This weeks episode is all about natural birth. Let's get an overview of what different interventions are offered to you during Pregnancy and Labour and what options you have to make informed decisions that are YOUR OWN not the choice of some random hospital/OBGYN office policy. Advocate for and empower your birth! This week is the condensed overview where I will give resources for more info. We will cover a few birth related topics more in depth next week with my friend Emma! So stay tuned for that!
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Show Notes:
We started off with a disclaimer about this very emotionally charged subject.
I shared my experience and the trauma surrounding my sisters birth and breastfeeding experience.
I talked about finding Corine Brown and her online program Love Your Labour at 6 weeks pregnant.
I talked about how I found the Birth Center I chose and the important point of recognizing that your Dr works for you and if they are not supporting your birth experience or pregnancy journey you have not only a right to switch providers but a duty to future mothers to stop supporting Drs who don’t allow medical autonomy.
This led into a discussion about medical freedom and autonomy in birth- Which is the main theme of the episode. We talked about how we should not support providers who force us to do things to stay in their care.
We talked about Medical Autonomy with regards to:
-GBS or Group B Strep Testing how GBS works and Antibiotics given at birth; I shared what my personal approach to this is and you can find more resources on alternative options in THIS BOOK and even a recipe for preventing GBS from being active.
-Blood Tests and Blood Draws
-Glucose Testing and Gestational Diabetes
-Eye Cream after Birth and the Risks of Allowing it Vs. the Risk of Refusing
-The two shots given at birth: Hep B and Vit K.
-Breastfeeding Help and Resources and how natural birth affects your odds of being able to breastfeed normally
-We talked about finding a Pediatrician after the care of a midwife and how hard this can be for those who choose not to vaccinate or follow a delayed schedule. I offer the option of starting ASAP in your search or looking for a Naturopathic Ped.
One thing we did not discuss that I would also encourage you to advocate for is Mental Health Support and Birth Control options after birth. You have the right to request or deny both or either of these things!
WE talk about the statistics of women being abused in the medical system. The majority of reported medical abuse is towards women who are pregnant and in most cases was a woman who is in labor in the form of medical staff yelling, and cohesion to participate in intervention when the patient is not able to make an informed decision.
We talk about prenatal books you can read. I suggested THIS ONE BY INA MAY GASKIN
I also suggested: Essential oils for pregnancy and birth by The Essential Midwife
We did not touch on sugar and the affects on birth weigh, hemorrhage or dramatically reduced recovery time but I did want to make a note about that here. Reducing sugar intake also decreased the likelihood of active GBS at birth
We talked about the book Babies are not Pizzas: They Born Not Delivered and how my mom introduced it to me. This one I recommended saving for when you're not pregnant because it can really evoke some strong emotions- especially for those who have experienced medical abuse or neglect.
We talked about how statistics show that low risk birth are actually shown to have safer outcomes when LESS intervention is at your fingertips.
We talked doulas and who should have one.
We talk about Placentas and Placenta Encapsulation. Here is the girl Trent hired to do ours and she did an amazing job.
We referenced back to the Online Natural Birth Class- LOVE YOUR LABOUR that I took and how it was foundational to my Natural Birth Knowledge and reviewed all the amazing info and benefits you can get from purchasing it. It truly is the best bang for your buck and was such a big part of my story. If I had to choose one resource (which is honestly where I was financially at the time) between a doula, a hypo-birthing course, a breastfeeding consultant, any live birth class any hospital has to offer… ANYTHING, I would choose this class. It gives you all the basics in all the categories to be as empowered as possible. I have suggested this class to may people over the years and would continue to promote this program dime free because it literally Changed my birth- I am however trying to get in contact with Corine to get an Affiliate Discount Code for you and if I am successful I'll add that below!! One of the biggest pushes I make for this program is for women who’s husband or birth partner are hesitant about natural birth. It was this informative empowering class that got Trent not only on board but 100% all in advocating for natural birth. I promise that I didn’t intent for this episode to be a full on commercial for Love Your Labour, haha, but I am not ashamed that it went that way it really was an integral part of my natural birth experience and took me from simply wanting something different than a medical birth had to offer but knowing exactly what I wanted and how to achieve it.
You can sign up to watch the free Natural Labour Prep Masterclass LIVE about the course here (this is what I did and talk about in the podcast- also spoiler she sometimes offers discounts to those who attend LIVE).
Can't wait to return again with Part 2 next week and introduce you to my friend Emma who has some exciting new things going on for her involving labour and birth support!