9-Rita Sakharov-Vaginal Birth-Raiya

Description:

In this episode, Rita shares her personal experience with a hospital birth that didn’t go as she had anticipated. She goes into detail about being pregnant while living in a different state from her family, what it was like to birth at a hospital that was far away from her home, and how she felt her support during labor could have been better. 

Disclaimer: This podcast is intended for educational purposes only with no intention of giving or replacing any medical advice. I, Kiona Nessenbaum, am not a licensed medical professional. All advice that is given on the podcast is from the personal experience of the storytellers. All medical or health-related questions should be directed to your licensed provider. 

The resources I mention in this episode are listed below:

• Rita Sakharov-Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/missritajane/?hl=en 

Definitions: 

• Braxton Hicks Contractions
• Breech Baby Presentation 
• Manual/External Cephalic Version (ECV)
• Membrane/Cervical Sweep
• Mastitis
• Placenta Encapsulation

The links in the section below are affiliate links. This means I get a small compensation from the companies that are linked as a “thank you”. There is no additional cost to you, however. I appreciate your support! 

• Book Resources for this episode: 
  • Ina Mays Guide to Childbirth: https://amzn.to/4023e92 

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Transcription of Episode 9:

KIONA: Hello and welcome to Birth As We Know It. I am your podcast host, Kiona Nessenbaum. I have experienced birth as a doula, a student midwife, and as a mother of three amazing children with my husband and high school sweetheart by my side. After attending over 130 births, including my own, I’ve realized that each birth experience is truly unique. So make sure you subscribe and join me every week as we are guided through many different birth experiences through the lens of the storyteller. Please be aware that some of the stories can be triggering to hear, so feel free to pause, take a breath, and come back and listen whenever you’re ready. With that said, let’s prep ourselves to dive deep and get detailed about what really happens in the birth space. 

As a reminder, this podcast is intended for educational purposes only and has no intention of giving or replacing any medical advice. All advice that is given on the podcast is from the personal experiences of the storytellers. All medical or health-related questions should be directed to your licensed provider. 

Hello, everybody, and welcome back to the Birth As We Know It Podcast. I am super excited to be sharing an awesome birth story with you today. I am interviewing a good friend of mine, and her name is Rita Sakarov, and she will be talking about the birth of her beautiful baby, Raiya. Welcome, Rita. 

RITA: Hi. Thank you so much for having me. 

KIONA: Yeah, of course. So tell us a little bit about yourself and who’s in your family. 

RITA: So my name is Rita, obviously, and I’m 24. I had Raiya when I was 23, and she is my first child. I am originally from Washington. I went to school in Arizona, and so I have my BS in Psych, and then I moved back to Washington after I had Raiya. Some of my hobbies are like makeup. I love doing makeup. I constantly am doing makeup reviews and stuff on Instagram. So if anybody has an Instagram, I’m on there as well. And then I also do heavy weightlifting. That’s like, a big passion of mine. So I usually have to go at, like, 05:00 A.m., so it’s a little bit of a pain, but I’ve come to love going at 05:00 A.m., which I know also sounds crazy, but yeah, that’s what I do Monday through Friday and work. And then I am first generation Russian, so I am the first one in my family to be born here. Everybody else was born in Russia and immigrated, and then my daughter’s birth is the first birth that I have attended or witnessed. So, that is a little bit about me 

KIONA: That is awesome. I’m super excited to actually get into the details of this story, but the first thing I want to start out about, or the first thing I want to start out with is how was finding out you were pregnant? Was it planned? Was it unexpected? Were you excited? Tell me all the things. 

RITA: So it definitely was not planned. I was in my last year of college and in December, and I started getting really tender breasts. And I was like, that’s kind of weird. I usually don’t have that. And so I was like, whatever. It’s probably just like, I’m probably just PMSing it’s, whatever. And then that went on for about a week, and I was like, okay, now it’s starting to get a little bit kind of weird. And my boyfriend at the time, we were using condoms, and I wasn’t on birth control, so that was our form of birth control. But then every once in a while we wouldn’t so it definitely wasn’t planned, but we definitely understood what could happen. 

Honestly, me personally, I have no idea how he feels about it, but me personally, I just never actually thought I would get pregnant because I’ve honestly heard so many times women take a while. And it didn’t for me. I was apparently very fertile. It wasn’t planned, but it kind of worked out good in the sense that it was the end of 2020 that I found out I was pregnant. So December of 2020, I found out. And that’s obviously when COVID was happening. And so my school and everything was online, and I was finishing school in, like, six months. And it’s funny, my mom and I have, like, a running joke that she always said, because I’ve always wanted kids young. And she said, as long as you have a degree, just graduate. That’s all I need. That’s all. I just want you to have a degree. And so when I called her to tell her that I was pregnant, I was like, well, at least I’ll have a degree, Mom. And she was like, oh, thank God for that. 

KIONA: Very close. 

RITA: I graduated when I was about six months pregnant, so yes. It was cutting it close. 

KIONA: Yeah. You met her requirement, though. 

RITA: Exactly. I was like, that’s all you’ve ever asked for me. And she was like, I should have asked for more, probably. But no, she was really excited about it. But yeah, it was hard because I was also a full-time student and I was working part-time at Chipotle. Actually, I worked there for, like, two years. So, yeah, it was a little bit difficult, but my managers and everything were really nice about it. And if anybody’s ever worked in the food industry, you know how difficult it can be, because I was on my feet for like 8 hours a day wearing super uncomfortable shoes, and then the more pregnant I got, the harder it got to work and everything. But yeah, so back to the original question. It was not a planned pregnancy. I go off on so many tangents. 

KIONA: No, that’s good. That’s okay. So how was your pregnancy overall? Did you have any cravings, any medical conditions, or any symptoms that you didn’t expect? 

RITA: I was really sick from week six because I found out I was pregnant at five weeks pregnant, which is like, really soon to find out, but I was really in tune with my period and everything. So I knew, like I said, a week after I had missed my period, I was like, something’s off. And so from week six to week 16, so for ten weeks straight, I was throwing up every single day, all day, every day. Could barely keep anything down. It was really rough because then there’s a lot of pressure when you’re pregnant to eat and doctors want you to gain weight. And if I’m throwing up all the time, I’m like, I can’t eat, I can’t gain weight, like, I can’t get the calories that I need to grow a human. But somehow we made it through those 16 weeks. It was real rough. And then I also had high stress from school and everything to try to still be… you know, I have to finish my education and everything. 

So it was really hard to do that because my brain was just focused 100% on making a baby. Not on psychology, but thankfully, because everything was online, it kind of worked out in my favor because I could take naps in between classes and my classes were, like, on the computer, so it wasn’t too, too bad, but and then after that, I had a day in between. Around my 16th week of pregnancy, I had a day where I was, like, feeling great. And then the next day after that, I had heartburn until basically the end of my pregnancy. 

So I had to buy like, a wedge pillow and sleep at like a 45-degree angle. It was really hard to sleep. And then my butt would get sore because you’re basically sitting while you’re sleeping and it was really rough. And then my boyfriend at the time, so he’s my ex now, I’m not with him anymore, but he lived down, he lived 2 hours away from me. So I pretty much went through the entire pregnancy by myself because I was also in Arizona where I didn’t have any of my family. I had some friends and everything, but my family is like, my main support, so I didn’t have them. And then I didn’t have my boyfriend at the time either. So it was just kind of weird. I feel like going through pregnancy, like, very alone because obviously being 23, nobody else around me is pregnant or having kids. Everybody’s in college or doing whatever. So it felt kind of like isolating at times because I was like, nobody knows what’s going on. 

And I was very protective of myself in my pregnancy to the point where I didn’t share on social media at all. That was, like, a big thing for me. I did not want to I just didn’t want to invite others to have an opinion about it because it wasn’t their journey and everything. So that’s something that I did also. Throughout my whole pregnancy, anytime I would tell somebody, I’d be like, don’t share this with social media. Don’t share this. I don’t want pictures of myself pregnant unless I post them. 

KIONA: Right. 

RITA: Just because I felt like I needed to protect myself and my unborn child from any negative thoughts, even from anybody and everybody personally close to me in my life, they were very supportive. So it’s not anybody close to me. It was mostly just like strangers on the Internet, that everybody’s got an opinion. So I just didn’t want to subject myself to that when I’m trying to grow a human. 

KIONA: I get that for sure. 

RITA: Yeah. So that was my biggest thing during pregnancy, was, like, keeping it off social media, keeping it very personal, sharing it with only close friends and family. I worked until I was, like, 30… I think it was like 36 or 37 weeks pregnant. So that was pretty difficult. But we made it. We did it. Thankfully, my managers and stuff were pretty accommodating, and they let me wear leggings because we were only supposed to wear jeans. And I was like, please, love of God, let me wear leggings. 

 It was, like a pretty, pretty I mean, other than that, other than, like, morning sickness, it was all day sickness and heartburn through the last half, it was pretty smooth. I couldn’t really exercise because I went on walks every single day, like multiple walks a day because I have a dog. So I took him before work and then after work and at night and stuff. And I actually had a good friend of mine who lived close to me. Her name was Jessa, and she would walk with me. And so she was, like, one of my really close friends that knew I was pregnant and would be like, hey, do you want to walk today? How are you feeling? I don’t want to push you, blah, blah. And so it was really nice to have… she knew and so she was, like, my small source of support. Arizona. 

KIONA: Right 

RITA: Yeah. So it was really nice that she still walked with me even after she knew I was pregnant and everything. She was like, Girl, we still got to get you moving. So, yeah, she walked with me, and that was, like, my main form of exercise. But I was an athlete beforehand, and now I weightlift, so it was very weird for me to not exercise, but I kind of just embraced it and was like, my body just needs to focus on growing this baby, so I’ll just do what I can. I did, like, yoga, like prenatal yoga, and stuff my room because. That stuff is all online, so I just YouTube like, prenatal yoga for the first trimester, for the second trimester, so they have all that stuff. So that was my pregnancy. It was all right. I would say it was all right. 

KIONA: Good. That’s awesome. I think that’s really cool. So at the start of your pregnancy, did you have any idea of where you were going to be birthing? Like, when you found out you were pregnant, did you automatically know, like, oh, I’m going to be birthing at this location, or did you have options of a birth center? Did you consider home birth or were you straight to the hospital? What were your thoughts on that?  

RITA: So home birth definitely was out of the question for me just because I was not in a true home if that makes sense. I was living with college roommates and then I knew I was going to move in with my boyfriend before I was going to give birth, but we didn’t have a place set up. We didn’t have anything until literally I was like eight months pregnant. That’s when we moved in. So it was very much like I was like, home birth is definitely out of the way. And I chose a really good hospital out in Arizona, which is a banner health hospital in Gilbert. But then we moved to Phoenix, which was about 30 miles away, so that kind of stressed me out a little bit. But at that point, I didn’t want to switch hospitals because my OB was at that hospital. She worked at that hospital. I don’t know how to describe it, but I’d go to her office and she’s like, this is where I birth is at this hospital. And so I followed her, obviously, and did that, but it kind of got rough towards the end where you have to go to appointments every single week and I would have to sit in a car 30 some weeks pregnant and drive like 30 miles there and then back. It was always like a huge it was like an all-day task for me. I’d have to make sure I had work off and all that stuff. But yeah, I thought I wanted a hospital. Now, knowing what I know, that answer will change for baby two, whenever that comes. But I wanted a hospital just because I thought that was my best bet, my best option. Because it was my first birth, my first pregnancy, I didn’t know what to expect. And I figured a hospital would be like the safest way to go in case anything happened. Like they have all the staff on hand and emergency rooms right there and so many doctors and everything. So I figured that was the best way to go about it. 

I knew about midwives and doulas and everything, but I did not have the time or mental capacity to find one and connect with one and locate one just because of, between moving and just graduating and working and trying to figure out where we were going to be and settling in and everything. It was so rushed and it was happening all so fast that I didn’t even think about a midwife or a doula, which also wish I had that, but I didn’t. I did do a lot of research on different birthing positions and some stuff in labor. 

It’s kind of hard because you don’t know what to believe and what… the internet has so many resources, but you don’t know what’s a good resource or even just where to start. There’s so much out there that it’s very overwhelming. I would say. And it’s hard to know what to trust because some sites will be like, oh, yeah, don’t do this, whatever you do. And then other sites like, oh, it’s fine. It’s up to your own discretion. So you’re like, am I going to harm the baby if I do this? Is that what you’re saying? And obviously, as a first-time mom and for my first pregnancy, I was very cautious towards a lot of things and was like, don’t think I could do out of hospital. But now knowing what I and I also wanted an unmedicated birth, and we’ll get into that, but that did not happen for me, unfortunately. 

KIONA: Let’s slowly make our way into that. So I guess let’s start out with what was the first sign that you felt and realized when you were in labor? Did you automatically know that it was labor? Because some people out there like, oh, you’re going to know when you’re in labor versus, like, Braxton Hicks and stuff. 

RITA: So I didn’t even realize I’ve been having Braxton Hicks for kind of a long time in my pregnancy. Low-key had Braxton Hicks for, I don’t know, probably at least, like, five or six weeks or something like that, where every day. And I had no idea. I was just like, look at my stomach. And I’d be like, oh, it’s making this weird shape, and it’s really hard. What is this? And then I brought it up to my OB at one of my appointments, and I was like, yeah, sometimes my stomach does this weird thing. And she’s like, oh, that’s a Braxton Hicks. And I was like, oh, that’s what that is. I had no idea what to expect. People say it, they throw it out as if you’re supposed to know what that is. And I’m like,  I had no idea that your stomach like, my whole stomach would make this weird jelly bean-type shape around the baby. And I was like, what is going on? What is this? But it didn’t hurt or anything. It would just get really tight, like, really tight, and then it would just pass after a couple of seconds. So I did have a lot of Braxton hicks, so I was aware of what those were like. But then everybody also says Braxton Hicks are nothing like real contractions. And you’re like, okay, well, I don’t know what real contractions feel like either way, so it’s not helpful to me. But I did kind of know. 

So I was supposed to get when I was 39 weeks pregnant, I was still, I think, only, like, I think like two or 3 CM dilated. Like, I was not very dilated. And I was sitting there for a while, for a few weeks. I was at two, and actually, when I went in for my 38-week appointment, my OB was like, feeling around just on my belly. And she put her foot (hand) down, like at the bottom of my stomach, and was like, I don’t know if I’m correct, but I think that’s a foot and it was like at the base closest to my vagina. And I was like, I’m pretty sure her head is supposed to be there. And she goes, yeah. And I was like, great. So we did a real quick ultrasound and she goes, yeah, this is definitely her feet. Like, she is not flipped the right way. And she was like, we need to try to get her to flip. And I was like, oh, great. Thankfully, because I did live in Arizona, I went to the pool every day after that and would swim around and just let my belly just kind of like hang and be in the water. And I did, like, inversion where I’d have my knees up on the bed and have my elbows on the ground. And I was like at like a 45-degree angle, head down, trying to get her to flip. And it did work. 

KIONA: Nice. Perfect.

RITA: If anybody wants to know if those things actually work, they do.

KIONA: Did you go to any specific place to learn about that? Like to learn about the inversions? 

RITA: I just googled it. 

KIONA: You got to flip the other way. Got it. 

RITA: Yeah. I was like, well if she’s upside down, if I go upside down, she’ll flip the right way. That was like, my thought. And then I confirmed that I went online and looked it up and stuff because they were like, we can do a manual inversion, but those are usually pretty painful. So try to see if you can get her to flip so that we don’t have to do that. And I have heard that those are painful. Like I said, I didn’t have to get one. Thankfully. I think it was the water because she had the room the pressure was released and she had room to move around a little bit more because I’m a pretty small human and she was a real big baby, so she was pretty cramped in there. Um, but yeah. So then 39 weeks, I was like, not really, like…very dilated at all. And it was kind of just sitting at 3 or 4. Then my doctor was like, okay, since you’re not really progressing and she is a really big baby, she’s just going to keep growing the longer she’s inside of you. And she goes, I definitely don’t want you to go to 42 weeks. If you’re over, that’s fine. If you’re over 40 weeks, that’s fine, but we definitely don’t want you to get to 42. 

And I was like, okay, that’s fine with me. And so she said, let’s schedule. I had an induction, I believe. Is that what…an induction?

KIONA: Mmhmm

RITA: Yeah, where they were going to induce me. I had an induction scheduled for Friday, and on Tuesday I had a membrane sweep scheduled because they’re like, you just come in, we’ll sweep everything, and hopefully that’ll get labor started if you don’t start by then. And then on Monday, which was I was already like so my original due date, I believe, was the 6th, and then I think it was like the 8th. On Monday is when, or 9th, maybe, I started having contractions at three in the morning, and it was very far spread apart, but I could tell that something was different. I didn’t know that it was a contraction, so I definitely was just kind of confused. But the first one at 03:00 A.m., did wake me up because I would say I’m pretty in tune with my body, and I can pretty much feel when something is off. And so I definitely felt like, okay, that was definitely not like it wasn’t a Braxton Hicks. It doesn’t like, I can still talk through it, walk through it, do all that stuff, but it definitely felt like something.

And so from 03:00 A.m., I just kind of went back to bed because I was like, I don’t think anything is really happening, but I made a mental note of it and then I had contractions for, like, every like, sporadic first. It turned out, like, every, like, 20 minutes. So, like, I had a really long labor, if you consider it from, like, the start of my contraction at 03:00 A.m. To, like, when I actually gave birth, it was like 33 hours in there, so it was really long. But I would say, like, active labor didn’t start until probably, like 08:00 PM ish. So from 03:00 A.M. to 08:00 P.M., I was just kind of, like, hanging out, cleaning, doing whatever, eating, taking a nap, but I was still having, like, every 20 ish minutes, or it would go like 20 minutes, and then it would go 10 minutes, and then it would go 20 minutes again. So I was like, I don’t know what’s happening, but I made note of it because I was, like, definitely more frequently than a Braxton Hicks and feels different than a Braxton Hicks. So it’s kind of, like, weird. I didn’t know what was going on. And then around like, 8 or 09:00 p.m., I was like, okay, now they’re starting to get closer. Now they were, like, five, 6 minutes apart. And again, I was worried because my hospital was 30 miles away. And so I was like, I want to make sure I get to the hospital. I don’t want to be giving birth in the car. 

KIONA: How long did it take you to drive that 30 miles? Was it usually, like, a lot of traffic? 

RITA: Well, thankfully, because it was so late at night, there wasn’t very much traffic. And also, my boyfriend at the time, he was driving real fast because we were obviously both scared that I was going to give birth in the car. But I waited to leave for the hospital when I was having contractions, probably like, 3 minutes apart, I would say. And then that’s when I was like, all right, we got to go. I’m not about to give birth here. I’m not about to give birth in the car, so let’s go. And in the car. I don’t know if this is probably why you’re supposed to have your hospital so close because car contractions are by far the worst contractions ever. They are the absolute worst

KIONA: The worst…

RITA: because you are just so confined in this. And of course, I sat in the front seat. I should have just went in the back and laid down or something, but I sat in the passenger seat. And these contractions, I mean, they were on ten already, and I was like, oh,  my God, just get to the hospital so I can get out of this car. I  don’t know what it was about a car contraction, but seriously, like, the worst experience. 

So we get to the hospital probably around, like. I want to say it was like eleven or twelve because I kind of like I said, I waited for contractions to get closer and it took about an hour and an hour and a half-ish. And we were getting our stuff together and all that stuff and so we get there around eleven or twelve ish and I say, hey, I’m pretty sure I’m in labor. These contractions are really coming on stronger and closer together. And they’re like, have you been timing them? And I said yes. And in the car they got to 2 minutes apart and so I  was like, okay, I’m getting a little nervous now. 

And so we get there and she goes, okay, let me check you. And I think I was at like I want to say I was only like 5 CM dilated at that point when I got to the hospital. And this is where my birth experience kind of took a turn in a direction that I didn’t want it to go. Because the first thing they did was they put the monitor on my belly and they told me to lay down. And they were like, Lay down? We have the screen and everything, we’ll monitor your contractions. Yada yada yada. And I was like, But I don’t want to lay down. I want to walk around. I want to walk through the contractions because I know that that’ll help with labor. Because I had done some research and so from my research, I knew that walking and movement was the best way to get through contractions. And so when they told me to lay down I was like, are you guys serious? You actually want me to just lay here and do what? And they’re like, Just relax. And I’m like, if I relax, of course, it’s going to slow down labor. Then my body…

KIONA:  But, even like, can you relax? 

RITA: Exactly. Yeah. I’m like, okay. And they wouldn’t let me get up and move while I was having it because I was still having contractions, obviously throughout everything. And they wouldn’t let me get up. Like I asked if I could get up and they were like, no, you have to lay down. And I was like, Are you guys serious? To me, it was mind-boggling that they were telling me not to do it and I’m a big rule follower. And so when they told me no, I was like, okay, then I guess I won’t. But I was still really upset about it. And my boyfriend at the time was there. He was just trying to calm me down and was like, hey, it’s okay, just lay here. And I was like, no, I don’t want to lay here. This is not the way I want to go through labor. But whatever, I did it. And then after an hour she goes, Let me check again. And she goes, oh yeah, you’re not progressing, you can go home. And I was like. 

KIONA: They sent you home. 

RITA: They tried to send me home. They said we can’t admit you because you haven’t progressed enough, so we’re going to send you home. I looked at this nurse, and I said, we live 30 miles away, I’m not going home. And they’re like, well, we can’t admit you, so you at least have to leave the hospital and come back. 

KIONA: Wait, so all of this, them forcing you to lay down was in the triage? Like, you weren’t even in the room yet.

RITA: Yes, I was in the triage.

KIONA: I’m surprised that they wanted you to go home when you were dilated to 5 CM because usually the admit centimeter dilation is 4 CM. 

RITA: Well, so they said I wasn’t progressing enough and my water hadn’t broken either. And so that’s why they were like, well, your water hasn’t broken and you’re not progressing fast enough in an hour for us to admit you. And I’m like, well, no crap. I was about to swear. I was like, no crap, I’m not progressing. You just made me lay down. Of course, my body is not going to progress. 

 KIONA: I have so many …feelings? 

RITA: No, me too. I was pissed. I was like, Are you guys serious? And so I was like, whatever. I was like, I’m not going to argue with these people. We’ll leave. There was a hotel across the street. So I was like, let’s go check into the hotel for a night. Whatever it is what it is, or not even for the night. It ended up being for like 2 hours or something like that. But of course, we had to buy the whole night and it was like $150 for a hotel that we stayed in for 2 hours. It was ridiculous. We went and picked up food because we were both hungry at that point. So we went and got Jack in the box. It’s probably not the best, but it’s something. They were like the only ones open because at that point it was like 01:00 a.m.. So he got food, went back to the hotel.

And when we were at the hotel, one of the nurses, as I was leaving, was like, try running a warm bath. Just try that. That could help. And I was like, okay. I didn’t think about that. I’ve heard of water births, but I didn’t think of anything to actually just go sit in a tub, which would have made a lot of sense because when I was 39 weeks pregnant in the pool, the pressure release was so nice, and not have that. So I should have thought about that. But obviously, I was in labor, so I wasn’t thinking straight. So we get to the hotel. We’re eating. We set up like I had a little tablet, and we set up Grey’s Anatomy. We’re watching Grey’s Anatomy, eating curly fries and pancakes in the tub. Honestly, it was like  a nice little 

KIONA: Curly fries and pancakes…

RITA: Yes, curly fries and pancakes was what I had ordered because I’m vegetarian. So what are you going to order from Jack in the Box as a vegetarian? And so we’re, like, sitting there, and that was one of my favorite moments of birth because the rest of it was kind of shitty, to be honest. 

KIONA: You’re fine. 

RITA: And so that was, like, a nice moment where I just got to, I actually did relax, and the contractions in water did not feel as intense. I actually felt a lot of relief, and I was like, this is actually nice. I could do this. I can handle these contractions in the water. I can do this. This is nice. Compared to the other ones that I was having, especially the car ones. I was like, oh, I’ll have contractions in the bathtub any day over those car  contractions. And so we’re just eating. And then my boyfriend went and he’s like, Can I take a nap? Is that okay? Are you going to be okay? And I was like, yeah, let’s both try to take a nap or something, which I’m 5 CM dilated contracting every two minutes. Let me take a nap. Sounds like a good idea. 

KIONA: It’s worth a try. 

RITA: Yeah. So I did lay down, and I think for, like, 45 minutes. They also told me to take ibuprofen or no, was it Tylenol and Benadryl or something like that to get myself to fall asleep or something, or I don’t even know what it was because I told them I was tired, but I can’t sleep. And so I think they’re like, take some Benadryl. Like, maybe it’ll make you drowsy enough. Which is kind of also seemed counterintuitive. Like, shouldn’t I be trying to progress labor faster instead of taking a nap? But at this point, I didn’t know what was going on. My boyfriend had no idea what was going on. It was just the two of us and doctors telling us random stuff. And it’s not really, like, how helpful. At that point, he took a nap for probably like an hour. I laid there next to him suffering through these contractions for like, an hour. And then I kind of rested a little bit, I guess you could say, in between contractions, I was like, napping, I guess. Because at that point, they did slow down again because I was laying down and relaxed. So they slowed down a little bit, and then I was like and then I had one really bad contraction and really, not bad, really intense. And so I stood up, and then I made him get up because I was like, I cannot like, I need your support. I need your help on this. I cannot do this by myself. This is really rough. And so I’m also sad because I didn’t know any, like, birth partner support positions or anything. I know a lot more now, but back then, I didn’t know any of that stuff. 

And so the ones that we did do, I had my arm around, like, my arms around his neck, and he was kind of, like, holding me up and just kind of like swaying side to side and stuff. Like that one was nice. I think I tried the one where you have your foot up elevated on a surface. I think it was on a couch. And I was just kind of doing, like, lunges through the contraction, which that was nice, too. And then I think the contractions got to 1 minute again. We were across the street from the hospital, though, so I was willing to let them get a little bit closer. And so I called the hospital in the middle of my or, in between two contractions and was like, hey, I’m contracting every minute. And you all sent me home. And I’m at a hotel across the street. Can I come back now? I literally asked them on the phone because I was like, I’m not about to go back in in order for you guys to send me home again. That’s what we’re not doing. And so they were like, yeah, come on in. And I was like, thanks. I had a lot of attitude at that point because they sent me away. They sent me away. I was pissed. I was like, how can you do this to somebody who’s clearly in labor? Like. Hello. And so we get back I think I got dropped off at the front because there was no way I was going to walk across the entire parking lot. 

So I got dropped off at the doors. Basically, they took one look at me and they were like, do you need a wheelchair? And I was like, oh, now you guys believe that I’m in real labor. Thanks. Because I had to stop every few feet and breathe, then moved through my contractions. And I wasn’t making any noises or anything. I was just like you could just tell physically I looked like I was going through it, because I was. And so we finally made it in. They skipped triage complete this time. They’re like, yeah, just get her in a room. Like she was here literally, like, 2 hours ago. Get her in a room. So they finally got me in a room. And while I was in the in the hotel, too, I forgot to mention this because, at that point, I had been working through labor for around 24 hours from that very first point of that first contraction. All day. But active labor? I don’t know. Break it up, really, I’m not well versed in but I consider it 24 hours because I was up at that point for 24 hours, basically.

So at that point I looked at my boyfriend at the time and I was like, I know I said, I want to do this unmedicated, but if I’m not even anywhere close to giving birth right now and I’m so exhausted as is, I don’t think I can do this without something. And I had very much told him, I don’t want to do it medicated, I want to do it naturally. I literally told my OB previously, I want to give birth standing up, basically. And she said I will follow you around the room and catch the baby if I need to, if that’s what it comes to.

KIONA: Oh that’s awesome!

RITA: My OB was one of the only people that I felt was truly supporting me. But she wasn’t there when I got to the hospital because it was also the middle of night. It was like three in the morning, so. She wasn’t there. I just had like, nurses and stuff. And so I kind of caved and felt very pressured to get the epidural. And I didn’t want it originally, but at that point, nobody was giving me any other option. I had no other support, no other options, or at least that’s how everybody, including my boyfriend at the time, that’s how everybody was making me feel about it. And so it was really rough being in that position where you know that women can do this naturally, and I know I possibly could have done it naturally if I had XYZ, if I had the support if I had music playing in the room, which they also didn’t let me do that. They didn’t let me turn on music, they didn’t let me do anything. And so that’s kind of where I get kind of bitter about my birth experience because I feel robbed of something that could have been. 

I know how magical and how amazing my birth could have been if I had had the right people around me and the right people supporting and advocating for me. That’s where my birth would have been way different. At that point, I was like, just, sure, just give me the epidural, because nobody’s giving me any other options. Just give me the epidural and whatever. So the anesthesiologist comes because they also were like, you want to do it before it’s too late? Don’t wait too long, because then you really can’t do it. And I’m like, so you all are really not going to help me through this labor at all? You’re just going to force an epidural on me, basically. So I kind of just gave up at that point because I said I had no other avenues, nobody was providing me with anything other than an epidural. And against every fiber and being of my body, I said, sure, I signed whatever, was like, sure, give me the epidural at this point, whatever. Nobody’s helping me. I felt very helpless in that moment. That was like a very low for me. So, yeah, it’s just not how I wanted it, not how I imagined it. And I was actually very like, throughout the whole pregnancy and everything, I was aware that because you don’t know your birth, you don’t know your body, you don’t know what’s going to happen. I was aware to all avenues of what could happen, and so I was pretty much open to everything. Um, but I always told my OB, my partner, everybody around me, like, an epidural is like last resort. If nothing else, then I’ll do it. But it felt like I just needed somebody there who knew what was going on that could have helped me through it, and then I wouldn’t have had to do an epidural at all. But. Yeah. So they gave me the epidural, and it was nice, I guess, in the sense that I slept for a little bit and I couldn’t feel contractions. But there are some women who love, they love themselves in epidural births, and you don’t feel anything. You’re laying there. It’s so peaceful, whatever. 

And I’m like, no, I wanted the, like, the intense, I am giving birth like, feeling. So I definitely didn’t have that. And I hated the fact that my legs were numb. I hated the fact that I had to get a catheter. I hated the fact that I couldn’t feel a single thing. I didn’t know what was going on. They would just look at the screen and be like, oh, yes, that was a big one. And I’m like, cool. Great. I’m laying there, medicated as heck, just like, all right, great. It felt like my birth was happening to me. It didn’t feel like I was in control and in charge of my birth. Which is why I say I don’t want the next birth to be a hospital birth at all because I don’t want that experience, that’s for sure. So then I got to like 10. They were, like the crazy thing, too, that people don’t talk about with epidurals because they were moving my legs for me. I couldn’t lift up my own leg. It just felt so unnatural and almost like, inhumane. I didn’t feel like a person. And like I said, that’s not to deter from any woman who has an epidural birth. Like I said, some women love it. I just was expecting a much different birth experience, and I was preparing myself for a much different birth experience, and I just didn’t have that. So it was very odd for me. 

They would put the peanut ball in between my legs and everything, and I felt bad almost that the nurses had to move my legs for me. And I don’t know. It was just so weird. I just didn’t like it at all. And the catheter thing totally freaked me out. I was like, this is so odd. I don’t want a catheter. But there’s no other option. So, yeah. 

KIONA: Did they check you at all before giving you the epidural? 

RITA: Yeah, I think I was at like 6, want to say, and that’s when they told me, yeah, that’s kind of where they told me it’s now or never type thing. 

KIONA: That is so interesting. Yeah, I mean, I think that that’s super interesting because… not every person gets checked before they get the Epidural. I would say it’s more common to get checked than to not get checked. But when you’re at 6, they tell you now or never. I feel like that’s bonkers. That’s completely untrue. Unless they have no faith in their anesthesiologists. Because I’ve had clients and this is just the personal experience here. You are also in a different state and the policies and procedures are different. But in Washington with clients, I would have a client, they would be pushing and they’d be like, I can’t do this. I need an epidural. And so they would get an Epidural while they’re pushing. Obviously, they were in the early stages of pushing. Like, you couldn’t see any crowning or any head yet or anything like that because at that point then they’re like, Is it really worth it? Your Epidural may not even work by that time. So. yeah, that’s so interesting. 

RITA: That’s interesting because I didn’t know that either. Now that makes me feel even more upset about it. 

KIONA: Oh, sorry. 

RITA: No, not in a bad way, but more of like, they could have done more. They could have helped me out more instead of just pushing it up. And it was seriously like, there was not a single person that felt like was listening to what I wanted. Everybody was like, yeah, just give her the epidural. And I’m like, shouldn’t somebody ask me what the heck I actually want or see how they can better help and support me rather than just pushing meds on me? I don’t know. And then they also tell you that you have to be really still when you’re doing that epidural. And I’m like, hello. I’m in labor with contractions. I’ll be as still as I can. But, you have contractions and tell somebody to be still. 

KIONA: It’s definitely hard. 

RITA: Yes.

KIONA: I’ve watched many clients go through that, and they’re like, what the hell are you asking me? This is impossible. 

RITA: No, literally

KIONA: but it’s very important. 

RITA: Yes, I understand, but then it also makes it scary because, you know, one wrong move and you’re like, I don’t want to be paralyzed with 

KIONA: They pressure on you, for sure. 

RITA:  Right. So you’re like, But, Dang, like, I’m in the middle of contractions. I can’t just be still. Don’t better be fast. The anesthesiologist was actually really nice and really chill, so that was nice, but didn’t want the epidural in the first place. So then I got to, like, 10. My water broke right before I was supposed to start pushing, like, right before for and because I had an epidural, I didn’t feel like the gush. I didn’t feel like anything. They basically were like, oh, your water broke. And I was like, oh, nice. It was, like, a very weird thing, but. And so I was having really, obviously really intense contractions. Couldn’t feel anything. Then they were like, okay, we got to get your doctor in here. And I was like, yeah, that would be nice. At this point, I was at 10 CM. They were preparing me to start pushing, and my doctor was still not in the room. And I was like, shouldn’t she be here by now? And so that was weird. I don’t know what she was doing. 

But anyways, so they get my legs up in the stirrup, which also I did not want to give birth on my back. That was like another big thing. But because of the epidural, didn’t really have any options. So they threw my legs up in the stirrups and basically said, okay, you can start pushing. And I was like, okay. So they told me they timed it with my action. Obviously, I couldn’t feel it, so they had to tell me, okay, start pushing now. So I’d started pushing, and there’s also different ways of pushing that I knew about and that they didn’t, which was crazy because the way that the pushing, I guess technique that I had heard about and that I had read about, that is most common, is a lot of women hold their breath while they do it. But I wanted to breathe through it, and I felt like, I don’t know, that’s what I had read. And so I was trying to breathe through it, and they were like, no, don’t breathe. And I was like, don’t breathe. Do you mean don’t breathe? And they’re like, you just need to bear down, but don’t breathe. And I’m like, that literally does not make any sense. Like, how am I supposed to not breathe? So it was, like, really weird that they were telling me that, and I was looking at them like they were crazy. I was like, I am going to breathe if I want to. You all have taken enough of my birth experience away from me. If I want to breathe through this, I’m going to breathe through it. 

Um, so I was, like, breathing through it, whatever. They were not happy about it. I didn’t care at that point.  And honestly, I had probably one of the fastest deliveries they have ever seen. And I didn’t know because the nurse came up to me when I was about to start pushing, and she goes, just so you know, a lot of first-time moms end up pushing for around 2 hours. And I looked at her like, Are you serious? 2 hours? And she was like, yeah, 2 hours. And I said, absolutely no way in hell I’m taking 2 hours to push this baby out. And she was like, that’s normal. That’s common. And I  at her, and then I looked at my boyfriend. 

KOINA: It is, it’s kind of crazy, 

RITA: But for me, I was like, that’s insane. There’s no way. I’m literally like, the baby’s right there. And I looked at the nurse, and I looked at my boyfriend, and I said, no way. And I pushed Raiya out in 15 minutes. 

KIONA: Nice. 

RITA: Because I was like, no. I was like, no, I am not doing that. I am getting her out. I will give these I think it was only, like, four contractions worth, to be honest. It was not a lot at all. It was 15 minutes. I think it was a gap probably around maybe five four or five contractions worth of pushing to the point where my doctor barely made it. That’s why I was like, shouldn’t she already be here?  Because I’m literally like 

KIONA: You’re like, I know that is is going to go…

RITA: I’m not going to take 2 hours. So she comes, like, running in. She didn’t have time to put on face stuff, like a plastic shield or anything. So when Riaya came out, my amniotic fluid went everywhere and literally doused her like I doused her in amniotic fluid, and she got it in her mouth and everything. And I was like, that’s disgusting. But I was like, but that’s also your fault for not having anything on your face. I don’t think I would want to be that close to somebody giving birth and not I mean, have at least, like, a mask on your face.

KIONA: You know, honestly, though, before COVID doctors usually maybe would wear protective glasses. They wouldn’t usually put a mask on or have a face shield on, at least where I was practicing, just because they’re like, all right, cool. The possibility of getting splashed or peed on or whatever is there, but it’s. It’s common, but I don’t think it’s common enough for people to be like, okay, let me suit up. I also had that experience with Kavina. I sprayed the heck out of my doctor yes. 

RITA: Because I guess I had a lot of fluid. Yes. She got a face full of amniotic fluid, and I was like,  that’s gross. 

KIONA: yuummm

RITA: I literally think I said that to her. I was like, that’s nasty because I had an epidural at this point, it was what it was like. I couldn’t feel anything. And I was like, oh, that looked rough for you. I couldn’t feel it, but looked rough on your end.  And I remember she so after I had delivered, she held up Ryo. We have a picture, actually, of it of her holding up Raiya to the light. There was, like, a spotlight on her. It was, like, the craziest thing. And so I remember I looked up because when I was pushing, I kind of had my head back. And so when I looked up and I saw her and she was holding her up, it was like this angel moment type thing, because I had the light on her, and she was just holding her, just perfectly posed. I don’t even know. She was the cutest little thing, and it was, like, the most insane, like. Realization. But also I couldn’t believe I’d actually done it and I couldn’t believe that I had actually given birth and had a baby. There she was. She was really there. This wasn’t just me imagining it, she was really there. And so they put her on my chest pretty much right away and obviously I was just crying and I was just like, what is going on? There was an actual human that was inside of me and now she’s on me. What is going on? I couldn’t grasp the concept. My brain was not processing it at all.  And so yeah, so it was just nuts. And the whole thing was so fast because 15 minutes of pushing so it went so fast. I actually do have a video of it as well. I have a video recording of it. I have shown my friends, but I have never watched it because I’m like, I’ve lived it, I don’t need to relive it.

KIONA: It Bings back too many memories…

RITA: All the details that I have are from me never watching that video. So I feel like it’s I mean…

KIONA:  I don’t think you have to watch the video to even know the details. You were in it. You were doing it. 

RITA: Exactly. Yeah. So she held her up. We didn’t do delayed cord clamping because I didn’t really know about that. And then I don’t have a memory of birthing my placenta at all. I think that has a majority part to do with the epidural. I just didn’t even feel it or anything. I did encapsulate my placenta and the hospital also had a big pushback on me on that because they were like they’re basically just throwing shade about it, like she’s taking her placenta home. And I was like, why do you have to be so mean about it? Just let me it’s my placenta. It came out of my body and.

KIONAL Yeah, I’m sure they had you fill out, like, a form. 

RITA: Yeah, they had to fill out a form. And the nurses were all looking at me crazy. And that was the one thing my doctor and I did not see eye to eye with, because she was like, I don’t trust the process. And I was like, you don’t have to. It’s not your placenta, it’s mine. So, yes, we got the placenta out to the person, and then it was just like, a whirlwind of just stuff happening around me. And I had no idea. I don’t even really remember the first 48 hours of when I actually gave birth. I remember a lot of we did a lot of skin-to-skin because nobody tells you what to do when you actually have your baby. And so I didn’t know what to do. And so the first thing I did was I just put her on my boob. I was like, yeah, that seems what I should be doing.

KIONA: Thats a good instinct. yeah. 

RITA: This seems right. And she latched immediately. No issues, no nothing. It was so nice because I obviously was prepared for if anything happens. Babies don’t always latch, right? And it could be really painful. And obviously, everyone always tells you the horror stories and the bad stuff. Nobody told me it could also go perfectly fine. For me, it went perfectly fine, but. And I really enjoyed breastfeeding pretty much, and she loved just being on my boob. She loves food to this day. So she was born an eater. So it was really crazy when because I didn’t realize that your milk nobody told me that your milk doesn’t actually come in until a few days after, so I didn’t know that. I thought there was just already milk there. Like, I had no idea. So it was just like the colostrum and everything that she was getting, which was enough for her at that time and everything. And then a few days later, my milk came in and my boobs were huge. Two or three sizes. I went up two or three bra sizes. When my milk came in, it was nuts. And I’m very small-chested. So it was like a crazy experience for me. I was like, oh, my God, this is what it’s like to have boobs. This is crazy. 

I did start pumping almost immediately because they also I don’t remember how that became a thing for me, but I think I wanted to have a stash just in case. And my boyfriend at the time wanted to be able to feed her. I didn’t pump, actually. I think it was like two weeks. I didn’t start pumping, but two weeks old. That’s when I started pumping with her. And then I kind of realized that obviously when you pump, you’re letting your body know that you need to be producing more milk. And so then I would get engorged. And I did actually get mastitis once, and I thought I was dying. I literally thought I was dying. It was the worst. I woke up in a full sweat, shaking fever, like, runny nose, like, everything, but I literally felt like I was dying. And then my boob hurt so bad. It was my right boob, and there was, like this bright red spot on it, and it was, like, rock solid. And I was like, oh. My God. I know. This is mastitis. This is so painful. And I did go and get antibiotics for it and stuff, but other than that, breastfeeding was going really good. I did stop pumping because I was a stay at home mom until she was nine months old, 2s and so I didn’t feel the need to pump extra because I’m always there, so I stopped pumping. Which my boyfriend didn’t like that either, because, I don’t know, he wanted to feed her, but I was like, there’s other things you can do, like feeding her. Let me feed her. That’s my thing. 

KIONA: You’re, like, okay with taking over that task? 

RITA: Yeah, I’m like, that’s the one thing I can do. If you want to do all the other stuff, you go for it. But I will feed her. That was my breastfeeding journey. I breastfed her until she was 13 months, and then she just kind of naturally weaned herself off of it. She loves food, like I said, so she just wanted to eat more. And milk was just not cutting it for her. She was not attached in that way,even for a snack. She’d rather have, like, an actual food snack than, like, boob. So yeah. I thought the transition…

KIONA: She was ready

RITA: Yeah, I thought it was going to be a lot harder because I’ve heard a lot of like, yeah, you have to put bandaids on your boobs and tell them you have ouchies and stuff if they don’t want to stop. And I’m like, I don’t know. Raiya  just kind of was like, all right, I’m out. I’m done. I was like, oh, okay. It was a very overnight kind of thing. One day she just didn’t, she woke up and she just didn’t want to nurse. And I was like, okay, I guess we’re done. And it was when she, right around 13 months. And I was like, okay, that’s kind of wild. 

KIONA: Wow, that’s so awesome. 

RITA: Yeah.

KIONA: I love your birth story. The reason why I love it so much is because it’s your experience and you’re very in tune with what your desire was and how it changed to be different, but then you’re still happy, obviously, with the outcome of having your beautiful baby. But it was also a learning experience of figuring out what will or will not work for you in the future and how your options, you’re going to want your options to be different and change. So I think that that’s great and I think it’s awesome that you had a pretty solid breastfeeding experience with Riaya also. 

RITA: Yeah, I was really kind of adamant about the breastfeeding. I don’t know, I felt like I was going to make it work no matter what. And thankfully it was pretty easy. Besides the mastitis, that was rough, but other than that, it was pretty easy. And I just made sure to do everything right after that so I wouldn’t get mastitis again. But. But yeah, and definitely next time I want to do a birth center. I don’t think I could ever do a home birth. I don’t know. It’s just not for me personally. 

KIONA: Yeah

RITA But I definitely want, like yeah, I definitely want a birth center birth, and I definitely want, like, a midwife with me and a doula and everything. I want a team next time. I want to go in ready, and I want people who know what’s going to happen and who knows how to help me the best and just people who are experienced. I just want somebody to know what the hell is going on so that I don’t have to be the one who has to tell people what’s going on. Because that’s kind of how my birth experience was this time. And it was kind of just that’s when things went awry is when nobody else knew what to do or how to help me, and I didn’t have the energy to tell somebody, this is what you should be doing. I didn’t want to be dictating. I’m in labor. 

KIONA: And in that moment, you shouldn’t have to. And so it just goes to show how some people have the intention to have a rigid schedule. And I’m not saying that this is your experience, but there are people that do experience some births, whether it’s, like, in or out of hospital. But they have a provider that just is, like, one of those providers that’s like, hey, all right, I got to make it to dinner tonight. Or they’re on this schedule of, like. Not talking to you through your options or just being, like, looking at your birth basically as a number or just part of their work day rather than an individual experience. 

RITA: Yeah. And that’s definitely how I felt. And I don’t know if that was, like, the hospital that I was at and the provider that I had and the nurses that I had. It could just all be an unlucky chance in my favor that that’s how it was. But I also know now, obviously, like, how a birth can be. And so that kind of, like, definitely like I said, yeah, I don’t regret the birth I had, and obviously I have Raiya now. And everything went smooth. Retrospectively. Was that the birth that I wanted and the birth that I expected? No. And now I know what I can do to make it better next time. And now I just go around advocating for anybody that I know is pregnant. I’m like, do your research, get a midwife, get a doula. Even if you’re in a hospital, that’s fine. But no, you don’t have to have an epidural, and there’s ways to get through it, and there’s different physicians and birth partners and all the support, and you can play music and you can tell everybody to f off and leave you alone. You don’t have to succumb to that pressure. 

But, yeah, so now I just try to use my story to advocate for others that you can have the birth experience that you want. If that is an epidural, hey, more power to you. But more often times than not, women who want unmedicated natural birth get pressured into otherwise. So, at least that’s what I’ve heard and seen and experienced myself. So I definitely want to support women in that sense of like, you don’t have to do that. You can take control of your birth. 

KIONA: Yeah. So would that be your advice to the listeners, is do your research so you can have a little bit more control of your birth? 

RITA: Yeah, because it is just a really scary experience. I would say at first, you don’t know what’s going on, and the more educated you are. That’s why I think now, knowing what I know, I want everybody to have a midwife and everybody to have a doula, one or the other, or both if you can. Because they know what they’re doing and they have seen and experienced so many different kinds of births, and they’re there that when you cannot mentally talk or whatever, they know what you need and they can help you achieve the birth that you want. I guess that would be my experience for everybody, just get educated and, or my advice is what I would say my advice to everybody would be to get educated, get a midwife or a doula , or both if you can, and make your birth experience what you want it to be, because you have that power to do so. 

KIONA: Yeah. And in addition, just like, adding on to that advice is here are some people that don’t have the option of doing an out-of-hospital birth or even utilizing a midwife. So if that’s the case, definitely try to get a Doula if that’s what you need. Or just educate your partner enough. Or go to classes, childbirth education classes, so that you’re aware of all of the things that you can do in your situation. Um, because, like, you know, not all hospital births are horrible, right? And so… 

RITA: Yes. Yeah. My hospital birth wasn’t horrible. It just wasn’t what I wanted. So disclaimer, I guess I should throw out. It wasn’t a horrible experience. It’s just not what I had envisioned. Sorry, continue. 

KIONA: No, that’s good. And I think that that’s important to say, too. It’s like part of this podcast is to embrace and bring front the different experiences that people can have, because a lot of people have really intense hospital birth experiences and a lot of people have really intense and sometimes regretful out of hospital experiences because emergencies happen or there was this unexpected thing and things like that. But I’m just so happy that I got to listen to your story, and I’m happy that I got to hear about your breast feeding experience and the advice that you put out. So to round it all up and to end this episode with one word. Like, what’s one word you would use to describe your pregnancy, labor, and birth experience? Like, how it made you feel. 

RITA: That is so hard. Boiling it down to one word. I guess the first word that comes to mind is wild. That’s, like, the best, because everything to me was so eye-opening. It was just truly wild. Like, you feel very primal and very like I don’t know, it was just wild. Like, the whole thing. I wish I had a better word for it, but for me, I guess eye-opening would be a good one, too. I don’t know. But the first word that came to mind when you asked me that was just wild. Birth is wild. 

KIONA: I love the word wild. I think that it fits definitely in every sense of the word. With the primal part, the unable to make decisions part, the vulnerability, all of it. It’s all wild. It’s definitely wild. 

RITA: Yeah. This is my encompassing word. All of it falls under. It’s just wild. That’s it. That’s the word for me. 

KIONA: Awesome. Well, thank you, Rita. I’m so happy, and I’m really excited and I’m honored to be able to share your story out there with the world. 

RITA: Thank you so much for having me. I’ve been so excited to do this, and I’ve been telling everybody, I’m like, I’ve got to be on her podcast. I’m so excited. So thank you for having me, and thank you for listening to my story and for sharing and for being an amazing mom in person yourself. 

KIONA: Oh, thank you. Yeah, of course. You’re such an amazing mom. We have to get together for a playdate soon, the babes, because they’re not very far apart.

RITA:  I know. This weather is starting to be nice. So park days. They’re on. 

KIONA: We are on. We’ll get out there. 

Just hopping back on to say that it was truly so much fun recording this story with Rita. She’s amazing and her birth story is amazing. And it just goes to show that not all births end up as you anticipate them to end up, but you can also learn from them. And you can tell throughout Rita’s story that she was very passionate about her birth experience and how her birth experience will impact the decision she makes with any future pregnancy she may have. And with that said, let’s talk about the future episodes. 

So next week we have the amazing honor of listening to a twin vaginal birth experience. I am so excited because Kendra Buchholz is my chiropractor, but she is an amazing person and she’s the owner of Interurban Chiropractic and she serves people of all ages. But her focus or her business has kind of organically gained this focus on serving pregnant people throughout their pregnancy and postpartum as well as children. So she sees people of all ages. And I’m super excited to share her story because it is such a beautiful experience. And it just goes to show that when you strongly advocate for your desires and listen to your gut, you can have a positive birth experience. So tune in next week to hear Kendra’s story.

Thank you so much for tuning into this episode today. Don’t hesitate to share this with your family and friends. If you liked this episode, feel free to leave a review so my podcast can pop up for others and they can see and listen to it as well. 

If you have a birth story or experience you would want to share on the Birth As We Know It podcast, head over to Kionanessenbaum.com and fill out the guest request form that is Kionanessenbaum.com. I look forward to connecting with you again soon. Bye for now. 

Do you have a birth story or experience you would like to share on the podcast?

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