Melanie’s postpartum experience was wildly different than she’d expected. Giving birth 2 days after the UK went into lockdown, she spent her first few months with her twin girls in lockdown, physically isolated from family and friends. She dealt with repetitive mastitis, severe reflux and slow weight gain with one of her babies, and the general anxieties and disappointments that came with Covid lockdown. She was grateful to have her husband home from work during this time, creating an amazing bond as a new family, and especially grateful for a freezer full of nourishing postpartum meals that she’d prepared during pregnancy.
Melanie Hadida Bio
Melanie is a Canadian living in the uk with her husband Gareth and twin girls Rowan & Lior. She’s a nutritional consultant and owns a small spice blending business. She specializes in nutrition for pregnancy, postpartum, hormonal wellness, and now for toddlers!
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!
At 20 weeks pregnant, Sarah had to get a cervical cerclage due to an incompetent cervix which meant it had to be removed before she gave birth. At her 36 week appointment, her blood pressure became a cause of concern and they decided they would induce her around 37 weeks.
At just over 37 weeks, she was admitted to L&D – they gave her an epidural, removed the cerclage, and then induced her. They started with a low dose of pitocin and inserted a foley bulb. The next day, the foley bulb was removed, pitocin was increased and her water was broken. Dilation appeared to be moving slow and then things picked up very quickly and once she started pushed, it only took 30 mins for her son to enter the world. Sarah bio: After experiencing 3 consecutive miscarriages, Sarah was thrilled (and anxious) to finally be bringing a baby earthside.
The pregnancy had it’s ups and downs, but at the end of the day, all she cared about was him arriving safely, which he did! Sarah isn’t very active on social media personally, probably because her day job involves running social media for Fairhaven Health. You can find her behind the scenes at https://www.instagram.com/fairhaven_health/.
Fairhaven Health
This episode is sponsored by Fairhaven Health. Fairhaven Health offers a wide range of products for fertility – including fertility supplements for women and men, like FH PRO and FertilAid, ovulation prediction tools, sperm-friendly lubricants, pregnancy tests, and more. Fairhaven Health is generously offering 15% off of all products with the code BirthHour15 at www.fairhavenhealth.com
Jordy opted for an elective c-section with her first baby due to a genetic narrow birth canal and not wanting to risk an emergency situation. She was planning on doing the same with her second baby, however her daughter had other plans and she went into spontaneous labor at 39 weeks, followed by an urgent, but not emergent, c-section. Jordy will also talk about the stresses of giving birth during the peak of the pandemic as her son was born in May 2020.
Jordy Levin Bio
Jordy, originally from Sydney, Australia is a teacher and sleep consultant living in NYC. She is married to Dorron, an IT specialist, and has two young children, Zev who is 2 years old and Malka who is 7 months old.
Jordy can be found on Instagram at @contentedkoalas, where you will also find content on infant and toddler sleep and relaxation tips for young children.
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.
Nicole and her husband, Kyle, were excited to try to start a family in 2019. Nicole had a prior medical history of anxiety and had been taking the same anti-anxiety medication for the past ten years without any issue. Prior to trying to conceive, Nicole made a family planning appointment with her OB in order to check the medication’s safety or to be prescribed an alternative that was safe to conceive on. When told by her OB that nothing was 100% safe and she should consider weaning off her medication, Nicole did so. Ultimately, this sent her into an emotional tailspin.
Upon receiving that positive pregnancy test, Nicole and Kyle were elated. Heightened anxiety after weaning off her medication coupled with first trimester hormones led Nicole to seek out a second opinion in regards to starting medication. To her relief, she found a OB who prescribed her a medication that had been used in pregnancy and had an overall good prognosis. Around 12 weeks, Nicole switched to midwifery care and focused on learning how to cope with labor pain and fulfill her dream of having a natural vaginal birth. Nicole went into labor at 40 weeks and one day and delivered Claire in what she describes as “the perfect natural birth” that she was able to achieve with the help and support of both her husband and her midwife.
Nicole’s postpartum was extremely difficult as she was diagnosed with postpartum anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder during the height of Covid. She experienced breast-feeding issues with Claire which led her to exclusively pump. She ended up not returning to work after her maternity leave ended as she continued to battle her diagnosis during a time when the world had shut down. It was with the help of a psychiatrist and the proper medication dosage that Nicole started to feel somewhat normal. The overall anxiousness did not completely subside until she had ended breastfeeding when Claire was 11 months old.
After Claire’s first birthday, Kyle and Nicole decided to try to conceive again and to their surprise it happened quite quickly. The couple had reservations considering Nicole’s last pregnancy and postpartum but her psychiatrist assured them that relapse was highly unlikely as long as Nicole remained at her current medication dosage. Nicole’s pregnancy was uneventful until she contracted Covid at 24 weeks pregnant. Thankfully, her symptoms were mild but she contemplates that this may have been the reason she went into preterm labor at 36 weeks 6 days as Covid has been linked to preterm labor. After 7 hours of active labor and dilating to 6 cm, labor ended abruptly after an IV fluid bolus. Charlotte was born two weeks later after a four hour labor which almost ended in a car delivery.
Nicole’s second postpartum was nothing short of redemption. She felt that she was able to enjoy her newborn daughter in ways she never was able to with her first. The only anxiety she felt was what she described as “normal for a new mom of two”. While redeeming and at times blissful, it brought about a sense of guilt for her experience with Claire. Nicole was able to breastfeed Charlotte who was diagnosed with a dairy and soy intolerance two weeks after birth. Nicole was able to eliminate both from her diet and Charlotte is currently thriving.
Nicole hopes that by sharing her story it may provide a glimmer of hope for mamas with similar experiences.
Nicole Turcotte Bio
Nicole and her family reside in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. She and her husband, Kyle, share daughters Claire (2 yrs.) and Charlotte (4 mo). Nicole is a registered nurse/current stay at home mom and Kyle owns a landscaping/tree removal company. Instagram handle – @nicole.m.turcotte
Panda Crate subscription from KiwiCo, your baby receives a new crate filled with two-months’ worth of products and content every other month. Build a foundation for early learning this new year with Panda Crate from KiwiCo! Get 30% off your first month on ANY crate line with code BIRTHHOUR at kiwico.com.
Despite some severe nausea and vomiting during the first twenty weeks of her pregnancies, Kelsey was lucky to have two healthy, uncomplicated pregnancies after a miscarriage in late 2018.
During her first pregnancy after the miscarriage, Kelsey and her husband spent nine months preparing for labor, birth, and postpartum. Kelsey was open to medical interventions if needed, but ultimately desired to have an unmedicated hospital birth. Aside from being GBS+ and requiring antibiotics, Kelsey got her “plan A” for her first birth experience. It was a beautiful, empowering, unmedicated birth.
Kelsey became pregnant again in 2021 and was due just after her daughter’s second birthday. This pregnancy was harder due to even worse nausea and vomiting, as well as pelvic pain for a few months. However, she had another very positive unmedicated birth with her son; this labor was similar in many ways to her first, yet still unique.
Overall, Kelsey believes her empowering birth and postpartum experiences were due to an incredible amount of physical and mental preparation, as well as unwavering support from her husband, family, coworkers, and friends.
Kelsey Norris Bio
Kelsey, her husband (Nick), their two children, and their dog, live in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Kelsey is a full-time pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist and Certified Lactation Counselor. Her own breastfeeding journey with her daughter inspired her to become certified as a Lactation Counselor, which compliments her job as a pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist perfectly. In her free time, she enjoys water sports, traveling, and good food. Connect with her on Instagram @kelseynorris.
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 “TBH15” in their online shop for 15% off all supplies and accessories.
Arden Cartrette is a grief and bereavement doula who found her calling to help others through pregnancy loss after a long fertility journey to her son, Cameron. With two miscarriages leaving her with trauma and needed the assistance of her reproductive endocrinologist to get pregnant – she opens up about pregnancy and live childbirth after infertility and loss. Arden founded The Miscarriage Doula Co which is an online service and resource for women who are going through a miscarriage and navigating life afterward.
This episode is sponsored by Fairhaven Health, creators of Milkies and their new Vaginal Care & Comfort line. Milkies is a line of thoughtfully designed products for moms, by moms, to support you throughout your breastfeeding journey. Products include breast milk collection and storage, supplements, teas, nursing pads and much more!
Their Vaginal Care & Comfort line contains isotonic, paraben-free, glycerol-free, and oil-free products to support vaginal health. Their vaginal care line currently includes 5 products:
BabyIt, the only product specifically designed to be used with perineal massage during pregnancy.
IsoFresh, a vaginal balancing gel that supports a healthy vaginal ecosystem
IsoFresh Probiotic to help replenish bacteria and balance yeast
BabyDance Fertility Lubricant which is pH-matched to fertile cervical mucus and tested to ensure it’s safe for sperm and eggs
And Sage Personal Moisturizer and Lubricant to help provide relief from vaginal dryness.
Fairhaven Health is generously offering 15% of all of their products with the code BIRTHHOUR at www.fairhavenhealth.com. In today’s episode, our guest Arden shares a bit about her experience with products from Fairhaven Health.”
