Hannah shared her cesarean birth story on episode 524 and her VBAC story on episode 741. Hannah is a mom of two that also works as a nurse part time. She delivered her 10lb VBAC baby 6 months ago and is continuing to work through her postpartum recovery from internal tearing and bladder prolapse. She shares her thoughts on pelvic floor therapy and the role it has played in her recovery, as well as knowing when to switch providers or look for help through other avenues.
Connect with her via Instagram: Hannah_wildhaber, Facebook: Hannah Wildhaber, or Email: harder.hannah@gmail.com.
This episode is sponsored by Ergobaby. Founded in 2003, Ergobaby has pioneered the gold standard for comfortable, ergonomic soft structured carriers. Their commitment to providing parents with the foundation to thrive has launched the company into creating a broad range of award-winning products that fit into families’ daily lives seamlessly, comfortably, and safely – where function and quality are not compromised. 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. Check out Ergobaby’s Embrace in Soft Air Mesh and new Evolve 3-in-1 Bouncer that we discussed on the podcast!
Andrea Faulkner Williams is the Head Mama and Co-founder of Tubby Todd Bath Co., which she launched in 2014 with her husband, Brian Todd, as a solution to their own family’s sensitive skin. Tubby Todd’s mission is to connect families through good, clean fun bodycare basics. The company started out by sharing products on Instagram with friends and family and they now have a cult following of a million+ community members across their channels. Andrea believes that bubbles are for everyone and is on a mission to provide families with connection opportunities. She lives in San Diego with Brian and their four little ones. Join her on Instagram @andreafaulknerwilliams
Tubby Todd Bath Co.
Today’s episode was sponsored by Tubby Todd Bath Co. Created with sensitive skin in mind, Tubby Todd’s line of bodycare basics are gentle, effective and fun for the whole family. You might have heard of their eczema miracle worker All Over Ointment (fondly referred to as AOO), but this family-owned brand offers a full line of sensitive skincare solutions that you’ll love to reach for every single day. Start with The Regulars or Baby Bundle to get your little one set up with their very first skincare routine. Join the TT fam and get 15% off your first purchase with code BIRTHHOUR15 at tubbytodd.com.
Needed
Today’s episode was also sponsored by Needed, the authority on perinatal and women’s nutrition. Needed is a nutrition platform dedicated to optimally nourishing women before, during, and after pregnancy. Needed is backed by the latest clinical research and 3,000+ perinatal nutrition practitioners. They’re the #1 women’s health supplement brand recommended by nutritionally-trained practitioners, and the first perinatal nutrition company to be B-Corp and Climate-Neutral Certified. Optimal nourishment is needed, and most prenatal vitamins are missing key nutrients and include bare minimum amounts. In fact, while 97% of women in the US take a prenatal supplement, 95%+ are still deficient in key nutrients. Needed’s Prenatal Multi was formulated in partnership with perinatal practitioners – using the latest research and by testing thousands of mamas’ nutrient levels to know what’s truly needed to thrive, not just survive. Optimally nourish yourself with their complete line of perinatal and women’s health supplements at thisisneeded.com. Use code BIRTHHOUR for 20% off at thisisneeded.com.
Enya Kroon first had a homebirth when she gave birth to her son in 2017 at her mother’s home. In 2018, Enya became a surrogate and developed Intrahepatic Cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) in her third trimester, she was then induced and ultimately had a hospital birth with an epidural. Finally, in 2022 Enya found out mid pregnancy with her second son that she had placenta previa, and though she wanted another homebirth, she delivered her son in the hospital with an urgent C-section when the previa did not resolve.
Enya Kroon Bio
Enya is a mother of 2 boys who lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. She is both a stay at home mom and a potter who shows her love of birth and the feminine body through her pottery. Her art can be found through social media at @fruitofthewomb.
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.
This Marielis’ first pregnancy/birth. She had a very normal/healthy pregnancy and has no history of mental illness. After planning a mostly unmedicated birth, she ended up having an unplanned c-section. Is he started off using nitrous oxide for some time but after 16 hours, was only dilated to 6cm. She was stuck at 9 cm for another 8 hours so they decided it was time for a c-section. After a week she started feeling a bit weird. At first she felt like she was fading in and out of her body. She’d feel normal for a few hours then felt like she wasn’t all there and during these times would feel extreme paranoia and manic episodes. She wasn’t able to sleep or eat and when she started to realize she wasn’t feeling herself her baby’s father started looking into getting her help and was able to find her a doctor who diagnosed her with postpartum psychosis (over zoom). She wasn’t able to care for her baby (when she looked at her she felt like she wasn’t really there/alive) It was an extremely scary time for her and everyone around her. She was checking into a mental health facility for 6 days and finally felt like herself again. Connect with her on Instagram at @hailmari__
Call the PSI emergency hotline 1-800-273-8255. Emergency Hotlines are available all the time. It is very important that you reach out right now and find the support and information you need to be safe. Call for yourself or someone you care about; available 24/7.
Ergobaby
This episode is sponsored by Ergobaby. Founded in 2003, Ergobaby has pioneered the gold standard for comfortable, ergonomic soft structured carriers. Their commitment to providing parents with the foundation to thrive has launched the company into creating a broad range of award-winning products that fit into families’ daily lives seamlessly, comfortably, and safely – where function and quality are not compromised. 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. Check out Ergobaby’s Embrace in Soft Air Mesh and new Evolve 3-in-1 Bouncer that we discussed on the podcast!
After two years of trying to get pregnant, Madelyn was eventually diagnosed with PCOS and began fertility treatment. With the aid of a trigger shot and timed intercourse, Madelyn became pregnant, and gave birth to her first son in June 2020. Her pregnancy was uncomplicated and joyful. As a trained doula, Madelyn had prepared for an unmediated hospital birth. Despite her preparation, a prolonged labor ultimately resulting in a C-section left Madelyn feeling exhausted and out of control. Immediately following birth, Madelyn felt overwhelmed and highly anxious. In the first months postpartum, depression and anxiety coalesced around an increasingly fraught relationship with alcohol and the isolation of early COVID quarantines. Intrusive thoughts creeped in. As the months passed, her drinking became more frequent and secretive, and her relationships with those closest to her began to fray. With the assistance of therapy, medication and intensive outpatient rehabilitation, Madelyn was able to take control of her mental health and find sobriety. A profound period of introspection and healing followed.
In Spring 2022, Madelyn and her husband decided they wanted to try for a second baby. They were pleasantly surprised when Madelyn became pregnant only two months later and even more surprised when they discovered she was pregnant with twins!
Like her first, Madelyn’s second pregnancy was uncomplicated and joyful; although physically more challenging. Due to the babies’ positioning, a VBAC was not an option and a planned C-section at 38 weeks became an incredibly redemptive birth experience for Madelyn. In the three weeks since the birth of the twins, Madelyn is grateful to report that her postpartum experience has been completely different from her first.
Madelyn Morris Bio
Madelyn is a mom to three. Her first son, Leo was born June 2020 and her twins, Juniper and Elias, were born December 2022. Madelyn and her husband, Andrew, have been married almost 8 years. Madelyn is originally from Utah, but she and her family currently reside in Chicago, IL. Madelyn is a family law attorney. Connect with her on FB or instagram by searching for Madelyn Morris.
This episode is sponsored by Woolino. Woolino’s innovative sleep sacks help babies sleep better and longer. More sleep for baby means more sleep for you! Woolino’s super-soft, temperature-regulating merino wool sleep sacks use 100% natural fibers that are safe for babies, environmentally friendly, and easy to care for. Discover why thousands of babies and parents are sleeping better at woolino.com/thebirthhour and use the coupon code BIRTHHOUR for 15% off.
After an uncomplicated pregnancy, Samara had many days of prodromal labor that lasted well into her 41st week of pregnancy. True labor finally kicked off at 41 weeks and 4 days after a foley balloon placement at the freestanding birth center where she planned to meet her baby boy. Over the next thirty-eight hours, Samara went from laboring at home with her doula to laboring at the birth center in a big, beautiful tub to laboring on all fours in the back of her Mazda 2 Hatchback due to a meconium-related hospital transfer. She was going for an unmedicated, out-of-hospital birth and ended up epiduralized, working with her hospital care team (who were also her coworkers) to pull out all the interventional stops to get her a vaginal delivery. While both she and baby tolerated labor well (the meconium never presented a problem), she still never progressed past 7 centimeters. At the 38th hour, she had a c-section for arrest of dilation.
It’s taken time to process the birth and her feelings have evolved with each passing month. Labor came with its fair share of stress and pain and things did NOT go as planned but overall she’s grateful for the feelings of autonomy she had throughout the experience. She believes that regardless of birth outcome, feeling respected and having autonomy throughout the experience can turn a potentially traumatic birth into an empowering one. She’s incredibly grateful for the care she received both outside and inside the hospital, and she hopes to one day provide that same level of care to her patients as a Certified Nurse-Midwife.
Samara Laxineta Bio
Samara is a Labor and Delivery nurse and Master’s student at UCSF where she’s studying to become a Certified Nurse-Midwife and Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner. A once astute conversationalist, Samara now struggles to chat about anything but birth, pregnancy, and her new favorite subject…babies. She welcomes any and all new conversation topics. A lazy cyclist, beer lover, and self-help enthusiast, she lives in San Francisco with her husband Toby, baby boy Ziggy, and two precious cats Sass and Frankie.
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.
