2 Surprisingly Different Birthing Stories That Actually Inspire

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In this episode of the podcast, I am talking to Haley from Let’s Mama.

Being pregnant and preparing for your little one’s arrival can be nerve-wracking.

Haley is a mother of two and has come to talk about her two completely different birth stories and tips to help you prepare for the birth story you want.

So what I planned for and what ended up happening was completely opposite of each other

The first pregnancy

With Haley’s first pregnancy, she was healthy and only struggled with pregnancy symptoms. Mostly with heartburn.

Like most pregnant moms, people came up to Haley and voluntarily shared their pregnancy stories, including her mother.

She let Haley know that she was unable to go into labor when she was pregnant with her.

Haley continued with her healthy pregnancy but did not dilate or go into labor.

Her doctor told her to wait until she was 41 weeks to give her body a chance to go into labor before inducing labor. She waited and waited. But still no baby.

Cytotec and Pitocin

Then she thought she must be like her mom and can’t go into labor on her own. She ended up going to the hospital and was started on Cytotec.

Cytotec is used to induced labor and softens the cervix.

When Haley got no results with Cytotec, she was switched to Pitocin. Pitocin is commonly used to induced labor and speed up labor by speeding up contractions.

When the Pitocin was not giving the desired effects, she was given more Pitocin. At this point, Haley was feeling pretty stressed.

And I was really kind of bothered by the fact of my whole pregnancy. I was really hoping to go into labor on my own. I was really hoping that, you know, I would be able to deliver as naturally as possible.

So, after about 12 hours of Pitocin and contractions back to back, but only three centimeters dilated, they gave Haley an epidural. “Because I just couldn’t really do it anymore, which was kind of the last resort for me.”

I really had envisioned this like beautiful labor where I was able to really bond with my husband and, you know, bring her baby into the world and it really peaceful environment.

The unplanned birthing story

After the epidural, Haley was able to relax and ended up slowly dilating. At this point, 12 hours of being on the epidural and given more Pitocin had gone by. 12 hours after that, Haley was able to start pushing.

Haley had dilated to 10 cm. At 10 cm, the body is ready to push the baby out.

But she only found herself pushing for 2 hours without delivering her baby.

I didn’t feel like I was actually delivering my baby just because I was numb and I was just trying to push random muscles that I could barely feel.

Then Haley started to compare herself to her mom’s story. Her mom had previously told her that she only had to push for 10 minutes.

Eventually, Eli was finally born after hours of pushing. Haley, I ended up tearing and endured a long recovery.

The preparation was, was really nonexistent other than just trying to be healthy for me and my baby through the pregnancy and then hoping for a natural birth but not really doing any of the steps to get there.

The second time around was different.

The second time around, Haley knew that she wanted to have her birth story much different than her first. So what did she do differently to prepare?

So my preparation started really honestly right when I got pregnant. I ended up going to see a very holistic chiropractor.

Haley decided to see a holistic chiropractor that would help her digestive disease that tends to flare up when she is pregnant. She noticed a huge change in her symptoms. And was able to focus more on her pregnancy instead of her symptoms.

So if any mamas are having thyroid issues or digestive issues or anything they might want to be thinking about ways to get themselves in the healthiest place they can be.

The amazing doula

Haley also hired a Doula.

Doulas are really not medically trained but they are certified and what their main goal is, is to help you in labor. Their job is not the nurse’s job to help you medically get through labor and make sure that you’re healthy and baby’s healthy. Their job is literally to just understand the birth process and to know, if this is going on in labor, how can we help it progress naturally in.

Doulas are amazing to support to have. Like Haley mentioned, they help you when you are having contractions and when you don’t really feel like talking to the nurses. Also, doulas can provide support for your husband or partner during labor to know how to help and support you.

Haley mentioned that she was a little nervous about having someone else in the birthing room because she envisioned this time to bond with her husband and new baby. But her doula ended being a huge help for her and her husband.

She just understands how the body works in labor and she was able to help us just keep progressing and you know, help my dilation, just keep going. So instead of being kind of an interference between my husband and I, it helped us bond more because we just felt more in control of, of managing my pain and being together.

A natural birth story

During Haley’s second pregnancy, she had lower back pain. Later she found out that her baby was facing the wrong way.

Everything worked out well because her doula was there to help her try different positions to allow her baby to have enough room to move into the right birthing position.

Her doula was a great support throughout the pregnancy and also advised her to wait until 41 weeks and 6 days before inducing labor.

The doula worked with her provider, and her provider agreed to wait.

Ultimate, she promised that she would not have to wait that long before going into labor. Haley was nervous the second time around about having a repeat of the labor she had the first time.

Haley ended going into labor on 41 weeks, three days.

She woke up to a contraction, and about three hours later, we ended up going to the hospital because they were getting closer together.

And by the time she got to the hospital and got into her room, an hour and 45 minutes passed before her baby was born. So it went really fast compared to the first time.

Haley was able to have a natural birth without the need for Pitocin.

My recovery was amazing and I was just so thankful that I had my Doula to support me and helping me along that journey of reaching that natural birth that I was hoping for.

How to have the birth story you want

So what was the game-changer for Haley to have the birthing story that she wanted? Her doula.

So, I decided to create a natural birthing course that I’m going to be launching early summer 2019. It’s going to be on LetsMama.com. You can find it on my blog. But basically it’s going to walk you through everything that I did in my first pregnancy and everything that I did differently in my second kind of comparing the two and just giving you a step by step trimester by trimester checklist and guide to preparing for the birth so that you get the birth you want and desire.

To learn about Haley, check out her website at Let’s Mama. You can also find her on Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest.

Key takeaways

To have the birth story you want, make sure to prepare in advance.
Consider a holistic chiropractor, like Haley’s, if you are having a hard time managing your pregnancy symptoms.
Think about having a doula to help you achieve the birthing story you have envisioned.

Links mentioned in this episode

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