Thoughtfully Assembling Her Care Team Helped Carlee Achieve Natural Hospital Birth

When did you realize you were really in labor?

I had mild contractions all afternoon and evening, but I assumed it was prodromal labor. I woke up every hour as the contractions grew stronger, but it wasn’t until I threw up several times at 2:30 AM that I realized this was the real thing. I woke my partner up and we labored at home until leaving for the hospital at 9:30 AM. My midwife met us at the hospital and I was 5 centimeters dilated and 100% effaced. Baby time!

What was the most challenging thing about going natural?

While entering active labor at home, I lay in bed for an hour to get some rest and allow my partner time to finish packing. I was alone, lying still, and dehydrated. It was the worst pain of my labor, and I considered getting an epidural. When we arrived at the hospital, my doula, midwife, birth photographer, and nurses provided me with essential support, ran me a bath to relax, and my partner started pumping me full of water. Pain relief really can be achieved with natural methods!

What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?

The most helpful thing was thoughtfully assembling my care team – my doula, midwife, and partner. I also credit my extensive birth education (including Mama Naturals books, website, and online course!), listening to birth stories, and my yoga and meditation practice. Nancy Bardacke’s book “Mindful Birthing” was my birth bible.

What surprised you about your birth?

Pushing. Nothing prepared me for how difficult pushing would be.

Mama Natural's online course reinforced all of this education late in my pregnancy and was a good review for some things I had forgotten. It was most helpful for my partner, and we both really valued the personal stories, the birth videos, and the visuals of what happens to the baby during birth. As an educator, I highly recommend this course because it is a very well designed curriculum.

What pain relief strategies worked best?

Hip squeezes and counter pressure from my partner, hot baths, changing positions, meditative breathing, and birth mantras like “open, open” and “down, down”.

How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?

Our baby was unresponsive for the first couple minutes and required resuscitation, so I wasn’t able to bring her directly to my chest. Though she was perfectly healthy by 5 minutes, she required observation in the nursery for an hour. My partner accompanied her and had skin to skin contact the whole time (we call it hair-to-skin with my partner; see attached photo). I had my magical moment with her a week later while breastfeeding at home.

What did you name your baby, and why?

Anita after Anita Hill. I was inspired to name her this during the Brett Kavanaugh hearings, which occurred while I was pregnant. Her middle name is my last name and she has my partner's last name.

How did the Mama Natural Birth Class help you in your childbirth?

I'm a professor, so I had read more than a dozen books about childbirth, as well as listened to every episode of the Pregnancy Podcast and Birth Hour Podcast. Mama Natural Birth Course reinforced all of this education late in my pregnancy and was a good review for some things I had forgotten. It was most helpful for my partner, and we both really valued the personal stories, the birth videos, and the visuals of what happens to the baby during birth. As an educator, I highly recommend this course because it is a very well designed curriculum.

I also found the affirmation cards invaluable during my pregnancy. I hung them all over the house - my partner memorized them and whispered them in my ear during labor. Thanks, Mama Natural!