In this episode, Sarah Felt, a midwife, shares her expertise in the area of prenatal care and preparing for labor. She discusses the various tests and checks performed during prenatal visits, such as monitoring the baby's heart rate and measuring fundal height. Sarah emphasizes the importance of nutrition and hydration in maintaining a healthy pregnancy and explains how certain foods and supplements can support the body during labor. She also highlights the significance of mental preparation, including positive self-talk and affirmations, as well as creating a supportive environment for labor. Sarah shares her own birth stories and offers advice for coping with unexpected outcomes and loss.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction and Guest Introduction 00:31 Understanding Prenatal Checks and Their Importance 08:39 The Role of Nutrition and Hydration in Pregnancy and Labor 13:06 Mental Preparation: Positive Self-Talk and Affirmations 32:12 Coping with Unexpected Outcomes and Loss
RESOURCES Raspberry Leaf Tea Dates Dr. Christopher's Birth Affirmations
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:05):
It's the Best Birth Podcast, wherewe interview experts that elevate
you as you prepare your heartand mind to have the best birth.
Each episode will interviewprofessionals so you are prepared
for pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.
Our experts will build your confidenceand empower you to trust your
intuition throughout your pregnancy.
This audio is takenfrom videos on YouTube.
(00:27):
Watch the entire episodes onYouTube at Birth Made Mindful.
The Best Birth [00:01]
You're listening to TheBest Birth podcast today.
Our guest is Sarah felt amidwife here to share all of the
expertise on having our babies.
Sarah is the lead midwife andowner of beautiful mountain birth.
She's the proud mama to seven amazingchildren, six heaven babies and
(00:50):
married to her sweetheart of 27 years.
She's dedicated her life to strengtheningfamilies and empowering individuals.
She loves gardening.
Although she says her thumbis more brown than green.
nature and the outdoors, spending timewith family and friends and a clean house.
Just don't stop by unannounced.
Welcome Sarah.
Thank you.
Thanks for having me.
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We are excited to talk aboutour, our babies, our births, our
bodies, kind of jumping right in.
We've talked a lot about how mothersare checked at their prenatal
visits, but I want to ask you acouple of questions about what
you're checking for with our babies.
So I remember going to a lot ofappointments and using a Doppler
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or using, an ultrasound to kindof monitor the baby's heart rate.
What are you looking forwhile you're doing that test?
That's a really good question.
So when I use a Doppler, I'mlooking for multiple things.
I'm looking not only forlike, what is the heartbeat?
What is the rate and the rhythm,but I'm also listening to the sound
or the valves opening and closing.
Well, do I sense like maybe mom needssome more omegas because the valves
(01:54):
are having a hard time with that.
So I'm looking for likea couple of things.
Is the baby giving me good accelerations?
Are they showing that they're healthy?
Is there a static line that theheart rate is just too stable?
And I go, how's your diet today?
How's your water today?
Or is heart rate too high?
If heart rate is too high, that cantell me, you know, you might be telling
me you're drinking water, but are you?
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You know, things like that.
So I'm looking for a lot of things.
Do you feel like you had to honeinto that skill or was that something
that came really naturally as youstarted listening to so many babies?
no, it's something you have to likelearn and listen and practice for sure.
For sure.
Yeah.
Another check they dois the fundal height.
I remember they alwaysbring out the tape measure.
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What are they looking for with that?
Right.
So we're looking for appropriategrowth and growth rate.
and we often joke in the midwiferycommunity that we think midwives
created the metric systembecause it's a centimeter of
growth per week of pregnancy.
Right.
So.
That's a little backstory.
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but so we're looking for appropriategrowth and sometimes, some women
don't meet the typical standard,but their baby is progressing and is
growing, but it's our job to kind ofmake sure is, is baby meeting that.
For example, most women grow thatcentimeter per week of pregnancy.
And that's great.
That's kind of easy to assess.
when we check that fundal height, we'realso palpating baby in the position
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I'm feeling for amniotic fluid levels.
I'm feeling for baby's position.
I'm feeling for anythingthat might be of concern.
But I'm also looking and listening to themom and if she's told me in the past, hey,
I've had a few babies that they induced meearly because they were afraid my baby was
too small, which is kind of funny, right?
(03:42):
We want, we don't want babiesto be too big or too small, but
really babies come in all sizes.
It's just fine.
And we've checked them like withan ultrasound to follow up and
make sure and they're just fine.
They're growing normally.
They're just, we have smallpeople in this universe.
It's okay.
So if it's one centimeter per month,at what point do you start having
concerns if they're not on track orif maybe you're like, I've always
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heard people say, I'm measuring big.
I'm, I'm, you know, like I'm twoweeks ahead in my, in my measurements.
What does that tell us about the health ofthe pregnancy or the health of the baby?
Right.
So it can tell us several things.
You know, babies are like normal humans.
We have growth spurts.
We have times where we're like normal,and then as children, we just shoot
(04:27):
up over a summer, and babies are alittle bit the same inside the womb.
So I'm looking for, is therea steady growth pattern?
If I see a mom come in from oneprenatal to the next, and it's been
four weeks, and she hasn't had anygrowth, I'm gonna ask more questions.
I'm gonna dig a little deeper,and I'm probably gonna follow
up with an ultrasound just tosee what is going on with baby.
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Is baby safe?
Is baby okay?
And is this the same forlike a fetal kick count?
Fetal kick count tells me,doesn't tell me growth, right?
Fetal kick count tells me howis baby doing in the womb.
And just like, just likebabies have personalities in
real life or humans do, right?
Babies have personalities in the womb.
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So some kids are a little more mild,some kids a little more active.
And so we look at that pattern as well.
And that can change from, youknow, one child to the next child.
So I look for kind of all of that.
And the other thing we're watching for,you know, babies actually develop a
sleep and wake cycle around 32 weeks.
And so sometimes I'll have a momcome in around 28 weeks and then
(05:29):
32 weeks and they'll be like,I don't know that it's changed.
The baby's changed.
I'm like, that's normal.
They're figuring out theircycle and that's okay.
And we look at, are they keeping thatpattern or are they changing who they are?
Right?
Is there somethingthat's out of the normal?
And then we'll dig a little deeper.
So if you stop feeling your baby kickor you stop feeling those movements,
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is there different levels of normal?
If they stop moving, let's find out why.
So usually what we do when we'remonitoring kick counts, it doesn't
mean that I'm having you with a watchevery hour going, okay, check 10.
I can go about my business, right?
I want to see is thatnormal pattern followed?
If it's not, let's drink some juice.
Let's drink some Gatorade tosomething a little sugary.
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Yes, it's the one time I encourage sugar.
and lay down and just feel, andusually baby will react to go, Whoa,
that was a nice little sugar rush.
And they'll get movingand everything's fine.
If baby's not keeping that movement upand that kick count up, then we look
at why and let's go again, let's goget some more information and dig a
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little deeper and make sure baby's okay.
And if they're not moving as theyshould, what could that be an
indication of, or when should you worry?
Right.
gosh.
That's like.
The biggest question, right?
What could it be an indication of?
Usually that baby's not doing well.
Some for there's like a millionreasons it could be maybe the
amniotic fluid has gone really low.
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We saw that a lot during COVID.
The water just disappearedovernight sometimes.
and we had to work hard with some,some of our mamas to replace that.
it can mean that baby's got somekind of abnormality that we haven't
detected yet and that we haven't found.
and usually everything is caught aroundthat 20 week ultrasound, but you know,
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it's not an exactmicroscope into the womb.
So we do our best insciences that we have.
I love that you spoke to patternsbecause as your baby has a rhythm,
it will be unique than if youcompare it to someone else's.
But I just remember being soworried that, my baby's not moving.
Are there some ways to reassure yourself?
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maybe your baby doesn't moveas much and it's still okay.
instead of just immediatelyjumping to, something's wrong.
Right.
Right.
I'd like to tell moms and dads, look atyour personality, look at your husband.
Most likely your child's goingto follow along some of those
similarities with your personality.
Right.
And if that baby isn't moving asmuch, definitely try the kick count
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test with the sugar and laying down.
but also look at like, when wasthe last time you felt baby move?
Are they, are they just pay attention?
Are they following a patternof sleeping and waking?
and just trying to be awaremore of what you're doing.
And then thinking too, whathas changed in your behavior?
Right?
Sometimes we have a daywhere we're just chilling.
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We're chilling on the couch.
Maybe I don't know what we're doing.
Maybe we're doing bills at the tableor we're working at a job and we're
more sedentary and baby's like sweet.
I've got freedom to go.
But if you're standing up, youknow, what happens when baby's out
in your arms and you're moving?
Baby sways, goes to sleep and calms down.
And it's the same thing.
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When baby's in your tummy,they're just like, thanks.
And they kind of melt.
So being aware of what did you change?
I've always heard that as a babygets bigger, they lose space, right?
They don't have as much space.
So is it normal as you're expandingand getting ready for delivery that
a baby would have less room to move?
yes.
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Right.
Less room to move, butis it impossible to move?
No.
We see babies do incredible things.
Even
deep into the birth canal doing full 360s.
We're like, how did you even manage that?
So babies can still move.
They just, they just geta little more creative.
So we should still be feelingall of that movement, you
know, into 38, 39 and 40 weeks.
(09:22):
Right.
And that movement might feel differentthan, you know, at 32 weeks, it might
feel like more punchy and stronger.
Whereas when the baby has lessroom, you know, so do you.
So that's what I was feeling.
Cause I always remember like as I got
you know, like gigantic.
It felt like I'm not feeling mybaby like kick or move as much.
Yeah.
And that's fine.
(09:42):
Yep.
As we get closer to delivery and labor,there are things like the non -stress
test or just monitoring more heart rates.
what are the purposes of these tests?
Right.
you know, usually non-stress test is done.
I haven't felt baby move.
I feel like there's achange in their pattern.
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I'm concerned.
And so they check to seeis baby under stress.
And that's just having a monitorhooked up to your belly, along
with a contraction monitor.
And you have a littlebutton and you get to.
click the button for every time the babymoves and they watch for contraction
pattern as well as the fetal hearttones that whole time and see how
they're stable and or how they'redoing and how they're handling things.
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Sometimes non -stress tests will alsoinclude an ultrasound follow -up.
That
is done more I would say ina hospital setting versus an
out -of -hospital setting.
With midwives out of hospitalwe tend to do what we call
a midwives non -stress test.
although we do have non -stress testmachine at my clinic and we do use it
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on occasion, but I find that if I canjust play with baby on the belly and
palpate and I know baby's positionand I know their pattern and we watch
for, are they responding to my cueswhen we kind of mess with them on
the belly and we rub their back orwe kind of shift them a little bit.
Does their heart rate go upand how long does it stay up?
How, how well are they doing?
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So we kind of do a test that way withour, with our Doppler in our hands.
The non -stress test is a funny namebecause it's supposed to be non -stressed,
but I always feel like a mother feelsstressed when she realizes that she needs
to have further monitoring for her baby.
Of course it's backwards because you'regoing in for the test to make sure
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that there's nothing wrong, to makesure that you don't need to take action
based upon the health of your baby.
But that's always such a funny name to me.
Non -stress test.
Right.
I had a baby, who stopped growingin utero, my fourth child, and
We got to 32 weeks and I had beentelling the team all along, there's
something wrong with my baby.
I can feel it.
And I had placenta previa at the time.
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So they were monitoring the placentaprevia and every time they were also
monitoring my son and he just, hewould not meet the growth rate and he
would just shrink in that percentage.
So he went from 90th percentileand then less and then less.
And then finally at 30th percentile,they were like, I think there's
something wrong with your baby.
I said, that's what I've been saying.
And then at that point I hadtwo to three non -stress tests.
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week.
And like you said, it was very stressful.
I'm like, he was born at 36 weeksby cesarean emergency cesarean, but
he was okay and he's doing fine.
but it was definitelyvery stressful, right?
It was a put more stress on mom,which can put more stress on baby.
I had a non -stress test for my first.
They said that there wasnot as much amniotic fluid.
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Do you know if there's any way to increaseamniotic fluid or does that just happen
in the body according to what it does?
You know, it is definitely, it'snot completely in our control, but
we definitely have a far largerinfluence than we're led to believe.
And honestly, the easiest way todo that is electrolytes and water.
So drink your coconut water.
If you like liquid IV, go for that.
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If you like trace minerals, go for that.
Go for something that's asnatural as can be that will help
replenish that amniotic fluid.
The more dehydrated you are, themore dehydrated baby will be and
the less amniotic fluid you'll have.
In the second and third trimester,we're actually replacing a liter and
a half of amniotic fluid every day.
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So if you think of your belly,like a toilet bowl for baby,
they're, they're using that up.
It's gotta be flushed.
It's gotta be cleaned.
And have you ever, you know, left thetank that had that problem on the toilet?
It's just continuouslyflushing and flushing.
And if you don't have anyintake coming into you,
The baby's going to pull from yourcells, the baby's going to dehydrate
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you, and then they're going tobe like, the shelves are empty.
I don't have anything.
How many hours would it take from thetime that we intake more water until
that actually kind of like makes adifference for the amniotic fluid?
That is a great question.
Different moms, different results, right?
I can think of a couple of my momsthat really struggled with dehydration.
One of these moms came in and herbaby's heart rate was actually
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180s, 190s, which is tachycardic.
We felt baby, we felt position,we could feel the stress.
We gave her an electrolyte drinkand had her drink it and then wait
20 minutes and then we redid fetalheart tones and instantly there was
already an impact and an increase.
So within 20 minutes potentiallyrefilling that entire tank
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might take a little bit longer.
One thing I also didn't realize as wellis that after your water breaks, you
continue to add more amniotic fluid.
Right?
So if your water is broken, you'reprobably going to be leaking.
And I just recommend wearing one of thosedepends or, you know, like a diaper.
So you're not worried about watergetting everywhere or leaking down
your leg because you'll keep producingwater until your baby's born.
(14:44):
Right.
Whenever we have a mom whosewater breaks, that's what we do.
Like please drink, drinkmore, drink more, drink more.
Yeah.
My water broke with my first and we walkedto the hospital and I was leaking as I
went and yeah, it's just so fascinating.
They can just tell.
Yes, that's amniotic fluid.
Do you want to share a littlebit more about your birth, birth
(15:05):
stories with your children?
Okay.
Well, gosh, where to start?
So I have seven children,so I have a few stories.
I started out actuallywith my birth story.
I didn't, let me preface this by sayingmy husband comes from a medical family.
and I come from a littlemore medically minded family.
And out of hospital birthwas never an option.
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But I had heard of natural birthand so I was very interested.
And that was somethingthat piqued my interest.
So I studied, I worked hard.
I ended up not being able toget the birth that I wanted.
I wasn't as prepared oreducated as I thought I was.
And my first birth wasactually very difficult.
I had an epidural.
I pushed for four and a half hours.
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They used forceps, they used vacuum,and she ended up with a traumatic
brain injury from her birth.
She's doing great today, butthat was the short of hers.
My second, I figured I was broken.
I wasn't meant to have babies.
So I had another epidural.
All of my babies, except for my C-section, all of my babies are posterior.
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All of my babies have meconium andall of my babies need resuscitation.
And all of my babies haveshoulder dystocia and have to
be extracted at some point.
So that was my second and my third story.
My fourth was the cesarean.
My fifth, I was fed up.
I was like, that's it.
I cannot be broken.
I saw this video and if Icould track it down, I totally
(16:32):
would share it with the world.
And it's been removed fromthe internet, I swear.
But this woman, she was in France.
Imagine like this beautifulwhite gown, like totally
picturesque French movie, right?
And she's laboring in this attic space.
There's candles everywhere,no furniture, no nothing else.
Her midwife is sitting against the wall.
Her husband is sitting against the wall.
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And she's just moving, moving as shefeels those waves and those contractions.
and there's just calm gentlemusic playing in the background.
And there's like a time lapse.
You know, obviously her laborwasn't four minutes, but
then suddenly she reaches down underneaththis beautiful white gown and pulls
up this baby and puts it skin to skin.
And
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I was like, what?
Are you telling me birth can be like that?
I've been robbed.
I've been robbed.
And so I studied, I worked really hardand I hired a doula for the hospital
and I had my first all -naturalbirth, the hospital, and then my
sixth and my seventh I had at home.
So that's the short version.
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And you've probably seen a lot of birthsin your practice as well, where, you know,
half of them are that, that gorgeous,you know, white flowy dress version.
And then the other halfare, are a different story.
Right.
Yeah.
My story never got to thewhite, beautiful dress.
She just inspired me.
My stories were, well, my lastbaby, let me put it this way.
My last baby, we had two foreignexchange students living with us.
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So we had eight children when I wentinto labor, came out with nine, right?
And when I went into labor, I said,
I just don't want anybody aroundto send everybody to the basement.
I didn't think at the time the basementwas directly, the TV was directly
below my bedroom and I'm not quiet.
I'm a freight train.
(18:22):
That loud birthing soundthat some moms make.
I make it really good.
And afterwards I was like, I wonderif these poor, poor exchange is a girl
from Germany and a girl from Spain.
I'm like, my goodness, whatare they going to think?
They came upstairs and luckilythe TV had been loud enough.
They didn't hear anything, but no, I wasnever the white dress, peaceful birther.
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Well, what are some waysto prepare for labor?
You know, what, regardless of theexperience you're going to have?
That is a really good question.
I think first educate yourself, right?
Learn stories, hear stories andhear positive birth stories.
We have plenty of fear out there.
We've all had plenty of a dose of that.
Go hear positive, inspiring stories.
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Let people tell you their victories inbirth, whether they be at the hospital
or they be at home or they be your greatgrandmother's story or your neighbors.
Find those positive ones to fillyour heart and your mind with.
And then look inside your soul forwhat work you need to do on your own.
and
We often see in the natural birthworld, moms who don't go into labor
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and why aren't they going into labor?
Well, according to the 40 week, right?
Which we all know there's no due date.
There's no assignment to turn in.
You've got a cute package at the end.
But the question is, why, like what's,what's going on emotionally with you?
Do you have some concernsthat are unresolved?
Have you had birth trauma inyour family that you might be
(19:56):
holding onto generationally?
in your own body.
I don't know if you guys have everstudied epigenetics, but that trauma
is passed down through your cells.
So do you have something toclear up and maybe write out or?
journal out or talk to a friendabout or do birth art or birth work.
So do some kind of a journeyand discovery journey for
yourself of where am I at mostly?
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Where do I really sit with thisprocess and where are my feelings?
And sometimes the issues that come upwhen I work with a client go into labor.
Because we'll do foot zoning,we'll do things like that, we'll
do acupressure, we'll do emotionalprocessing for labor work.
And sometimes the issues arereally nothing related to birth,
(20:39):
which always surprises the mom.
I can think of one sweet momand part of her concerns...
that were keeping her back were thingsthat she dealt with when she was 12 and
13 years old with neighbors and withfriends and with not being acknowledged
for her gifts and her talents.
(21:00):
And she felt like the black sheep inher community for going against the
grain and doing a natural birth at home.
And once she processed throughthat fear, I mean, she had
the most beautiful delivery.
It was beautiful.
I can think of another mom andher fear, like she was so excited
and we're working through all these thingsand I'd bring them up as they as I would
(21:23):
identify them on the feet and then whichsounds really weird, foot zoning is a
whole nother podcast ladies, but we gotto this one issue and I looked at her
and I said are you ready for your baby?
She's a first -time mom.
Are you ready for yourbaby to be mad at you?
And she lost it.
She broke down hysterical, ugly crying.
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And she was like, mybaby, no, I'm a good mom.
I'm going to be a good mom.
You are going to be an incrediblemom, but your child gets to
have feelings you can't control.
And it was this huge aha for herand a transformational moment.
And then she went into labor.
You speak a little bit aboutthe environment of birth.
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Do you feel like that's also cultivated?
in the weeks prior to welcoming the baby?
Definitely, definitely in the weeks prior.
I think it happens unknowinglythroughout our pregnancy.
And it happens with intentand accidentally, right?
Definitely intentional creation helpsto mold our environment, whether or not
(22:33):
we're there, it creates an environmentwhere we can be there potentially.
And so I think that's a great idea to do.
And definitely the actions you takein the discussing and reading and
studying throughout pregnancy, or evenif you're not pregnant yet, sometimes
we forget that that time either inbetween babies or before you ever have
your first child is just as powerfulfor a pregnancy and a delivery.
(22:59):
I want to ask all the questionswhen people say like, can I
naturally induce, what can I doto get this baby here faster?
This is a good question.
I think the answer is like, no, you'renot going to be able to do anything
to get this baby here faster, but dosome of these things actually help?
Like does eating pineapple help?
Does drinking raspberry leaf tea help?
(23:21):
Absolutely.
They absolutely, absolutely do.
So we see a starkdifference in our practice.
we do a lot with nutrition.
We do a lot with food.
We do a lot with supplements and vitamins.
And I see a difference between mymoms who are like trying very hard
and my moms who are learning and stilltrying hard, but maybe aren't at that
(23:42):
same level of effort and involvement.
Every effort though makes thedifference and definitely helps.
That red raspberry leaf teastrengthens the uterine muscle.
The pineapple, the bromelain in the core,it's actually the core of the pineapple.
that actually does help, doeshelp with labor and delivery.
(24:02):
The eating dates actuallydoes soften cervixes.
So does putting in evening primrose oil.
We don't take it internally.
Evening primrose oil will actuallythin your blood and can help.
or not help can increaseyour chances of hemorrhaging.
So you do it vaginally to helpsoften your cervix that way.
(24:23):
Evening primrose oil hasprostaglandins in it.
Semen has prostaglandins in it.
All of that helps to softenthe cervix and induce labor.
So it definitely does.
Definitely.
Are there any other things thatI missed that could help to, to
prepare your body for labor Dr.
Christopher's birth prep.
Is that something that is a good thing totake or are there too many like back and
(24:46):
forth on the efficacy or the safety of it?
I definitely recommend havingsome kind of a herb, There is
this misnomer that if you take Dr.
Christopher's birth prep or.
There's several different brands.
There's a Sunstone brand,there's Deliver Ease from Good
Earth, there's a couple of them.
If you take that, then A, it will speedup your labor, or if you have a fast
(25:07):
labor, it's gonna make it go faster,and you don't wanna drop a baby on the
floor in five minutes, kind of an idea.
And really what those herbs are doing,yes, they help the uterus to go into
labor, but they're also nourishingthe body and what the body is missing.
And so we find that momswho have a prolonged labor,
or moms that have a too fastlabor are often struggling with
(25:29):
some nutritional deficiencies.
What are your top recommendations toavoid those nutritional deficiencies?
Gosh, that's a big one.
A huge one.
top recommendations,really good, healthy diet.
I know we can't beat it enough.
Dr.
Brewer, you may have heardof the Brewer's diet.
Dr.
(25:49):
Brewer studied this asan OB several years ago.
created the Brewers Diet, youcan look it up online and there's
additional really great resources forpregnancy and diet that are out there.
But he talked about just simplychanging protein in the diet and
the significant decrease they saw inthings like preeclampsia and other
(26:12):
conditions for pregnancy that ledto a healthier and easier delivery.
So diet is huge.
avoiding sugars, avoiding processedfoods, like what are your main
things that you see that willcause someone to have the problems?
That's okay.
So this is the best kept secret.
And I say best kept becausesomebody kept it from me.
(26:33):
And so all of my babies were very big.
My largest baby was 9 -11 and I knowwomen have bigger and they're amazing.
My smallest baby was mypreemie, but he doesn't count.
That's a different story.
But my smallest was 8 -4after that for full term.
And I didn't find out until I becamea midwife that if you eat more sugar
(26:53):
and you eat more carbs that lasttrimester, it acts like sugar for the
baby and it does make your baby bigger.
If I had focused on protein and goodnutrition and less sugar and less
carbs, I would have had a smaller baby.
You talk about nutrition andwe've talked about it for
(27:15):
the mother, what about in gettingpregnant and the help of producing
more sperm or things like that inorder to increase pregnancy odds.
Right.
That's a great one.
our diet right now, especially herein the States, there's a revolution,
there's this underground revolution.
So be a part of the revolution, butwe're all looking at our diet and
(27:36):
trying to stand up for ourselves more.
And we're saying, this isn't okay.
These processed foods really aren't okay.
These chemicals really aren't okay.
We used to think xylitol was this amazingthing and there's new research that just
came out that said, nope, xylitol isalso causing these problems in the body.
So look at real foods.
If you have to get a dictionary outto define what's on the label or
(27:57):
Google it, you are off track, right?
Let's find actual foods.
The other thing that we'rereally missing significantly in
our diet are fermented foods.
We do not have a healthygut and everything in our
health starts from the gut.
So whether you do, yes,pickles are great in pregnancy.
Drink that pickle juice if you crave it.
(28:17):
But do pickled beets, pickled eggs,sourdough bread, natural yeast doughs.
There's lots of ways to getreally good fermented foods to
help your gut and start there.
If you have a healthy gut, yourliver is detoxing and doing better.
Your gallbladder is doing better.
Your pancreas is doing better.
(28:38):
and that will just support that wholefoundation of a good, healthy pregnancy.
Look at what you're drinking.
Are you drinking a lot of water?
Are you drinking a lot of sodas?
I can guarantee you if you havea monster every day, your sperm
count's going to be lower.
It impacts it on a very, very real level.
(28:59):
This is so important, ournutrition, our health.
Let's talk a little bit about exercise.
How does exercise in like thelast weeks getting ready for labor
help to have a smoother delivery?
That's a great question.
I like to see moms keep up up whatthey were doing before pregnancy.
you may have heard of the mom here who.
(29:20):
I think she was like eight monthspregnant or nine months pregnant
and she ran like the fastest mile,like totally inspirational, right?
I am not a runner.
So I really looked up to her.
I do different kinds ofexercise for myself, but what
you start before, continue.
Some women get to that firsttrimester where they feel terrible
(29:40):
and that's a different topic as well.
There are things you can do so youdon't have to feel as terrible.
Doctors will tell youmorning sickness is normal.
A degree of morning sickness isnormal, but most of it can be treated,
managed, and helped with nutrition.
But after you get through that slumpof tired and the nauseousness and maybe
(30:01):
some emesis and vomiting, get backinto something, whether that's walking
every day, whether it's, you know,okay, we have a joke in our practice.
I can't do anything.
I've got three kids.
I can't get out of thehouse except to the mailbox.
And we get half a blockdown before one kid is...
either wet their pantsor throw in a fit, right?
And so we say, do youhave stairs in your house?
(30:23):
So go up and down the stairs.
You have something to get in the basement,go down the stairs, go up the stairs,
go down to the basement and get it.
So put in little thingsthroughout the day.
They don't have to be.
it workout session.
And I remember the advice you gaveme was to climb the stairs sideways
as if I was like a football player.
So if I couldn't get out to do thecurb walking on a real curb, with all
(30:44):
those other kids in tow, that I couldjust walk up the stairs like a crab.
Yeah.
Yeah.
There's, there's hacks ladies.
We just got to get creative and I knoweveryone can do it because we're moms.
Absolutely.
What about squatting?
Should we like hang outin a squat position for a
couple of minutes every day?
So squatting is great.
But let's also look if you've got hipissues or hip dysplasia or you've got
(31:07):
loose hips because you're struggling withconnective joint tissue disorder, sorry.
You have to look at what can you do.
So squats are great, lunges are great,hip circles, getting on that ball and
really working that hip mobility, doing,
don't jump on the trampolinethough, my goodness.
(31:29):
I had a mama jump on the trampoline.
Don't jump on the trampoline.
That's a soft like bounce.
That's one thing, but don't jump.
And is that for just theweeks leading up to it?
Is that all of pregnancy?
I recommend anything after 12 weeksbecause that baby's head can pound
against that pelvic bone and youdon't want an injury before birth.
(31:53):
So, yeah, we've talked a lotabout nourishing the body
through exercise and nutrition.
What about nourishing the mind?
How can we prepare our mind for birth?
We know it's a big mental game.
Right.
positive self -talk and affirmations.
you did affirmations, right?
I remember that they'rearound here somewhere.
We'll link to the affirmations andI would just say them out loud too.
(32:15):
Sometimes to make myself believe them.
I am strong all of thewomen are birthing with me.
It's like, you don't want to alwaysbe feeling that positive when you're,
in pain during labor, but I would tryto say them ahead of time so that I
could remind myself, why I was doingthe work to have an unmedicated labor.
Yeah, I love it.
(32:35):
And sometimes if you don't have thetime to maybe make something pretty,
like I've had mom say, well, I, butI saw these beautiful ones that Sarah
did, or I saw the thing on Pinterest.
I'm like, get out a three by five card or.
Take a piece of newspaper,your kid's scrap paper.
It doesn't matter what it is.
What matters is that you're taking anidea and a thought and you're forming
(32:56):
it into reality by putting it on paper.
And I've had moms come with theirthree by five cards and literally
just stick them up all over thebirth center so they see them.
And I've had moms whowrote them out on a list.
We had one sweet mom, shewas so sweet and so tender.
And she was very nervous about her birth.
This was her second child,first out of hospital.
(33:17):
And she was kind of just frozen.
She wasn't going into labor.
So we sat down with her and herhusband and we made an affirmation
list on a piece of paper.
And the sweet gal, oneof hers was, I'm a bad A.
And I was surprised, but that'swhat she needed to hear was she
(33:38):
was, she was, she could do this.
And in labor, he took that list andhe read it to her again and again.
and he pulled one out as hefelt needed in that moment.
And when she started to get discouragedand he read her an affirmation or we
repeated one of those affirmations,she would just like, yes, yes, I can.
(34:00):
And she would be so encouraged.
So definitely good mental moment orstand in front of the mirror and say
your affirmations, hang them up inyour house, you know, whatever you need
to do to get in that positive game.
Some women will record it and then playit to themselves as they're sleeping.
That's an easy thing to do.
Listen to somebody else's.
There's so many amazing ones on YouTube.
(34:21):
You can pick your accent.
You can pick your gender voice reading toyou and you can get some really good ones.
Yeah.
Our, our mind is so powerful withall of this and just the empowerment
that can come and the inspiration.
What about these mental exercises forwhen things don't go as planned or when
we, we maybe have a loss of a baby.
(34:44):
That is a really good one.
when things don't go as planned.
I think it's important, even when weprepare in prenatals with our mommies, we
talk about preparing for the unexpectedallows you to go there safely in labor.
So it's not a taboo topicwe don't talk about.
(35:07):
It's something we prepare for ahead oftime and say, all right, if this were
to happen, how am I going to handle it?
knowing that I am safe and the best careis going to be given to me and to my baby.
And with loss, having gone throughloss, I've lost six babies and those
were very difficult challenges.
(35:27):
One of my babies I lost justbefore the pandemic hit and we
had a family Halloween party, so acouple months before I should say.
We were going up for the family partyand I had decided to surprise my
husband and not tell him I was pregnant.
because I usually can't keep ita secret, but I was at 15 weeks
and I had kept it a secret.
(35:49):
And I usually can't keep it a secretbecause I have hyperemesis and I'm
vomiting every day from six weeks on.
And I woke up that morning of thisfamily party and I was miscarrying
and I just started, I lost it.
I was bawling, I was cryingand my poor confused husband's
like, what just happened?
And it took me like an hour toget the courage to tell him.
(36:11):
And he had to go throughhis own mourning process.
Like you didn't even tellme you were pregnant.
And I was like, I wasgoing to surprise you.
Like it was going to be this great thing.
And we went to that family partyand I couldn't even handle,
like I got in the front door.
I had managed to compose myself.
I got in the front door.
I saw my family and I lost it again.
And my poor mom and my brother and my,all my family was like, what is going on?
(36:34):
And I just went to the basement,curled up on a blanket on my brother's
couch and I let myself mourn.
I let myself cry.
And I knew that my family would take careof my kids and my husband would be fine.
And I just let myself process.
So giving yourself asafe space to process.
It's okay.
It's okay to mourn that loss.
That was a real little one that you had.
(36:56):
And that connection will be there forever.
Being able to remember themforever and hold that treasure
in your heart is so important.
Not just trying to forget about itor feel like it wasn't important
or it didn't matter because
Maybe we're only eight weeks long ornine weeks along, but each time to
recall with fondness and to remember.
(37:19):
Right.
I think grief is harderwhen we don't talk about it.
And grief is harderwhen we don't share it.
And it's okay.
I had somebody tell me once,well, I can only help somebody
if I've been through it.
And I don't agree.
I totally disagree.
I am never going to gothrough everything you are.
but I love you and I see youand I can walk beside you.
(37:42):
I can cry with you even thoughit wasn't my experience.
And that's really all we gottado for each other is sit down and
say, you know what, I see you.
You're having a hard day.
What happened?
And just listen, just listen.
Just let that person cry on your shoulder.
And if their house is a mess and a wreckfor the day, go over without judgment
and either sit with them if that'swhat they want or maybe do the dishes
(38:05):
for them if that's what they want.
Get to know your friend or yourcommunity, or if it's you, be
willing to speak up and to ask.
And it took me until my lastmiscarriage to speak up.
My other ones I kept.
As you can see, it still makes me tender.
I kept because I didn't feelunderstood, I didn't feel heard.
And it wasn't until my last baby,I was like, no, this is something
(38:28):
that impacts all of my children.
My youngest was very devastated.
He'd waited eight years for alittle one and it's okay, it's okay.
Yeah.
Those are such great remindersand things to do when someone
else is going through a loss.
Are there any other phrases we couldsay or things that were helpful for
you as you've spoken up about it?
(38:49):
I know that sometimes we hear,I can't imagine, or I don't know
what you're going through are thereother phrases that are more helpful?
what can I do to help or how can I help?
Sometimes we may not take that invitation.
But knowing that somebodywas willing is always nice.
Sometimes the most meaningful thingswere the friends that dropped by with
unexpected gifts, like a flower or ameal or, hey, can your kids come and play
(39:16):
or, hey, let's go out and do something.
Those things were meaningful.
We don't have to necessarilyfocus on the grief all the time
to be heard and to be valued.
Sarah, this has been anincredible conversation.
Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for sharing themost tender parts of yourself.
Do you have anything else thatyou'd like to add to our listeners,
how they can prepare their heartsand minds for pregnancy and birth?
(39:39):
Be open, be open anddon't be hard on yourself.
If you've had a rough past journey, right?
My first birth, it took me till ayear ago to gain a new perspective
and to forgive the doctor.
I finally realized just last year that hadhe not delivered my baby that way, I don't
(40:01):
know that I would have had my seven kids.
I would have had a cesarean and Idon't know that I would have been
able to have as many more as I did.
And it gave me a new perspective.
So healing is a journey and past birthdifficulties are a journey and they,
all of the lessons I've learned fromeach of my birth have made me who I am.
They've made me the mother I am andthey've made me the midwife I am.
(40:24):
and it's okay that it'sa walk that takes time.
Beautiful.
Our mom squad secret for thisweek is by Geter and it says,
labor as long as possible at home.
Eat during labor andremember you aren't stalled.
Your body and baby may just need a break.
Birth can last for days.
(40:44):
Good reminder that we, you know,we don't always know the timeline.
Very true.
I love it.
Sarah, thank you so much for beinga guest on the podcast today.
Thank you guys so much for having me.
Thanks for joining us on today's episode.
We hope you've been elevated andinspired by this week's expert.
Subscribe today so you never missan episode and please share our
podcast or post on your socialmedia so that other moms and dads
(41:08):
to be can also have the best birth.
Please note that the informationprovided is based on the expert's
insights and personal experience.
It is not intended as medical guidance.
Please seek the advice of yourmedical provider as it applies
to your specific condition.
It's the Best Birth Podcast, wherewe interview experts that elevate
you as you prepare your heartand mind to have the best birth.
Each episode will interviewprofessionals so you are prepared
for pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.
Our experts will build your confidenceand empower you to trust your
intuition throughout your pregnancy.
This audio is takenfrom videos on YouTube.
(00:27):
Watch the entire episodes onYouTube at Birth Made Mindful.
The Best Birth [00:01]
You're listening to TheBest Birth podcast today.
Our guest is Sarah felt amidwife here to share all of the
expertise on having our babies.
Sarah is the lead midwife andowner of beautiful mountain birth.
She's the proud mama to seven amazingchildren, six heaven babies and
(00:50):
married to her sweetheart of 27 years.
She's dedicated her life to strengtheningfamilies and empowering individuals.
She loves gardening.
Although she says her thumbis more brown than green.
nature and the outdoors, spending timewith family and friends and a clean house.
Just don't stop by unannounced.
Welcome Sarah.
Thank you.
Thanks for having me.
(01:10):
We are excited to talk aboutour, our babies, our births, our
bodies, kind of jumping right in.
We've talked a lot about how mothersare checked at their prenatal
visits, but I want to ask you acouple of questions about what
you're checking for with our babies.
So I remember going to a lot ofappointments and using a Doppler
(01:32):
or using, an ultrasound to kindof monitor the baby's heart rate.
What are you looking forwhile you're doing that test?
That's a really good question.
So when I use a Doppler, I'mlooking for multiple things.
I'm looking not only forlike, what is the heartbeat?
What is the rate and the rhythm,but I'm also listening to the sound
or the valves opening and closing.
Well, do I sense like maybe mom needssome more omegas because the valves
(01:54):
are having a hard time with that.
So I'm looking for likea couple of things.
Is the baby giving me good accelerations?
Are they showing that they're healthy?
Is there a static line that theheart rate is just too stable?
And I go, how's your diet today?
How's your water today?
Or is heart rate too high?
If heart rate is too high, that cantell me, you know, you might be telling
me you're drinking water, but are you?
(02:17):
You know, things like that.
So I'm looking for a lot of things.
Do you feel like you had to honeinto that skill or was that something
that came really naturally as youstarted listening to so many babies?
no, it's something you have to likelearn and listen and practice for sure.
For sure.
Yeah.
Another check they dois the fundal height.
I remember they alwaysbring out the tape measure.
(02:37):
What are they looking for with that?
Right.
So we're looking for appropriategrowth and growth rate.
and we often joke in the midwiferycommunity that we think midwives
created the metric systembecause it's a centimeter of
growth per week of pregnancy.
Right.
So.
That's a little backstory.
(02:57):
but so we're looking for appropriategrowth and sometimes, some women
don't meet the typical standard,but their baby is progressing and is
growing, but it's our job to kind ofmake sure is, is baby meeting that.
For example, most women grow thatcentimeter per week of pregnancy.
And that's great.
That's kind of easy to assess.
when we check that fundal height, we'realso palpating baby in the position
(03:20):
I'm feeling for amniotic fluid levels.
I'm feeling for baby's position.
I'm feeling for anythingthat might be of concern.
But I'm also looking and listening to themom and if she's told me in the past, hey,
I've had a few babies that they induced meearly because they were afraid my baby was
too small, which is kind of funny, right?
(03:42):
We want, we don't want babiesto be too big or too small, but
really babies come in all sizes.
It's just fine.
And we've checked them like withan ultrasound to follow up and
make sure and they're just fine.
They're growing normally.
They're just, we have smallpeople in this universe.
It's okay.
So if it's one centimeter per month,at what point do you start having
concerns if they're not on track orif maybe you're like, I've always
(04:07):
heard people say, I'm measuring big.
I'm, I'm, you know, like I'm twoweeks ahead in my, in my measurements.
What does that tell us about the health ofthe pregnancy or the health of the baby?
Right.
So it can tell us several things.
You know, babies are like normal humans.
We have growth spurts.
We have times where we're like normal,and then as children, we just shoot
(04:27):
up over a summer, and babies are alittle bit the same inside the womb.
So I'm looking for, is therea steady growth pattern?
If I see a mom come in from oneprenatal to the next, and it's been
four weeks, and she hasn't had anygrowth, I'm gonna ask more questions.
I'm gonna dig a little deeper,and I'm probably gonna follow
up with an ultrasound just tosee what is going on with baby.
(04:48):
Is baby safe?
Is baby okay?
And is this the same forlike a fetal kick count?
Fetal kick count tells me,doesn't tell me growth, right?
Fetal kick count tells me howis baby doing in the womb.
And just like, just likebabies have personalities in
real life or humans do, right?
Babies have personalities in the womb.
(05:08):
So some kids are a little more mild,some kids a little more active.
And so we look at that pattern as well.
And that can change from, youknow, one child to the next child.
So I look for kind of all of that.
And the other thing we're watching for,you know, babies actually develop a
sleep and wake cycle around 32 weeks.
And so sometimes I'll have a momcome in around 28 weeks and then
(05:29):
32 weeks and they'll be like,I don't know that it's changed.
The baby's changed.
I'm like, that's normal.
They're figuring out theircycle and that's okay.
And we look at, are they keeping thatpattern or are they changing who they are?
Right?
Is there somethingthat's out of the normal?
And then we'll dig a little deeper.
So if you stop feeling your baby kickor you stop feeling those movements,
(05:51):
is there different levels of normal?
If they stop moving, let's find out why.
So usually what we do when we'remonitoring kick counts, it doesn't
mean that I'm having you with a watchevery hour going, okay, check 10.
I can go about my business, right?
I want to see is thatnormal pattern followed?
If it's not, let's drink some juice.
Let's drink some Gatorade tosomething a little sugary.
(06:14):
Yes, it's the one time I encourage sugar.
and lay down and just feel, andusually baby will react to go, Whoa,
that was a nice little sugar rush.
And they'll get movingand everything's fine.
If baby's not keeping that movement upand that kick count up, then we look
at why and let's go again, let's goget some more information and dig a
(06:34):
little deeper and make sure baby's okay.
And if they're not moving as theyshould, what could that be an
indication of, or when should you worry?
Right.
gosh.
That's like.
The biggest question, right?
What could it be an indication of?
Usually that baby's not doing well.
Some for there's like a millionreasons it could be maybe the
amniotic fluid has gone really low.
(06:55):
We saw that a lot during COVID.
The water just disappearedovernight sometimes.
and we had to work hard with some,some of our mamas to replace that.
it can mean that baby's got somekind of abnormality that we haven't
detected yet and that we haven't found.
and usually everything is caught aroundthat 20 week ultrasound, but you know,
(07:17):
it's not an exactmicroscope into the womb.
So we do our best insciences that we have.
I love that you spoke to patternsbecause as your baby has a rhythm,
it will be unique than if youcompare it to someone else's.
But I just remember being soworried that, my baby's not moving.
Are there some ways to reassure yourself?
(07:38):
maybe your baby doesn't moveas much and it's still okay.
instead of just immediatelyjumping to, something's wrong.
Right.
Right.
I'd like to tell moms and dads, look atyour personality, look at your husband.
Most likely your child's goingto follow along some of those
similarities with your personality.
Right.
And if that baby isn't moving asmuch, definitely try the kick count
(07:59):
test with the sugar and laying down.
but also look at like, when wasthe last time you felt baby move?
Are they, are they just pay attention?
Are they following a patternof sleeping and waking?
and just trying to be awaremore of what you're doing.
And then thinking too, whathas changed in your behavior?
Right?
Sometimes we have a daywhere we're just chilling.
(08:19):
We're chilling on the couch.
Maybe I don't know what we're doing.
Maybe we're doing bills at the tableor we're working at a job and we're
more sedentary and baby's like sweet.
I've got freedom to go.
But if you're standing up, youknow, what happens when baby's out
in your arms and you're moving?
Baby sways, goes to sleep and calms down.
And it's the same thing.
(08:39):
When baby's in your tummy,they're just like, thanks.
And they kind of melt.
So being aware of what did you change?
I've always heard that as a babygets bigger, they lose space, right?
They don't have as much space.
So is it normal as you're expandingand getting ready for delivery that
a baby would have less room to move?
yes.
(09:00):
Right.
Less room to move, butis it impossible to move?
No.
We see babies do incredible things.
Even
deep into the birth canal doing full 360s.
We're like, how did you even manage that?
So babies can still move.
They just, they just geta little more creative.
So we should still be feelingall of that movement, you
know, into 38, 39 and 40 weeks.
(09:22):
Right.
And that movement might feel differentthan, you know, at 32 weeks, it might
feel like more punchy and stronger.
Whereas when the baby has lessroom, you know, so do you.
So that's what I was feeling.
Cause I always remember like as I got
you know, like gigantic.
It felt like I'm not feeling mybaby like kick or move as much.
Yeah.
And that's fine.
(09:42):
Yep.
As we get closer to delivery and labor,there are things like the non -stress
test or just monitoring more heart rates.
what are the purposes of these tests?
Right.
you know, usually non-stress test is done.
I haven't felt baby move.
I feel like there's achange in their pattern.
(10:02):
I'm concerned.
And so they check to seeis baby under stress.
And that's just having a monitorhooked up to your belly, along
with a contraction monitor.
And you have a littlebutton and you get to.
click the button for every time the babymoves and they watch for contraction
pattern as well as the fetal hearttones that whole time and see how
they're stable and or how they'redoing and how they're handling things.
(10:26):
Sometimes non -stress tests will alsoinclude an ultrasound follow -up.
That
is done more I would say ina hospital setting versus an
out -of -hospital setting.
With midwives out of hospitalwe tend to do what we call
a midwives non -stress test.
although we do have non -stress testmachine at my clinic and we do use it
(10:46):
on occasion, but I find that if I canjust play with baby on the belly and
palpate and I know baby's positionand I know their pattern and we watch
for, are they responding to my cueswhen we kind of mess with them on
the belly and we rub their back orwe kind of shift them a little bit.
Does their heart rate go upand how long does it stay up?
How, how well are they doing?
(11:06):
So we kind of do a test that way withour, with our Doppler in our hands.
The non -stress test is a funny namebecause it's supposed to be non -stressed,
but I always feel like a mother feelsstressed when she realizes that she needs
to have further monitoring for her baby.
Of course it's backwards because you'regoing in for the test to make sure
(11:27):
that there's nothing wrong, to makesure that you don't need to take action
based upon the health of your baby.
But that's always such a funny name to me.
Non -stress test.
Right.
I had a baby, who stopped growingin utero, my fourth child, and
We got to 32 weeks and I had beentelling the team all along, there's
something wrong with my baby.
I can feel it.
And I had placenta previa at the time.
(11:48):
So they were monitoring the placentaprevia and every time they were also
monitoring my son and he just, hewould not meet the growth rate and he
would just shrink in that percentage.
So he went from 90th percentileand then less and then less.
And then finally at 30th percentile,they were like, I think there's
something wrong with your baby.
I said, that's what I've been saying.
And then at that point I hadtwo to three non -stress tests.
(12:10):
week.
And like you said, it was very stressful.
I'm like, he was born at 36 weeksby cesarean emergency cesarean, but
he was okay and he's doing fine.
but it was definitelyvery stressful, right?
It was a put more stress on mom,which can put more stress on baby.
I had a non -stress test for my first.
They said that there wasnot as much amniotic fluid.
(12:33):
Do you know if there's any way to increaseamniotic fluid or does that just happen
in the body according to what it does?
You know, it is definitely, it'snot completely in our control, but
we definitely have a far largerinfluence than we're led to believe.
And honestly, the easiest way todo that is electrolytes and water.
So drink your coconut water.
If you like liquid IV, go for that.
(12:54):
If you like trace minerals, go for that.
Go for something that's asnatural as can be that will help
replenish that amniotic fluid.
The more dehydrated you are, themore dehydrated baby will be and
the less amniotic fluid you'll have.
In the second and third trimester,we're actually replacing a liter and
a half of amniotic fluid every day.
(13:15):
So if you think of your belly,like a toilet bowl for baby,
they're, they're using that up.
It's gotta be flushed.
It's gotta be cleaned.
And have you ever, you know, left thetank that had that problem on the toilet?
It's just continuouslyflushing and flushing.
And if you don't have anyintake coming into you,
The baby's going to pull from yourcells, the baby's going to dehydrate
(13:37):
you, and then they're going tobe like, the shelves are empty.
I don't have anything.
How many hours would it take from thetime that we intake more water until
that actually kind of like makes adifference for the amniotic fluid?
That is a great question.
Different moms, different results, right?
I can think of a couple of my momsthat really struggled with dehydration.
One of these moms came in and herbaby's heart rate was actually
(13:58):
180s, 190s, which is tachycardic.
We felt baby, we felt position,we could feel the stress.
We gave her an electrolyte drinkand had her drink it and then wait
20 minutes and then we redid fetalheart tones and instantly there was
already an impact and an increase.
So within 20 minutes potentiallyrefilling that entire tank
(14:21):
might take a little bit longer.
One thing I also didn't realize as wellis that after your water breaks, you
continue to add more amniotic fluid.
Right?
So if your water is broken, you'reprobably going to be leaking.
And I just recommend wearing one of thosedepends or, you know, like a diaper.
So you're not worried about watergetting everywhere or leaking down
your leg because you'll keep producingwater until your baby's born.
(14:44):
Right.
Whenever we have a mom whosewater breaks, that's what we do.
Like please drink, drinkmore, drink more, drink more.
Yeah.
My water broke with my first and we walkedto the hospital and I was leaking as I
went and yeah, it's just so fascinating.
They can just tell.
Yes, that's amniotic fluid.
Do you want to share a littlebit more about your birth, birth
(15:05):
stories with your children?
Okay.
Well, gosh, where to start?
So I have seven children,so I have a few stories.
I started out actuallywith my birth story.
I didn't, let me preface this by sayingmy husband comes from a medical family.
and I come from a littlemore medically minded family.
And out of hospital birthwas never an option.
(15:29):
But I had heard of natural birthand so I was very interested.
And that was somethingthat piqued my interest.
So I studied, I worked hard.
I ended up not being able toget the birth that I wanted.
I wasn't as prepared oreducated as I thought I was.
And my first birth wasactually very difficult.
I had an epidural.
I pushed for four and a half hours.
(15:49):
They used forceps, they used vacuum,and she ended up with a traumatic
brain injury from her birth.
She's doing great today, butthat was the short of hers.
My second, I figured I was broken.
I wasn't meant to have babies.
So I had another epidural.
All of my babies, except for my C-section, all of my babies are posterior.
(16:10):
All of my babies have meconium andall of my babies need resuscitation.
And all of my babies haveshoulder dystocia and have to
be extracted at some point.
So that was my second and my third story.
My fourth was the cesarean.
My fifth, I was fed up.
I was like, that's it.
I cannot be broken.
I saw this video and if Icould track it down, I totally
(16:32):
would share it with the world.
And it's been removed fromthe internet, I swear.
But this woman, she was in France.
Imagine like this beautifulwhite gown, like totally
picturesque French movie, right?
And she's laboring in this attic space.
There's candles everywhere,no furniture, no nothing else.
Her midwife is sitting against the wall.
Her husband is sitting against the wall.
(16:53):
And she's just moving, moving as shefeels those waves and those contractions.
and there's just calm gentlemusic playing in the background.
And there's like a time lapse.
You know, obviously her laborwasn't four minutes, but
then suddenly she reaches down underneaththis beautiful white gown and pulls
up this baby and puts it skin to skin.
And
(17:15):
I was like, what?
Are you telling me birth can be like that?
I've been robbed.
I've been robbed.
And so I studied, I worked really hardand I hired a doula for the hospital
and I had my first all -naturalbirth, the hospital, and then my
sixth and my seventh I had at home.
So that's the short version.
(17:38):
And you've probably seen a lot of birthsin your practice as well, where, you know,
half of them are that, that gorgeous,you know, white flowy dress version.
And then the other halfare, are a different story.
Right.
Yeah.
My story never got to thewhite, beautiful dress.
She just inspired me.
My stories were, well, my lastbaby, let me put it this way.
My last baby, we had two foreignexchange students living with us.
(18:01):
So we had eight children when I wentinto labor, came out with nine, right?
And when I went into labor, I said,
I just don't want anybody aroundto send everybody to the basement.
I didn't think at the time the basementwas directly, the TV was directly
below my bedroom and I'm not quiet.
I'm a freight train.
(18:22):
That loud birthing soundthat some moms make.
I make it really good.
And afterwards I was like, I wonderif these poor, poor exchange is a girl
from Germany and a girl from Spain.
I'm like, my goodness, whatare they going to think?
They came upstairs and luckilythe TV had been loud enough.
They didn't hear anything, but no, I wasnever the white dress, peaceful birther.
(18:48):
Well, what are some waysto prepare for labor?
You know, what, regardless of theexperience you're going to have?
That is a really good question.
I think first educate yourself, right?
Learn stories, hear stories andhear positive birth stories.
We have plenty of fear out there.
We've all had plenty of a dose of that.
Go hear positive, inspiring stories.
(19:10):
Let people tell you their victories inbirth, whether they be at the hospital
or they be at home or they be your greatgrandmother's story or your neighbors.
Find those positive ones to fillyour heart and your mind with.
And then look inside your soul forwhat work you need to do on your own.
and
We often see in the natural birthworld, moms who don't go into labor
(19:33):
and why aren't they going into labor?
Well, according to the 40 week, right?
Which we all know there's no due date.
There's no assignment to turn in.
You've got a cute package at the end.
But the question is, why, like what's,what's going on emotionally with you?
Do you have some concernsthat are unresolved?
Have you had birth trauma inyour family that you might be
(19:56):
holding onto generationally?
in your own body.
I don't know if you guys have everstudied epigenetics, but that trauma
is passed down through your cells.
So do you have something toclear up and maybe write out or?
journal out or talk to a friendabout or do birth art or birth work.
So do some kind of a journeyand discovery journey for
yourself of where am I at mostly?
(20:18):
Where do I really sit with thisprocess and where are my feelings?
And sometimes the issues that come upwhen I work with a client go into labor.
Because we'll do foot zoning,we'll do things like that, we'll
do acupressure, we'll do emotionalprocessing for labor work.
And sometimes the issues arereally nothing related to birth,
(20:39):
which always surprises the mom.
I can think of one sweet momand part of her concerns...
that were keeping her back were thingsthat she dealt with when she was 12 and
13 years old with neighbors and withfriends and with not being acknowledged
for her gifts and her talents.
(21:00):
And she felt like the black sheep inher community for going against the
grain and doing a natural birth at home.
And once she processed throughthat fear, I mean, she had
the most beautiful delivery.
It was beautiful.
I can think of another mom andher fear, like she was so excited
and we're working through all these thingsand I'd bring them up as they as I would
(21:23):
identify them on the feet and then whichsounds really weird, foot zoning is a
whole nother podcast ladies, but we gotto this one issue and I looked at her
and I said are you ready for your baby?
She's a first -time mom.
Are you ready for yourbaby to be mad at you?
And she lost it.
She broke down hysterical, ugly crying.
(21:46):
And she was like, mybaby, no, I'm a good mom.
I'm going to be a good mom.
You are going to be an incrediblemom, but your child gets to
have feelings you can't control.
And it was this huge aha for herand a transformational moment.
And then she went into labor.
You speak a little bit aboutthe environment of birth.
(22:08):
Do you feel like that's also cultivated?
in the weeks prior to welcoming the baby?
Definitely, definitely in the weeks prior.
I think it happens unknowinglythroughout our pregnancy.
And it happens with intentand accidentally, right?
Definitely intentional creation helpsto mold our environment, whether or not
(22:33):
we're there, it creates an environmentwhere we can be there potentially.
And so I think that's a great idea to do.
And definitely the actions you takein the discussing and reading and
studying throughout pregnancy, or evenif you're not pregnant yet, sometimes
we forget that that time either inbetween babies or before you ever have
your first child is just as powerfulfor a pregnancy and a delivery.
(22:59):
I want to ask all the questionswhen people say like, can I
naturally induce, what can I doto get this baby here faster?
This is a good question.
I think the answer is like, no, you'renot going to be able to do anything
to get this baby here faster, but dosome of these things actually help?
Like does eating pineapple help?
Does drinking raspberry leaf tea help?
(23:21):
Absolutely.
They absolutely, absolutely do.
So we see a starkdifference in our practice.
we do a lot with nutrition.
We do a lot with food.
We do a lot with supplements and vitamins.
And I see a difference between mymoms who are like trying very hard
and my moms who are learning and stilltrying hard, but maybe aren't at that
(23:42):
same level of effort and involvement.
Every effort though makes thedifference and definitely helps.
That red raspberry leaf teastrengthens the uterine muscle.
The pineapple, the bromelain in the core,it's actually the core of the pineapple.
that actually does help, doeshelp with labor and delivery.
(24:02):
The eating dates actuallydoes soften cervixes.
So does putting in evening primrose oil.
We don't take it internally.
Evening primrose oil will actuallythin your blood and can help.
or not help can increaseyour chances of hemorrhaging.
So you do it vaginally to helpsoften your cervix that way.
(24:23):
Evening primrose oil hasprostaglandins in it.
Semen has prostaglandins in it.
All of that helps to softenthe cervix and induce labor.
So it definitely does.
Definitely.
Are there any other things thatI missed that could help to, to
prepare your body for labor Dr.
Christopher's birth prep.
Is that something that is a good thing totake or are there too many like back and
(24:46):
forth on the efficacy or the safety of it?
I definitely recommend havingsome kind of a herb, There is
this misnomer that if you take Dr.
Christopher's birth prep or.
There's several different brands.
There's a Sunstone brand,there's Deliver Ease from Good
Earth, there's a couple of them.
If you take that, then A, it will speedup your labor, or if you have a fast
(25:07):
labor, it's gonna make it go faster,and you don't wanna drop a baby on the
floor in five minutes, kind of an idea.
And really what those herbs are doing,yes, they help the uterus to go into
labor, but they're also nourishingthe body and what the body is missing.
And so we find that momswho have a prolonged labor,
or moms that have a too fastlabor are often struggling with
(25:29):
some nutritional deficiencies.
What are your top recommendations toavoid those nutritional deficiencies?
Gosh, that's a big one.
A huge one.
top recommendations,really good, healthy diet.
I know we can't beat it enough.
Dr.
Brewer, you may have heardof the Brewer's diet.
Dr.
(25:49):
Brewer studied this asan OB several years ago.
created the Brewers Diet, youcan look it up online and there's
additional really great resources forpregnancy and diet that are out there.
But he talked about just simplychanging protein in the diet and
the significant decrease they saw inthings like preeclampsia and other
(26:12):
conditions for pregnancy that ledto a healthier and easier delivery.
So diet is huge.
avoiding sugars, avoiding processedfoods, like what are your main
things that you see that willcause someone to have the problems?
That's okay.
So this is the best kept secret.
And I say best kept becausesomebody kept it from me.
(26:33):
And so all of my babies were very big.
My largest baby was 9 -11 and I knowwomen have bigger and they're amazing.
My smallest baby was mypreemie, but he doesn't count.
That's a different story.
But my smallest was 8 -4after that for full term.
And I didn't find out until I becamea midwife that if you eat more sugar
(26:53):
and you eat more carbs that lasttrimester, it acts like sugar for the
baby and it does make your baby bigger.
If I had focused on protein and goodnutrition and less sugar and less
carbs, I would have had a smaller baby.
You talk about nutrition andwe've talked about it for
(27:15):
the mother, what about in gettingpregnant and the help of producing
more sperm or things like that inorder to increase pregnancy odds.
Right.
That's a great one.
our diet right now, especially herein the States, there's a revolution,
there's this underground revolution.
So be a part of the revolution, butwe're all looking at our diet and
(27:36):
trying to stand up for ourselves more.
And we're saying, this isn't okay.
These processed foods really aren't okay.
These chemicals really aren't okay.
We used to think xylitol was this amazingthing and there's new research that just
came out that said, nope, xylitol isalso causing these problems in the body.
So look at real foods.
If you have to get a dictionary outto define what's on the label or
(27:57):
Google it, you are off track, right?
Let's find actual foods.
The other thing that we'rereally missing significantly in
our diet are fermented foods.
We do not have a healthygut and everything in our
health starts from the gut.
So whether you do, yes,pickles are great in pregnancy.
Drink that pickle juice if you crave it.
(28:17):
But do pickled beets, pickled eggs,sourdough bread, natural yeast doughs.
There's lots of ways to getreally good fermented foods to
help your gut and start there.
If you have a healthy gut, yourliver is detoxing and doing better.
Your gallbladder is doing better.
Your pancreas is doing better.
(28:38):
and that will just support that wholefoundation of a good, healthy pregnancy.
Look at what you're drinking.
Are you drinking a lot of water?
Are you drinking a lot of sodas?
I can guarantee you if you havea monster every day, your sperm
count's going to be lower.
It impacts it on a very, very real level.
(28:59):
This is so important, ournutrition, our health.
Let's talk a little bit about exercise.
How does exercise in like thelast weeks getting ready for labor
help to have a smoother delivery?
That's a great question.
I like to see moms keep up up whatthey were doing before pregnancy.
you may have heard of the mom here who.
(29:20):
I think she was like eight monthspregnant or nine months pregnant
and she ran like the fastest mile,like totally inspirational, right?
I am not a runner.
So I really looked up to her.
I do different kinds ofexercise for myself, but what
you start before, continue.
Some women get to that firsttrimester where they feel terrible
(29:40):
and that's a different topic as well.
There are things you can do so youdon't have to feel as terrible.
Doctors will tell youmorning sickness is normal.
A degree of morning sickness isnormal, but most of it can be treated,
managed, and helped with nutrition.
But after you get through that slumpof tired and the nauseousness and maybe
(30:01):
some emesis and vomiting, get backinto something, whether that's walking
every day, whether it's, you know,okay, we have a joke in our practice.
I can't do anything.
I've got three kids.
I can't get out of thehouse except to the mailbox.
And we get half a blockdown before one kid is...
either wet their pantsor throw in a fit, right?
And so we say, do youhave stairs in your house?
(30:23):
So go up and down the stairs.
You have something to get in the basement,go down the stairs, go up the stairs,
go down to the basement and get it.
So put in little thingsthroughout the day.
They don't have to be.
it workout session.
And I remember the advice you gaveme was to climb the stairs sideways
as if I was like a football player.
So if I couldn't get out to do thecurb walking on a real curb, with all
(30:44):
those other kids in tow, that I couldjust walk up the stairs like a crab.
Yeah.
Yeah.
There's, there's hacks ladies.
We just got to get creative and I knoweveryone can do it because we're moms.
Absolutely.
What about squatting?
Should we like hang outin a squat position for a
couple of minutes every day?
So squatting is great.
But let's also look if you've got hipissues or hip dysplasia or you've got
(31:07):
loose hips because you're struggling withconnective joint tissue disorder, sorry.
You have to look at what can you do.
So squats are great, lunges are great,hip circles, getting on that ball and
really working that hip mobility, doing,
don't jump on the trampolinethough, my goodness.
(31:29):
I had a mama jump on the trampoline.
Don't jump on the trampoline.
That's a soft like bounce.
That's one thing, but don't jump.
And is that for just theweeks leading up to it?
Is that all of pregnancy?
I recommend anything after 12 weeksbecause that baby's head can pound
against that pelvic bone and youdon't want an injury before birth.
(31:53):
So, yeah, we've talked a lotabout nourishing the body
through exercise and nutrition.
What about nourishing the mind?
How can we prepare our mind for birth?
We know it's a big mental game.
Right.
positive self -talk and affirmations.
you did affirmations, right?
I remember that they'rearound here somewhere.
We'll link to the affirmations andI would just say them out loud too.
(32:15):
Sometimes to make myself believe them.
I am strong all of thewomen are birthing with me.
It's like, you don't want to alwaysbe feeling that positive when you're,
in pain during labor, but I would tryto say them ahead of time so that I
could remind myself, why I was doingthe work to have an unmedicated labor.
Yeah, I love it.
(32:35):
And sometimes if you don't have thetime to maybe make something pretty,
like I've had mom say, well, I, butI saw these beautiful ones that Sarah
did, or I saw the thing on Pinterest.
I'm like, get out a three by five card or.
Take a piece of newspaper,your kid's scrap paper.
It doesn't matter what it is.
What matters is that you're taking anidea and a thought and you're forming
(32:56):
it into reality by putting it on paper.
And I've had moms come with theirthree by five cards and literally
just stick them up all over thebirth center so they see them.
And I've had moms whowrote them out on a list.
We had one sweet mom, shewas so sweet and so tender.
And she was very nervous about her birth.
This was her second child,first out of hospital.
(33:17):
And she was kind of just frozen.
She wasn't going into labor.
So we sat down with her and herhusband and we made an affirmation
list on a piece of paper.
And the sweet gal, oneof hers was, I'm a bad A.
And I was surprised, but that'swhat she needed to hear was she
(33:38):
was, she was, she could do this.
And in labor, he took that list andhe read it to her again and again.
and he pulled one out as hefelt needed in that moment.
And when she started to get discouragedand he read her an affirmation or we
repeated one of those affirmations,she would just like, yes, yes, I can.
(34:00):
And she would be so encouraged.
So definitely good mental moment orstand in front of the mirror and say
your affirmations, hang them up inyour house, you know, whatever you need
to do to get in that positive game.
Some women will record it and then playit to themselves as they're sleeping.
That's an easy thing to do.
Listen to somebody else's.
There's so many amazing ones on YouTube.
(34:21):
You can pick your accent.
You can pick your gender voice reading toyou and you can get some really good ones.
Yeah.
Our, our mind is so powerful withall of this and just the empowerment
that can come and the inspiration.
What about these mental exercises forwhen things don't go as planned or when
we, we maybe have a loss of a baby.
(34:44):
That is a really good one.
when things don't go as planned.
I think it's important, even when weprepare in prenatals with our mommies, we
talk about preparing for the unexpectedallows you to go there safely in labor.
So it's not a taboo topicwe don't talk about.
(35:07):
It's something we prepare for ahead oftime and say, all right, if this were
to happen, how am I going to handle it?
knowing that I am safe and the best careis going to be given to me and to my baby.
And with loss, having gone throughloss, I've lost six babies and those
were very difficult challenges.
(35:27):
One of my babies I lost justbefore the pandemic hit and we
had a family Halloween party, so acouple months before I should say.
We were going up for the family partyand I had decided to surprise my
husband and not tell him I was pregnant.
because I usually can't keep ita secret, but I was at 15 weeks
and I had kept it a secret.
(35:49):
And I usually can't keep it a secretbecause I have hyperemesis and I'm
vomiting every day from six weeks on.
And I woke up that morning of thisfamily party and I was miscarrying
and I just started, I lost it.
I was bawling, I was cryingand my poor confused husband's
like, what just happened?
And it took me like an hour toget the courage to tell him.
(36:11):
And he had to go throughhis own mourning process.
Like you didn't even tellme you were pregnant.
And I was like, I wasgoing to surprise you.
Like it was going to be this great thing.
And we went to that family partyand I couldn't even handle,
like I got in the front door.
I had managed to compose myself.
I got in the front door.
I saw my family and I lost it again.
And my poor mom and my brother and my,all my family was like, what is going on?
(36:34):
And I just went to the basement,curled up on a blanket on my brother's
couch and I let myself mourn.
I let myself cry.
And I knew that my family would take careof my kids and my husband would be fine.
And I just let myself process.
So giving yourself asafe space to process.
It's okay.
It's okay to mourn that loss.
That was a real little one that you had.
(36:56):
And that connection will be there forever.
Being able to remember themforever and hold that treasure
in your heart is so important.
Not just trying to forget about itor feel like it wasn't important
or it didn't matter because
Maybe we're only eight weeks long ornine weeks along, but each time to
recall with fondness and to remember.
(37:19):
Right.
I think grief is harderwhen we don't talk about it.
And grief is harderwhen we don't share it.
And it's okay.
I had somebody tell me once,well, I can only help somebody
if I've been through it.
And I don't agree.
I totally disagree.
I am never going to gothrough everything you are.
but I love you and I see youand I can walk beside you.
(37:42):
I can cry with you even thoughit wasn't my experience.
And that's really all we gottado for each other is sit down and
say, you know what, I see you.
You're having a hard day.
What happened?
And just listen, just listen.
Just let that person cry on your shoulder.
And if their house is a mess and a wreckfor the day, go over without judgment
and either sit with them if that'swhat they want or maybe do the dishes
(38:05):
for them if that's what they want.
Get to know your friend or yourcommunity, or if it's you, be
willing to speak up and to ask.
And it took me until my lastmiscarriage to speak up.
My other ones I kept.
As you can see, it still makes me tender.
I kept because I didn't feelunderstood, I didn't feel heard.
And it wasn't until my last baby,I was like, no, this is something
(38:28):
that impacts all of my children.
My youngest was very devastated.
He'd waited eight years for alittle one and it's okay, it's okay.
Yeah.
Those are such great remindersand things to do when someone
else is going through a loss.
Are there any other phrases we couldsay or things that were helpful for
you as you've spoken up about it?
(38:49):
I know that sometimes we hear,I can't imagine, or I don't know
what you're going through are thereother phrases that are more helpful?
what can I do to help or how can I help?
Sometimes we may not take that invitation.
But knowing that somebodywas willing is always nice.
Sometimes the most meaningful thingswere the friends that dropped by with
unexpected gifts, like a flower or ameal or, hey, can your kids come and play
(39:16):
or, hey, let's go out and do something.
Those things were meaningful.
We don't have to necessarilyfocus on the grief all the time
to be heard and to be valued.
Sarah, this has been anincredible conversation.
Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for sharing themost tender parts of yourself.
Do you have anything else thatyou'd like to add to our listeners,
how they can prepare their heartsand minds for pregnancy and birth?
(39:39):
Be open, be open anddon't be hard on yourself.
If you've had a rough past journey, right?
My first birth, it took me till ayear ago to gain a new perspective
and to forgive the doctor.
I finally realized just last year that hadhe not delivered my baby that way, I don't
(40:01):
know that I would have had my seven kids.
I would have had a cesarean and Idon't know that I would have been
able to have as many more as I did.
And it gave me a new perspective.
So healing is a journey and past birthdifficulties are a journey and they,
all of the lessons I've learned fromeach of my birth have made me who I am.
They've made me the mother I am andthey've made me the midwife I am.
(40:24):
and it's okay that it'sa walk that takes time.
Beautiful.
Our mom squad secret for thisweek is by Geter and it says,
labor as long as possible at home.
Eat during labor andremember you aren't stalled.
Your body and baby may just need a break.
Birth can last for days.
(40:44):
Good reminder that we, you know,we don't always know the timeline.
Very true.
I love it.
Sarah, thank you so much for beinga guest on the podcast today.
Thank you guys so much for having me.
Thanks for joining us on today's episode.
We hope you've been elevated andinspired by this week's expert.
Subscribe today so you never missan episode and please share our
podcast or post on your socialmedia so that other moms and dads
(41:08):
to be can also have the best birth.
Please note that the informationprovided is based on the expert's
insights and personal experience.
It is not intended as medical guidance.
Please seek the advice of yourmedical provider as it applies
to your specific condition.
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