When Morgan was 17 she found out she was expecting her first baby. She chose to see a midwife and have a hospital birth. Early on in the pregnancy she was diagnosed with Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG), which lasted the majority of her pregnancy. She was induced at 40 weeks, and ended up with an emergency cesarean birth.
During her second pregnancy she suffered from HG again, and describes having a wonderful scheduled cesarean birth. After her 2nd birth she used a copper IUD for birth control which resulted in a tubal pregnancy when she was 9 months postpartum.
Unfortunately, due to the tubal pregnancy, she lost one of her fallopian tubes. However, when she went in for her six week follow up, she found out they were expecting their 3rd baby. This pregnancy went quite smooth, but she went into labor between 34-35 weeks, and when her son was born he was rushed straight to the NICU where he was intubated.
She and her husband then tried off and on for years to add a 4th child to their family. They suffered many losses and were told they could possibly be facing secondary infertility. In August 2019, they found out they were expecting their rainbow baby, and it was a wild pregnancy. Morgan had the worst HG out of all of her pregnancies. She also suffered from mastitis and anemia which resulted in iron infusions.
The final twist was finding out they would be having their baby during a global pandemic. This baby was born with a true knot in his cord and rushed to the NICU before Morgan could even see him. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, her husband could not go with their son to the NICU and Morgan was not allowed to go visit the baby until the next morning either. Despite the NICU stay, they ended up being discharged from the hospital much sooner than their previous births and Morgan has found postpartum during a pandemic to be full of challenges.
Morgan Sanchez Bio
Morgan is a mama to 4 married to her husband of 10 years.
Motif Medical
Part II of 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.
After a surgery, an 8 week recovery, and battling an infection, Caroline Wynne felt her body was out of control and feared for her son’s life. A mother’s womb should be the safest place for her growing baby, but Caroline felt the complete opposite. Miraculously, she had a very positive induction experience and delivered a healthy baby boy despite all the health obstacles.
19 months later, Caroline found herself pregnant again with a sweet little girl. After a (blissful) uncomplicated pregnancy, Caroline decided to have another elective induction since her first experience was so positive!
Caroline Wynne Bio
Caroline Wynne lives in south east Idaho with her son, Evan (2), daughter, Nora (5 months), and her wonderful husband, Logan. They live in a sweet little fixer upper home they renovated over the course of a year from top to bottom. When they aren’t completing projects on their house you can find them renovating furniture, hammocking in a nearby park, paddleboarding, playing frisbee golf, being with family, and taking long walks through historical neighborhoods picking out their next project house. Connect with her via email carrie.eckhardt94@gmail.com.
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Prior to this pregnancy, Teisia had two chemical pregnancies back-to-back. She had never heard about chemical pregnancies before trying to conceive, so they were devastating. She thought something was wrong with her and that she might never have a successful pregnancy. She wants all women who have experienced any kind of loss to know that there is nothing wrong with them, they are not alone and there is hope. She hopes to see more light shed on how common this is so that women can feel less alone and more supported.
Teisia had planned an unmedicated water birth at a hospital attached Midwifery Center. She prepared with hypnobirthing methods in anticipation. She went into labor at 39 weeks and left for the hospital soon after her water broke at home. While the midwife staff were blowing up the birthing pool, she was able to labor peacefully in the bathtub. It was the serene, beautiful experience she had imagined. Later on, the baby’s heart rate got too high and she was asked to get out of the tub. Once she was out of the water, the labor became much more difficult.
She was told at 37 weeks that the baby was posterior but tried a lot of different things to get the baby to turn at home – so she thought that the baby had turned by the time labor started. No one told her that the baby was still posterior and therefore pushing was very hard. After an extremely challenging 3 hours, her baby girl was born. Her husband, Brian was there every step of the way and was the most supportive and amazing birth partner she could’ve asked for. Everyone was joking about how he was a “dude-la”. Although she didn’t get to have the calm water birth that she wanted, with the help of hypnobirthing and the support of her doula and husband, Teisia was able to go through with the unmedicated birth she had planned. It was the most magical and empowering moment of her life.
Teisia Wantuch Bio
Teisia is a working mom (software engineer) and lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband Brian, daughter Eleanor and two cats (Mozart and Dwight). She loves the outdoors and seeing live music. After becoming pregnant with her first, she has become very passionate about pregnancy, birth and motherhood – and loves to talk about it and follow companies that are empowering women and mothers. You can connect with her on Instagram @_teisia.
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.
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Aleck went into labor 11 days early with her first baby at 38 weeks and 2 days. Her water broke slowly through the night and they went to the hospital shortly after. Sure enough labor started, and about 16 hours later her baby boy was born healthy as can be! It was a typical medicated birth in a hospital with an OBGYN. He was born at 3:20 am on February 14, 2016 at 38 weeks and 3 days.
Aleck experienced prodromal labor before going into active labor with her second baby at 39 weeks and 2 days. Her husband was out of state for school so once he made it home, her body kicked into gear and went into full blown labor. Aleck had prepared to have an unmedicated birth with a midwife, and a doula at a hospital. Labor lasted around 9 or 10 hours and her second baby boy was born at 11:15 pm on October 23, 2018. She felt loved and supported thorough her wishes to have an unmedicated birth.
Bio: Aleck lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband and 2 kids. She is also pregnant with her 3rd baby. She has had 2 hospital births, and is preparing for her first home birth. Aleck is a nurse in the Phoenix area, but mostly gets to stay home with her babies. She has always had a deep passion for motherhood, pregnancy, and birth & aspires to help other mamas in their journey to and through motherhood. She just finished her doula training which is her first step to becoming a certified nurse midwife one day. You can find her on Instagram @aleck_lang.
Kindred Bravely
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Just weeks shy of a trip to Mexico for one of her best friend’s destination wedding, Meriankh was very surprised to discover that she was pregnant. She soon found herself contemplating difficult decisions; not only about attending the wedding, but also how she and her partner of less than a year, could best navigate this unexpected life change overall. Physically, Meriankh’s pregnancy was smooth-sailing… she didn’t “feel” pregnant for a long time. However, she was challenged with experiencing an array of difficult emotions tied to adjusting to being pregnant.
While the pregnancy was fine physically, Meriankh did have a few hiccups that arose: brief spotting, a bright bowel on her 20-week ultrasound, and a subchorionic (placental) cyst. Meriankh began her pregnancy seeing her regular OB, but switched care around 15-weeks to a local birth center. Her experience at the birth center was not quite what she expected or envisioned, but she continued receiving care there nonetheless.
Meriankh was planning an unmedicated birth at a birth center. However, due to a very last minute gestational hypertension diagnosis, she ended up delivering in a hospital, with an epidural, and having a very positive experience. After her water broke late night on Friday, February 14th and nothing happened all of the next day, Meriankh experienced prodromal labor throughout the night of Saturday, February 15th into early Sunday morning at which time the contractions stopped. Sunday night, however, her contractions began again and a 22-hour labor commenced. Although Meriankh had an intimate at-home labor through the bulk of those two nights, on Monday February 17th she gave birth to a small, but healthy baby girl while surrounded by her “village”- her partner, and numerous family and friends!
Meriankh Cook’s Bio
Meriankh Cook was born, raised, and currently resides in Washington, D.C. She is currently a middle school science teacher and a happy mom of her 16-week daughter, Sefana. Meriankh has always been fascinated with birth and loves all things birth-story related. Connect with her via email: meriankhcook@gmail.com
Britax
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 the importance of rear-facing. Learn more about Britax products and safety tips at us.britax.com.
1st birth: Elise’s husband, Paul, was able to come home from his overseas deployment for ten days. At 41 weeks, Elise went in for a scheduled induction. After 27 hours (three of which included pushing), Ellerie was born via c-section. Recovery was difficult and made harder by the fact that Paul had to leave again when Ellerie was just four days old.
2nd birth: After originally hoping for a VBAC, Elise made the decision to have a scheduled c-section at 40w2d. It was the opposite experience and incredibly healing.
Elise Cripe Bio
Elise Blaha Cripe lives with her husband and two young daughters in San Diego, California. She has been sharing thoughts and DIY projects online since 2005 and is the founder of GET TO WORK BOOK, a day planner brand. In 2019, her book, Big Dreams, Daily Joys about goal-setting was published. Connect with her at elisejoy.com or on Instagram @elisejoy.
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