July 2, 2025 • 39 mins
Karen Chipman never planned to become a maternal health advocate. With a background in veterinary science, fate redirected her path after the birth of her first son, leading her to discover an unexpected passion for supporting women through labor and delivery. Her journey through three dramatically different births—a cesarean, a hard-won VBAC, and a vaginal breech delivery—became the foundation for what would eventually become Stork Ready Classes and Community for Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond.
What makes Karen's story particularly powerful is her unwavering determination to advocate for herself during a time when maternal autonomy was even more limited than today. When her doctor refused to support her desire for a VBAC with her second pregnancy, telling her she'd need to find another provider, she did exactly that—despite a male colleague telling her, "If you were my wife, I would never let you do this." Her memorable response: "I guess I'm happy I'm not your wife."
This same conviction led her to establish Stork Ready in 2014, creating not just childbirth education but a genuine community for new families. Beyond preparing expectant parents for birth, Karen recognized the critical need for postpartum support in a society that often leaves new mothers isolated and overwhelmed. Through weekly gatherings like Mommy Cafe, women find safe spaces to voice their deepest fears and struggles—from the brave mother who asked, "Do you ever wake up and not want to be a mom?" to the lighthearted but honest discussion about postpartum intimacy where one woman joked she told her husband, "My knee. You can touch my knee."
Karen's insight that "labor hasn't changed, but its management has dramatically" drives her educational approach, empowering families with information beyond what hospital-based classes typically offer. By collaborating with other birth professionals and creating specialized resources for high-risk pregnancies and postpartum preparation, Stork Ready fills crucial gaps in maternal support.
The friendships formed through these communities often last years beyond the newborn phase, with families continuing to gather and support one another through the ongoing journey of parenthood. In Karen's words, "That's why I started Stork Ready—for that community, getting families together to get through that postpartum period that can be so difficult for so many people."
Visit Stork Readyhttps://www.storkready.com/ to discover classes, support groups, and resources for your own pregnancy and parenting journey.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Stephanie Theriault (00:12):
Welcome to the Maternal Wealth Podcast, a
space for all things related tomaternal health, pregnancy and
beyond.
I'm your host, Stephanie Terrio.
I'm a labor and delivery nurseand a mother to three beautiful
boys.
Each week, week, we dive intoinspiring stories and expert
insights to remind us of thepower that you hold in
childbirth and motherhood.
We're here to explore the joys,the challenges and the
(00:35):
complexities of maternal health.
Every mother's journey isunique and every story deserves
to be told.
Please note that this podcastis for entertainment purposes
only.
It is not intended to replaceprofessional medical advice,
diagnosis or treatment.
Always consult with yourhealthcare provider for medical
guidance that is tailored toyour specific needs.
(01:11):
This week's episode featuresKaren Chipman, a dear colleague
of mine at a hospital here inBoston, Massachusetts, and the
proud owner of Stork ReadyClasses and Community for
Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond.
I'm genuinely excited for youto hear her three inspiring
birth stories and learn howStork Ready is truly making a
difference for new mothers andfamilies in the Boston area.
Karen's birth stories areheartfelt reminders that, even
(01:32):
if things don't go exactly asplanned, we can choose to
welcome birth providers andsupport people in subsequent
births who genuinely value andrespect our autonomy.
Are you ready, let's get intoit.
Hi Karen, Welcome to thepodcast.
(01:59):
I'm so glad you're here.
Karen Chipman (02:00):
Hi, Stephanie.
Thank you for inviting me.
I'm excited to join.
Stephanie Theriault (02:04):
I'm excited to hear more about you and your
story and I'm ready to get intoit if you are, I'm ready.
I like to start the episodeslearning about you before you
became a mom.
Karen Chipman (02:15):
Okay, All right.
So a little bit about me beforeI became a mom.
So my background and my truepassion was animals and I really
wanted to be a veterinarian.
And many years ago almost 40years ago now women didn't
really dominate that field.
It was a male dominated fieldand it was really really
difficult to get into.
I have my bachelor's degree inscience and I tried and it just
(02:40):
it just.
For whatever reason I alwaysbelieve in fate it didn't bring
me down that path.
So instead I started working inbusiness and I became pregnant
with my first.
And when I became pregnant withmy first, I realized that I
really wanted to be home duringthe day with him.
And how was I going to do that?
Because I still needed to work.
My husband was self-employed, weneeded insurance and we lived
(03:02):
just two blocks away from thecommunity hospital.
And I said, wow, you know what?
I think I can get a job in acommunity hospital because while
I was going to school forveterinary, I was working in
animal hospitals.
I was doing IVs, I wasadministering anesthesia, I was
doing small procedures and Ithought I can work at a hospital
At least.
That way I can get insurance, Ican work evenings, I can work
(03:24):
weekends and I certainly havethe skill, but I can't work with
humans the way I did withanimals because I don't have
that licensure, if you will.
So I went and I did aninterview and they had an
opening in labor and deliveryfor surgical tech and I was like
, okay, I can certainly handinstruments to a surgeon.
That sounds like a fun job.
So I interviewed at the job.
Stephanie Theriault (03:46):
Tell us about how being a mom and going
through the labor and deliveryand having your son like
integrated into your experienceas working in surgical tech.
Karen Chipman (03:55):
Yeah.
So I actually had my son beforeworking at the hospital and,
you know, preparing for that, Iprepared just like you know most
most families do.
I took a childbirth class,preparing for that.
I prepared just like you know,most families do.
I took a childbirth class, abreastfeeding class and been
preparing for that.
The one thing that I did do mydoctor at the time did hypnosis
for smoking, for pregnancy, forweight loss, and I thought, you
(04:17):
know, that sounds interesting, Ithink I'll try that.
So I did hypnosis for labor anddelivery and basically what it
was was a nightly tape that Iwould listen to.
It was a cassette, that's howlong ago it was, and I would
listen to that.
After dinner my husband wouldsay go do your relaxation, I'll
do the dishes.
Who wouldn't do that?
He really made me do it and Ididn't know what the impact
would be until I was in laborand I integrated, I included
(04:42):
music and it was PachelbelPianody with Ocean Sound.
So every time I did relaxationI would listen to that music.
So when we went into labor anddelivery, which was so, so
different back then the roomswere really small.
We had to share a bathroom withother laboring women.
It was very different.
I would listen to that musicthroughout the labor and I was
(05:03):
really surprised to find thatlabor wasn't that bad.
Sure, I had contractions, butit wasn't like how some women
would describe it or what otherwomen are afraid of.
It was really not a badexperience until it came to
pushing.
And then I had to push for fourhours because he had this
stubborn posterior head whichended up in a cesarean.
(05:25):
So that was actually my firstexperience with labor and
delivery.
But then, after I had him,that's when I said I don't want
to work full time, I want to behome with him.
So that's the job in labor anddelivery.
So, besides being in theoperating room because I had had
the experience, you know theywere letting me do more things.
I was helping patients in laborand I hate calling a woman
(05:46):
having labor in a hospital apatient, so apologies for that.
I was helping women in labor.
I would be out in the maternityhelping women postpartum,
helping in the nursery.
I could pretty much go where Iwanted to go, which I loved.
But I truly loved helping womenin labor.
And 37 years ago, which is whenI started, there were no
epidurals.
Women really labored.
(06:07):
So if I wasn't in the operatingroom and there were women in
labor, that's where you wouldfind me.
So people would say to me whydon't you just go back to school
, why don't you become a doula?
And I was like I know I'm adoula every time I go to work,
so I'm doing it all the time.
The time I thought that wouldbe great, but then that would
again take me away from mybabies.
I would be going out in themiddle of the night.
(06:27):
It would be sort of when's itgoing to happen?
This way I'm doing really whatI loved.
I found my new passion and I'mgetting paid for it through the
hospital.
So that's sort of my background, with integrating the labor, my
experience and working in thehospital as a tech?
Stephanie Theriault (06:41):
Did you find, when you are using the
music to help with the laborpains and the experience, that
the hospital staff was receptiveto that kind of therapy?
Karen Chipman (06:52):
They really were.
They were very receptive to itbecause the doctor that actually
did it for me was my OB and heworked at the hospital, so they
were used to seeing women usingthat and having their headphones
on or listening to it, andwhere I integrated the music to
it, it was a little bitdifferent.
And truly, what I feel is, whenyou do that any pregnant woman
(07:13):
while she's preparing forpregnancy and I always say the
first thing that you need toprepare is your mind doing this
type of relaxation with the samemusic, relaxation, same music
what happens is is you conditionyourself to relax when you hear
that music.
So there would be times whenlabor was, you know, tough and
I'd be like, oh, I'm not, I'mnot handling it, this that well.
And it was really, you know, myhusband's job where he would
(07:35):
see that and be like, oh, she'sgot to listen to our music.
So we would, you know, startlistening again.
I would do the relaxation, dothe breathing that I
incorporated with it, and itwould bring me back to center.
It would bring me back to whereI needed to be being in a time
where there was not even nitrous, no nitrous, no epidurals.
The only thing that we reallyhad were narcotics, and it never
(07:56):
even came a time that I thoughtI needed something more than
that and before I knew it it wastime to push.
So I made it.
I made it through and I tellpeople that in the childbirth
class, for those women that wantnatural childbirth, even once
you reach transition, which isthe shortest, hardest part of
your labor, I like to saycongratulations because you've
made it.
(08:16):
You just need to get throughthat.
You need your support throughthat part of your labor.
But yeah, I got to fullydilated and pushing.
I was like, okay, I guess thatrelaxation really did help me
and I thank my husband becausehe was the one that said go do
your relaxation, I'll do thedishes.
Stephanie Theriault (08:33):
I think it's so important to recognize
the work on both parties part onthe pregnant person who is
preparing.
You're doing the hypnosis,you're getting prepared for the
labor and then having thatsupport person telling you and
giving you the space to reallypractice it and prepare and then
, in the moment, recognizingwhen you need that.
Karen Chipman (08:51):
So I give a lot of props to your husband because
that's so essential to havethat support person ready and
able to help you, it really isand that, with you saying that,
it reminds me because after Ihad to have the cesarean, my
next pregnancy, I knew rightaway that I wanted to be back
vaginal birth after cesarean.
And 35 years ago it was once aC-section, always a C-section.
(09:12):
So I was a little hard pressedto find a doctor that would
support that.
Because when I went to see mydoctor when I was pregnant he
said so isn't this exciting?
You get to have a C-sectionthis time.
And I looked at him and I was alittle nervous and I said I
don't want a C-section, I want aVBAC.
And he said you realize that Iwon't do that.
And I said yeah, I do realizethat.
He said you realize you'll findanother doctor.
(09:33):
And I said, yes, I do realizethat.
And at this point now I wasworking at the hospital, I was
working in labor and deliverywhen I was pregnant second child
and I really didn't get muchsupport from many people around
me wanting a VBAC, wants aC-section, always a C-section.
I can remember even a time I wason an elevator and one of the
doctors joined me and it wasjust him and I and I knew what
(09:53):
he was talking about because helooked at me and he said if you
were my wife I would never letyou do this.
And I thought, okay, whileKaren on him.
So I waited a second and Ithought and I looked at him and
I said, well, I guess I'm happythat I'm not your wife.
And that's where we kind ofleft yeah Right.
So I knew that chances they putyou.
(10:15):
They put you into thesecategories with VBAC, you know
who will be a successful, whowon't.
And my numbers were not thatgreat because I pushed for four
hours.
But I knew I pushed for fourhours because I had this
posterior head.
If his head wasn't in thatposition, would I have been able
to deliver him Probably.
So I looked, I interviewed manydoctors and then one of the
doctors who I actually workedwith at the hospital.
(10:37):
I asked him, I had an interviewwith him and he was like
absolutely, you can do this.
And he was so, so, verysupportive and I thought, all
right, now I'm working with thedoctor who won't do my VBAC and
I'm working with the doctorwho's doing it.
That could be a little awkward,but it wasn't.
Everyone was very professionaland it came time for my labor,
which brings me back to myhusband's story and now I'm a
(10:59):
little anxious, I'm a littlenervous because I might have to
have a C-section.
I'm with people that might notbe supporting it, but my labor
nurse was amazing, my doctor wasamazing and my husband was
amazing and I can remember atone point at three in the
morning, the labor sort of hit ahard point and he looked at me
like, oh boy, we're having atough time.
And he walked around the roomDon't laugh and I always say
(11:20):
don't laugh at me and he turnedon my cassette and my pocket
bell.
Kennedy with Ocean Sounds cameon and it brought me back to
center once again and it cametime for pushing and I think we
pushed 20 minutes and out cameAlexandra.
Stephanie Theriault (11:44):
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Karen Chipman (12:45):
That's a story that I love to share, especially
with women who are, you know,are hoping to VBAC, want to VBAC
.
That yes, you can do it.
And even for me I was doing itat a time when there wasn't too
much support around it, but Idid it because I did my homework
and I knew what the percentageswere Like.
What's the percentage for arupture Less than 1%?
(13:05):
Well, that's pretty good.
And what is my percentages forother things to happen if I had
a second abdominal surgery?
So I weighed those pros and consand I thought this is what I
want to do.
And I also did it for my babybecause I was noticing working
in labor and delivery and thiswas nothing drastic, but I was
noticing scheduled cesareanbabies didn't transition as well
(13:27):
as vaginal babies or evenbabies that were experiencing
labor, and I was like, wow, likewhy, why is that happening?
So what was happening was thatthey didn't get that adrenaline
that they get from their momduring labor and pushing
especially.
They didn't get that squeezingfrom contractions.
They didn't get that, you know,moving of the fluid from their
lungs.
And I was noticing that, youknow, a good number of babies
(13:49):
would have to be transferred tothe nursery after delivery
because of this transitionalperiod and having a little hard
time nothing life-threatening,but enough that they would have
to be taken away.
And I thought I don't want that.
I want to keep my baby with me.
So the pros were not only forme, for not having to have
surgery again, but also for mybaby.
So that's my VBAC, that's mysort of beginnings for that.
Stephanie Theriault (14:14):
I also want to recognize the fact that you
advocated for yourself, right,you had a doctor who said, no,
I'm not going to do that, andI'm sure he had his reasons why
in his practice, why he chosenot to provide that service.
I know you worked in the field.
But even having thatself-knowledge and that belief
in yourself, this is what I wantfor my body, this is what I
(14:35):
want for my birth process, thisis what I want for my child at
birth.
And having that self-awarenessand the ability or the
willingness to advocate foryourself and do the interviews
and find somebody who supportedyou, that's also important to
recognize and I think that'sgreat that you were able to do
that, especially in a time whereVBAC wasn't as popular.
(14:55):
Yeah, all right.
I'm curious to hear about babynumber three.
How did that go?
Karen Chipman (15:02):
So baby number three.
I, of course, was going to VBAConce again.
We're now they're calling itTOLAC, vbac trial of labor.
Vbac is vaginal birth afteryou've had a trial of labor
successful.
So, sarah, she was breech and Ithought you've got to be
kidding me.
What are we going to do in thissituation?
So typically in a breechsituation, we try the different
(15:24):
things to have our babies toturn head down and if they're
not successful, we schedule acesarean.
And I wasn't going to do that.
I said you know what I'm notgoing to schedule a cesarean,
I'm going to wait till the verylast moment.
I'm going to give this babyevery last chance she has to
turn.
Because we see women that comein for scheduled cesarean for
(15:44):
having a breech baby.
We do an ultrasound and what dowe find?
Baby's head down.
So the poor person who's beenpreparing with this, you know,
mentally, we send them home andsay not today and now.
You'd have to put your wrapyour brain around.
You know having a vaginaldelivery, but for me, I knew
that I didn't want to haveanother C-section, I wanted to
have a vaginal birth and I wasgoing to wait until she decided
(16:07):
for me.
And even then I thought youknow what?
This is a time where the doctorwho I had that you know helped
deliver me with a VBAC.
He also delivered breech babies.
So I said you know what?
I'm going to wait, we're goingto see.
And I never really make thosefinal decisions until I'm in the
moment.
And it was Mother's Day and Icalled the girls at work because
(16:27):
I thought I was in labor.
I wasn't quite sure and Ithought how is this possible?
This is my third baby, this ismy third labor.
So I called them and I said heyguys, you know I'm going to
come in, I just want you tocheck me.
I'm not going to call thedoctor quite yet because I don't
know what's happening.
So I arrived there Mother's Day,change of shift 2.30.
And because the shifts thenwere eight-hour shifts, we had
(16:49):
to call him.
He's coming.
I was like, oh God, all right.
So they put me in the room nextto the operating room, because
now they're really nervous.
She's in labor, she's breached,what are we going to do?
And I wasn't nervous at all.
And he comes in and he checks,and I was seven centimeters and
they had me on the monitor and Iwas contracting, which is
(17:10):
strange Was it because she wasbreached that I didn't fail them
as much?
I don't know why, but it is.
That's the story that it is.
So he broke my bag of water andwe delivered vaginally.
I wasn't even there for an hourand a half full time before she
was in my arms and at that timewe were doing well starting to
do which is crazy to me skin toskin.
(17:34):
So the staff was really upsetwith me.
When I even talk about thatbirth story, those that were
there were like we'll neverforget that day.
We're like we can't believeyou're going to deliver this
baby breech VBAC.
And I was two weeks early, so Iknew she was smaller.
I was seven centimeters alreadyin labor.
I have a doctor who I witnesseddeliver baby's breech.
Why wouldn't I do it?
(17:55):
Right For me, and I alwaysrespect every woman's feeling.
I know she's like no, that's agreat story, but for me it's
just not.
For me.
I respect that and I supportevery woman in her decision that
she makes, because she has tomake that for herself.
But for me that was my decisionand that's what we decided and
I lifted my gown to do skin toskin.
Then they were they're all kindof looking at me still like
(18:16):
what on earth is happening here?
That's my my third birth story,but yeah, I thought that was a
pretty cool story.
Stephanie Theriault (18:26):
Yeah, no, that is a cool story.
I always love hearing aboutvaginal breach deliveries
because in the maternal healthworld in the US right now
they're not as popular.
So it's nice to hear thestories, hear women share their
experiences.
If there are women, like yousaid, we respect everyone's
story, but if there are womenwho are curious about it that
(18:46):
they can hear a positive storycoming from a vaginal breach
delivery, yeah, I wish sayingpositive stories.
Karen Chipman (18:51):
I wish more women that are pregnant heard more
positive stories, because weknow when people hear that
they're pregnant they tend toshare the not positive stories
with them.
And I will even say that in thechildbirth class I'll say how
many of you have told negativestories and partners included
raised their hand and they saidcould you imagine if all you
heard were positive stories?
(19:12):
How would you enter into laborand delivery?
And even now I have a womanwho's taking class, who she's
having a home birth.
I said how would you enter intoit?
And they all look at me andthey're like positive, like yeah
, exactly.
So if someone wants to tell youtheir story, I said put your
hand up and say wait a minute,is this negative or positive?
And then ask them, ask people,because even when people have
(19:34):
negative things that happen intheir labors and birth, there's
got to be something positivethat's happened.
So if they share that positivething, that moment, that would
just I think it would.
It would change our mindset forlabor and birth.
Stephanie Theriault (19:45):
I agree with you a hundred percent and
I'm glad you're doing that andyou say that in your birth
classes, because we see positivebirths all the time.
We see everything, but thereare so many positive stories out
there and there's redeemingstories out there.
So I'm really glad that you dothat in your birth class because
I do think that will make ahuge difference.
And when women go into labor, Itell my patients it's mind,
(20:06):
body and spirit.
It's all connected.
You have to believe that youcan do this.
You have to believe in yourbody and the process and that's
so important.
So I'm really happy to hearthat you say that.
Yeah, thank you, you have StorkReady.
Tell us about Stork Ready andwhy you decided to open Stork
Ready and why is it so importantto you to have this place, why
(20:27):
the community needs this forwomen and families.
Karen Chipman (20:30):
Yeah.
So I started teaching in thehospital setting man 30 plus
years ago and I taught in thecommunity hospital and we were
teaching to women that was noepidurals, because we didn't
have epidurals at the time andthen we started teaching to
epidural and what that was andhow, what you could expect for
that.
So then I started teaching fortwo of the city hospitals as
(20:51):
well, and when I would teach forthe hospital setting I always
thought, wow, wouldn't it benice to have my own setting,
because they were big classes,lots of couples, no birth falls
to sit on, no snacks evensometimes, and I thought this is
insane.
So I would bring my own snacksand water to the classes.
But I always thought, wow,wouldn't it be nice to have not
only a place where I could teachclasses in a small group
(21:12):
setting, in a home-like setting,and then it could be a place
where they could come afterwards, a place where they could find
their community, a place wherethey would have support groups,
classes after babies, and anyonewho knew me knew that that was
always my desire.
So there was a company at thetime named Isis, of all names,
and they really monopolized thechildbirth industry.
(21:34):
As far as class, they were inthe city, they were in the
community, they taught in thehospital setting and I thought
how will I ever compete againstthat until one day they abruptly
shut their doors.
This is my moment, this is mygolden moment.
I'm going to do it.
So that was January 14, 2014.
Wow, that's a long time ago,and by March I think it was
(21:56):
March 8th.
I should know these dates right.
I had my very first class, so Ibought it, I dreamt it and I did
it, and I didn't waste any timeand we started Stork Ready very
small, offering just childbirth, newborn essentials,
breastfeeding, cpr and thenwe've expanded it.
We're teaching so many classestoday, but I always realized
(22:18):
then in the very beginning, thatI needed to collaborate with
other like businesses.
I couldn't do this alone.
Right, it's not a one job.
So I needed to bring inlactation consultants, ibclcs,
to do the breastfeeding support,the breastfeeding classes.
I needed to bring in other likebusinesses to help with, you
know, additional classes if theywanted to teach at Stork Ready.
(22:39):
So, for instance, now I meanyou go, you go to the Stork
Ready website and there's justso many classes, so many support
groups that we've added.
We're going to be adding a class.
I'm really excited about it.
It because there's a true needfor it, for interventions, for
inductions, because so manywomen now are being faced with.
You know the word induction andwhat does that mean, and when
(23:01):
their care provider explains itto them, it's like a 15 minute
explanation where you and I bothknow that's a two hour class.
Right, there's a lot ofinformation and many women feel
that if I'm going to have aninduction, I've lost now all the
ability to make decisions.
And absolutely not.
You need to have theinformation.
You need to know whatinductions look like and what
your options are during aninduction, and I feel that's
(23:24):
very, very important for bothher and her partner.
So that class is coming on theschedule.
The newest class that we've justadded is through a company
named Birth Savvy.
They're two labor and deliverynurses in the city and they are
going to be offering classes forhigh-risk pregnancies.
So that's exciting, yeah.
So what you can expect for thehigh-risk pregnancy, because
(23:45):
with those pregnancies andlabors you see more management,
if you will.
When I teach the class, becauseI've been working in labor and
delivery for so many years, Icall it the evolution of the
management of labor.
Labor hasn't changed.
It hasn't changed at all, butwhat has changed dramatically is
the management, if you will, oflabor.
(24:06):
So that class I'm reallyexcited about.
I hope that people find outabout it, learn about it, know
that we're offering it here,because what they're offering is
what you can expect and how youcan make decisions in that
labor and in that setting.
So those are just some of theclasses that we offer at Stork
Ready.
Stephanie Theriault (24:25):
I think it's important to know for
people who are listening to thisepisode and you're pregnant,
it's important for you to takeclasses outside of the hospital
in which you plan to deliver,because the information that
you're getting at the hospitalis the information that they
want you to know.
So going to a place like withStork Ready and listening to
Karen in her birth classes andall the classes that she's just
(24:47):
explained now will give you evenmore information for you to
self-advocate, to have all theknowledge that you need to know
of the different ways in whichthe hospitals, like you said,
manage labor.
So these classes are soimportant to learn about options
and what's best for you and thebaby and your delivery, outside
(25:07):
of what the hospital isteaching you Exactly.
Karen Chipman (25:10):
Exactly.
I'm in a great spot where,first, the location is really
good because we're in NorthReading, which is right near 93,
128, 95, 495.
We get women coming from NewHampshire, central New Hampshire
.
I've had women come from Maine,but for many of where that
deliver babies from communityhospitals to city hospitals, and
(25:33):
because I've been in what Icall the industry for so many
years, I know nursing staff thatworks at many of these
different hospitals, so Iperiodically will pick their
brains.
So what are the policies at yourhospital for membranes
rupturing?
Do they have to come to thehospital or can they stay home?
And even when I make thatstatement, I just I want to kind
(25:54):
of hit myself over the head andsay do they have to?
Which you really don't have todo anything, and that's what I
really teach in the class.
Like, these are hospitalpolicies, and because it's a
policy doesn't mean that youcan't say well, I understand
it's a policy, this is what I,what the hospital needs to do,
but this is what I would like todo.
Is there any way around thatpolicy that will make me feel
(26:15):
better and you feel better as mycare provider, that we can kind
of tweak that if you will andyou can, and you need to know
that you can do that.
So, knowing all the differenthospitals and the staff in those
hospitals, that helps me toteach to my clients because
they're coming from so manydifferent hospitals, so many
different policies, if you will,ways of doing inductions.
(26:37):
So, yeah, I'm happy that I'mable to do that as well and
bring that into my classes.
Stephanie Theriault (26:55):
For those in the community the new moms,
the families who have takenadvantage of the services
offered at Stork Ready.
Tell us about the feedback thatyou have received from them.
Karen Chipman (27:04):
It's amazing.
Let me just start by sayingthat, and that's really, really
why I started the business.
So the business is to give thatinformation.
What I like to say in myclasses is to empower the
laboring woman and her partnerso that they know what they want
, advocate for what they want.
Write those things down and youknow, when we talk about birth
(27:24):
plans, we talk about making it apreference, blah, blah,
whatever, but don't write it inparagraph form.
Hand it to your nurse, go overit line by line, and I find that
talking about it is better thanwriting it for her to read.
She becomes a better advocate.
But besides that, I wanted tostart the business for, after
babies were born, a place wherefamilies could come and see each
(27:46):
other after, because we allknow those of us that have had
babies how difficult thatpostpartum period is, those
first few weeks, and you don'tknow how difficult it is until
you're in it.
And now you're in it, right.
So we offer so many thingsafter and so many parents and
I'm looking, as you say ask thatquestion.
I'm looking at this portraitthat was made for me.
(28:07):
It's not a portrait, it'sactually a collage and it was
during COVID.
So we have this thing that wehad, mommy Cafe, and we still
have it and it meets for all newmoms to come with their babies.
We could have five moms here.
We've got 15 moms here and whenCOVID started we couldn't have
it anymore and we're like, oh mygoodness, what are we going to
do?
So one of my moms said, karen,can I do it virtual?
I said, of course you can.
(28:28):
Every week she was so dedicated, she did it every week.
She knew the baby, she kneweverything and she was amazing.
And then when the weather broke, we're like, let's take it to
the park, to the park.
And we met every week at thesame time at the park, social,
distancing, with our blanketsand our masks on.
But they still met and they,they made this collage for me
(28:48):
moments and memories of doingthat and how appreciative they
were.
And Stork Ready Now is what?
11 years old, we still and I'llget pictures sent to me of
families that are still havefriendships that started from
Stork Ready and they say thatthose friendships sometimes are
even closer and better thanfamily.
And that's why I started StorkReady.
(29:10):
For you know that communitygetting families together to get
through, if you will.
For you know that community,getting families together to get
through, if you will, that youknow the postpartum period that
can be so, so difficult for somany people.
You know, when we talk aboutthe different layers of
postpartum depression one infour women, one in 10 men we
know that we need that supportand to help them.
(29:30):
And how do we do that?
And that was really my desireto start Stork Ready to get that
community.
Stephanie Theriault (29:36):
I love that you are talking about the
postpartum depression and thepostpartum period and how hard
it is because we don't live in asociety that supports women and
mothers.
So, being a woman, being amother and taking the initiative
to create the space and createthis community that we can go to
and find the support and findthat help that we need, like you
said, before you get into it,we have no idea because we don't
(29:58):
talk about it.
We don't talk about thepostpartum experience and the
transition into what everyone issaying now matrescence, the
transition and becoming a mother, the loss and the gain, and how
our new lives are intertangledinto a society that doesn't
support us.
So having Stork Ready andhaving you who created this to
(30:18):
support us is amazing and,honestly, it probably saves
lives.
Karen Chipman (30:22):
Yeah, so many women.
This is interesting to me.
I've met, I could say nowthousands of women postpartum
through Stork Ready.
And some will come to me andthis is what surprises me the
most and they'll say, karen, Idon't know what I would have
done without Mummy Cafe.
I was suffering the worstpostpartum depression.
And I look at them and I'm likehow did I not know that?
(30:43):
How did I not recognize it?
And some women I recognize it,it's quite easy to recognize,
but so many women hide it so, sowell.
And I think that's what we needto also recognize is like here
you're coming to it, so ithelped.
I'm so happy that it helped,but could we have helped you
more?
Or was that enough?
I don't know right, because youalways want to help more, you
(31:03):
always want to do more, but atleast knowing that Stork Radius
has helped them through that,made their friendships, makes me
feel amazing, first of all, butit also makes me want to do
more.
And how can I do more?
So we have done more.
I think we've added classes forpartners, moms, grandparents
and babies.
We've added more groups.
(31:24):
So, come the fall, I'm reallyexcited about this.
We have the Mummy Cafe andthat's for the moms.
That's the mom space, right.
Whether it's the partner mom,the mom that delivered the baby.
That's the mom space.
And that's Mondays.
And then Tuesdays we're goingto start daddies and donuts, and
that's the dad space, right.
That's a space where we cantalk and have their experiences,
(31:45):
because we don't recognize thedad really at all.
Wednesday we have the baby cafe, which is breastfeeding support
, chest feeding support.
However, you're feeding yourbaby on Wednesdays.
And then Thursdays, debbie thatDebbie who has been with me
forever and ever and was doingthe COVID groups she is going to
start hosting what we'recalling the parents cafe.
So that's a time where moms,dads, couples can come and it's
(32:10):
another day of support and whatwe do in those groups.
That is so, so, very important.
We just don't meet and talk.
We meet, and you can come early, you can leave, you can come
late, you can leave late, early,whichever, but just come and
once we feel that everyone ishere, we go around the room and
everyone introduced themselvestheir baby, the town that they
(32:31):
live in, which is reallyimportant, so that maybe they
can make those friendshipsoutside of cafe and they then
talk about their highs and lowsof the week and that's where it
really gets to the nitty gritty,right, because one woman might
be feeling one way, but she'sembarrassed to say it, and then
another woman across the roomsays it, and I can remember the
(32:51):
highs and lows.
For so many women, this is myfirst time getting out of the
house with my baby.
And when you're pregnant youthink, oh for crying out loud,
that's crazy.
And then, after you have yourbaby, you're like, oh my God, I
don't want to leave the houseand you don't want to leave the
house.
I'll even say to partners puther in the car, drive her here,
drop her off and then go dosomething for an hour and a half
and come back and get her.
But now we're doing the parentscafe so they can both come
(33:14):
together, which is great.
But their big thing is Ifinally got out of the house.
And then a lot of them, theirlow of the week is they start
crying.
They get very emotional, likethis and my partner's going back
to work next week and I don'tknow what I'm going to do.
And that's real right.
Yeah, it is, it really is.
And everyone's like, oh, Ican't believe she just said that
(33:35):
, because why am I crying overthat this is crazy so much.
Deeper things come out.
Funny things come out.
One girl I'll never forget.
She said I don't want to talkabout my highs and lows this
week.
She said I just want to talkabout that six-week checkup.
She was so funny, she shouldhave been a comedian.
She said I know my husbandbecause they tell you at six
weeks you don't have to doeverything and that includes sex
(33:56):
.
She's like I just don't want tohave sex.
She says my poor husband.
He says to me so what can we do?
Like can we do anything?
And she sat there and I can seewhere she was sitting, where
I'm sitting now, and she touchesher knee.
And she says I said to him myknee, you can touch my knee.
And it was just, it was funny,but it was real at the same time
(34:16):
.
Right, yeah, yeah.
So I'll never.
I will never forget her.
I will never forget her sayingthat and we all laughed.
And then there was another timewhere a woman didn't want to
share her highs and lows of theweek and she was so brave and I
can see where she was sittingand she said I don't want to
share my highs and lows of theweek.
She said I just want to askeveryone a question.
How brave she was to ask thisquestion.
(34:37):
She said do you ever wake up inthe morning and not want to be
a mom?
Do you ever just want to wakeup in the morning and be the
person who you were before youbecame a mom?
And the room went silent fortwo seconds and every single
woman in the room shook theirhead.
And then we talked about thatand then I offered her a card
(34:59):
from a woman who that's what shespecializes in is postpartum
depression, and every singlewoman in the room said can I
have one?
Can I have one?
Can I have one?
Can I have one?
It was like passing out a deckof cards and I was like,
absolutely, and those are thethings that we talk about.
So, like I said, we havelaughter, we have crying, but we
(35:19):
have so many friendships thathave started at Stork Ready and
continue from Stork Ready.
They send me pictures.
I just got a picture the otherday that it was 12 families and
there were like two groups ofchildren.
They had like a three-year-oldand newborns and they were all
friends that met here at StorkReady and that's where I get
(35:40):
most of my, I get kind of eventeary about it.
It's like that's why I startedthe business.
Stephanie Theriault (35:45):
Yeah, the stories that you're sharing with
me.
I'm a mom.
It resonates with me too.
So this is it's just, it's soneeded.
Places like Stork Ready, wherewomen can just come together.
And now you're helping thefathers too, because, you're
right, the fathers they don'tget recognized and they also
need a space.
Karen Chipman (36:07):
So I love that you're having a space for them
too, yeah, yeah.
And that reminds me too thatthose young girls that work at
the city hospital that arestarting classes here.
The second class that they'restarting and you can find it on
the Stokerty's website.
When you go to just classesthey're there Birth Savvy.
It's basically preparing youfor that postpartum period,
which I'm really excited about.
And I recognize that from thevery beginning starting my
business, I can't teach all theclasses, I can't do all the
(36:28):
classes, but I want all theseclasses by collaborating and
bringing other businesses inthat can do that for me is just
amazing.
So that class is starting and Ireally want more people to know
that.
Stephanie Theriault (36:40):
Those two classes, high-risk pregnancies
getting ready for thatpostpartum period is just so, so
very important.
So, for those who are listeningto the episode and if they want
to learn more about yourself inStork Ready, where can they
find you?
Karen Chipman (36:55):
So they can find me.
Google just storkreadycom.
And I say this all the time,I'm not trying to push the baby
expo that we host.
It'll be our fourth one, comingup in September.
I really share it.
More so for the resources thatare on the website.
We have a partner's page onStork Ready's website that gives
you different businesses pelvicfloor specialists,
(37:17):
breastfeeding, counseling, alldifferent businesses.
But if you go to ourobabyexpocom website, you will
find even more resources there.
You go to the vendors page andwe're adding vendors still every
day because we're building upfor our September Expo.
But there you will find so manyresources and talking about
that postpartum period and notknowing what you need or how it
(37:40):
will be until you're in it, youdon't even realize what
resources are out there.
Like there's a resource forthat.
There's somebody who can helpme with that?
Yes, there is.
So checking those opportunities, checking those different
businesses, is really great.
Stephanie Theriault (37:55):
Well, karen , thank you so much.
This has been such a lovelychat, yeah, thank you so much
for having me.
I've enjoyed it.
Thank you for being open andvulnerable and sharing your
birth story so that other womencan hear the positive stories
and self-advocacy and learningmore about Stork Ready, and I
really hope that women andfamilies who are listening to
the episode reach out to you andthey can get the support and
(38:16):
help that they need.
Karen Chipman (38:17):
Yeah, me too.
Thank you so much for having me.
I really enjoyed it.
Stephanie Theriault (38:34):
Hey there, amazing listeners.
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need your help.
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(38:57):
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(39:17):
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And remember embrace your powerand you got this Bye.
Welcome to the Maternal Wealth Podcast, a
space for all things related tomaternal health, pregnancy and
beyond.
I'm your host, Stephanie Terrio.
I'm a labor and delivery nurseand a mother to three beautiful
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Each week, week, we dive intoinspiring stories and expert
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We're here to explore the joys,the challenges and the
(00:35):
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It is not intended to replaceprofessional medical advice,
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Always consult with yourhealthcare provider for medical
guidance that is tailored toyour specific needs.
(01:11):
This week's episode featuresKaren Chipman, a dear colleague
of mine at a hospital here inBoston, Massachusetts, and the
proud owner of Stork ReadyClasses and Community for
Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond.
I'm genuinely excited for youto hear her three inspiring
birth stories and learn howStork Ready is truly making a
difference for new mothers andfamilies in the Boston area.
Karen's birth stories areheartfelt reminders that, even
(01:32):
if things don't go exactly asplanned, we can choose to
welcome birth providers andsupport people in subsequent
births who genuinely value andrespect our autonomy.
Are you ready, let's get intoit.
Hi Karen, Welcome to thepodcast.
(01:59):
I'm so glad you're here.
Karen Chipman (02:00):
Hi, Stephanie.
Thank you for inviting me.
I'm excited to join.
Stephanie Theriault (02:04):
I'm excited to hear more about you and your
story and I'm ready to get intoit if you are, I'm ready.
I like to start the episodeslearning about you before you
became a mom.
Karen Chipman (02:15):
Okay, All right.
So a little bit about me beforeI became a mom.
So my background and my truepassion was animals and I really
wanted to be a veterinarian.
And many years ago almost 40years ago now women didn't
really dominate that field.
It was a male dominated fieldand it was really really
difficult to get into.
I have my bachelor's degree inscience and I tried and it just
(02:40):
it just.
For whatever reason I alwaysbelieve in fate it didn't bring
me down that path.
So instead I started working inbusiness and I became pregnant
with my first.
And when I became pregnant withmy first, I realized that I
really wanted to be home duringthe day with him.
And how was I going to do that?
Because I still needed to work.
My husband was self-employed, weneeded insurance and we lived
(03:02):
just two blocks away from thecommunity hospital.
And I said, wow, you know what?
I think I can get a job in acommunity hospital because while
I was going to school forveterinary, I was working in
animal hospitals.
I was doing IVs, I wasadministering anesthesia, I was
doing small procedures and Ithought I can work at a hospital
At least.
That way I can get insurance, Ican work evenings, I can work
(03:24):
weekends and I certainly havethe skill, but I can't work with
humans the way I did withanimals because I don't have
that licensure, if you will.
So I went and I did aninterview and they had an
opening in labor and deliveryfor surgical tech and I was like
, okay, I can certainly handinstruments to a surgeon.
That sounds like a fun job.
So I interviewed at the job.
Stephanie Theriault (03:46):
Tell us about how being a mom and going
through the labor and deliveryand having your son like
integrated into your experienceas working in surgical tech.
Karen Chipman (03:55):
Yeah.
So I actually had my son beforeworking at the hospital and,
you know, preparing for that, Iprepared just like you know most
most families do.
I took a childbirth class,preparing for that.
I prepared just like you know,most families do.
I took a childbirth class, abreastfeeding class and been
preparing for that.
The one thing that I did do mydoctor at the time did hypnosis
for smoking, for pregnancy, forweight loss, and I thought, you
(04:17):
know, that sounds interesting, Ithink I'll try that.
So I did hypnosis for labor anddelivery and basically what it
was was a nightly tape that Iwould listen to.
It was a cassette, that's howlong ago it was, and I would
listen to that.
After dinner my husband wouldsay go do your relaxation, I'll
do the dishes.
Who wouldn't do that?
He really made me do it and Ididn't know what the impact
would be until I was in laborand I integrated, I included
(04:42):
music and it was PachelbelPianody with Ocean Sound.
So every time I did relaxationI would listen to that music.
So when we went into labor anddelivery, which was so, so
different back then the roomswere really small.
We had to share a bathroom withother laboring women.
It was very different.
I would listen to that musicthroughout the labor and I was
(05:03):
really surprised to find thatlabor wasn't that bad.
Sure, I had contractions, butit wasn't like how some women
would describe it or what otherwomen are afraid of.
It was really not a badexperience until it came to
pushing.
And then I had to push for fourhours because he had this
stubborn posterior head whichended up in a cesarean.
(05:25):
So that was actually my firstexperience with labor and
delivery.
But then, after I had him,that's when I said I don't want
to work full time, I want to behome with him.
So that's the job in labor anddelivery.
So, besides being in theoperating room because I had had
the experience, you know theywere letting me do more things.
I was helping patients in laborand I hate calling a woman
(05:46):
having labor in a hospital apatient, so apologies for that.
I was helping women in labor.
I would be out in the maternityhelping women postpartum,
helping in the nursery.
I could pretty much go where Iwanted to go, which I loved.
But I truly loved helping womenin labor.
And 37 years ago, which is whenI started, there were no
epidurals.
Women really labored.
(06:07):
So if I wasn't in the operatingroom and there were women in
labor, that's where you wouldfind me.
So people would say to me whydon't you just go back to school
, why don't you become a doula?
And I was like I know I'm adoula every time I go to work,
so I'm doing it all the time.
The time I thought that wouldbe great, but then that would
again take me away from mybabies.
I would be going out in themiddle of the night.
(06:27):
It would be sort of when's itgoing to happen?
This way I'm doing really whatI loved.
I found my new passion and I'mgetting paid for it through the
hospital.
So that's sort of my background, with integrating the labor, my
experience and working in thehospital as a tech?
Stephanie Theriault (06:41):
Did you find, when you are using the
music to help with the laborpains and the experience, that
the hospital staff was receptiveto that kind of therapy?
Karen Chipman (06:52):
They really were.
They were very receptive to itbecause the doctor that actually
did it for me was my OB and heworked at the hospital, so they
were used to seeing women usingthat and having their headphones
on or listening to it, andwhere I integrated the music to
it, it was a little bitdifferent.
And truly, what I feel is, whenyou do that any pregnant woman
(07:13):
while she's preparing forpregnancy and I always say the
first thing that you need toprepare is your mind doing this
type of relaxation with the samemusic, relaxation, same music
what happens is is you conditionyourself to relax when you hear
that music.
So there would be times whenlabor was, you know, tough and
I'd be like, oh, I'm not, I'mnot handling it, this that well.
And it was really, you know, myhusband's job where he would
(07:35):
see that and be like, oh, she'sgot to listen to our music.
So we would, you know, startlistening again.
I would do the relaxation, dothe breathing that I
incorporated with it, and itwould bring me back to center.
It would bring me back to whereI needed to be being in a time
where there was not even nitrous, no nitrous, no epidurals.
The only thing that we reallyhad were narcotics, and it never
(07:56):
even came a time that I thoughtI needed something more than
that and before I knew it it wastime to push.
So I made it.
I made it through and I tellpeople that in the childbirth
class, for those women that wantnatural childbirth, even once
you reach transition, which isthe shortest, hardest part of
your labor, I like to saycongratulations because you've
made it.
(08:16):
You just need to get throughthat.
You need your support throughthat part of your labor.
But yeah, I got to fullydilated and pushing.
I was like, okay, I guess thatrelaxation really did help me
and I thank my husband becausehe was the one that said go do
your relaxation, I'll do thedishes.
Stephanie Theriault (08:33):
I think it's so important to recognize
the work on both parties part onthe pregnant person who is
preparing.
You're doing the hypnosis,you're getting prepared for the
labor and then having thatsupport person telling you and
giving you the space to reallypractice it and prepare and then
, in the moment, recognizingwhen you need that.
Karen Chipman (08:51):
So I give a lot of props to your husband because
that's so essential to havethat support person ready and
able to help you, it really isand that, with you saying that,
it reminds me because after Ihad to have the cesarean, my
next pregnancy, I knew rightaway that I wanted to be back
vaginal birth after cesarean.
And 35 years ago it was once aC-section, always a C-section.
(09:12):
So I was a little hard pressedto find a doctor that would
support that.
Because when I went to see mydoctor when I was pregnant he
said so isn't this exciting?
You get to have a C-sectionthis time.
And I looked at him and I was alittle nervous and I said I
don't want a C-section, I want aVBAC.
And he said you realize that Iwon't do that.
And I said yeah, I do realizethat.
He said you realize you'll findanother doctor.
(09:33):
And I said, yes, I do realizethat.
And at this point now I wasworking at the hospital, I was
working in labor and deliverywhen I was pregnant second child
and I really didn't get muchsupport from many people around
me wanting a VBAC, wants aC-section, always a C-section.
I can remember even a time I wason an elevator and one of the
doctors joined me and it wasjust him and I and I knew what
(09:53):
he was talking about because helooked at me and he said if you
were my wife I would never letyou do this.
And I thought, okay, whileKaren on him.
So I waited a second and Ithought and I looked at him and
I said, well, I guess I'm happythat I'm not your wife.
And that's where we kind ofleft yeah Right.
So I knew that chances they putyou.
(10:15):
They put you into thesecategories with VBAC, you know
who will be a successful, whowon't.
And my numbers were not thatgreat because I pushed for four
hours.
But I knew I pushed for fourhours because I had this
posterior head.
If his head wasn't in thatposition, would I have been able
to deliver him Probably.
So I looked, I interviewed manydoctors and then one of the
doctors who I actually workedwith at the hospital.
(10:37):
I asked him, I had an interviewwith him and he was like
absolutely, you can do this.
And he was so, so, verysupportive and I thought, all
right, now I'm working with thedoctor who won't do my VBAC and
I'm working with the doctorwho's doing it.
That could be a little awkward,but it wasn't.
Everyone was very professionaland it came time for my labor,
which brings me back to myhusband's story and now I'm a
(10:59):
little anxious, I'm a littlenervous because I might have to
have a C-section.
I'm with people that might notbe supporting it, but my labor
nurse was amazing, my doctor wasamazing and my husband was
amazing and I can remember atone point at three in the
morning, the labor sort of hit ahard point and he looked at me
like, oh boy, we're having atough time.
And he walked around the roomDon't laugh and I always say
(11:20):
don't laugh at me and he turnedon my cassette and my pocket
bell.
Kennedy with Ocean Sounds cameon and it brought me back to
center once again and it cametime for pushing and I think we
pushed 20 minutes and out cameAlexandra.
Stephanie Theriault (11:44):
We paused this episode for a quick message
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plus inclusivity, languageoptions, access to vaginal
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Karen Chipman (12:45):
That's a story that I love to share, especially
with women who are, you know,are hoping to VBAC, want to VBAC
.
That yes, you can do it.
And even for me I was doing itat a time when there wasn't too
much support around it, but Idid it because I did my homework
and I knew what the percentageswere Like.
What's the percentage for arupture Less than 1%?
(13:05):
Well, that's pretty good.
And what is my percentages forother things to happen if I had
a second abdominal surgery?
So I weighed those pros and consand I thought this is what I
want to do.
And I also did it for my babybecause I was noticing working
in labor and delivery and thiswas nothing drastic, but I was
noticing scheduled cesareanbabies didn't transition as well
(13:27):
as vaginal babies or evenbabies that were experiencing
labor, and I was like, wow, likewhy, why is that happening?
So what was happening was thatthey didn't get that adrenaline
that they get from their momduring labor and pushing
especially.
They didn't get that squeezingfrom contractions.
They didn't get that, you know,moving of the fluid from their
lungs.
And I was noticing that, youknow, a good number of babies
(13:49):
would have to be transferred tothe nursery after delivery
because of this transitionalperiod and having a little hard
time nothing life-threatening,but enough that they would have
to be taken away.
And I thought I don't want that.
I want to keep my baby with me.
So the pros were not only forme, for not having to have
surgery again, but also for mybaby.
So that's my VBAC, that's mysort of beginnings for that.
Stephanie Theriault (14:14):
I also want to recognize the fact that you
advocated for yourself, right,you had a doctor who said, no,
I'm not going to do that, andI'm sure he had his reasons why
in his practice, why he chosenot to provide that service.
I know you worked in the field.
But even having thatself-knowledge and that belief
in yourself, this is what I wantfor my body, this is what I
(14:35):
want for my birth process, thisis what I want for my child at
birth.
And having that self-awarenessand the ability or the
willingness to advocate foryourself and do the interviews
and find somebody who supportedyou, that's also important to
recognize and I think that'sgreat that you were able to do
that, especially in a time whereVBAC wasn't as popular.
(14:55):
Yeah, all right.
I'm curious to hear about babynumber three.
How did that go?
Karen Chipman (15:02):
So baby number three.
I, of course, was going to VBAConce again.
We're now they're calling itTOLAC, vbac trial of labor.
Vbac is vaginal birth afteryou've had a trial of labor
successful.
So, sarah, she was breech and Ithought you've got to be
kidding me.
What are we going to do in thissituation?
So typically in a breechsituation, we try the different
(15:24):
things to have our babies toturn head down and if they're
not successful, we schedule acesarean.
And I wasn't going to do that.
I said you know what I'm notgoing to schedule a cesarean,
I'm going to wait till the verylast moment.
I'm going to give this babyevery last chance she has to
turn.
Because we see women that comein for scheduled cesarean for
(15:44):
having a breech baby.
We do an ultrasound and what dowe find?
Baby's head down.
So the poor person who's beenpreparing with this, you know,
mentally, we send them home andsay not today and now.
You'd have to put your wrapyour brain around.
You know having a vaginaldelivery, but for me, I knew
that I didn't want to haveanother C-section, I wanted to
have a vaginal birth and I wasgoing to wait until she decided
(16:07):
for me.
And even then I thought youknow what?
This is a time where the doctorwho I had that you know helped
deliver me with a VBAC.
He also delivered breech babies.
So I said you know what?
I'm going to wait, we're goingto see.
And I never really make thosefinal decisions until I'm in the
moment.
And it was Mother's Day and Icalled the girls at work because
(16:27):
I thought I was in labor.
I wasn't quite sure and Ithought how is this possible?
This is my third baby, this ismy third labor.
So I called them and I said heyguys, you know I'm going to
come in, I just want you tocheck me.
I'm not going to call thedoctor quite yet because I don't
know what's happening.
So I arrived there Mother's Day,change of shift 2.30.
And because the shifts thenwere eight-hour shifts, we had
(16:49):
to call him.
He's coming.
I was like, oh God, all right.
So they put me in the room nextto the operating room, because
now they're really nervous.
She's in labor, she's breached,what are we going to do?
And I wasn't nervous at all.
And he comes in and he checks,and I was seven centimeters and
they had me on the monitor and Iwas contracting, which is
(17:10):
strange Was it because she wasbreached that I didn't fail them
as much?
I don't know why, but it is.
That's the story that it is.
So he broke my bag of water andwe delivered vaginally.
I wasn't even there for an hourand a half full time before she
was in my arms and at that timewe were doing well starting to
do which is crazy to me skin toskin.
(17:34):
So the staff was really upsetwith me.
When I even talk about thatbirth story, those that were
there were like we'll neverforget that day.
We're like we can't believeyou're going to deliver this
baby breech VBAC.
And I was two weeks early, so Iknew she was smaller.
I was seven centimeters alreadyin labor.
I have a doctor who I witnesseddeliver baby's breech.
Why wouldn't I do it?
(17:55):
Right For me, and I alwaysrespect every woman's feeling.
I know she's like no, that's agreat story, but for me it's
just not.
For me.
I respect that and I supportevery woman in her decision that
she makes, because she has tomake that for herself.
But for me that was my decisionand that's what we decided and
I lifted my gown to do skin toskin.
Then they were they're all kindof looking at me still like
(18:16):
what on earth is happening here?
That's my my third birth story,but yeah, I thought that was a
pretty cool story.
Stephanie Theriault (18:26):
Yeah, no, that is a cool story.
I always love hearing aboutvaginal breach deliveries
because in the maternal healthworld in the US right now
they're not as popular.
So it's nice to hear thestories, hear women share their
experiences.
If there are women, like yousaid, we respect everyone's
story, but if there are womenwho are curious about it that
(18:46):
they can hear a positive storycoming from a vaginal breach
delivery, yeah, I wish sayingpositive stories.
Karen Chipman (18:51):
I wish more women that are pregnant heard more
positive stories, because weknow when people hear that
they're pregnant they tend toshare the not positive stories
with them.
And I will even say that in thechildbirth class I'll say how
many of you have told negativestories and partners included
raised their hand and they saidcould you imagine if all you
heard were positive stories?
(19:12):
How would you enter into laborand delivery?
And even now I have a womanwho's taking class, who she's
having a home birth.
I said how would you enter intoit?
And they all look at me andthey're like positive, like yeah
, exactly.
So if someone wants to tell youtheir story, I said put your
hand up and say wait a minute,is this negative or positive?
And then ask them, ask people,because even when people have
(19:34):
negative things that happen intheir labors and birth, there's
got to be something positivethat's happened.
So if they share that positivething, that moment, that would
just I think it would.
It would change our mindset forlabor and birth.
Stephanie Theriault (19:45):
I agree with you a hundred percent and
I'm glad you're doing that andyou say that in your birth
classes, because we see positivebirths all the time.
We see everything, but thereare so many positive stories out
there and there's redeemingstories out there.
So I'm really glad that you dothat in your birth class because
I do think that will make ahuge difference.
And when women go into labor, Itell my patients it's mind,
(20:06):
body and spirit.
It's all connected.
You have to believe that youcan do this.
You have to believe in yourbody and the process and that's
so important.
So I'm really happy to hearthat you say that.
Yeah, thank you, you have StorkReady.
Tell us about Stork Ready andwhy you decided to open Stork
Ready and why is it so importantto you to have this place, why
(20:27):
the community needs this forwomen and families.
Karen Chipman (20:30):
Yeah.
So I started teaching in thehospital setting man 30 plus
years ago and I taught in thecommunity hospital and we were
teaching to women that was noepidurals, because we didn't
have epidurals at the time andthen we started teaching to
epidural and what that was andhow, what you could expect for
that.
So then I started teaching fortwo of the city hospitals as
(20:51):
well, and when I would teach forthe hospital setting I always
thought, wow, wouldn't it benice to have my own setting,
because they were big classes,lots of couples, no birth falls
to sit on, no snacks evensometimes, and I thought this is
insane.
So I would bring my own snacksand water to the classes.
But I always thought, wow,wouldn't it be nice to have not
only a place where I could teachclasses in a small group
(21:12):
setting, in a home-like setting,and then it could be a place
where they could come afterwards, a place where they could find
their community, a place wherethey would have support groups,
classes after babies, and anyonewho knew me knew that that was
always my desire.
So there was a company at thetime named Isis, of all names,
and they really monopolized thechildbirth industry.
(21:34):
As far as class, they were inthe city, they were in the
community, they taught in thehospital setting and I thought
how will I ever compete againstthat until one day they abruptly
shut their doors.
This is my moment, this is mygolden moment.
I'm going to do it.
So that was January 14, 2014.
Wow, that's a long time ago,and by March I think it was
(21:56):
March 8th.
I should know these dates right.
I had my very first class, so Ibought it, I dreamt it and I did
it, and I didn't waste any timeand we started Stork Ready very
small, offering just childbirth, newborn essentials,
breastfeeding, cpr and thenwe've expanded it.
We're teaching so many classestoday, but I always realized
(22:18):
then in the very beginning, thatI needed to collaborate with
other like businesses.
I couldn't do this alone.
Right, it's not a one job.
So I needed to bring inlactation consultants, ibclcs,
to do the breastfeeding support,the breastfeeding classes.
I needed to bring in other likebusinesses to help with, you
know, additional classes if theywanted to teach at Stork Ready.
(22:39):
So, for instance, now I meanyou go, you go to the Stork
Ready website and there's justso many classes, so many support
groups that we've added.
We're going to be adding a class.
I'm really excited about it.
It because there's a true needfor it, for interventions, for
inductions, because so manywomen now are being faced with.
You know the word induction andwhat does that mean, and when
(23:01):
their care provider explains itto them, it's like a 15 minute
explanation where you and I bothknow that's a two hour class.
Right, there's a lot ofinformation and many women feel
that if I'm going to have aninduction, I've lost now all the
ability to make decisions.
And absolutely not.
You need to have theinformation.
You need to know whatinductions look like and what
your options are during aninduction, and I feel that's
(23:24):
very, very important for bothher and her partner.
So that class is coming on theschedule.
The newest class that we've justadded is through a company
named Birth Savvy.
They're two labor and deliverynurses in the city and they are
going to be offering classes forhigh-risk pregnancies.
So that's exciting, yeah.
So what you can expect for thehigh-risk pregnancy, because
(23:45):
with those pregnancies andlabors you see more management,
if you will.
When I teach the class, becauseI've been working in labor and
delivery for so many years, Icall it the evolution of the
management of labor.
Labor hasn't changed.
It hasn't changed at all, butwhat has changed dramatically is
the management, if you will, oflabor.
(24:06):
So that class I'm reallyexcited about.
I hope that people find outabout it, learn about it, know
that we're offering it here,because what they're offering is
what you can expect and how youcan make decisions in that
labor and in that setting.
So those are just some of theclasses that we offer at Stork
Ready.
Stephanie Theriault (24:25):
I think it's important to know for
people who are listening to thisepisode and you're pregnant,
it's important for you to takeclasses outside of the hospital
in which you plan to deliver,because the information that
you're getting at the hospitalis the information that they
want you to know.
So going to a place like withStork Ready and listening to
Karen in her birth classes andall the classes that she's just
(24:47):
explained now will give you evenmore information for you to
self-advocate, to have all theknowledge that you need to know
of the different ways in whichthe hospitals, like you said,
manage labor.
So these classes are soimportant to learn about options
and what's best for you and thebaby and your delivery, outside
(25:07):
of what the hospital isteaching you Exactly.
Karen Chipman (25:10):
Exactly.
I'm in a great spot where,first, the location is really
good because we're in NorthReading, which is right near 93,
128, 95, 495.
We get women coming from NewHampshire, central New Hampshire
.
I've had women come from Maine,but for many of where that
deliver babies from communityhospitals to city hospitals, and
(25:33):
because I've been in what Icall the industry for so many
years, I know nursing staff thatworks at many of these
different hospitals, so Iperiodically will pick their
brains.
So what are the policies at yourhospital for membranes
rupturing?
Do they have to come to thehospital or can they stay home?
And even when I make thatstatement, I just I want to kind
(25:54):
of hit myself over the head andsay do they have to?
Which you really don't have todo anything, and that's what I
really teach in the class.
Like, these are hospitalpolicies, and because it's a
policy doesn't mean that youcan't say well, I understand
it's a policy, this is what I,what the hospital needs to do,
but this is what I would like todo.
Is there any way around thatpolicy that will make me feel
(26:15):
better and you feel better as mycare provider, that we can kind
of tweak that if you will andyou can, and you need to know
that you can do that.
So, knowing all the differenthospitals and the staff in those
hospitals, that helps me toteach to my clients because
they're coming from so manydifferent hospitals, so many
different policies, if you will,ways of doing inductions.
(26:37):
So, yeah, I'm happy that I'mable to do that as well and
bring that into my classes.
Stephanie Theriault (26:55):
For those in the community the new moms,
the families who have takenadvantage of the services
offered at Stork Ready.
Tell us about the feedback thatyou have received from them.
Karen Chipman (27:04):
It's amazing.
Let me just start by sayingthat, and that's really, really
why I started the business.
So the business is to give thatinformation.
What I like to say in myclasses is to empower the
laboring woman and her partnerso that they know what they want
, advocate for what they want.
Write those things down and youknow, when we talk about birth
(27:24):
plans, we talk about making it apreference, blah, blah,
whatever, but don't write it inparagraph form.
Hand it to your nurse, go overit line by line, and I find that
talking about it is better thanwriting it for her to read.
She becomes a better advocate.
But besides that, I wanted tostart the business for, after
babies were born, a place wherefamilies could come and see each
(27:46):
other after, because we allknow those of us that have had
babies how difficult thatpostpartum period is, those
first few weeks, and you don'tknow how difficult it is until
you're in it.
And now you're in it, right.
So we offer so many thingsafter and so many parents and
I'm looking, as you say ask thatquestion.
I'm looking at this portraitthat was made for me.
(28:07):
It's not a portrait, it'sactually a collage and it was
during COVID.
So we have this thing that wehad, mommy Cafe, and we still
have it and it meets for all newmoms to come with their babies.
We could have five moms here.
We've got 15 moms here and whenCOVID started we couldn't have
it anymore and we're like, oh mygoodness, what are we going to
do?
So one of my moms said, karen,can I do it virtual?
I said, of course you can.
(28:28):
Every week she was so dedicated, she did it every week.
She knew the baby, she kneweverything and she was amazing.
And then when the weather broke, we're like, let's take it to
the park, to the park.
And we met every week at thesame time at the park, social,
distancing, with our blanketsand our masks on.
But they still met and they,they made this collage for me
(28:48):
moments and memories of doingthat and how appreciative they
were.
And Stork Ready Now is what?
11 years old, we still and I'llget pictures sent to me of
families that are still havefriendships that started from
Stork Ready and they say thatthose friendships sometimes are
even closer and better thanfamily.
And that's why I started StorkReady.
(29:10):
For you know that communitygetting families together to get
through, if you will.
For you know that community,getting families together to get
through, if you will, that youknow the postpartum period that
can be so, so difficult for somany people.
You know, when we talk aboutthe different layers of
postpartum depression one infour women, one in 10 men we
know that we need that supportand to help them.
(29:30):
And how do we do that?
And that was really my desireto start Stork Ready to get that
community.
Stephanie Theriault (29:36):
I love that you are talking about the
postpartum depression and thepostpartum period and how hard
it is because we don't live in asociety that supports women and
mothers.
So, being a woman, being amother and taking the initiative
to create the space and createthis community that we can go to
and find the support and findthat help that we need, like you
said, before you get into it,we have no idea because we don't
(29:58):
talk about it.
We don't talk about thepostpartum experience and the
transition into what everyone issaying now matrescence, the
transition and becoming a mother, the loss and the gain, and how
our new lives are intertangledinto a society that doesn't
support us.
So having Stork Ready andhaving you who created this to
(30:18):
support us is amazing and,honestly, it probably saves
lives.
Karen Chipman (30:22):
Yeah, so many women.
This is interesting to me.
I've met, I could say nowthousands of women postpartum
through Stork Ready.
And some will come to me andthis is what surprises me the
most and they'll say, karen, Idon't know what I would have
done without Mummy Cafe.
I was suffering the worstpostpartum depression.
And I look at them and I'm likehow did I not know that?
(30:43):
How did I not recognize it?
And some women I recognize it,it's quite easy to recognize,
but so many women hide it so, sowell.
And I think that's what we needto also recognize is like here
you're coming to it, so ithelped.
I'm so happy that it helped,but could we have helped you
more?
Or was that enough?
I don't know right, because youalways want to help more, you
(31:03):
always want to do more, but atleast knowing that Stork Radius
has helped them through that,made their friendships, makes me
feel amazing, first of all, butit also makes me want to do
more.
And how can I do more?
So we have done more.
I think we've added classes forpartners, moms, grandparents
and babies.
We've added more groups.
(31:24):
So, come the fall, I'm reallyexcited about this.
We have the Mummy Cafe andthat's for the moms.
That's the mom space, right.
Whether it's the partner mom,the mom that delivered the baby.
That's the mom space.
And that's Mondays.
And then Tuesdays we're goingto start daddies and donuts, and
that's the dad space, right.
That's a space where we cantalk and have their experiences,
(31:45):
because we don't recognize thedad really at all.
Wednesday we have the baby cafe, which is breastfeeding support
, chest feeding support.
However, you're feeding yourbaby on Wednesdays.
And then Thursdays, debbie thatDebbie who has been with me
forever and ever and was doingthe COVID groups she is going to
start hosting what we'recalling the parents cafe.
So that's a time where moms,dads, couples can come and it's
(32:10):
another day of support and whatwe do in those groups.
That is so, so, very important.
We just don't meet and talk.
We meet, and you can come early, you can leave, you can come
late, you can leave late, early,whichever, but just come and
once we feel that everyone ishere, we go around the room and
everyone introduced themselvestheir baby, the town that they
(32:31):
live in, which is reallyimportant, so that maybe they
can make those friendshipsoutside of cafe and they then
talk about their highs and lowsof the week and that's where it
really gets to the nitty gritty,right, because one woman might
be feeling one way, but she'sembarrassed to say it, and then
another woman across the roomsays it, and I can remember the
(32:51):
highs and lows.
For so many women, this is myfirst time getting out of the
house with my baby.
And when you're pregnant youthink, oh for crying out loud,
that's crazy.
And then, after you have yourbaby, you're like, oh my God, I
don't want to leave the houseand you don't want to leave the
house.
I'll even say to partners puther in the car, drive her here,
drop her off and then go dosomething for an hour and a half
and come back and get her.
But now we're doing the parentscafe so they can both come
(33:14):
together, which is great.
But their big thing is Ifinally got out of the house.
And then a lot of them, theirlow of the week is they start
crying.
They get very emotional, likethis and my partner's going back
to work next week and I don'tknow what I'm going to do.
And that's real right.
Yeah, it is, it really is.
And everyone's like, oh, Ican't believe she just said that
(33:35):
, because why am I crying overthat this is crazy so much.
Deeper things come out.
Funny things come out.
One girl I'll never forget.
She said I don't want to talkabout my highs and lows this
week.
She said I just want to talkabout that six-week checkup.
She was so funny, she shouldhave been a comedian.
She said I know my husbandbecause they tell you at six
weeks you don't have to doeverything and that includes sex
(33:56):
.
She's like I just don't want tohave sex.
She says my poor husband.
He says to me so what can we do?
Like can we do anything?
And she sat there and I can seewhere she was sitting, where
I'm sitting now, and she touchesher knee.
And she says I said to him myknee, you can touch my knee.
And it was just, it was funny,but it was real at the same time
(34:16):
.
Right, yeah, yeah.
So I'll never.
I will never forget her.
I will never forget her sayingthat and we all laughed.
And then there was another timewhere a woman didn't want to
share her highs and lows of theweek and she was so brave and I
can see where she was sittingand she said I don't want to
share my highs and lows of theweek.
She said I just want to askeveryone a question.
How brave she was to ask thisquestion.
(34:37):
She said do you ever wake up inthe morning and not want to be
a mom?
Do you ever just want to wakeup in the morning and be the
person who you were before youbecame a mom?
And the room went silent fortwo seconds and every single
woman in the room shook theirhead.
And then we talked about thatand then I offered her a card
(34:59):
from a woman who that's what shespecializes in is postpartum
depression, and every singlewoman in the room said can I
have one?
Can I have one?
Can I have one?
Can I have one?
It was like passing out a deckof cards and I was like,
absolutely, and those are thethings that we talk about.
So, like I said, we havelaughter, we have crying, but we
(35:19):
have so many friendships thathave started at Stork Ready and
continue from Stork Ready.
They send me pictures.
I just got a picture the otherday that it was 12 families and
there were like two groups ofchildren.
They had like a three-year-oldand newborns and they were all
friends that met here at StorkReady and that's where I get
(35:40):
most of my, I get kind of eventeary about it.
It's like that's why I startedthe business.
Stephanie Theriault (35:45):
Yeah, the stories that you're sharing with
me.
I'm a mom.
It resonates with me too.
So this is it's just, it's soneeded.
Places like Stork Ready, wherewomen can just come together.
And now you're helping thefathers too, because, you're
right, the fathers they don'tget recognized and they also
need a space.
Karen Chipman (36:07):
So I love that you're having a space for them
too, yeah, yeah.
And that reminds me too thatthose young girls that work at
the city hospital that arestarting classes here.
The second class that they'restarting and you can find it on
the Stokerty's website.
When you go to just classesthey're there Birth Savvy.
It's basically preparing youfor that postpartum period,
which I'm really excited about.
And I recognize that from thevery beginning starting my
business, I can't teach all theclasses, I can't do all the
(36:28):
classes, but I want all theseclasses by collaborating and
bringing other businesses inthat can do that for me is just
amazing.
So that class is starting and Ireally want more people to know
that.
Stephanie Theriault (36:40):
Those two classes, high-risk pregnancies
getting ready for thatpostpartum period is just so, so
very important.
So, for those who are listeningto the episode and if they want
to learn more about yourself inStork Ready, where can they
find you?
Karen Chipman (36:55):
So they can find me.
Google just storkreadycom.
And I say this all the time,I'm not trying to push the baby
expo that we host.
It'll be our fourth one, comingup in September.
I really share it.
More so for the resources thatare on the website.
We have a partner's page onStork Ready's website that gives
you different businesses pelvicfloor specialists,
(37:17):
breastfeeding, counseling, alldifferent businesses.
But if you go to ourobabyexpocom website, you will
find even more resources there.
You go to the vendors page andwe're adding vendors still every
day because we're building upfor our September Expo.
But there you will find so manyresources and talking about
that postpartum period and notknowing what you need or how it
(37:40):
will be until you're in it, youdon't even realize what
resources are out there.
Like there's a resource forthat.
There's somebody who can helpme with that?
Yes, there is.
So checking those opportunities, checking those different
businesses, is really great.
Stephanie Theriault (37:55):
Well, karen , thank you so much.
This has been such a lovelychat, yeah, thank you so much
for having me.
I've enjoyed it.
Thank you for being open andvulnerable and sharing your
birth story so that other womencan hear the positive stories
and self-advocacy and learningmore about Stork Ready, and I
really hope that women andfamilies who are listening to
the episode reach out to you andthey can get the support and
(38:16):
help that they need.
Karen Chipman (38:17):
Yeah, me too.
Thank you so much for having me.
I really enjoyed it.
Stephanie Theriault (38:34):
Hey there, amazing listeners.
If you love what we do and wantto see our podcast grow, we
need your help.
By making a donation, you'll besupporting us and bringing you
even more great content.
I truly believe creating thisspace for women all across the
globe to share their story willallow us to collectively heal,
grow and become more empoweredin the space that we deserve to
(38:57):
be Motherhood, womanhood andhowever that looks and feels for
each and every one of us.
If you can head over to supportus today, there's a link in the
bio to support the podcast.
Every contribution, big orsmall, will make a huge
difference.
From the bottom of my heart,thank you for being a part of
this journey.
(39:17):
Be sure to check out our socialmedia.
All links are provided in theepisode description.
We're excited to have you here.
Please give us a follow.
If you or someone you knowwould like to be a guest on the
show, reach out to us via emailat info at maternalwealthcom.
And remember embrace your powerand you got this Bye.
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