Today we welcome to the show a Birth Matters alum and professional model, Lauren Deckert, to share her birth story. Lauren’s work as a model has been featured in Harpers Bazaar China, Vogue Italia, Brides, Women’s Health, and Muscle & Fitness, hers. She’s walked the runway for top designers at New York Fashion Week, Miami Beach Swim Week, and New York Bridal Fashion Week every year for almost a decade. She’s also been a vegetarian since childhood and studied at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and is a drugless practitioner and certified health & nutrition coach. Her faith & philanthropic efforts are both important values for her and her family, and she founded a nonprofit called “Models Doing More”, which provides volunteer opportunities for Model Ambassadors wishing to offer assistance to underprivileged school children and orphaned elephants in Sri Lanka. While Lauren was pregnant in 2016, she launched a coaching program called “THE MODEL MENTOR” to empower, develop and consult aspiring models, women and model mamas and to act as a guide for those who wish to make positive changes in their lives. Three of the main principles of her coaching are Transformative thinking, Mindfulness or Mindful Eating, and Movement (which, not coincidentally, spell out the initials of The Model Mentor).
You'll hear Lauren share her son’s birth story, in which she chose to leave New York to give birth in her hometown in Maryland in the hospital where she was born. She’ll share details about this and other strategies that helped her to have the unmedicated vaginal birth that she had hoped for, and will also share nuggets of wisdom on prenatal nutrition and will share a little bit about the coaching she does with models and moms.
Episode Topics:
Prenatal nutrition as a vegetarian
Choosing to give birth at the hospital in Maryland, where she was born
Nutritional considerations for vegetarian in pregnancy
Coping strategies
Using birth ball in bed to open pelvis and help baby to rotate out of posterior position
Going into a bit “Laborland” when things got very intense, asking everyone to leave room
Rationale for wanting to give birth without pain medications
Delaying cord clamping for a long time
Backing up to pushing, talking about the urge to push only being felt when baby was crowning
Perineal massage to help minimize tearing & using Young Living essential oil
Early breastfeeding challenges & being diagnosed with Raynaud’s Syndrome, using nipple shields & getting clogged ducts
Resources:
Supporting Her online class for partners
Classical Piano Lauren used for labor and after (Spotify playlist)
Common Objections to Delayed Cord Clamping - What’s the Evidence Say? (Lamaze)
“90 Seconds to Change the World” - TedX video on the benefits of delayed cord clamping
Perineal Massage instructional video (YouTube)
Perineal Massage written instructions (The Functional Pelvis)
The Evidence on Prenatal Perineal Massage for Preventing Tears in Childbirth (Evidence Based Birth)
Claraderm - www.youngliving.com / member ID: 1441238, Lauren Deckert
Lauren’s info:
Instagram: @laurendeckert - #themodelmentor #roleModels #TheModelMama #LaurenDeckert
Facebook: facebook.com/themodelmentorlaurendeckert
*Disclosure: Links on this page to products may be affiliate links; I will receive a small commission on any products you purchase at no additional cost to you.
Transcript:
Lisa: 00:00
You're listening to the Birth Matters Podcast episode 19.
Lauren: 00:04
This is really important when you get pregnant, and I think it's really important for women to really listen to their bodies and really listen to their heart, and any type of thing that you're feeling in your gut or intuition, go with it. You're going to be told so many different things from healthcare providers or girlfriends or family, your mother in law, your mother, everything. But I think it's really important—everyone's first experience is so different. I think it's really important to just follow your heart and follow that gut.
Lisa: 00:37
Hey there, and welcome to the Birth Matters Show! I'm your host, Lisa Greaves Taylor, founder of Birth Matters NYC Childbirth Education and Labor Support. This show is here to lessen your overwhelm on the journey into parenthood by equipping and encouraging you with current best evidence info and soulful interviews with parents and birth pros. Please keep in mind the information on this show is not intended as medical advice or to diagnose or treat any medical conditions. If you enjoy this show, we'd be grateful if you'd share it with a friend. You can follow and share our posts on social @BirthMattersNYC, or simply tell them to search for Birth Matters wherever your friend listens to podcasts.
Lisa: 01:20
Today, I'm thrilled to welcome to the show a Birth Matters alum and professional model Lauren Deckert to share her beautiful birth story. Lauren's work as a model has been featured in Harper's Bazaar China, Vogue Italia, Brides, Women's Health and Muscle and Fitness Hers. She's walked the runway for top designers at New York Fashion Week, Miami Beach Swim Week, and New York Bridal Fashion Week every year for almost a decade. She's also been a vegetarian since childhood and studied at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and is a drug list practitioner and certified health and nutrition coach. Her faith and philanthropic efforts are both important values for her and her family, and she founded a nonprofit called Models Doing More, which provides volunteer opportunities for model ambassadors wishing to offer assistance to both underprivileged school children and orphaned elephants in Sri Lanka. While Lauren was pregnant in 2016, she launched a coaching program called The Model Mentor to empower, develop and consult aspiring models, women, and model mamas and to act as a guide for those who wish to make positive changes in their lives. Three of the main principles of her coaching are transformative thinking, mindfulness or mindful eating, and movement—which, not coincidentally, spell out the initials of The Model Mentor. And I can't help but also point out that I think those principles are very important ones, not just for life in general but with special relevance for labor, birth, and parenting, too.
Lisa: 02:52
Today, Lauren shares her son's birth story, in which she chose to leave New York to give birth in her hometown in Maryland, in the hospital where she was born. She'll share details about this and other strategies that helped her have the unmedicated vaginal birth that she had hoped for.
Lisa: 03:08
Before we start today's story, this episode is brought to you by an online course called Supporting Her. For couples who decide its preferred for their spouse or partner to provide active support for the woman in labor, those partners have a vital role to play toward a great birth. Created by expert birth educator, and doula, and my friend, Alice Turner, Supporting Her is an easily consumable online class that teaches tips, techniques, and actionable skills to help you take care of your partner and yourself during labor and birth. You'll learn how to define your role in labor, communicate with hospital staff, provide physical and verbal support, and deal with any curveballs. Supporting her is an easy way to learn all you need to know at your own pace in less than two hours from your computer or phone. I like to point out the fun fact that this class was recorded in a brewery, which helps it feel more like a relaxed conversation with a friend. To grab this course for only $49 and start building partner's confidence today, or to learn more, visit birthmattersnyc.com/links and click the button for the Supporting Her online course. Okay, now let's jump into the story.
Lisa: 04:24
Welcome, Lauren! I'm so glad you're here today.
Lauren: 04:27
Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited.
Lisa: 04:30
I can't believe it has been three years since you were in class with me and since you had your baby.
Lauren: 04:38
I know, I know! He's a wild, amazing, wonderful toddler now, and he's just... he's no longer a baby! He's so active. And, oh, I just—he's just pure joy. It's amazing how time flies.
Lisa: 04:52
Absolutely. Well, before we jump into your birth story, I would love to hear a little bit about your pregnancy. And especially, I was interested—since you're a vegetarian, I was interested to know were there specific nutritional changes or things you were intentional about with your nutrition or other lifestyle—fitness, activity, that kind of thing in your pregnancy to, you know, really give yourself the best foot forward with your birth.
Lauren: 05:19
Yes. So thank you for asking. Yeah, I made sure to take a plant based prenatal vitamin, of course, when I was—throughout my pregnancy. And continue taking it after as well, because I was breastfeeding. I was very careful with my doctors and with the natural path that I worked with and all the care providers I worked with, telling them that I was a vegetarian. So I was very open about that. And then I am a health coach, and I do... and I have been a vegetarian for a long time. So I knew a lot of—I knew my options, but I'm always into exploring new things. So I did, I did add a lot more things like quinoa to my diet, and also things like pastas that had quinoa or chickpea pasta. Things with a little bit more protein. And I also started juicing more. I had juiced for many, many years before it was even popular to juice. And then I had kind of stopped for a while. And then when I got pregnant, I wanted to have more, you know, folic acid, and more greens. And I would juice in the morning. And I did—I mixed all kinds of juices. My favorite was spinach, celery, apple, a handful of parsley, and a little bit of lemon. So I would do that in the morning. Actually, the juicing really helped with morning sickness, too. I actually didn't have morning sickness. I had sickness throughout the day, so morning, afternoon, and evening. So that actually did help me with the nausea. A lot. As well as ginger.
Lauren: 06:46
I did more protein and I upped my folic acid, you know, by having more vegetables and more greens. But otherwise, yeah, I stayed pretty—I'm pretty consistent with what I eat. And I'm creative with different greens and different grains, and so I kind of didn't really change much. But, yeah, I definitely upped the juicing. And I also treated myself. I also, you know, I'd have days where if I really, like, I wanted to, you know, have a piece of cake or have something sweet, I didn't hold back because I was very active throughout my whole pregnancy. I worked out every day. Sometimes I'd take the weekend off, but pretty much five days a week because movement is a big part of my life and a big part of my practice and what I do, I also didn't slow down much. I worked throughout my whole pregnancy, so I modeled through Expecting Modeling agency when I was pregnant. And then I launched the health coaching business, as well, when I was pregnant. So I actually think that movement was good for me. I mean, it's very important that we meditate or pray, and we slow down in certain parts of day, but I think the movement really helped me with carrying my son and also with giving birth.
Lisa: 07:52
And back to the nutrition real quick. Do you—I've heard that when someone has a vegetarian diet that they sometimes have to in pregnancy be a little more intentional with iron. Were there any specific things you did for iron to be sure that that was high enough?
Lauren: 08:10
Yeah. You know, you know what's interesting about that? Because I did take a supplement. So I did take—I think it was part of my prenatal pill, that had more iron in it. So I did take that because, yes, because my doctors were concerned, so I did take that. But I actually didn't eat anything different. But I would say what people don't realize is there is a lot of iron in certain plant-based foods and vegetables, and even in juicing. So I think the combination of that and then taking the supplement, I was fine when they—when they checked my blood work, I was always fine. I never had low iron, so yes, I was okay. Yeah.
Lisa: 08:44
All right. Well, would you like to go ahead and start on your birth story?
Lauren: 08:48
Sure.
Lisa: 08:49
Go right ahead! I can't wait to hear.
Lauren: 08:54
Great! So I think a big, you know, a really important part of giving birth is not just choosing the right healthcare, you know, practitioners, or doula or, you know, or all of that, or just the right kind of coach. It's really important to choose the place. You know, some people want to have home birth. Some people want to choose the hospital or birthing center. For me, it was returning home. So I left home when I was a teenager to model and also to attend college in New York. And I traveled the world. But my home was Maryland. I grew up there, and my mother and—my whole family's still there. My sister, you know, all my nieces, they're all there. So it was really important for me to return to Maryland and to give birth in the practice where I was born into, and where my sister's—all four of her children were born into. So I gave birth at not only the same practice where everyone was born in the family, but also the same hospital. So that was really important to me. I had a really positive experience. I loved my doctors. And I wanted to return, so I would actually, because I had a very healthy pregnancy and I was blessed to feel great for the most part throughout my pregnancy, I actually returned for doctor visits every other month to Maryland from New York. And then when I got closer to when I would possibly be giving birth, I returned to Maryland. So my due date was not till the end of October, but I went back to Maryland October 1st.
Lisa: 10:23
And how far away is it from New York?
Lauren: 10:27
It's three and a half hours.
Lisa: 10:28
Three and a half. Pretty good drive, or train ride, or... yeah.
Lauren: 10:33
Yeah. So, I had a feeling that my son was gonna come early. I think this is really important when you get pregnant. I think it's really important for women to really listen to their bodies and their—and really listen to their heart, and any type of thing that you're feeling in your gut or intuition, go with it. You're going to be told so many different things from health care providers or girlfriends or family, your mother-in-law, your mother, everything. But I think it's really important—everyone's first experience, is so different. I think it's really important to just follow your heart and follow that gut.
Lauren: 11:05
So my gut was telling me that my son was gonna come early. My due date was not until October 29th. I gave birth on October 11th. I knew he was gonna come early. Like I said, I was very active throughout my pregnancy. And a big part of my birth story, I think, to tell is before I actually like went into labor and my water broke, is I had a lot of signs leading up to my pregnancy that I was gonna go into labor. Like, it was days of little signs. So at night, I would not sleep as well. My legs would start to shake. I had very strange, strange but also beautiful experiences where I almost felt like my son was literally knocking down there, like "Please let me out! Let me down!" I felt like— yes, he was very active. Sometimes I wouldn't sleep like—I had almost like a cold feeling some nights before my water broke and I actually went into labor. It was very quiet in my family's house, and everyone was sleeping, and I would go and take baths at 3 a.m. with Young Living essential oil with lavender oil to calm my legs, to just calm this, like, almost nervous sensation that I was having throughout my body. So I think it's really important to listen to those signs. I really knew that he was coming a few days before it happened. And then the day that I went into labor, I actually went for a two-mile walk with my mom up by the elementary school where I attended and where I grew up and a few miles from my house, my parents' house, and my French bulldog got loose and I ran after her. At that point I stopped running. Yeah, I stopped running. I was just doing power walking. And sure enough, that evening I went to sit down to have, like, a late dinner with my parents, and I went to sit down on the couch and my water broke everywhere. And that was around 9 p.m.
Lisa: 12:39
So, big gush, sounds like?
Lauren: 12:42
It was a big gush. I was with my mom and dad. I just went to sit down and—boom!—like, everywhere, all over their sofa, and I was like, "Wow. Amazing. This is really happening." So my husband was still working in New York. He was still there. I called him before I even called my doctor. I called him at 9 p.m. and I said, "Look, my water broke!" and he said, "Okay. You know, I'll pack up slowly. You know, I'm not gonna hurry. I just don't think..."—you know, with first birth—especially after taking your course. Thank you, Lisa, so much—you told us, "Please, you know, take time with yourself, especially with the first, you know, birth, don't rush. It's not like the movies where you, you know, run to the hospital. It's not like that at all."
Lauren: 13:19
So I called him, then I called my doctor, and...my doctor was well informed—like I said, I knew the practice very well—that I was not going to hurry in. Of course, they tell you to come in when you can or as soon as you want to, but I said, "I'm really gonna labor at home as long as I can." My husband probably arrived from New York around 1:30 in the morning, and I labored all night long at my family's house through the night. What was interesting for me was that I never really had a real contraction in my stomach. All my labor was back related. I had intense back labor, not in the beginning, but throughout the night I had back labor. It's almost like an intense pain that would start in my lower back and then go down my leg. I kind of had a feeling I might have back labor because throughout my whole pregnancy, especially towards the end, I had a lot of back discomfort. I would say that was the only real challenge when I was pregnant—throughout the pregnancy—was that I had intense back pain even though I was very active, and I did squats, and I worked out, and that was just, you know, just carrying low and just having that back pain, that was my... that was my challenge.
Lauren: 14:19
So the back labor went on throughout the night. Stayed—I stayed at my parents’ house, probably till around 6 a.m. and then my husband and I drove to the hospital. I probably would have stayed even longer, but, like I said, my water had broke so at that point, I couldn't really sit in water. I really loved—by the way, leading up to going into labor before the water broke—I really loved baths. I really loved lavender baths, I loved sitting in the water and essential oils and all that. So we arrived at the hospital and what was nice about my hospital was we did have our own private room, and I brought a lot of things from home with me. I think it's really important if you aren't going to labor at home to bring whatever you can that makes you feel connected and centered. And what makes you feel, obviously, the most confident and relaxed. So, I brought my diffuser. As you know, Lisa, I use a lot of Young Living essential oils. So, I brought my diffuser and I defused my entire time throughout labor, I defused lavender oil, clary sage...Sometimes if I needed a pick-me-up to get through the labor, I would have my husband put in a citrus fresh like a citrus like a lemon or grapefruit, because that's really good with lifting the mood. And because we took your course, my husband was great with massaging my back with massaging my legs, with...
Lisa: 15:35
Yay!
Lauren: 15:36
Yeah, really, really helping me. We had a yoga ball which really helped. And my sister had given—had four births vaginally, including twins. So she was like and she's certified in everything. So she was my doula...
Lisa: 15:52
Awesome.
Lauren: 16:04
And my husband was—yes—my husband was my big support system. And then my mother as well was in the room and just an amazing calm, centered person. And she was wonderful as well. So...
Lisa: 16:05
So they allowed several...
Lauren: 16:06
[inaudible]
Lisa: 16:07
Yeah, I was just gonna say it sounds like they let a bunch of people in.
Lauren: 16:11
Yeah. Usually they allow two people as your labor support team. And that was gonna be my sister and my husband, but they let my mom come in, which was amazing. So basically, I had three labor support, which was incredible, because everyone could take breaks, or could run down and get something to eat. It was great. Even, like I said, they even let my dad come in. At some point, I finally kicked him out. They let him come in, too.
Lauren: 16:35
So for me, my labor was very positive. It was very—in my opinion—long. I didn't give birth till the following day at 6 p.m. So I went into labor the following night at 9 p.m. And in the following day gave birth at 6 p.m. But I think it was a long wait for me because I had the back labor. We used a lot of alternative, you know, things like the yoga ball and a lot of feet massage. And on my ankles, not just my back and down my legs. Ankles was big. We rubbed a lot of Young Living essential oils into my legs in between the back contractions. But yeah, I had a really positive support team. My nurses knew that I wanted to have a natural labor. Anytime I thought about using something else, like an epidural or anything, they would remind me that I wanted—I was really trying to have a natural labor. My husband was great with that.
Lauren: 17:23
We played classical music the entire time. We also listen to a lot of chanting in Greek. My husband's Greek and in our church they do a lot of chanting, and I had looked into that throughout my pregnancy as well. So I feel like my son Antonio was very used to hearing these sounds, and I think that it really soothed him
Lisa: 17:40
I would love to have, like, the names of some of the chanting music if it's on Spotify or something, and maybe I could link to it in the show notes.
Lauren: 17:48
Oh yes, it's in Spotify. I'll send it to you. So we had a mix of like piano, which I love piano, classical music. We had created playlist, and then we had the chanting, and I think that's really important as you prepare. You know, for those moms listening out there, you prepare your birth plan. Definitely, if music is important to you, if different type of breath work or chanting or something that you hear at church or something that the baby is used to hearing, it's really important to include that, and I think that it really helped me get through. Because for me, like I said, I felt like it was forever. It was almost 24 hours of labor from the time my water broke, and I felt like I just felt that—the waiting, the waiting...Staying focused during the waiting in between those bad contractions....
Lauren: 18:31
The big challenge for me was he was posterior, I think, instead of anterior.
Lisa: 18:34
Yes. My first baby was, too.
Lauren: 18:37
Okay,
Lisa: 18:38
That back neighbor is intense. Yeah,
Lauren: 18:41
Right. So what they had me do is lay with a yoga ball—very interesting—between my legs. It was quite, quite large, the yoga ball. And they had me turn my body to the left side, lay there for an hour to an hour-and-a-half, and do that, and then turn my body to the right side. And eventually he finally turned. So you know, if you are in labor and anyone tries to scare you or say "Oh, they're not—their head is not right" or "They're head down, but they're not in the right position." They will, I think. I think if you just give the baby a chance and take your time, they will turn. Because my son finally did turn.
Lisa: 19:15
Sometimes with some proactive body, you know, body positioning like you were doing. Yeah.
Lauren: 19:21
Right. Right. So we did that. And, you know, like I said, I think the essential oils really helped me with staying focused, you know, would give me some clarity when I felt like a little bit like the waiting, you know, would get me down a little bit. The fact that they let me walk all around, you know, they let me—I wasn't really hungry. I ate, you know, very well the night before and I ate before we went to the hospital. But they let me bring whatever I wanted in. And they let—you know, and a very healthy thing. And they let me drink and eat whatever I wanted. I know not all hospitals are like that and I know everyone's experience is different, so...
Lauren: 19:56
But I was fortunate that, you know, I had told them that that, you know, that was important to me. So yeah, so it was a very, very, very calm and just a beautiful experience. And then finally, I would say toward the end, getting towards the end, I say, like, when there was about an hour left, the nurse and my sister looked and they said, "Oh, we can see, you know, the baby's head, we could see he has brown hair at this time and, you know, and I didn't really push—I only—I would say I pushed five times in three sets. They told me I was the power breather and power pusher. That's what they called me.
Lisa: 20:32
Nice! Who doesn't want to hear that? That's great.
Lauren: 20:37
It was amazing. I think it was because, like I said, I work out a lot and I also am very big into breath work. I practice meditation, yoga, all types of different breath work. I really think not just the working out. I think the breath work—different breath work and breathing sounds that I do really, really helped me. And, of course, taking your course helped, too. So I think that that—I think it really got me through. So when I tell people, it was the waiting period of having him turn and just getting through the back labor, but then when it came time, when I was like, you know, 10 centimeters dilated and then they could tell me, "I see him, he has brown hair" and I started to cry, it was just—those pushes went so quickly. I mean, it's amazing. I mean, you know, it was in the sets of three but like that breathing, in those times that I pushed him, it just , it was amazing. It was like, "Wow," it just happened so quickly after you wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Yeah, so...
Lisa: 21:33
Can we back up a little bit? Just do you remember leading up to pushing, like the last little bit of dilation in the first stage? The transition? Do you remember any challenges or intensity that was like just, you know, more than you had experienced leading up to that point? Anything to note?
Lauren: 21:52
Yeah, it was almost like with that leading up to that push, it was almost like I had almost like a burning sensation. I don't even want to say it that way because it sounds negative, but it was like a very intense...I don't want to say it's like a truck going through your body—it's like an intense feeling that's so much pressure that I don't even have a word for it, which is amazing for me because I talk so much. Yeah, it was a very intense, intense pressure.
Lisa: 22:20
And then was there not much time in pushing before baby was—it sounds like baby was almost immediately crowning as soon as you started the pushing stage. No?
Lauren: 22:29
Yeah, yeah.
Lisa: 22:30
That's unusual in a first birth,
Lauren: 22:33
Very unusual, and that's like—it's why I said I felt like the wait— there was, like, this period of waiting, it's like I said almost 24 hours of labor, and I just kept getting through. And as soon as he turned, and as soon as he—it's weird, he turned, and then it's just amazing how the body works. I was ready. It was just—it was all of a sudden. I went from, like, I don't know, like not—three centimeters, and all of a sudden, I was 10. It was very interesting. Yeah, so and it just happened so quickly, and I say that it was just an intense pressure. It's always, you know, everyone, like I said, everyone's very different. For me, it was more, I would say, my labor, it wasn't a pain. It wasn't like a pain to where it was excruciating. It was more like an annoyance.
Lauren: 23:17
When the back labor would come, it was almost like an annoying type of—but in between, everything was okay. When I didn't have the contractions, I felt fine. It was almost just like leading up to it and breathing through it, it was more of like a nagging type of sensation. Only when I would have the contraction down the back. But after that in between, I actually felt really good. So, and I think because I felt I think, like I said, the working out, breath work, being active, I think it really prepared me for that.
Lisa: 23:46
Absolutely. Yeah, I have no doubt. Were there other physical sensations you felt in the first stage of labor that—besides the back labor, how did you perceive the contractions, or was it really just mostly the back labor?
Lauren: 24:01
It was all back. It was all back labor. So I never had a contraction in my stomach. I kept wanting to feel like, you know, they tell you sometimes it's going to be like a really bad period pain time. Like I never really had hard periods or bad periods, like I didn't really even know which equate it to. So, but all I felt was, yeah, an intense, low pain. And then it would go, depending on how intense the contractions were, it would just go down my back. And of course, they had me at some point, you know, hooked up to the monitor so I could see it coming, too. So I could prepare myself as well with my breath work. And I did notice, too, at some point I almost went into...I don't what to say I wasn't there, because I was there, I was very present. But I almost went into a state of—and I don't know if that's because I pray a lot and I meditate—of where I was there, but I was also not there
Lauren: 24:51
Not to scare anyone. I needed to go into a place like that to be able to get through the labor. So at one point I even told my husband. Yeah. At one point, I even told my husband, my sister, my mom, my dad, everyone—because, you know, the room got very loud and was like a celebration before he even came—I said, "Everyone, please leave. Because I need—I can't talk." The contractions became so close and the labor was so intense through my back at some point, I just couldn't talk. I wanted to talk, but I couldn't talk. I just couldn't communicate. And I needed to go into the zone of where I just need to focus on my breath and just getting through that contraction. So as much as it was, like, a celebration, a lot of it was very peaceful, there were times where I had to just— I did have everyone for like, about an hour-and-a-half to two hours to leave the room. And I just listened to the music, I diffused, and I just got through it.
Lauren: 25:42
Because, you know, if your labor is not gonna come on really quickly and you know, you give birth in four hours, you hear all these stories where it's amazing and quick— mine was not like that. I really, it was, you know, like I said, 21 hours I had to really have moments of where one hour would go by or two hours would go by, and I just needed some, you know, some quiet time. But like I said, my husband said he even saw it, he's like, "Wow, you changed." I just got really quiet, and I went within, and I just asked everyone, you know, "Look, I just need some quiet time because I'm here, but I also am not here." It's weird. Like, I needed to just breathe. Yeah.
Lisa: 26:14
We call that "Labor Land."
Lauren: 26:16
There we go. I didn't know the word.
Lisa: 26:19
Yep, Labor Land.
Lauren: 26:21
That's what I went into. Yeah.
Lauren: 26:23
And when you asked everybody to leave the room, did you keep your husband with you? Or did everyone everyone leave the room?
Lauren: 26:30
Actually, I had everyone leave the room at one point.
Lisa: 26:34
Yeah. Good for you. You need to do whatever works for you.
Lauren: 26:37
I needed them to leave the room. And that's why I would say, like, it's very important to have a birth plan. We had one written out, you know, with everything included, all the oils we're gonna use. We gave it to our doctor. How we wanted things to go, how we wanted a natural labor, how we were open to things that, you know that were, you know, that had to be for emergencies, and things like that. But, you know, we did have all that, and I think it's really important have the plan. But I also think it's important to always remain open because...
Lisa: 26:59
Yes.
Lauren: 27:00
You might... You may want your support system there the whole time, but you also, when you are having a long labor like I did, you may also need your quiet time. And sometimes when there are more than one people in—person—in the room, and it is your family, because it was all my family, I didn't have, you know, a person who was not family, actually, you know, it can get very loud. It's exciting. So I at one point just said very calmly to everyone, "Listen, I just, I need this quiet time," and I just had them go get something to eat. And, you know, I said, you know, whatever. And then then he did come back after, like, an hour-and-a-half, and he actually fell asleep on the sofa because I was in this position with my legs, and I couldn't move. They said, "Really, we need him to turn. You know, we don't want him to be posterior." So I, at one point I just turned to the side, and I just, you know, for like, an hour, because it was a long time, you know, and I just, I was completely okay with it. So I think everyone's different. That was my...that, I needed that. I needed actually no one to talk to me. Yeah.
Lisa: 27:58
That makes sense.
Lauren: 27:59
I think it's good to share that. Because, you know, some people really need, you know, their hand held, or really want the massage, you know, and you need to take breaks because, obviously, can't have your husband massage you for 21 hours. So my sister, my mom, everyone took their turns. But at that point I didn't want to be touched anymore. I needed to just go into my zone. Yeah.
Lisa: 28:15
Yeah, that's often the case. I say it's often the case, but it's unpredictable like you were saying. Like, set your plan, but then really remain open. Because sometimes we think we're gonna want a ton of massage. And then we're like, "Don't touch me!" Or like you're saying, in your case, it was a little bit of both or a lot of both across the whole span of labor.
Lauren: 28:35
Yeah, I went through so—you go through so many emotions, but it's so beautiful to be able to go through all of those experiences, you know, and just zone, go into your own if you can. You know, my breathing and my breath work and my meditation, all that, it really helped me really helped me. In times when I just, the touch wasn't helping. The massage was helping or, you know, the positive word from others. I didn't need to hear it anymore. At that point, it was almost like I was just—I needed to just be with myself and with my baby, that was almost gonna come through me.
Lisa: 29:12
I have two questions. One is—your water having broken at the beginning of labor, was there ever any talk of induction medications at any point?
Lauren: 29:25
Never. Never.
Lisa: 29:27
I love that. Because here in New York City hospitals, they would have, depending on the care provider, they would have wanted to induce way before you gave birth. You know, if...
Lauren: 29:37
I know.
Lisa: 29:37
Although, well, let me back up there and say, when did your contractions start?
Lauren: 29:44
What's interesting is my contractions started only about an hour-and-a-half to two hours after my water broke.
Lisa: 29:49
Okay, I'm sorry. I missed that piece of it. So then they wouldn't have needed to induce. Good.
Lauren: 29:56
Yeah, no, but I have heard the stories. We are New Yorkers and the majority of all my friends have given birth at New York hospitals, and a lot of them—some of their doctors don't even let them go 21 hours of labor, they just want to give them a cesarean. And some of them, unfortunately, have been pushed into that. And I mean, they have a lot of—I feel so bad, because I work with a lot of moms and they have, you know, this mom guilt that they let doctors—you know, they didn't have a good relationship with or didn't know—let them talk them into, you know, because they want to move things along. So I do feel very blessed that I was in a loving environment. The hospital, no one was pushing me. The baby was never, he was never in distress. He just took his time. He just needed to turn. And he just took his time till he—till I was really, really dilated and ready to push.
Lauren: 30:38
And there was no talk of, you know, there was no talk of pushing any type of medication to speed things along, and there was no talk of a C-section or anything like that. So, I'm very blessed that he was healthy and that he wanted, you know, that he was taking his time and everyone else let me take my time, too.
Lisa: 30:54
Yes. Yeah, that's golden. Patience. A little patience goes such a long way with the first labor, from everyone around, including yourself. Yeah. I wanted to ask you, what was your rationale in desiring an unmedicated birth?
Lauren: 31:12
First things first. I am not a person who does well with medication. Even if you give me, like the slightest, I don't know, thing like an antibiotic or an Advil. I don't. I have an aversion. I have...I just don't do well with medication. So I'm very into trying things naturally, and alternatively, before even taking like a simple pain medication, if you know, I don't feel well—like if I have a headache, I'd rather go do yoga or try some breath work before I would try to take an Advil. So I'm just not. I don't want to say—we obviously, we need modern medicine for certain things and we do need medication, of course, to help us, and there's nothing wrong with that. But I personally just don't do well with it. I always have some kind of side effect, or reaction, and then I also wanted to feel. I wanted to feel everything. I didn't want to be numb, I really wanted to feel. And if it was pain or if it was—I just wanted to feel. So I think that that's me. I felt like if I had given—if I had taken any type of medication, I would be numb and I wouldn't really feel the whole experience.
Lauren: 32:22
And another thing that was important to us that we put our birth plan—I think it's really important that you discuss this with your provider, especially if you aren't giving birth at home or, you don't have a doula to help for you, I mean, I vouch for you: definitely try to not have them cut the cord right away. Like me, you know, a lot of hospitals, they want to rush you. We were very, very strict with telling our doctor, "We want to keep it—we want the pulsating on it, we want it to, like, stop. We want him lying on me as long as possible with the cord." So when Antonio, my son Antonio, when he came through me, I—they laid him on my chest and they let us...they did not cut for, I would say, 45 minutes. Like it was a long time. Most hospitals do not do that.
Lisa: 33:02
Oh, no. In New York, usually three minutes is the maximum that they'll allow in a hospital environment. Yeah, that's great. I love that.
Lauren: 33:10
Right? So if you—Yes. So if you can, if you aren't giving birth in New York or if you are, either way, if you're going to a birthing center, then they would probably be much more open to...even like 15 to 20 minutes would be, you know, so much better than you know, three. But we were very blessed that I said, you know, no one rushed me. You know, "This is our time, and I really don't wanna, I don't want to cut the cord. I want to"—my husband did eventually, like, 40 minutes later. But yeah, he laid on me with just with the court attached.
Lisa: 33:42
Yay.
Lauren: 33:43
For a long time. Which we learned about in your class.
Lisa: 33:51
Yep. Backing up to pushing. I just want to ask one quick question on that. I know it was—sounds like it was very brief and efficient, but did you feel the uncontrollable physiological urge to push?
Lauren: 34:02
I did. It's interesting. I did toward the very end. But in the beginning, when they were like, "Okay, Lauren, you know, you're really dilated now. We're gonna you know, you really should try., I didn't It was weird. I think I went to such a zone because I waited for so long that I didn't have the urge right away. But at the very, very end, like that last one? Yes, I, like, I needed to get him out. Like when the head, when he was, like, crowning, yes. But right before that, no, it was very strange. I don't know if I just went into, like, a meditative state. I don't know what it was. I didn't have, you know, because I worked with myself so much on, you know, on the breath work and kind of trying to zone in and zone out leading up to the birth, that—and before I went into labor—that I think I didn't have that [inaudible]. I kept kind of waiting for it, and I didn't have it. It was only at the very end that it was like, "Wow!" It was like an intense pressure, and I had to get him out.
Lisa: 34:58
And it could have just been a change of Antonio's position on your rectum. Maybe it just wasn't triggering it until the very end of it. So much of that is positional. Yeah, interesting.
Lauren: 35:09
Another thing I did leading up to my birth, which I think is really important, and I know you touched upon a little bit about the perineum in your class, is I massaged my perineum. So I did that, like, weeks leading up to my birth. And I think it's so important. I actually used a Young Living—it's called Claraderm, which is for specifically for the perineum, that you spray it. And I think it really helped me with, like, not having a huge tear at birth, and like having, just like dealing with the intense pressure down there. So I think that's very important as well, to bring up to women like, "Don't be afraid to do that." I think it really makes it stronger and makes it so much easier when you're giving birth, especially naturally.
Lisa: 35:49
Yeah, yeah, and especially, it also gets you accustomed to—what does that intense, burning stretching sensation feel like? So that you're much less likely to tense up. If it's the first time you're feeling it, you're more likely to tense up. If you've prepped yourself and been like, "Oh, this is what this is gonna feel like. This is along the lines of what it's gonna feel like," there's huge benefit in that, I think for sure. Thanks for bringing that up. That's great. Do you want to talk at all about initial breastfeeding or the bonding time after the birth?
Lauren: 36:18
Yes. So my son did have trouble latching. Breastfeeding did not come easily for me. I would say breastfeeding was my biggest challenge. My labor was so beautiful and seamless, and I had worked so hard to be prepared for it mentally, physically, emotionally. My sister's a lactation consultant. She really worked with me. But I did go through three lactation consultants after giving birth and once getting back home to New York, because I really, I really struggled with it. And I think it's really important that we talk about breastfeeding and talking about how it is not easy for everyone. It does not come easily.
Lisa: 36:53
Yes.
Lauren: 36:54
I never—I've never once supplemented. If you have to, it's okay if that's what you need to do. I was very very tough on myself. I did not want to supplement. I did not want to give him anything else but my breast milk. But it didn't come. My breakfast did not come in right away, which, not everyone does, especially with first birth. And he also did not latch very well. And thankfully I had my sister, because sometimes the hospital nurses don't really take time with you. So I would say, like, before you even give birth, hire a lactation consultant, or have someone that you've interviewed, or have one ready because you may need it. I really did need it. And then, you know, I was only in Maryland for three weeks after giving birth, and then I went back to New York.
Lauren: 37:31
And you know, when the baby really starts to wake up and you know, you really, you need that support system after giving birth. And I actually had used a—what is it—like a prophylactic? Like what? Like a nickel shield, because he was having trouble latching. But the reason why I was using it, which is very interesting, I discovered, is, my nipples burned so badly when I would breastfeed, and after I would finish breastfeeding, they would turn white. So no one diagnosed me until the third lactation consultant properly that I had Raynaud’s syndrome, which is basically, it kind of affects your extremities like your hands and your feet and your nose. And when you get into the cold, or like, you know, no one's ever—come on, no one's ever nursed off you or sucked your nipple, like, constantly. I mean, my husband wasn't on my boobs like every every hour.
Lauren: 38:24
So my nipples were just, I mean, it was like this—I would I would say they were frostbit...frostbite, you know, it was like pure white. So when I had a lactation consultant come to my house because I was struggling so hard with it, she looked at me and she said, "Oh, my gosh, no one's ever diagnosed you with Raynaud’s before? You don't even know you had it?" And I'm like, "No, I mean, what does that mean? I'm such a healthy person. What you talking about?" And she said, "Wow, I'm so impressed by you," because she said that when most women find out that they have this they just quit, and I was telling her that my goal was to get at least six months of breastfeeding and she looked at me and she gave me the best advice and she said, "Your goal is to get through the next feeding. That is what your goal is. And we're gonna do it together. And then when I leave here, you're going to do it." She said, "You need to take things one day at a time." And I think so much about life we should equate that to, too, and same thing with labor, it's one moment at a time. It's one contraction at a time, one hour at a time. You know, we look so much to the end goal, the end goal. I kept saying, "No, no, no, I want to breastfeed for six months. No, no, I want a breastfeed for a year." She looked at me and she said, "With you having this, I want you to always look at it as an accomplishment when you get through your next feeding."
: 39:45
Lisa: 00:00
What great advice. I love that. Do you remember her name? It's ok if you don't.
Lauren: 00:00
Her first name is Sarah. I don't know her last name, but I can get it to you. She is New York based, and she does do housecalls. And she is phenomenal.
Lisa: 39:44
Wonderful. Oh, yeah, I would love...
Lauren: 39:48
If you want to include her info—I could get it for you after the show —like in show notes or to give anyone who is struggling, I highly highly recommend her. I have her in my cellphone.
Lisa: 39:53
I would love that. Thank you. I always love to lift up my—love to lift up other professionals who my students have loved, and help other, you know, expecting parents find good help, good support.
Lauren: 40:07
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So and I did go on to reach my goal. I never supplemented with anything. I never—I breastfed him over six months, and I do have to be quite honest. It was not comfortable for me a lot because of the Raynaud's, because of the burning sensation. But it was just really important for me to nurture my child this way. And everyone's different, like I said, like, we beat ourselves up as women, like, if you have to supplement, you have to supplement, like, but I just didn't, I didn't want to. And I toughed it out. I would say the first 3 to 4 months were really, really—I would say they're probably the most challenging times in my life, and I've been through a lot of my life. So I would say that was, that breastfeeding was the biggest, biggest, biggest challenge for me. But I'm very proud of myself that I got through it. Another thing that was really, a really big challenge for me is I had to change my whole diet, even though I eat very healthy. A lot of my foods are very gassy. A lot of salads and greens. And I had to change my whole diet for breastfeeding, for my son Antonio,
Lisa: 41:10
That could be really challenging in and of itself.
Lauren: 41:14
Yes. So not only did I...I was the most exhausted I've ever been in my life. I had to cut out caffeine completely. You know, occasionally I like to have one coffee day or like a green tea. I had to cut it out while I was breastfeeding him. I also cut out everything acidic in my diet and a lot of things that I eat, like certain vegetables, like tomatoes and things that I love are really, really acidic. So I had to completely take that out because it just didn't agree with him at all. He had silent reflux in the beginning. And he would just—it was awful, he would just scream and cry very much in the beginning. And when I changed my diet, it helped immensely. Even taking out, I even had to take out dark chocolate, like things that you—just a little bite you want, you know, when you're tired or you're breastfeeding. I had to do that. And now looking back, I'm like, "Wow, I got through that. "But when you're going through it, you're like, "How did I give that up for six months, or how did I get through that?" I mean, now I look back and it's like, "Wow," but when you are going through the process, you know, it's not easy. You have to really do a lot of breath work, a lot of whatever. Whatever brings you peace. A lot of meditation. A lot of praying. I had to do a lot of that.
Lisa: 42:25
And with Raynaud's, it kind of sounds like there was no magic trick to kind of get the pain to go away or discomfort. Were there any tips that the lactation consultant was able to give you that, you know, lessened the discomfort? Or not really?
Lauren: 42:39
To be honest, using a nipple shield helped me a lot with the burning. But then what happens when you are—when you have a lot of milk going through you and you are—and your baby is not like a newborn, and let's say they're five months, and you're using a nipple shield, that can also lead to a lot of other problems. So it led to me having like, clogged ducts. It was not good to use, you know, for my, I would say for my breast itself. But it did help with the burning a lot. The burning sensation would go away, obviously when I blocked it and used the nipple shield. And luckily Antonio took both. He didn't mind either. So thankfully, he would, because some babies only want the nipple or some babies won't, you know, breastfeed at all if there's something blocking them from the real, you know, you know, shielding them from the nipple. He took both, thankfully, the shield and not the shield. But that helped me with the burning. Some days I just couldn't, I couldn't have him latched directly on, because it was just too painful.
Lisa: 43:36
Good for you for persevering so much. Well, should we shift gears? I would love to hear about the work you do, for you to share that with our listeners.
Lauren: 43:51
Sure. Okay. I'd love to. So I am a certified health coach and holistic practitioner. And I took a little bit of a break from it when I was modeling full-time. But when I got pregnant with my son, I decided, you know, we're eating for two and there's so much. There's so much that changes within our bodies, and it's so much more than that, emotionally. You know, we need to take care of ourselves. So I launched the model mentor program, and it's not just for models, it's for all women. I work a lot with model moms, but it's for all moms. And it's really, I would say it's so much more than just eating healthy. It's really, it's a lifestyle. So I have these pointers that I use for the model mentor. One of them is transformative thinking. Our thoughts are who we are. Really. So what we tell ourselves every day is what we, you know, put out into the world. So I really like to work with my clients on working with transforming thought, if we start to think something negative or even getting—it's the same thing with getting through labor. I mean, the moment we start thinking positive, the shift—it's a shift that can change, like that.
Lisa: 44:58
Yes.
Lauren: 45:00
So it's a total mind, body, spiritual, everything. We're embracing everything. When you work with me, we really go to the inside. So one of them is the transformative thinking. The next part is mindfulness, which has to do with eating, mindful eating, because when we are pregnant, we want to make sure that we're nourishing our bodies in the right way and also after pregnancy. Like I said, I mean, I had to change my whole diet for breastfeeding, so I really enjoy working with other moms that have to do that, too, and being such a support system for them, because it is really hard, and the fact that I went through it myself, I just love being there to be able to coach, you know, coach them on and be there for them.
Lauren: 45:36
And then also it's movement. Movement is the third part to it. So any type of movement is good for the mind. The body, the brain, you know, even getting outside and just getting 10 minutes of fresh air, even if it's cold. It's very, very important to just to move. To move your body. Through movement, we find health. So that's, that's the foundation to the practice. But obviously it's so much deeper than that. I do, I do focus on plant-based eating, but I don't push it. I work with clients that do eat meat. I work with clients that aren't just vegan or plant-based or vegetarian, or they eat just fish or chicken or they—I work with all, all ranges. What I kind of want do is I really like women to just try new things and be open. Be open to a better lifestyle, a healthier you, so that you could be the best version of yourself, so that you can—not just for yourself, but for your child, for your children.
Lauren: 46:28
So all my work is done on the phone through FaceTime, online. Occasionally I do master classes in person, but most of it is all FaceTime in one-hour consults, and it's really great for other moms who are busy, or their child is put down for a nap. We work for an hour, either FaceTime or by phone, and it really works with my business, too, so that I can be there for my son. And so it's great. It's flourishing. I started it, like I said, a little over three years ago, and I love that I've worked with women in all seasons of their life, but I really enjoy working with the moms or the moms-to-be, because I think that this is—that's the most challenging part of our life and then also the self-care for after we give birth, that's so important.
Lisa: 47:09
So important.
Lauren: 47:11
So important, and we don't talk about it enough. Like the breast feeding, we really need to talk about it more. It can be a challenge for some women as it was for me. We need to put out there that—I was diagnosed with this, in the middle of breast feeding. I didn't even know I had this—but that you can get through it if you want to. And you know it is, like I said, it's the power of the mind and also taking care of yourself. So yes, so I love the program. It really—I used to meet with people one-on-one, and I find that meeting with them through FaceTime and on the phone is just as productive, if not more. And even when you're finished working with me—I work with most people 3 to 6 months—you have a lifelong friend and I'm there always to email or text. It's been great and I've met so many amazing women through it. It's been incredible, and it's just, it's just only the beginning. I mean, there's so much more that can come of it, I'm very excited.
Lisa: 47:58
It's such a great resource. I am so, so thankful that you are one of my alumni, our alums, because I think you can be such a help to so many women in pregnancy and afterwards, and I just think the work you're doing is really, really important and wonderful. So thank you for the work you're doing. So if people wanted to reach...go ahead, sorry...
Lauren: 48:21
Yeah. Yes, if they wanted to reach me, I work mainly through Instagram. I am on Facebook, I don't work with it as much, but, it's just my name. My handle is my name @LaurenDeckert. And then I also have my website themodelmentor.com. And it has all the information about my health coaching program, working with me one-on-one, it has all the different options. I work with even moms on breath work sometimes on the phone for an hour or 1/2 hour. Just breathing techniques to help reduce stress, not just eating. I mean, it's a total—like I said, but once you're finished working with me, I tell you, you will walk away different. When I—I learned through, I studied through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, and after I attended that school—and they make you get your own health coach, by the way, when you're going through, so that, you know, you can really learn about yourself and what you need to work on—and I still to this day have mentors and health coaches and accountability partners and I think it's so important that, you know, as a healthcare practitioner or health coach, we have them for ourselves too, because we need to constantly learn and grow and work on what we need to, what we need to work on, to better ourselves.
Lisa: 49:30
Yeah, absolutely. Wonderful. Well, do you have any last insights? Wisdom or tips for expectant or new parents? One of my favorite ones was, bringing it back to the beginning, something you said toward the beginning was: listening to your instincts. Listening to your intuition, I think, is a huge one in this whole journey into parenthood. So that can be the one. Or if you have any other ones you want to add, we can do that.
Lauren: 49:57
Yeah, we're gonna add to that by saying the way is within. So I would say you're going to hear a lot of outside noise throughout your pregnancy. Oh, and you're gonna hear a lot of chatter when you become a mom, too, on what's the best thing to eat, to do, to wear, your child should—and I would say it's great that we have other people in our life to give us that, and all these resources out there. But the ways within. Listen to your heart. Listen to your soul, that gut feeling that you have as a mom, that intuition, always listen to yourself and go with that. You know, I think that's the most important piece of advice. I'm still, I still every day am working on that. You know, just cut out the noise and listen to yourself. It's really important.
Lisa: 50:40
Good stuff. Thank you so much, Lauren. It has been such a joy to connect with you and hear all these great birth story details. Take care.
Lauren: 50:50
Yeah, thank you. Thanks for having me. Bye.
Lisa: 50:51
You're welcome. Bye.
Lisa: 50:52
So that's Lauren's story. I'll briefly comment on 5 topics that came up today: posterior position, eating and drinking in labor, delayed cord clamping, perineal massage, and Raynaud's Phenomenon.
For anyone who isn’t familiar with posterior position, it has come up in more than one past episode, including in my own first baby's birth story in episode 2, but it’s when the baby’s back is against the pregnant person’s back. It’s a harder position for babies to fit through the pelvis. Some babies can be born in that position, which we call “sunny side up”, but some babies won’t and may have to be born via c-section unless baby can rotate into a better position. This position tends to lead to longer, harder labors with non-textbook contraction frequency. A couple other common symptoms of a posterior baby are feeling pokey feet in the front of the belly and getting the urge to push prematurely because of the angle the baby's head is pushing on the rectum. By "premature" urge, I mean well before the cervix is completely dilated and effaced. Visit spinningbabies.com to learn more about the proactive things you can do in pregnancy or labor to help your baby get into the most optimal position for a smoother, easier, healthier labor.
On the topic of eating & drinking in labor, I discuss this in detail back in Episode 9’s commentary, but most New York hospitals are behind the evidence and do not allow women to eat much, if anything, in labor once admitted. You need to be allowed, meaning it is absolutely evidence-based, to eat and drink in labor for a healthy birth.
Lauren mention delaying the cord clamping after baby was born. The range of standard timing across our various New York birthing locations goes from clamping immediately or up to 3 minutes in a hospital setting to waiting much longer in birthing centers and home births. That is, waiting until the cord is no longer pulsating and starts to shrink because there’s no blood flowing through it anymore. In the past couple of decades we’ve started to realize there are benefits to the baby’s health to not immediately clamp and cut the cord after birth, as has been standard for many years in our U.S. hospitals. For a few minutes after birth (usually, anywhere from 5-15 or so minutes), the placenta continues to be attached to the uterine wall of the mother. As long as it’s still attached, it continues to serve as life support for the baby, transfusing oxygen-rich blood into the baby. If left alone until the cord stops pulsating, the baby could receive up to ⅓ extra blood volume, which could help their lifelong health. One specific benefit of delaying the cord clamping is that baby gets extra iron stores, which could prevent the very common iron deficiency we routinely see in babies around 6 months, thereby possibly eliminating the need for your pediatrician to send you to the pharmacy to get an iron supplement.
I do need to point out that delayed cord clamping would only be ok in an uncomplicated birth, as sometimes if there are complications, they’ll need to immediately clamp and cut the cord to take the baby across the room. The reasons they have historically done it immediately after birth, and why there’s only so much negotiating room in our clinical settings currently, are twofold -- the slightly increased risk of jaundice for babies the more blood they get, and the idea that the sooner they can cut the cord and get the placenta out of the mom, the less likelihood it is she'll bleed too much. Because we've seen the benefits almost always far outweigh the risks, that’s why there’s at least some negotiating room in our hospitals. However, I should point out that with most care providers in NYC hospitals, at least at the time of recording this episode, it usually requires making a special request with your care provider to delay the cutting longer than a minute or so. I’ll link to a couple of resources for further research on this topic in the show notes at birthmattersshow.com
The Claraderm spray made by Young Living that Lauren mentioned is a spray that can be soothing to skin as someone is doing perineal massage. I’ll link to a tip sheet on doing perineal massage, which a lot of pelvic floor therapists and midwives recommend as a way to minimize tearing, which is also known as pelvic floor injury, in the pushing stage. With perineal massage, you’re basically getting yourself used to the burning and stretching sensation that can then help lessen the likelihood that you’ll tense up in labor, because it’s not your first time to feel it. I’ll also link to Lauren’s Young Living page where you can purchase the spray or essential oils, if you’d like.
Another thing I'll include in the show notes is some information about the condition Lauren mentioned, Raynaud’s Phenomenon, and I'll link the contact information for the New York lactation consultant whom Lauren praised, Sarah Newman. If you know that you have Raynaud’s, I recommend reading the information I’ve linked on the website kellymom.com so that you can make yourself aware of a few things if you’re planning to breastfeed.
Hop on over to find this episode on birthmattersshow.com and you'll also find 2 of Lauren's Spotify playlists she used in labor.
Okay, here’s a sneak peek of what’s up next week!
Meredith (teaser): 56:07
Feeling the contractions from like 3:30 a.m. until about 8 a.m. when he woke up and I told him was really a cool time, because you're the only—you're just laying in bed alone, it's dark. And you just have this thought of like, "Okay, maybe this is what it's gonna be, and today is gonna be the day," and I really liked—I just started, like, visualizing and having sort of meditations dealing with each contraction as they came, thinking about, like ocean waves, like, trying to really attach it to, like, a visual and yeah, that however many hours was really a cool time for me to have by myself to sort of process what was happening before I shared it with anyone—and it was, it became a thing—even with my own husband. But it was—I just thought it was really cool to have that time where it was just me who knew, and kind of process what was about to happen.
Lisa: 57:04
Here's the thought I'll leave you with today. You should feel like the beautiful, healthy woman you are in labor, as this will affect how you cope. In what ways can you help yourself feel like this and be perceived like this in labor toward a great birth? Thanks so much for listening to the Birth Matters Podcast and be well.---END---
