Ep 50: Juliana Takes Charge of Her Birth Choices

Hey.  You.  You reading this.  You pregnant mama.  Guess who is charge of your birth.   Go on, guess.   If you answered with anything besides "me," I want you to rethink your answer.   Today's episode with Juliana discusses so many important aspects of pregnancy, birth and postpartum.  One of the biggest takeaways comes in the form of the discussion Juliana had with her midwife about what decisions she was comfortable with for her birth and postpartum.  I know you're going to want to listen in for this amazing wisdom!   Show Notes:   -Had a planned, assisted homebirth -Has never been a fan of medical intervention, so knew she would want to avoid that in her birth experience -Juliana’s neighbor had a homebirth right next door, and she encouraged Juliana to have a homebirth -She recognized the importance of understanding what was happening in her body as she was in labor -Learned about the process of induction and realized she did not want to be induced. -Her partner was very on board with the idea of having a homebirth “We’re in this together—we’re having a homebirth” -Juliana continued to work out and eat healthy.  The big difference was that she couldn’t go hours and hours without eating—she was ravenous! -Drank lots of red raspberry leaf towards the end of pregnancy -Katelyn’s favorite pregnancy tea  https://nourishedkitchen.com/pregnancy-tea-recipe/   -Juliana recognized that she was truly the one in charge of her birthing decisions: she knew it was her midwife’s job to convey the information, but her job to ultimately decide   -B.R.A.I.N. acronym   -Juliana was crampy on and off throughout her pregnancy.  She felt lots of uterine sensations -On a Tuesday afternoon she felt her cramps beginning to intensify and get consistent -Her midwife insisted that she sleep between contractions, and she did. -She knew how important it was for Juliana to give birth at home, so she stressed how important it was for her to rest during her early labor -Early labor Tuesday night and all of Wednesday.  Thursday early morning things got intense.  She called her midwife over around 3:30 -Was worried she wouldn’t enjoy the birth pool, but once she got in she admitted it was amazing. -Wanted to labor in the pool, but to give birth on land.  But by the time she was ready to push the baby out, she was staying in the water. -Juliana was in active labor for 6 hours, and her baby was born at 8:30 in the morning. -She says that the end of her labor was intense, but not unbearable- she feels that much of that is related to her mindset.  -Her midwife said, “I want you to grunt.”  This seemed to help her control her breathing. -We discuss how birth is so ordinary and extraordinary -Juliana acknowledges that you can prepare both physically and mentally for birth.  If you go in feeling petrified, you’re probably not going to open up, and it will probably be difficult. -She took lots of care to help position her baby properly.  She used Spinning Babies positions to align her baby optimally. -Juliana was determined to work at pregnancy and do all she could to put the odds in her favor. -Her immediate postpartum experience was difficult, though she did read Dr. Aviva Romm’s book Natural Health After Birth - He was possibly jaundiced, so sleepy, which made the initial nursing a struggle -She mentions how the stress of that situation, she feels caused her milk supply to tank…which caused more stress, and it became somewhat cyclical. -She admits that getting breastfeeding down took probably two solid months. -Juliana discusses how, yes, nursing is hard for the mother, but wow, it’s hard work for the baby!     Mentioned in this Episode:   Pregnancy Tea