Planning for an intervention free hospital birth in the Summer of 2020, Ananda dealt with several curveballs to the first pregnancy experience she always dreamed she would have. These include a risk for a genetic condition identified during NIPT screening, a global pandemic, switching care at 34 weeks, and stubborn breech positioning. After going to almost 42 weeks, labor stalled and for a variety of reasons ended in an unplanned c-section that felt traumatic. All of these factors during her pregnancy led to some prenatal anxiety/depression that carried through her postpartum experience.
With her second pregnancy in 2023, Ananda chose to prepare for a VBAC and made changes to her care team and hospital to support that. Gestational Diabetes led to a marathon induction at 39 weeks that lasted almost 5 days but ended in a positive and redemptive repeat c-section.
Ananda DeMaio Bio
My name is Ananda, I’m 36 years old and I live in Providence, RI with my husband Jason, our three year old daughter Ramona, and our seven week old son Laszlo. I am a therapist and have a private practice and Jason is a Chef and used to own a restaurant here but switched careers after our daughter was born and is now an apprentice electrician. Connect with her on Facebook: Ananda Hegedus or Instagram: @Aday8787
Facebook support groups in general for due date, Gestational Diabetes, Breastfeeding, and Trisomy X
Needed
Today’s episode is sponsored by Needed. Needed is the leading women’s health supplement brand recommended by nutritionally-trained practitioners. While most perinatal supplements include the bare minimum of the nutrients needed during pregnancy, Needed’s products are based on the latest clinical research and in-practice experience of nearly 4000 practitioners. Needed has all your needs covered, from your prenatal vitamin to pregnancy-specific Pre/ and Probiotics, to egg quality support, sleep, stress, immune and hydration support, as well as your protein needs for blood sugar balance and postpartum healing. Needed’s Complete Plan delivers unparalleled nourishment for every phase — whether you’re trying to conceive, pregnant, or postpartum! Instead of having to pair 6 different products together to meet your needs, I love that Needed has simplified things by bundling together four core products you need, in an easy and flexible monthly plan. Save 20% off your first order of Needed’s Complete Plan or any of their other perinatal nutrition products at thisisneeded.com with code BIRTHHOUR.
After several years of infertility, Alexandria and her husband had become pregnant abroad in Okinawa, Japan. Her first birth was a planned induction due health complications. But when intervention takes place, she is left to navigate Postpartum Depression at the start of the Covid lockdown abroad in Japan in 2020.
Her experience leads her on a search to understand what had happened and sparks an interest in birth work. As a result, she and her husband seek support for a second pregnancy on island. However, navigating the military and local landscape is difficult at its best and something else entirely when international relations are experiencing a sudden healthcare crisis.
Her second birth starts as a home birth on base through a local clinic and culminates in a voluntary transfer during the push phase to a local clinic against her team’s advice. An action that ultimately saves her and her child’s life.
Alexandria Parks Bio
Alexandria currently lives in New Mexico with her husband and two daughters. She is an english teacher by trade but currently a stay at home mom to their one and three year old girls. They are a military family and were stationed in Okinawa, Japan when Alexandria gave birth. If you’d like to connect, you can leave a comment for Alexandria here and we will make sure she sees it.
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.
During Sarah’s second pregnancy and birth experience, she made significant changes in her healthcare providers and hospital preferences, transitioning from a regular OB practice to a midwifery group. With the support of an amazing doula and her husband, she had a truly redemptive birth experience. Sarah reached 41+1 weeks before inducing contractions through pumping, a method she reconsidered after reviewing the KYO inductions class, after initially resigning herself to another induction. Although her goal was to avoid an epidural, her long labor led her to opt for one after utilizing nitrous oxide for pain management and she peacefully delivered at 41+2 weeks. Her baby, Ellison, had consistently measured big throughout the pregnancy and weighed 10lbs 2oz at birth. Sarah received slight pressure to consider a C-section around 40+6 due to Ellison’s size, but her midwife wasn’t overly concerned as her previous child, Grace, was 9lbs 2oz, and she had no complications during that birth.
Breastfeeding went smoothly this time, and Sarah’s recovery was easier compared to her previous experience. Unexpectedly, she started experiencing symptoms of postpartum depression and anxiety (PPD/PPA) around 9 weeks postpartum. This was a surprising development for Sarah, as she didn’t encounter such issues after her first child. Seeking pharmacological treatment proved immensely helpful in alleviating her symptoms and aiding her mental health during this challenging time.
Sarah Sushchyk Bio
Sarah lives in central Massachusetts with her husband, Joe, 3-year-old Grace, almost 1 year old Ellison and their fur -baby Cooper. You can connect with Sarah on Instagram @ssushhythoms
Today’s episode is sponsored by Needed. Needed is the leading women’s health supplement brand recommended by nutritionally-trained practitioners. While most perinatal supplements include the bare minimum of the nutrients needed during pregnancy, Needed’s products are based on the latest clinical research and in-practice experience of nearly 4000 practitioners. Needed has all your needs covered, from your prenatal vitamin to pregnancy-specific Pre/ and Probiotics, to egg quality support, sleep, stress, immune and hydration support, as well as your protein needs for blood sugar balance and postpartum healing. Needed’s Complete Plan delivers unparalleled nourishment for every phase — whether you’re trying to conceive, pregnant, or postpartum! Instead of having to pair 6 different products together to meet your needs, I love that Needed has simplified things by bundling together four core products you need, in an easy and flexible monthly plan. Save 20% off your first order of Needed’s Complete Plan or any of their other perinatal nutrition products at thisisneeded.com with code BIRTHHOUR.
Amanda overcame a deep fear of childbirth by working to become as educated about labour and birth as possible. Once pregnant, she planned for an unmedicated birth at an independent birth centre.
Amanda went into labor on her due date and progressed quickly. Her midwife, initially evaluating the situation over the phone, did not feel Amanda was far enough along to warrant leaving for the birth center. When the midwife finally arrived at Amanda’s home to assess her in person, she was already 8 cm dilated. Given that the birth center was at least an hour away, Amanda and her husband felt it was safest to transition to a home birth. Amanda’s baby boy was born after 3 hours of pushing, about 11 hours after labor began. She describes the day as being incredibly positive, empowering, and the best day of her life.
Amanda Fonesca Bio
Amanda lives outside of Toronto with her husband, son, and loyal dog. She is a certified clinical research professional (CCRP) and has focused her work in the area of oncology. Her efforts to overcome an initial fear of childbirth has led to a great passion for all things related to pregnancy, labour, and birth. Amanda enjoys cooking, literature, and music. You can connect with her via email at amandafonzie@gmail.com .
Today’s episode is brought to you by the Sleepybelly Pregnancy Pillow which is guaranteed to give you better sleep in 30-nights or they will give you a full refund! Sleepybelly is a three piece, adjustable pregnancy pillow designed to prevent back sleeping, whilst giving you support for your growing bump and helps align your hips to reduce hip and back pain. Being an adjustable set, it grows with you on your pregnancy journey and can be used in 5 different configurations – it is even used as a breastfeeding pillow postpartum.
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Sarah and her husband were thrilled to learn that she was pregnant on New Year’s Day after a few months of trying. After an initial appointment to confirm the pregnancy, she continued normal patterns of life but noticed intermittent spotting. While she knew this was possible early in pregnancy, it made her anxious and she was very aware of the bleeding every day. Around 7 weeks, there was one day of heavier bleeding that caused concern and led her to follow up with her doctor, fearing a possible miscarriage, but her hCG levels were still rising. At her first ultrasound a few days later, the tech identified a subchorionic hematoma. Thankfully the hematoma resolved around the end of her first trimester.
The rest of pregnancy was generally smooth outside of a bad stomach bug in the second trimester. However, around 35 weeks, after a day of not feeling as much movement, Sarah called into her doctor’s office with concern and was told to come in for an ultrasound. The imaging showed a healthy baby, but a breech one, which was a surprise. It was late in the game to be discovering this and Sarah was concerned that all of her planning for a vaginal birth would now be for nothing. She tried all of the more immediate options for trying to flip the baby – acupuncture and different poses from Spinning Babies – but at 37 weeks it hadn’t worked. She then decided to try an external cephalic version, determining that she would ultimately look back with regret if she didn’t do everything possible to try for a vaginal birth.
Sarah and her husband went into the hospital the morning of Aug 25 for the ECV when she was 37 weeks and 5 days pregnant. After a delay in the initial procedure, Sarah received an epidural and the doctors began. 10 minutes later they were successful in flipping the baby and two hours of monitoring contractions and the baby’s heart rate began. Sarah was thrilled to finally be able to make plans for the spontaneous labor and vaginal birth she had hoped for. Towards the very end of the two hours of monitoring, the care team noticed a concerning pattern of decelerations in the baby’s heart rate that did not align with contractions. Sarah and her husband waited patiently through some extra monitoring to see what would happen, but pretty soon after that discovery the doctor decided to proceed with a caesarean, fearing placental abruption. The caesarean experience ended up being wonderful – the team was kind, thoughtful to ask about preferences right before the procedure, and Sarah’s husband was able to be with her in the OR the entire time and announce that the baby was a girl when she was pulled out. From the time they were told that they would go into the procedure to the birth of Avery was almost exactly 30 minutes – a quick turnaround to prepare emotionally for the arrival of your child! Thankfully Avery was healthy and they were able to confirm the placental abruption in the OR, meaning that if they hadn’t caught the signs at the end of the monitoring period it could have been a much more traumatic and dangerous experience. Overall, Sarah was incredibly thankful for an unexpected and smooth caesarean experience!
Sarah May Bio
Sarah lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband Darrell, her daughter Avery, and their dog Cash, and currently cares for Avery full time. She loves a good cup of coffee, a long walk on Capitol Hill, and their church community there in D.C.
Today’s episode is sponsored by SNP Therapeutics, makers of the Genate Test. Based on over 16 million dollars in NIH grants, and more than 30 years of nutrition and genetic research, SNP Therapeutics is leading the charge in the field of prenatal, precision-nutrition genetic testing.
SNP Therapeutics is committed to providing accurate and usable information to help mothers provide the best possible nutrition to their babies through The Genate Test: a prenatal, precision-nutrition, genetic test that offers personalized dietary adjustments and supplement recommendations based on your DNA.
You can rest easy knowing that your prenatal nutrition has been optimized by tailoring it to your genetic code. Find peace of mind about your prenatal nutrition with the Genate Test by SNP Therapeutics. Learn more at genate.com and Use code BIRTHHOUR15 for 15% off your order.
Shelby’s first birth was a hospital induction in April of 2020, during the COVID lockdown. She went into that labor and delivery completely unprepared and the hospital experience left her feeling unheard and misunderstood by hospital staff.
She went into her next labor and delivery with more knowledge and preparation and had a redemptive homebirth, with labor support from her mom and husband. She gave birth under her own terms and left it feeling completely empowered.
Shelby Grammer Bio
Shelby is a Maternal Fetal Medicine Sonographer who lives just outside of Portland, Maine with her husband and two kids. Connect with Shelby though Instagram @shelby.c.grammer.
Today’s episode is sponsored by Redd Remedies. Redd Remedies has strong roots in the natural product industry and crafts Master Herbalist formulated supplements from premium ingredients, ensuring natural and effective solutions for life’s physical and emotional challenges. Peaceful Mama, one of their star products, provides stress support to all moms, including pregnant and nursing women!
To learn more about Peaceful Mama, Rhythm and Flo, and Redd Remedies and to view testimonials, head to www.reddremedies.com and use code BIRTHHOUR at checkout to get 20% off any 2 or more items. And be sure to head over th @thebirthhour on Instagram to enter a giveaway!
Amy had a 24 hour labor that ended in a waterbirth at a birth center that was inside a hospital.
Thanks to this podcast and the Birth Hour’s Know Your Options’s course and a local Bradley method class, Amy and her husband Daniel felt very prepared, but inevitably they had some hiccups along the way.
From 2 weeks of prodromal labor, to 12 great hours of real labor at home to walking the hospital for three hours trying to get admitted to finally getting admitted but not being allowed the tub and having no birth center nurse, it was quite a journey! After 6 hours in the shower, Amy finally had help at shift change and was allowed in the tub.
Within one hour of getting in the tub she was in transition and after 30 minutes of pushing, Amy brought baby Laura into the world! Amy’s water never broke so Laura was almost born en caul! Unfortnately, meconium in the water lead to a short NICU stay. Though Amy wishes they had had a golden hour post birth, their experience was overall positive and they are enamored with their healthy baby girl!
Amy Straiton Bio
Amy is a mom of 1 living in Dayton Ohio with her husband Daniel. She is a stay at home mom by day and by night she makes journals and paper crafts for her Etsy shop!
You can find her on Facebook as Amy Straiton and send a private message or leave a comment here.
Today’s episode is sponsored by SNP Therapeutics, makers of the Genate Test. Based on over 16 million dollars in NIH grants, and more than 30 years of nutrition and genetic research, SNP Therapeutics is leading the charge in the field of prenatal, precision-nutrition genetic testing.
SNP Therapeutics is committed to providing accurate and usable information to help mothers provide the best possible nutrition to their babies through The Genate Test: a prenatal, precision-nutrition, genetic test that offers personalized dietary adjustments and supplement recommendations based on your DNA.
You can rest easy knowing that your prenatal nutrition has been optimized by tailoring it to your genetic code. Find peace of mind about your prenatal nutrition with the Genate Test by SNP Therapeutics. Learn more at genate.com and Use code BIRTHHOUR15 for 15% off your order.
First Birth: PROM and marginal cord insertion: Sandra became pregnant at 33 yo in March 2020 . She was planning an unmedicated hospital birth. She sought doula support and took the KYO childbirth course. Her water broke spontaneously at 37w2d but she was in denial, so did not present to OB clinic until >30hrs later. She went to the hospital for labor augmentation. After hours of back labor, she got the epidural and later a small episiotomy. Otherwise things went smoothly and it was an overall very positive experience. Baby had severe IUGR from a marginal cord insertion, which was unexpected given reassuring growth ultrasounds. He was only 4lbs 14oz at 37w4d! He did not require the NICU but Sandra did triple feeding, which was rough. He did great and went from 0.5% at birth to 10-12%. He is now a thriving almost 3 year old.
Second birth: Fast unmedicated hospital birth: Sandra became pregnant again at 35 yo and was again planning an unmedicated hospital birth. She went to 39w2d with her daughter, who is now 8 months. She took the KYO course again and did a lot during pregnancy to be mindful of getting baby in a good position. Labor started spontaneously with mild contractions. Sandra quickly went from “I think I might be in labor” to “we really need to go to the hospital NOW!” There were a tense couple hours when she and her husband could not get anyone to come watch their toddler in the middle of the night. Phone support from their doula and a TENS unit got Sandra through while her husband literally ran around the neighborhood at 3am to find help. When they finally got to the hospital, Sandra was 9.5cm with a bulging bag and had her daughter within 20mins. Total time from first contraction to birth was 4.5hrs! Baby had lip/tongue ties but they were revised quickly and breastfeeding and postpartum were overall much easier.
Sandra Brown Bio
Sandra and her family live in the North Carolina Triangle area with their 3 year old son and 8 month old daughter. Sandra and her husband both work in mental health. Sandra is a two-time student of the Know Your Options childbirth course and a Patreon member. She considers her births very different but equally empowering experiences.
Mommy Labor Nurse, The Naked Doula, and The Balanced Boob instagram accounts
KellyMom.com for breastfeedingBaby Tracker app (especially helpful for tracking feeds, pumping, and diapers early postpartum, but you can also track sleep, medication admin, and a bunch of other things)
Human Milk 4 Human Babies Facebook group for breastmilk donation (each state has their own chapter)
Dr. Milk- national Facebook group for breastfeeding physician moms
Needed
Today’s episode is sponsored by Needed. Needed is the leading women’s health supplement brand recommended by nutritionally-trained practitioners. While most perinatal supplements include the bare minimum of the nutrients needed during pregnancy, Needed’s products are based on the latest clinical research and in-practice experience of nearly 4000 practitioners. Needed has all your needs covered, from your prenatal vitamin to pregnancy-specific Pre/ and Probiotics, to egg quality support, sleep, stress, immune and hydration support, as well as your protein needs for blood sugar balance and postpartum healing. Needed’s Complete Plan delivers unparalleled nourishment for every phase — whether you’re trying to conceive, pregnant, or postpartum! Instead of having to pair 6 different products together to meet your needs, I love that Needed has simplified things by bundling together four core products you need, in an easy and flexible monthly plan. Save 20% off your first order of Needed’s Complete Plan or any of their other perinatal nutrition products at thisisneeded.com with code BIRTHHOUR.
Haley Peryer lives in Missouri with her partner, dog, and now 5 month old little girl. She enjoys rock climbing and exercise, yoga, art, and candlemaking. Today she wanted to share with you the birth of her little girl, Apoya. When Haley got pregnant she had been working in the Arizona heat and spending time in beautiful Costa Rica. Her partner, Eli, was only a little surprised by the pregnancy. It was not specifically planned but both of them knew it was possible based upon the previous cycle.
From the start of her pregnancy she knew she wanted a very low intervention birth. However, a home birth was out of question since Haley and Eli live in a non-conventional living space: a 30 foot camper. This is why they turned to a birth center where their daughter was born after 33 hours of labor on July 4, 2023. Connect with her on instagram @trippyxturtlexfawn
Today’s episode is sponsored by Cozy Earth. I first learned about Cozy Earth when their sheets were named one of Oprah’s favorite things in 2018 and I was having a baby in the Fall of 2018 and treated myself to the softest sheets I’ve ever slept on! I’ve been sleeping on Cozy Earth’s best-selling bamboo sheet sets (and their pillow too) ever since. Cozy Earth sheets are temperature-regulating and incredibly soft which is so perfect for all of the life stages we talk about on The Birth Hour. Seriously, if you are a hot sleeper these are a game changer and worth the investment! They’d also make a great baby registry item. Cozy Earth provided an exclusive offer for our listener’s today. Up to 40% off site wide when you use the code “BIRTHHOUR”
Vanessa’s first pregnancy occurred in 2020 during the peak of COVID. She experienced neuromuscular symptoms very early on that lasted up until birth with no diagnosis. She had prodromal labor for a week before going into active labor at 39 and 1. She showed up to the hospital 6-7 cm dilated and with an unexpected breech baby. Her first daughter was delivered soon after by csec. Postpartum, she struggled with healing, having an oversupply, and a colicky baby with a soy/milk protein allergy and bottle refusal.
She got pregnant again in 2022. Her neuromuscular symptoms returned, but overall, she found her second pregnancy to be much less anxiety-ridden (probably thanks to her active 2-year-old and all of those Know Your Options Zoom calls). She experienced 3 weeks of prodromal labor before finally going into active labor and having a redemptive VBAC on her due date. She is currently 4 months postpartum and figuring out the new “normal” with two kids and working full-time.
Vanessa Thorn Bio
Vanessa is 30 years old and lives in North Central West Virginia with her husband and two daughters. She has a degree in chemical engineering from West Virginia University and has worked for a local polymer manufacturing company for the past six years. She enjoys eating out at locally-owned restaurants, mom talk, and playing video games. She can be found on Instagram at @lochnessv.
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.
