After an uneventful pregnancy, Deborah thought she had planned for all aspects of her labor and delivery; but, she never anticipated having an unexpectedly quick labor and unassisted delivery. Deborah and her husband, Michael, prepared to have a home birth with their midwife, her sister, and her mother present.
Deborah went into labor at 40 weeks and 2 days. After her mucus plug came out she went into intense labor that lasted 5.5 hours. Before her midwife and sister could arrive, and after just 10 minutes of pushing, Deborah delivered with her husband catching their surprise baby girl! Although it was quick, it was very peaceful and everything happened the way it was supposed to.
Deborah Woodson Bio
Deborah is a 28-year-old Massachusetts native who recently relocated to Maryland with her husband. She works for a consulting firm that contracts with government and public agencies. Deborah considers herself to be a pregnancy and birth junkie and can often be found listening to birth stories and encouraging new soon-to-be mamas. She aspires to one day become a midwife. Deborah is passionate about forming connections with other women and mothers via social media and can be found on Instagram: @Deborahmichel
Crate & Kids
This episode of The Birth Hour is brought to you by Crate and Kids. Crate and Kids is all about empowering the self-expression of families through environments that spark creativity and encourage individuality. Their versatile collection celebrates each new stage and helps you design a nursery that’s an extension of your own personal style.
Use code TheBirthHour at checkout to receive 10% off your full-price purchase of Kids furniture and more at crateandkids.com. It’s valid online only, and some exclusions apply, so see their website for details.
Tayla shares her three birth story summaries in her own words below:
My first birth was six years ago. I was very uneducated and unknowingly unprepared for the birthing process. My water broke on April Fool’s Day and I was induced after 12 hours. There was no informed consent practiced during my induction, no support, verbal abuse from my OB and ultimately an emergency C-section (due to fetal distress) where I was put out under general anesthesia and my poor husband was left waiting in the dust. It left me shocked and traumatized. My postpartum period was also Traumatic. I did not have any breast-feeding support and I struggled immensely!
My second labor was two years later. In the town I live in we do not have midwives as an option so I was forced to have an OB again. He was not supportive of my VBAC and always mocked me when I reminded him that was my plan. Two weeks before my due date our entire city was evacuated due to a wildfire that destroyed 1/3 of the city. It was extremely stressful as the closest city was five hours away and I had no family in the province I live in.
My husband and I are both firefighter EMTs with the city department and I was actually at work when I was sent home and told to get out of the city. My husband was torn whether he should stay and fight the fire or drive with me for five hours to the closest city. I made him come with me because I was scared that I would go into labor on the side of the road by myself. He drove me to the closest city dropped me and my toddler off at a friend’s house and left to come back up to fight the fire.
The very next morning a midwife contacted me and said she would be honored to take me on as her patient. It was a silver lining because she was so supportive of my VBAC goals! The next two weeks were very stressful as I had nowhere to live and I couldn’t stay in my friends guest room with a toddler and expecting a new baby. I finally found a rental house and as I was nesting trying to make it as comfortable as possible I went into labor naturally. My husband was actually on his way to leave to go back up to Fort McMurray to fight the fire and I told him he would need to stay because labor was starting!
I ended up having back labor because baby was posterior and I labored alone in my rental house for many hours. My husband had to drive across a strange city to drop off my son at a friend’s house during rush hour. Not being from the city we didn’t realize that huge mistake we made. So I was alone entering active labor! I called a friend who had also been evacuated and she drove me to the hospital where the midwife met us. I was not prepared to cope with the pain of labor because I think in my mind I wasn’t really convinced I was going to have a VBAC. I ended up getting an epidural and had a successful vaginal birth! My postpartum period this time was a lot less stressful and I had great support from my midwives. Breastfeeding went better and recovery was like night and day compared to my c section recovery.
In 2018, I got pregnant again with my 3rd! I was determined to have a different birthing experience this time around. The crazy part of my story is that I didn’t slow down my doula business while I was pregnant. I even delivered a baby during a precipitous birth while I was eight months pregnant! I attended my last Doula birth two days before I went into labor.
My water broke on a stormy night 10 days before my due date. I had lined up midwifery care in the closest city which is five hours away. My plan was to have a water birth in the birthing center and I was scheduled to leave in two days when the baby had other plans. My husband was working nights when my water broke and when he got home he was shocked to see that I had my kids packed in the van and all of our stuff packed and ready to go to Edmonton five hours away. He thought I was crazy and perhaps I was! There was just no way that I was going to have my baby in our local hospital. I was invested and I was determined to have my water birth.
Contractions hadn’t started so I figured if we left right away we might make it. I labored at my Doula’s house and got to the birthing center only 45 minutes before my baby was born. If I could do it again tomorrow I would! It was the most empowering day of my life and I’m so glad that I got to experience an unmedicated birth. My postpartum recover was amazing as well aside from being in a city far away from my own home. I came home that night after having the baby to sleep on an air mattress in my doula’s living room!
You would think that being an IBCLC, breastfeeding would go swimmingly, but again I struggled with low milk supply. A lot of people are shocked by this because of my profession, but it just goes to show that sometimes even with the best support women can still struggle! I feel like women are told or made to feel that the only real goal of birth is to walk out of it alive and with a healthy baby. What women need to understand is that there is so much more to the process than that goal. It’s a journey and a life altering event. I feel this is the biggest moment in a women’s life and it deserves respect and support. How a woman views her birth will stay with her forever.
Tayla Malott Bio
Tayla is a 34 year old paramedic firefighter full-time and I have my own business called mamasaurus. I am a certified birth Doula, childbirth educator, IBCLC, one of Canada’s only spinning babies parent educators and a few other things! I live in Fort McMurray Alberta with my husband who is also a firefighter/paramedic and our 3 crazy and beautiful boys. Hoping to have one more!
Prenatal education, a doula, and lactation support
Ergobaby
Today’s episode is sponsored by Ergobaby. Founded in 2003, Ergobaby has pioneered the gold standard for comfortable, ergonomic soft structured carriers. Ergobaby is dedicated to helping families bond, grow, and thrive by creating premium baby products where function and quality are not compromised. Ergobaby has created a broad range of award-winning baby carriers, strollers, swaddlers, nursing pillows, and related products that fit into families’ daily lives seamlessly, comfortably and safely. In 2020, they launched Everlove by Ergobaby, a first of its kind baby carrier buy back and resale program, a sustainability effort to support families and the planet.
After a disempowering birth with her first son that nearly ended in tragedy, Erica vowed to have a different experience when she got pregnant again and planned to have an unmedicated VBAC with her twins. With the help of the Birth Hour, doulas, and a supportive practice after a switch of providers at 28 weeks, Erica successfully had the VBAC she worked so hard to get. As a black woman navigating the healthcare system, Erica is excited to share her story in the hopes that it may help some other mom or mommy-to-be.
Erica Beal Bio
Erica is an educational consultant located in Greenbelt, Maryland. She lives with her husband and three wonderful children, including an inquisitive (perhaps maniacally so) three-year-old and her 9-month-old twins that are starting to get into everything. Erica enjoys Rose, Netflix, reading, and cuddles on the couch with her hubby. You can find her on Facebook and Instagram.
Today’s episode was brought to you by 8 Sheep Organics. Did you know, over 78% of pregnant moms have trouble sleeping at night? If you’re lying awake in the middle of the night, tossing and turning, unable to sleep, then you should check out the “Sleepy Lotion” from 8 Sheep. It’s a body lotion specially formulated to help pregnant moms sleep better. It also helps with common pregnancy pains like restless legs, leg cramps and back/ hip pain.
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To listen to this episode, and hundreds more birth stories in The Birth Hour archives, join our listener supporter Patreon here!
Ashley’s labor started late on the evening on May 3rd 2018. She was unable to fall asleep that night after what she thought was an upset belly and turned out to be the beginning of her laboring journey.
For hours in the early morning of May 4th, Ashley tossed and turned, unable to sleep thinking she was just having an upset stomach. She contacted her midwife when she realized labor was in fact beginning. She woke her husband Tobin, and even though they began the day excited and together, their togetherness didn’t last as Tobin became severely ill. The midwife arrived shortly after and although Ashley’s labor continued to progress, Tobin continued to feel so ill that he wasn’t able to offer the physical support they had both expected he’d be able to.
After laboring in the bed, in the tub, walking around, their son Jasper finally arrived in a rush on the living room floor on the evening of May 4th. Ashley was euphoric after the birth of her son and nearly immediately after giving birth said, “I’d do that again tomorrow,” to be sure that everyone knew exactly how much she enjoyed the process. Looking back, Ashley describes her birth as a pain free, enjoyable, rich experience.
Ashley Renwick Bio
Ashley grew up in southern New Hampshire. Her first career was as a circus performer, until she had an injury. It was while recovering from that injury that she started taking yoga classes and she fell in love with yoga immediately. Six months later she got her yoga teachers certificate. After teaching yoga for a few years, Ashley bought and ran her own yoga studio in Massachusetts until she became pregnant in 2017 and subsequently sold her business to be able to spend more time with her family.
Ashley met her husband, Tobin, in elementary school, although they didn’t begin dating until they were in their early twenties. Like Ashley, Tobin also became a traveling circus performer, a job that has taken him and Ashley all over the world.
Ashley, Tobin, and Jasper have moved back to New Hampshire where Ashley is a stay at home mother, teaches the occasional yoga class, and runs an informative podcast about Waldorf education, Waldorfy.
This episode is sponsored by Crane Humidifiers. Crane’s colorful humidifiers are a nursery necessity to help relieve your baby’s tiny congested nose, which can make feeding and sleeping a struggle for both baby and mom. A happy baby is a healthy baby. Crane is generously offering $10 OFF and free shipping on all of their full-priced, 1 gallon, adorable animal shaped humidifiers and drop humidifiers with the code BIRTH20 at www.crane-usa.com.
The Birth Hour Supporters
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At 30 weeks, Megan changed her birthing plan from a hospital birth to a home birth after finding out she might not have any support person (including her partner) in the room due to Covid-19. At 39 weeks, after 26 hours of labor, Megan welcomed her baby girl into the world with a blissful water birth in her home.
Megan Halicki Bio
Megan is 23 years old from Astoria, Oregon. Labor doula @north star doula service. Social media: Instagram @megzhalicki
Wondering about what to expect at a Car Seat Check? During today’s episode Sarah Tilton, Britax safety advocate, explains how caregivers can best prepare themselves for a successful car seat check. NOTE: In light of most car seat checks being closed around the country, Britax is offering 1:1 Virtual Car Seat Checks with Sarah Tilton, Child Passenger Safety Technician and Certified Instructor. If you’re interested in this FREE service for your car seat (any brand welcome!), please complete this questionnaire to set an appointment: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VirtualCarSeatCheck.
Kemah and her husband, Alex, are a military family who had their first daughter while Alex was deployed to Afghanistan. Kemah chose to see an OB for prenatal care, and wanted to try to achieve an unmedicated birth in a hospital. At 39 weeks 6 days, Kemah’s water broke after having a prenatal massage. She arrived to the hospital and was administered Pitocin. Pitocin contractions were intense and she ended up asking for an epidural. She delivered a healthy baby girl and with help from Skype, Alex was able to watch the birth while deployed. After birth, Kemah had a retained placenta which was manually removed by the doctor. Alex met Aria for the first time in person when she was four months old.
With their second pregnancy, Kemah and Alex were surprised to find out they were pregnant months after switching from Nexplanon, an arm birth control, to a pill birth control. Kemah chose to go to a different OB for her prenatal care. Her new doctor supported her goal of an unmedicated birth. Additionally, the hospital had resources in their labor and delivery suites to support coping measures in child birth. Due to her BMI, Kemah was required to do external fetal heart rate and fetal monitor activity appointments during her last trimester. And following one of those appointments, at 36+6, the baby was not passing kick-count tests. This led to another induction with Pitocin. Kemah was able to walk to cope with contractions and make it to 7 cm before requesting an epidural. Alex was home for this birth and was able to support Kemah throughout her labor and delivery.
Kemah Muñoz Bio
Kemah and her husband, Alex, live in southern Arizona with their two little girls, Aria- 6, and Isabelle-3. Alex is a recruiter for the Army National Guard and Kemah recently opened an Etsy shop called Teemah by Kemah where she designs and screen print T-shirts.
Babylist
The people at Babylist believe that you should be able to get exactly what you need for your unique and growing family. That’s why their baby registry lets you add any item from any store. Even add cool services and favors like prenatal yoga, doula support, home-cooked meals or dog walking. Start your registry today to be eligible for a free Hello Baby Box of goodies for baby worth up to $190 while boxes last.
Having grown up the daughter of a birth worker, Audra always knew she wanted home births just like her Mom. After two wonderful home birth experiences in a small NYC apartment, her family moved to Chicago for more space. When she and her husband found out they were expecting baby #3, Audra was excited to experience home birth again, this time in a house with her kids present. Plans had to change suddenly when during her 3rd trimester she discovered she had a complete placenta previa and would need a scheduled C-section at 37 weeks. Despite some initial devastation at having to change plans right in the middle of lockdown due to Covid-19, the birth ended up being a mostly positive experience, and gave her a deeper understanding for a variety of ways to give birth beautifully.
Audra Fullerton Bio
Audra is a mom of 3 living in the Chicago area. She and her husband lived in NYC for many years before heading back to her midwestern roots in 2016. After many years working in theatre, Audra started her food blog called The Baker Chick in 2011 where she posts recipes for desserts and other goodies. In addition to cooking and baking Audra loves knitting and sewing, all of which she posts about on her instagrams (@audrafullerton for personal and life content, @audra_thebakerchick for recipes!)
Today’s episode is sponsored by Ergobaby. Founded in 2003, Ergobaby has pioneered the gold standard for comfortable, ergonomic soft structured carriers. Ergobaby is dedicated to helping families bond, grow, and thrive by creating premium baby products where function and quality are not compromised. Ergobaby has created a broad range of award-winning baby carriers, strollers, swaddlers, nursing pillows, and related products that fit into families’ daily lives seamlessly, comfortably and safely. In 2020, they launched Everlove by Ergobaby, a first of its kind baby carrier buy back and resale program, a sustainability effort to support families and the planet.
Meg Tietz turned 42 years old the day before her youngest baby, Nikolaus, was born. She likes to call Niko her “hey, you’re still fertile in your 40s!” baby, and she and her husband, Kyle, and four older children cannot imagine life without him now.
The most challenging aspect of her pregnancy with Niko was not advanced maternal age, but was instead gestational diabetes, a diagnosis that came early and ultimately led to Niko’s birth at 38 weeks. He’s also the fourth of her Cesarean births, and the only birth in which she was allowed to hold and nurse him directly after he was delivered. She loves to share her story of pregnancy and birth in your 40s to encourage other women that bringing a baby into the world in this decade of life can be very awesome.
Meg Tietz Bio
Meg is the creator and host of the Sorta Awesome podcast, a podcast dedicated to bringing the awesome to women and their conversations, friendships, and communities. She and her husband Kyle live in Oklahoma City with their five children ranging in age from a year old to teenagers and twin boys in the middle. She can be found on social media @sortaawesomemeg and you can check out Sorta Awesome in Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
This episode was sponsored by Motif Medical. Motif designs insurance-eligible products for busy moms. With a focus on innovation and empowerment, Motif’s line of breast pumps and maternity compression garments are sophisticated, yet discreet, and made to support mothers as they navigate new motherhood. Discover why moms are reporting more milk in less time with the Luna breast pump, and see how you can get it covered through insurance at motifmedical.com/birthhour.
Bree and her husband, Bobby, planned for a home birth in their home on the island of Oahu in Hawaii with a local midwife. Bree went into labor the day before her due date and labored all night in the tub. She switched things up the next morning by laboring at the beach, in the ocean and with a walk around her home and neighborhood. When it came time to push, her husband got in the tub with her to help her push as she had been laboring for 15 hours and after 20 minutes of pushing, baby Lottie was born.
Bree Poort Bio
Bree grew up in Southern California by the beach and moved to Hawaii after high school for college. She met her husband two years later and after five years of being married decided to get pregnant. She is a gallery artist painting for collectors around the world in her home studio on the North Shore of Oahu and enjoys surfing and yoga. You can find her on instagram @justbree or www.justbree.com
Crate & Kids
This episode of The Birth Hour is sponsored by Crate and Kids. Crate and Kids understands the joys, surprises (and challenges) that come with having a baby. That’s why their warm and modern designs are made just for your growing family while also allowing you to keep your sense of style.
Use code TheBirthHour10 at checkout to receive 10% off your full-price purchase of kids furniture and accessories at crateandkids.com. It’s valid online only, and some exclusions apply, so see their website for details.
After a 23-week loss due to incompetent cervix (originally a planned homebirth), Bree was ready to try for another baby. She and her husband, Adam, were successful after the first try just 3 months postpartum from their loss.
Luci’s pregnancy was pretty easy, even though Bree never loved the pregnancy part. Due to her incompetent cervix history, her pregnancy was monitored closely and a cerclage procedure was performed to ensure the cervix would remain closed. Contractions started on November 11, 2019 and lasted until 4am on November 13 when her water broke.
Since the cerclage was removed three weeks prior, and contractions increased significantly after the water broke, they went immediately to the hospital where she was told that she was only 3cm dilated. Bree was a bit discouraged since she thought this would be a quick birth. After her doctor advised on a small Pitocin dose, she felt that she needed an epidural to help with the pain. Their baby girl was born at 4:25pm, just under 5 hours after the epidural was administered.
Bree Dirkmaat Bio
Bree and her husband, Adam, live in Kingwood, TX (30 mins from Houston) with their baby, Luci, and their 3 other kids (Adele, Israel & Moses). Adam is a Firefighter and an appraiser. Bree works in Accounting and also in their appraisal business. They have been together for 4 years. Facebook Profile: Bree Frasson or Instagram @breepreta
The people at Babylist believe that you should be able to get exactly what you need for your unique and growing family. That’s why their baby registry lets you add any item from any store. Even add cool services and favors like prenatal yoga, doula support, home-cooked meals or dog walking. Start your registry today to be eligible for a free Hello Baby Box of goodies for baby worth up to $190 while boxes last.
After developing a robust unmedicated birth plan for her March 6th due date, Amy learned at about 32 weeks that her blood pressure was such that an induction a few weeks early would be very likely. Terrified and disappointed, Amy turned to her doula to re-tool her focus to continue to advocate for a safe and healthy birth for her daughter Penelope in the hospital induction setting.
Amy Thomas Ryan Bio
Amy Thomas Ryan is a native Detroiter and educator living in South Bend, Indiana. She and her two year old, Penelope James, love gardening, yoga, horses, and fighting for what’s good in the world. She can be found on Instagram @telegraphia
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), the comfy Jane pajamas, and their high waisted underwear! Listen to this episode for a special coupon code!
Gwenyth was born on June 8, 2020, at 7:35am via cesarean at 39+1 weeks due to being breech. Megan’s pregnancy went relatively smoothly, except for mild nausea in the first trimester and headaches in the 2nd trimester. Then at week 32, Megan was diagnosed with gestational hypertension, which raised concerns that baby was still breech.
The COVID-19 pandemic also hit right at start of third trimester. Megan had been working throughout her pregnancy but stopped at the start of her third trimester due to her family’s expected move (which was postponed due to COVID). She began having weekly doctor’s appointments, ultrasounds and non-stress tests at this point and was put on blood pressure medication.
Megan tried spinning babies, ECV, chiropractic care (The Webster Method), moxibustin, ice, music, yoga, etc. to get baby to flip but she stayed breech so a cesarean birth was scheduled at 39 weeks, 1 day. Megan was initially hugely disappointed about having a cesarean birth because she had prepared and really been looking forward to an unmedicated birth. She was also initially angry that a breech vaginal delivery wasn’t common in U.S. She had heard of providers (such as Dr. Stu) who performed vaginal breech home births, but her provider wasn’t comfortable with a vaginal breech delivery and she decided that at the end of the day she wanted to do what was considered safest in Colorado.
Megan’s cesarean birth was a really positive experience, with no complications, aside from baby needing a little extra help breathing initially. Recovery overall went well; they were in the hospital for 3 days postpartum. Everyone was super helpful at the hospital, with the exception of one of the pediatricians who was a bit of an alarmist about baby’s initial weight loss. Megan’s blood pressure was pretty well managed throughout pregnancy, then skyrocketed postpartum, then went back to normal around 3 weeks postpartum. Postpartum has been exhausting, but wonderful.
Megan Johnson Bio
Megan lives in Colorado Springs, CO with her husband, 7-week-old baby girl and 2 Boston Terriers. She is from California and moved to CO in 2018 for husband’s work. She is a mental health therapist and is currently staying home with baby and is finishing a doctorate degree in psychology. Connect with her on Instagram @meganrose87.
Resources
Know Your Options Birth course (especially the information about gentle cesarean, and the bonus download for a gentle cesarean birth plan)
Today’s episode is brought to you by Britax Child Safety, Inc. For over 50 years, Britax has been focused on safety you can trust from the very first day. They welcome new moms and dads to parenthood with award-winning car seats and strollers for every lifestyle while providing extra confidence for the journey ahead. At the end of today’s episode, I talk with Britax safety advocate, Sarah Tilton, all about traveling safely with a newborn. Learn more about Britax products and safety tips at us.britax.com.
