After a tough pregnancy and a low Papp-A diagnosis, Sruthi’s water broke unexpectedly at 36 weeks. On the bus to the hospital, her contractions intensified, and by the time she had her first cervical check, she was fully dilated. She pushed for 30 minutes before her healthy baby boy was born. Even though she found birth empowering, postpartum and the fourth trimester was unexpectedly rough with a painful physical recovery from birth and breastfeeding issues.
Sruthi Ramesh Bio
Sruthi is originally from California but has been living in London for 4 years with her husband, cat, and 5 month old son. You can contact her on her Instagram at @sruthi.co
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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When Caitlin became pregnant in 2021 she hoped COVID restrictions would be minimal however, her husband was not allowed to attend many of her prenatal visits. At 20 weeks she was diagnosed with placenta previa which luckily resolved, albeit late, at 36 weeks. She stayed active throughout her pregnancy by hiking, rock climbing and bike commuting. She went into labor a week before Christmas at 41w4d, shortly after developing gestational hypertension. To her surprise, labor progressed quickly. Her husband and sister-in-law provided loving support. However, since it was the peak of the Omicron variant she received minimal support from hospital staff. Her labor stalled in the transition phase which lasted over 5 hours. After most pain management strategies were either unhelpful or intensified her pain, Caitlin opted for an epidural. This reduced her pain to a point where she could again cope and she quickly became fully dilated. After some scares about the baby’s heart rate, she delivered a healthy boy exactly 12 hours after labor started.
Caitlin Smigelski Bio
Caitlin is a pelvic physical therapist in Portland, Oregon who specializes in obstetrics and transgender health. She has a Certificate of Achievement in Obstetric Physical Therapy and is a faculty member of the American Physical Therapy Association Academy of Pelvic Health. She and her husband love being active outdoors and look forward to showing their son the beauty of the PNW. You can connect with Caitlin on Instagram at @caitsmig
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.
Mandy had just graduated from college, was in a long distance relationship, and was teaching math at a Title I middle school in Idaho through Teach For America when she shockingly found out she was pregnant—despite having an IUD.
The following months leading up to the birth of her son were a whirlwind of major life changes. She had a pretty standard hospital induction and healthy birth with an epidural and just 30 minutes of pushing. Mandy dealt with an oversupply and became a breastmilk donor. Under the guidance of her doctor, Mandy decided to give an IUD another try and this time, the IUD perforated her uterus leading to surgery at 10 weeks postpartum.
Especially living in Chicago, a city where a lot of people don’t become parents until their mid-or-late thirties, Mandy often finds it isolating to be a young mom. Mandy hopes her story will reach other young moms or moms with unplanned pregnancies who need to hear a story similar to their own. She also hopes to start a conversation about how we talk about birth control and birth control efficacy statistics.
Mandy Davis Bio
Mandy lives in Chicago with her partner and their now 16 month old son. For her day job, she does digital consulting to help make federal government websites and services easier to use. Mandy loves being outside, running, and discovered the joy of rock climbing after becoming a mom. Mandy is abundantly grateful for the green spaces throughout the city and the Chicago Public Library. Mandy recently won a Moth StorySLAM and is excited to grow as a storyteller and writer. You can connect with her on LinkedIn or email her at mandydavi3 [at] gmail [dot] com.
Kids clothes consignment stores in your local area
BabyPeek
Have you ever wondered whether your baby will inherit your partner’s eye color, or if their hair will be curly or straight, or maybe they will prefer sweet food over salty? Enter BabyPeek, the revolutionary genetic test that unveils your baby’s potential traits as early as 10 weeks gestation.
With BabyPeek, you can discover 12 distinctive traits before they’re born, from the color of their eyes to whether they’ll have a sweet tooth. For example, you might learn that your baby has a 72% chance of dark brown hair, 18% chance of dark blonde hair, and 11% chance of black hair… or that your baby has just a 12% chance of thinking cilantro tastes like soap!
What sets BabyPeek apart is that it’s the first and only genetic test of its kind, brought to you by BillionToOne’s cutting-edge technology and backed by extensive research. BabyPeek is available exclusively as an add-on to Unity Complete, a routinely offered first trimester prenatal test that screens for genetic disorders. Unity is the only version of this test that sequences your baby’s DNA directly from one maternal blood sample taken at your doctor’s office. BabyPeek uses that same sample and cutting-edge technology to give you a fun sneak peek into your baby’s genetic makeup before birth—for the first time ever.
Visit babypeek.com/birthhour now to request access and learn more about how BabyPeek is transforming the way we connect with our little ones even before they arrive.
Jen is obsessed with pregnancy and birth. She is passionate about sharing her birth stories, and discussing all things birth, so more women can have empowering, beautiful, powerful, and transformative birth experiences.
Jen and her husband got pregnant on their honeymoon in Bora Bora about 3-4 months after they started trying to conceive. They were living in Australia at the time, and when Jen was 23 weeks pregnant they came back to the US to give birth and be near Jen’s family. Jen had transitioned from midwife in Australia to a midwife in the US. She gave birth to a healthy baby boy in Sunriver, Oregon in her parents’ house after 24 hours of early labor and about 5-7 hours of active labor. She was adamant about breastfeeding but nervous on how it would go because she had a breast reduction when she was 21. Surprisingly, all went better than expected and she was able to exclusively breastfeed. She weaned her son when he turned two.
They knew they wanted more children, so when Jen’s cycle returned at 17 months postpartum, they started trying again. Jen got pregnant with her second child and planned another home birth with the same birth team. Her first birth went so well that she was nervous that her next birth wouldn’t be as good. At 39 weeks and two days, to her surprise, she had a precipitous labor and birth and experienced the Fetal Ejection Reflex. Her mom, midwife, and birth photographer all missed the birth! Jen and her husband hope to expand their family further in the future.
Jennifer Burzic Bio
Jen has been with her husband, Jasin, for 12 years. They fell in love while she was studying abroad in Australia. They have two incredible children, Walker who is 4, and Summer, who is 21 months. Jen has known she wanted to be a mother since she was 3 years old. An OG listener of the birth hour, she decided years before she was pregnant that as long as she was low risk, she wanted to pursue a home birth. Prior to becoming a mom, she worked as a nurse, and then on research at The University of Queensland in the School of Public Health. She loves good vegan food, warm tropical vacations, and spending time with her family and friends. Reach out to her with any questions or to connect at jenburzic@gmail.com or on Instagram @jenburzic.
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.
Sarah’s first labor was over 24 hours long with extreme nausea, an early urge to push, a transfer from birth center to L&D during transition, long pushing stage, and delivery with nuchal hand. After experiencing PPD and PPA, Sarah found help
and connection within her community. A miscarriage at the end of the first trimester while alone out-of-town and poor hospital care followed. After conceiving again, Sarah worked to prepare for another long labor and challenging postpartum. Surprisingly, Sarah’s second labor was a fast and furious precipitous labor, where she ultimately delivered her baby by herself while her husband pulled up to the birth center entrance.
Sarah McGuirk Bio
Sarah lives in St. Louis, MO, with her husband, two daughters, and rescue pit mix dog. Sarah is back in school working to become a board certified music therapist after a decade working as a freelance collaborative pianist and music educator.
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.
Jeneba’s pregnancy with her first daughter was pretty textbook and she planned for a hospital birth with pain management. Unfortunately, Jeneba labored at home not realizing how far she had progressed and gave birth within minutes of arriving to the hospital, completely unprepared for a non-medicated birth. Jeneba experienced a mound of complications with the pregnancy and birth of her second daughter: A Covid diagnoses at 15 weeks, a diagnoses of Cholestasis at 33 weeks, gestational hypertension diagnosed during her 37 week induction and subsequently, postpartum pre-eclampsia with a 5 day hospital stay three months after her daughters birth.
Jeneba McKnight Bio
Jeneba is a married mother of four children: Ten year old Jeremiah, six year old Jaala, two year old Josephine and 8 week old Judah. Jeneba and her husband Jeromie live in Woodbridge, VA, a suburb 45 minutes outside of Washington, DC. Jeneba works as a Behavioral Health Specialist for a local county government and Jeromie owns a home improvement business. Instagram: @BonafideLove080410
Resources
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Don’t ignore itching and headaches!
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 “BIRTHHOUR15” in their online shop for 15% off all supplies and accessories.
