September 14, 2025 • 27 mins
09/14/25
The Healthy Matters Podcast
S04_E24 - From Womb to World: An OB-GYN's Insights for New Moms
With Special Guest: Dr. Samantha Pace, MD
Becoming a new mom is one of life’s biggest transitions—it’s exhilarating, exhausting, and everything in between. And, although there's no shortage of advice out there when it comes to being a mother, there are invariably a lot of questions that new moms face.
From the physical effects of childbirth to the breastfeeding vs bottle debate, sleep schedules, mental well-being, and all of that baby gear, you'd certainly be excused if you were feeling a little overwhelmed. Thankfully, on Episode 24 of our show, we'll sit down with OB-GYN and women's health specialist Dr. Samantha Pace to talk about all of the realities of early motherhood - both the joys and the challenges. She's just the expert to help us cut through the noise, calm the chaos, and maybe remind us that we really are doing better than we think. Join us!
We're open to your comments or ideas for future shows!
Email - healthymatters@hcmed.org
Call - 612-873-TALK (8255)
Get a preview of upcoming shows on social media and find out more about our show at www.healthymatters.org.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:01):
Welcome to the Healthy Matters Podcast with Dr.
David Hilden, primary carephysician and acute care
hospitalist at HennepinHealthcare in downtown
Minneapolis, where we cover thelatest in health, healthcare,
and what matters to you.
And now, here's our host, Dr.
David Hilden.
SPEAKER_01 (00:19):
Hey everybody, it's David Hilden, your host of the
podcast, and welcome to episode24.
If you're a brand new mom orabout to become one, you've
probably already figured outthat there's no shortage of
advice out there.
But here's the thing.
Parenthood is the ultimateon-the-job training.
You learn as you go, andsometimes, unfortunately, you'll
learn the hard way.
Today, we're here to make yourjourney just a little bit
(00:42):
smoother.
Joining me today is Dr.
Samantha Pace.
She is an OB-GYN and women'shealth specialist who has guided
countless us new moms and dadsthrough those first precious and
sometimes perplexing days.
Dr.
Pace, welcome to the podcast.
SPEAKER_03 (00:55):
Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_01 (00:57):
Great to have you.
So let's start with the physicalrecovery after childbirth.
You have been at the birth ofloads of new babies.
SPEAKER_03 (01:04):
Yeah, probably over a thousand.
SPEAKER_01 (01:06):
Over a thousand.
I'm guessing so.
Wow.
I've
SPEAKER_03 (01:08):
been doing
SPEAKER_01 (01:08):
this a while.
Wow.
So you've been doing this alittle while.
So there's probably nothing thatis absolutely completely typical
every single time.
But let's talk about what is atypical recovery like for
someone who has just deliveredWell,
SPEAKER_03 (01:20):
it depends on whether you've had a C-section
or a vaginal delivery and ifit's your first, second, third,
etc.
In general, we say that bleedingshould be like a period or less.
And then in general, pain shouldalways be either stable or
decreasing.
If in general, any of yourrecovery symptoms are worsening,
then that is something to beconcerned about.
SPEAKER_01 (01:42):
Now, so forgive me if during this podcast, I act
like I don't know anythingbecause I don't.
SPEAKER_03 (01:48):
You've never had a baby
SPEAKER_01 (01:49):
before?
I've never delivered a babybefore.
And people who have delivered ababy are going like, what does
this guy know?
This guy doesn't know anything.
So I'm going to ask you probablyquestions that are really
stupid.
So bleeding after childbirth.
SPEAKER_03 (01:59):
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (01:59):
Is that for both C-sections and vaginal
deliveries?
SPEAKER_03 (02:03):
Yes.
Actually, I think people mightnot know that actually after a
C-section, bleeding is lighterin general than after a vaginal
delivery.
SPEAKER_01 (02:10):
How many births are done by C-section versus vaginal
delivery?
And I'm not asking for specificnumbers.
SPEAKER_03 (02:16):
Well, the WHO recommends that less than 20% of
birth should be by C-section.
The last statistic I'd heard atHennepin, which might be old, is
that maybe 18% delivered byC-section.
We have one of the lowestC-section rates here at
Hennepin, partially because ofour great midwife service.
SPEAKER_01 (02:32):
Yeah.
So why is that a good thing?
SPEAKER_03 (02:34):
Because C-section is a big surgery to have.
It's a big abdominal surgery tojust deliver a child, and then
it also puts subsequentpregnancies at particular risk.
And you just don't want to haveso many surgeries just to grow
your family, if you can have anatural delivery.
But not all women and can havethat safely.
SPEAKER_01 (02:50):
Right.
So you talked about pain.
There's a whole lot of peopleright now going, yeah, that
thing hurt.
SPEAKER_03 (02:56):
A lot longer than
SPEAKER_01 (02:57):
I think people think.
So can you talk, those who havehad a baby, through what pain
should be like?
I don't mean during labor.
We're not going to focus so muchon that.
I mean after.
What should it be like for thedays and weeks afterwards?
SPEAKER_03 (03:10):
Well, by the time you go home, you should be able
to walk on your own, go upstairson your own.
SPEAKER_01 (03:16):
Like right away, the next day?
No,
SPEAKER_03 (03:17):
not necessarily
SPEAKER_01 (03:19):
the next day.
That
SPEAKER_03 (03:20):
sounds kind of aggressive.
SPEAKER_01 (03:49):
Right.
Right.
SPEAKER_03 (03:51):
Exactly.
SPEAKER_01 (03:52):
Yeah.
You shouldn't feel all thispressure that you need to be
doing gymnastics and walkingaround the block and all that,
right?
You
SPEAKER_03 (03:58):
don't need to be out in the fields working on the
harvest.
No.
Cleaning the house.
SPEAKER_01 (04:03):
You don't have to do any of that.
In fact, don't do any of that.
SPEAKER_03 (04:05):
Right.
Right.
No.
That's why you have hopefullyother people helping you around.
SPEAKER_01 (04:09):
Okay.
So how long does that discomfortin a person's body last?
SPEAKER_03 (04:16):
That's actually longer, I think, than most
people think.
C-section scars can beparticularly sensitive or tender
with specific activities,sometimes two to four weeks
after delivery.
Depending on what kind of repairyou needed after a vaginal
delivery, sometimes that canactually take, I hate to say it,
(04:38):
sometimes it can take almostlonger sometimes than a C-second
if you had a particularly badtear that required extensive
repair.
Because the pelvic floor, whichis also underestimated in
women's health, is really thecenter of your body, right?
It connects your lower half toyour upper half and sort of
anchors everything and is whereeverything pivots from.
And so if there's a repair tothe pelvic floor, which often
(05:00):
happens with your first vaginaldelivery, sometimes your second,
things like walking orparticular movements can trigger
soreness.
Nothing that's debilitating, butsomething that you notice for a
while.
SPEAKER_01 (05:12):
Is that common that there's tears that you have to
fix?
SPEAKER_03 (05:15):
Yeah,
SPEAKER_01 (05:15):
very common.
And do you do that right thenand there?
SPEAKER_03 (05:17):
Absolutely.
You've
SPEAKER_01 (05:18):
just delivered a baby.
Right.
Is that common?
SPEAKER_03 (05:22):
Very common.
Very common.
I'd say probably 90%, 95% foryour first time.
SPEAKER_01 (05:27):
Whoa.
SPEAKER_03 (05:28):
Really?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Not all of them are soextensive.
They're graded one through four.
Typically, you know, first andsecond degree tears are not bad
at all.
The third degree tears are whatget into the muscles that
surround the anus.
And so those can be a little bitmore extensive to repair.
SPEAKER_01 (05:47):
Okay.
And so you have some recoveryfrom that?
that, just like any other, youknow, things that a doctor had
to stitch up.
SPEAKER_03 (05:53):
Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (05:53):
Talk about that incontinence issue.
SPEAKER_03 (05:55):
So if you imagine, you know, some people say having
a baby is like pushing awatermelon through a garden
hose, but there's a little bitof tension, not a little bit, a
lot of tension.
I think there's a lot.
There's a lot of tension thathappens on the pelvic floor and
the pelvic nerves as the baby iscoming through and labor can
(06:15):
take 12 to 24 hours.
And so that's a lot of pressureto stretching of the pelvic
floor and that also stretchesyour pelvic nerves and those are
the ones that sort of tell youwhen you have to go to the
bathroom and those muscles arethe ones that contract and give
you continence and ability tocontrol that urge and then if
you get an epidural if you'rehaving a natural or hoping to
(06:37):
have a natural delivery or aspinal if you have a c-section
that anesthesia works in thespinal cord and also essentially
numbs up the lower half of yourbody and sometimes that can take
a while to wear off as well Buta lot of moms actually don't
feel the urge to go to thebathroom right away, right after
a baby because their pelvicfloor is still recovering.
And the recovery can take up to12 weeks.
(06:59):
The incontinence typically onlylasts.
The worst incontinence isusually within the first day.
And then moms will often learnto just go to the bathroom every
three to four hours, even ifthey don't feel the urge.
Sometimes the first time theyhave to go to the bathroom, they
might have an accident on theway there because they didn't
realize that until it's almosttoo late.
SPEAKER_01 (07:16):
Those are those first few days.
So if you're experiencing those,you've just had a baby, you're
normal.
Absolutely.
If you've had all of thesethings.
SPEAKER_03 (07:25):
Oh, yeah.
And women are so embarrassed.
They're like, oh, I had anaccident.
SPEAKER_01 (07:29):
It's like, oh, gosh, you've heard that a zillion
times in your
SPEAKER_03 (07:31):
life.
Totally normal.
Yes.
That's why we don't have carpet.
SPEAKER_01 (07:35):
That's why you don't have carpet in labor and
delivery.
Boy, there's an insider littlething you bet you never thought
of.
And why isn't there carpeting inthe L&D floor?
No, but really, you're going tohave pain in your, you know,
you're going to have You'regoing to have some discomfort.
You're going to have some pain.
You might have someincontinence.
And those are normal.
So you should feel, don't feellike you're something that's
(07:57):
strange that you're having thesethings.
SPEAKER_03 (07:59):
Very normal, very normal.
And your body will heal andeverything will generally
improve.
SPEAKER_01 (08:04):
That's a really important point.
Okay, shift to sleep.
And for those of you who are notthe one who just delivered a
baby, like a guy like me, Iremember some very sleepless
nights.
SPEAKER_03 (08:16):
Yes, very
SPEAKER_01 (08:17):
true.
What do you tell a new mom?
in the hospital, what to expectin those first few days?
SPEAKER_03 (08:21):
A lot of babies have their days and nights flipped
around.
And so they're sleeping duringthe day when you're kind of up
and doing things.
And then they think, you know,when the evening comes out, it's
time for them to wake up tiredand you want to sleep.
So really saying sleep when thebaby sleeps is really good
advice.
It's very hard to follow becauseas a new mom, you just want to
get all these things done andyou have a really long to-do
(08:43):
list and you've probably beenaway from your life for like
three to four days to have thebaby.
So Lack of sleep, you know, itcan be a serious issue.
I feel like lack of sleep andfatigue contribute so much to
mood instability, can contributeobviously to functioning, and
then it can become like thisdownward spiral.
So really prioritizing sleepshould definitely trump things
(09:06):
like keeping the house clean.
SPEAKER_01 (09:07):
It should be your top priority if that baby's
asleep.
SPEAKER_03 (09:10):
And one of the more rare complications, but
something that can happen is amom wants to sleep, but she
can't and her mind is racing andshe He's just like, I've gone
like 36 hours.
I'm trying to sleep.
I can't.
That for sure should trigger aphone call or a visit to the
clinic.
SPEAKER_01 (09:26):
Really, if it's been a long time and you just can't
sleep at all.
Yeah, if it's been a long timeand they
SPEAKER_03 (09:30):
want to sleep, but their minds are racing or they
just can't sleep.
Yeah, that can be the beginningof something not good.
SPEAKER_01 (09:37):
Do they generally call you?
Do they call their OBGYN ortheir nurse midwife?
Or at that point, are youstarting to talk to your
pediatrician?
Which person are you talking to?
SPEAKER_03 (09:46):
They should call their OBGYN or their nurse
midwife.
Or the nurse line to thehospital.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (09:51):
Shift to mood.
You mentioned this.
And it can be made probably alot worse with the sleep.
SPEAKER_03 (09:55):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (09:56):
But there's probably a whole range of emotions.
SPEAKER_03 (09:59):
Very much.
SPEAKER_01 (09:59):
Can you talk about that?
SPEAKER_03 (10:01):
I think new moms put a lot of pressure on themselves.
And they're worried that theymight break their baby or if
they don't do something right.
So, so much, right?
You've never maybe had a babybefore.
And then there's all of thisbreastfeeding pressure, which is
great if you can breastfeedwell.
And it does take a lot of work,but the expectations and the
(10:22):
demands and then wanting to doeverything right and doing
everything by the book and doingit on the schedule and making
sure that your breasts are fullyempty, that the baby has been
gaining weight, that it's burpedappropriately, that it has the
proper number of wet diapers andpoops.
There's so much
SPEAKER_01 (10:37):
to keep track of.
You think that the more kids youhave, the little bit more lax
you get?
SPEAKER_03 (10:51):
Oh, I think so.
I think so, for sure.
SPEAKER_01 (10:53):
I think we sterilized bottle nipples in
boiling water.
You know, this is my kids at 30now, but I think we did that.
I mean, I'm telling you, ourhouse would, you know, you could
have, it was like a sterileenvironment, which probably
isn't a great idea.
But then the second kid comesalong, or the third one, and
something falls on the floor andyou stick it in their mouth.
SPEAKER_03 (11:12):
Right,
SPEAKER_01 (11:14):
totally, absolutely.
Is that common?
SPEAKER_03 (11:15):
Very common.
But I think with all of theseexpectations— can put a lot of
pressure on moms and thenthey're going through huge
hormonal shifts and then they'regoing through sleep deprivation
and they have a new baby who'smaybe crying for reasons they
don't know and moms can startfeeling overwhelmed and sad and
depressed and maybe startfeeling guilty.
That's when things are trendingtoward the abnormal.
(11:38):
I think feeling tearful, cryingfor no reason, sometimes feeling
tired and stressed out but thenbeing able to recover and having
certain amount of resilience,that's normal.
That's normal.
SPEAKER_01 (11:47):
When should someone who's had a baby seek help for
their mood?
SPEAKER_03 (11:52):
We generally say if you feel like you're not able to
care for yourself or your baby,where all you want to do is lie
in bed or you just can't findthe motivation.
If the partner is concernedabout how they're doing,
sometimes moms lose sight ofobjectivity.
And so having a partner beingable to check in and say, hey,
I'm kind of worried about you.
If they start getting some ofthe really worrisome concerns
(12:14):
about, you know, start having,you know, very drastic thoughts
about their worthy I mean,everyone questions, of course,
if they're a good enough parent,but if it gets really serious.
SPEAKER_01 (12:23):
Until the day you die.
You're wondering that your wholelife.
SPEAKER_03 (12:26):
Oh, my gosh.
I can't imagine.
I have an almost three-year-old,and who knows what's going
SPEAKER_01 (12:32):
to happen?
Who knows what's going tohappen?
Yeah.
Yeah, so you're normal if you'rehaving that, but if things are
getting a little bitmaladaptive, then there's plenty
of help for that.
That is common, but there ishelp for that.
You mentioned earlierbreastfeeding.
I want to shift to that if wecould.
You said there's a lot ofpressure to do breastfeeding.
Could you just expand on that alittle bit?
Is it the thing to do?
Is it the only thing to do?
(12:53):
Why is there that pressure?
SPEAKER_03 (12:55):
Well, interestingly, a little tidbit, I did the
master's to a history ofmedicine degree.
I didn't finish the thesis, butI was studying breastfeeding a
lot.
Everything but thesis there?
(13:18):
Everyone was formula feedingtheir baby because they thought
science was better than thebody.
And, you know, we could create abetter formula than what nature
could make.
And then La Leche League was oneof the biggest pushbacks, I
think, against that.
And moms started gravitatingmore back toward nature and, you
know, the whole phrase breast isbest.
(13:38):
And so we've swung back again tobreast milk being the best.
And in terms of this pendulumthat's going back and forth,
maybe the pendulum is swung alittle bit too much.
Not too much into thebreastfeeding realm.
If moms either can't or arestruggling or they don't have
enough milk supply or it's justnot working, you've got three
(13:58):
other kids and breastfeeding anewborn all day.
There are some practicalities.
I think babies feel the sameway.
(14:20):
I personally was neverbreastfed.
I feel very bonded
SPEAKER_01 (14:24):
to
SPEAKER_03 (14:25):
my parents.
SPEAKER_01 (14:26):
So if we go back to breastfeeding, what should
people expect?
How does it work in those firstfew days?
SPEAKER_03 (14:31):
It's not going to be this idyllic birds flying,
rainbows,
SPEAKER_01 (14:35):
butterflies.
There's little Tweety birds outin the
SPEAKER_03 (14:38):
open.
The baby just naturally attachesto the breast and suddenly mom
is happy, baby's fat.
SPEAKER_01 (14:43):
Yeah, everything's going great.
SPEAKER_03 (14:45):
Right.
It takes a lot of work and a lotof perseverance.
Really?
(15:18):
It's a little bit
SPEAKER_00 (15:19):
unrealistic.
You mean it's being
SPEAKER_03 (15:21):
born?
No, like a breastfeeding sessionshould be 15 minutes and your
breast should be fully emptiedand the baby should be satiated.
Especially newborns, they fallasleep an awful lot.
They'll like breastfeed for liketwo minutes and then they'll
pass out.
And so then you're trying to getthem to wake up.
SPEAKER_01 (15:36):
Because you were told they need to empty this
thing in 15 minutes.
Right,
SPEAKER_03 (15:39):
right.
And you know, in your day-to-dayactivity, maybe you can't sit
and breastfeed for 30 to 45minutes because that's not
realistic.
But sometimes babies will wantthat.
And sometimes they won't.
Sometimes they won't latch well.
SPEAKER_01 (15:51):
What does that mean?
SPEAKER_03 (15:52):
That means that the babies, unlike adults, have this
amazing ability to eat andbreathe at the same time, which,
you know, we obviously stopbreathing when we swallow, but
they can continually breathe andswallow and it doesn't interfere
with their ability.
So they're literally justlatched on.
(16:18):
against the roof of the mouthand there has to be a certain
rhythm.
And sometimes if the latch iswhat we call too shallow, then
it can be painful.
Sometimes babies fall off.
Sometimes they get super fussyand you're trying to put it in
their mouth and they just keepmoving their head away.
There's a lot.
SPEAKER_01 (16:34):
That's kind of a lot of pressure, especially if you
haven't done this before.
Right.
SPEAKER_03 (16:39):
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
At some point you will decide ifyou can continue doing this or
if you think formula feeding isjust better for you.
Most people in general canbreast and it will go just fine.
SPEAKER_01 (16:49):
Is there anything that people should know about if
they choose to do that?
Any tips for people if you'veselected to go to formula or
some of the time going toformula?
I
SPEAKER_03 (16:59):
think unless there's evidence that your baby won't
tolerate certain types offormula, I think a basic formula
would be just fine.
Babies, I think, tend to stayfuller longer on formula and
then the volume of the formulayou need increases as the baby
gets older.
SPEAKER_01 (17:14):
So clearly we have a lot to talk about.
We're going to take a quickbreak But stay with us and we'll
be right back.
SPEAKER_02 (17:22):
When Hennepin Healthcare says, we're here for
life, they mean here for you,your life, and all that it
brings.
Hennepin Healthcare has ahospital, HCMC, a network of
clinics in the metro area, andan integrative health clinic in
downtown Minneapolis.
They provide all of the primaryand specialty care you'd expect
to find, as well as serviceslike acupuncture and
(17:44):
chiropractic care.
Learn more athennepinhealthcare.com Hennepin
Healthcare is here for you andhere for life.
SPEAKER_01 (18:00):
And we're back talking with OBGYN physician Dr.
Samantha Pace, talking abouttips and insights for new
parents when you welcome thatnewborn baby into the world.
Let's talk a little bit aboutgear.
Do you need any special stuff?
SPEAKER_03 (18:14):
Oh my gosh, there's so much gear.
SPEAKER_01 (18:15):
There's so much stuff.
I swear to God, it quintuplesthe stuff you have.
Do you need all that stuff?
SPEAKER_03 (18:21):
Oh, absolutely.
No.
The baby industry is a lot likethe wedding industry that
they're taking advantage of thisvery special moment in your life
and then being like, you have toaccessorize it with all of these
thousands of accessories.
I actually have a good friend ofmine who literally put her baby
in a laundry basket as abassinet for the
SPEAKER_01 (18:42):
first couple weeks of life.
We used a drawer of a dresser.
SPEAKER_03 (18:44):
Yes, absolutely.
There's a Finnish baby box,which is literally a box that
you put your baby in.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You don't need any of the gearnecessarily.
Will it make your life easier?
Possibly.
Will it make your life easierfor maybe two weeks and then
you'll graduate out of it?
A lot So
SPEAKER_01 (19:01):
maybe you could borrow some of that
SPEAKER_03 (19:02):
stuff.
Absolutely.
You can borrow some of it.
And again, if a baby has used itfor maybe two weeks, it's almost
new.
And so there's a lot of great,there's Once Upon a Child,
there's Facebook Marketplace.
There's so many places that youcan get gently used or sometimes
new baby gear that other newfamilies weren't able to use.
SPEAKER_01 (19:20):
The only thing I remember is that we were told
the crib we had been using wasnot any longer safe.
You know, I'm from a littledifferent era.
So just make sure that you havethe ones that are safe.
Exactly.
SPEAKER_03 (19:31):
Right,
SPEAKER_01 (19:31):
right.
If you use something super old.
SPEAKER_03 (19:33):
Right.
Apparently your kids survived,though.
SPEAKER_01 (19:35):
They did survive.
They did.
We were told that you probablyshouldn't hand down this crib to
somebody.
But the thing was like modernfor the 90s.
It was super modern.
But somebody said, well, theslats aren't quite the right
distance apart.
But, you know, we got a coupleof kids out of it.
They're alive.
They're hanging in there.
SPEAKER_03 (19:50):
That is the one thing.
The used car seats, you do wantto make sure that the expiration
date hasn't arrived for the usedcar seat.
SPEAKER_01 (19:56):
Oh, that's a good tip.
Okay, let's talk about supportnetworks.
What tips would you give to newparents about seeking out
support?
SPEAKER_03 (20:04):
It's hard because as a new mom, you don't really know
what you're going to need orwhat you should ask for.
And so really leaning on yourmom friends who have been
through this before and askingwhat they thought was helpful
because they're going to knowyou better than even your doctor
probably.
I would say probably theessential things are food.
For yourself.
(20:30):
all of the new baby stuff thatthey get.
And then also company.
Staying home alone sometimeswith the new baby can be very
lonely.
So I'd say companionship, food,and someone who can help tidy up
the place.
SPEAKER_01 (20:43):
Really good tips.
And I'm hoping that new parents,moms and dads have some of those
things.
Those are good things.
And if you're listening to thisand you didn't just have a baby,
maybe you could offer some ofthose things.
Cleaning, food, companionship,really good advice there.
What about making time foryourself to be Yeah,
SPEAKER_03 (21:02):
that definitely, if you have someone who you can
trust to leave the baby with andtake a couple hour break, go out
on your own, go shopping, treatyourself, go for a walk, even go
grocery shopping without thebaby.
Doing something without the babycan help sort of restore your
sense of center and who you are.
Generally, I've heard thetransition from zero to one can
(21:24):
be the hardest because you gofrom being a fully functional,
self-caring adult who's neverthinking about yourself, but
only thinking about the baby.
And that can be a real toughshift.
SPEAKER_01 (21:35):
Yeah.
I can imagine you're not usinglike full sentences anymore and
you're not talking to otheradults and you're not doing
whatever your professional lifemaybe would have been or your
social life would have been.
It all kind of goes, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_03 (21:45):
And one of the things I think also a lot of
parents don't really talk aboutis it can be create this weird
divide between your friends whohave kids and your friends who
don't because your friends whodon't have kids often are like
why can't you talk have a normalprolonged conversation that's
not interrupted every fiveminutes or three minutes by you
know the baby needing somethingand then other parent friends
(22:08):
are more understanding and therecan be hurt feelings sort of on
both sides and so maybe takingtime out to spend just
one-on-one time with yourfriends who might not have
children might be nice
SPEAKER_01 (22:19):
yeah that's a good tip I hadn't really thought of
that Because, you know, reachingout and asking friends for what
you need is a good thing.
SPEAKER_03 (22:26):
Yes, yes.
Being proactive is a good thing,yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (22:29):
So we're going to do something new on the podcast.
I'm just going to ask you, we'regoing to do like a lightning
round of questions, okay, aboutnew parenting.
And so we'll see what comes toyour mind, all right?
So what's the one myth about newmotherhood that needs to be
dispelled right here on thispodcast?
UNKNOWN (22:45):
Okay.
SPEAKER_03 (22:45):
you're not going to break your baby.
Your baby is built to survive.
Your baby is evolutionarilydesigned to survive.
You're not going to break yourbaby.
You're not going to kill yourbaby.
It'll be fine.
SPEAKER_01 (22:57):
Okay, question two.
What's the one product new momsand dads will be glad they
bought?
SPEAKER_03 (23:02):
This is hard.
Everyone's a little bitdifferent.
One thing I didn't think that Iwould want, but I personally
thought were super helpful, arethese bamboo cloth nipple...
inserts, breast shields sort ofthat you put inside your bra.
The disposable ones are reallyrough and in that area is
really, really sensitive.
(23:23):
And so the sort of soft bamboocloth.
SPEAKER_01 (23:26):
That's a great tip.
SPEAKER_03 (23:27):
Inserts that you put in your bra are, were a
lifesaver.
SPEAKER_01 (23:30):
Okay.
So that is a really goodpractical tip.
I was going to say the productyou should buy is like a plane
ticket to Tahiti or something.
Good tips.
Good tip.
Okay.
What's the one thing right nowthat new moms are expecting moms
should stop worrying about?
SPEAKER_03 (23:45):
Oh, I I think it goes back to the prior point.
You don't have to meet all thecriteria.
You don't have to follow all therules.
Your baby is going to be okay.
In general, if you're consistenteven 75% of the time and you
mess up the other 25% of thetime, that's totally fine.
SPEAKER_01 (24:02):
You're probably doing better than most of us.
If you mess up 25% of the time,you're doing better than
everybody
SPEAKER_03 (24:07):
else.
Exactly.
If you mess up 49% of the time,you're probably doing just
SPEAKER_01 (24:11):
fine.
And you're doing okay anyway.
Really good tip.
Okay.
So we have been talking with Dr.
Samantha Pace.
She is an OBGYN doctor, andwe've been talking about the
joys of new parenthood.
We're talking about those firstfew days and weeks of what you
might expect.
If you could summarize for us acouple of tips to leave our
listeners with, what would itbe?
SPEAKER_03 (24:30):
I would take advantage of the time before
your baby can move.
You can go out and do a lot ofthings, actually, when they're
just stuck in the car seat.
When they're immobile.
SPEAKER_01 (24:38):
When
SPEAKER_03 (24:38):
they're
SPEAKER_01 (24:39):
immobile.
How long does that?
SPEAKER_03 (24:40):
I mean, there's some pediatricians will say you
should wait until they're fullyvaccinated to take them out.
But going out for walks, goingto restaurants, going to
breweries, doing the things youwant to do, so much easier
before
SPEAKER_01 (24:52):
they're mobile.
It's way easier before they'remobile.
SPEAKER_03 (24:54):
And I think people are maybe sometimes nervous to
take a newborn out, but yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (24:58):
Have at it.
I think we went to a movie thatfirst week.
SPEAKER_03 (25:02):
Yes, even traveling, flying.
Flying is easier when they don'tknow what's happening.
And they're sleeping 80% of thedays.
SPEAKER_01 (25:10):
So that's one good tip.
You can take your kid out and dostuff.
You can take
SPEAKER_03 (25:14):
your kid out and do stuff without Yeah,
SPEAKER_01 (25:16):
yeah,
SPEAKER_03 (25:18):
yeah, yeah.
(25:45):
So we covered a lot of ground
SPEAKER_01 (25:57):
today, and I just want to get a quick rundown.
Number one, if you had sutures,that's normal.
Number two, incontinence, alsonormal.
Number three, sleep when thebaby sleeps.
Number four, breastfeeding is agreat thing to try, but it's
okay if it doesn't work for youor you can't do it.
Number five, you don't have tobuy all the gear.
(26:19):
You can borrow some of it.
You can find a friend who hadit.
Number six, find people to helpyou out.
Find your support system.
Maybe somebody can help you outwith food, tidying up, or just a
little companionship.
We all need that.
Great information here.
We've been talking to Dr.
Samantha Pace, OBGYN physicianat Hennepin Healthcare and a
women's healthcare specialist.
(26:40):
We really appreciate you beingon the show today.
SPEAKER_03 (26:42):
Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_01 (26:44):
Congrats.
Congratulations to new parents.
Thank you for tuning in.
I hope you'll join us in twoweeks time for the next episode.
And in the meantime, be healthyand be well.
SPEAKER_00 (26:55):
Thanks for listening to the Healthy Matters Podcast
with Dr.
David Hilden.
(27:25):
and Christine Hill.
Please remember we can only givegeneral medical advice during
this program and every case isunique.
We urge you to consult with yourphysician if you have a more
serious or pressing healthconcern.
Until next time, be healthy andbe well.
Welcome to the Healthy Matters Podcast with Dr.
David Hilden, primary carephysician and acute care
hospitalist at HennepinHealthcare in downtown
Minneapolis, where we cover thelatest in health, healthcare,
and what matters to you.
And now, here's our host, Dr.
David Hilden.
SPEAKER_01 (00:19):
Hey everybody, it's David Hilden, your host of the
podcast, and welcome to episode24.
If you're a brand new mom orabout to become one, you've
probably already figured outthat there's no shortage of
advice out there.
But here's the thing.
Parenthood is the ultimateon-the-job training.
You learn as you go, andsometimes, unfortunately, you'll
learn the hard way.
Today, we're here to make yourjourney just a little bit
(00:42):
smoother.
Joining me today is Dr.
Samantha Pace.
She is an OB-GYN and women'shealth specialist who has guided
countless us new moms and dadsthrough those first precious and
sometimes perplexing days.
Dr.
Pace, welcome to the podcast.
SPEAKER_03 (00:55):
Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_01 (00:57):
Great to have you.
So let's start with the physicalrecovery after childbirth.
You have been at the birth ofloads of new babies.
SPEAKER_03 (01:04):
Yeah, probably over a thousand.
SPEAKER_01 (01:06):
Over a thousand.
I'm guessing so.
Wow.
I've
SPEAKER_03 (01:08):
been doing
SPEAKER_01 (01:08):
this a while.
Wow.
So you've been doing this alittle while.
So there's probably nothing thatis absolutely completely typical
every single time.
But let's talk about what is atypical recovery like for
someone who has just deliveredWell,
SPEAKER_03 (01:20):
it depends on whether you've had a C-section
or a vaginal delivery and ifit's your first, second, third,
etc.
In general, we say that bleedingshould be like a period or less.
And then in general, pain shouldalways be either stable or
decreasing.
If in general, any of yourrecovery symptoms are worsening,
then that is something to beconcerned about.
SPEAKER_01 (01:42):
Now, so forgive me if during this podcast, I act
like I don't know anythingbecause I don't.
SPEAKER_03 (01:48):
You've never had a baby
SPEAKER_01 (01:49):
before?
I've never delivered a babybefore.
And people who have delivered ababy are going like, what does
this guy know?
This guy doesn't know anything.
So I'm going to ask you probablyquestions that are really
stupid.
So bleeding after childbirth.
SPEAKER_03 (01:59):
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (01:59):
Is that for both C-sections and vaginal
deliveries?
SPEAKER_03 (02:03):
Yes.
Actually, I think people mightnot know that actually after a
C-section, bleeding is lighterin general than after a vaginal
delivery.
SPEAKER_01 (02:10):
How many births are done by C-section versus vaginal
delivery?
And I'm not asking for specificnumbers.
SPEAKER_03 (02:16):
Well, the WHO recommends that less than 20% of
birth should be by C-section.
The last statistic I'd heard atHennepin, which might be old, is
that maybe 18% delivered byC-section.
We have one of the lowestC-section rates here at
Hennepin, partially because ofour great midwife service.
SPEAKER_01 (02:32):
Yeah.
So why is that a good thing?
SPEAKER_03 (02:34):
Because C-section is a big surgery to have.
It's a big abdominal surgery tojust deliver a child, and then
it also puts subsequentpregnancies at particular risk.
And you just don't want to haveso many surgeries just to grow
your family, if you can have anatural delivery.
But not all women and can havethat safely.
SPEAKER_01 (02:50):
Right.
So you talked about pain.
There's a whole lot of peopleright now going, yeah, that
thing hurt.
SPEAKER_03 (02:56):
A lot longer than
SPEAKER_01 (02:57):
I think people think.
So can you talk, those who havehad a baby, through what pain
should be like?
I don't mean during labor.
We're not going to focus so muchon that.
I mean after.
What should it be like for thedays and weeks afterwards?
SPEAKER_03 (03:10):
Well, by the time you go home, you should be able
to walk on your own, go upstairson your own.
SPEAKER_01 (03:16):
Like right away, the next day?
No,
SPEAKER_03 (03:17):
not necessarily
SPEAKER_01 (03:19):
the next day.
That
SPEAKER_03 (03:20):
sounds kind of aggressive.
SPEAKER_01 (03:49):
Right.
Right.
SPEAKER_03 (03:51):
Exactly.
SPEAKER_01 (03:52):
Yeah.
You shouldn't feel all thispressure that you need to be
doing gymnastics and walkingaround the block and all that,
right?
You
SPEAKER_03 (03:58):
don't need to be out in the fields working on the
harvest.
No.
Cleaning the house.
SPEAKER_01 (04:03):
You don't have to do any of that.
In fact, don't do any of that.
SPEAKER_03 (04:05):
Right.
Right.
No.
That's why you have hopefullyother people helping you around.
SPEAKER_01 (04:09):
Okay.
So how long does that discomfortin a person's body last?
SPEAKER_03 (04:16):
That's actually longer, I think, than most
people think.
C-section scars can beparticularly sensitive or tender
with specific activities,sometimes two to four weeks
after delivery.
Depending on what kind of repairyou needed after a vaginal
delivery, sometimes that canactually take, I hate to say it,
(04:38):
sometimes it can take almostlonger sometimes than a C-second
if you had a particularly badtear that required extensive
repair.
Because the pelvic floor, whichis also underestimated in
women's health, is really thecenter of your body, right?
It connects your lower half toyour upper half and sort of
anchors everything and is whereeverything pivots from.
And so if there's a repair tothe pelvic floor, which often
(05:00):
happens with your first vaginaldelivery, sometimes your second,
things like walking orparticular movements can trigger
soreness.
Nothing that's debilitating, butsomething that you notice for a
while.
SPEAKER_01 (05:12):
Is that common that there's tears that you have to
fix?
SPEAKER_03 (05:15):
Yeah,
SPEAKER_01 (05:15):
very common.
And do you do that right thenand there?
SPEAKER_03 (05:17):
Absolutely.
You've
SPEAKER_01 (05:18):
just delivered a baby.
Right.
Is that common?
SPEAKER_03 (05:22):
Very common.
Very common.
I'd say probably 90%, 95% foryour first time.
SPEAKER_01 (05:27):
Whoa.
SPEAKER_03 (05:28):
Really?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Not all of them are soextensive.
They're graded one through four.
Typically, you know, first andsecond degree tears are not bad
at all.
The third degree tears are whatget into the muscles that
surround the anus.
And so those can be a little bitmore extensive to repair.
SPEAKER_01 (05:47):
Okay.
And so you have some recoveryfrom that?
that, just like any other, youknow, things that a doctor had
to stitch up.
SPEAKER_03 (05:53):
Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (05:53):
Talk about that incontinence issue.
SPEAKER_03 (05:55):
So if you imagine, you know, some people say having
a baby is like pushing awatermelon through a garden
hose, but there's a little bitof tension, not a little bit, a
lot of tension.
I think there's a lot.
There's a lot of tension thathappens on the pelvic floor and
the pelvic nerves as the baby iscoming through and labor can
(06:15):
take 12 to 24 hours.
And so that's a lot of pressureto stretching of the pelvic
floor and that also stretchesyour pelvic nerves and those are
the ones that sort of tell youwhen you have to go to the
bathroom and those muscles arethe ones that contract and give
you continence and ability tocontrol that urge and then if
you get an epidural if you'rehaving a natural or hoping to
(06:37):
have a natural delivery or aspinal if you have a c-section
that anesthesia works in thespinal cord and also essentially
numbs up the lower half of yourbody and sometimes that can take
a while to wear off as well Buta lot of moms actually don't
feel the urge to go to thebathroom right away, right after
a baby because their pelvicfloor is still recovering.
And the recovery can take up to12 weeks.
(06:59):
The incontinence typically onlylasts.
The worst incontinence isusually within the first day.
And then moms will often learnto just go to the bathroom every
three to four hours, even ifthey don't feel the urge.
Sometimes the first time theyhave to go to the bathroom, they
might have an accident on theway there because they didn't
realize that until it's almosttoo late.
SPEAKER_01 (07:16):
Those are those first few days.
So if you're experiencing those,you've just had a baby, you're
normal.
Absolutely.
If you've had all of thesethings.
SPEAKER_03 (07:25):
Oh, yeah.
And women are so embarrassed.
They're like, oh, I had anaccident.
SPEAKER_01 (07:29):
It's like, oh, gosh, you've heard that a zillion
times in your
SPEAKER_03 (07:31):
life.
Totally normal.
Yes.
That's why we don't have carpet.
SPEAKER_01 (07:35):
That's why you don't have carpet in labor and
delivery.
Boy, there's an insider littlething you bet you never thought
of.
And why isn't there carpeting inthe L&D floor?
No, but really, you're going tohave pain in your, you know,
you're going to have You'regoing to have some discomfort.
You're going to have some pain.
You might have someincontinence.
And those are normal.
So you should feel, don't feellike you're something that's
(07:57):
strange that you're having thesethings.
SPEAKER_03 (07:59):
Very normal, very normal.
And your body will heal andeverything will generally
improve.
SPEAKER_01 (08:04):
That's a really important point.
Okay, shift to sleep.
And for those of you who are notthe one who just delivered a
baby, like a guy like me, Iremember some very sleepless
nights.
SPEAKER_03 (08:16):
Yes, very
SPEAKER_01 (08:17):
true.
What do you tell a new mom?
in the hospital, what to expectin those first few days?
SPEAKER_03 (08:21):
A lot of babies have their days and nights flipped
around.
And so they're sleeping duringthe day when you're kind of up
and doing things.
And then they think, you know,when the evening comes out, it's
time for them to wake up tiredand you want to sleep.
So really saying sleep when thebaby sleeps is really good
advice.
It's very hard to follow becauseas a new mom, you just want to
get all these things done andyou have a really long to-do
(08:43):
list and you've probably beenaway from your life for like
three to four days to have thebaby.
So Lack of sleep, you know, itcan be a serious issue.
I feel like lack of sleep andfatigue contribute so much to
mood instability, can contributeobviously to functioning, and
then it can become like thisdownward spiral.
So really prioritizing sleepshould definitely trump things
(09:06):
like keeping the house clean.
SPEAKER_01 (09:07):
It should be your top priority if that baby's
asleep.
SPEAKER_03 (09:10):
And one of the more rare complications, but
something that can happen is amom wants to sleep, but she
can't and her mind is racing andshe He's just like, I've gone
like 36 hours.
I'm trying to sleep.
I can't.
That for sure should trigger aphone call or a visit to the
clinic.
SPEAKER_01 (09:26):
Really, if it's been a long time and you just can't
sleep at all.
Yeah, if it's been a long timeand they
SPEAKER_03 (09:30):
want to sleep, but their minds are racing or they
just can't sleep.
Yeah, that can be the beginningof something not good.
SPEAKER_01 (09:37):
Do they generally call you?
Do they call their OBGYN ortheir nurse midwife?
Or at that point, are youstarting to talk to your
pediatrician?
Which person are you talking to?
SPEAKER_03 (09:46):
They should call their OBGYN or their nurse
midwife.
Or the nurse line to thehospital.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (09:51):
Shift to mood.
You mentioned this.
And it can be made probably alot worse with the sleep.
SPEAKER_03 (09:55):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (09:56):
But there's probably a whole range of emotions.
SPEAKER_03 (09:59):
Very much.
SPEAKER_01 (09:59):
Can you talk about that?
SPEAKER_03 (10:01):
I think new moms put a lot of pressure on themselves.
And they're worried that theymight break their baby or if
they don't do something right.
So, so much, right?
You've never maybe had a babybefore.
And then there's all of thisbreastfeeding pressure, which is
great if you can breastfeedwell.
And it does take a lot of work,but the expectations and the
(10:22):
demands and then wanting to doeverything right and doing
everything by the book and doingit on the schedule and making
sure that your breasts are fullyempty, that the baby has been
gaining weight, that it's burpedappropriately, that it has the
proper number of wet diapers andpoops.
There's so much
SPEAKER_01 (10:37):
to keep track of.
You think that the more kids youhave, the little bit more lax
you get?
SPEAKER_03 (10:51):
Oh, I think so.
I think so, for sure.
SPEAKER_01 (10:53):
I think we sterilized bottle nipples in
boiling water.
You know, this is my kids at 30now, but I think we did that.
I mean, I'm telling you, ourhouse would, you know, you could
have, it was like a sterileenvironment, which probably
isn't a great idea.
But then the second kid comesalong, or the third one, and
something falls on the floor andyou stick it in their mouth.
SPEAKER_03 (11:12):
Right,
SPEAKER_01 (11:14):
totally, absolutely.
Is that common?
SPEAKER_03 (11:15):
Very common.
But I think with all of theseexpectations— can put a lot of
pressure on moms and thenthey're going through huge
hormonal shifts and then they'regoing through sleep deprivation
and they have a new baby who'smaybe crying for reasons they
don't know and moms can startfeeling overwhelmed and sad and
depressed and maybe startfeeling guilty.
That's when things are trendingtoward the abnormal.
(11:38):
I think feeling tearful, cryingfor no reason, sometimes feeling
tired and stressed out but thenbeing able to recover and having
certain amount of resilience,that's normal.
That's normal.
SPEAKER_01 (11:47):
When should someone who's had a baby seek help for
their mood?
SPEAKER_03 (11:52):
We generally say if you feel like you're not able to
care for yourself or your baby,where all you want to do is lie
in bed or you just can't findthe motivation.
If the partner is concernedabout how they're doing,
sometimes moms lose sight ofobjectivity.
And so having a partner beingable to check in and say, hey,
I'm kind of worried about you.
If they start getting some ofthe really worrisome concerns
(12:14):
about, you know, start having,you know, very drastic thoughts
about their worthy I mean,everyone questions, of course,
if they're a good enough parent,but if it gets really serious.
SPEAKER_01 (12:23):
Until the day you die.
You're wondering that your wholelife.
SPEAKER_03 (12:26):
Oh, my gosh.
I can't imagine.
I have an almost three-year-old,and who knows what's going
SPEAKER_01 (12:32):
to happen?
Who knows what's going tohappen?
Yeah.
Yeah, so you're normal if you'rehaving that, but if things are
getting a little bitmaladaptive, then there's plenty
of help for that.
That is common, but there ishelp for that.
You mentioned earlierbreastfeeding.
I want to shift to that if wecould.
You said there's a lot ofpressure to do breastfeeding.
Could you just expand on that alittle bit?
Is it the thing to do?
Is it the only thing to do?
(12:53):
Why is there that pressure?
SPEAKER_03 (12:55):
Well, interestingly, a little tidbit, I did the
master's to a history ofmedicine degree.
I didn't finish the thesis, butI was studying breastfeeding a
lot.
Everything but thesis there?
(13:18):
Everyone was formula feedingtheir baby because they thought
science was better than thebody.
And, you know, we could create abetter formula than what nature
could make.
And then La Leche League was oneof the biggest pushbacks, I
think, against that.
And moms started gravitatingmore back toward nature and, you
know, the whole phrase breast isbest.
(13:38):
And so we've swung back again tobreast milk being the best.
And in terms of this pendulumthat's going back and forth,
maybe the pendulum is swung alittle bit too much.
Not too much into thebreastfeeding realm.
If moms either can't or arestruggling or they don't have
enough milk supply or it's justnot working, you've got three
(13:58):
other kids and breastfeeding anewborn all day.
There are some practicalities.
I think babies feel the sameway.
(14:20):
I personally was neverbreastfed.
I feel very bonded
SPEAKER_01 (14:24):
to
SPEAKER_03 (14:25):
my parents.
SPEAKER_01 (14:26):
So if we go back to breastfeeding, what should
people expect?
How does it work in those firstfew days?
SPEAKER_03 (14:31):
It's not going to be this idyllic birds flying,
rainbows,
SPEAKER_01 (14:35):
butterflies.
There's little Tweety birds outin the
SPEAKER_03 (14:38):
open.
The baby just naturally attachesto the breast and suddenly mom
is happy, baby's fat.
SPEAKER_01 (14:43):
Yeah, everything's going great.
SPEAKER_03 (14:45):
Right.
It takes a lot of work and a lotof perseverance.
Really?
(15:18):
It's a little bit
SPEAKER_00 (15:19):
unrealistic.
You mean it's being
SPEAKER_03 (15:21):
born?
No, like a breastfeeding sessionshould be 15 minutes and your
breast should be fully emptiedand the baby should be satiated.
Especially newborns, they fallasleep an awful lot.
They'll like breastfeed for liketwo minutes and then they'll
pass out.
And so then you're trying to getthem to wake up.
SPEAKER_01 (15:36):
Because you were told they need to empty this
thing in 15 minutes.
Right,
SPEAKER_03 (15:39):
right.
And you know, in your day-to-dayactivity, maybe you can't sit
and breastfeed for 30 to 45minutes because that's not
realistic.
But sometimes babies will wantthat.
And sometimes they won't.
Sometimes they won't latch well.
SPEAKER_01 (15:51):
What does that mean?
SPEAKER_03 (15:52):
That means that the babies, unlike adults, have this
amazing ability to eat andbreathe at the same time, which,
you know, we obviously stopbreathing when we swallow, but
they can continually breathe andswallow and it doesn't interfere
with their ability.
So they're literally justlatched on.
(16:18):
against the roof of the mouthand there has to be a certain
rhythm.
And sometimes if the latch iswhat we call too shallow, then
it can be painful.
Sometimes babies fall off.
Sometimes they get super fussyand you're trying to put it in
their mouth and they just keepmoving their head away.
There's a lot.
SPEAKER_01 (16:34):
That's kind of a lot of pressure, especially if you
haven't done this before.
Right.
SPEAKER_03 (16:39):
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
At some point you will decide ifyou can continue doing this or
if you think formula feeding isjust better for you.
Most people in general canbreast and it will go just fine.
SPEAKER_01 (16:49):
Is there anything that people should know about if
they choose to do that?
Any tips for people if you'veselected to go to formula or
some of the time going toformula?
I
SPEAKER_03 (16:59):
think unless there's evidence that your baby won't
tolerate certain types offormula, I think a basic formula
would be just fine.
Babies, I think, tend to stayfuller longer on formula and
then the volume of the formulayou need increases as the baby
gets older.
SPEAKER_01 (17:14):
So clearly we have a lot to talk about.
We're going to take a quickbreak But stay with us and we'll
be right back.
SPEAKER_02 (17:22):
When Hennepin Healthcare says, we're here for
life, they mean here for you,your life, and all that it
brings.
Hennepin Healthcare has ahospital, HCMC, a network of
clinics in the metro area, andan integrative health clinic in
downtown Minneapolis.
They provide all of the primaryand specialty care you'd expect
to find, as well as serviceslike acupuncture and
(17:44):
chiropractic care.
Learn more athennepinhealthcare.com Hennepin
Healthcare is here for you andhere for life.
SPEAKER_01 (18:00):
And we're back talking with OBGYN physician Dr.
Samantha Pace, talking abouttips and insights for new
parents when you welcome thatnewborn baby into the world.
Let's talk a little bit aboutgear.
Do you need any special stuff?
SPEAKER_03 (18:14):
Oh my gosh, there's so much gear.
SPEAKER_01 (18:15):
There's so much stuff.
I swear to God, it quintuplesthe stuff you have.
Do you need all that stuff?
SPEAKER_03 (18:21):
Oh, absolutely.
No.
The baby industry is a lot likethe wedding industry that
they're taking advantage of thisvery special moment in your life
and then being like, you have toaccessorize it with all of these
thousands of accessories.
I actually have a good friend ofmine who literally put her baby
in a laundry basket as abassinet for the
SPEAKER_01 (18:42):
first couple weeks of life.
We used a drawer of a dresser.
SPEAKER_03 (18:44):
Yes, absolutely.
There's a Finnish baby box,which is literally a box that
you put your baby in.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You don't need any of the gearnecessarily.
Will it make your life easier?
Possibly.
Will it make your life easierfor maybe two weeks and then
you'll graduate out of it?
A lot So
SPEAKER_01 (19:01):
maybe you could borrow some of that
SPEAKER_03 (19:02):
stuff.
Absolutely.
You can borrow some of it.
And again, if a baby has used itfor maybe two weeks, it's almost
new.
And so there's a lot of great,there's Once Upon a Child,
there's Facebook Marketplace.
There's so many places that youcan get gently used or sometimes
new baby gear that other newfamilies weren't able to use.
SPEAKER_01 (19:20):
The only thing I remember is that we were told
the crib we had been using wasnot any longer safe.
You know, I'm from a littledifferent era.
So just make sure that you havethe ones that are safe.
Exactly.
SPEAKER_03 (19:31):
Right,
SPEAKER_01 (19:31):
right.
If you use something super old.
SPEAKER_03 (19:33):
Right.
Apparently your kids survived,though.
SPEAKER_01 (19:35):
They did survive.
They did.
We were told that you probablyshouldn't hand down this crib to
somebody.
But the thing was like modernfor the 90s.
It was super modern.
But somebody said, well, theslats aren't quite the right
distance apart.
But, you know, we got a coupleof kids out of it.
They're alive.
They're hanging in there.
SPEAKER_03 (19:50):
That is the one thing.
The used car seats, you do wantto make sure that the expiration
date hasn't arrived for the usedcar seat.
SPEAKER_01 (19:56):
Oh, that's a good tip.
Okay, let's talk about supportnetworks.
What tips would you give to newparents about seeking out
support?
SPEAKER_03 (20:04):
It's hard because as a new mom, you don't really know
what you're going to need orwhat you should ask for.
And so really leaning on yourmom friends who have been
through this before and askingwhat they thought was helpful
because they're going to knowyou better than even your doctor
probably.
I would say probably theessential things are food.
For yourself.
(20:30):
all of the new baby stuff thatthey get.
And then also company.
Staying home alone sometimeswith the new baby can be very
lonely.
So I'd say companionship, food,and someone who can help tidy up
the place.
SPEAKER_01 (20:43):
Really good tips.
And I'm hoping that new parents,moms and dads have some of those
things.
Those are good things.
And if you're listening to thisand you didn't just have a baby,
maybe you could offer some ofthose things.
Cleaning, food, companionship,really good advice there.
What about making time foryourself to be Yeah,
SPEAKER_03 (21:02):
that definitely, if you have someone who you can
trust to leave the baby with andtake a couple hour break, go out
on your own, go shopping, treatyourself, go for a walk, even go
grocery shopping without thebaby.
Doing something without the babycan help sort of restore your
sense of center and who you are.
Generally, I've heard thetransition from zero to one can
(21:24):
be the hardest because you gofrom being a fully functional,
self-caring adult who's neverthinking about yourself, but
only thinking about the baby.
And that can be a real toughshift.
SPEAKER_01 (21:35):
Yeah.
I can imagine you're not usinglike full sentences anymore and
you're not talking to otheradults and you're not doing
whatever your professional lifemaybe would have been or your
social life would have been.
It all kind of goes, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_03 (21:45):
And one of the things I think also a lot of
parents don't really talk aboutis it can be create this weird
divide between your friends whohave kids and your friends who
don't because your friends whodon't have kids often are like
why can't you talk have a normalprolonged conversation that's
not interrupted every fiveminutes or three minutes by you
know the baby needing somethingand then other parent friends
(22:08):
are more understanding and therecan be hurt feelings sort of on
both sides and so maybe takingtime out to spend just
one-on-one time with yourfriends who might not have
children might be nice
SPEAKER_01 (22:19):
yeah that's a good tip I hadn't really thought of
that Because, you know, reachingout and asking friends for what
you need is a good thing.
SPEAKER_03 (22:26):
Yes, yes.
Being proactive is a good thing,yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (22:29):
So we're going to do something new on the podcast.
I'm just going to ask you, we'regoing to do like a lightning
round of questions, okay, aboutnew parenting.
And so we'll see what comes toyour mind, all right?
So what's the one myth about newmotherhood that needs to be
dispelled right here on thispodcast?
UNKNOWN (22:45):
Okay.
SPEAKER_03 (22:45):
you're not going to break your baby.
Your baby is built to survive.
Your baby is evolutionarilydesigned to survive.
You're not going to break yourbaby.
You're not going to kill yourbaby.
It'll be fine.
SPEAKER_01 (22:57):
Okay, question two.
What's the one product new momsand dads will be glad they
bought?
SPEAKER_03 (23:02):
This is hard.
Everyone's a little bitdifferent.
One thing I didn't think that Iwould want, but I personally
thought were super helpful, arethese bamboo cloth nipple...
inserts, breast shields sort ofthat you put inside your bra.
The disposable ones are reallyrough and in that area is
really, really sensitive.
(23:23):
And so the sort of soft bamboocloth.
SPEAKER_01 (23:26):
That's a great tip.
SPEAKER_03 (23:27):
Inserts that you put in your bra are, were a
lifesaver.
SPEAKER_01 (23:30):
Okay.
So that is a really goodpractical tip.
I was going to say the productyou should buy is like a plane
ticket to Tahiti or something.
Good tips.
Good tip.
Okay.
What's the one thing right nowthat new moms are expecting moms
should stop worrying about?
SPEAKER_03 (23:45):
Oh, I I think it goes back to the prior point.
You don't have to meet all thecriteria.
You don't have to follow all therules.
Your baby is going to be okay.
In general, if you're consistenteven 75% of the time and you
mess up the other 25% of thetime, that's totally fine.
SPEAKER_01 (24:02):
You're probably doing better than most of us.
If you mess up 25% of the time,you're doing better than
everybody
SPEAKER_03 (24:07):
else.
Exactly.
If you mess up 49% of the time,you're probably doing just
SPEAKER_01 (24:11):
fine.
And you're doing okay anyway.
Really good tip.
Okay.
So we have been talking with Dr.
Samantha Pace.
She is an OBGYN doctor, andwe've been talking about the
joys of new parenthood.
We're talking about those firstfew days and weeks of what you
might expect.
If you could summarize for us acouple of tips to leave our
listeners with, what would itbe?
SPEAKER_03 (24:30):
I would take advantage of the time before
your baby can move.
You can go out and do a lot ofthings, actually, when they're
just stuck in the car seat.
When they're immobile.
SPEAKER_01 (24:38):
When
SPEAKER_03 (24:38):
they're
SPEAKER_01 (24:39):
immobile.
How long does that?
SPEAKER_03 (24:40):
I mean, there's some pediatricians will say you
should wait until they're fullyvaccinated to take them out.
But going out for walks, goingto restaurants, going to
breweries, doing the things youwant to do, so much easier
before
SPEAKER_01 (24:52):
they're mobile.
It's way easier before they'remobile.
SPEAKER_03 (24:54):
And I think people are maybe sometimes nervous to
take a newborn out, but yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (24:58):
Have at it.
I think we went to a movie thatfirst week.
SPEAKER_03 (25:02):
Yes, even traveling, flying.
Flying is easier when they don'tknow what's happening.
And they're sleeping 80% of thedays.
SPEAKER_01 (25:10):
So that's one good tip.
You can take your kid out and dostuff.
You can take
SPEAKER_03 (25:14):
your kid out and do stuff without Yeah,
SPEAKER_01 (25:16):
yeah,
SPEAKER_03 (25:18):
yeah, yeah.
(25:45):
So we covered a lot of ground
SPEAKER_01 (25:57):
today, and I just want to get a quick rundown.
Number one, if you had sutures,that's normal.
Number two, incontinence, alsonormal.
Number three, sleep when thebaby sleeps.
Number four, breastfeeding is agreat thing to try, but it's
okay if it doesn't work for youor you can't do it.
Number five, you don't have tobuy all the gear.
(26:19):
You can borrow some of it.
You can find a friend who hadit.
Number six, find people to helpyou out.
Find your support system.
Maybe somebody can help you outwith food, tidying up, or just a
little companionship.
We all need that.
Great information here.
We've been talking to Dr.
Samantha Pace, OBGYN physicianat Hennepin Healthcare and a
women's healthcare specialist.
(26:40):
We really appreciate you beingon the show today.
SPEAKER_03 (26:42):
Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_01 (26:44):
Congrats.
Congratulations to new parents.
Thank you for tuning in.
I hope you'll join us in twoweeks time for the next episode.
And in the meantime, be healthyand be well.
SPEAKER_00 (26:55):
Thanks for listening to the Healthy Matters Podcast
with Dr.
David Hilden.
(27:25):
and Christine Hill.
Please remember we can only givegeneral medical advice during
this program and every case isunique.
We urge you to consult with yourphysician if you have a more
serious or pressing healthconcern.
Until next time, be healthy andbe well.
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