Sara became pregnant with her first child at the very beginning of the pandemic. Her pregnancy was smooth until the end of her second trimester, when her doctor recommended a growth scan since her fundal height was measuring quite low. The scan showed that the baby was measuring very small – under the third percentile for weight. However, weekly scans showed consistent growth and that the baby was healthy and active. At a routine MFM appointment at 35 weeks, it seemed that growth had drastically slowed down, and she was sent to be induced immediately.
Sara’s induction began with a foley bulb, inserted overnight, and then Pitocin for the next 24 hours. 36.5 hours after being admitted (but after only 20 minutes of pushing!), Liora was born. Her husband announced the sex, and it was the most beautiful moment of Sara’s life. They were also shocked by the baby’s weight – 4 lbs, 5 oz, about half a pound larger than predicted by ultrasound. Sara and her baby got a few minutes of skin to skin before the baby was taken to the NICU.
Sara and her husband were able to stay overnight in the NICU in a “couplet” room until Sara was discharged. They were blown away by the care and compassion of their entire care team. Liora stayed in the NICU for a total of 17 days to put on weight and regulate her temperature and is now a healthy and chunky 6-month-old.
Sara Gottlieb-Cohen Bio
Sara lives in New Haven, CT with her husband (Andrew), daughter (Liora), and their mini goldendoodle (Moose). Sara and Andrew both work at Yale University. Andrew is a clinical social worker at the Yale Child Study Center, and Sara works in the library providing data and statistical support to scientists across the university. Sara can be reached on Instagram @sara.gottlieb or on Facebook (Sara Gottlieb-Cohen).
Today’s episode is sponsored by Brightside. Forty percent of Americans report symptoms of anxiety or depression and it’s definitely something that comes up on the podcast regularly. You don’t have to face these feelings alone. Get fast, personalized help from Brightside. Getting help when you need it can be exhausting, so Brightside makes it easy. Connect with your expert provider online and get a personalized treatment plan of medication, therapy, or both, within forty-eight hours. With Brightside, all it takes to get started is filling out a quick, free health assessment to get matched with your expert provider for a personalized treatment plan. I took the assessment myself and was so happy to see one of the first options to choose from was postpartum depression, something many new moms struggle with.
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At 39 years old, Christi was happy to find out she was pregnant for the second time. This pregnancy was more challenging than her first in terms of routine discomforts, but thankfully there were no serious complications. She received a big surprise, however, when, in her third trimester, she was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. She decided to use the diagnosis as a wake up call to be more intentional about healthy eating and daily exercise. She was a little over a month into working on her diabetes plan when she got an even bigger surprise—her water broke at 36 weeks and 5 days!
She had planned for a medicated hospital birth, just like her first, so it was very exciting when, a few hours later, she and her husband found themselves in labor and delivery discussing her options with the midwife. She advocated for waiting to see if contractions would intensify on their own, but after ten hours without any progression, she agreed to augmentation with IV medication as well as her first cervical exam which showed she was 3 cm dilated. Shortly after starting the medication her contractions began to intensify and gradually got stronger as the medication was increased.
After about seven hours, she received an epidural right around the time the contractions started coming very quickly. Once the nurse did a second cervical check, the midwife was immediately called back to the hospital. At 5am—24 hours and 30 minutes—after her water broke, she delivered a healthy late preterm baby girl weighing 6 lb 10 oz at 36 weeks, 6 days gestation. In the first 72 hours of life, her baby struggled with weight loss, rising bilirubin levels and insufficient intake, along with a diagnosis of ABO incompatibility so they returned to the hospital for phototherapy to treat the jaundice. The therapy worked wonderfully and she was able to take her baby home for good after less than 24 hours in the hospital.
Christi Silano Bio
Christi has been married to Anthony Silano for fourteen years. They spent the first ten years of their marriage living in Hawaii and happily working, studying and traveling. In 2017 they landed in California and began their new adventure: raising a family. They have two daughters, Naomi, age three and Leona, two months. They live with their adopted dog, Dez, in Santa Rosa, California where Christi works as a nurse practitioner specializing in geriatrics. In her spare time she relaxes by baking, Bible study and jogging. She can be reached at csilano9@gmail.com.
This episode is sponsored by Milkies by Fairhaven Health. Milkies is a line of thoughtfully designed products for moms, by moms, to help support you in your breastfeeding journey. Products include breast milk collection and storage, like the award winning Milk-Saver, supplements, teas, nursing pads and much more! Milkies is generously offering 15% off all Milkies products with the code BirthHour15 at www.fairhavenhealth.com.
Lauren got pregnant relatively easily at age 34 years. The early weeks of this pregnancy were marked by uncertainty and anxiety, after an abnormal result on the nuchal translucency screening in the first trimester. Non-invasive prenatal testing later showed normal results, and she was followed closely by Maternal Fetal Medicine during the second trimester with additional ultrasounds and an echocardiogram. At 27 weeks, Lauren was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, which she managed with diet and exercise. At 34 weeks, she unexpectedly went into preterm labor. Her baby was born after an unmedicated labor that happened quickly toward the end (from 7 cm to baby in 30 minutes!). Charlotte spent 23 days in the NICU, which was stressful but the parents were thankful that she mostly needed to feed and grow.
Complicated Pregnancy with Gestational Diabetes, ending with an Empowering Unmedicated Birth
Once Lauren turned 37 years old, she felt her biological clock ticking and felt a strong desire to have their second baby earlier than originally planned. Surprisingly (but thankfully!) she got pregnant on the first cycle after her IUD was removed, and suspected she was pregnant three days before she got the positive test on the early response test. This pregnancy was more medically complicated than the first – she had gestational diabetes once more, and it required insulin this time. She also had weekly progesterone shots from 16 to 36 weeks to prevent another preterm birth. By the third trimester, when she walked into the Maternal-Fetal Medicine office, the staff knew both her name and date of birth without Lauren having to tell them! Lauren did prenatal yoga, mindfulness practice, and lots of walking during this pregnancy. She also used her research skills as a professor to read up on original empirical research studies and ACOG recommendations to educate and advocate for herself. Despite this complicated pregnancy, at 38 weeks Lauren had a spontaneous, natural, beautiful, empowering unmedicated birth that was everything she wanted. Baby Madeline completed their family and Lauren is thankful for all she learned about her body and mind during her two pregnancies.
Throughout both birth stories, Lauren speaks about educating yourself, surrounding yourself with supportive birth partners, and advocating for yourself in a medical setting. She believes that it is of utmost important for a birthing person to feel heard, supported and valued by her providers.
Lauren Jax Bio
Lauren Jax lives in the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania with her husband Steve and kids Charlotte (2015) and Madeline (2018). She is a college professor, and she teaches and researches about developmental psychology.
Mindful Birth and Parenting Philadelphia – mindfulness education for birth, parenting & life (online from anywhere, and in-person in greater Philadelphia area)
Today’s episode is sponsored by Babylist. The people at Babylist believe that you should be able to get exactly what you need for your unique and growing family. That’s why their baby registry easily lets you add any item from any store. Plus, Babylist helps you each step of the way with their customized checklist, product guides and reviews, and personal registry consultants. They’ve even got group gifting! Start your registry today to be eligible for a free Hello Baby Box of goodies for baby worth over $100 while boxes last.
After experiencing several early miscarriages, Danielle was excited to finally have a sticky pregnancy and was planning a home birth. At 33 weeks, Danielle noticed excessive swelling and asked her midwife to check her blood pressure. It was uncharacteristically high and she unfortunately developed preeclampsia. She quickly had to switch her plans from a home birth to a hospital induction.
After a nearly 3 day induction, including 24 hours of Pitocin and back labor the whole time, she was able to birth her daughter vaginally. Her daughter was born just in time, because her placenta showed clear signs of deterioration and was no longer providing sufficient nutrients to her baby. Danielle discusses her daughter’s subsequent NICU stay and dealing with postpartum anxiety. She also discusses the depression and anxiety she experienced during her miscarriages and trying to conceive journey as well as issues she faced as a black pregnant woman in New York City.
Danielle Thompson Bio
Danielle is an attorney, doula, and childbirth educator. After a 7-year stint in Manhattan, she currently lives back in her hometown of Berkeley, California with her husband, Brian, 2 year old daughter, Gemma, and dog, Azula. Danielle, a biracial, black woman, has also published in the area of black maternal health and justice (link to her work below) and hopes to continue that work in the future. Connect with her on Instagram: @danielleohello or via Email: Danielle.thompson512@gmail.com
Instagram accounts: @Healthy.highriskpregnancy, @Manhattanbirth, @Smallthingsgrowhomebirth, @birthingjustice, and @badassmotherbirther
Peanut
Peanut is an app that helps you make meaningful connections throughout all stages of motherhood. Peanut provides a safe space for mothers, expectant mothers and those trying to conceive to build friendships, ask questions and find support by introducing you to others nearby who are at a similar stage in life, Peanut provides access to a community who is there to listen, share information and offer valuable advice: Whether it’s understanding IVF, adoption, pregnancy, baby’s first years or beyond, Peanut is a place to connect with other moms in the thick of it.
Sara was able to get pregnant pretty quickly and had a routine pregnancy up until 35 weeks. At her 35 week appointment she had high blood pressure and had to go to the hospital for monitoring. After a couple of days her blood pressure began to climb higher and she was diagnosed with preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome. Sara was induced and after a fairly quick labor gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Patrick. She had to stay in the hospital a little longer than usual while the doctors got her blood pressure under control and found the right mix of medications. By 12 weeks postpartum she was back to somewhat normal and they have all been settling in as a family of three.
Sara Ryan Bio
Sara Ryan is originally from Sacramento, California but currently lives with her family in Charlotte, North Carolina. After graduating from University of California – Davis, she moved to Washington, DC where she met her husband, Chris. After a few years working in DC, Sara decided to move to North Carolina to get her MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler (Go Tarheels!) and settled in Charlotte after graduation in order to start her career in banking. After a couple years in Charlotte, Sara and Chris decided they were ready to expand their family and welcomed a baby boy, Patrick, in the fall of 2019. Sara enjoys yoga, gardening, knitting, and convincing her husband to take on increasingly ambitious house projects.
Peanut is an app that helps you make meaningful connections throughout all stages of motherhood. Peanut provides a safe space for mothers, expectant mothers and those trying to conceive to build friendships, ask questions and find support by introducing you to others nearby who are at a similar stage in life, Peanut provides access to a community who is there to listen, share information and offer valuable advice: Whether it’s understanding IVF, adoption, pregnancy, baby’s first years or beyond, Peanut is a place to connect with other moms in the thick of it.
Valerie’s journey to motherhood started with a surprise pregnancy in college that unexpectedly catapulted her into the world of midwifery, natural birth, and was a huge time of transformation in her life. Mosely was born at 40w5d in a birth center, surrounded by his dad, grandpa, grandma, aunt and midwife.
Three and a half years later her second pregnancy and birth center birth had a few hiccups along the way in the form of a subchorionic hemorrhage. Despite the minor complication, she delivered Rocco at 40w2d after only 1.5hr of active labor in the same birth center suite and surrounded by the exact same people plus a big brother and doula.
Five and a half years later, nothing could have prepared Valerie for the devastating complications she had to face with her third pregnancy. Complications started around 9 weeks with a subchorionic hemorrhage. Shortly after the bleeding stopped, her baby boy was diagnosed with congenital heart defects via ultrasound and fetal echo. Then, her water broke at 22 weeks. They were given less a 1% chance of him surviving the pregnancy after the rupture. She managed to miraculously stay pregnant after her PPROM (preterm premature rupture of membranes) for 9 very tumultuous weeks (one of which included a hospital stay for a suspected placenta abruption). At 31w3d Rex was born after his parents arrived at the hospital just in time for Valerie to push him out into the hands of his NICU and CICU teams.
Rex spent over 3 months in the hospital and had 4 open heart surgeries before he was 8 months old. Valerie is still amazed by the miracles that have taken place in her body and is excited to share the story of her miraculous boy that beat all the odds.
Valerie Rowekamp Bio
Valerie is a 37 year old mom of Mosely (12), Rocco (9) and Rex (3). She’s a Texan living in Denver, Colorado since 2013. Valerie is extremely passionate about style, beauty, personal growth, spirituality and women’s empowerment. She co-hosts Facing 40 podcast which celebrates the evolution that happens to women as they “level-up”. You can find her on instagram @charmedvalerie and @facing40podcast or her blog www.charmedvalerie.com
Motif Medical
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.
