January 27, 2025 • 42 mins
EmilyOuellet's story is one of resilience, perseverance, and the transformative power of support. Join us as we explore her inspiring journey, from the early days of dreaming about a family with her husband to confronting the challenges of infertility, particularly during the uncertainties of the COVID pandemic. Emily, a licensed mental health counselor, candidly shares the emotional and physical toll of fertility treatments, including the decision to pursue IVF and the rollercoaster of emotions that followed. Her journey takes an uplifting turn with the joy of expecting twins, emphasizing the crucial support system of loved ones and the importance of being open about her struggles.
Emily's narrative continues as she navigates the complex world of postpartum recovery. She sheds light on the critical decisions surrounding her twin pregnancy, including opting for a C-section and dealing with post-op complications. Emily's experience highlights the importance of self-advocacy in healthcare and the strength found in trusting one's intuition, particularly when faced with the unexpected. Her insights on postpartum anxiety, the delicate balance of returning to work, and the ongoing journey of raising twins offer invaluable lessons on resilience and the importance of a strong support network.
Music Credit
https://uppbeat.io/t/sky-toes/autumn-walks
https://uppbeat.io/t/the-lakes/bluebird
https://uppbeat.io/t/the-lakes/ember
https://uppbeat.io/t/kite-flight/here-comes-hope
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Welcome to the Maternal Wealth Podcast, a space
for all things related tomaternal health, pregnancy,
birth and beyond.
I'm your host, stephanieTheriault.
I'm a labor and delivery nurseand a mother to three beautiful
boys.
Each week, we dive intoinspiring stories and expert
insights to remind us of thepower that you hold in
(00:35):
childbirth and motherhood.
We are here to explore the joys, the challenges and the
complexities of maternal health.
Every mother's journey isunique and every story deserves
to be told.
Please note that this podcast isfor entertainment purposes only
(00:56):
.
It is not intended to replaceprofessional medical advice,
diagnosis or treatment.
Always consult with yourhealthcare provider for medical
guidance tailored to yourspecific needs.
Are you ready?
Let's get into it.
Welcome to the Maternal WealthPodcast.
(01:31):
Today we welcome Emily Aulet, a37-year-old mother of two and a
half-year-old twins who wereconceived through IVF, a
licensed mental health counselorand works as a school
adjustment counselor at a localhigh school in Massachusetts.
The journey to having her twinswas long and arduous, as she
and her husband discovered theywere struggling to conceive just
a few months before the onsetof the COVID pandemic.
(01:52):
Welcome to the podcast, emily.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Thank you for having me, I'm so happy to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
I'm happy to have you here.
I would love to start off witha love story.
If you would share with us howyou and your husband met.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
We met met actually, it's your cousin's birthday.
Okay, my best friend and yourcousin, caitlin was dating my
husband's best friend when theywere in college.
He got invited to her birthdayas like a kind of Hail Mary from
the friends, like he wasn'talone, and then we met and we
just kind of hit it off asfriends and my friend Caitlin
(02:28):
just encouraged me that he waslike a really good, sweet guy,
like kind and caring and honest,and he proved to be that and so
we kind of had that 2000sromance where it was a Facebook
messenger romance to start andthen it went to texting and then
the rest is history.
How long have you been togethernow?
Eight years married and like 12years, 13 years together total.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
So you two got married and then you decided to
settle down and you wanted tohave kids.
Talk us through that.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Yeah.
So we got married, I was 29.
My husband had just turned 30and I really was like excited to
start a family, but we wererenting at the time and my
husband's just so practical.
So he was like we got to ownbefore we can have kids.
Blah, blah, blah.
Luckily it only took us like ayear after getting married to
buy, but then he was still alittle hesitant once we moved in
(03:23):
.
So 31, 32.
And then we started to try andI was having really inconsistent
periods.
I came off birth control andwas getting a period anywhere
from 28 to like 45 days.
It was really strange and myOBGYN at that time wasn't super
concerned.
She just kind of was like, oh,it's fine, it's normal, Like
(03:45):
you're probably just anxious,and I kind of was like, well,
there's, you know.
I know I have anxiety, but Idon't think that my irregular
cycles are anxiety based.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
So after several months of trying and feeling
like, you know, these cyclesweren't normal, like things
weren't lining up, I reached outto a fertility clinic and we
had an initial consult.
I think that happened inDecember 2019.
And we started with the testing, which ended up being really
overwhelming.
The labs were fine, but one ofthe first exams when they try to
(04:19):
see if there's any blockages inyour fallopian tubes that
procedure for me was reallypainful, to the point where I
nearly passed out on the table.
It just was excruciating for me, which should have alerted us
that there was something up withmy cervix.
So then I ended up going toanother clinic.
(04:42):
We got the ball rolling andthen the pandemic started and so
we kind of had to pause ontreatments and we were just
doing Clomid cycles to try toget pregnant, so taking Clomid
to induce ovulation and timedintercourse, hoping to get
pregnant.
I think we did about threecycles of that and then we were
like, yeah, this isn't working.
(05:03):
So then we started down theroad of IBF.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
I want to circle back to the exam that they performed
to see if there was anyblockage in the fallopian tubes.
You mentioned that was superpainful.
Did they give you anymedication to help with the pain
prior to the exam?
Can you kind of just talk usthrough what the exam is like
and kind of pain management,because that seems really
intense.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Yeah, yeah, it was.
So I was informed that it couldbe a little painful.
They said to take ibuprofen,like, I think, 30 to 60 minutes
prior to the exam.
It was actually done on anx-ray table because once they
put the dye in your uterus andit goes through your fallopian
tubes, they're monitoring it viax-ray.
So not a super comfortable slabto be lying on, not even a bed,
(05:50):
and my doctor just kept tryingto get the catheter through my
cervix and I was nauseous, I wasin pain, I was crying and she
was incredibly empathetic, butthere was definitely no warning
that it could have been thispainful.
She, I think, made threeattempts before calling it
because I was just in so muchpain and she could not get that
(06:13):
catheter through my cervix.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Were they able to get results from the exam?
Or they called it.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
They called it, and so I ended up having I want to
say, you know, like motherhoodmy memory is so foggy we
might've done this twice and Ifeel like there was one of the
versions of it they gave mesomething to help soften the
cervix or help like open thecervix a little bit or dilate, I
should say, but ended up havingto do this procedure with the
(06:40):
fertility clinic because theyjust are more skilled at it and
my OBGYN just did not want to dono harm.
She did not want to make thisany worse for me than it already
had been.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
When they did the procedure with the fertility
clinic.
How did that go?
Speaker 2 (06:56):
It was painful but it was manageable.
I think I ended up bringing mymom that day because my husband
was busy and I knew I needed asupport person.
So my mom kind of came in andthe provider that did it was so
kind and took her time andhelped me breathe through it and
just I think it's differentwhen this is your specialty and
she was able to help me getthrough that and we were able to
(07:17):
confirm that fallopian tubeswere not an issue no blockages
there.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
In the fertility clinic.
What kind of bed were you on?
Speaker 2 (07:24):
It was more of an exam table, like at a typical
OBGYN office.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Okay, so not an x-ray slab table.
Yeah, ivf treatment in COVID.
How did that look for you?
Speaker 2 (07:43):
It was a really lonely experience.
My husband was in the car foralmost every bit of it.
I was going in for lab workwith a mask on going in for
procedures alone.
We did three rounds ofretrievals with our first clinic
.
The first retrieval resulted inone viable embryo.
And then I had a similarexperience, actually when they
(08:07):
transferred that first embryo.
It was just on an exam tableand again the catheter going
through my cervix was very, verypainful and I had a male
physician for that procedure andI just felt like very
invalidated by him and my pain.
He kind of just was like yougot this, this is normal, and it
did not feel normal.
(08:28):
So not only was I in a lot ofpain and alone, but that
transfer did not end up working.
So it was really hard.
It was really emotionally heavyand lonely.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
I can't even imagine going through this and then not
being able to have at least onesupport person with you by your
side during this experience.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
Yeah, there were a lot of hard moments and that
first transfer that didn't workresulted in needing a DNC
because my beta HCG hit a numberthat was like sub, like we knew
it wasn't a viable pregnancy,it was a chemical pregnancy but
unfortunately, like the numberkept rising, so they had to
perform a DNC to make sure thatthere was no tissue hanging on,
(09:09):
to make sure that I couldcontinue on the process of
trying to get pregnant.
And that was also a really sadmoment where I was in there by
myself getting ready to go to aDNC and I was know I was like
getting tearful and emotionaland the nurses were really kind
with me and I'm like, should Ibe upset right now, like is this
(09:29):
just a procedure or is thismore than that?
And so you know that was justso sad.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
For the DNC?
Did they prepare you about whatthe procedure was going to look
like and how it was going to be?
Speaker 2 (09:44):
about what the procedure was going to look like
and how it was going to be.
Yes, I definitely felt like bythe time I was with the
fertility clinic aside from thattransfer with the male
physician, there was a lot ofprep and the nurses were
wonderful and they all gave me alot of information leading to
and the anesthesiologists werealso really wonderful.
I felt like in good hands but Ithink just mentally, the weight
(10:05):
of knowing that it was a DNCwas heavy.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Was the DNC performed at the clinic or at the
hospital?
At the clinic, then the firstone, it didn't take.
What was your plan after that?
Speaker 2 (10:18):
I was pretty determined and so we then did
another retrieval as soon as wecould.
Once my beta HCG was down tozero, which did take some time,
we did a different protocol forIVF.
That second retrieval I went inI think that one was right
around Thanksgiving and noembryos.
We did not have a single viableembryo.
So all of those meds and all ofthat prep and they retrieved no
(10:41):
embryos and that wasdevastating.
And then we did a third cyclewith that clinic and the doctor
kind of went back to the sameprotocol from round one and we
were trying to trust the processand her expertise.
But the first cycle only got usone embryo.
The second zero, but one embryoat my age, without no reason to
(11:04):
think I had diminished ovarianreserve or anything like that.
That's not a great outcome.
Usually with IVF you expect afew viable embryos from a
retrieval.
So we were a little bitreluctant but trust the process.
But then again we only got oneembryo from that retrieval.
And that retrieval because myprogesterone spiked afterwards.
(11:26):
We weren't.
Insurance makes you do a freshtransfer if you're not planning
to test the embryos unlesssomething medically complicates
it.
And we didn't have the financesto test our embryos, especially
when we were only getting oneat a time.
So we were going to do a freshtransfer.
But then, when my progesteronespiked, we had to hit the pause
button, freeze that embryo toget my body in the better spot
(11:50):
for a transfer.
And that's when my husband andI were like we are going to
switch clinics, we're justrepeating the same thing and
expecting different results, andthis is heartbreaking and
exhausting.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
So that was when we switched to Brigham and Women's,
which is one of the kind ofleading hospitals in Boston and
we had friends that had done IVFthere and we felt like their
experience sounded much morehopeful and positive.
It's a teaching hospital, sothere's a lot more eyes on
complicated cases, which minewas starting to become a
(12:23):
complicated case because,despite having no reason for it,
I wasn't producing mature eggsat these egg retrievals.
We did two more retrievals withthem.
I think we ended up total withseven embryos.
We did a fresh transfer afterthe first retrieval with two
embryos because at that pointthe data and the statistics said
(12:44):
like okay, time to increase ourodds here when we transfer
because she's not having success.
Retrieval with two embryosbecause at that point the data
and the statistics said likeokay, time to increase our odds
here when we transfer becauseshe's not having success.
That transfer failed.
We did another retrieval, gotembryos, froze them and then our
final transfer was a frozentransfer and I did it under
anesthesia so there was no pain,and that's when we got pregnant
(13:05):
with our twins.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Amazing.
When you were doing thetransfers at Brigham and Women's
, were you able to bring asupport person.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
I was able to bring a support person.
Well, women's, were you able tobring a support person?
I was able to bring a supportperson.
Well, joel came in.
My husband came in for thebeginning part.
He didn't stay in the room withme because I was under
anesthesia, but he was there inpre-op.
But then when I woke up he wasnot there.
He was in the car waiting forme to be cleared by the nurses.
That was not as bad as theother clinic, but that was still
(13:43):
hard.
You want your person to bethere when you wake up.
You want that reassurance and Ithink even when the doctor
informed me we were doing adouble embryo transfer, I think
at that point Joel had alreadybeen sent out to the car in the
parking garage.
So I had to then share thatnews with him over the phone,
which was a little bit jarringfor him to digest sitting in a
(14:06):
car.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
but it worked out.
Talk me a little bit throughthe process.
So they do the double embryotransfer and then what do you do
?
Do you wait a little while?
How does that work?
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Yes.
So I think it was at least twoweeks of waiting.
And then I went in for bloodwork, for that test came back
obviously positive.
48 hours later it went back foranother one to make sure that
my levels were risingappropriately.
They had quadrupled.
(14:38):
So then, you know, the littlevoice in the back of my head was
like you might be having twins.
But I've also heard that, like,HCG levels can just jump up at
these wild intervals and notmean anything.
And then I think there wasthree of those blood tests and
then we had to wait for anultrasound, and so Joel was
there with me for the ultrasoundthe whole time.
So we went in, laid on thattable and she put the ultrasound
(15:04):
just externally.
At that point it was going tobe an internal one, but they
started externally and alreadywe saw those two heartbeats like
they were right there and itwas very clear that we were
having twins from that moment on.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
What was the first thought that you had when you
saw two it?
Speaker 2 (15:21):
was a mix of joy and panic.
I was like, uh-oh, were we toorisky in transferring two
embryos?
Was that crazy of us?
But like, oh my gosh, we get tohave two babies.
I felt really lucky.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
How about Joel?
How about your husband?
Speaker 2 (15:40):
I think the panic was a little bit more than the joy.
But there was joy.
We were both crying.
The tech left the room for asecond because then she needed
to let the lead radiologist knowthat she would be performing an
ultrasound for twins.
I think she just needed to runthings by the doctor before she
continued.
It was kind of nice because wehad like a moment where we were
just like soaking it in.
(16:01):
I mean, we were scared but justso thrilled.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
How long did you wait to tell family and friends?
Speaker 2 (16:07):
We told a lot of our close family and friends right
away with the blood test that wewere pregnant.
Because this process I was verytransparent about it.
I talked on social media aboutit and that's how I coped.
The people close to us knewthat we had a positive blood
test and that we were pregnant.
But I looked at Joel on theride home and I said let's save
the twin surprise for Christmas.
(16:29):
And he was like yeah.
And I was like yeah, I think Iwant to surprise our parents and
grandparents with that.
So that's what we did.
We waited until Christmas timeto surprise our family and
friends that we were havingtwins.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
Did you tell them verbally or did you do a little
gift?
How did you let them know?
Speaker 2 (16:46):
So we had our parents together for a little
pre-Christmas gathering and wegave them an ornament and a
picture of the ultrasound andthe ornament said let twins
coming, july 2022.
It's funny because mymother-in-law is a nurse, so we
assumed she would be the firstone to pick up on it, but I
think it ended up being my dad.
(17:06):
That was like wait a second,they didn't read the ornament
well enough and they didn'treally look at the ultrasound.
But my dad was like wait asecond.
They didn't read the ornamentwell enough and they didn't
really look at the ultrasound.
But my dad was like wait asecond.
And then everybody realized it.
And then on Christmas, joel'sgrandmother I think it was 2021.
So we were still a little bitin kind of some COVID times and
(17:28):
so we weren't physically withJoel's grandmother.
So we FaceTimed her onChristmas and we'd had someone
have a gift for her with theultrasound picture and she's
really important to us.
She's just the matriarch of hisfamily and she is a retired
labor and delivery nurse herself.
So she's been just a hugesupport and advocate.
So telling her, and she losther husband in the year before
(17:51):
that, so it was a really specialmoment to tell her.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
Do you know where she worked as a labor and delivery
nurse?
Speaker 2 (17:57):
Holy Family Hospital up in Florence.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
That's so sweet.
I'm sure that was so specialfor her and for everybody.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
Yeah, yeah, not to fast forward, but when she came
to visit me at the hospitalafter we had the twins, she came
over and she was like puttinglotion all over me and like
taking care of me, like youcould tell that she was such a
good nurse back in the day.
And you know, it's like whenyou have your baby and people
come to visit, they're like, oh,my God, the baby.
Like people always rememberthat the mom has just
(18:26):
experienced birth.
But she took such good care ofme the day she came to visit and
I was like, oh, you're an angel, so sweet.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
I'm just picturing this elderly woman putting
lotion on you after you had ababy in the hospital.
That's so sweet.
Oh my gosh, that's so special.
It is.
Yeah, we feel really lucky.
How was your pregnancy withtwins?
I know you've only beenpregnant with twins, but how did
that go for you?
Speaker 2 (18:50):
One pregnancy, two babies.
Honestly, I feel pretty lucky.
I really had a decent pregnancy, considering I was carrying
twins.
The only day I got morningsickness was actually the day
after the transfer and I thinkthat was like the anesthesia
giving me a migraine.
I had nausea and heartburnevery day, but I never had
morning sickness every day.
(19:15):
But I never had morningsickness.
I stayed active for the firstmaybe half of the pregnancy and
then it definitely slowed medown.
The hardest thing about mypregnancy I got gestational
diabetes diagnosed around 28weeks.
That was just obviouslymentally challenging, more than
anything because I was managingit with diet which, luckily
again, I didn't need insulin, sothat was great.
But I definitely had to reallychange the way I was managing it
with diet, which luckily again,I didn't need insulin, so that
(19:35):
was great.
But I definitely had to reallychange the way I was eating, or
at least be really cognizant ofthe way I was eating.
I made it to 38 weeks, whichwas the goal.
But my last month of pregnancyI got put on leave from work.
I had an about of hypertensionwhen I went to one of my visits
and my doctor was like okay,we're done now, we're done
working, which was actually sucha blessing.
(19:55):
I was pretty ready to be donewith work at that point.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
While you're pregnant , did you continue on with the
OB that you had prior, or didyou go with a new OB?
Speaker 2 (20:04):
So it was interesting .
I actually I was starting offwith a new OB within the clinic
just because I met her for oneof my first visits and I liked
her.
She was really bubbly and nice.
As things progressed timelinesand different reasons I ended up
actually back with my OB fromprior to IVF and it was actually
a really healing experiencebecause I got to see her and say
(20:27):
, I know, the last time that weinteracted was this really awful
procedure, but I don't hold anyhard feelings.
I am still very grateful foryou.
So she ended up being the onethat delivered my twins and in
hindsight it was a really gooddecision because the birth was a
little bit complicated and shewas just like really good hands
(20:47):
to be in.
She was a very kind of likebright, cerebral, like to the
point doctor and I think that'swhat I needed when things got a
little scary.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
When it came time to deliver, when were you planning
on having a vaginal delivery orwere you planning on having a
C-section?
Speaker 2 (21:03):
I decided about halfway through my pregnancy I
wanted to do a C-section.
My twins were orientedtransverse, kind of like in bunk
beds, and so my son was almostuntil the day we went to have
our C-section he was never headdown, and then my daughter just
kind of like hung out cozy uptop, like transverse, and with
(21:24):
the cervical issues I hadactually I missed this piece I
did end up having a surgery onmy cervix during IVF to get rid
of a ridge that was in my cervix.
So there was something that wascomplicating all that and I
just was so fearful that thatwas going to make birth hard and
I didn't want to get in theheadspace that I was going to
(21:45):
have a vaginal birth only tothen need a C-section.
I just wanted them to get heresafely for all of us.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
I think it's so important what you're saying, to
honor and recognize ourintuition when it comes to our
bodies and that we know, like wejust know, and to recognize it
and honor it and proceed in away that's safe for us,
especially during pregnancy.
Even with my patients, I alwaystell them, like you know your
body, you know your baby morethan anyone, right, we're here
(22:14):
to guide you.
So it's great that you listento that.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
Yeah, it was interesting.
I've talked to other moms aboutthis and it was like at what
point I thought my doctor wasgoing to suggest a C-section and
it was kind of like I broughtit up first and then she totally
validated and agreed with mydecision but I didn't really
know how that would go.
I think that's one of thosemisconceptions about going into
(22:41):
motherhood, especially withmultiples you assume that you're
going to be told you need aC-section and it's going to be
scheduled because of X factors,of X factors, and they were
waiting on me.
At that point it was stillearly, so they were kind of I
got to make the call because itwas so early, but I was glad I
did it and it was.
She supported my decision therest of the way through.
(23:07):
It was a huge weight off myshoulders once I decided we're
having a C-section and we have adate scheduled, although I
never thought I would make it to38 weeks.
That was wild.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
So did you plan for a C-section for 38 weeks?
Yes For your surgery.
Did they schedule in themorning, in the afternoon?
Yes, for your surgery.
Did they schedule in the?
Speaker 2 (23:32):
morning, in the afternoon, in the morning, but I
think I got there and werewaiting for a little while
because there was anothercomplicated case that day, so we
got pushed back.
I think I was maybe like thenine or 10 o'clock and I didn't
get into the OR till like the 11o'clock time.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
This happens all the time.
So I always try and tell people.
If you're going to have ascheduled procedure, try and do
it as early as you can, becauseyou never know what's going on,
and sometimes I'll have patientscoming in for a scheduled
section at one in the afternoonand they're not getting done
until five o'clock and you'renot supposed to eat until
midnight before and then you'reall day and it's just a whole
(24:13):
thing.
Yeah, so you were scheduled foraround nine.
You went in around 11.
How was the pre-op when you gointo the OR what that was like
for you?
Speaker 2 (24:22):
Yeah, so we got set up in a room.
They did that final ultrasoundin the pre-op room before, just
to check the orientation of thebabies, and that was, of course,
the moment where my son wasfinally head down.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
Of course.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
Quick moment of being like oh, but I was set with my
decisions.
I remember they got me set upwith an IV and kind of talked me
through stuff.
My husband got ready in hislittle bunny suit.
Then I believe they walk youdown.
You would know better.
I think I walked down to the ORby myself because they want to
(24:58):
do the epidural yes, before yourpartner is there so went in.
I actually surprised myselfthat I handled getting the
epidural placed pretty well.
I thought I was going to justbe so uncomfortable and so
scared.
That was fine.
And then my husband came tojoin me.
I did say to theanesthesiologist I definitely
have some anxiety aboutobviously having a C-section
(25:22):
being awake while I'm being cutopen.
I know my brain and I'm goingto go into a place of like ah,
like I know what's happening tomy body right now.
But I didn't want to be sedated, I just was like I know I have
a pretty strong like vasovagalresponse in these moments.
So the anesthesiologist was soawesome.
He was like very chill andrelaxed and he was like, okay, I
(25:43):
got you, like don't worry.
And then during the start ofthe section I did get a little
like nausea and he quickly justput something in and he's like
you feeling better now, and it'slike, oh, I am, and he's like,
yep.
So he was really chill, he wasreally good.
I had a regular drape.
I did not have a clear plasticdrape.
Because of that like kind ofanxiety and like squeamishness.
(26:04):
I just remember like hearingthat first cry and then, you
know, my husband went over tothe what is it called?
The care team.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
Yeah, the neonatal care team, yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
Yeah.
So he went over to the tablewith them and saw our son and
cut the cord and then after thefact I found out that the
resident with my doctor was theone pulling the babies out of me
.
She came into our room and saidI'll never forget you guys.
You were my first twin deliveryand I was so excited for you
guys and being a part of thisthat Dr Sherman, my doctor, had
to call her back over and sayyou have another baby to pull
(26:39):
out, although they were only 37seconds apart, so it wasn't
crazy.
But she was just so caught upin the joy of the whole thing so
they both came out healthy,awesome, they were perfect.
And I remember thatanesthesiologist he was a very
chill guy, kind of like bro-ish,and he was like those are
(27:00):
really beautiful babies, he'slike, and, trust me, I would not
comment if they weren't cute.
So, very matter of fact, theywent down to the room that we
were in pre-op with my husbandwhile I got stitched up, and I
managed that well.
But a little while after I gotto the room that we were in
pre-op with my husband while Igot stitched up, and I managed
that well, but a little whileafter I got to the room I was
having some pretty heavy Well,it was during the section and
(27:21):
then, when I got back to theroom, pretty significant
bleeding and then I had somenausea vomiting which was really
rough.
So I was a little bit stressfulfor the first few hours after
they were born because I was, Ilost a lot of blood and I was
also vomiting and you know wewere.
Is she going to get a bloodtransfusion or like kind of just
(27:41):
like touch and go, a little bitof what we were going to do for
a few hours?
Speaker 1 (27:45):
Did you end up needing a transfusion?
Speaker 2 (27:47):
They ended up deciding not to do the
transfusion.
I finally stabilized and theydecided that we were going to do
a couple iron transfusionsduring my stay.
Okay, which is like obviouslythe slower road to feeling
better when you've lost thatmuch blood.
But I've heard different thingsabout having a blood
transfusion, so I feel like itended up being the right thing
(28:09):
and my doctor stayed on throughthat time.
She stayed and made sure I wasstable to go up to the floor.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
Okay, so you stayed on labor in the recovery for a
while.
As you recovered, then you wentto postpartum.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
Yeah, the twins were healthy.
They were wonderful.
I was a little sad because myfirst attempt at breastfeeding
that's when my first bout ofnausea and vomiting happened.
So I was just latching my sonand figuring it out and then I
was like I'm going to be sick.
So I quickly had to hand him toa nurse.
So the first 24 hours was toughbecause I was just so depleted
(28:45):
and really wanted to breastfeedbut also was in a lot of
discomfort and really weak andnauseous and just struggling.
Speaker 1 (28:54):
I think at the hospital that you delivered at
they have a nursery.
Did you utilize the nurserywhile you were there to get some
rest, to recover?
Speaker 2 (29:02):
Yes, I definitely utilized the nursery.
They were very supportive of usdoing that and it's funny
similar to the question questionabout, like C-section versus
vaginal birth I think the secondnight we were there when we
decided to utilize the nursery,it was awesome the overnight
nurse came in and she was like,all right, like we keep it real
here, like you have a few dayswith us and then you're off on
(29:25):
your own.
Like you need to use us to themost you possibly can, so how
can we give you rest and takecare of you before you go home
and you don't have us anymore?
And we were like, well, likereally tired, like it's I was
having, like I had an air bubblethat was in my back from the
section Like that's where it waslike settled.
So when I would sit up to try tobreastfeed and I had to feed
(29:46):
two babies, the sharp pain ofthat air bubble was making me
nauseous and so I was feelinglike it was hard to learn to
breastfeed while I was in somuch pain and my husband was
just like, are we able to talkabout formula?
And the overnight nurse waslike, yep, she was like I'm so
glad you brought it up.
You came in here saying thatyou wanted to breastfeed.
(30:07):
So we can't introduce formulaunless there's a medical
necessity.
But now that you've asked, askand you shall receive.
So the babies went to thenursery for a few hours
overnight and they got formulaand I could rest, and that was
huge every night.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
I love hearing that because I've worked in hospitals
where we don't have a nurseryand I think it's so imperative
for not for everybody, butfamilies who need it, who need
the time for the first couple ofnights for moms to recover, and
it's so important in promotinga healthy recovery physically,
mentally, spiritually to havethat nursery, to have that
(30:47):
option.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
Yeah, I had friends that were very strongly
encouraging me to remember touse it.
When I got there they were like, before you go to have your
babies, there's no shame inusing the nursery and you really
should.
And so we went in with thatsupport from different people in
our lives.
But there was no way I couldhave recovered without that.
I can't imagine I was sophysically depleted in so many
(31:10):
ways.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
Yeah, and also thinking you have a partner.
You had your husband and he isemotionally, physically
exhausted also because he's anew father.
Watching you, his wife, gothrough everything it's
exhausting.
So I'm very pro having anursery.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
Yeah, I can't imagine not having that at all.
And because I was so sick, thefirst 24 hours he was swaddling
diaper change.
He was doing it all for the twobabies when the nurses weren't
doing it.
Because I couldn't stand, Ididn't stand up until the second
day I was there, which I knowisn't the norm after a C-section
.
Speaker 1 (31:48):
How long did you end up staying in the hospital
before you were discharged?
Speaker 2 (31:52):
Well, this is another interesting curveball of the
story.
So we were supposed to stayfive days in typical recovery
and that was normal.
The babies were great, theywere passing every test that
they had and they didn't haveany complications, thank God.
But I ended up getting, halfwaythrough our stay, a GI bug, and
so I then was even more sick ona different level.
(32:15):
So just as my appetite wascoming back post-nausea and
anesthesia, I then got a GI bug.
So we ended up being there forsix days for my recovery.
Even the pediatricians thatwere circling it was just as
much his recommendation as itwas the OBGYN overseeing my care
.
So we were there for six dayswhen I got that bug.
(32:35):
That's when I started pumping,because I just between like that
pain in my back and like thenausea and everything I just I
knew I couldn't sit with both ofthem on, like learning how to
breastfeed while I was so sick.
But I wanted to make sure I wasgetting my supply to come in.
So I started pumping duringthat time and then we kind of my
(32:55):
husband and I were like youknow, maybe.
Well, I decided, of course, buthe was supportive Like maybe
I'll be an exclusive pumper andI will just pump, divide what I
get and supplement the rest.
And we felt really good aboutthat as like our game plan, so
that we felt like we were stillgiving them breast milk but
there wasn't fully on me to feedboth babies every feed, that
(33:17):
illness and that curveball likeset a different part of, like
our postpartum journey, that Iwas going to be a pumper.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
How was the transition home Transition?
Speaker 2 (33:37):
home was really nice.
We literally drove home andthis is a funny thing.
So we have a dog and he was ourbaby during COVID and
infertility and as we wereleaving the hospital our dog,
walker, merged into trafficright behind us.
(33:57):
So we drove home and wereimmediately greeted by our dog
who had been being brought homelike the typical, like bringing
home cloths and different thingsfrom the babies.
So we got to introduce our dogto our babies like with our dog
Walker, a safe person to him,and it was a really beautiful
homecoming.
And my mom also met us at hometo help get in the house and
stuff.
But it was a really beautifulhomecoming and my mom also met
us at home to help get in thehouse and stuff.
But it was definitely reallynice to get home and into our
(34:19):
own environment.
But our house you have to walkupstairs to get to the main
level.
So once I got to the main levelit was like, okay, this is
where you'll be.
So I was between the couch andthen a bed in the guest room for
the first two weeks and we justwere just feeding babies and
(34:39):
just keeping them going for twoweeks.
Speaker 1 (34:42):
How was the physical recovery after having a
C-section?
Speaker 2 (34:47):
I would say I had a middle of the road experience.
Like I said, I think I didn'tget up as soon as I wish I had
because of that blood loss andthat you know nausea and
vomiting so I think my recoverywas a little slow and they were
born in June and so the heat ofthe summer I ended up getting an
infection on my incision justbecause of like the heat and the
(35:11):
sweat and just like all of thisstuff.
So that was a little hard.
But after a little while thingsit got better.
It wasn't horrible and wedefinitely, as soon as we could,
took walks around theneighborhood and I moved.
That post-op infection was justa little bit like oh, what the
hell?
Like after all the things thathad happened, and I was so
(35:33):
overtired when it happened too.
Right when I got that infectionI also got my first round of
mastitis.
So I was just so sad and grumpy.
Speaker 1 (35:43):
Everything was just thrown at you.
Yeah, it was wild.
If we have any listeners whoare just finding out they're
having fertility issues andthey're not getting pregnant,
what advice would you have forthem?
Speaker 2 (35:57):
I think that you need to really be a big advocate for
yourself.
I think you need to ask foryour OBGYN to do day three labs,
which are those initialfertility workup labs that show
where you're, at least on paper,what your, your fertility looks
like.
I definitely a big part of myfertility journey was advocating
(36:18):
with doctors, with nurses, withinsurance companies, just like
pushing for again, just like youknow your body and your baby
when you're pregnant, whenyou're trying to get pregnant
and something seems off liketrust, that intuition, trust
your gut.
And unfortunately, our healthsystem in the United States is
dictated more by insurance thanit is by patient care.
(36:39):
So you're going to have tofight for what you need and
that's okay.
No guilt, no shame.
You know yourself.
Speaker 1 (36:46):
Looking back at your whole experience, from the
beginning to where you are now.
What are you most proud of inyourself going through that
experience?
Speaker 2 (36:55):
I think that I really fought for these babies to be
here.
I knew I wanted to be a mother.
I managed my way through myhusband's uncertainty and I
fought so hard for these babiesto be here and be healthy.
Before the gestational diabetesdiagnosis, I was reading a book
about being pregnant withmultiples and it really was like
(37:15):
nourishing your body andgetting enough fuel to carry
healthy babies, and I gained theweight that it was healthy for
me to gain to carry twins.
I did everything in my power tobring healthy babies into this
world and I'm so, so proud ofthat.
Speaker 1 (37:30):
How are Jacob and Lucy doing now?
They?
Speaker 2 (37:33):
are hilarious.
They're two and a half and theyare very talkative and very
opinionated.
They're thriving.
They're you know.
They have their moments witheach other and with us.
But they are very typical twoand a half year olds and they're
really sweet.
They have a great littlebrother-sister relationship.
We're in the process ofdebating whether or not, in the
(37:54):
fall when they're three, do wedo two years of preschool or one
.
I think they could go eitherway, so we're just trying to
decide about that.
But they're awesome.
Speaker 1 (38:04):
Is there anything else that you would like to
leave with us before we end theepisode?
Speaker 2 (38:10):
I think something that I experienced postpartum
was definitely postpartumanxiety, which shouldn't have
surprised me, because I haveanxiety leading into this.
That's just kind of my makeup.
But I definitely think itpresented itself a little
delayed closer to me going backto work and I talked to a lot of
my coworkers and moms that Iknow about normalizing that
(38:33):
postpartum anxiety and that itdoesn't necessarily have a set
timeline and I really struggledwith some really intrusive
thoughts and fears about themwhen they were with another care
provider once I was not theirprimary care provider and as a
mental health counselor myself,I definitely minimized my own
(38:56):
experience for a long time.
Getting a therapist on board assoon as you can, either when
you're pregnant or like lined upfor postpartum, is so helpful
because in your own mind whenyou're overtired and struggling
like you don't, you can't weaveyour way through these thoughts
and these fears.
So having a provider and asupport network is so important.
It's absolutely vital.
Speaker 1 (39:17):
Speaking of therapists postpartum, there's a
lot of therapists now who youwould know more than I, but they
specifically are trained andspecialized in perinatal mental
health.
Speaker 2 (39:28):
I think when I went through my IVF experience I
thought about there being apoint in my career where I did
some private practice workwithin infertility and perinatal
and things like that.
It really is a specialty In myjourney.
I actually have a therapistthat I started with a year ago
but in my journey to get withher I saw a therapist that and
no shade to this woman butperinatal was not her specialty
(39:51):
and I just did not click becausethe experience that I was
having you need to have someonewho understands that process and
the different things that cancome up.
So we have a lot of access toproviders now with telehealth
and there's a lot of differentways you can search either
through your insurance companyor a website like Psychology
(40:12):
Today.
You can narrow things down andclick by perinatal female
therapist in your area.
You can really find that rightperson.
Speaker 1 (40:22):
Absolutely.
I think that's really importantto highlight the perinatal
mental health specialty because,like you said, it's a unique
experience that someone who'sgoing through it needs the
specialized care.
Yeah absolutely All right.
Well, thank you so much fortaking the time and sitting down
and chatting and opening upabout your experiences.
(40:43):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (40:45):
I'm so grateful that you're doing this for other moms
and women.
It's such a need for us aswomen to lift each other up and
share everything we know withone another.
Maternal Wealth is the absoluteperfect name for this.
Speaker 1 (40:57):
Thank you so much.
At Maternal Wealth, we aim toensure that you have access to
the best and the mostappropriate care.
That's why we created amaternal healthcare provider
(41:20):
database.
Maternal health providers caneasily create profiles to
promote their services andbusiness, helping to increase
access for those seeking theircare.
This is a one-of-a-kinddatabase that offers a new and
exciting way for women to searchfor and find maternal health
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Profiles feature badges thathighlight various services, such
(41:45):
as tollback-friendly practices,all-female practices, lgbtqai
plus inclusivity, languageoptions, access to vaginal
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Additionally, be sure to checkout our not your average birth
course.
In this course, I discuss thevariations that exist in
(42:06):
hospital practices based onpolicies, staffing and budgets,
all of which can directly affectyour birth experience and
outcome.
Please follow us on our socialmedia platforms, at maternal
underscore wealth on Instagramand maternal wealth on Facebook.
Stay strong, stay empowered andremember you got this.
Welcome to the Maternal Wealth Podcast, a space
for all things related tomaternal health, pregnancy,
birth and beyond.
I'm your host, stephanieTheriault.
I'm a labor and delivery nurseand a mother to three beautiful
boys.
Each week, we dive intoinspiring stories and expert
insights to remind us of thepower that you hold in
(00:35):
childbirth and motherhood.
We are here to explore the joys, the challenges and the
complexities of maternal health.
Every mother's journey isunique and every story deserves
to be told.
Please note that this podcast isfor entertainment purposes only
(00:56):
.
It is not intended to replaceprofessional medical advice,
diagnosis or treatment.
Always consult with yourhealthcare provider for medical
guidance tailored to yourspecific needs.
Are you ready?
Let's get into it.
Welcome to the Maternal WealthPodcast.
(01:31):
Today we welcome Emily Aulet, a37-year-old mother of two and a
half-year-old twins who wereconceived through IVF, a
licensed mental health counselorand works as a school
adjustment counselor at a localhigh school in Massachusetts.
The journey to having her twinswas long and arduous, as she
and her husband discovered theywere struggling to conceive just
a few months before the onsetof the COVID pandemic.
(01:52):
Welcome to the podcast, emily.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Thank you for having me, I'm so happy to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
I'm happy to have you here.
I would love to start off witha love story.
If you would share with us howyou and your husband met.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
We met met actually, it's your cousin's birthday.
Okay, my best friend and yourcousin, caitlin was dating my
husband's best friend when theywere in college.
He got invited to her birthdayas like a kind of Hail Mary from
the friends, like he wasn'talone, and then we met and we
just kind of hit it off asfriends and my friend Caitlin
(02:28):
just encouraged me that he waslike a really good, sweet guy,
like kind and caring and honest,and he proved to be that and so
we kind of had that 2000sromance where it was a Facebook
messenger romance to start andthen it went to texting and then
the rest is history.
How long have you been togethernow?
Eight years married and like 12years, 13 years together total.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
So you two got married and then you decided to
settle down and you wanted tohave kids.
Talk us through that.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Yeah.
So we got married, I was 29.
My husband had just turned 30and I really was like excited to
start a family, but we wererenting at the time and my
husband's just so practical.
So he was like we got to ownbefore we can have kids.
Blah, blah, blah.
Luckily it only took us like ayear after getting married to
buy, but then he was still alittle hesitant once we moved in
(03:23):
.
So 31, 32.
And then we started to try andI was having really inconsistent
periods.
I came off birth control andwas getting a period anywhere
from 28 to like 45 days.
It was really strange and myOBGYN at that time wasn't super
concerned.
She just kind of was like, oh,it's fine, it's normal, Like
(03:45):
you're probably just anxious,and I kind of was like, well,
there's, you know.
I know I have anxiety, but Idon't think that my irregular
cycles are anxiety based.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
So after several months of trying and feeling
like, you know, these cyclesweren't normal, like things
weren't lining up, I reached outto a fertility clinic and we
had an initial consult.
I think that happened inDecember 2019.
And we started with the testing, which ended up being really
overwhelming.
The labs were fine, but one ofthe first exams when they try to
(04:19):
see if there's any blockages inyour fallopian tubes that
procedure for me was reallypainful, to the point where I
nearly passed out on the table.
It just was excruciating for me, which should have alerted us
that there was something up withmy cervix.
So then I ended up going toanother clinic.
(04:42):
We got the ball rolling andthen the pandemic started and so
we kind of had to pause ontreatments and we were just
doing Clomid cycles to try toget pregnant, so taking Clomid
to induce ovulation and timedintercourse, hoping to get
pregnant.
I think we did about threecycles of that and then we were
like, yeah, this isn't working.
(05:03):
So then we started down theroad of IBF.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
I want to circle back to the exam that they performed
to see if there was anyblockage in the fallopian tubes.
You mentioned that was superpainful.
Did they give you anymedication to help with the pain
prior to the exam?
Can you kind of just talk usthrough what the exam is like
and kind of pain management,because that seems really
intense.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Yeah, yeah, it was.
So I was informed that it couldbe a little painful.
They said to take ibuprofen,like, I think, 30 to 60 minutes
prior to the exam.
It was actually done on anx-ray table because once they
put the dye in your uterus andit goes through your fallopian
tubes, they're monitoring it viax-ray.
So not a super comfortable slabto be lying on, not even a bed,
(05:50):
and my doctor just kept tryingto get the catheter through my
cervix and I was nauseous, I wasin pain, I was crying and she
was incredibly empathetic, butthere was definitely no warning
that it could have been thispainful.
She, I think, made threeattempts before calling it
because I was just in so muchpain and she could not get that
(06:13):
catheter through my cervix.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Were they able to get results from the exam?
Or they called it.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
They called it, and so I ended up having I want to
say, you know, like motherhoodmy memory is so foggy we
might've done this twice and Ifeel like there was one of the
versions of it they gave mesomething to help soften the
cervix or help like open thecervix a little bit or dilate, I
should say, but ended up havingto do this procedure with the
(06:40):
fertility clinic because theyjust are more skilled at it and
my OBGYN just did not want to dono harm.
She did not want to make thisany worse for me than it already
had been.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
When they did the procedure with the fertility
clinic.
How did that go?
Speaker 2 (06:56):
It was painful but it was manageable.
I think I ended up bringing mymom that day because my husband
was busy and I knew I needed asupport person.
So my mom kind of came in andthe provider that did it was so
kind and took her time andhelped me breathe through it and
just I think it's differentwhen this is your specialty and
she was able to help me getthrough that and we were able to
(07:17):
confirm that fallopian tubeswere not an issue no blockages
there.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
In the fertility clinic.
What kind of bed were you on?
Speaker 2 (07:24):
It was more of an exam table, like at a typical
OBGYN office.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Okay, so not an x-ray slab table.
Yeah, ivf treatment in COVID.
How did that look for you?
Speaker 2 (07:43):
It was a really lonely experience.
My husband was in the car foralmost every bit of it.
I was going in for lab workwith a mask on going in for
procedures alone.
We did three rounds ofretrievals with our first clinic
.
The first retrieval resulted inone viable embryo.
And then I had a similarexperience, actually when they
(08:07):
transferred that first embryo.
It was just on an exam tableand again the catheter going
through my cervix was very, verypainful and I had a male
physician for that procedure andI just felt like very
invalidated by him and my pain.
He kind of just was like yougot this, this is normal, and it
did not feel normal.
(08:28):
So not only was I in a lot ofpain and alone, but that
transfer did not end up working.
So it was really hard.
It was really emotionally heavyand lonely.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
I can't even imagine going through this and then not
being able to have at least onesupport person with you by your
side during this experience.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
Yeah, there were a lot of hard moments and that
first transfer that didn't workresulted in needing a DNC
because my beta HCG hit a numberthat was like sub, like we knew
it wasn't a viable pregnancy,it was a chemical pregnancy but
unfortunately, like the numberkept rising, so they had to
perform a DNC to make sure thatthere was no tissue hanging on,
(09:09):
to make sure that I couldcontinue on the process of
trying to get pregnant.
And that was also a really sadmoment where I was in there by
myself getting ready to go to aDNC and I was know I was like
getting tearful and emotionaland the nurses were really kind
with me and I'm like, should Ibe upset right now, like is this
(09:29):
just a procedure or is thismore than that?
And so you know that was justso sad.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
For the DNC?
Did they prepare you about whatthe procedure was going to look
like and how it was going to be?
Speaker 2 (09:44):
about what the procedure was going to look like
and how it was going to be.
Yes, I definitely felt like bythe time I was with the
fertility clinic aside from thattransfer with the male
physician, there was a lot ofprep and the nurses were
wonderful and they all gave me alot of information leading to
and the anesthesiologists werealso really wonderful.
I felt like in good hands but Ithink just mentally, the weight
(10:05):
of knowing that it was a DNCwas heavy.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Was the DNC performed at the clinic or at the
hospital?
At the clinic, then the firstone, it didn't take.
What was your plan after that?
Speaker 2 (10:18):
I was pretty determined and so we then did
another retrieval as soon as wecould.
Once my beta HCG was down tozero, which did take some time,
we did a different protocol forIVF.
That second retrieval I went inI think that one was right
around Thanksgiving and noembryos.
We did not have a single viableembryo.
So all of those meds and all ofthat prep and they retrieved no
(10:41):
embryos and that wasdevastating.
And then we did a third cyclewith that clinic and the doctor
kind of went back to the sameprotocol from round one and we
were trying to trust the processand her expertise.
But the first cycle only got usone embryo.
The second zero, but one embryoat my age, without no reason to
(11:04):
think I had diminished ovarianreserve or anything like that.
That's not a great outcome.
Usually with IVF you expect afew viable embryos from a
retrieval.
So we were a little bitreluctant but trust the process.
But then again we only got oneembryo from that retrieval.
And that retrieval because myprogesterone spiked afterwards.
(11:26):
We weren't.
Insurance makes you do a freshtransfer if you're not planning
to test the embryos unlesssomething medically complicates
it.
And we didn't have the financesto test our embryos, especially
when we were only getting oneat a time.
So we were going to do a freshtransfer.
But then, when my progesteronespiked, we had to hit the pause
button, freeze that embryo toget my body in the better spot
(11:50):
for a transfer.
And that's when my husband andI were like we are going to
switch clinics, we're justrepeating the same thing and
expecting different results, andthis is heartbreaking and
exhausting.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
So that was when we switched to Brigham and Women's,
which is one of the kind ofleading hospitals in Boston and
we had friends that had done IVFthere and we felt like their
experience sounded much morehopeful and positive.
It's a teaching hospital, sothere's a lot more eyes on
complicated cases, which minewas starting to become a
(12:23):
complicated case because,despite having no reason for it,
I wasn't producing mature eggsat these egg retrievals.
We did two more retrievals withthem.
I think we ended up total withseven embryos.
We did a fresh transfer afterthe first retrieval with two
embryos because at that pointthe data and the statistics said
(12:44):
like okay, time to increase ourodds here when we transfer
because she's not having success.
Retrieval with two embryosbecause at that point the data
and the statistics said likeokay, time to increase our odds
here when we transfer becauseshe's not having success.
That transfer failed.
We did another retrieval, gotembryos, froze them and then our
final transfer was a frozentransfer and I did it under
anesthesia so there was no pain,and that's when we got pregnant
(13:05):
with our twins.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Amazing.
When you were doing thetransfers at Brigham and Women's
, were you able to bring asupport person.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
I was able to bring a support person.
Well, women's, were you able tobring a support person?
I was able to bring a supportperson.
Well, joel came in.
My husband came in for thebeginning part.
He didn't stay in the room withme because I was under
anesthesia, but he was there inpre-op.
But then when I woke up he wasnot there.
He was in the car waiting forme to be cleared by the nurses.
That was not as bad as theother clinic, but that was still
(13:43):
hard.
You want your person to bethere when you wake up.
You want that reassurance and Ithink even when the doctor
informed me we were doing adouble embryo transfer, I think
at that point Joel had alreadybeen sent out to the car in the
parking garage.
So I had to then share thatnews with him over the phone,
which was a little bit jarringfor him to digest sitting in a
(14:06):
car.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
but it worked out.
Talk me a little bit throughthe process.
So they do the double embryotransfer and then what do you do
?
Do you wait a little while?
How does that work?
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Yes.
So I think it was at least twoweeks of waiting.
And then I went in for bloodwork, for that test came back
obviously positive.
48 hours later it went back foranother one to make sure that
my levels were risingappropriately.
They had quadrupled.
(14:38):
So then, you know, the littlevoice in the back of my head was
like you might be having twins.
But I've also heard that, like,HCG levels can just jump up at
these wild intervals and notmean anything.
And then I think there wasthree of those blood tests and
then we had to wait for anultrasound, and so Joel was
there with me for the ultrasoundthe whole time.
So we went in, laid on thattable and she put the ultrasound
(15:04):
just externally.
At that point it was going tobe an internal one, but they
started externally and alreadywe saw those two heartbeats like
they were right there and itwas very clear that we were
having twins from that moment on.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
What was the first thought that you had when you
saw two it?
Speaker 2 (15:21):
was a mix of joy and panic.
I was like, uh-oh, were we toorisky in transferring two
embryos?
Was that crazy of us?
But like, oh my gosh, we get tohave two babies.
I felt really lucky.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
How about Joel?
How about your husband?
Speaker 2 (15:40):
I think the panic was a little bit more than the joy.
But there was joy.
We were both crying.
The tech left the room for asecond because then she needed
to let the lead radiologist knowthat she would be performing an
ultrasound for twins.
I think she just needed to runthings by the doctor before she
continued.
It was kind of nice because wehad like a moment where we were
just like soaking it in.
(16:01):
I mean, we were scared but justso thrilled.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
How long did you wait to tell family and friends?
Speaker 2 (16:07):
We told a lot of our close family and friends right
away with the blood test that wewere pregnant.
Because this process I was verytransparent about it.
I talked on social media aboutit and that's how I coped.
The people close to us knewthat we had a positive blood
test and that we were pregnant.
But I looked at Joel on theride home and I said let's save
the twin surprise for Christmas.
(16:29):
And he was like yeah.
And I was like yeah, I think Iwant to surprise our parents and
grandparents with that.
So that's what we did.
We waited until Christmas timeto surprise our family and
friends that we were havingtwins.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
Did you tell them verbally or did you do a little
gift?
How did you let them know?
Speaker 2 (16:46):
So we had our parents together for a little
pre-Christmas gathering and wegave them an ornament and a
picture of the ultrasound andthe ornament said let twins
coming, july 2022.
It's funny because mymother-in-law is a nurse, so we
assumed she would be the firstone to pick up on it, but I
think it ended up being my dad.
(17:06):
That was like wait a second,they didn't read the ornament
well enough and they didn'treally look at the ultrasound.
But my dad was like wait asecond.
They didn't read the ornamentwell enough and they didn't
really look at the ultrasound.
But my dad was like wait asecond.
And then everybody realized it.
And then on Christmas, joel'sgrandmother I think it was 2021.
So we were still a little bitin kind of some COVID times and
(17:28):
so we weren't physically withJoel's grandmother.
So we FaceTimed her onChristmas and we'd had someone
have a gift for her with theultrasound picture and she's
really important to us.
She's just the matriarch of hisfamily and she is a retired
labor and delivery nurse herself.
So she's been just a hugesupport and advocate.
So telling her, and she losther husband in the year before
(17:51):
that, so it was a really specialmoment to tell her.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
Do you know where she worked as a labor and delivery
nurse?
Speaker 2 (17:57):
Holy Family Hospital up in Florence.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
That's so sweet.
I'm sure that was so specialfor her and for everybody.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
Yeah, yeah, not to fast forward, but when she came
to visit me at the hospitalafter we had the twins, she came
over and she was like puttinglotion all over me and like
taking care of me, like youcould tell that she was such a
good nurse back in the day.
And you know, it's like whenyou have your baby and people
come to visit, they're like, oh,my God, the baby.
Like people always rememberthat the mom has just
(18:26):
experienced birth.
But she took such good care ofme the day she came to visit and
I was like, oh, you're an angel, so sweet.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
I'm just picturing this elderly woman putting
lotion on you after you had ababy in the hospital.
That's so sweet.
Oh my gosh, that's so special.
It is.
Yeah, we feel really lucky.
How was your pregnancy withtwins?
I know you've only beenpregnant with twins, but how did
that go for you?
Speaker 2 (18:50):
One pregnancy, two babies.
Honestly, I feel pretty lucky.
I really had a decent pregnancy, considering I was carrying
twins.
The only day I got morningsickness was actually the day
after the transfer and I thinkthat was like the anesthesia
giving me a migraine.
I had nausea and heartburnevery day, but I never had
morning sickness every day.
(19:15):
But I never had morningsickness.
I stayed active for the firstmaybe half of the pregnancy and
then it definitely slowed medown.
The hardest thing about mypregnancy I got gestational
diabetes diagnosed around 28weeks.
That was just obviouslymentally challenging, more than
anything because I was managingit with diet which, luckily
again, I didn't need insulin, sothat was great.
But I definitely had to reallychange the way I was managing it
with diet, which luckily again,I didn't need insulin, so that
(19:35):
was great.
But I definitely had to reallychange the way I was eating, or
at least be really cognizant ofthe way I was eating.
I made it to 38 weeks, whichwas the goal.
But my last month of pregnancyI got put on leave from work.
I had an about of hypertensionwhen I went to one of my visits
and my doctor was like okay,we're done now, we're done
working, which was actually sucha blessing.
(19:55):
I was pretty ready to be donewith work at that point.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
While you're pregnant , did you continue on with the
OB that you had prior, or didyou go with a new OB?
Speaker 2 (20:04):
So it was interesting .
I actually I was starting offwith a new OB within the clinic
just because I met her for oneof my first visits and I liked
her.
She was really bubbly and nice.
As things progressed timelinesand different reasons I ended up
actually back with my OB fromprior to IVF and it was actually
a really healing experiencebecause I got to see her and say
(20:27):
, I know, the last time that weinteracted was this really awful
procedure, but I don't hold anyhard feelings.
I am still very grateful foryou.
So she ended up being the onethat delivered my twins and in
hindsight it was a really gooddecision because the birth was a
little bit complicated and shewas just like really good hands
(20:47):
to be in.
She was a very kind of likebright, cerebral, like to the
point doctor and I think that'swhat I needed when things got a
little scary.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
When it came time to deliver, when were you planning
on having a vaginal delivery orwere you planning on having a
C-section?
Speaker 2 (21:03):
I decided about halfway through my pregnancy I
wanted to do a C-section.
My twins were orientedtransverse, kind of like in bunk
beds, and so my son was almostuntil the day we went to have
our C-section he was never headdown, and then my daughter just
kind of like hung out cozy uptop, like transverse, and with
(21:24):
the cervical issues I hadactually I missed this piece I
did end up having a surgery onmy cervix during IVF to get rid
of a ridge that was in my cervix.
So there was something that wascomplicating all that and I
just was so fearful that thatwas going to make birth hard and
I didn't want to get in theheadspace that I was going to
(21:45):
have a vaginal birth only tothen need a C-section.
I just wanted them to get heresafely for all of us.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
I think it's so important what you're saying, to
honor and recognize ourintuition when it comes to our
bodies and that we know, like wejust know, and to recognize it
and honor it and proceed in away that's safe for us,
especially during pregnancy.
Even with my patients, I alwaystell them, like you know your
body, you know your baby morethan anyone, right, we're here
(22:14):
to guide you.
So it's great that you listento that.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
Yeah, it was interesting.
I've talked to other moms aboutthis and it was like at what
point I thought my doctor wasgoing to suggest a C-section and
it was kind of like I broughtit up first and then she totally
validated and agreed with mydecision but I didn't really
know how that would go.
I think that's one of thosemisconceptions about going into
(22:41):
motherhood, especially withmultiples you assume that you're
going to be told you need aC-section and it's going to be
scheduled because of X factors,of X factors, and they were
waiting on me.
At that point it was stillearly, so they were kind of I
got to make the call because itwas so early, but I was glad I
did it and it was.
She supported my decision therest of the way through.
(23:07):
It was a huge weight off myshoulders once I decided we're
having a C-section and we have adate scheduled, although I
never thought I would make it to38 weeks.
That was wild.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
So did you plan for a C-section for 38 weeks?
Yes For your surgery.
Did they schedule in themorning, in the afternoon?
Yes, for your surgery.
Did they schedule in the?
Speaker 2 (23:32):
morning, in the afternoon, in the morning, but I
think I got there and werewaiting for a little while
because there was anothercomplicated case that day, so we
got pushed back.
I think I was maybe like thenine or 10 o'clock and I didn't
get into the OR till like the 11o'clock time.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
This happens all the time.
So I always try and tell people.
If you're going to have ascheduled procedure, try and do
it as early as you can, becauseyou never know what's going on,
and sometimes I'll have patientscoming in for a scheduled
section at one in the afternoonand they're not getting done
until five o'clock and you'renot supposed to eat until
midnight before and then you'reall day and it's just a whole
(24:13):
thing.
Yeah, so you were scheduled foraround nine.
You went in around 11.
How was the pre-op when you gointo the OR what that was like
for you?
Speaker 2 (24:22):
Yeah, so we got set up in a room.
They did that final ultrasoundin the pre-op room before, just
to check the orientation of thebabies, and that was, of course,
the moment where my son wasfinally head down.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
Of course.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
Quick moment of being like oh, but I was set with my
decisions.
I remember they got me set upwith an IV and kind of talked me
through stuff.
My husband got ready in hislittle bunny suit.
Then I believe they walk youdown.
You would know better.
I think I walked down to the ORby myself because they want to
(24:58):
do the epidural yes, before yourpartner is there so went in.
I actually surprised myselfthat I handled getting the
epidural placed pretty well.
I thought I was going to justbe so uncomfortable and so
scared.
That was fine.
And then my husband came tojoin me.
I did say to theanesthesiologist I definitely
have some anxiety aboutobviously having a C-section
(25:22):
being awake while I'm being cutopen.
I know my brain and I'm goingto go into a place of like ah,
like I know what's happening tomy body right now.
But I didn't want to be sedated, I just was like I know I have
a pretty strong like vasovagalresponse in these moments.
So the anesthesiologist was soawesome.
He was like very chill andrelaxed and he was like, okay, I
(25:43):
got you, like don't worry.
And then during the start ofthe section I did get a little
like nausea and he quickly justput something in and he's like
you feeling better now, and it'slike, oh, I am, and he's like,
yep.
So he was really chill, he wasreally good.
I had a regular drape.
I did not have a clear plasticdrape.
Because of that like kind ofanxiety and like squeamishness.
(26:04):
I just remember like hearingthat first cry and then, you
know, my husband went over tothe what is it called?
The care team.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
Yeah, the neonatal care team, yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
Yeah.
So he went over to the tablewith them and saw our son and
cut the cord and then after thefact I found out that the
resident with my doctor was theone pulling the babies out of me
.
She came into our room and saidI'll never forget you guys.
You were my first twin deliveryand I was so excited for you
guys and being a part of thisthat Dr Sherman, my doctor, had
to call her back over and sayyou have another baby to pull
(26:39):
out, although they were only 37seconds apart, so it wasn't
crazy.
But she was just so caught upin the joy of the whole thing so
they both came out healthy,awesome, they were perfect.
And I remember thatanesthesiologist he was a very
chill guy, kind of like bro-ish,and he was like those are
(27:00):
really beautiful babies, he'slike, and, trust me, I would not
comment if they weren't cute.
So, very matter of fact, theywent down to the room that we
were in pre-op with my husbandwhile I got stitched up, and I
managed that well.
But a little while after I gotto the room that we were in
pre-op with my husband while Igot stitched up, and I managed
that well, but a little whileafter I got to the room I was
having some pretty heavy Well,it was during the section and
(27:21):
then, when I got back to theroom, pretty significant
bleeding and then I had somenausea vomiting which was really
rough.
So I was a little bit stressfulfor the first few hours after
they were born because I was, Ilost a lot of blood and I was
also vomiting and you know wewere.
Is she going to get a bloodtransfusion or like kind of just
(27:41):
like touch and go, a little bitof what we were going to do for
a few hours?
Speaker 1 (27:45):
Did you end up needing a transfusion?
Speaker 2 (27:47):
They ended up deciding not to do the
transfusion.
I finally stabilized and theydecided that we were going to do
a couple iron transfusionsduring my stay.
Okay, which is like obviouslythe slower road to feeling
better when you've lost thatmuch blood.
But I've heard different thingsabout having a blood
transfusion, so I feel like itended up being the right thing
(28:09):
and my doctor stayed on throughthat time.
She stayed and made sure I wasstable to go up to the floor.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
Okay, so you stayed on labor in the recovery for a
while.
As you recovered, then you wentto postpartum.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
Yeah, the twins were healthy.
They were wonderful.
I was a little sad because myfirst attempt at breastfeeding
that's when my first bout ofnausea and vomiting happened.
So I was just latching my sonand figuring it out and then I
was like I'm going to be sick.
So I quickly had to hand him toa nurse.
So the first 24 hours was toughbecause I was just so depleted
(28:45):
and really wanted to breastfeedbut also was in a lot of
discomfort and really weak andnauseous and just struggling.
Speaker 1 (28:54):
I think at the hospital that you delivered at
they have a nursery.
Did you utilize the nurserywhile you were there to get some
rest, to recover?
Speaker 2 (29:02):
Yes, I definitely utilized the nursery.
They were very supportive of usdoing that and it's funny
similar to the question questionabout, like C-section versus
vaginal birth I think the secondnight we were there when we
decided to utilize the nursery,it was awesome the overnight
nurse came in and she was like,all right, like we keep it real
here, like you have a few dayswith us and then you're off on
(29:25):
your own.
Like you need to use us to themost you possibly can, so how
can we give you rest and takecare of you before you go home
and you don't have us anymore?
And we were like, well, likereally tired, like it's I was
having, like I had an air bubblethat was in my back from the
section Like that's where it waslike settled.
So when I would sit up to try tobreastfeed and I had to feed
(29:46):
two babies, the sharp pain ofthat air bubble was making me
nauseous and so I was feelinglike it was hard to learn to
breastfeed while I was in somuch pain and my husband was
just like, are we able to talkabout formula?
And the overnight nurse waslike, yep, she was like I'm so
glad you brought it up.
You came in here saying thatyou wanted to breastfeed.
(30:07):
So we can't introduce formulaunless there's a medical
necessity.
But now that you've asked, askand you shall receive.
So the babies went to thenursery for a few hours
overnight and they got formulaand I could rest, and that was
huge every night.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
I love hearing that because I've worked in hospitals
where we don't have a nurseryand I think it's so imperative
for not for everybody, butfamilies who need it, who need
the time for the first couple ofnights for moms to recover, and
it's so important in promotinga healthy recovery physically,
mentally, spiritually to havethat nursery, to have that
(30:47):
option.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
Yeah, I had friends that were very strongly
encouraging me to remember touse it.
When I got there they were like, before you go to have your
babies, there's no shame inusing the nursery and you really
should.
And so we went in with thatsupport from different people in
our lives.
But there was no way I couldhave recovered without that.
I can't imagine I was sophysically depleted in so many
(31:10):
ways.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
Yeah, and also thinking you have a partner.
You had your husband and he isemotionally, physically
exhausted also because he's anew father.
Watching you, his wife, gothrough everything it's
exhausting.
So I'm very pro having anursery.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
Yeah, I can't imagine not having that at all.
And because I was so sick, thefirst 24 hours he was swaddling
diaper change.
He was doing it all for the twobabies when the nurses weren't
doing it.
Because I couldn't stand, Ididn't stand up until the second
day I was there, which I knowisn't the norm after a C-section
.
Speaker 1 (31:48):
How long did you end up staying in the hospital
before you were discharged?
Speaker 2 (31:52):
Well, this is another interesting curveball of the
story.
So we were supposed to stayfive days in typical recovery
and that was normal.
The babies were great, theywere passing every test that
they had and they didn't haveany complications, thank God.
But I ended up getting, halfwaythrough our stay, a GI bug, and
so I then was even more sick ona different level.
(32:15):
So just as my appetite wascoming back post-nausea and
anesthesia, I then got a GI bug.
So we ended up being there forsix days for my recovery.
Even the pediatricians thatwere circling it was just as
much his recommendation as itwas the OBGYN overseeing my care
.
So we were there for six dayswhen I got that bug.
(32:35):
That's when I started pumping,because I just between like that
pain in my back and like thenausea and everything I just I
knew I couldn't sit with both ofthem on, like learning how to
breastfeed while I was so sick.
But I wanted to make sure I wasgetting my supply to come in.
So I started pumping duringthat time and then we kind of my
(32:55):
husband and I were like youknow, maybe.
Well, I decided, of course, buthe was supportive Like maybe
I'll be an exclusive pumper andI will just pump, divide what I
get and supplement the rest.
And we felt really good aboutthat as like our game plan, so
that we felt like we were stillgiving them breast milk but
there wasn't fully on me to feedboth babies every feed, that
(33:17):
illness and that curveball likeset a different part of, like
our postpartum journey, that Iwas going to be a pumper.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
How was the transition home Transition?
Speaker 2 (33:37):
home was really nice.
We literally drove home andthis is a funny thing.
So we have a dog and he was ourbaby during COVID and
infertility and as we wereleaving the hospital our dog,
walker, merged into trafficright behind us.
(33:57):
So we drove home and wereimmediately greeted by our dog
who had been being brought homelike the typical, like bringing
home cloths and different thingsfrom the babies.
So we got to introduce our dogto our babies like with our dog
Walker, a safe person to him,and it was a really beautiful
homecoming.
And my mom also met us at hometo help get in the house and
stuff.
But it was a really beautifulhomecoming and my mom also met
us at home to help get in thehouse and stuff.
But it was definitely reallynice to get home and into our
(34:19):
own environment.
But our house you have to walkupstairs to get to the main
level.
So once I got to the main levelit was like, okay, this is
where you'll be.
So I was between the couch andthen a bed in the guest room for
the first two weeks and we justwere just feeding babies and
(34:39):
just keeping them going for twoweeks.
Speaker 1 (34:42):
How was the physical recovery after having a
C-section?
Speaker 2 (34:47):
I would say I had a middle of the road experience.
Like I said, I think I didn'tget up as soon as I wish I had
because of that blood loss andthat you know nausea and
vomiting so I think my recoverywas a little slow and they were
born in June and so the heat ofthe summer I ended up getting an
infection on my incision justbecause of like the heat and the
(35:11):
sweat and just like all of thisstuff.
So that was a little hard.
But after a little while thingsit got better.
It wasn't horrible and wedefinitely, as soon as we could,
took walks around theneighborhood and I moved.
That post-op infection was justa little bit like oh, what the
hell?
Like after all the things thathad happened, and I was so
(35:33):
overtired when it happened too.
Right when I got that infectionI also got my first round of
mastitis.
So I was just so sad and grumpy.
Speaker 1 (35:43):
Everything was just thrown at you.
Yeah, it was wild.
If we have any listeners whoare just finding out they're
having fertility issues andthey're not getting pregnant,
what advice would you have forthem?
Speaker 2 (35:57):
I think that you need to really be a big advocate for
yourself.
I think you need to ask foryour OBGYN to do day three labs,
which are those initialfertility workup labs that show
where you're, at least on paper,what your, your fertility looks
like.
I definitely a big part of myfertility journey was advocating
(36:18):
with doctors, with nurses, withinsurance companies, just like
pushing for again, just like youknow your body and your baby
when you're pregnant, whenyou're trying to get pregnant
and something seems off liketrust, that intuition, trust
your gut.
And unfortunately, our healthsystem in the United States is
dictated more by insurance thanit is by patient care.
(36:39):
So you're going to have tofight for what you need and
that's okay.
No guilt, no shame.
You know yourself.
Speaker 1 (36:46):
Looking back at your whole experience, from the
beginning to where you are now.
What are you most proud of inyourself going through that
experience?
Speaker 2 (36:55):
I think that I really fought for these babies to be
here.
I knew I wanted to be a mother.
I managed my way through myhusband's uncertainty and I
fought so hard for these babiesto be here and be healthy.
Before the gestational diabetesdiagnosis, I was reading a book
about being pregnant withmultiples and it really was like
(37:15):
nourishing your body andgetting enough fuel to carry
healthy babies, and I gained theweight that it was healthy for
me to gain to carry twins.
I did everything in my power tobring healthy babies into this
world and I'm so, so proud ofthat.
Speaker 1 (37:30):
How are Jacob and Lucy doing now?
They?
Speaker 2 (37:33):
are hilarious.
They're two and a half and theyare very talkative and very
opinionated.
They're thriving.
They're you know.
They have their moments witheach other and with us.
But they are very typical twoand a half year olds and they're
really sweet.
They have a great littlebrother-sister relationship.
We're in the process ofdebating whether or not, in the
(37:54):
fall when they're three, do wedo two years of preschool or one
.
I think they could go eitherway, so we're just trying to
decide about that.
But they're awesome.
Speaker 1 (38:04):
Is there anything else that you would like to
leave with us before we end theepisode?
Speaker 2 (38:10):
I think something that I experienced postpartum
was definitely postpartumanxiety, which shouldn't have
surprised me, because I haveanxiety leading into this.
That's just kind of my makeup.
But I definitely think itpresented itself a little
delayed closer to me going backto work and I talked to a lot of
my coworkers and moms that Iknow about normalizing that
(38:33):
postpartum anxiety and that itdoesn't necessarily have a set
timeline and I really struggledwith some really intrusive
thoughts and fears about themwhen they were with another care
provider once I was not theirprimary care provider and as a
mental health counselor myself,I definitely minimized my own
(38:56):
experience for a long time.
Getting a therapist on board assoon as you can, either when
you're pregnant or like lined upfor postpartum, is so helpful
because in your own mind whenyou're overtired and struggling
like you don't, you can't weaveyour way through these thoughts
and these fears.
So having a provider and asupport network is so important.
It's absolutely vital.
Speaker 1 (39:17):
Speaking of therapists postpartum, there's a
lot of therapists now who youwould know more than I, but they
specifically are trained andspecialized in perinatal mental
health.
Speaker 2 (39:28):
I think when I went through my IVF experience I
thought about there being apoint in my career where I did
some private practice workwithin infertility and perinatal
and things like that.
It really is a specialty In myjourney.
I actually have a therapistthat I started with a year ago
but in my journey to get withher I saw a therapist that and
no shade to this woman butperinatal was not her specialty
(39:51):
and I just did not click becausethe experience that I was
having you need to have someonewho understands that process and
the different things that cancome up.
So we have a lot of access toproviders now with telehealth
and there's a lot of differentways you can search either
through your insurance companyor a website like Psychology
(40:12):
Today.
You can narrow things down andclick by perinatal female
therapist in your area.
You can really find that rightperson.
Speaker 1 (40:22):
Absolutely.
I think that's really importantto highlight the perinatal
mental health specialty because,like you said, it's a unique
experience that someone who'sgoing through it needs the
specialized care.
Yeah absolutely All right.
Well, thank you so much fortaking the time and sitting down
and chatting and opening upabout your experiences.
(40:43):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (40:45):
I'm so grateful that you're doing this for other moms
and women.
It's such a need for us aswomen to lift each other up and
share everything we know withone another.
Maternal Wealth is the absoluteperfect name for this.
Speaker 1 (40:57):
Thank you so much.
At Maternal Wealth, we aim toensure that you have access to
the best and the mostappropriate care.
That's why we created amaternal healthcare provider
(41:20):
database.
Maternal health providers caneasily create profiles to
promote their services andbusiness, helping to increase
access for those seeking theircare.
This is a one-of-a-kinddatabase that offers a new and
exciting way for women to searchfor and find maternal health
providers near them and tailoredto their specific needs.
Profiles feature badges thathighlight various services, such
(41:45):
as tollback-friendly practices,all-female practices, lgbtqai
plus inclusivity, languageoptions, access to vaginal
breach services and more.
Additionally, be sure to checkout our not your average birth
course.
In this course, I discuss thevariations that exist in
(42:06):
hospital practices based onpolicies, staffing and budgets,
all of which can directly affectyour birth experience and
outcome.
Please follow us on our socialmedia platforms, at maternal
underscore wealth on Instagramand maternal wealth on Facebook.
Stay strong, stay empowered andremember you got this.
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