Kayla from Regina, SK shares her experiences on this episode of Moony Birth Stories.  Kayla and her husband took a little while to get on the same page about having children but once they decided to try, they were able to conceive quite quickly.  The pregnancy went well and Kayla planned to have a hospital water birth with the support of her midwives and doula.  After her due date came and went, she eventually moved forward with an induction and delivered her first son in the water, as planned, without pain medication.  Kayla opens up about her significant struggles postpartum and how she was able to get the support she needed and move forward feeling healed.  She then shares the story of her second son's pregnancy and birth which was also an induction but went very quickly.  She was also able to avoid the same mental health struggles this time due to proper preparation adn supports. 

Support the show

Jenn, from Saskatoon, SK shares her two pregnancy and birth stories on this episode of the podcast.  She opens up about her and her husband's struggles with infertility and their journey with IVF.  Once Jenn was pregnant with their first daughter, it was discovered later on that she had a very rare placenta issue and would require a scheduled c-section to ensure that labour would not start on it's own.  She also had gestational diabetes which she was able to manage with an appropriate diet.  After deliver, they were hit with some unexpected issues that required a difficult stay in NICU. Once they were able to take their baby home, postpartum went well and after about 10 months, they decided to start trying for their second baby, again with IVF.  Jenn got pregnant surprisingly quickly this time and was able to go on and have a successful VBAC delivery.

Support the show

Meghan of Saskatoon, SK shares the pregnancy and birth story of her son Nolan on this episode.  Her and her husband Mitch conceived quite quickly after only two cycles of trying and while Meghan thought she'd be very excited, she didn't initially feel that way.  She talks about how her feelings evolved throughout her pregnancy and the anxiety she had surrounding birth, as well as the choice to hire a doula for birth support.  Physically, Meghan also found the pregnancy to be quite difficult as she suffered with back and hip pain.  A few weeks before her due date, Meghan's water unexpectedly broke in the night.  Things took off from there and she shares how she coped with contractions and ended up having an unmedicated birth despite having expected she might want an epidural. 

Support the show

Kelli of Shift Birth Work in Edmonton, AB joins me on this episode to share her pregnancy and birth stories.  Kelli and her husband got pregnant with their first baby very quickly and had a relatively smooth pregnancy until she got a kidney infection at 32 weeks and developed irritable uterus.  She was hoping for an unmedicated birth but was open to whatever she might need.  Kelli shares the story of this lengthy labour and talks about some challenges she experienced postpartum.  She then goes on to share the story of her second baby and the vast differences in her experience this time.

Support the show

Part 2

Megan moved from California to Sweden over 6 years ago to be with her husband and start a family.  They were fortunate to get pregnant immediately with all three of their children but did sadly suffer two miscarriages after their first baby.  Megan's first and second pregnancies were generally very good but she found her third to be a little bit more challenging.  All three of her births were in hospital and while she had an epidural for the first birth, she chose to go without one for the second and third.

Megan opens up about her long and severe struggle with postpartum depression after her first baby and later shares how she managed to stop it from progressing to that level again after her second and third babies.

Support the show

Trigger Warning- Part one of Megan's episode describes her experience with severe postpartum depression and self-harm and can be difficult to listen to.

Megan moved from California to Sweden over 6 years ago to be with her husband and start a family.  They were fortunate to get pregnant immediately with all three of their children but did sadly suffer two miscarriages after their first baby.  Megan's first and second pregnancies were generally very good but she found her third to be a little bit more challenging.  All three of her births were in hospital and while she had an epidural for the first birth, she chose to go without one for the second and third.

Megan opens up about her long and severe struggle with postpartum depression after her first baby and later shares how she managed to stop it from progressing to that level again after her second and third babies.

Support the show

This episode features Darya from Saskatoon, SK.  She shares the pregnancy and birth story of her 6 month old daughter, Jovie.  Darya and her husband started trying to conceive in 2019 and had hoped it would be a smooth and seamless process.  Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned and Darya shares the details of their struggles with infertility, and a confusing experience with her first pregnancy which didn't end up being viable.  She then goes on to share the story of her successful pregnancy and a smooth and positive induction in hospital.  Darya did also end up having retained placenta after birth, which was discovered after her 6 week follow-up, and she talks about what that experience looked like.

Support the show

Kelsey of Hey Babe Nutrition in Calgary, AB joins me on this episode to share two birth stories.  Kelsey and her husband unfortunately experienced a miscarriage the first time they conceived and about one year later, got pregnant with their daughter.  Kelsey struggled with nausea for the first half of the pregnancy but was excited about birth and took some empowering classes to prepare.  She also hired a birth doula to support her and her partner for labour.  At the end of pregnancy, more specifically on her due date, Kelsey's water broke but when nothing happened after that, they decided to induce the next evening.  Kelsey shares how the induction went for her and talks about some breastfeeding and anxiety issues she experienced postpartum.  Their second pregnancy was a pleasant surprise and went very smoothly.  This time, Kelsey planned for a homebirth with a midwife.  Things ended up needing to change at the end of pregnancy when she went overdue and their household contracted Covid.  Kelsey talks about the speedy birth that followed and what it was like not being able to have her husband physically present for the birth.

Support the show

Kayla shares her story on this episode of the podcast.  The story begins with her and her husband Jordan conceiving after about 5 months of trying.  The pregnancy went generally well but she struggled with nausea and vomiting and ended up being diagnosed with Gestational Hypertension early on in the pregnancy.  Although some care providers had talked about induction very early on, she was able to avoid it until the very end of her pregnancy.  They did end up inducing Kayla around her due date and she goes into detail about the lengthy process which ultimately ended in a c-section and her needing to be fully put under general anesthesia.  She then shares the next intense part of the story involving her son having breathing issues and needing to be flown to a NICU in another city with her husband while she had to stay behind.  

Support the show

Caitlyn from Queensland, Australia shares the pregnancy and birth story of her daughter Sunny.  Once Caitlyn and her husband started trying, she was able to get pregnant right away.  After a generally good first trimester, she went on to find out she had gestational diabetes in the second trimester.  At around 28 weeks, something felt wrong and Caitlyn talks about how and why she required immediate assessment and ultimately needed to be airlifted to another location and put on bedrest for several weeks.  When she made it to almost 38 weeks, she started having some pain and after discovering her amniotic fluid was low, she was induced and shares how that process went for her.  She also talks about her experience with baby blues in the very early days and the development of Postpartum Anxiety later on postpartum.

Support the show