20 Meet Erin: PCOS, Fertility, 42 Week Induction Via Water Rupture Birth Story

This episode is brought to you by Little Nest Portraits. Enter code Birth Story at check out to enjoy $50 off your booking.

On this episode of Birth Story Podcast Heidi discusses PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome), what it is, and how it can impact your life and fertility. Heidi interviews Erin, a strong woman who overcame her diagnosis of PCOS to deliver a healthy and equally strong baby girl at 42 weeks. Erin's favorite baby product is the Haaka Milk Catcher.

Looking for a Virtual Doula to create a custom birthing experience and guide you through your journey to parenthood in the United States? Contact Heidi at www.mydoulaheidi.com

For additional free birth education resources and to purchase Heidi’s book, Birth Story: Pregnancy Guidebook + Journal, visit www.birthstory.com.

Want to share your thoughts on the episode? Leave a review and send a message directly to Heidi on Instagram.

TRANSCRIPTION

What does a contraction feel like? How do I know if I'm in labor and what does the day of labor look like? Wait, is this normal? Hey, I'm Heidi Campbell, a certified birth doula host of this podcast, birth story and owner of my doula, Heidi. I have supported hundreds of women through their labor and deliveries.

And I believe that every one of them and you deserves a microphone and a stage. So here we are listen each week to get answers to these tough questions and more birth story, where we talk about pregnancy labor deliveries, where we tell our stories, share our feelings, and of course chat about our favorite baby products and motherhood.

And because I'm passionate about birth outcomes. You will hear from some of the top experts in labor and delivery, whether you are pregnant, trying desperately to get pregnant. I hope you will stick around and be part of this tribe. It's Heidi here and you know, I'm from Charlotte, North Carolina. And so this week I have a really cool sponsor.

Who's a local Charlotte newborn photography company called nest portrait. So birth story listeners can mention this podcast per story podcast, to receive $50 off their newborn session booking if you're in the Charlotte area. So let me tell a little bit about him. I know that you have. So much to blame for before this baby's arrival and little nest portraits is here to help you feel comfortable and confident about that very first newborn photography session.

And they want to make sure that you receive luxury experience. Like every new mom deserves. So from expert, baby whispering newborn photographers for anybody that's listening, that's done this, you know what I'm talking about to a studio space, that's gorgeous with all the comforts of home and a hundred percent happiness guarantee at every session, your precious memories of your new arrival can be trusted to this really talented team.

So they have everything that you're looking for from start to finish, they have all the props. You don't have to go shopping custom made  art for your home for like that favorite picture that you love, you name it. They can create it for you. And then they, even for the hospital, fresh 48 sessions. As a birth doula, those are some of my favorites to see, because those are the moments that I get to be part of too.

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This is the meat Aaron episode. I'm really excited because this is our first interview talking about the condition PC O S polycystic ovarian syndrome, and a little love and comfort for the mamas out there that have PCO S I hope that you enjoy it. Hey everybody today. I've got Aaron with me in the studio.

Aaron, tell us a little bit about yourself. Well, I am a fish biologist from upstate New York. We had our little girl last year, Cecilia, the most one, everyone that I meet from. Upstate New York just upstate New York, but you have to define that for me. So where specifically are you from? It's funny because I just had this conversation yesterday with somebody who I work with, who is from Syracuse.

Basically we define upstairs as above Albany. Okay. A lot of people from New York, the city tend to describe upstate as anywhere above New York city. I say so sometimes I'd say up upstate, because we are near Canada. We are 30, about 30 minutes from the Canadian. Okay. Um, right on Lake Champlain across from Vermont, right outside the Adirondack.

Happy to have you on the podcast today. I don't know your stories. So I'm looking forward to hearing it with all of the listeners the same time, the, I only know one component and that today we're here to talk about your birth story, but also to talk about PCO S. And so let's start right there. Tell me about when you decided to try to have a baby trying last year and PCLs is, is it's one of the leading causes of infertility.

And, but thankfully we didn't actually have much of that. As an issue. We were one of the really lucky ones I found out and I've known this for, for years that my cycle, so PCLs can cause irregular, irregular periods. Um, I found out for me specifically that if I exercise regularly the biggest component, but if I also eat right, then it then regulates my cycle.

I was worried in the beginning as to maybe I was getting my period, but I wasn't positive. I was ovulating. So I was a little worried about that, but it turns out, I think I was so, I mean, I got pregnant, so, so did you get pregnant on the first try? No, it took three months, so three months, but that's not abnormal.

So, and then when were you diagnosed with PCLs? I was diagnosed with PCs when I was 19. I've always had this symptoms, like irregular periods. Super heavy parades. When you have them, I've had, you know, you can have like some form of like facial hair, which has been annoying. Thankfully mine's not too bad, but still some women get it really bad.

Yeah. And just like acne and weight gain. What, how old were you when you started your period? 11. Okay. So you were 11 years old when you started your period and you went through puberty. You were 19 when you were diagnosed. So between the ages of 11 and 19, what I'm hearing is some of the symptoms that you were experiencing from a very young girl were irregular periods, very heavy periods, so bad.

Yeah. Um, acne would likely be normal, but like more, you know, more acne than your peers, perhaps. And then, um, some facial hair. So specifically, um, like any specific region of the face, um, for PCLs women. I don't think that it is, I don't think it only shows up in one place, but for me, it's just like under, underneath my chin, kind of like almost on my neck area, like down here.

So, so if anyone's listening and they're. Like they have an teenager that's, you know, in puberty and these are some of the signs that would be red flags if they all coupled together. Like if you just had one of those things, maybe not. So I think when they diagnose, when they diagnose you with PCLs, maybe this has changed because it's becoming more and more prevalent.

I mean, they say up to 15% of women have it. It's likely more than that, just because of. Gone undiagnosed. But I think when they, when they diagnose it, they can do an ultrasound and look for cysts on your ovaries. That's one way to look, but really calm cysts are very common anyway in, in just normal women.

So, and they come and go throughout your cycle. So. In the beginning. I think I did have an ultrasound and it didn't show any assess. It's just may have not been the right time of my cycle. And it's not the only thing that, that can diagnose you with PCOS. Right. Just having SIS doesn't do that. It's the other clinical signs you have, like these symptoms, I'm talking about all of that.

And that's why it's a syndrome. It's because it's those things together. And no two women may be the same because there's a whole suite of different symptoms you can have, but it's a little tricky to diagnose. And that's one of the problems from 11 to 19 though. I mean, If you've never had a period, you don't know what a normal period is supposed to be like.

So just kind of walk me through those formative years, like, especially with having to go to I'm assuming you had to talk to one of your parents or your doctor, like. How did that go? It was, it was hard, especially in the beginning before. You're really good at managing your period because like, I mean, I was 11, 12, 13, 14 years old, and these and my periods were so heavy and it was stressful and it was, I mean, so did you have, like you had, would go to school and maybe have access?

I did. Um, Just once one, one bad one and I was able to cover it up. Okay. But it was just like, it was horrible. It was like stressful. Yeah. In school. It's our formative years. Like we're trying to build friendships. We're trying to learn and educate ourselves and to have an added layer of stress to this already really stressful time period.

And then not even know what that is and think that what you're going through is, you know, everyone must be, you know, going through it. Right. No, it was more abnormal. And I don't think my mom really understood either. I don't think she really knew that it was like a sign of something else going on. Was it painful?

I did not have any pain. I don't. I mean, other than just regular cramps, I didn't have like severe cramps or anything like that. Eight years goes by something must have happened. Around the age of 19 that sent you and your family to the door. But I think when I got into college, you know, I wanted to see about, um, getting on birth control and things.

So that's when I, you know, I would go to the doctor, I went to the doctor by myself without my mom and, and, you know, I. I told them about these other symptoms I have and things like that. But typically for PCLs one of the most common treatments for it is birth control. It's more of a metabolic issue. And, well, I mean, it's like a trifecta of metabolic hormonal kind of reproductive issue, but they're more, more and more they're saying it's more of a metabolic, like it's rooted in, in, in your metabolism.

And. The hormones that go into regulating that you gain weight. And it's so hard to get it off. And it's like, wait around the middle is like where it really packs on for PCLs people. It's one of the more frustrating parts. Cause it's like, your metabolism is so slow and resistant to doing anything. It's like, you can exercise three hours of like heavy cardio a day.

And well, I'm going to interject right there and ask a couple of questions because I want our listeners to hear something. Aaron is, you're not. A big person. You had a baby a year ago. I'm, I'm definitely larger than you and my children are four and three and I don't have PCLs. So I can hear that this is something that you have struggled with, but when you're saying that most of the weight that you gain is around your midsection.

Was that true when you were 11 to 19? Yeah. Okay. So that would be something that like, you know, a lot of teenagers. Can have thinner midsections but you were exercising and being healthy. I just thought I was just chunky, you know, I thought that was just it, you know, and I, in high school you were like, I'm just a junkie girl.

This is who I am. I'm not like the big sports, you know? And so one of the things I do know about you is that you have a twin sister. Was she going through this with you? Yes. Yeah. She was having all the same symptoms I was and yeah, the weight gain, the heavy periods, things like that. We were doing it together all the time.

I would think that if I had a twin sister who was going through the same things that I was going through, that then that would just make it seem even more normal, I guess it kind of did. Yeah, actually. Okay. If I was your mom, mom too. And I had a twin daughters and they were both having the same kinds of periods, I would think, Oh, okay.

This is their norm. This is their normal, right? Yeah. It's it was really frustrating. So they put you on a birth control where you still had a cycle. Cause I know that there are many birth controls where you don't have a cycle at all anymore. Is it important for someone with PCOM? Still have a cycle just as important as anybody else, I guess.

I mean, yeah. Well, a lot of people with PCLs experience and fertility, so you did not have a fertility journey. I mean, three months is still two times where you tried to get pregnant and had either a negative pregnancy test or your period came. So I don't want to discount that at all, but if you, if you have one time trying and you don't get pregnant, You've got some stuff to wrestle with in your mind.

So on month three, you get pregnant. So getting pregnant was pretty easy for us, although it was, it was really stressful. Like you said, those those two months where we didn't get pregnant, it was like, I was wondering if we are going to have an issue because of my PCs. Right. But you have to give it up to a year before, you know, if there's a problem, so, okay.

It's interject right there. No one should wait one year. I'm sorry, doctors. Six months. Yeah, if you are trying to have a baby and you are not pregnant in six months. I don't care how old you are. You should be talking to your doctor. Okay. Keep going. Yeah. So, but they tell you, you know, I remember I was 35 years old and I remember the doctor saying, well, it's six months is kind of a red flag, but we don't really consider you having a problem for a year.

And I was like, I'm 35 years old. I don't have it. I don't have a year. You're going to have to figure out how to get me pregnant a lot sooner than 12 months from now. You know, I it's really important. Anyone who's listening. If you are not pregnant in six months, raise your hand. Yeah. Call your doctor and be proactive.

You have to be your own advocate. So I started going to kick boxing in at CKO, South Charlotte. They're awesome. There it's, you know, it's for all fitness levels, which is what was awesome. I started going there and I was not in any kind of good shape at all, but three years later, you know, I was in, I was still chunky as I will always be right.

But my cardio was awesome. So in my, my, so it made my period regular, which is the most important thing. I can't stress enough. How important exercise? Even just two to three days a week of, yeah. Half an hour of exercise can make such a huge difference. With anybody with PCOS and regulating their cycle. I also worked with one of the owners of kickboxing gym.

Linda is a nutritionist knowing that we were going to want to start trying soon. I wanted to lose, lose a little weight. I had gained muscle, but I hadn't really lost a lot of weight. So I started working with her and I lost 15 pounds. Maybe. And I think that also really helped, really helped us get pregnant.

And 15 pounds is a lot because you're not tall. How tall are you? Five, two, five, two. Okay. So when you're five to 15 pounds is a lot of power. Yeah. So that's a significant percentage even of your body weight and definitely getting exercising, getting healthy, losing weight. Being in a really good place. Yes.

Your body does respond to that. We know that, especially when it comes to fertility, even if you're exercising and you're not necessarily losing the weight, it's not, it's not, not a benefit like you, your body's still feeling that and it's still going to make a difference in your cycle. I mean, I had, I had done kickboxing for three years.

I hadn't really lost a lost any weight according to the scale, but. I felt so much better in my cycle regulated in that that is like priceless right there. Yep. Well, you get all those great endorphins, which control anxiety and depression and stress. Yeah. Switch PCOS. Women are prone to write more than others.

Is anxiety and depression. So probably because an increasing cortisol. Yes. And so we know that exercising decreases those cortisol and adrenaline like, well, adrenaline in the good way, but those surges, that can cause that. So, yeah. So you're doing all the right things or you were doing all the right things.

It was so important for me to find something that I love. I loved punching. I'm still love. I still do it. I still love punching. Okay. Getting a bag. Like it is the best stress relief. Um, finding something you actually enjoy doing you're much more apt to do it. And it just makes sense. So then let's see, we got pregnant.

And then, you know, I had the first typical month of like fatigue, like first trimester fatigue and everything like that. Um, I was nauseous, but I didn't like. Mornington, this doesn't really run in my family. Thankfully, my grandmother didn't really have it. My mom didn't have it. My sister didn't have it. It was just like a very low level of nausea.

A little bit of ginger ale took care of it just fine. And I was fine. So your response to the HCG hormone was pretty tolerable. Yes. Very tolerable. The other thing though, with PCLs you're on edge. For the first like trimester, trimester and a half because women with PCOS have a much higher rate of miscarriage on top of the already, which is high.

I consider it to be a normal rate of miscarriage is 25%. You can have up to a 50% chance of miscarriage with PCOS, and that is. Really scary. And so the whole, any time or just in the first trimester. Okay. So your first trimester risk of miscarriage is double that of the normal population. Yeah, that's really high it's.

It's scary. And, um, they had put me on Metformin, which is yeah, a diabetic drug, I guess, but it can help, um, regulate your. Insulin and everything like that. Exactly. Because PCs is a metabolic syndrome. Exactly. Let's go back to that metabolic syndrome. A diabetes medicine is a good option. Yes. And has we've seen in the data, uh, reduce risk of miscarriage and, um, PCOS patients that take Metformin in the first trimester.

Yeah. Did you stay on it for your entire life? Nope. I stopped after my first trimester. Okay. At my higher weight at like, Oh, I'm not going to say my weight, but at my higher weight and my highest weight, I'm not going to say mine either. At my highest way. I was, uh, I, I did it test to be insulin resistant, but losing 10 pounds took care of it.

And I wasn't anymore. I wasn't in that range, which is really good, just as a, just to help. And just as a precaution, they put me on Metformin and I took it through my first trimester and then I was able to stop. So with women, with PCLs sometimes just taking Metformin will really help them lose weight. If they are insulin resistant, if they're not, then it may or may not help.

Really. So for the, so the first trimester went. Fine. I guess it was, you know, I got through it. You were still pregnant. Yeah. Yeah. So I was still crying and it was funny, like my kickboxing gym, the owners, they totally were like, knowing they're there. They noticed I stopped. I was going four days a week. And then all of a sudden I was going maybe one.

Okay. I think that's really good. So they're like, something's going on? So someone told me I had a 50% chance of miscarriage. I think I would have crossed my legs and laid down and said, I'll stand up in 14 weeks. Yeah. I mean, it was, it was, uh, it was just, the fatigue is what got me. Yeah. Otherwise overwhelming fatigue, but you felt great and you were continuing to work and all of that.

How is second trimester? Second trimester sure. Was amazing. Um, I had a month, like my fifth month of where I had headaches almost daily and that was hard because it was like the, you can take Tylenol, but it was like, I don't want to take Tylenol like every four hours on the daughter or something, but it was.

Almost at that point where nothing would help. And I was just getting chronic headaches. Did you call your doctor? I did. Okay. Yeah, they were just, that was their answer. You can take Tylenol if it gets, I had one migraine during that, which is weird. Cause I hadn't had migraines for several years and it wasn't one with aura, but it was just a S like a really bad, bad headache.

And they said I could take like Excedrin migraine or something. And that was the only time. And then after, after that month it was a month and then it went away. Thank goodness. Okay. Okay. I think this is a really good, um, Place to just take pause. It's normal, even when you don't have PCO S because of the surges and hormones at different points in your pregnancy to have some raging migraines and some raging headaches and that type of thing.

So. Tylenol was offered to you clearly increasing your fluid intake. Peppermint oil is something that people use. You said Excedrin. My sister. Yeah. My sister sent me, um, I think it was a lavender collateral, roller would use that seemed to help a little bit lavender and a couple of drops of peppermint too.

Is there anything else? Yeah. Next to, is there anything else that you remember doing to just kind of like, did you use ice or. Anything to calm the headache? I don't remember. I don't think so. Okay. Um, I just want to make sure we talk about headaches. They can also surge, um, during labor, but it does happen quite often and we just use a little lavender and peppermint and, uh, push fluids and you know, all the things that we talked about.

So then you move into the third trimester and you're nearing the time for labor and delivery. It. Had you taken any childbirth education classes? We did, we took, we took one. Um, and that was enlightening. I was actually really scared. What type of class did you take? Like hospital-based or, okay. Just a hospital based childbirth class.

Yep. And it was actually led by, uh, Was a midwife. Okay. And wife and like EMT or something. She like was a, she did both. And so she was very knowledgeable and she was great. Cause she was like, here's my email. If you have any additional questions. And I did, I definitely emailed her with questions after. So it was a good and educational class.

I was scared about what I was going to learn in the class, but it can, I don't know. I was just afraid of like, The gory details. And I was afraid of the videos they might show, but nothing was bad at all. So, or was coming, but you weren't quite ready to really, you know, about it, the class fairly early in my third trimester, maybe towards maybe the end of my second trimester.

I don't remember something like that. It was fairly early. I didn't want to leave it for the last week. Yeah. Yeah. My second trimester is something else I had though. I remember, um, my SSI joint was super painful and I I'm so mad that I went so long without getting looked at, but it wasn't until I met with my doula and.

Decided to go with her. Good. I didn't even know you how to do, like getting excited if you have her permission, uh, Helen from Aussie doula. She's amazing. She actually, right when we first, when we were interviewing her, she was the one who suggested I go to a chiropractor for my SSI joint. I hadn't even thought of that.

Yes. Of a chiropractor to go to who specializes in prenatal care. And they're just awesome. And it was just a few visits there. It was like, they would adjust my. Pelvis like the back of my pelvis, I guess. Right? Yeah. Or your spine goes into your pelvis is where that joint is. And it was so painful. I could barely walk.

Wasn't going to the gym anymore. It was really difficult, but it was just a few visits there and I could suddenly walk again. I could do everything again. It was amazing. And I. Couldn't believe that I went three months in such pain before I got fixed. Well, this is really good for you to say this out loud because so many people are like, well, what is it doula?

And what does it do will do. And the earlier in your pregnancy, you hire a doula. The earlier you start building that relationship and they start being an advocate for you and sharing their resources and their knowledge with you. So Helen actually is one of my friends. I adore her. The Aussie doula company is one of the best doula companies in Charlotte, outside of my own.

I'm just getting back. Um, Helen has been on the show, um, for like meet the doulas doulas, tell all, but that is such an important detail, right? Is that. You're in pain you're experience in something you reach out to your doula, your doula provides a solution for you. This is just one tiny little piece of how a doula supports you during your pregnancy, not just your labor and your delivery.

So big shout out to Helen right there. So the chiropractor, you go a couple of times and they get you comfortable again. Yeah. Then did you continue to go throughout the rest of your pregnancy regularly? Every two to three weeks? I think I was going just to make sure that kept aligned. And actually I think at the end, when I ended up having Cecilia, we figured out why.

So kind of lopsided, she was just a little bit crooked in there and I think that's what was causing my SSI joint issues and, and some issues in labor, which we can talk about later. But yeah, well, we're almost we're on the rink. Like we're almost there. How did the, in the very end of your pregnancy go? My whole pregnancy was amazing and I felt incredible through the whole thing.

And I continued to exercise up until I completed Kickbox until 39 weeks. Whoa. I felt amazing. And I think this is something that I don't know if this is true for all, all PCLs sisters, we call ourselves, but it's like your PCOS symptoms go away. Cause your were normalized kind of normalized for pregnancy.

Right. Um, but your hormones like regulate. Cause anytime outside of pregnancy, you're all messed up because of PCLs. But during pregnancy, your like normal, like every other pregnant lady. And so it's like suddenly you're you feel as. Good as everyone else, many women will describe, like I've had so many clients that have, have had chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia.

Hashimoto's just a very different auto-immune that I've worked with and their pregnancy was the best they've ever felt in their life. So you experienced that? I felt incredible. I felt so energized. So the end of pregnancy went really well for you. You had felt the best that you had. Probably ever felt in your life as a woman with PCLs and now labor and delivery are coming they're ahead of you.

Yeah. Now we're going to take a short break to just share a few things with you and we'll be right back with our guests. Hey guys, if you're enjoying this podcast, then I need your help to spread the word. If you know, anyone who is pregnant is trying to become pregnant or just loves a good birth story.

If you could send them to iTunes or Stitcher  or Spotify or SoundCloud, wherever they listen to their podcasts and ask them to subscribe to the birth story podcast, what types of things were in your birth plan? Like what were you, what type of birth were you interested in having? Well, I really. I did want probably like a lot of women.

I was like, I want to do it naturally. But I also, so I very much was was of the mindset that if it's too much, I'm willing to give an epidural for sure. It is what it is, you know? And I don't know what it's going to be like, and I want to have all my options open and I didn't see any problem with that. I tried to prepare mentally for it.

And I actually, like, I was convinced it was not going to be an issue. Right. Everyone's like, Oh, you've exercised so well, you are so fat. It's going to be so fast and easy for you. And I'm like, that's awesome. And then hold on for anyone who's listening. Don't ever tell a first time mom, that her labor is going to be fast.

Things that are not something you should relate to labor. I don't care who you are in a first time labor. No one should ever use the word fast. I had some high expectations because since I had kidney stones, I was like, Oh, my pain threshold is pretty high. Like, I mean, I go to the I've had. Can you stone several times, because once you get them, you're kind of more prone to them.

So I got to the point where all I need is a couple of Tylenol. I'm good. Right. So, and then you hear all the time, Oh, kidney stones can be as worse as labor and all this stuff. And I'm like, Hmm. Yeah, I got attached. Definitely a guy who came up with that one at the end of my pregnancy, I felt, I still felt amazing.

I was sleeping. Great. Like I said, I was exercising up until 39 weeks and that's kind of where, when Cecilia dropped a little bit, so. Um, like I just, I couldn't go anymore and that was, I could walk and that was it. But yeah. So at 39 weeks you actually felt install a dropping? No, I didn't see it. It was just like all of a sudden there was this heaviness kind of down there that I didn't have before.

And I was like, I can't, I can't, I can't kick like this. I can't. Go to the gym like this. Cause the way I want you to describe the end of the pregnancy is for people who are listening that are pregnant right now, and may have no idea what to expect, like what's coming. So really kind of describe like, so you were feeling great and then all of a sudden you felt a lot of pressure.

It was just like, Hmm. Like there was something lower between my legs, I guess. Was it harder to walk? I was definitely getting the waddle going. I don't think it was as bad as some people's, but there was definitely a difference in a, in a point that I felt like I couldn't like, you know, do my regular gym thing.

I could walk and then it would look a little silly, but that's what I did. So when you were 39 weeks, 39 weeks about maybe a couple of days after that, I don't remember. Were you having internal exams performed. They did check me a couple times. I forget. They're like weekly meeting weekly appointments by then.

Um, by the time I was. I think at 39 weeks, I was maybe three centimeters. That's a lot. By the time I got to like 40 weeks, I was four centimeters, I think. Okay. So that's also a loss for those listening. Were you feeling a lot of Braxton Hicks? Contractions? Not much. It was really only when I was at the gym.

If I pushed it a little bit too hard, I would, what I assumed was a Braxton hick. It would, it would feel kind of a lot of tightening and that's really, the only times I really had them was when I was like, Actively moving a lot. Yeah. It was either that, or like walking to my office from the light rail. If I was like really huffing it to get there on time or something, then I would get one too.

This is really important that you're sharing this because you want to do as much labor, AKA cervical dilation as possible before you go into active labor. Right. So your body does this with Braxton Hicks, contractions, your body does this by like helping the baby drop and get lower to put pressure on that cervix.

But you just ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, exercise being upright walking. You know, I'm not going to tell everybody to kick and punch and let that they've done that before they got pregnant and boxing, but continuing your regular exercise really helps to soften that. Cervix and help it come down and around 39, 40 weeks, were you still able and comfortable to have sex?

Yes. Okay. Cause that's another really good one. Me, people tell me they get to four centimeters. My natural reaction is like, Oh good. They were still having sex. The reason. I would think that is because of oxytocin and prostoglandins that are, um, in the semen, which softened the surface. You'll never have so many people tell you to have sex as pregnancy.

I'm glad everybody telling me that. Okay. Okay. And so you were comfortable and you were able to, and all of that. Okay. So you're now 40 weeks pregnant. You're four centimeters dilated. And did you have any signs of labor. Nothing come in yet. Everyone, every time I went to my appointment, my OB or my midwife, whoever it was, I saw that day was like, you are ready to go.

You're going to go. I would be surprised if you make it the weekend. They're always reassuring me. I'm ready to go. It's going to happen. And days came and days went and I'm still working because I haven't gone to labor yet. So I think, I think it was 41 weeks and 41 weeks. And. Two days or something. And I told my boss, I'm done.

I'm like, I gotta get this. I gotta work on getting this baby out of myself. Do you have a 41 week appointment? I did. And did they do a non stress test at that appointment? Yep. The babies seemed fine and they, and everything looked good. So they kept trying to schedule me for it. For an induction and I kept pushing it off.

I said, no, I don't want to do it. I don't want to. And maybe still moving along and everything looks good. So we'll let it go a few more days. Let's talk about that. Non-stress test. Is that an ultrasound and an NST or did they just do the NST? They just did the NSP. Okay. And then in Ste for everyone, listening is where they hook you up to monitors.

They're monitoring two things. One baby's movements, right. And heart rate. And then also contractions to see if you're having contractions, where are you having any contractions? No, so no conjunctions, but baby was moving around and doing great. So they send you home. And did you do any natural induction techniques at home?

We did all of the things, except the only thing we didn't do was the, uh, Castor oil. Yes, not one. I was like, I know what you're about to say. That was the only one I did the last resort. I feel like we did everything. I mean, I went to acupuncture. We, I walked all the time. We had all the sex. I was bouncing on a ball.

I was, I was trying everything. I think I kept a list in my phone of all the things I had tried that hadn't worked. And let me interject, I'm assuming that you were knowing what to do because your doula Helen was. Feeding you what to do. Okay. A lot of people are like, how do you notice your doula will tell you all the natural induction techniques that we have in our toolkit?

So nothing worked. They scheduled an induction for wet, and it was the, I think it was 41 40. So 41 for you. Scheduled induction, which is pretty good because usually with a first time healthy mom, 42 weeks is kind of the way, I mean, I've had many clients including myself go over that day, but 42 has gone to that, the brick wall.

So this is good. So what happens when you show up for the induction? So we showed up and I was still. I was still reserved. I was, I was, I was really afraid of the drugs that they were going to use a Pitocin, I guess I was like afraid of how that was going to make my labor and how painful it was going to be.

And I was just, I didn't want to do it. I was really reluctant to do it. And so when I showed up, I was like, I'm not quite ready for this. I want to see if the baby's still comfortable and still okay in there. And then if baby is fine, then let's stretch this out a couple more days. Yeah. And let me tell you why they Pitocin.

Was the induction method for you because there are many induction methods, including side attack, which is a prostate gland in that opens the cervix. But your cervix was already soft and right. If an open I had wondered why they weren't going to do that because that's what I was like. I'd rather just do that.

That's apps, it's a prostoglandins. And then also the fully bulb catheter, which again is just a little balloon that goes inside and helps dilate your cervix. But the goal is to get your cervix. Open and your cervix was already soft and open and ripe. So the next step in the induction process is, well, it can be two things.

They can break your water or they can do Pitocin, or they can do both. And so they were offering you Pitocin induction? Yes. Yup. So, but since we showed up and I was like, I'm not really ready for this. Um, we met with the doctor and we did another non-stress test and he took a look at it and he's like, yeah, you know, baby seems to be doing okay, we'll give you another couple of days.

Okay. So a lot of great, I mean, this was a doctor I hadn't had before, but from the same practice and he seemed really nice and I would have been okay. Actually, you know, going into labor and having a baby with the sky at the wheel, I would have been okay. He seemed nice enough. I had met him previously at a meeting and they didn't think that the baby was too big or anything.

Yeah, no. Um, we, we went home that day, but they're like, come back to the doctor's office. They the next day, I think maybe for an ultrasound, maybe it was Wednesday. It was Wednesday. They wanted an ultrasound just to check things out because then, you know, Thursday was my 42 weeks. They're like, we gotta, we gotta check these things.

Right. So, um, went in for an ultrasound and they're like estimating the baby to be on the bigger side. But, you know, they're also acknowledging the fact that it's hard to measure a baby this late in the pregnancy. So they're not kidding. This is the joke. It can be up to two pounds off at 42 weeks, which is so we may estimate 10, it could be eight.

Yep. We're going to be 12 or going to be nine or 10 or 11. You know, it's not, it's really difficult to pound with really big, really big window. Um, how is your fluid? Um, so this was Wednesday. It had to have been Wednesday. Yes. Because I think Tuesday I'd spent the whole day trying to go into labor naturally because I'm like, Oh, we're down to the wire.

Now I got to do this. So Wednesday we go in for the ultrasound and the fluid was low and, um, Cecelia's diaphragm reflex was not going as it should be. Um, Which I guess is just a flutter that they see. So that was concerning. So they bring us in and they're like, it's not an emergency, but you have to go now.

So we were freaking out because we're, we're really upset. We're like, Oh my gosh, it's the baby. Okay. And stuff like this. And they're like, it's not an emergency, but go. So we would go home. We grab our stuff. Andrew's on the phone with Helen updating her about what's going on. I was. Too upset to talk or anything.

I was trying to wrap my head yeah. Around this because I was mentally prepared for your natural childbirth. Not be prepared for something other than this right now. Now I felt like my baby's at risk because I pushed it too long. So I was freaking out. But you know, Andrew's like telling Helen, Oh, we'll let you know.

I don't think we need you yet. We'll, we'll call you when we need you or whatever. So we'd go home, get our stuff on our way to the hospital. I'm freaking out. I'm like, you have to call Helen. So he calls her back. He's like, we need you. So she came right down, which is awesome. She's amazing. She's amazing.

She's. So wonderful. So we show up to the hospital, I hopped down a, a pack of peanut butter crackers, and, uh, and a cliff bar in the parking lot. Last time you were going to eat, I knew that so we can yeah. Inside and they set us up and I'm so nervous. And I'm so like, Anxious and there's hook me up with the monitors and stuff, and they're looking at things and I got a midwife, which was wonderful.

I hadn't met her. She was from the practice, but I hadn't met her before. And she seemed really nice. She was like, I just want you to know that this is just like, it's good that you're here, but. It's just that one of the very first signs of the baby may be starting to get a little stressed and that's it.

It's one of the very first signs. It's nothing to be too concerned about yet. And that really helped us calm down a lot because we were under the impression she was getting in trouble, like real trouble. If it was real trouble, you have been wheeled to the, or first this area in sections. If you're like at the hospital being monitored, like I agree with your midwife.

Like, trust me, there's definitely a difference between. An emergency and an urgency. Yeah. Do different, do different things. Yeah. So this probably wasn't even yet, it was just kind of summary. Yeah. Yeah. So we get there and, and they, they hooked me up and the, and the baby's looking pretty stressed though.

Like her heart rate's really high. Well, let's get, uh, let's get the, um, the head monitor on her. What is the little, yeah. Thing that goes over. Well, now I have big questions for you because that's called an internal, fetal scalpel, but your water has to be ruptured. Yup. But your water hasn't. Yeah. Had not, I mean, I hadn't even had any contractions.

Okay. So they wanted to rupture your water as a starting point and then monitor her internally with an internal, fetal scalpel. Okay. That's the most accurate, like heart rate that we can get on a baby, right? Yeah. So, so they did that. They, they broke my water and they put the little sensor on her head. And then we were just hanging out cause they wanted to monitor her and hopefully get her heart rate down before they started giving, giving me any drugs or anything.

Yeah. So we're hanging out and I'm starting to get contractions and I'm starting to get more contractions and I'm really taken off actually. So Helen went to get dinner in the cafeteria and when she came back, I was in like full labor or like, I was like, wow, they are going to happen with a water Rose shift a few hours.

And I was really. I was really into it. And they never gave you Pitocin? Nope, not at all. Okay. So your induction was the water rep? Yes. And I'm so happy because I really did not want that, but that was that laboring. Cause at this point you have to be continuously monitored with that scalpel. So you have to be close to the bed.

Were you able to sit on the birthing ball? Were you able, were you. So I was able to move around. Like I wanted to, I was standing most of the time I was just standing. Um, we tried a few different places later in labor. I tried the birthing ball and I ended up hating it. I hated it with everything in me.

It's ha that will happen when, um, the P the baby's in a weird position, which you already said that she was a little crooked, that will happen. And it will also happen when the baby's really low. So like, the ball feels super good until it doesn't feel good. And when it doesn't feel good, right. The baby's in a weird position or the baby's coming out, maybe that's it.

So that'd be my guests, but it was bring pretty good. I mean, like, you know, no drugs yet. And I was like handling it. Okay. It wasn't easy obviously, but, um, my midwife was there as well. Like I didn't realize this until after Helen's wonderful. Cause she took some pictures. Throughout the labor and stuff, which, I mean, like I had my eyes closed, I think focusing.

So I didn't know anything that was going on around me and my midwife. Was there a lot? I had back labor really bad because Cecilia was Sunnyside up. Yep. That would be the crooked baby. Yep. It was. Right. Okay. I think I've heard that before. Yeah. Yeah. It just means phase up. Yeah. It's only set up. So she was sunny side up and I had really bad back labor back labor.

So thank God. Bless Helen. She brought it up a rolling pin. Oh my gosh. That saved my life. That rolling pin, right over right over where the SSI joint is on the back of my pelvis. Like. It just for hours. I think Andrew was there from rolling my back like that. And, and my midwife was there doing the hip squeeze for me.

And it was just hours like that, but, and everybody was working together. Yeah. How close were your contractions? I don't know, probably close right. Three to four minutes apart, probably. Yep. So you were lasting for a minute. This is where I'm guessing when I'm talking to you, which means you were only getting about probably a 92nd break in between before the next one hit.

Does that feel right? Yeah, probably. Yeah. Um, actually I had asked Helen was also awesome because she took notes throughout it so that she had a timeline. Cause people were asking me, how fast was it? What time were you doing this? And that? And I was like, I have no idea. I'm not the one to ask that. So, um, she sent me the notes and it looks like I had gotten.

Oh, so upset when she, when my midwife checked me a few hours in and it really shouldn't have been that upset, but I was only seven centimeters. Oh my God. Well, starting at four, I had high expectations. Seven it's really far along. I was disappointed. I was like a few hours and here's the joke. You're a few hours into labor and you're seven centimeters dilated.

That's really far along well. For anyone listening seven is, I'll give you an example. I went from seven to 10 in one contraction. I was seven centimeters dilated. They checked my cervix and on the next contraction I started pushing Holy crap. Yeah. So seven is very far. Yeah. Yeah. Well, it didn't feel far enough for me.

Okay. Um, well, so they broke my water at like five, five 30, something like that. Um, and then I think. I think 10 o'clock they checked me and I was like nine and a half centimeters. Yeah. Wow. Okay. I was, I was close. I was like maybe nine. And that's what happens when you start labor at four centimeters dilated, but this whole time, you're just having back labor, just butt kicked back later.

And your baby is not descending because she sunny side up tough. So that nine, I was nine centimeters at 10 o'clock three hours. It took me to go from nine to 10. And I'm assuming that the midwife and Helen were doing everything they could to get you into positions to turn that, Oh, it's so hard at this time.

I'm going to try to really remember to like, to like, be more open to them because it was like, It's so hard when you change a position, initially, it seems like the worst possible position ever. You don't want to be there or anything, but if you give it two contractions, it probably feels pretty good to be in that position.

And it took a lot of strength to move. So it was like, Oh, go try sitting on the toilet toilet. And I was like, I don't want to sit on the toilet. I don't want to go in there. And finally I did, and I was like, this is horrible. I hate it. And then two contractions later, it was like, This is good. This is way better.

This is way better. I have to try and remember that this time and be more open to moving. This is important to teach people that are listening to is that if you do have a Dulari listen to them, if you don't have a doula, Change positions. Have your partner remind you to change positions and change positions often?

Yes, definitely. So, so I had moved around a lot, which was nice. I liked having that ability. I don't think I labored on my back in the bed at all. I was lonely, mainly standing on the toilet or at the end I was on my hands and knees. And so you're still totally natural. You're 10 now three hours later, you have 10 centimeters dilated.

It's the middle of the night though. Yeah. So now it's like probably what one, two, three in the morning. Yeah, one of that one or two or something like that too. Yeah. Fully dilated. But did you have the urge to bear down or push at all that last probably. Between one and two that lasts like good hour before I was before I could, I had a, I think she called it like a cervical lip or something.

Just wouldn't open all the way. Yeah. And I think that was a function of Cecilia being a little bit crooked and not engaging completely. That's absolutely what it is. And typically what we do is try to turn you to where that cervical lip is. So if the, the cervical lip is anterior or posterior, we'll put you either laying back or on your hands and knees.

Depending on where that lip is, if it's on the left side or the right side. So you want to put pressure sure. On the lip makes sense to me. Um, and this is okay. Let me just interject right here. The fact that you had a lip on your cervix, but that you are still natural, gives us a lot of options because it is possible when you have an epidural and you have a lip, um, it's a hundred percent possible to move you.

It it's, it's just a lot harder to get you on your hands and knees or, um, Your left side, your right side is easy. Leaning forward, um, is easy. But if you have a lip that which requires you, which is more on the front and requires you to get on your hands and knees sometimes with a heavy epidural, it just does a little bit.

It's just a little bit trickier. It's squatting is another easy way to resolve a lip, a cervical lip, just getting into the deepest possible squat crunching around your baby. So you have this little lip. And then what happened for all of that last hour? I think between like nine and a half. Centimeters and 10, right.

When I couldn't get that lip to go away, I was having that, um, that reflects the, the ejection reflex. It was like, I mean, I couldn't stop and I would apologize for it, which is ridiculous, but it was like, I can't help it, you know? So don't apologize. This is your body's cause it would tell me not hush. And I was just like, I can't.

Not like it's going to do it. It's happening. Like I can't stop it, but it just, but my cervix apparently wasn't quite ready for it. So it was just a little disconnect there, but eventually the lip went away and I was able to start pushing. And then by that point, I was like, it was a little bit more of a.

More of a relief to be able to do something more focused instead of just waiting out this next contraction. Cause I was at that point, I was definitely at that point where I was like, I'm done. I'm like, I don't want to do this anymore. Like every time I would feel another contraction come, I would almost start crying.

Cause I was like, I can't, I don't want to do this anymore. Yeah. And throughout that whole time through my whole labor, I had not ever thought of getting it epidural. It didn't even occur to me that that was an option. And nobody reminded me that it was an option and which is good because I knew I didn't really.

Want them, but it was like, I can't believe it didn't occur to me the whole time, because you were busy labor apparently this time. I don't think I'm going to forget money. Things don't occur to you because you can't think about anything other than getting through the next day contraction. Yeah. Yeah. Well, and also like, by the time I was that late and I was that dilated and I've reached that point.

I remember thinking in my head that if I reached the point where I. I feel like I can't do this anymore. I know I'm almost done. And I thought that I was like, I've got to be almost done. Except that phase ended, like I ended up being like three hours long. So it was the first baby. Yeah. I was like, so it was, it was hard, but not as long as I'm second and there.

See, I mean, my whole labor start to finish here. 10 hours, 10 hours. Okay. So not very long at all. I was one of the good ones, right? Yeah. 10 hours with an induction, you know, with a water break induction. So, um, and so the whole time they're continuing to monitor Cecilia your baby and she was doing great. So that heart rate had come down within the first.

Just a couple of hours. Okay. And you didn't have a temperature. You were also GBS negative, so they didn't have to administer antibiotics. Did you have an IV or an IV and your Jaime port originally? I was like, I don't want that, but. Um, I don't think I had the option and like, you know, it was, I understood after they explained like, why you need it just for an emergency, you know, if you start hemorrhaging or something, they might need to give you something.

And this is the quickly cause it's the quickest way. And it wasn't in my way, they put it up on my arm and that was what was important to me. I didn't want it on my hand cause that would be bothersome up on my arm. I didn't even notice it. So. Perfect. Thank you for sharing that because. This IV port is a stressor for many moms that want to have a natural labor I could do.

And I probably will do an entire short episode on, um, what the pros and what the cons of the IV port are. So varied, a few medical interventions, other than having your water up shirt and internal monitoring. You started to have that natural urge to push. And then how long did you push for. 48 minutes, 48 minutes, 38 minutes, sorry, 32, 10.

And we had Cecilia at two 48 and that speaks so much to you staying in shape and having a strong core. That's what I'm, that's what I'm hoping, but it's like, don't go on Facebook. Just don't be part of these groups because. All you see is, Oh, two pushes. And he was out, you know, I'm laboring and I'm pushing so hard.

And I said it too. I was like, I want to say what I said, but I was like angry because I'm like these Facebook girls, I didn't quite say it that way. They say two pushes. And these out, every birth story is so different. It is very normal. And any I'm assuming any doctor would say yes. To push for one to four hours on a first birth is really normal.

It's really, really, really normal. So 38 minutes is a short period. I've time. It really wasn't that bad. Yeah. I just wanted it to be done. Here's what I want people to take away from your story. That I'm taking away. You advocated to go all the way to 42 weeks when your baby was in distress, you pivoted from your birth plan with, you know, ease and confidence.

You had a doula by your side and your husband by your side to support you. You had your water broken as a medical intervention. Which you didn't even have to get Pitocin and you continued to labor completely naturally for 10 hours and you pushed for 38 minutes. Okay. Aaron, you have an incredible birth story and so much, I hope people learned from today's episode and hearing you talk about the journey of PCLs from the time that you were 11 years old.

I just learned so much from you and I appreciate you being on the show today. Before you go, what has been your favorite baby product playing with PCLs from like the startup puberty, right? You don't get a lot of mammary gland tissue. So I always thought I just had small breasts cause my mom is five, two and a hundred pounds and she has small breasts, but it turns out it's because of PCOS.

So, okay. It resulted in a low milk supply and I had been to a lactation, which everybody should go to if you're going to breastfeed, they're amazing. They're little angels to teach you and the baby how to breastfeed 100% agree. Yep. I did end up having to supplement with formula, which is fine if that is best.

Something that really helped me with that was. The haka. Tell me about it. It's like the silicone, it's like almost a suction cup with like a little cup on it. Okay. When you breastfeed, you may leak out of the other side, or for me getting out of the shower, I would always sit and start leaking all over the place.

So not having a whole lot of supply. I wanted to catch everything I could. And these little Hokas you just stick them on there and it just. And it just fills up the cup for you and you don't lose all of that milk. So it was really important to me. Then I was able to do that after I discovered this was a thing.

So, um, that was my favorite thing because it helped me just give her a little bit more of myself to her that I otherwise would have. I think that's amazing. And I think that's right. The best product recommendation we've had so far. So I will link to it in the show notes, and I appreciate all that you are and all that you've shared with us today.

I've learned so much, Aaron. Thank you. Thanks. At the beginning of the podcast, I mentioned little nest photo. And just a reminder, if you're in the Charlotte North Carolina area, you can receive $50 off your newborn session booking by using the code birth story when scheduling online, or if you call them at (704) 847-4444.

And you mentioned the birth story podcast. You can get that $50 off your newborn session.

Thank you for listening to part story. Michael is you'll walk away from each episode with a clear picture of how labor and delivery might go and that you will. Feel empowered by the end of your pregnancy to speak up plan and prepare for the birth you want, no matter what that looks like.