Have you ever stood at the precipice of life's most profound moment and felt the world shift beneath you? Each contraction, each breath, and each overwhelming surge of emotion is captured in the intimate recollections from my recent doula clients. Their stories, recounted with raw honesty, paint a vivid tableau of the laboring journey - the peaks of pain, the valleys of doubt, and the remarkable triumphs of strength. These birth stories are not just about the babies that enter our world; they are a testament to the transformative power of childbirth on parents and families.
Visit our website, here: https://birthlearning.com/ Follow us on Facebook at Birth Learning Follow us on Instagram at @birthlearning
Show Credits
Host: Angie Rosier Music: Michael Hicks Photographer: Toni Walker Episode Artwork: Nick Greenwood Producer: Gillian Rosier Voiceover: Ryan Parker
Have you ever stood at the precipice of life's most profound moment and felt the world shift beneath you? Each contraction, each breath, and each overwhelming surge of emotion is captured in the intimate recollections from my recent doula clients. Their stories, recounted with raw honesty, paint a vivid tableau of the laboring journey - the peaks of pain, the valleys of doubt, and the remarkable triumphs of strength. These birth stories are not just about the babies that enter our world; they are a testament to the transformative power of childbirth on parents and families.
Visit our website, here: https://birthlearning.com/ Follow us on Facebook at Birth Learning Follow us on Instagram at @birthlearning
Show Credits
Host: Angie Rosier Music: Michael Hicks Photographer: Toni Walker Episode Artwork: Nick Greenwood Producer: Gillian Rosier Voiceover: Ryan Parker
Speaker 1:
Welcome to the Ordinary Doula Podcast with Angie Rozier, hosted by Birth Learning, where we help prepare folks for labor and birth with expertise coming from 20 years of experience in a busy doula practice, helping thousands of people prepare for labor, providing essential knowledge and tools for positive and empowering birth experiences.
Speaker 2:
Hello and welcome to the Ordinary Doula podcast. This is your host, angie Rozier, and we are sponsored by Birth Learning. Thank you for being here with us today. A lot of our goals with this podcast are to help folks be prepared for childbirth and for postpartum and for breastfeeding, and to be empowered and supported in the ways that they need to to have the information they need to succeed. So I have been to a lot of pretty incredible births over the last couple of weeks, just some, I don't know. All of my clients are totally incredible humans and I love all of them. But lately I've had some just awesome what I would call physiologic, straightforward births and you get to see people's power and as things kind of unfold, and so I wanted to take a moment to talk a little bit about some components of birth stories.
Speaker 2:
I've done this in past episodes where I will read some memories or some things that the dads or the dudes share after the birth experience. So when I go to a birth, I like to take notes, partly for myself, partly for my client. If I don't jot things down, I forget, and it's important to realize throughout the birth process like what's happening. So I want to write down what time did we get here? What time did the water break? What time did Pitocin start? What levels is the Pitocin at? When was the last exam and what was the results of that? I'm a data junkie, I guess, so I love all those little pieces of data. I can't let them go. But also it's good to look back Sometimes. You need that to navigate your situation and to understand and remember. Keep your own information close at hand so you can remember what happened.
Speaker 2:
So as I finish up at a birth of the client, I usually will spend one to two hours making sure everything's settled. We focus a lot on breastfeeding, making sure that first latch is happening. That's kind of a prime time to catch some good latch success there, to catch some some good latch success there. But before I go I always ask my client and her support person what stands out about this experience today, what is fresh in your mind about the events of, whether it was last 12 hours or 48 hours or two hours. However, their birth went, and this I add to their, to their birth notes that I provide for them for a postpartum visit. So today I'm going to just read through my notes as what my client says, what the birthing person says is fresh on their mind. And remember they're just like an hour or two out from having given birth. So see if you can see some themes that come out. There's some you'll find. Sometimes we find some opposite themes that come out. But I'm just going to read through some of these notes and then we'll chat about it at the end and you will have your own remembrances when this happens for you.
Speaker 2:
So this particular client says the overarching theme was how different everything was, specifically how much pushing hurt. It was hard. I was so relieved when he was born and I'm so proud of everyone. We all did a great job, which she did. Most of the work, obviously, she said I was congratulating everyone and we had to make some new decisions, but I was so pleased with my body. So overall she had a good experience.
Speaker 2:
This client says it was over before it started. I felt peace about how it went, even when I wanted to get the epidural, that everything would go the way it should. It's like I knew everything was going to be okay. She had some good instinct. She was listening to there this client. She had a pretty remarkable VBAC, a successful VBAC, and she said that it happened, how hard it was, but it happened. Believe in yourself, trust the process and your support. Regardless of all the stuff happening in my life, when it comes to this, none of that mattered and she had a lot of extra going on in her life at the time. She had her successful VBAC.
Speaker 2:
This client says it's daytime, not nighttime. We'll be back. This client says it's daytime, not nighttime. It was, she says, a more calm. There are less people in the room. It didn't feel rushed. I was more relaxed this time and having you here, talking to her support team and what everyone was doing was great. I felt very supported this time. She also had to be back, actually.
Speaker 2:
This client says it was crazy. I didn't know what I imagined, but what happened today was not it. She said nothing, indicated that we would be having a baby today. Today is my dad's 60th birthday. It was kind of what I wanted and her partner it's interesting said it. She got everything she wanted and I remember her birth was. It was the first baby. It was pretty fast. She labored in her shower at home for a long time, went to the hospital and had a baby. So this client, you have to understand, is very sarcastic and hilarious. And she said I'm excited we are both alive and that I didn't lose any organs. And she did have a C-section. She had a repeat C-section that she wasn't planning on, wasn't hoping for, but that's what happened. And she said about her baby she does look like a baby doll. This client said how suddenly it started. I had the Hollywood style release of membranes. I was surprised when I got to see her for the first time and I really remember Matthew's face and my mom's face, so she remembers how her team reacted at the birth. This client says it was raining this morning but it's sunny now, it's a nice warm day and we've got another baby. It was such a smooth pregnancy and being busy with her other daughter. This seems surreal, so kind of cool she's adding to her little family.
Speaker 2:
This client says it was unpredictable. I wonder what prompted it, meaning the labor process that kind of started when we didn't expect it. And she said the support that everyone gave me. This client says that it's God's plan. We can have as many preferences as we want and in the end it is God's plan. At the end you want a mom and a baby to go home and we need to remember that that it sounds trite, but really everyone's overarching main objective is to have a healthy mom and healthy baby. There's a lot of bonuses to that, as you know. We want people to have good experiences, positive life experiences, but the health of mom and baby is predominantly the goal that we all share. This mom says I'm kind of overwhelmed right now.
Speaker 2:
It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We just got lucky. It was a really good experience and I'm so glad we were able to change to the midwives. So this this mom she had an OB and she went into labor and she wanted and didn't want certain things that her OB was pushing right there in early labor. So she fired her OB and she asked for midwives. Luckily we were at a hospital that had midwives always on staff, so midwives came in and took care of her. She actually had her baby in the shower. It was pretty cool.
Speaker 2:
So this client says I kind of enjoyed the nitrous oxide. I'm not going lie, I was a little bit worried when it wasn't quite as painful, but the nitrous was a huge relief. I could just breathe. I have not seen nitrous work on anyone in quad as well as it did for her. She used it all through transition, through pushing, until the baby was born and she just kind of made a peaceful little bubble for herself and it worked really well for her. This client said that the shower was great. The cramping in my butt and legs was intense and then watching her head come out. I will always remember that. That client's gone on to have another baby not too long ago.
Speaker 2:
This client says it was just really hard but we did do it. We got through it together. Pushing was really really hard. It was shocking the first time I had the pushing urge and the tub was the nicest thing. So she had a beautiful unmedicated delivery, just like she was hoping. But it was tough Like it was. It was difficult for her and some people say pushing wasn't that bad. Others say that was the hardest part. Everyone's going to experience things a little bit differently.
Speaker 2:
This client said I will remember that it went from a Sunday to a Wednesday. I did forget everything as we got into it. I forgot everything we learned. But he is so worth it. I remember being tired. I remember her partner telling me the doula all about his tattoos. We had a great conversation about his tattoos that she was listening to she goes and I felt like we were rewarded and my partner was an awesome support to me and he was incredible. He was kind of nervous about his ability to support, but he was amazing.
Speaker 2:
This client said how quickly it went. I thought it would be a lot more drawn out. I didn't know what to expect when I got here to the hospital. It's kind of what they say I was in agony, but now I didn't know what to expect when I got here to the hospital. It's kind of what they say I was in agony, but now I can't remember it. I'm proud of myself and I can't get enough of you, she said to her little baby girl, who is now toddling around as a cute little toddler. This client said how amazing the people were. The staff was so kind and encouraging to me. I am proud of myself. And she said to her partner I was proud of you. That was pretty far outside of your comfort zone. He actually helped deliver the baby, which is pretty cool.
Speaker 2:
This client said it took nine months to get to this part and the fact that it is a marathon, not a sprint. This is a process. So true, we need to be patient with that process. This client said it felt really awful before the epidural Pushing was not as bad as I thought it would be and he, the baby is so cute. Other than that one hour it was not as hard as I thought it would be. So she was had a tough hour where she decided to use the epidural as a tool. So she had a tough hour where she decided to use the epidural as a tool.
Speaker 2:
This client says wow, maybe the first time I did labor and I got. This is the first time I did labor and got that far. She said after the C-section it was very different way, better than last time. I'm proud of myself and I really want to see my mom. So our support comes from lots of different directions in our lives, of course. And she did want to have a VBAC and ended up having a second cesarean, but said it was better than last time.
Speaker 2:
This client says I did not think that I could do it, but I can. The pushing part is not the hardest part. I still got a lot of the things I wanted, even though my circumstances changed, and I really appreciated that the hospital staff was very supportive of her and willing to work with her and what happened in her labor, she says. This client says just how great she did meaning to the baby. She cried right away. Her Apgar's are great. She's latching, even with challenges ahead. She is a fighter. And this client was born with down syndrome and she also is a cute little toddler now and still just a spunky little fighter. This client said how different it was, um, and it wasn't too long. This was the hardest I have ever worked in my life. I had great support and I could not have done it with all of you. A lot of our clients say that and you can, but we sure like to make it a little bit easier. I'll just read a couple more.
Speaker 2:
This client says I can't think of the painful stuff anymore. Just this baby. So she's indicating she's already forgotten the painful stuff anymore. Just this baby. So she's indicating she's already forgotten. It is so much different than I thought it would be, but I'm honestly impressed with myself. That was all pretty crazy and she had a very awesome unmedicated birth. She was one of our clients who she said I might want to avoid the epidural and she did. She just rocked all the way through her labor and and did it. This client says she's big about the baby. It was much better after the epidural. There was no way that that was happening without an epidural and I can't remember for her if she had a goal of avoiding the epidural, but she ended up getting one and it was a positive experience for her. Okay, last one. This client says I remember how long and painful it was and how supportive my partner was. He did such a great job. It was great that you to the doula were here. This might have been a c-section if without you. It did help to have the mirror as I pushed and this baby is so soft. So that is just a little example of a few people's memories of their childbirth, shortly after they give birth.
Speaker 2:
So for you, if you are planning to have a baby soon, if you're planning to support someone who's having a baby soon maybe you're a doula who's going to be helping other people through this process I would encourage you to take some notes, whether it's in your phone, jot down some things, and retrospectively too. These are your stories, right? These are important stories, these birth stories. You don't get too many of these stories in your life, so kind of make an effort to record it in whatever way you want. That might be a video. You know you're telling story on a video. It might be that you take some pictures during the birth. It might be that you jot your own thoughts and perceptions down afterwards, but it could be important to record these stories for you, for later, for those around you they are.
Speaker 2:
I love birth stories, but I'm a birth story junkie. I could listen to birth stories all day long. Thank you so much for being with us today on the Ordinary Doula podcast. Again, my name is Angie Rozier, your host, and I am glad to have spent this time with you. Hopefully you can do something today that brings you joy. Oftentimes that's reaching out and making a connection in nature or with another human on our planet. Hopefully you can find that little bit of joy by connecting with something today. We'll see you again next time. Thanks for being here.
Speaker 1:
Thank you for listening to the Ordinary Doula podcast with Angie Rozier, hosted by Birth Learning. Episode credits will be in the show notes Tune in next time as we continue to explore the many aspects of giving birth. Thank you.