Rayna was pregnant in 2021, and as a medical health professional working in a hospital she had to endure the unrelenting workplace stress of the Delta wave of covid. On top of that, it wasn’t the easiest pregnancy due to severe migraines and iron deficiency anemia both starting in her second trimester. After a few provider changes, Rayna finally settled on using a home birth midwife because it seemed to be the right choice to address her hesitance towards the hospital setting and what she perceived as the over-medicalization of laboring women and birth.
At 41 weeks, Rayna received a healthy baby born after 20 hours of labor at home. However, she had a dangerous, unexpected complication. Although Rayna had ended up not loving her home birth midwife throughout her prenatal appointments, her provider really came through during this moment and handled the complication with unexpected confidence. As a result, Rayna did not have to transfer to the hospital and her birth story ended on a good note. Rayna plans to have a home birth again in the future.
Rayna Gardner Bio
Rayna grew up in the Raleigh, NC area. After going to college in Asheville, Rayna worked around the USA as a zookeeper for 6 years before deciding on a career change. After going back to school, where she also met her husband, Rayna has found her true calling as a Medical Laboratory Scientist. She now works in a hospital laboratory analyzing specimens and providing diagnostic testing. Rayna and her husband currently live on the Space Coast of Florida with their two dogs and their toddler
Hi Rayna! Loved listening to your birth story. I am a medical laboratory scientist as well! I found you to be so relatable as you dictated your labs to get your iron levels haha. I had an unmedicated birth last year and love listening to ParentData too. Just seemed so uncanny how many similarities we had. Anyways, thanks for sharing your story!