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Lina unexpectedly found herself pregnant with her first baby while she was a senior in high school. Although she was excited for the arrival of her bundle of joy, her pregnancy was difficult because she suffered with hyperemesis gravidarum (HG). Lina planned to have an unmedicated hospital brith, but when Lina was 36 weeks and 6 days she felt a tear in her water sack that caused her to need an induction.
Although the events of Lina’s hospital birth weren’t traumatic, the way the nurses at the hospital spoke to her and treated her caused Lina to have a great deal of anxiety and sever postpartum depression. So, when Lina found out she was pregnant with her second baby, she knew she needed to do something different. After weeks of research, speaking with her partner, and listening to her intuition she knew she needed to have a homebirth assisted by a midwife to heal the part of her that was broken during her hospital birth.
Again, Lina’s water tore when she was 36 weeks and 5 days, but this time instead of having a hospital induction she induced herself naturally using castor oil and homeopathic remedies, as instructed by her midwife. At exactly 37 weeks, her second baby was born in the home Lina grew up in and it was the most empowering, encouraging, magical and amazing experience of her life.
Lina El-Saieh’s Bio
Lina El-Saieh is a 22 year old mama of two boys, Dexter and Scott. She is currently a social science major in college looking to become a successful lawyer (and maybe even a politician) one day. Lina, her boys, and her high school sweetheart, Jack, live with her parents and little sister in New York. Lina identifies as a crunchy mama. She loves baby wearing, breastfeeding, cloth diapering, and she recently started homeschooling her eldest boy. Lina’s goal as a mom is to encourage other mamas, especially younger moms, that they are able to still chase their own dreams even though they have little ones. Balancing school and babies is hard, but it’s so, so worth it! You can find Lina on Instagram @itscrunchylina.
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