Notes on Arrival

Shortly after Ana passed the bar exam, she found out she was pregnant. She was entering her new career as a lawyer and soon found it tough to balance an ambitious career and her new growing family, and the baby hadn’t even arrived yet! After an appointment with a particularly painful cervical check, Ana's water broke while she was shopping at the Apple store. From there, a long and difficult birth process began which included a series of interventions that ultimately led to a birth outcome that she had very adamantly wanted to avoid. Tune in to Ana's story to learn how to identify some key questions to ask to your care providers to make informed decisions along your pregnancy journey. 

Notes on Arrival is a podcast for women to share their pregnancy and birth experiences. This podcast does not offer medical advice.

Follow us on instagram @notesonarrival

Interested in sharing your story? DM us or email us at [email protected]

Gwen's husband Gennaro joins her to share what it was like to become a dad. He talks about his experience learning about childbirth alongside Gwen as she prepared for her first birth, and how his role shifted to become her primary birth companion during the birth of their second child. Curious about how to involve your partner in your pregnancy and birth prep journey? Are you a dad-to-be who wants to hear from another dad about his experience witnessing his wife giving birth? Check out this episode for an intimate chat between Gwen and Gennaro.

Notes on Arrival is a podcast for women to share their pregnancy and birth experiences. This podcast does not offer medical advice.

The Business of Being Born

Interested in sharing your story? DM us or email us at [email protected]

Laura is the only person that we know who has four kids under two. That's right, she became a mom of four in the past two years by giving birth to two sets of twins. And unlike so many twin moms in our country, Laura had all of her babies vaginally. When her first doctor indicated that a twin pregnancy meant an automatic c-section, she began her search for a doctor who was skilled and confident enough to offer her the option of a vaginal birth for both of her pregnancies. Aside from carrying two babies, she also struggled with Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) during both pregnancies. This episode is filled with so much interesting information about twin mom life, overcoming extreme morning sickness and advocating for yourself even when you’re considered a high-risk pregnancy and birth

Notes on Arrival is a podcast for women to share their pregnancy and birth experiences. This podcast does not offer medical advice.

https://www.hyperemesis.org/

Interested in sharing your story? DM us or email us at [email protected]

Notes on Arrival Co-Host Gwen is back to tell the birth story of her daughter. A month after moving across the country, Gwen found out she was pregnant again and had to find a whole new birth team to support her wish for an out-of-hospital birth. She shares how her experiences differed from a hospital to a birth center, and what it's like to give birth twice in the span of less than two years. Tune in for a positive and birth empowering story that ends with her husband catching their baby with his bare hands.

Curious what it's like to birth medicated versus unmedicated? Or recover from a vaginal birth versus a c-section? Erin has had 3 births, all of which were completely different. She experienced an induction and epidural for her first, a c-section for her second and her third was completely unmedicated. Follow along Erin's motherhood journey to hear how her 3 experiences differed, and how she hopes that our medical professionals and education for expecting moms will evolve by the time her daughters become mothers.

Follow Erin on instagram @eemcakes

Resources mentioned:

The Business of Being Born

Notes on Arrival is a podcast for women to share their pregnancy and birth experiences. This podcast does not offer medical advice.

Follow us on instagram @notesonarrival

TW: Severe Birth Injury

While Emily was going through transition during her labor, her medical team left the room. The nurse who remained in the room yelled at her to stop pushing while her son was crowning, giving Emily no choice but to go against her body's natural birthing process. After her son was born, she immediately knew that something was wrong, but was continuously denied confirmation, explanation and the medical attention that her body needed to heal. Come along for Emily's healing journey as she overcame postpartum depression, a severe tear and hemorrage and the surgery she needed more than a year after her son's birth.

Notes on Arrival is a podcast for women to share their pregnancy and birth experiences. This podcast does not offer medical advice.

Resources:

Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center

Follow us on instagram @notesonarrival

Interested in sharing your story? DM us or email us at [email protected]

Only 2% of pregnant women go under general anesthesia, and only 1% of women metabolize epidurals at a rate that makes them ineffective. Kerry is in both that 2% and 1% of women. She didn't have the luxury of enjoying the growth milestones and excitement of pregnancy, because every step of the way was a new medical complication that was any expecting mother's nightmare. From placenta previa and abdominal surgery to 4 failed epidurals and reverse cervical dilation, Kerry's pregnancy and birth are unlike anything you have ever heard before.

Resources mentioned:

New Mommy Guru

Should I get a doula? Should I work with an OB? Is it too late to switch my birth team? Gwen & Margo discuss how to approach building a birth team. Learn about the differences between midwives and OBs, when and how to hire a doula and how to approach financial decisions about your birth team.

Notes on Arrival is a podcast for women to share their pregnancy and birth experiences. This podcast does not offer medical advice.

Resources:

leapfroggroup.org

Evidence Based Birth

Danielle Randell

Manhattan Birth Midwifery Doula Registry

Follow us on instagram @notesonarrival

Interested in sharing your story? DM us or email us at [email protected]