Birth Matters

Today, Meredith & Thomas share their story of an uncomplicated, unmedicated vaginal birth in Atlanta, Georgia. Hear these 5-week old parents give tips for moving during pregnancy as they describe their last-minute, third trimester move from Brooklyn to Atlanta, moving in with Meredith’s parents. You’ll hear the ways in which they believe they received care that was more aligned with their preferences than they might have received in New York. They’ll also share about early breastfeeding, including how the laid-back breastfeeding position (detailed in the Natural Breastfeeding online course she’ll refer to) was so much less painful and easier than other positions, how getting a bit overzealous with pumping in the early days backfired, and how receiving expert support from a lactation consultant made a difference for the better. Finally, they’ll describe how they tag-teamed the baby responsibilities in the first few weeks and briefly discuss soothing techniques that have worked for their daughter.

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Today we welcome to the show a Birth Matters alum and professional model, Lauren Deckert, to share her birth story. Lauren’s work as a model has been featured in Harpers Bazaar China, Vogue Italia, Brides, Women’s Health, and Muscle & Fitness, hers. She’s walked the runway for top designers at New York Fashion Week, Miami Beach Swim Week, and New York Bridal Fashion Week every year for almost a decade. She’s also been a vegetarian since childhood and studied at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and is a drugless practitioner and certified health & nutrition coach. Her faith & philanthropic efforts are both important values for her and her family, and she founded a nonprofit called “Models Doing More”, which provides volunteer opportunities for Model Ambassadors wishing to offer assistance to underprivileged school children and orphaned elephants in Sri Lanka. While Lauren was pregnant in 2016, she launched a coaching program called “THE MODEL MENTOR” to empower, develop and consult aspiring models, women and model mamas and to act as a guide for those who wish to make positive changes in their lives. Three of the main principles of her coaching are Transformative thinking, Mindfulness or Mindful Eating, and Movement (which, not coincidentally, spell out the initials of The Model Mentor). 

You'll hear Lauren share her son’s birth story, in which she chose to leave New York to give birth in her hometown in Maryland in the hospital where she was born. She’ll share details about this and other holistic strategies that helped her to have the unmedicated vaginal birth that she had hoped for, and will also share nuggets of wisdom on prenatal nutrition and will share a little bit about the coach she does with models and moms.

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Today, Emily & Paul share the story of how their “spirited” son was in breech position, or head up, and how the many proactive things they tried to encourage him to flip didn’t work. Because the vast majority of OBs aren’t trained these days in vaginal breech birthing techniques, their practice included, their birth needed to be a scheduled c-section. While this wasn’t even close to their original vision for the way birth would go, they’ll share how the overall compassionate and proactive care their family received made all the difference in the world toward a positive experience. Then things took an unexpected turn when their son needed to go to the NICU when his low blood sugar couldn’t be improved with skin-to-skin or supplementation. Almost simultaneously, Emily was diagnosed with the rare HELLP syndrome, which is a variant of preeclampsia and is fairly rare but very serious, in the hours after birth. Emily shares how she received mostly compassionate care both in the hospital as well as expert care both at the hospital and at home once discharged, with a few bumps along the way.

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Today, Birth Matters alums Liz & Matt will share the details of what they call their “grumpy old Scotsman” son’s uncomplicated birth at Manhattan’s New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell. Liz will share how she had lots of back labor and how the epidural only worked partially and temporarily. Later, she’ll share about her early breastfeeding challenges of oversupply and a food sensitivity they discovered their son has. Matt & Liz will also share some tips for partners and for the postpartum period. Then they’ll reflect on the transition into life with their son, after Matt had a daughter many years ago with another partner.

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Want to hear a birth story in which an almost 10-pound baby boy is born safe and sound at home after 22 hours of labor? Ready or not, that’s what you'll hear today! Hear all about Alishia’s 2nd birth following her first birth in a hospital 15 years prior. Alishia also shares about her journey into birth & lactation work as a woman of color and her hopes of serving underserved populations in central Queens.

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Today you get a 2-for-1 -- 2 birth stories from one mama. Melissa has an almost 3-year-old, Segovia, and a 6-week old, Adelina. She shares her first 1st birth story, which was an unusually quick, 6-hour induction with no pain meds and with doula support. Then she shares her rationale for switching care providers from an OB over to working with a hospital midwife for her 2nd baby’s birth, which was an even faster, 4-hour, unmedicated labor.

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In today's birth story, Amy's labor begins with a spontaneous rupture of the membranes, laboring at home for a number of hours, eventually transferring to the hospital where the labor continues with induction and epidural. As Amy and her husband are both actors, she describes the ways in which their acting training, specifically breath work & bodywork, helped her find her groove in her 3-hour pushing stage with a fairly large baby. She shares about some postpartum struggles with pelvic floor health. Finally, she details some compelling things to consider in partner communication and establishing healthy boundaries entering parenthood, particularly in light of the hormonal roller coaster we experience after birth.

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Today’s birth story, which is the 2nd part of two consecutive episodes, will be especially helpful for expectant parents whose baby gets a clubfoot diagnosis. Joe & Beckie share their journey of their son, Elliot, getting this diagnosis early in pregnancy. They also detail their birth story of a long, 30-hour induction several weeks before their due date due to low amniotic fluid. Beckie shares lots of details about the ways that her OB helped her feel involved and informed in the decision-making process every step of the way. Because she was not even quite 37 weeks when the induction took place, there are particular challenges to the induction, as well as early breastfeeding, that Beckie shares.

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Today’s birth story, which will be broken up into two consecutive episodes, will be especially helpful for expectant parents whose baby gets a clubfoot diagnosis. Joe & Beckie share their journey of their son, Elliot, getting this diagnosis early in pregnancy. They also detail their birth story of a long, 30-hour induction several weeks before their due date due to low amniotic fluid. Beckie shares lots of details about the ways that her OB helped her feel involved and informed in the decision-making process every step of the way. Because she was not even quite 37 weeks when the induction took place, there are particular challenges to the induction, as well as early breastfeeding, that Beckie shares.

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Jennifer shares her story of an IVF-conceived pregnancy in which more than one doctor suggested scheduling a cesarean due to the size of her baby. She shares about her journey toward the decision to at least have what we call a “trial of labor” toward the vaginal birth that she desired. You'll hear how she impresses everyone by giving birth vaginally to an almost 9-pound baby. Listen to hear the smart ways she advocates for herself and makes the choices that were preferred and ideal for her & her baby along the way of her induced labor with an epidural at Long Island’s LIJ Katz Hospital. Jenn will also share a bit about how easy initial breastfeeding was, but then how things got a little trickier after that.

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