Being a queer couple, Katherine & Silas always knew they would need to seek a reproductive endocrinologist to help with pregnancy. They were surprised to find out Katherine also had a diagnosis of PCOS, which was found at their initial appointment. They were very fortunate and got pregnant on their second IUI cycle. Being a medical professional, Katherine had planned for a traditional hospital birth. Her midwife’s office was right down the hall from hers, and she would give birth at the same hospital where she was employed. Around 20 weeks gestation, Katherine started listening to the Birth Hour and became enthralled with the idea of a birth center birth. After watching the Business of Being Born with Silas, they were sold. Unfortunately, the closest birth center was two hours away. They met with homebirth midwives and felt an instant connection and completely switched their birth plan at 24 weeks. The pregnancy was unremarkable, some chest pain in the second trimester and a lot of swelling.
Katherine started to panic at 41 weeks gestation with no sign of labor in sight. Her midwives quelled her anxiety and assured her she would be just fine but being the worse-case scenario overthinking Virgo she is, she worried. The midwives recommended acupuncture with a specialist, some herbs, and to chill out. After stopping work and 41 weeks and two acupuncture rounds Katherine woke up to her bloody show in the early hours of Halloween! She labored at home for 26 hours on a spooky, windy Halloween night, and with only 15 minutes of pushing Arlo Abraham was born on 11/1/2019.
Katherine Oberwager Bio
Katherine is a Pediatric Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner who lives in the Berkshires with her husband Silas, son Arlo, dog Chestnut and cat Clementine. She spends her free time hiking, baking, reading, watching trashy TV and chasing her little one. Katherine is passionate about perinatal & hormonal mental health, all things wellness, astrology and tarot. Connect with her on IG @keopeno.
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