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Running Time:

43:35

• Certified Nurse Midwife – Called midwife and she was at their house for 3 hours
• Had planned for a water birth in a home whirlpool but decided against it
• After crowning the pushing did not get any easier
• Zeke came out with his hand by his head
• Baby came out purple and started to get grey
• Midwife moved everyone to the bed immediately after his birth b/c Zeke was not breathing normally
• Midwife used a cookie sheet as a flat surface to resuscitate
• Midwife was taking the baby’s pulse via the umbilical cord.
• Used full face mask to apply oxygen and he started to breath
• They enjoy him fussing now
• Going to a hospital is shifting the responsibility from doctor to parents
• Going to a hospital does not guarantee that your doctor will be there for you

[audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/andytraub/naturalchildbirth006.mp3]

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Running Time:

53:46

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– Call in feedback to 615-200-TAKE (8253)
– Email me at [email protected].
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[audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/andytraub/naturalchildbirth005.mp3]

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Running Time:

45:53

• Fired her care provider
• Questions to ask your medical provider
• Choosing a care provider
• Got an hour of sleep and started to labor
• Labored at home as long as possible
• Iphone Contraction app – http://contractionmaster.com/iphoneapp/
• Pack a bag before you’re in labor
• Gets to hospital at 5am
• Was 8cm and got into tub but it slowed down labor
• Be prepared with a birth plan
• Water broke at 2pm
• Wanted to deliver in a tub
• Pushed for 1:15 minutes in tub
• I accomplished something that I knew I wanted and could do but I wasn’t sure how I was going to do.
• LISTEN BACK AND ADD NOTES
• Husband coached childbirth

 

[audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/andytraub/naturalchildbirth004.mp3]

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Running Time:

57:21

• Induction started by breaking the membranes
• Labor started then got flustered and accepted an epidural
• Nurse asked her “Do you want your epidural?”
• Had a vacuum extraction
• Had never met the doctor who delivered her baby
• Had a lot of tearing but did not get an anesthesia
• A woman is taught that “as long as your baby is healthy it’s worth it.”
• Second birth was a planned epidural
• Anesthesiologist kept hitting a nerve and told her to stop moving
• Went numb from the neck down for awhile
• Pushed in a “funny way” because of the epidural
• Was on crutches for a week after birth
• Had back pain for six months after the birth
• Those experiences were 75% of the reason she pursued a natural childbirth with her third child.
• Met her doula at a baby fair and she encouraged Sherri to find a midwife that had her same goals
• Midwife and OBGYN stayed with her through her entire labor (12 hours).
• Doula was present to assist as well.
• Why do women accept that a medicated birth is a good birth?
• “I trust my doctors and I’m not strong enough to do this.” – That’s what she thought during her first birth.
• Doulas provide an experienced and trusted opinion.
• Found a lot of solace in prayer during her birth experience.
• Women were doing it for thousands of years and then men got involved.
• The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth
• Should you clamp the umbilical cord right after birth
• Laura Stove Herm – “There is a secret in our culture not that birth is painful but that birth is strong.”
• Read Sherri’s comments on my blog post that she references in the conversation –
• The Birth Book – Dr. Sears – How a woman gives birth is related for better or for worse…”

 

[audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/andytraub/naturalchildbirth003.mp3]

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Running Time:

1:09:05

• New is not always advancing
• If technology is not used in the right way it can be harmful
• The majority of children born in the world today are born naturally
• Intervention can lead to an outcome that a woman never expected
• The people you have around you at birth matter
• Everything you do after you get pregnant is a potential sacrifice for your baby
• Doctors may not have your best interest at heart
• Natural labor can take over 36 hours
• Hospital births depend on a lot of things lining up right
• I don’t want to have to make peace with my birth experience
• Ask your doctor their cesarean rate and if it’s more than 10% then get a different doctor
• You should never settle in marriage or in birth
• Look up “Birth Plan” on Google and make one for yourself
• What is right for one woman is not right for another so you must find the person and the book that speaks to your heart.
• Look at countries that don’t have the issues we have with childbirth and ask what they’re doing right.
  Environment matters. Education matters.
• Spend less time shopping for the stroller and more time researching labor.

 

“I think in a lot of ways, we’re (Americans – not you) asking the wrong question – Why do we want to stop having babies the way we have for centuries? Why do we want to have babies differently than the majority of the world? There should be a good reason for change, but instead the medications we add to the labor process often hinder labor and result in further medical interventions.

I don’t know any woman who chose a natural childbirth and wanted to add medication in another labor. I do know far too many cases where a woman said, “why not” to pitocin, then an epidural, and before she knew it she was headed in for a c-section, post-partum depression, and difficulty making peace with her birth. A woman is completely capable of having a healthy baby; however, when we add medication, her body isn’t able to follow it’s natural intuition.

It doesn’t bother me if a woman has researched medicated pain relief and chooses it knowing what it will and will not do. What drives me crazy is when a woman goes into a hospital assuming the staff have her family’s best interests at heart. Doctors like to make things easy for themselves and they don’t mind using medicine to get the baby out in time for them to make it home for dinner, not to mention they’ll get paid a little more for each added medical procedure. It’s a mother’s job to stand up for her child and it’s a father’s job to stand up for his wife.

 

It is so important for every woman to educate themselves about the options available for childbirth and the risks associated with each. As soon as you’re pregnant, every decision you make for the rest of your life is not just about you, but your child. If you gave up coffee or wine for nine months, why would you want to give your baby a narcotic similar to cocaine to help take your mind of the pain for a few hours?”