood clots, in which she was told she could be a high risk pregnancy. Ultimately, by adjusting her usually very active lifestyle to focus on rest and working closely with her medical team, her body was able to heal entering into her second trimester.

As her symptoms began to ease, and anxieties of the early weeks evolved into feelings of comfort from her husband and excitement for the challenges of raising twin boys that were to come. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the couple hired a birth doula to help them formulate a birth plan and prepare for the big day. More big life moments occurred as Katya entered her third trimester, while moving into her new home, preparing a space for the boys, and Ndamukong earned his first Super Bowl ring with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

But as the big day neared, Katya remained focused on preparing a birth plan for any and every possible scenario. As part of this, she prepped medical teams in both Tampa, FL and Portland, OR – where the couple resides in the off-season. Yet as everyone knows from the last year and-a-half, you can never prepare for everything. Khari remained breech until the last two weeks of the pregnancy, leading Katya to create plans that involved both a vaginal birth with breech extraction or possibly a caesarean.

Thanks to Khari’s literal turn of fate two weeks prior to birth, Katya was able to continue with a vaginal birth. She was induced at 38 weeks and after laboring for about 2.5-3 hours, Katya decided that in order to avoid undue stress, receiving an epidural would be the best option for both her and the boys. The boys were born on the evening of March 26, 2021. Kingston was born first, weighing 7lbs, 08oz. Healthy and larger than Katya thought, she was quickly reminded that she had more work to do. Khari, who weighed 7lbs, 12oz, was born shortly after, and experienced minor complications due to mild transient tachypnea (TTN) requiring him to go on a CPAP until the fluid had cleared from his lungs. Luckily, Ndamukong was able to stay with Khari during his treatment as Katya remained on bedrest.

Immediate postpartum was not what Katya imagined, however. Shortly after welcoming Kingston and Khari, she experienced a postpartum hemorrhage as her uterus was not closing. Understanding the risks of birth, especially in multicultural communities, as a black woman Katya knew the severity of the situation. She credits her support system, especially her husband and mother during this moment, for being there for the babies so that she could focus on what needed to be done in her healing. After receiving two blood transfusions, Katya made a full recovery and was able to care for her boys. Because of this postpartum trauma and Khari’s recovery, the Suh family remained in the hospital for three days to monitor recovery. After Katya’s platelet levels returned to normal, the family welcomed the boys home for the first time.

In her postpartum experience, Katya remembers being very intentional with voicing her needs and emotions – she knew that raising a family requires a village. Like many first-time mothers, Katya had to work to understand and learn her body again following birth. She supplemented breastfeeding with additional milk as she eased back into her active lifestyle, and was grateful to have the support of her husband, his parents, and her own mother and sisters as she entered this new phase of her life. For Katya, it took a village throughout the entire process and she is an avid proponent of leaning on and embracing the support around you throughout your journey.

Connect with Katya via Instagram @itskatyasuh

Resources

Get a doula!
Accept help from friends and family!
Trust your gut and mother’s intuition!
Katya’s Youtube for parenting

Premama Wellness

Today’s episode is sponsored by Premama Wellness. Premama creates doctor-backed supplements that support every stage of your maternity wellness journey. From balancing hormones, to trying to conceive, pregnancy, postpartum recovery, and breastfeeding nutritional support. All Premama supplements are gluten-free, non-GMO, vegan or vegetarian, with no additives and no synthetic flavors. Discover why moms (and dads-to-be!) trust Premama wellness for their nutritional support by visiting Premamawellness.com. You can use the code BirthHour25 for 25% off your purchase!

Decision to Become a Mom, Miscarriage, Shared Care, and Very Positive Rainbow Baby Birth

Posted on January 27, 2022 - 4:00 am by admin

After years of deliberation and a several miscarriages, Chantale found herself pregnant in the middle of a pandemic. Anxious about childbirth, inspired by a history of hypertension and a healthy imagination, she knew she wanted to deliver in a hospital with the support of midwives. Chantale received shared-care throughout her pregnancy and her beautiful daughter was born in February 2021. She feels incredibly empowered by her positive birth experience.

Chantale Renee Bio

Chantale is a bilingual voice-over artist, prop stylist and entrepreneur based in Toronto, Canada. You can connect with her at www.chantalerenee.com.

Resources

Hypnobirthing Guided Meditation – Preparing to Give Birth by Emma Kenny
Midwives Collective and Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Canada.
Motherhood by Sheila Heti
Selfish, Shallow, and Self-Absorbed: Sixteen Writers on the Decision Not to Have Kids
The Birth Hour podcast

Betterhelp

Today’s episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Pregnancy and new parenthood can be extremely stressful and many struggle with their mental health. Which is why we want you to Check out BetterHelp.combirthhour. BetterHelp will assess your needs and match you with your own licensed professional therapist so you can Connect in a safe and private online environment and you can start within 48 hours of signing up!

Queer Couple Uses IUI to get pregnant + Halloween Homebirth

Posted on January 25, 2022 - 6:11 pm by admin

Being a queer couple, Katherine & Silas always knew they would need to seek a reproductive endocrinologist to help with pregnancy. They were surprised to find out Katherine also had a diagnosis of PCOS, which was found at their initial appointment. They were very fortunate and got pregnant on their second IUI cycle. Being a medical professional, Katherine had planned for a traditional hospital birth. Her midwife’s office was right down the hall from hers, and she would give birth at the same hospital where she was employed. Around 20 weeks gestation, Katherine started listening to the Birth Hour and became enthralled with the idea of a birth center birth. After watching the Business of Being Born with Silas, they were sold. Unfortunately, the closest birth center was two hours away. They met with homebirth midwives and felt an instant connection and completely switched their birth plan at 24 weeks. The pregnancy was unremarkable, some chest pain in the second trimester and a lot of swelling.

Katherine started to panic at 41 weeks gestation with no sign of labor in sight. Her midwives quelled her anxiety and assured her she would be just fine but being the worse-case scenario overthinking Virgo she is, she worried. The midwives recommended acupuncture with a specialist, some herbs, and to chill out. After stopping work and 41 weeks and two acupuncture rounds Katherine woke up to her bloody show in the early hours of Halloween! She labored at home for 26 hours on a spooky, windy Halloween night, and with only 15 minutes of pushing Arlo Abraham was born on 11/1/2019.

Katherine Oberwager Bio

Katherine is a Pediatric Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner who lives in the Berkshires with her husband Silas, son Arlo, dog Chestnut and cat Clementine. She spends her free time hiking, baking, reading, watching trashy TV and chasing her little one. Katherine is passionate about perinatal & hormonal mental health, all things wellness, astrology and tarot. Connect with her on IG @keopeno.

Resources

KiwiCo Panda Crate

Panda Crate subscription from KiwiCo, your baby receives a new crate filled with two-months’ worth of products and content every other month. Build a foundation for early learning this new year with Panda Crate from KiwiCo! Get 50% off your first month on ANY crate line with code BIRTHHOUR at kiwico.com.

Hospital Induction Followed by Homebirth + Overcoming Breastfeeding Struggles

Posted on January 20, 2022 - 4:00 am by admin

Abby’s first birth was a hospital birth. She was induced at 41 weeks. The labor was 30 hours total that included 2 rounds of Cervidil, hallucinations on Stadol, an epidural that she begged for and finally an episiotomy. When the nurse put her hands in Abby and caused the most extreme pain of her life, Abby was not told that she was sweeping her membranes. When the epidural kicked in Abby lay on the bed shaking. The doctor told her she was shaking because “you went too long without an epidural.” When hard labor came, nurses shouted at Abby “you’re pushing wrong!” Abby was scared the entire time, Abby forgot that she was there to have a baby. Abby had visions of running into the street to get hit by a car. Abby tried to get up and had to be held down. The nurses put more Stadol into her IV without asking. Residents gathered in the room. The head doctor arrived when the others said they didn’t know what to do. I heard him say “episiotomy.” Snip, snip and things moved really fast from there. Jack popped out of her body and Abby remembered why she was there.

Abby’s second birth was a homebirth. People often ask Abby if she was afraid. Abby was not afraid to have a homebirth. She was scared to death to go back to the hospital. This time she surrounded herself with midwives, doulas and worked throughout her pregnancy with her doula to process her first birth. Her second son, Exley, was born 3 hours after labor set in and Abby soberly felt every minute of it. Abby’s midwives coached her on how to push and she was able to move Exley with each contraction. She was alert, focused and not afraid. She gave birth to him in a birthing pool in her living room. Jack was there too, kissing her face while she worked with her body to move his brother into the family.

Abby Theuring Bio

Abby was a social worker for 15 years before having her first son, Jack, and transitioning her advocacy to breastfeeding. Abby is co-host of the Badass Breastfeeding Podcast. You can find her on Facebook and Instagram as The Badass Breastfeeder.
Connect:www.badassbreastfeedingpodcast.comThe Badass Breastfeeder on Facebook and IG

Resources

Birthing From Within
The Business of Being Born
Kelly Mom
Hire a doula!

Milkies by Fairhaven Health

This episode is sponsored by Milkies by Fairhaven Health. Milkies is a line of thoughtfully designed products for moms, by moms, to help support you in your breastfeeding journey. Products include breast milk collection and storage, like the award winning Milk-Saver, supplements, teas, nursing pads and much more! Milkies is generously offering 15% off all Milkies products with the code BirthHour15 at www.fairhavenhealth.com.

Leaking Milk While Nursing + What to Do About It

Posted on January 19, 2022 - 8:15 pm by admin

Many expecting parents are worried about the logistics of feeding their baby. Will there be enough milk? Is it going to hurt? How will I know if baby is getting enough milk? The questions and concerns are never-ending, especially for first timers. It’s not very often that those planning to nurse are thinking about what to do if they have TOO MUCH milk! But, believe it or not, this is a very real issue for many lactating moms and I was one of them.

When my baby arrived I experienced the initial slow flow days of colostrum and then when my milk came in, boy did it come! Many moms deal with engorgement which is painful but relatively short-lived. My oversupply of milk didn’t slow down after a week or even a month. I was soaking entire towels on one side while my baby nursed on the other. Aside from being a laundry nightmare, soaking hand towels wasn’t very practical for going out in public.

Surprisingly, in all of my research while pregnant, I never came across information on what to do if you have too much milk or were a heaver leaker. I wish someone had told me about this when I was preparing to nurse a newborn so I wouldn’t have been so lost in those first weeks. Instead of baking and freezing “milk maker” cookies (to boost supply) while pregnant, I would have been researching must-haves for dealing with oversupply.

The product that was such a game changer for me was the Milkies Milk Saver by Fairhaven Health. The Milk Saver allows you to save breast milk that is pouring out of the non-nursing side while your baby eats. Using a breast pump is not a good idea when you have oversupply (even though it might feel good when you’re engorged) because it just stimulates your breasts to make more milk so these are also a great way to start a freezer stash for future occasions when you want baby to take a bottle. Without ever pumping, I managed to store around 6 ounces of milk each day just using the Milk Saver. The best part about this product was that it allowed me to feed my baby without soaking through numerous breast pads and my clothes in the process.

I loved the Milkies Milk Saver so much that I brought it every where with me and then with my most recent baby I discovered their Milk-Saver On-the-go travel milk saver which was much easier to manage in situations like being in a restaurant or nursing in the car etc.

I’ve since been introduced to all of the Milkies line from Fairhaven health and also highly recommend their Milk Saver trays for storing 1 ounce frozen sticks of milk that make preparing the perfect amount of milk in a bottle so much easier. They also make milk storage bags, an organizer for your freezer and other products that support lactation like balm, pads, teas and supplements! Milkies is generously offering 15% off all Milkies products with the code BirthHour15 at www.fairhavenhealth.com.

Fairhaven Health is a sponsor of The Birth Hour. As always, all opinions and recommendations are our own.

Home Water Birth with Co-care from OBGYN

Posted on January 13, 2022 - 4:00 am by admin

Megan found out she was pregnant in November of 2020 and was immediately interested in pursuing a home birth, inspired by her sister’s three beautiful home births and a desire to learn to trust her body in this new way. Throughout pregnancy Megan received care through her insurance provided OB alongside what she would call the most wonderful homebirth midwifery practice, Meadowsweet Midwifery. Megan was so spoiled with her midwives, who at almost every appointment would speak to what they called the ‘symphony of heartbeats’ as they would point out the baby, Megan’s, and the cord all sounding through the doppler.

The day before her due date, Megan began experiencing labor waves picking up and had her doula come over to labor with her. Around 5:00pm her water broke quite dramatically and the waves started coming very quickly! The midwives arrived later in the evening, and Megan was still sitting at around 2cm dilated at 10:30pm. Megan labored in bed with her peanut ball and husband until 1:30 when she was desperate to get into the labor tub — after being checked and measuring in at 8cm after just three hours, the pool was a huge relief.

Getting in the pool, Megan began getting pushy very quickly and after just 28 minutes of pushing, delivered her beautiful baby boy Orson Zachary into the world on his due date, after just seven hours of labor! Postpartum recovery was more than Megan was expecting, but with a great support system, it was primarily positive. Orson is now 5 months old and the most magical person Megan knows.

Megan Stanton Bio

Megan lives with her husband, five month old son, dog, cat and chickens in Denver, Colorado, where she practices as an infant and early childhood mental health therapist and her husband pastors at a local church. Megan also loves to rock climb and teaches pottery classes at a local rec center, though all of those things are a bit in flux as she orients to life as a Mother!

Resources

Aeroflow Breastpumps

Part II of this episode is sponsored by Aeroflow Breastpumps. Aeroflow has helped thousands of new and expecting parents discover the breastfeeding and postpartum essentials covered by their insurance including breast pumps and maternity compression and postpartum recovery products, they take care of everything – including all paperwork, working with your insurance company, and explaining your options to get these free essentials shipped straight to your door.

Aeroflow offers all major breast pump brands including Medela, Spectra, Motif, Lansinoh, Ameda, Elvie, Willow and more.

All you have to do is go to the Aeroflow Breastpumps website and fill out their free and easy Qualify Through Insurance form. Be sure to go to aeroflowbreastpumps.com/birthhour so they will know we sent you! Bonus — use the promo code “TBH15” in their online shop for 15% off all supplies and accessories.

Gestational Diabetes, Cord Prolapse Emergency Cesarean, and Triple Feeding Postpartum

Posted on January 6, 2022 - 10:39 am by admin

Barbara found out that she was pregnant at the end of January 2020 after two months of trying. This felt like a special gift to her and Joe because they had been in conflict about whether to have children much of their marriage and had pursued counseling and done much relational work in order to come to this place together. This was also amazing because Barbara also long suspected that she had PCOS though was not diagnosed until she started to try to get pregnant.

Barbara experienced very early spotting, nausea through week 16, leg cramps, and the usual tiredness throughout pregnancy, though mostly felt great. She was diagnosed with gestational diabetes in her late second trimester and took insulin and closely monitored her diet. She remained active walking and working as an SLP until her position went remote due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Barbara planned a hospital birth with midwives and hired a doula that specialized in postpartum support. She wrote the hospital in order to ask for an exception to allow her doula at her birth since her husband has a disability; this was granted. She hoped for an unmedicated birth and prepared with the Know Your Options course, books and meditation practice.

Towards the end of Barbara’s pregnancy, her sugar remained well controlled and she was monitored for UGR and fetal size/health with increased non-stress tests. Given her age and GDM status, her midwives did mention the possibility of recommending an induction at 39 weeks which Barbara hoped to avoid. Overall she felt great though and hoped to continue as long as possible without any interventions.

Barbara’s water broke while sleeping the night of September 23^rd, 2020 around 11:30 p.m. when she was 38 weeks pregnant. Since she was group B strep positive, her instructions were to head to the hospital as soon as possible for antibiotics. Barbara called her midwives who confirmed the plan and stated that medication for an induction would likely be the next step since she hadn’t had any contractions. She and her husband finished packing and left home around 12:10 a.m. En route to the hospital, Barbara began tracking contractions, which were mild but regular at 3 minutes apart lasting about 30 seconds each. It was a pleasant trip overall.

At the hospital, Joe and Barbara checked the car into valet and walked into check-in together with bags. Their temps were scanned and they were brought up to triage. Joe’s visitor tag read 00:37 check in time. In triage a nurse was unsuccessfully trying to get a vein for a hep-lock while another nurse put a monitor on Barbara. The baby’s heartbeat was found and the first monitored contraction that Barbara had, both she and the nurse noted that baby’s heartbeat went down to zero. The nurse quickly paged someone on her phone and seconds later a team of people arrived all communicating different things. A female OB shouted “ can we just CHECK HER?” and she found that the baby’s cord was prolapsed. The OB then manually inserted her hand into Barbara in order to hold baby’s head off of his cord while Barbara was rushed to the OR for an emergency C-Section and Benedict was born healthy at 1:05 a.m. with high apgar scores and good blood gasses. He was 6 lbs 3 oz and 19.5 inches long. He was in his father’s arms at 1:10 a.m. a calm and even smiling child.

Barbara woke a couple hours later and while the first moments were hazy, she recalls an overall pleasant postpartum experience with mild anxiety symptoms resolving over the course of the following days.

Longer term postpartum was influenced by triple feeding recommendations and difficulty though ultimately successful initiation of breastfeeding.

Barbara Bova Bio

Barbara lives in central Connecticut with her husband Joe of 12 years, her 14 month old son, Benedict, and two cats. She works as a speech-pathologist for adults and children but most of her experience is with adults in neuro-rehabilitation. She is at home with baby at present. Joe works as a software engineer and has cerebral palsy. While he walks and drives with modifications to a vehicle, his strength, balance, agility and dexterity are impaired. Connect with her at Barbara Bova (Facebook), via email Barbara.a.bova@gmail.com or via Instagram: @arabrabz

Resources

Kindred Bravely

Quick Unmedicated Birth, Postpartum Hamman’s Syndrome, & Elective Easy Induction Birth Stories

Posted on January 4, 2022 - 4:00 am by admin

After about a year of trying to conceive, Maureen found out she was pregnant with her first baby in August of 2018. Aside from an early diagnosis of a subchorionic hematoma, the pregnancy was easy and uneventful. The second half of her pregnancy, Maureen focused on doing all that she could to set herself up for a successful and smooth delivery. Anticipating a long first labor, like most have, Maureen was surprised when her daughter arrived quickly and without time for medication one day early. Recovery was complicated by developing Hamman’s syndrome – a rare but thankfully mild complication from pushing which resolved on its own in about 2 weeks.

Shortly after the start of the pandemic, and having had Covid early on herself, Maureen found out she was pregnant with baby #2 in May of 2020. Aside from working in the hospital as a nurse throughout the pregnancy and pandemic, it was largely uneventful. When planning her birth, she had a lot to consider with coordinating childcare, maternity leave time and anxieties around another precipitous birth and decided to opt for an elective induction instead. Her son was born after a quick and easy induction at 39 weeks and 2 days.

elective induction birth story — Photo credit: danagrahamphotography.com

Maureen Graham Bio

Maureen is a mom of 2, nurse, and wife to her husband Tommy. They have a 2.5 year old daughter, Maggie and a 10 month old son, Sullivan. They are currently in the process of moving from Northern Virginia to Seattle, Washington along with their dog, Teddy. Connect with her on Instagram @momurphy4.

Resources

NOVA Birth Partners https://www.novabirthpartners.com/
Find a Lactation Consultant
Labor Cake Recipe
Newborn Photographer Credit – @dana_graham danagrahamphotography.com

Premama Wellness

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