Moony Birth Stories

Desley from Regina, SK joins me on this episode of Moony Birth Stories to share her two pregnancy and birth stories.  Desley and her partner Allen took two months to get pregnant with their first baby and since Desley had done some research prior to conceiving and wanted a homebirth, she knew she'd need to apply for a midwife immediately.  She was able to get in with midwifery care and moved forward with her plans for a home water birth.  After an enjoyable pregnancy, labour started on it's own at home.  She was able to labour at home until the very end when stalled pushing led to the recommendation of a transfer to hospital and everything went quickly from there.  At 9 months postpartum, Desley and Allen got an unexpected surprise when they discovered they were pregnany with their second.  This pregnancy same with more challenges and Desley's plans for a home waterbirth remained the same.  She shares how this birth ultimately ended in hospital transfer as well and how she coped with a more challenging postpartum.

Hannah, from Saskatoon, SK joins me on this episode of Moony Birth Stories to share the pregnancy and birth story of her son Oakland.   Hannah and her husband were together for quite some time before deciding to have a baby but once they started trying, they were able to conceive right away.  That first pregnancy unfortunately ended in a miscarriage and the couple conceived again later that year.  The pregnancy was not enjoyable for Hannah due to being very sick and struggling with hip pain.  She wasn't afraid or nervous for birth and shares the funny story of her labour beginning and involving a lot of laughter.  She then goes on to share the details of her hospital birth and a handful of issues she experienced with epidurals.  Hannah was diagnosed with postpartum depression and anxiety 3-4 months after birth and talks about that experience as well.

I'm joined on this episode of Moony Birth Stories by Eve, from Saskatoon, SK.  She shares the pregnancy and birth story of her daughter Zahra.  Eve and her partner were pleasantly surprised to find out they were pregnant after four months of natural family planning and although Eve was happy to be pregnant, the pregnancy itself was challenging as she was extremely sick and struggled with nausea and vomiting.  In her third trimester, it was discovered that she was very anemic and needed an iron infusion.  Eve shares the details of her hospital birth with the support of an epidural for pain management.  She also talks about the scary experience of witnessing her newborn daughter have a seizure and the resulting diagnosis and treatment.

Kaitlyn from Martensville, SK, shares the story of her pregnancy and birth on this episode of Moony Birth Stories.  Sadly, before getting pregnant with their son Lincoln, Kaitlyn and her husband experienced a miscarriage at 8 weeks.  They went on to conceive again and Kaitlyn absolutely loved being pregnant.  At just over 38 weeks pregnant, labour started on it's own and Kaitlyn shares the details of how things progressed from there.  After a great pregnancy and delivery, she was caught off guard when she started to hemorrhage right after birth.  It was discovered that she had a tear in her cervix and was losing a dangerous amount of blood.  Kaitlyn talks about the events that followed and how she worked through the trauma of the experience.

Kayla from Regina, SK shares her experiences on this episode of Moony Birth Stories.  Kayla and her husband took a little while to get on the same page about having children but once they decided to try, they were able to conceive quite quickly.  The pregnancy went well and Kayla planned to have a hospital water birth with the support of her midwives and doula.  After her due date came and went, she eventually moved forward with an induction and delivered her first son in the water, as planned, without pain medication.  Kayla opens up about her significant struggles postpartum and how she was able to get the support she needed and move forward feeling healed.  She then shares the story of her second son's pregnancy and birth which was also an induction but went very quickly.  She was also able to avoid the same mental health struggles this time due to proper preparation adn supports.

Jenn, from Saskatoon, SK shares her two pregnancy and birth stories on this episode of the podcast.  She opens up about her and her husband's struggles with infertility and their journey with IVF.  Once Jenn was pregnant with their first daughter, it was discovered later on that she had a very rare placenta issue and would require a scheduled c-section to ensure that labour would not start on it's own.  She also had gestational diabetes which she was able to manage with an appropriate diet.  After deliver, they were hit with some unexpected issues that required a difficult stay in NICU. Once they were able to take their baby home, postpartum went well and after about 10 months, they decided to start trying for their second baby, again with IVF.  Jenn got pregnant surprisingly quickly this time and was able to go on and have a successful VBAC delivery.

Meghan of Saskatoon, SK shares the pregnancy and birth story of her son Nolan on this episode.  Her and her husband Mitch conceived quite quickly after only two cycles of trying and while Meghan thought she'd be very excited, she didn't initially feel that way.  She talks about how her feelings evolved throughout her pregnancy and the anxiety she had surrounding birth, as well as the choice to hire a doula for birth support.  Physically, Meghan also found the pregnancy to be quite difficult as she suffered with back and hip pain.  A few weeks before her due date, Meghan's water unexpectedly broke in the night.  Things took off from there and she shares how she coped with contractions and ended up having an unmedicated birth despite having expected she might want an epidural.

Kelli of Shift Birth Work in Edmonton, AB joins me on this episode to share her pregnancy and birth stories.  Kelli and her husband got pregnant with their first baby very quickly and had a relatively smooth pregnancy until she got a kidney infection at 32 weeks and developed irritable uterus.  She was hoping for an unmedicated birth but was open to whatever she might need.  Kelli shares the story of this lengthy labour and talks about some challenges she experienced postpartum.  She then goes on to share the story of her second baby and the vast differences in her experience this time.

Part 2Megan moved from California to Sweden over 6 years ago to be with her husband and start a family.  They were fortunate to get pregnant immediately with all three of their children but did sadly suffer two miscarriages after their first baby.  Megan's first and second pregnancies were generally very good but she found her third to be a little bit more challenging.  All three of her births were in hospital and while she had an epidural for the first birth, she chose to go without one for the second and third.Megan opens up about her long and severe struggle with postpartum depression after her first baby and later shares how she managed to stop it from progressing to that level again after her second and third babies.

Trigger Warning- Part one of Megan's episode describes her experience with severe postpartum depression and self-harm and can be difficult to listen to.Megan moved from California to Sweden over 6 years ago to be with her husband and start a family.  They were fortunate to get pregnant immediately with all three of their children but did sadly suffer two miscarriages after their first baby.  Megan's first and second pregnancies were generally very good but she found her third to be a little bit more challenging.  All three of her births were in hospital and while she had an epidural for the first birth, she chose to go without one for the second and third.Megan opens up about her long and severe struggle with postpartum depression after her first baby and later shares how she managed to stop it from progressing to that level again after her second and third babies.

This episode features Darya from Saskatoon, SK.  She shares the pregnancy and birth story of her 6 month old daughter, Jovie.  Darya and her husband started trying to conceive in 2019 and had hoped it would be a smooth and seamless process.  Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned and Darya shares the details of their struggles with infertility, and a confusing experience with her first pregnancy which didn't end up being viable.  She then goes on to share the story of her successful pregnancy and a smooth and positive induction in hospital.  Darya did also end up having retained placenta after birth, which was discovered after her 6 week follow-up, and she talks about what that experience looked like.

Kelsey of Hey Babe Nutrition in Calgary, AB joins me on this episode to share two birth stories.  Kelsey and her husband unfortunately experienced a miscarriage the first time they conceived and about one year later, got pregnant with their daughter.  Kelsey struggled with nausea for the first half of the pregnancy but was excited about birth and took some empowering classes to prepare.  She also hired a birth doula to support her and her partner for labour.  At the end of pregnancy, more specifically on her due date, Kelsey's water broke but when nothing happened after that, they decided to induce the next evening.  Kelsey shares how the induction went for her and talks about some breastfeeding and anxiety issues she experienced postpartum.  Their second pregnancy was a pleasant surprise and went very smoothly.  This time, Kelsey planned for a homebirth with a midwife.  Things ended up needing to change at the end of pregnancy when she went overdue and their household contracted Covid.  Kelsey talks about the speedy birth that followed and what it was like not being able to have her husband physically present for the birth.

Kayla shares her story on this episode of the podcast.  The story begins with her and her husband Jordan conceiving after about 5 months of trying.  The pregnancy went generally well but she struggled with nausea and vomiting and ended up being diagnosed with Gestational Hypertension early on in the pregnancy.  Although some care providers had talked about induction very early on, she was able to avoid it until the very end of her pregnancy.  They did end up inducing Kayla around her due date and she goes into detail about the lengthy process which ultimately ended in a c-section and her needing to be fully put under general anesthesia.  She then shares the next intense part of the story involving her son having breathing issues and needing to be flown to a NICU in another city with her husband while she had to stay behind.

Caitlyn from Queensland, Australia shares the pregnancy and birth story of her daughter Sunny.  Once Caitlyn and her husband started trying, she was able to get pregnant right away.  After a generally good first trimester, she went on to find out she had gestational diabetes in the second trimester.  At around 28 weeks, something felt wrong and Caitlyn talks about how and why she required immediate assessment and ultimately needed to be airlifted to another location and put on bedrest for several weeks.  When she made it to almost 38 weeks, she started having some pain and after discovering her amniotic fluid was low, she was induced and shares how that process went for her.  She also talks about her experience with baby blues in the very early days and the development of Postpartum Anxiety later on postpartum.

Stefanie Antunes from Toronto, ON joins me on this episode of Moony Birth Stories to share her three birth stories.  When she unexpectedly got pregnant with her first baby, she didn't know much about birth and felt generally quite fearless and confident.  The pregnancy went well and though her birth would have been considered straight-forward from a medical perspective, there were many things about it that ended up leaving a bad taste in her mouth.  It was that experience that ultimately ignited her passion for birth support and started her down a new path.  Stefanie goes on to share her second and third birth stories and talks about how she shifted the power back into her possession.  She also shares helpful and encouraging wisdom she's gained in over 20 years of birth work.

This extra episode of Moony Birth Stories is definitely different from the usual content and could be consider a follow-up to my first birth story from Season 1, Episode 3.  I had honestly mentally blocked this experience out for quite a while and didn't even think of it when I originally shared my story, which is wild to me since it was quite an intense period in my life.  It's the story of my experience with a copper IUD and the rare extreme reaction I had to it.  Unfortunately, it took several months and a lot of pain to determine the issue and heal it.

Julia joins me on this episode from North Smithfield, Rhode Island to share her two birth stories.  She and her husband got pregnant with their first child after about 5-6 months of trying.  Julia's pregnancy wasn't too bad for her but she did struggle with some emotions during her 2nd trimester that caused her to question if she wanted to be a mother.  This did passed after she found out the sex of the baby and got away for a little bit.  She planned a hospital birth and was surprised when she ended up having gestational hypertension around 36 weeks and needed an early induction.  After a lengthy process and three hours of pushing, her baby arrived.  Julia then talks about some issues her daughter was having with regulating her breathing and the NICU stay that resulted. Julia's second pregnancy happened when her first baby was 11 months old and she unfortunately miscarried early on.  6 months later, they began trying and got pregnant right away.  This pregnancy was much more difficult than her first and Julia struggled quite a bit.  She planned for an unmedicated hospital birth and again ended up with pretty extreme hypertension late in pregnancy.  This time, her body was already quite ready to have the baby and with the assistance of having her water broken, things began to progress quickly.  Julia talks about how her second baby arrived and the issues she experienced immediately postpartum that resulted in her needing a D&C.

Jesslyn from Edmonton, AB shares her three pregnancy and birth stories on this episode of Moony Birth Stories.  Her first pregnancy came as a surprise to her and her boyfriend (now husband) but they welcomed it with excitement.  Jesslyn was very excited to become a mother and looked forward to having her baby, fearlessly.  Under the care of an OBGYN, she delivered her first baby in hospital with an epidural and without complication.  It wasn't until 8 years later that Jesslyn and her husband decided to have a second child.  By this time, Jesslyn was training to be a full spectrum doula and had a lot more knowledge surrounding birth and her options.  This time she went with midwifery care and planned a home water birth which turned out to be just as she'd hoped for.  She talks about some bleeding issues immediately after this birth due to some retained placenta and how the midwives were able to manage this at home.  A year later, Jesslyn got pregnant with their third child and while this pregnancy was much more difficult, she looked forward to having another homebirth under the care of the same midwife that had supported her with her second.  Due to some unpredictable circumstances in the day or two after her due date, Jesslyn ended up deciding to transfer to a hospital birth and required an induction.  Things went smoothly and though she experienced a lot of bleeding again, it was managed well and postpartum went well.

On this episode of Moony Birth Stories, we here the two pregnancy and birth stories from Janelle of Humboldt, SK.  Janelle sadly suffered a miscarriage at 11 weeks with her first pregnancy.  After processing that, she was able to get pregnant again and went on to have a really great pregnancy.  She LOVED being pregnant.  She wasn't nervous about birth was did have fears regarding cesarean sections.  Thankfully, her fears were not made reality and she was able to have an unmedicated birth in hospital after she went into labour quite early.  When Janelle's first child was around a year old, she got pregnant with her second and aside from a bit more nausea early on, it was another great pregnancy.  She shares the detail of another unmedicated birth at 39 weeks and the joys of having her birth photographer, Bri Coop of Driftwood & Co Photography, there.

Ashlyn from Grandora, SK joins me on this episode of Moony Birth Stories to share the pregnancy and birth stories of her three children.  Ashlyn and her husband were fortunate to conceive easily for all three of their pregnancies.  Ashlyn's  first pregnancy was relatively easy on her and she planned to have a hospital birth since they live on an acreage.  Later in this pregnancy, it was discovered that the baby was breech and folded in half.  Ashlyn planned to try to deliver the baby vaginally but at the end of the pregnancy, the baby was measuring quite large and Ashlyn didn't have enough fluid remaining so an urgent c-section was recommended.  After a great recovery and smooth postpartum, time marched on and they got pregnant with their second.  This pregnancy was a little more challenging than the first and Ashlyn wanted to try for a VBAC.  She explains why that didn't happen a how her second, more planned, c-section went.  Ashlyn's third pregnancy was the most difficult of all and though she wanted to attempt a VBAC again, it didn't work out that way.  This c-section went well but her baby did end up needing to be in NICU for a period of time.