Oriana Teeple: Giving birth abroad as a United States military wife while navigating placenta previa
February 25, 2025 • 49 mins
Join us as we embark on an enlightening chat with Oriana Teeple, giving us a window into her motherhood experiences that spanned across the UK and Germany. Oriana’s journey begins with a captivating love story in Poland, where she met her husband under extraordinary circumstances. From her maternity care experiences in London, where she celebrated the support of midwives and birthing centers, to the hurdles she faced during pregnancy and delivery in Germany amidst the pandemic, her story sheds light on the intricacies of childbirth from various cultural perspectives.
Oriana outlines the differences in maternal healthcare encountered in the United Kingdom and Germany throughout her two pregnancies. Her candid reflections reveal the emotional layers of being a military wife, dealing with separation from her partner during crucial moments, and finding a community in an unfamiliar land. She shares powerful insights on the importance of open-mindedness when it comes to birth plans and the invaluable support that friends can provide in lieu of family.
This episode is not only engaging but offers actionable advice for mothers navigating the unpredictable journey of childbirth, especially when faced with the challenge of different healthcare systems. Oriana's story is a beacon of strength and adaptability, encouraging mothers to embrace the rollercoaster of motherhood. Tune in for a conversation that inspires, informs, and broadens our perspectives on maternal health.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Stephanie Theriault (00:11):
Welcome to the Maternal Wealth Podcast, a
space for all things related tomaternal health, pregnancy and
beyond.
I'm your host StephanieTheriault.
I am 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
childbirth and motherhood.
We're here to explore the joys,the challenges and the
(00:34):
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.
(00:55):
Are you ready?
Let's get into it.
Welcome back to the MaternalWell Podcast.
Today's guest, oriana Teepley,is a mother of two children her
(01:17):
eight-year-old Antonio Tony forshort and a three-year-old named
Sophia.
Currently, she's a stay-at-homemom and a student at Cornell
University.
She is halfway through herprogram called Nutrition and
Healthy Living.
She was born in Poland, whereshe met her husband.
It is because of his work thatshe had her two children in two
(01:38):
different countries in Europeher oldest in the UK and her
youngest in Germany.
Currently, the US is her home.
Oriana's husband serves in theUS Army and she follows him
wherever they send him.
I asked Oriana what brings herjoy and she responded traveling,
sewing, thrifting and going onhikes.
(02:02):
I'm excited for you all to hearher story.
Welcome, oriana, hi, thank youfor having me.
Thank you for being here.
I'm so glad we finally got ourcalendars together and we were
able to connect and sit down andrecord an episode.
Oriana Teeple (02:22):
I'm happy.
I'm happy you didn't give up onme, even though the calendars
were busy, busy moms.
Stephanie Theriault (02:29):
Busy moms.
Yes, that's what it's all about.
One of my favorite ways tostart the podcast or start the
episode is with a love story.
So if you could share a littlebit about yourself, where you're
from, where you live, and thenhow you met your husband.
Oriana Teeple (02:44):
Oh's, uh, that's a really interesting story.
Okay, I was born and raised inPoland and that's also where I
met my husband.
I travel a little bit aroundthe Europe before meeting him,
but the story is really funny.
At the time, I was working asan English teacher in a
kindergarten and one of myfriends also an English teacher.
(03:05):
She was not dating yet, buttalking to one of those dating
apps with a guy who turns out tobe an American soldier
stationed in Poland, maybe 40minutes from the place where we
were both living and working.
And because the troops were newin Poland, they had this rule
(03:26):
that they cannot leave themilitary post for like about a
month.
That's the reason why shedidn't meet him.
And finally, when the time came,my friend came to me and told
me that they have another rulefor safety and accountability.
He cannot leave the post byhimself.
He needs to have, you know,another buddy, another soldier,
(03:47):
with him at all times.
And so he would bring in afriend and if I don't mind to be
her friend, you know kind of afederal thing and, to be honest,
I didn't want to.
At that time I really wasn'tinto dating, but I just thought
you, she's a good friend.
I'm just going to do a goodthing for her.
(04:09):
She also told me well, maybeyou should just go out and, you
know, talk English, not withkids anymore, but with actual
adults.
Take it as a you know, a littlebit of a learning experience
too.
So I agree.
I asked her, of course, for aphotograph of the friend of her
uh date.
Of course they didn't have it.
(04:30):
She never provided, so the onlything I was hoping for was that
he's not gonna be a jerk.
So we went for this double onmy side, on my husband's side,
blind date into a little localsushi restaurant, and it was fun
, we had really lots of fun.
So it started there.
And my husband's side, a blinddate into a little local sushi
restaurant, and it was fun, wehad really lots of fun.
So it started there, and myhusband's role was pretty
(04:50):
similar.
He also had no idea about me.
He'd never seen my picturebefore.
Meeting me also was doing agood thing for a friend.
And here we are, years later.
We just started dating there.
We were in Poland, then I justwell, my husband, all around,
all around the world, cause wewere stationed in in Europe and
(05:11):
now in US.
So that's, that's the story.
Stephanie Theriault (05:15):
How about the other couple?
Did they make it too?
Oriana Teeple (05:18):
No, they didn't make it, unfortunately.
We like to say that we made itbecause we had absolutely no
expectations and we were like,pretty, you know, chill into it
that it's going to be what it'sgoing to be, and because we
learn about each other.
You know, in real life, not onthe internet we didn't have that
(05:38):
amount of just texting likeyou're a couple yeah, I can see
that just like going into it.
Stephanie Theriault (05:44):
Like you said, no expectations, going
with the flow, and then loveblossoms.
So you have two kids you havean eight year old and a
three-year-old and you mentionedthat you and your husband have
traveled all around as he's inthe military.
So share with us a little bitabout your experience of where
you were when you had your firstchild, during your pregnancy
(06:07):
and then your delivery.
Oriana Teeple (06:09):
So I was pregnant and delivered Tony, so my, our
eight-year-old son, in London.
We were in UK at the time.
I have two differentexperiences with two of the kids
, but both pregnancies wentreally well.
Like I felt great.
During my first one.
I work almost until the duedate.
I saw, like maybe two weeksbefore, so I felt really great.
(06:31):
The pregnancy was I supported bymidwives only.
I really wanted to to have thewhole experience as natural as
possible and uk back then.
I hope it's, uh, it's the samenow too.
I had a few options.
I wanted to have a bird in ahospital and have like doctor's
help so kind of I would say themost common around the world.
(06:54):
And another one is to havemidwives help you and have a
bird in a birthing center bymidwives only.
And the third one was the homebird.
That I considered.
But because it was my firstpregnancy I was a little bit
scared that just in casesomething will go wrong, it will
take some time to betransported to the hospital.
So I went with the midwife anda birth center option.
(07:17):
The birth center was based on afirst floor of a hospital.
You know, I was confident that,just in case that, you know,
something goes wrong, I canalways be transported.
You know, just a floor up Likeit is, you can't be any closer,
so you had the midwives for yourpregnancy.
Stephanie Theriault (07:32):
Did the midwives come to your house?
Did you go to the birth centerfor your prenatal appointments?
Oriana Teeple (07:37):
I was going to the birth center and then I was
a little bit surprised that theydon't schedule the ultrasounds
of the baby as often as I knewit's happening back in my home
country in Poland, because Ithink there are only like two
during the pregnancy first onearound 12 weeks to confirm your
(07:59):
pregnancy and another one Ithink it's around 20 weeks.
You know, check on thatwell-being of the baby when they
do the body scan.
So there's not one where theywill tell you about the baby
gender.
We scheduled that separately inlike a little private clinic,
so.
(08:20):
I think that was one of the bigsurprises from like what I might
expected before, because, how Iknew it, I'm in Poland, but all
the appointments were with themidwives and I had to go to
their birth center.
They did come to the house forpostpartum care a few times, so
(08:40):
that was really nice.
Stephanie Theriault (08:41):
Okay, so you get to later in the
pregnancy 38, 39, 40 weeks didyou go into labor?
Did you have an induction?
Oriana Teeple (08:51):
talk us through that I did went into the labor.
I woke up in the middle of thenight with what I thought was a
dream, that a balloon popped.
Stephanie Theriault (09:00):
But that was my water how many weeks were
you when you broke your water?
Oriana Teeple (09:04):
I was 39 weeks.
39, okay, yeah, so that'sreally close.
I expected that.
That, you know, can happenanytime but I didn't have really
any rockstone hicks.
I need anything that would tellme like oh yeah, it's coming,
just because of you know thecalendar.
Okay, the date is coming.
I was expecting it.
(09:25):
My water broke at home.
I called the birth center.
They asked me to stay at homefor as long as possible until
the contractions are prettyclose about.
Oh, I want to say that anythingbetween two to five minutes
okay and that went smooth.
I just um, I stay in bed duringthat time, try to try to rest.
(09:46):
That was maybe two or threehours and then early in the
morning we drove to the hospitalthat had that birth center on
the side, where I was admitted.
They still asked me to walkaround the corridors for a
little bit because I wasn't, youknow, ready to to deliver the
(10:07):
baby yet when you were at thebirth center and then your water
was broken and they had youwalk around, how were they
monitoring the baby?
oh, so they were not monitoringthe baby at the time okay they
did like an initial uhwell-being test and then they
told me how they let it.
I was I can't remember what was, but definitely it wasn't the
time, you know, to push.
(10:27):
Yet I got already a room.
I really wanted to deliver inthe water and that's what I did.
I got a room they start.
They didn't start the water yetbut they, you know, just show
me around there and, yeah, justask to walk around because it is
not time.
And yeah, they did not check onbaby for for that hour.
(10:49):
Yeah, I remember that was thatI was in a lot of pain and it
made me feel sick.
But let's not forget that was abirth center where we can't get
any of the big drugs which Iinitially never wanted to take.
I wanted the birth to be naturaland then, maybe after an hour
of like walking around, we cameback to the birth room.
(11:11):
They start putting warm waterinto this huge bath.
I was jumping a little bit onlike yoga ball.
The nice thing was that theroom had like dimmed light, so
that was like really relaxing,if you can say that it's
relaxing during that.
But that definitely helped that.
You know, there were, uh, Ithink, no windows or they were
(11:32):
like covered, it was like reallydim light.
So it's like in a casino youdon't know what time is it and
how much time you spend.
And then I did agree to havestudents during the birth
Because I'm like I need to help,like someone needs to say yes,
so you know they have to.
It was only so it was a midwifeand then another lady student.
(11:55):
And she was super helpful, verywarm.
I remember her keep asking meif I want a toast.
They offer toast in UK.
I remember that I was in somuch pain thinking, oh my god,
this is ridiculous, I don't wantany toast, I just want someone
to take out that baby out of meI know you said there's like no
big meds in the birth center,but did you use the gas like
(12:19):
nitrous oxide or any ivmedication?
no, the gas was there, it, itwas available.
But I keep telling them like,no, maybe a little more, like I
leave it, like for the worstpain that's going to come, and I
end up not using it because Ikeep you know putting it in.
Stephanie Theriault (12:35):
So how did you know what time to get into
the tub?
Oriana Teeple (12:38):
Oh.
So I went to the tub at themoment when it was ready, when
they fill it up, because I knewit will help.
It also slows down the wholeperson a little bit, but I knew
it will help and I remember.
Now it is a funny memorybecause I remember thinking
before and talking to my husbandlike, okay, I'll be in the bath
(13:01):
, so like I should get like abikini top, you know.
So I feel comfortable there.
Yeah, you don't think about itwhen you're giving birth to the
baby, you really couldn't careany less If anyone's worried
about it.
Just, my advice is please don't.
You really don't care.
You just want to be comfy andyou're there with the father of
(13:21):
the baby and you have thosecaring midwives and yeah, you,
just you don't care.
Once the bath was ready, I justI want to say jump it.
I went in.
It did help.
Another surprise for me wassomething I've never thought
about.
Like how do they check on thebaby once you're in a bath?
So one of the things that themidwives do is they take a
(13:44):
mirror and they just put it intothe water where the baby is in
a canal.
That was really interestingbecause, you know, I could see
the baby too, when he was likereally close.
Also, it happened when I feltlike, oh my goodness, I'm here
like forever, like I really wantthe baby out, like are we
really closer or you're justtelling me this?
So, so you know, I keep goingand my son was like really close
(14:08):
because the midwife told me,like you just need like maybe
two more pushes, like I can seethe head.
And she told me you maybe can'tsee it, but you can't touch him
.
So she helped me do that.
So I I touched a hairy head ofmy baby.
Stephanie Theriault (14:22):
How long did you push for, like actively
pushing?
Oriana Teeple (14:25):
I went well, I went to the that's what they
told me, because you lose trackof time at six and he was born
at 11.
So the whole birth took fourhours, but I'm not sure about
the active push time.
Stephanie Theriault (14:43):
When he was delivered, did you catch him
coming out or did the midwifecatch him and pass him to you?
Oriana Teeple (14:50):
I did catch him and then he just like wiped the
face a little bit, becausethat's also something that you
decide about in your birth planif you want the baby to be, you
know, like fully washed afterthe birth or, uh, doing the baby
as it is, um, you know, on yourchest and that's what I went
for.
So they just, you know, makesure that he can breathe.
And he was right on my chestand then I started breastfeeding
(15:14):
, because they do wait for alittle bit before delivering or
ask you to deliver placenta.
And for that, talking about thedrugs, I did get a shot.
Um, I have no idea what was it,but it was something that helps
to deliver the placenta faster.
That was also something like wedecided before it was in a
(15:36):
birth plan.
Stephanie Theriault (15:36):
Before, before the baby yeah, and most
likely it was pitocin that theygive postpartum to help with the
delivering the placenta and theprevent any kind of bleeding.
Did you have any lacerations?
Oriana Teeple (15:51):
Yes, and they did tell me that it looks like I am
going to tear, right.
I think that's the right wordand that's what happened.
But again, birth centermidwives everything happened
naturally, for which I amgrateful, because I hear those
horror stories again.
So for me it was um all natural, but I I did tear and had to be
(16:12):
sewn afterwards and themidwives did that for you.
Stephanie Theriault (16:15):
They sewed you back up.
Oriana Teeple (16:17):
Yes, anything to help with the pain I don't
remember right now, but I don'tthink it could be anything other
than ibuprofen.
But before that there was onemore thing that was also
surprising, that you don't thinkabout.
And there's this beautifulbirthing room that we just
talked about.
And then opposite to it theyhave, you know, your regular
(16:41):
hospital birthing center roomwhere you have a bed for mom,
bed for the baby, your privatebathroom.
So what happens after thenatural birth?
I told you, I feed the baby.
Then after that, they give us areally long time.
They check on the baby, let thedad stay with the baby, check
(17:02):
all the stats.
Then they have the baby ready.
The dad stay with them, butwith the baby.
Uh, you know, check all thisout.
Then they have the baby readyand dad can walk with the baby
back to the room.
And they ask me mom, after allthat I've just done, to walk too
.
And I was just so surprised, um,and I walk like half banded.
(17:24):
I mean, I'm glad that I that Idid it, but it just felt so
weird because you lose, you know, the baby weight, the placenta
or the water and everything.
It was just so weird to havethat, you know, kind of empty
belly.
Yeah, but like that's what itdid, like really super natural.
They don't, um, push you in awheelchair there.
It was a few meters but it wasstill there.
(17:45):
So I'm like, oh my goodness,I'm able to do that.
Okay, and now I have, afterhaving experience of the second
third, I really love that theyjust leave you there in peace so
you can rest.
They do come and check on thebaby not very often, I wanted to
say, and with the paperworkthey tried to do you know
(18:06):
everything at once and thensomeone you know comes when they
deliver you your food andthat's it.
Rest again.
It's like very dim light.
Um, lots of you know privatespace because it was just us, no
other family there, andbeautiful thing about it,
especially now living in the us,is the fact that it was all
(18:28):
covered by the insurance.
We didn't have to pay anythingextra and that was the standard
there.
I know that in differentcountries usually a private room
is sometimes something extra.
You can, you know, pay and getthat, but that's not guaranteed.
While in that birth center thatwas the standard.
Every room was for a singlefamily.
Stephanie Theriault (18:48):
Did your room have a bed for your husband
?
Oriana Teeple (18:52):
It had a little sofa, but the bed for the mom
was huge.
Stephanie Theriault (18:58):
Yeah.
Oriana Teeple (18:59):
It definitely wasn't like a standard bed for
one person.
Stephanie Theriault (19:03):
And then after 24 hours you go home.
And then you mentioned that themidwife comes and checks on you
and the baby at home.
So just curious about when theycome, like how many weeks after
you delivered the baby theycome to see you, and then how
many times Well, that was eightyears ago, I believe.
Oriana Teeple (19:20):
They came a few times, anything between three to
five, and they do come, maybelike two days after you're back.
So you're like two days backhome, then maybe a week after
that, and then again weekly, andI do believe that there was
also an option to ask for moreof those visits.
But then it also flips into youcan come and go to the birth
(19:42):
center or any clinic to see them, but they definitely do come a
few times.
They do check on yourwell-being, on how you're
healing, they do check on thebaby.
So that was really nice andhelpful.
Stephanie Theriault (19:59):
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I'm curious to hear about babynumber two.
(21:04):
So this was a differentexperience for you and in a
different country, correct?
Oriana Teeple (21:08):
yes, that's correct.
Uh, totally differentexperience.
Baby number two, my now threeyear old, was born in germany
during crazy covid times.
Very different experience.
Um, just starting from thepregnancy, as I mentioned before
, I felt really great.
Maybe not the first threemonths I felt I was very
(21:30):
nauseous and that gave me alittle tip like, oh my goodness,
that has to be a girl, becauseI feel self-sick, yes.
But other than that I just feltgreat.
I was like, really active.
I didn't work at that timebecause we were stationed in
Germany because of my husband'sjob and my German.
I had that at school, but it'svery like survivor level.
(21:51):
I know how to go to the storeor to a restaurant and talk a
little bit with German neighborsthere, but definitely that
wasn't enough to get a job, butI still stay active.
A lot of our neighbors themilitary families were expecting
the baby, so we were just goingfor hikes and walks.
(22:13):
It was a really beautiful placewe were stationed.
Germany is very walking, hiking, being active and outdoorsy,
friendly, so that was a reallygood time.
But the care was different.
There was no option for midwife.
I mean, we uh do have a friendwho's american and she's a
(22:34):
midwife, but that if, if itwould like her services, that
would have to come out out ofthe pocket and it would be like
home a visit what city were youlocated in or what area of
germany?
bavaria.
That's the region, and it was alittle town, little village
called um hohenburg, and themilitary post is also tiny and
(22:57):
it's called hohenfels.
The closest big city thathopefully listeners know will be
nuremberg or munich, that'slike three hours away.
But so the care was in theclinic that was run by doctors.
Stephanie Theriault (23:15):
Was it a military clinic or was it a
German clinic?
No, it was a.
Oriana Teeple (23:18):
German clinic, the post where my husband worked
.
I was close to our home becausewe live off post, because the
military post was just so, sosmall that there wasn't even
enough space for the families.
Uh, but that gave us great,great experience just living in
germany and, uh, you know, justsoaking in into the culture,
doing shopping, the little uhstores there and you know, um,
(23:42):
going for those walks and hikes.
The clinic was German becausethere was a military American
clinic on post but it had likereally limited resources.
That would be the place youknow where you go when you get a
cold or to get your like flushots, but that's about it.
So I believe military had thosecontracts with them with good
(24:05):
amount of German clinics.
We did our little research, askaround and just chose one.
The really nice thing was thateveryone spoke english there.
We always try with our german,but that goes into like some
point.
And then we had english switchto English.
(24:26):
So that was really nice, thatthe doctor and the nurses, they
had a really great English andany paperwork that I will get it
would be translated to or theywould give a little guide of
like okay, when you get thistest done or are you going to
get a paper about this and thatit gives like a little
(24:46):
translation guide, like you knowthat's what it means.
So, even if you know like apaper about this and that it
gives like a little translationguide, like you know that's what
it means.
So even if you know like a labwill send I don't know my lab
work back, I would know you knowwhat is it about.
So that part was really great.
The care was different because,yes, it was run by doctors, not
by the midwives.
I think the main differencebetween, I think, germany and us
because in in Poland will besimilar as in Germany was that
(25:09):
when you're really early inpregnancy, when you're getting
an ultrasound to check on thebaby no, I don't know the right
words for it, but um, europethey still use the wand that
they put inside of your bodybecause I had, okay, like a
vaginal ultrasound so I thinkthat was a surprise for some of
(25:30):
my friends.
I knew that from you know, justbecause we do it the same way in
Poland and I definitely didn'thave that in UK either.
The hard thing was that I waspregnant in 2020 and then I gave
birth in 2021.
So you know, crazy times.
It was a restricted region inGermany About the restrictions,
(25:51):
so my husband couldn't reallyaccompany me there on those
appointments.
He was waiting in the car inthe parking lot.
He couldn't like even enter theclinic.
You know we weren't happy aboutit, especially because you know
we shared the same household.
I get it, they didn't wantcrowds, crowds there, but we're
from the same home.
(26:11):
So then at some point, becauseyou know how it was, those
restrictions were like on andoff depending on all the
different data.
There was one appointment thathe could come, but it was also
like I spent in the clinic alittle bit of time doing like
some paperwork, talking withwith a doctor, and then he's
like, okay, tell your husband,in five minutes we will have the
(26:31):
ultrasound of a baby and if hewants to come, you know, tell
him to come.
Stephanie Theriault (26:38):
So he was able to see one ultrasound.
Oriana Teeple (26:40):
Yes, the rest it was like me recording on the
phone, or, you know, justbringing those pictures, the
prints, lots of pictures, atleast that.
Stephanie Theriault (26:52):
Was it one OB that you had that you saw
throughout the pregnancy andthen that was the ob for your
delivery?
Or was it more like a groupsetting, where you saw a bunch
of different obs and then,depending on who was on at the
hospital would be your ob?
Oriana Teeple (27:02):
so it's a mix of um, because I did have a group
of obs at the clinic, which wasa surprise for me because I knew
again from friends, from myPolish friends, that in Poland I
think it's pretty similar towhat it is in the US, that you
choose your OB, you go into thatone doctor and hopefully he'll
be on a shift in the hospitalthat you choose when you are in
(27:25):
labor and when you're about todeliver the baby.
In Germany you can see one ormany doctors at the same clinic.
I did see a few.
I didn't like all of them tothe same level.
So then I request either to seesomeone more or don't see a
specific person.
But I knew that none of themwill see me in the delivery room
(27:47):
Because to do that I believe Iwould have to go to the clinic
that's in the hospital that Iwant to deliver.
But I was okay, maybe because itwas my second baby.
So I just wanted to go to theclinic of a choice and then go
to the hospital of my choice andunfortunately the doctors were
not the same.
I was aware that it would be astranger this pregnancy.
Stephanie Theriault (28:11):
did you go into labor also?
Oriana Teeple (28:14):
yes, and that was prematurely, which we didn't
expect, because, as I mentionedbefore, the pregnancy was going
well.
The only thing mentioned to mewas I have placenta previa and
that might affect the way Ideliver the baby, because I
wanted a natural birth, againalso in the water, in a hospital
.
But they offer that.
Yeah, they mentioned the optionof c-section in case the
(28:37):
placenta won't move.
And then during my visits myappointment it was moving.
It was either you knowappointment, it was moving, it
was either you know, coveringthe cervix area or moving.
So the version kept changing.
Every appointment I heardsomething different.
I just spoke with my husband,like okay, we have open mind
(28:58):
about it, we just want the babyto to be healthy.
And then at 32 weeks I came homefrom being out with another
friend who was pregnant.
We were just like actuallyshopping for the babies and
shopping for the babies I wastaking pictures because again, I
was away from the families.
I always like to take picturesof what I found and send it to
(29:20):
my family back home.
And then I felt like that Ilike pee myself a little bit, so
I just went to the bathroom andthen I saw that I'm bleeding
and like really, really hugecall just came out out of me.
I'm saying you something'swrong.
I just called my husband, whowas in a different room.
(29:42):
I said that something's wrongand I'm bleeding.
I think we have to go to thehospital.
By that time we had afour-year-old already, so he
just called the neighbor anddropped him off there and we
were again in a little villagein the middle of nowhere.
The nearest hospital was halfan hour away.
So he made a decision that it'sfaster if we just go now and
(30:07):
he's just going gonna drive methere then to call the ambulance
.
So that's what we did and I wasadmitted right away.
I got, I was admitted, I waschecked.
I uh start feeling a smallcontractions.
I I did receive all themedication to stop it, to stop
(30:31):
the contractions of the babyonce come.
Then I believe one of the nextthing was getting a shot for
baby lungs to develop betterfaster, in case she has to be
delivered in very scary time.
Can you remind me how manyweeks were you?
Stephanie Theriault (30:53):
you were 32 weeks yeah, 32 weeks.
Oriana Teeple (30:55):
So I knew this is and we.
At that point I was just hopingthat the baby can wait three
more days, because I believethat that was the time that uh,
that shot for her lungs andneeds to fully work so she can
be ready to breathe in theoutside world.
And then again in a hospital,lots of midwives, nurses, the
(31:17):
whole staff spoke english, whichwas really, really great, and
the hospital is also ready forthe american insurance.
So you know at least that part.
You know all the paperwork, orthe official part.
At least we didn't have to likereally be worried about this.
They just like take yourmilitary ID and they deal with
(31:38):
the paperwork they have alsoit's like a patient advocate,
someone who speaks fluent Germanand English and stands in
between boards to helpunderstand the process.
And my husband was with me.
One of the first things as wellthat they do was a COVID test
on both of us, but he was ableto stay with me all the time
(31:58):
when I was in that ER room.
Stephanie Theriault (32:02):
So you said that you initially saw the clot
at home.
You felt the trickle and therewas a clot, and then your
husband drove you to thehospital.
You got to the hospital.
Did you continue to bleed inthe commute and when you were at
the hospital, or was it kind oflike the one clot and then it
subsided and then you went fromthere?
Oriana Teeple (32:22):
No, I continued to bleed.
Before leaving the house, I put, like you know, one of those
postpartum pads and I think Ialso took one of those pads to
put on the on the seat because Iwas bleeding.
It was our first.
I think it was our first timeat that hospital, because the
hospital visit wasn't like theone where you you don't check
the hospital, the birth room andall things like this.
(32:44):
That was scheduled for later inthe pregnancy.
So he just like dropped me off.
I still had to like go out fromthe car and I remember that I
was wearing a dress and justlike a waterfall came out.
But someone you know at thedoor helped me, okay, and to you
(33:04):
know, to get me inside.
My goodness, the club was justso, so big.
Yeah, we were both reallyscared.
Stephanie Theriault (33:12):
What did they decide to do when you got
to the hospital and they gaveyou the medicine to kind of stop
the contractions, to help withthe bleeding?
Did they recommend to proceedwith delivery, or were they
trying to hold off a little bit?
What was their recommendation?
Oriana Teeple (33:26):
Or were they trying to hold off a little bit.
What was their recommendation?
So the recommendation was totry to hold off with delivering
the baby just because it wasstill early and that's short for
the lungs.
So at least, of course, ifpossible, to wait at least those
three days.
But to you know, admit me inthe hospital and just observe to
see, you know, know if I willbleed again and you know how,
(33:51):
how happy the baby in the belly.
So that's what.
What was happening?
So after that, like initialcare, when they established the
whole plan and startedcontraction, and they admitted
me into the ward and that's thetime when my husband had to
leave.
So I did stay and I stay intotal for a month I think, and
(34:12):
they never had the answer towhen and if I could go home.
I was on a strict bed restbecause I kept like spotting
every two, three days and theytold me you could go home.
Probably, if you know, forthree days you're not spotting,
there's no contraction, they canstart those off, those pills
(34:33):
that help me to not have thecontraction, but that never
happened.
I had to stay on that medicationand the bleeding was still
happening, but they weremonitoring baby a few times a
day, okay, so they were reallyon top of that talk us through
(35:06):
the delivery you had the previa,you had the bleeding.
Did you end up having a vaginaldelivery?
No, I really hope for it, eventhough that after that emergency
and staying in hospital, I waskind of thinking that c-section
is the only option.
But after, after some checkups,they told me like hey, if
everything goes well and you gointo a term, you know your
placenta moved for the moment.
So you, can still have thenatural bed that you wanted.
(35:28):
But unfortunately, at 35 weeksI was bleeding more.
It was late, late in theevening and I thought that I'm
oh, I'm bleeding more than justthe spotting that was like every
now, and then I called thenurse and then they rolled me
into into a room and check onthe baby, say that baby's still
happy, but looks like you know,they won't be able to stop that
(35:51):
bleeding and they think it istime that they're gonna.
Uh, it's time for emergencyc-section.
So I just asked if I have timeto call my husband and he said,
yes, we I'm so very thankful forall our friends were always
wherever we are stationed,because you know, friends are
the family you choose,especially if you're so far away
(36:12):
from family.
Because it was our anotherfriend, who was pregnant too,
that came and stayed.
Because it was, I think, 10 pmin the evening when I called my
husband and told him like hey,in half an hour the baby will be
delivered.
Like, please, come face up.
Our son was asleep, so hecalled the neighbor and our
friends chelsea, chelsea, if youhear it, I love you and I'm
(36:33):
forever grateful.
She came.
She came and just stay with himso my husband could experience
the birth of our baby.
He drove when they came.
They changed him really quickly.
They, you know, rolled both ofus to the room.
I was just so happy that he wasable to be there, that he made
it and that you know we were at35 weeks, not 32.
(36:55):
But I also remember shaking likea jello, uh, before, right
before it.
So they had a problem.
What's what I'm looking for?
They had a problem too for theepidural.
Yes, thank you.
Thank you, because I remembermy husband already waiting for
me, like to be on the table.
He was all sterile there andready and I was hugging a
(37:16):
midwife to don't just stopshaking and I told her like, hey
, I'm excited to have the babypretty smooth again.
Everyone spoke English, so thatwas great and they it's like
they knew because I'm I am alittle bit OCD person and they
talked me through it.
My husband was also telling mewhat's happening, because I hate
(37:36):
the fact that you know youcan't, which is for the best.
But yes, one of the doctors,the anesthesiologist and then my
husband were walking me throughof like what is going on.
So I felt like, okay, I am incontrol still.
Stephanie Theriault (37:49):
Yeah, that helps.
I like that because it's hardwhen you can't see and there's
so much going on.
Oriana Teeple (37:55):
And the funny part was that they had a radio
on, so now the songs that werethere are on like our Spotify
playlist.
So that was really nice.
So it went pretty smooth.
But then when it's a regularC-section, hopefully most of the
times they give you the babyright after to like you know, so
you can baby right after tolike you know, so you can do
(38:18):
cheek to cheek you know, face toface.
I didn't have a chance to dothat because afterwards my
husband told me that when thebaby out she was all blue so
they take her right away to toget her help and to, you know,
check on her vitals, and invitedmy husband there, so he was the
first one, uh, to do skin toskin, to feed her, okay, so they
(38:45):
had their little time togetherand I believe that's the reason
why she's such a daddy girl now,because I was so impatient, I
was feeling good afterwards but,um, in germany they asked to
wait two hours for me to feelbetter, to be fully aware, to
make sure that I'm okay, beforeI'm seeing the baby.
(39:05):
So that's a big difference ifyou think that the first part
was me catching the baby andputting the baby on my chest and
breastfeeding.
Actually, it's all good,everything was fine and we went
home after two days.
I think that's pretty fast,thinking that that she was a
preemie yeah, absolutely so.
Stephanie Theriault (39:25):
She was delivered at 35 weeks.
35, 35, yeah.
How was the recovery for you?
Did you have anyone who came toyour home or did you go to the
hospital for your postpartumcare?
What did that look like?
Oriana Teeple (39:38):
No, I didn't have anyone coming to home.
I saw a really big differencebetween the natural birth and
the C-section in a hospital,because there was another mom
there and on the next day shewas up and running.
I was in so much pain it wasreally hard to move even from
(39:58):
the bed and I remember thinkinglike I want to be like that lady
from the next bed.
It definitely took more time.
They had a great team while Iwas in the hospital they sent
lactation consultants, so theyjust sent that to everyone.
But once she saw that we don'thave a problem with that, she,
you know, just left saying hey,if, if you, you know, if you
(40:23):
need my help, just call.
But I believe it's just, it'sjust experience, because it was
the second baby, so I managedthat fine.
The nurse helping would like tomove you from the birth, start,
you know, walking around, helpyou with a fresh shower and
everything, and then, beforegoing home, they sent a
technician that does.
(40:44):
I have no idea what thatmachine was, but it's a massage
for all your like abdominal partof the body that's supposed to
help you with healing.
So was that done at thehospital?
Yeah, that was at the hospital,but then nobody comes home, so
I was just going back to theclinic that I was visiting while
pregnant.
Stephanie Theriault (41:05):
I want to go back to the machine that does
the massage on your belly,because I haven't heard of that
before.
What did it look like?
Oriana Teeple (41:13):
It looked like a record player, a rectangular
machine, and I believe that thattechnician has one hand on like
a metal stick I want to saythat's connected to it and one
hand in a glove on your belly.
Stephanie Theriault (41:27):
Okay, and then it was massaging your belly
, not near your incision, justyour belly.
Oriana Teeple (41:33):
That's just the belly.
Stephanie Theriault (41:35):
I'm going to have to look that up.
I'm curious.
I'm sorry to have to look thatup.
I'm curious.
Oriana Teeple (41:38):
I'm sorry, I couldn't describe it anymore.
It just came to my mind likehey, they actually come to
massage.
Stephanie Theriault (41:46):
Was it like uncomfortable or painful, or at
all, or nice?
Oriana Teeple (41:51):
It was nice, but I couldn't feel anything.
I feel like maybe it had somecurrents, you know going through
when I think about it, but itwas definitely not painful.
The other difference was thatthe nurses and doctors were very
attentive, and I just want themto leave me in peace.
But they kept coming andchecking.
(42:11):
Again, I shared the room sothey were checking, you know, on
two moms and two babies, sothat was a lot.
I was just.
I was the room, so they werechecking, you know, on two moms
and two babies, so that was alot.
I was just, I was tired of that.
I know, they were just doingtheir job.
Stephanie Theriault (42:20):
How about your husband?
Was he able to take some timeoff from work?
Oriana Teeple (42:24):
Yes, he was able to take 21 days and that was
from the time when we were likeback home, so that's nice that
it counted from that day.
Again, it was so cold so he wasable to visit, but had to like
schedule, kind of schedule thatmy son couldn't come.
They didn't allow kids at all,even postpartum.
(42:47):
But thankfully thankfully thatwe were there only two days
after two days we, so he didn'twait a long time for his baby
sister.
Again, I'm thankful for friendswho stay with him.
One of them was that friendthat's a midwife that lived like
five minutes away from thehospital, and another one is my
husband's friend, ian Thank you,you're the best uncle who also
(43:10):
stayed with him, while myhusband Because I think about it
I was in the hospital for amonth.
Our house was half an hour drive, uh, from it and then my
husband had to juggle work andtaking care of our kiddo too.
So friends help and um, againhe couldn't visit us.
(43:31):
They did it once on mother'sday.
My husband just took my son andsilently moved around the
hospital and brought him to myroom.
It was just me there at thetime, I didn't have any
roommates, so it was really nice.
We had lunch together there,but unfortunately the hospital
(43:54):
staff didn't like that.
Stephanie Theriault (43:56):
They weren't too happy.
No, they weren't too happy?
Oriana Teeple (43:58):
No, they weren't too happy, but at least I got to
see my son and I think afterthat my husband dropped him off
at my parents for some time.
Stephanie Theriault (44:07):
It was worth it right.
Oriana Teeple (44:08):
Yes, it was worth it and it was really nice that
he got those 21 days.
Stephanie Theriault (44:14):
I think now it's up to three months okay
that's changed at his work,which is just great what advice
would you give to women who findthemselves in a unfamiliar
country and doesn't have familyaround somebody who's was in a
similar situation to you, whereyou know there was a
(44:36):
complication?
What advice would you give themif they find themselves in a
similar situation?
Oriana Teeple (44:43):
I think, first of all to have open mind, because
my experience shows, I think,pretty well that birds can go
either way, all those differentways.
Go either way, all thosedifferent ways, and you just
have to have open mind becauseyou can plan it to the smallest
detail.
And we like to say that you canhave a bird plan, but baby has
(45:07):
your own bird plan too.
So just have an open mind thatit can go totally different than
whatever plan you have in yourhead and educate yourself.
So if you're in a differentcountry, different place, that
the whole procedure, how they,how they care about a pregnant
woman, how the the birthexperience could be in the
(45:27):
postpartum just educate yourself, ask questions.
I always like to join facebookgroups of the place where I live
.
This way you can get connectedto the people that live in the
same, in the same place and makesure their experience, their
advices, they can shareresources, so you know what to
expect, what you can ask for,what is other people's
(45:50):
experience, what they recommend.
And then, if you're away fromthe family, friends are the
people that you have to count on.
So just say build your littlevillage because you're gonna
need them.
Don't be afraid to ask becausequite often there might be in a
(46:11):
similar situation to you know,also away from the family.
So they definitely understandthat's that's important because,
yes, you and your partner are,are the family for them, for the
new born baby.
But it's nice to have a littlehome, even if it's, you know,
just to vent about yourexperience or your feelings have
you thought about potentially?
Stephanie Theriault (46:33):
is there a baby number three coming up?
Are you completely satisfiedwith the two that you have?
Oriana Teeple (46:39):
no, we're done.
No, I think we're done.
We know we were.
We're not thinking about ummore kiddos now.
We are both focused really onlike raising the ones that we
have, giving them our best and,just you know, improve ourselves
.
Stephanie Theriault (46:57):
Enjoying life.
Well, thank you so much forsitting down and chatting with
me and sharing your experiencesand being open and vulnerable so
that other women can learn andheal and grow.
Oriana Teeple (47:09):
Thank you.
Thank you for having me.
I always love to share mystories and I love to hear it
from other women and I love whatyou're doing in a podcast,
because I think there are somany either taboos or things
that we don't talk about, aboutthe whole pregnancy, given birth
, postpartum experience.
(47:29):
So the more we share, thebetter prepared the next month.
Stephanie Theriault (47:46):
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,
(48:06):
grow and become more empoweredin the space that we deserve to
be.
Motherhood, womanhood andhowever that looks and feels for
each and every one of us, Everycontribution, big or small,
will make a huge difference.
If you can head over to supportus today, there's a link in the
bio to support the podcast.
From the bottom of my heart,thank you for being a part of
(48:29):
this journey.
Thank you for listening.
Be sure to check out our socialmedia.
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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
(48:51):
show, reach out to us via emailat info at maternalwealthcom.
And remember stay healthy,embrace your power and you got
this.
Welcome to the Maternal Wealth Podcast, a
space for all things related tomaternal health, pregnancy and
beyond.
I'm your host StephanieTheriault.
I am 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
childbirth and motherhood.
We're here to explore the joys,the challenges and the
(00:34):
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.
(00:55):
Are you ready?
Let's get into it.
Welcome back to the MaternalWell Podcast.
Today's guest, oriana Teepley,is a mother of two children her
(01:17):
eight-year-old Antonio Tony forshort and a three-year-old named
Sophia.
Currently, she's a stay-at-homemom and a student at Cornell
University.
She is halfway through herprogram called Nutrition and
Healthy Living.
She was born in Poland, whereshe met her husband.
It is because of his work thatshe had her two children in two
(01:38):
different countries in Europeher oldest in the UK and her
youngest in Germany.
Currently, the US is her home.
Oriana's husband serves in theUS Army and she follows him
wherever they send him.
I asked Oriana what brings herjoy and she responded traveling,
sewing, thrifting and going onhikes.
(02:02):
I'm excited for you all to hearher story.
Welcome, oriana, hi, thank youfor having me.
Thank you for being here.
I'm so glad we finally got ourcalendars together and we were
able to connect and sit down andrecord an episode.
Oriana Teeple (02:22):
I'm happy.
I'm happy you didn't give up onme, even though the calendars
were busy, busy moms.
Stephanie Theriault (02:29):
Busy moms.
Yes, that's what it's all about.
One of my favorite ways tostart the podcast or start the
episode is with a love story.
So if you could share a littlebit about yourself, where you're
from, where you live, and thenhow you met your husband.
Oriana Teeple (02:44):
Oh's, uh, that's a really interesting story.
Okay, I was born and raised inPoland and that's also where I
met my husband.
I travel a little bit aroundthe Europe before meeting him,
but the story is really funny.
At the time, I was working asan English teacher in a
kindergarten and one of myfriends also an English teacher.
(03:05):
She was not dating yet, buttalking to one of those dating
apps with a guy who turns out tobe an American soldier
stationed in Poland, maybe 40minutes from the place where we
were both living and working.
And because the troops were newin Poland, they had this rule
(03:26):
that they cannot leave themilitary post for like about a
month.
That's the reason why shedidn't meet him.
And finally, when the time came,my friend came to me and told
me that they have another rulefor safety and accountability.
He cannot leave the post byhimself.
He needs to have, you know,another buddy, another soldier,
(03:47):
with him at all times.
And so he would bring in afriend and if I don't mind to be
her friend, you know kind of afederal thing and, to be honest,
I didn't want to.
At that time I really wasn'tinto dating, but I just thought
you, she's a good friend.
I'm just going to do a goodthing for her.
(04:09):
She also told me well, maybeyou should just go out and, you
know, talk English, not withkids anymore, but with actual
adults.
Take it as a you know, a littlebit of a learning experience
too.
So I agree.
I asked her, of course, for aphotograph of the friend of her
uh date.
Of course they didn't have it.
(04:30):
She never provided, so the onlything I was hoping for was that
he's not gonna be a jerk.
So we went for this double onmy side, on my husband's side,
blind date into a little localsushi restaurant, and it was fun
, we had really lots of fun.
So it started there.
And my husband's side, a blinddate into a little local sushi
restaurant, and it was fun, wehad really lots of fun.
So it started there, and myhusband's role was pretty
(04:50):
similar.
He also had no idea about me.
He'd never seen my picturebefore.
Meeting me also was doing agood thing for a friend.
And here we are, years later.
We just started dating there.
We were in Poland, then I justwell, my husband, all around,
all around the world, cause wewere stationed in in Europe and
(05:11):
now in US.
So that's, that's the story.
Stephanie Theriault (05:15):
How about the other couple?
Did they make it too?
Oriana Teeple (05:18):
No, they didn't make it, unfortunately.
We like to say that we made itbecause we had absolutely no
expectations and we were like,pretty, you know, chill into it
that it's going to be what it'sgoing to be, and because we
learn about each other.
You know, in real life, not onthe internet we didn't have that
(05:38):
amount of just texting likeyou're a couple yeah, I can see
that just like going into it.
Stephanie Theriault (05:44):
Like you said, no expectations, going
with the flow, and then loveblossoms.
So you have two kids you havean eight year old and a
three-year-old and you mentionedthat you and your husband have
traveled all around as he's inthe military.
So share with us a little bitabout your experience of where
you were when you had your firstchild, during your pregnancy
(06:07):
and then your delivery.
Oriana Teeple (06:09):
So I was pregnant and delivered Tony, so my, our
eight-year-old son, in London.
We were in UK at the time.
I have two differentexperiences with two of the kids
, but both pregnancies wentreally well.
Like I felt great.
During my first one.
I work almost until the duedate.
I saw, like maybe two weeksbefore, so I felt really great.
(06:31):
The pregnancy was I supported bymidwives only.
I really wanted to to have thewhole experience as natural as
possible and uk back then.
I hope it's, uh, it's the samenow too.
I had a few options.
I wanted to have a bird in ahospital and have like doctor's
help so kind of I would say themost common around the world.
(06:54):
And another one is to havemidwives help you and have a
bird in a birthing center bymidwives only.
And the third one was the homebird.
That I considered.
But because it was my firstpregnancy I was a little bit
scared that just in casesomething will go wrong, it will
take some time to betransported to the hospital.
So I went with the midwife anda birth center option.
(07:17):
The birth center was based on afirst floor of a hospital.
You know, I was confident that,just in case that, you know,
something goes wrong, I canalways be transported.
You know, just a floor up Likeit is, you can't be any closer,
so you had the midwives for yourpregnancy.
Stephanie Theriault (07:32):
Did the midwives come to your house?
Did you go to the birth centerfor your prenatal appointments?
Oriana Teeple (07:37):
I was going to the birth center and then I was
a little bit surprised that theydon't schedule the ultrasounds
of the baby as often as I knewit's happening back in my home
country in Poland, because Ithink there are only like two
during the pregnancy first onearound 12 weeks to confirm your
(07:59):
pregnancy and another one Ithink it's around 20 weeks.
You know, check on thatwell-being of the baby when they
do the body scan.
So there's not one where theywill tell you about the baby
gender.
We scheduled that separately inlike a little private clinic,
so.
(08:20):
I think that was one of the bigsurprises from like what I might
expected before, because, how Iknew it, I'm in Poland, but all
the appointments were with themidwives and I had to go to
their birth center.
They did come to the house forpostpartum care a few times, so
(08:40):
that was really nice.
Stephanie Theriault (08:41):
Okay, so you get to later in the
pregnancy 38, 39, 40 weeks didyou go into labor?
Did you have an induction?
Oriana Teeple (08:51):
talk us through that I did went into the labor.
I woke up in the middle of thenight with what I thought was a
dream, that a balloon popped.
Stephanie Theriault (09:00):
But that was my water how many weeks were
you when you broke your water?
Oriana Teeple (09:04):
I was 39 weeks.
39, okay, yeah, so that'sreally close.
I expected that.
That, you know, can happenanytime but I didn't have really
any rockstone hicks.
I need anything that would tellme like oh yeah, it's coming,
just because of you know thecalendar.
Okay, the date is coming.
I was expecting it.
(09:25):
My water broke at home.
I called the birth center.
They asked me to stay at homefor as long as possible until
the contractions are prettyclose about.
Oh, I want to say that anythingbetween two to five minutes
okay and that went smooth.
I just um, I stay in bed duringthat time, try to try to rest.
(09:46):
That was maybe two or threehours and then early in the
morning we drove to the hospitalthat had that birth center on
the side, where I was admitted.
They still asked me to walkaround the corridors for a
little bit because I wasn't, youknow, ready to to deliver the
(10:07):
baby yet when you were at thebirth center and then your water
was broken and they had youwalk around, how were they
monitoring the baby?
oh, so they were not monitoringthe baby at the time okay they
did like an initial uhwell-being test and then they
told me how they let it.
I was I can't remember what was, but definitely it wasn't the
time, you know, to push.
(10:27):
Yet I got already a room.
I really wanted to deliver inthe water and that's what I did.
I got a room they start.
They didn't start the water yetbut they, you know, just show
me around there and, yeah, justask to walk around because it is
not time.
And yeah, they did not check onbaby for for that hour.
(10:49):
Yeah, I remember that was thatI was in a lot of pain and it
made me feel sick.
But let's not forget that was abirth center where we can't get
any of the big drugs which Iinitially never wanted to take.
I wanted the birth to be naturaland then, maybe after an hour
of like walking around, we cameback to the birth room.
(11:11):
They start putting warm waterinto this huge bath.
I was jumping a little bit onlike yoga ball.
The nice thing was that theroom had like dimmed light, so
that was like really relaxing,if you can say that it's
relaxing during that.
But that definitely helped that.
You know, there were, uh, Ithink, no windows or they were
(11:32):
like covered, it was like reallydim light.
So it's like in a casino youdon't know what time is it and
how much time you spend.
And then I did agree to havestudents during the birth
Because I'm like I need to help,like someone needs to say yes,
so you know they have to.
It was only so it was a midwifeand then another lady student.
(11:55):
And she was super helpful, verywarm.
I remember her keep asking meif I want a toast.
They offer toast in UK.
I remember that I was in somuch pain thinking, oh my god,
this is ridiculous, I don't wantany toast, I just want someone
to take out that baby out of meI know you said there's like no
big meds in the birth center,but did you use the gas like
(12:19):
nitrous oxide or any ivmedication?
no, the gas was there, it, itwas available.
But I keep telling them like,no, maybe a little more, like I
leave it, like for the worstpain that's going to come, and I
end up not using it because Ikeep you know putting it in.
Stephanie Theriault (12:35):
So how did you know what time to get into
the tub?
Oriana Teeple (12:38):
Oh.
So I went to the tub at themoment when it was ready, when
they fill it up, because I knewit will help.
It also slows down the wholeperson a little bit, but I knew
it will help and I remember.
Now it is a funny memorybecause I remember thinking
before and talking to my husbandlike, okay, I'll be in the bath
(13:01):
, so like I should get like abikini top, you know.
So I feel comfortable there.
Yeah, you don't think about itwhen you're giving birth to the
baby, you really couldn't careany less If anyone's worried
about it.
Just, my advice is please don't.
You really don't care.
You just want to be comfy andyou're there with the father of
(13:21):
the baby and you have thosecaring midwives and yeah, you,
just you don't care.
Once the bath was ready, I justI want to say jump it.
I went in.
It did help.
Another surprise for me wassomething I've never thought
about.
Like how do they check on thebaby once you're in a bath?
So one of the things that themidwives do is they take a
(13:44):
mirror and they just put it intothe water where the baby is in
a canal.
That was really interestingbecause, you know, I could see
the baby too, when he was likereally close.
Also, it happened when I feltlike, oh my goodness, I'm here
like forever, like I really wantthe baby out, like are we
really closer or you're justtelling me this?
So, so you know, I keep goingand my son was like really close
(14:08):
because the midwife told me,like you just need like maybe
two more pushes, like I can seethe head.
And she told me you maybe can'tsee it, but you can't touch him
.
So she helped me do that.
So I I touched a hairy head ofmy baby.
Stephanie Theriault (14:22):
How long did you push for, like actively
pushing?
Oriana Teeple (14:25):
I went well, I went to the that's what they
told me, because you lose trackof time at six and he was born
at 11.
So the whole birth took fourhours, but I'm not sure about
the active push time.
Stephanie Theriault (14:43):
When he was delivered, did you catch him
coming out or did the midwifecatch him and pass him to you?
Oriana Teeple (14:50):
I did catch him and then he just like wiped the
face a little bit, becausethat's also something that you
decide about in your birth planif you want the baby to be, you
know, like fully washed afterthe birth or, uh, doing the baby
as it is, um, you know, on yourchest and that's what I went
for.
So they just, you know, makesure that he can breathe.
And he was right on my chestand then I started breastfeeding
(15:14):
, because they do wait for alittle bit before delivering or
ask you to deliver placenta.
And for that, talking about thedrugs, I did get a shot.
Um, I have no idea what was it,but it was something that helps
to deliver the placenta faster.
That was also something like wedecided before it was in a
(15:36):
birth plan.
Stephanie Theriault (15:36):
Before, before the baby yeah, and most
likely it was pitocin that theygive postpartum to help with the
delivering the placenta and theprevent any kind of bleeding.
Did you have any lacerations?
Oriana Teeple (15:51):
Yes, and they did tell me that it looks like I am
going to tear, right.
I think that's the right wordand that's what happened.
But again, birth centermidwives everything happened
naturally, for which I amgrateful, because I hear those
horror stories again.
So for me it was um all natural, but I I did tear and had to be
(16:12):
sewn afterwards and themidwives did that for you.
Stephanie Theriault (16:15):
They sewed you back up.
Oriana Teeple (16:17):
Yes, anything to help with the pain I don't
remember right now, but I don'tthink it could be anything other
than ibuprofen.
But before that there was onemore thing that was also
surprising, that you don't thinkabout.
And there's this beautifulbirthing room that we just
talked about.
And then opposite to it theyhave, you know, your regular
(16:41):
hospital birthing center roomwhere you have a bed for mom,
bed for the baby, your privatebathroom.
So what happens after thenatural birth?
I told you, I feed the baby.
Then after that, they give us areally long time.
They check on the baby, let thedad stay with the baby, check
(17:02):
all the stats.
Then they have the baby ready.
The dad stay with them, butwith the baby.
Uh, you know, check all thisout.
Then they have the baby readyand dad can walk with the baby
back to the room.
And they ask me mom, after allthat I've just done, to walk too
.
And I was just so surprised, um,and I walk like half banded.
(17:24):
I mean, I'm glad that I that Idid it, but it just felt so
weird because you lose, you know, the baby weight, the placenta
or the water and everything.
It was just so weird to havethat, you know, kind of empty
belly.
Yeah, but like that's what itdid, like really super natural.
They don't, um, push you in awheelchair there.
It was a few meters but it wasstill there.
(17:45):
So I'm like, oh my goodness,I'm able to do that.
Okay, and now I have, afterhaving experience of the second
third, I really love that theyjust leave you there in peace so
you can rest.
They do come and check on thebaby not very often, I wanted to
say, and with the paperworkthey tried to do you know
(18:06):
everything at once and thensomeone you know comes when they
deliver you your food andthat's it.
Rest again.
It's like very dim light.
Um, lots of you know privatespace because it was just us, no
other family there, andbeautiful thing about it,
especially now living in the us,is the fact that it was all
(18:28):
covered by the insurance.
We didn't have to pay anythingextra and that was the standard
there.
I know that in differentcountries usually a private room
is sometimes something extra.
You can, you know, pay and getthat, but that's not guaranteed.
While in that birth center thatwas the standard.
Every room was for a singlefamily.
Stephanie Theriault (18:48):
Did your room have a bed for your husband
?
Oriana Teeple (18:52):
It had a little sofa, but the bed for the mom
was huge.
Stephanie Theriault (18:58):
Yeah.
Oriana Teeple (18:59):
It definitely wasn't like a standard bed for
one person.
Stephanie Theriault (19:03):
And then after 24 hours you go home.
And then you mentioned that themidwife comes and checks on you
and the baby at home.
So just curious about when theycome, like how many weeks after
you delivered the baby theycome to see you, and then how
many times Well, that was eightyears ago, I believe.
Oriana Teeple (19:20):
They came a few times, anything between three to
five, and they do come, maybelike two days after you're back.
So you're like two days backhome, then maybe a week after
that, and then again weekly, andI do believe that there was
also an option to ask for moreof those visits.
But then it also flips into youcan come and go to the birth
(19:42):
center or any clinic to see them, but they definitely do come a
few times.
They do check on yourwell-being, on how you're
healing, they do check on thebaby.
So that was really nice andhelpful.
Stephanie Theriault (19:59):
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I'm curious to hear about babynumber two.
(21:04):
So this was a differentexperience for you and in a
different country, correct?
Oriana Teeple (21:08):
yes, that's correct.
Uh, totally differentexperience.
Baby number two, my now threeyear old, was born in germany
during crazy covid times.
Very different experience.
Um, just starting from thepregnancy, as I mentioned before
, I felt really great.
Maybe not the first threemonths I felt I was very
(21:30):
nauseous and that gave me alittle tip like, oh my goodness,
that has to be a girl, becauseI feel self-sick, yes.
But other than that I just feltgreat.
I was like, really active.
I didn't work at that timebecause we were stationed in
Germany because of my husband'sjob and my German.
I had that at school, but it'svery like survivor level.
(21:51):
I know how to go to the storeor to a restaurant and talk a
little bit with German neighborsthere, but definitely that
wasn't enough to get a job, butI still stay active.
A lot of our neighbors themilitary families were expecting
the baby, so we were just goingfor hikes and walks.
(22:13):
It was a really beautiful placewe were stationed.
Germany is very walking, hiking, being active and outdoorsy,
friendly, so that was a reallygood time.
But the care was different.
There was no option for midwife.
I mean, we uh do have a friendwho's american and she's a
(22:34):
midwife, but that if, if itwould like her services, that
would have to come out out ofthe pocket and it would be like
home a visit what city were youlocated in or what area of
germany?
bavaria.
That's the region, and it was alittle town, little village
called um hohenburg, and themilitary post is also tiny and
(22:57):
it's called hohenfels.
The closest big city thathopefully listeners know will be
nuremberg or munich, that'slike three hours away.
But so the care was in theclinic that was run by doctors.
Stephanie Theriault (23:15):
Was it a military clinic or was it a
German clinic?
No, it was a.
Oriana Teeple (23:18):
German clinic, the post where my husband worked
.
I was close to our home becausewe live off post, because the
military post was just so, sosmall that there wasn't even
enough space for the families.
Uh, but that gave us great,great experience just living in
germany and, uh, you know, justsoaking in into the culture,
doing shopping, the little uhstores there and you know, um,
(23:42):
going for those walks and hikes.
The clinic was German becausethere was a military American
clinic on post but it had likereally limited resources.
That would be the place youknow where you go when you get a
cold or to get your like flushots, but that's about it.
So I believe military had thosecontracts with them with good
(24:05):
amount of German clinics.
We did our little research, askaround and just chose one.
The really nice thing was thateveryone spoke english there.
We always try with our german,but that goes into like some
point.
And then we had english switchto English.
(24:26):
So that was really nice, thatthe doctor and the nurses, they
had a really great English andany paperwork that I will get it
would be translated to or theywould give a little guide of
like okay, when you get thistest done or are you going to
get a paper about this and thatit gives like a little
(24:46):
translation guide, like you knowthat's what it means.
So, even if you know like apaper about this and that it
gives like a little translationguide, like you know that's what
it means.
So even if you know like a labwill send I don't know my lab
work back, I would know you knowwhat is it about.
So that part was really great.
The care was different because,yes, it was run by doctors, not
by the midwives.
I think the main differencebetween, I think, germany and us
because in in Poland will besimilar as in Germany was that
(25:09):
when you're really early inpregnancy, when you're getting
an ultrasound to check on thebaby no, I don't know the right
words for it, but um, europethey still use the wand that
they put inside of your bodybecause I had, okay, like a
vaginal ultrasound so I thinkthat was a surprise for some of
(25:30):
my friends.
I knew that from you know, justbecause we do it the same way in
Poland and I definitely didn'thave that in UK either.
The hard thing was that I waspregnant in 2020 and then I gave
birth in 2021.
So you know, crazy times.
It was a restricted region inGermany About the restrictions,
(25:51):
so my husband couldn't reallyaccompany me there on those
appointments.
He was waiting in the car inthe parking lot.
He couldn't like even enter theclinic.
You know we weren't happy aboutit, especially because you know
we shared the same household.
I get it, they didn't wantcrowds, crowds there, but we're
from the same home.
(26:11):
So then at some point, becauseyou know how it was, those
restrictions were like on andoff depending on all the
different data.
There was one appointment thathe could come, but it was also
like I spent in the clinic alittle bit of time doing like
some paperwork, talking withwith a doctor, and then he's
like, okay, tell your husband,in five minutes we will have the
(26:31):
ultrasound of a baby and if hewants to come, you know, tell
him to come.
Stephanie Theriault (26:38):
So he was able to see one ultrasound.
Oriana Teeple (26:40):
Yes, the rest it was like me recording on the
phone, or, you know, justbringing those pictures, the
prints, lots of pictures, atleast that.
Stephanie Theriault (26:52):
Was it one OB that you had that you saw
throughout the pregnancy andthen that was the ob for your
delivery?
Or was it more like a groupsetting, where you saw a bunch
of different obs and then,depending on who was on at the
hospital would be your ob?
Oriana Teeple (27:02):
so it's a mix of um, because I did have a group
of obs at the clinic, which wasa surprise for me because I knew
again from friends, from myPolish friends, that in Poland I
think it's pretty similar towhat it is in the US, that you
choose your OB, you go into thatone doctor and hopefully he'll
be on a shift in the hospitalthat you choose when you are in
(27:25):
labor and when you're about todeliver the baby.
In Germany you can see one ormany doctors at the same clinic.
I did see a few.
I didn't like all of them tothe same level.
So then I request either to seesomeone more or don't see a
specific person.
But I knew that none of themwill see me in the delivery room
(27:47):
Because to do that I believe Iwould have to go to the clinic
that's in the hospital that Iwant to deliver.
But I was okay, maybe because itwas my second baby.
So I just wanted to go to theclinic of a choice and then go
to the hospital of my choice andunfortunately the doctors were
not the same.
I was aware that it would be astranger this pregnancy.
Stephanie Theriault (28:11):
did you go into labor also?
Oriana Teeple (28:14):
yes, and that was prematurely, which we didn't
expect, because, as I mentionedbefore, the pregnancy was going
well.
The only thing mentioned to mewas I have placenta previa and
that might affect the way Ideliver the baby, because I
wanted a natural birth, againalso in the water, in a hospital
.
But they offer that.
Yeah, they mentioned the optionof c-section in case the
(28:37):
placenta won't move.
And then during my visits myappointment it was moving.
It was either you knowappointment, it was moving, it
was either you know, coveringthe cervix area or moving.
So the version kept changing.
Every appointment I heardsomething different.
I just spoke with my husband,like okay, we have open mind
(28:58):
about it, we just want the babyto to be healthy.
And then at 32 weeks I came homefrom being out with another
friend who was pregnant.
We were just like actuallyshopping for the babies and
shopping for the babies I wastaking pictures because again, I
was away from the families.
I always like to take picturesof what I found and send it to
(29:20):
my family back home.
And then I felt like that Ilike pee myself a little bit, so
I just went to the bathroom andthen I saw that I'm bleeding
and like really, really hugecall just came out out of me.
I'm saying you something'swrong.
I just called my husband, whowas in a different room.
(29:42):
I said that something's wrongand I'm bleeding.
I think we have to go to thehospital.
By that time we had afour-year-old already, so he
just called the neighbor anddropped him off there and we
were again in a little villagein the middle of nowhere.
The nearest hospital was halfan hour away.
So he made a decision that it'sfaster if we just go now and
(30:07):
he's just going gonna drive methere then to call the ambulance
.
So that's what we did and I wasadmitted right away.
I got, I was admitted, I waschecked.
I uh start feeling a smallcontractions.
I I did receive all themedication to stop it, to stop
(30:31):
the contractions of the babyonce come.
Then I believe one of the nextthing was getting a shot for
baby lungs to develop betterfaster, in case she has to be
delivered in very scary time.
Can you remind me how manyweeks were you?
Stephanie Theriault (30:53):
you were 32 weeks yeah, 32 weeks.
Oriana Teeple (30:55):
So I knew this is and we.
At that point I was just hopingthat the baby can wait three
more days, because I believethat that was the time that uh,
that shot for her lungs andneeds to fully work so she can
be ready to breathe in theoutside world.
And then again in a hospital,lots of midwives, nurses, the
(31:17):
whole staff spoke english, whichwas really, really great, and
the hospital is also ready forthe american insurance.
So you know at least that part.
You know all the paperwork, orthe official part.
At least we didn't have to likereally be worried about this.
They just like take yourmilitary ID and they deal with
(31:38):
the paperwork they have alsoit's like a patient advocate,
someone who speaks fluent Germanand English and stands in
between boards to helpunderstand the process.
And my husband was with me.
One of the first things as wellthat they do was a COVID test
on both of us, but he was ableto stay with me all the time
(31:58):
when I was in that ER room.
Stephanie Theriault (32:02):
So you said that you initially saw the clot
at home.
You felt the trickle and therewas a clot, and then your
husband drove you to thehospital.
You got to the hospital.
Did you continue to bleed inthe commute and when you were at
the hospital, or was it kind oflike the one clot and then it
subsided and then you went fromthere?
Oriana Teeple (32:22):
No, I continued to bleed.
Before leaving the house, I put, like you know, one of those
postpartum pads and I think Ialso took one of those pads to
put on the on the seat because Iwas bleeding.
It was our first.
I think it was our first timeat that hospital, because the
hospital visit wasn't like theone where you you don't check
the hospital, the birth room andall things like this.
(32:44):
That was scheduled for later inthe pregnancy.
So he just like dropped me off.
I still had to like go out fromthe car and I remember that I
was wearing a dress and justlike a waterfall came out.
But someone you know at thedoor helped me, okay, and to you
(33:04):
know, to get me inside.
My goodness, the club was justso, so big.
Yeah, we were both reallyscared.
Stephanie Theriault (33:12):
What did they decide to do when you got
to the hospital and they gaveyou the medicine to kind of stop
the contractions, to help withthe bleeding?
Did they recommend to proceedwith delivery, or were they
trying to hold off a little bit?
What was their recommendation?
Oriana Teeple (33:26):
Or were they trying to hold off a little bit.
What was their recommendation?
So the recommendation was totry to hold off with delivering
the baby just because it wasstill early and that's short for
the lungs.
So at least, of course, ifpossible, to wait at least those
three days.
But to you know, admit me inthe hospital and just observe to
see, you know, know if I willbleed again and you know how,
(33:51):
how happy the baby in the belly.
So that's what.
What was happening?
So after that, like initialcare, when they established the
whole plan and startedcontraction, and they admitted
me into the ward and that's thetime when my husband had to
leave.
So I did stay and I stay intotal for a month I think, and
(34:12):
they never had the answer towhen and if I could go home.
I was on a strict bed restbecause I kept like spotting
every two, three days and theytold me you could go home.
Probably, if you know, forthree days you're not spotting,
there's no contraction, they canstart those off, those pills
(34:33):
that help me to not have thecontraction, but that never
happened.
I had to stay on that medicationand the bleeding was still
happening, but they weremonitoring baby a few times a
day, okay, so they were reallyon top of that talk us through
(35:06):
the delivery you had the previa,you had the bleeding.
Did you end up having a vaginaldelivery?
No, I really hope for it, eventhough that after that emergency
and staying in hospital, I waskind of thinking that c-section
is the only option.
But after, after some checkups,they told me like hey, if
everything goes well and you gointo a term, you know your
placenta moved for the moment.
So you, can still have thenatural bed that you wanted.
(35:28):
But unfortunately, at 35 weeksI was bleeding more.
It was late, late in theevening and I thought that I'm
oh, I'm bleeding more than justthe spotting that was like every
now, and then I called thenurse and then they rolled me
into into a room and check onthe baby, say that baby's still
happy, but looks like you know,they won't be able to stop that
(35:51):
bleeding and they think it istime that they're gonna.
Uh, it's time for emergencyc-section.
So I just asked if I have timeto call my husband and he said,
yes, we I'm so very thankful forall our friends were always
wherever we are stationed,because you know, friends are
the family you choose,especially if you're so far away
(36:12):
from family.
Because it was our anotherfriend, who was pregnant too,
that came and stayed.
Because it was, I think, 10 pmin the evening when I called my
husband and told him like hey,in half an hour the baby will be
delivered.
Like, please, come face up.
Our son was asleep, so hecalled the neighbor and our
friends chelsea, chelsea, if youhear it, I love you and I'm
(36:33):
forever grateful.
She came.
She came and just stay with himso my husband could experience
the birth of our baby.
He drove when they came.
They changed him really quickly.
They, you know, rolled both ofus to the room.
I was just so happy that he wasable to be there, that he made
it and that you know we were at35 weeks, not 32.
(36:55):
But I also remember shaking likea jello, uh, before, right
before it.
So they had a problem.
What's what I'm looking for?
They had a problem too for theepidural.
Yes, thank you.
Thank you, because I remembermy husband already waiting for
me, like to be on the table.
He was all sterile there andready and I was hugging a
(37:16):
midwife to don't just stopshaking and I told her like, hey
, I'm excited to have the babypretty smooth again.
Everyone spoke English, so thatwas great and they it's like
they knew because I'm I am alittle bit OCD person and they
talked me through it.
My husband was also telling mewhat's happening, because I hate
(37:36):
the fact that you know youcan't, which is for the best.
But yes, one of the doctors,the anesthesiologist and then my
husband were walking me throughof like what is going on.
So I felt like, okay, I am incontrol still.
Stephanie Theriault (37:49):
Yeah, that helps.
I like that because it's hardwhen you can't see and there's
so much going on.
Oriana Teeple (37:55):
And the funny part was that they had a radio
on, so now the songs that werethere are on like our Spotify
playlist.
So that was really nice.
So it went pretty smooth.
But then when it's a regularC-section, hopefully most of the
times they give you the babyright after to like you know, so
you can baby right after tolike you know, so you can do
(38:18):
cheek to cheek you know, face toface.
I didn't have a chance to dothat because afterwards my
husband told me that when thebaby out she was all blue so
they take her right away to toget her help and to, you know,
check on her vitals, and invitedmy husband there, so he was the
first one, uh, to do skin toskin, to feed her, okay, so they
(38:45):
had their little time togetherand I believe that's the reason
why she's such a daddy girl now,because I was so impatient, I
was feeling good afterwards but,um, in germany they asked to
wait two hours for me to feelbetter, to be fully aware, to
make sure that I'm okay, beforeI'm seeing the baby.
(39:05):
So that's a big difference ifyou think that the first part
was me catching the baby andputting the baby on my chest and
breastfeeding.
Actually, it's all good,everything was fine and we went
home after two days.
I think that's pretty fast,thinking that that she was a
preemie yeah, absolutely so.
Stephanie Theriault (39:25):
She was delivered at 35 weeks.
35, 35, yeah.
How was the recovery for you?
Did you have anyone who came toyour home or did you go to the
hospital for your postpartumcare?
What did that look like?
Oriana Teeple (39:38):
No, I didn't have anyone coming to home.
I saw a really big differencebetween the natural birth and
the C-section in a hospital,because there was another mom
there and on the next day shewas up and running.
I was in so much pain it wasreally hard to move even from
(39:58):
the bed and I remember thinkinglike I want to be like that lady
from the next bed.
It definitely took more time.
They had a great team while Iwas in the hospital they sent
lactation consultants, so theyjust sent that to everyone.
But once she saw that we don'thave a problem with that, she,
you know, just left saying hey,if, if you, you know, if you
(40:23):
need my help, just call.
But I believe it's just, it'sjust experience, because it was
the second baby, so I managedthat fine.
The nurse helping would like tomove you from the birth, start,
you know, walking around, helpyou with a fresh shower and
everything, and then, beforegoing home, they sent a
technician that does.
(40:44):
I have no idea what thatmachine was, but it's a massage
for all your like abdominal partof the body that's supposed to
help you with healing.
So was that done at thehospital?
Yeah, that was at the hospital,but then nobody comes home, so
I was just going back to theclinic that I was visiting while
pregnant.
Stephanie Theriault (41:05):
I want to go back to the machine that does
the massage on your belly,because I haven't heard of that
before.
What did it look like?
Oriana Teeple (41:13):
It looked like a record player, a rectangular
machine, and I believe that thattechnician has one hand on like
a metal stick I want to saythat's connected to it and one
hand in a glove on your belly.
Stephanie Theriault (41:27):
Okay, and then it was massaging your belly
, not near your incision, justyour belly.
Oriana Teeple (41:33):
That's just the belly.
Stephanie Theriault (41:35):
I'm going to have to look that up.
I'm curious.
I'm sorry to have to look thatup.
I'm curious.
Oriana Teeple (41:38):
I'm sorry, I couldn't describe it anymore.
It just came to my mind likehey, they actually come to
massage.
Stephanie Theriault (41:46):
Was it like uncomfortable or painful, or at
all, or nice?
Oriana Teeple (41:51):
It was nice, but I couldn't feel anything.
I feel like maybe it had somecurrents, you know going through
when I think about it, but itwas definitely not painful.
The other difference was thatthe nurses and doctors were very
attentive, and I just want themto leave me in peace.
But they kept coming andchecking.
(42:11):
Again, I shared the room sothey were checking, you know, on
two moms and two babies, sothat was a lot.
I was just.
I was the room, so they werechecking, you know, on two moms
and two babies, so that was alot.
I was just, I was tired of that.
I know, they were just doingtheir job.
Stephanie Theriault (42:20):
How about your husband?
Was he able to take some timeoff from work?
Oriana Teeple (42:24):
Yes, he was able to take 21 days and that was
from the time when we were likeback home, so that's nice that
it counted from that day.
Again, it was so cold so he wasable to visit, but had to like
schedule, kind of schedule thatmy son couldn't come.
They didn't allow kids at all,even postpartum.
(42:47):
But thankfully thankfully thatwe were there only two days
after two days we, so he didn'twait a long time for his baby
sister.
Again, I'm thankful for friendswho stay with him.
One of them was that friendthat's a midwife that lived like
five minutes away from thehospital, and another one is my
husband's friend, ian Thank you,you're the best uncle who also
(43:10):
stayed with him, while myhusband Because I think about it
I was in the hospital for amonth.
Our house was half an hour drive, uh, from it and then my
husband had to juggle work andtaking care of our kiddo too.
So friends help and um, againhe couldn't visit us.
(43:31):
They did it once on mother'sday.
My husband just took my son andsilently moved around the
hospital and brought him to myroom.
It was just me there at thetime, I didn't have any
roommates, so it was really nice.
We had lunch together there,but unfortunately the hospital
(43:54):
staff didn't like that.
Stephanie Theriault (43:56):
They weren't too happy.
No, they weren't too happy?
Oriana Teeple (43:58):
No, they weren't too happy, but at least I got to
see my son and I think afterthat my husband dropped him off
at my parents for some time.
Stephanie Theriault (44:07):
It was worth it right.
Oriana Teeple (44:08):
Yes, it was worth it and it was really nice that
he got those 21 days.
Stephanie Theriault (44:14):
I think now it's up to three months okay
that's changed at his work,which is just great what advice
would you give to women who findthemselves in a unfamiliar
country and doesn't have familyaround somebody who's was in a
similar situation to you, whereyou know there was a
(44:36):
complication?
What advice would you give themif they find themselves in a
similar situation?
Oriana Teeple (44:43):
I think, first of all to have open mind, because
my experience shows, I think,pretty well that birds can go
either way, all those differentways.
Go either way, all thosedifferent ways, and you just
have to have open mind becauseyou can plan it to the smallest
detail.
And we like to say that you canhave a bird plan, but baby has
(45:07):
your own bird plan too.
So just have an open mind thatit can go totally different than
whatever plan you have in yourhead and educate yourself.
So if you're in a differentcountry, different place, that
the whole procedure, how they,how they care about a pregnant
woman, how the the birthexperience could be in the
(45:27):
postpartum just educate yourself, ask questions.
I always like to join facebookgroups of the place where I live
.
This way you can get connectedto the people that live in the
same, in the same place and makesure their experience, their
advices, they can shareresources, so you know what to
expect, what you can ask for,what is other people's
(45:50):
experience, what they recommend.
And then, if you're away fromthe family, friends are the
people that you have to count on.
So just say build your littlevillage because you're gonna
need them.
Don't be afraid to ask becausequite often there might be in a
(46:11):
similar situation to you know,also away from the family.
So they definitely understandthat's that's important because,
yes, you and your partner are,are the family for them, for the
new born baby.
But it's nice to have a littlehome, even if it's, you know,
just to vent about yourexperience or your feelings have
you thought about potentially?
Stephanie Theriault (46:33):
is there a baby number three coming up?
Are you completely satisfiedwith the two that you have?
Oriana Teeple (46:39):
no, we're done.
No, I think we're done.
We know we were.
We're not thinking about ummore kiddos now.
We are both focused really onlike raising the ones that we
have, giving them our best and,just you know, improve ourselves
.
Stephanie Theriault (46:57):
Enjoying life.
Well, thank you so much forsitting down and chatting with
me and sharing your experiencesand being open and vulnerable so
that other women can learn andheal and grow.
Oriana Teeple (47:09):
Thank you.
Thank you for having me.
I always love to share mystories and I love to hear it
from other women and I love whatyou're doing in a podcast,
because I think there are somany either taboos or things
that we don't talk about, aboutthe whole pregnancy, given birth
, postpartum experience.
(47:29):
So the more we share, thebetter prepared the next month.
Stephanie Theriault (47:46):
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,
(48:06):
grow and become more empoweredin the space that we deserve to
be.
Motherhood, womanhood andhowever that looks and feels for
each and every one of us, Everycontribution, big or small,
will make a huge difference.
If you can head over to supportus today, there's a link in the
bio to support the podcast.
From the bottom of my heart,thank you for being a part of
(48:29):
this journey.
Thank you for listening.
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
(48:51):
show, reach out to us via emailat info at maternalwealthcom.
And remember stay healthy,embrace your power and you got
this.
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