Ep 173: Lauren’s Birth Story – Perfect and Traumatic

Dr. Nicole (00:00): This is a birth story episode where Lauren got everything she wanted for her birth and everything she did not want for her birth. And this episode is being supported by Bamboobies. Welcome to the All About Pregnancy & Birth podcast. I'm Dr. Nicole Calloway Rankins, a board certified OB GYN who's been in practice for nearly 15 years. I've had the privilege of helping over 1000 babies into this world, and I'm here to help you be calm, confident, and empowered to have a beautiful pregnancy and birth. Quick note, this podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice. Check out the full disclaimer at drnicolerankins.com/disclaimer. Now let's get to it.

Dr. Nicole (00:59): Hello. Hello. Welcome to another episode of the podcast. This is episode number 173. I'm so glad you're spending some time with me today. In this episode of the podcast, we have Lauren. Lauren lives in Detroit, Michigan with her husband and their son. She and her husband were both born and raised in the Detroit area. Lauren works in benefits, her husband works in marketing, and they both work from home. In her spare time, she enjoys working out and spending time at their family cottage up north. And it has been a busy couple years for them. They got married in March of 2020, and then the pandemic, and then having a baby. So it has been quite an adventure for them over the past couple of years. Now, this is a great birth story episode, where you are going to hear how Lauren, who is someone who she says herself has no pain tolerance decided to have an unmedicated birth.

Dr. Nicole (01:56): And she did so successfully. She's going to share how beautiful her birth felt for her and her husband. In fact, it felt so moving that they forgot to check and see if it was a boy or girl after the baby was born. It was a surprise, but then things took a bit of a turn and she had a rare obstetric emergency postpartum called a uterine inversion, which is where the uterus turns inside out after birth. Now, all of this led her to feeling that her birth was both perfect and traumatic. Now I'm gonna be honest. Sometimes I worry about sharing these sort of rare stories that happen because I don't want to scare anybody. And I don't want people to think that I'm just choosing like these crazy sensational stories. But then I remember that my work is so much about sharing the truth. The truth of pregnancy, the truth of birth, and knowledge is power.

Dr. Nicole (02:58): You're gonna hear Lauren say that in the episode, knowledge is power and you need to know about some of these possible things that can happen. And it's not because you can necessarily change things and do something different to prevent things from happening. But sometimes if you know that these things are possible, if in those rare circumstances it does happen, it may not necessarily feel so overwhelming. So, and know that you are going to take away lots and lots from this birth story episode with Lauren. Now, before we get into the episode, let me tell you a bit about this episode supporter Bamboobies. Bamboobies was created by a real life mom, who was frustrated at the lack of reusable and comfortable nursing paths. And Bamboobies combines a smart design with baby and mom friendly materials to provide worry free, effective products that support and empower every mom at every state of her motherhood journey.

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Dr. Nicole (05:04): Welcome, Lauren to the podcast. I am excited to have you come share your story. As you said beforehand, you it's a bit of, you got everything you wanted and everything you didn't want in the same experience.

Lauren (05:17): Yep. We got it all.

Dr. Nicole (05:19): Yeah, there you go. Well, why don't you start off by telling us a bit about yourself and your family?

Lauren (05:24): Uh, yeah, my husband and I live in the Detroit Michigan area with our 14 month old son. His name is Michael. Um, since the pandemic we've both been working from home, so it's been a real blessing to be at home with him. Uh, it's challenging for sure, but, uh, really grateful to get, to spend so much time with him when he is little, cuz he just changes so fast

Dr. Nicole (05:44): They definitely change so fast. And that's nice that you've been able to work from home. Do you have childcare come in or do you just do the two of you kind of tag team him?

Lauren (05:53): Yeah, we do both. So we have, um, my mother, my mom comes over, uh, once a week and then my husband's mother, uh, is here as well. And then he goes down and visits our neighbor for a little bit during the week. Um, then my husband watches him a little bit, uh, too. So we, we piece it all together.

Dr. Nicole (06:09): Gotcha. Cuz you can't actually work and take care of a baby at the same time.

Lauren (06:13): Absolutely not.

Dr. Nicole (06:15): Yeah. Alrighty. So why don't we get into what your pregnancy and prenatal care was like, because in order to understand the birth, I think we have to understand that. So what was your pregnancy and prenatal care like?

Lauren (06:27): Yeah, my pregnancy was really good. Um, I was happy with my prenatal care. Um, my husband and I got married March 7th, 2020. So like literally the weekend before the pandemic started, um, we knew we wanted to have a family and we were just planning to just be a married couple and start trying after a year and kind of see what happens. But uh, we actually got pregnant in April of 2020, so right away.

Lauren (06:51): Um, yeah, right away. And uh, I found out I was pregnant on mother's day, so that was special.

Dr. Nicole (06:55): Oh that is special. That is special. Yeah. Pregnancy sometimes sneaks up, sneaks up on us like that. Yeah.

Lauren (07:02): I mean we're, we're very fortunate that, you know, we didn't struggle and my, my heart just goes out to, to people that do. Um, so we, we feel really fortunate.

Dr. Nicole (07:09): Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. So did you see a physician or a midwife?

Lauren (07:14): Yeah, I went to a practice that had six OBs and five midwives and um, they just had the OBs when I started going there. Um, but by the time I was pregnant, um, they had five midwives. And so I knew that when I got pregnant, I wanted to switch over to the midwives side because I really wanted to try for a natural unmedicated birth. So I kind of just rotated between the midwives and then whoever was on call that day, um, would deliver the baby.

Dr. Nicole (07:37): Gotcha. Gotcha.

Lauren (07:37): And I like, I liked everyone there, so it was really easy.

Dr. Nicole (07:40): Okay. Okay. And did you meet all of the midwives during your prenatal care?

Lauren (07:44): Yeah, I kind of just tried to rotate my appointments through all five of them. So I was kind of comfortable with all of them.

Dr. Nicole (07:49): Gotcha. Gotcha. Gotcha. Yeah. It's always tricky to figure out, especially when it's a bigger group, if that's something that you do or don't do. So it sounds like you sounds like you were able to make that work out for you.

Lauren (08:01): Yeah, it's pretty common. I know some people like it, some people don't but worked out okay for us.

Dr. Nicole (08:05): Gotcha. Gotcha. And then you said no problems during your pregnancy, no issues or concerns?

Lauren (08:11): No, it was pretty straightforward. Um, I felt like every day I was gonna say, this is the day you're gonna wake up and you're gonna, your morning sickness is gonna start, but it really never came. Um, I was really lucky there too. I didn't have much of an appetite early on, but never really got sick or nauseous. I was incredibly tired though. Um, I, I usually like it really dark and quiet. I'm a light sleeper and I did fall asleep in, on my, uh, couch, in the living room with an air compressor running in the next room. So. I was just so tired.

Dr. Nicole (08:38): Yes. Pregnancy fatigue is a whole nother story. I remember sitting on the couch one time and you just it's like, I just fell asleep. It just overwhelms you and you're just like, I'm going to sleep now. So. Alrighty. So what did you do to prepare for your birth?

Lauren (08:58): I knew I wanted an unmedicated birth, but I had no idea what I was in for. So I said from the beginning I was gonna give myself the flexibility to, you know, choose something different in the moment. Like if I wanted an epidural or something, um, you know, I, I didn't want that, but I gave myself the option or the flexibility that if that was what I needed in the moment I would be okay with that.

Dr. Nicole (09:20): Sure, sure, sure.

Lauren (09:21): I heard on another birth story, the mom said I went into birth expecting nothing but prepared for everything. And I just felt like that was just such a beautiful kind of depiction of, um, you know, everything that I was doing. So I just wanted to just educate myself on everything. Um, I had so much fear surrounding birth that I, for me being able to just soak up all this information was how I combated that fear. Um, so I knew I wanted an unmedicated birth, uh, low intervention, um, and then kind of the things that go along with that skin to skin contact, delayed cord clamping, that was all standard at our, at the birth center that we went to. So, um, you know, I didn't have to really advocate for myself for those things, but um, really just wanted to have an unmedicated birth.

Dr. Nicole (10:05): Gotcha. And wait, you went to a birth center?

Lauren (10:07): Yeah. So, um, I'm, I'm learning that it might be a slightly uncommon, but this is the, the main hospital here in our area. They have a birth center, um, right inside the, the main hospital. Gotcha. And so in the labor and delivery, um, you know, wing of the hospital or, or in that department, they have, um, I think if they have eight rooms, so it's all like a natural birthing center, so they like don't do epidurals in those rooms. Um, it's, it's beautiful. They have birth tubs and it's just such a calm environment. You know, they have the beautiful lighting, um, there's really no medical equipment out. Um, you really feel like you're, um, in a five star hotel

Dr. Nicole (10:42): Gotcha. Gotcha. Yeah. That's actually not very common.

Lauren (10:45): It's it's wonderful.

Dr. Nicole (10:46): Yeah. Yeah. And then, um, what kind of like, did you read books? Did you take classes? What did you do in terms of information sources?

Lauren (10:56): Yeah, actually you, uh, were one of the first podcast or resources I found so I really soaked up, you know, everything I read, listened to every single one of your podcasts. Um, some of 'em I listened to, you know, a couple of times over, um, I listened to a couple other podcasts too. Um, I liked the evidence based birth podcast uh, the birth hour. I just love listening to birth stories. And even though we weren't planning a homebirth, I really liked the happy home birth podcast. Huh. Um, cuz they just have such positive empowering stories and it really gave me the confidence to try for a natural birth, um, you know, and have an unmedicated birth. There was just such good stories there. I read several books. Um, you know, I watched the business of being born, the, my gas gems book, the guide to childbirth book. Um, we did, I also read a hypno birthing book and uh, our hospital offers a hypno birthing class. So we took a hypno birthing class through the hospital.

Dr. Nicole (11:47): Okay. So you were primarily relying on hypno birthing and um, um, you know, other like affirmations and breathing and things like that to, uh, control your pain during labor.

Lauren (12:00): Yep. Exactly. And I have no pain tolerance, so I was like, if, um, you know, if I, if I don't have these, these, uh, um, oh, what's the word I'm looking for? Sorry. If I don't have these tools Uhhuh, I'm probably gonna be that person, you know, calling on our way to the hospital, ordering up the epidural. Can it just be ready when I get there?

Dr. Nicole (12:14): So so yes I have, I have actually had someone do that once, so I totally see that. So that's interesting that you, as you were someone who you, you know, you self proclaim have no pain tolerance. Why was it important to you? There's no right answer, but why was it important to you to not use medication during your labor?

Lauren (12:37): Yeah. Um, I mean, my mom had two unmedicated births with me and my sister, so there's a lot of, um, unmedicated births in our family and um, just from all the research I did that just seemed like that was the, the best option for our family. And you know, I, I don't have anything, you know, against any of those interventions or any of those, those things, because I was prepared to, to get one if I, if I needed one, but gotcha. Um, really wanted to see what I could do without one. And, um, I also wanted to mention, we did hire a doula. Okay. Um, I was really on the fence about it, you know, it's not covered by insurance. It's expensive. Um, but I just knew that having a doula just statistically would give me a much better chance for the birth that I wanted. Um, and she was amazing. She was really good.

Dr. Nicole (13:19): It's true that it like research shows that it can help with then medicated birth, for sure. So did you practice the hypno birthing techniques ahead of time?

Lauren (13:27): We did. So we took, um, a, the birth class through the hospital, so we did some, uh, practicing the techniques, like in the classes. And then, um, I was list, I think there's two, um, recording tracks that we listen to. Uh, the one I definitely did not resonate with me at all. Um, but the other one, I really liked that one and I listened to that one almost every day and that was a good one.

Dr. Nicole (13:48): Gotcha. Gotcha. Okay. Good. Good, good, good. So, and you talked about some of the things that you wanted, unmedicated delayed cord clamping, skin to skin, anything else that we missed that you wanted for your birth?

Lauren (14:00): Um, I think those were the big ones. Yeah. I just wanted, you know, just as unmedicated and, and interfree as PO intervention free as possible.

Dr. Nicole (14:07): Gotcha. All right. So what then was your labor and birth like?

Lauren (14:11): Yeah, so it was funny. My, uh, both my mom and my mother-in-law called us. It was a Saturday night and both of them said, Hey, is the baby coming soon? Um, I still had about a week to go and we were like laughing and we're like, no, this baby's gonna be here late. Right. Um, you know, first time mom, I know most first time moms go late. Um, I was having a great pregnancy baby seemed fine in there. So I was fully prepared to go, you know, past my due date. And we were okay with that, but we were ready and, uh, we went to bed that night and I woke up at 3:38 and I woke up like already standing up next to my bed. And I was like, oh my gosh, that hurt. And then I realized, how did I get outta bed?

Lauren (14:52): So, um, I laid back down and then a couple minutes later had the same pain again. And I was like, oh man, I must be like, you know, laying funny or something. So got up and walked around the house for a little bit. My husband woke up and um, he was like, are, are you in labor? And I'm like, no,

Lauren (15:10): Um, and our, our doula had, had taught him, had put an app on his phone for timing the contractions. And he's like, I think we should be timing. These I'm like, no, we're not, no, no, no. Um, well he's, he timed them and, uh, you know, the hospital says the, the five one one rule. So, you know, uh, five minutes apart lasting for an hour or longer and a minute a piece. Um, and my contractions for an hour were two minutes apart, but they were only 30 seconds.

Dr. Nicole (15:36): Gotcha.

Lauren (15:37): So I did agree to call the doula and I felt so bad for waking her up at four in the morning.

Lauren (15:44): I know, that's her job, but I felt so bad. Um, so we woke her up and she, she was wonderful. I could tell she didn't wanna discourage me. Um, she listened to me having a contraction, but I could tell from the way she was talking that I wasn't very far along. So I labored around the house for a little bit. She said, call me back in an hour if, if you're still having contractions. So I just labored around the house. Um, contractions pretty much stayed the same for an hour. Um, and then we called her back and she said, yeah, you could call the midwife and see if they want you to come in. So, uh, we called up to the hospital and they said they could come in and check me. And so we packed, we packed up and headed to the hospital. It was about six, maybe six o'clock and oh, man, that drive to the hospital was horrible. Mm. Um, it was so bad. I could tell my husband wanted to, to get in the car and get to the hospital, but I'm like, I'm a first time mom, it's probably gonna be like 24 hours. Right. Like, I'm gonna go take a shower and I, you know, blow dry my hair and

Dr. Nicole (16:41): Right, right, right.

Lauren (16:42): Um, so I get in the car and oh man, those contractions were bad. And I remember thinking, okay, we're probably halfway to the hospital. It's about a 30 minute drive. I was like, okay. We're about halfway there. You just gotta get through a little bit more. And I looked out the window and we were a mile down the road.

Dr. Nicole (16:56): Oh. Okay.

Lauren (16:58): So I, I thought to myself, you have got to find some way to get there. Like, you've gotta pull it together. You gotta get to the hospital. Right. So I went into labor land. I don't know. Um, you know, maybe I was in the, the hypno birthing state. And the next thing I know, I was thinking, would you stop making all these turns and like, come on, keep driving. And we were in the parking structure at the hospital, so. Okay.

Dr. Nicole (17:24): Alrighty. Or was there traffic or was it just like, you just knew you had to get through? Was it, it is not that it took any longer. It was just, it was just really uncomfortable being in the car.

Lauren (17:32): Yeah. It was just so awful being in the car. Um, there was no traffic, it was like 6:00 AM on a Sunday, so, okay. Nobody was out, um, you know, he was pulling into the parking structure and I just thought, oh my gosh, how did we get here? I I'm, I survived this. Wow.

Dr. Nicole (17:45): So, wow. Okay.

Lauren (17:46): Yes. We made it into the hospital and uh, they got me into triage and nobody seemed overly concerned. Like there wasn't, you know, it was pretty chill and relaxed and she said, okay, I'm I'm gonna check you now. And I said, okay. And she said, I, I said, please just don't send me home. Um, I said, just don't tell me, this is false labor. Like I am here, I am ready. Like I had gotten myself all mentally prepared and I said, please just don't send me home. And she said, oh honey, you're gonna have a baby today. You're at eight centimeters.

Dr. Nicole (18:14): Oh, nice.

Lauren (18:17): So I remember like sitting straight up in the bed and looking at my husband and looking at the nurse and I said, I can do this.

Dr. Nicole (18:27): I love it. I love it.

Lauren (18:29): And the nurse was probably thinking, well, good, cuz you have to.

Lauren (18:35): But like looking back, I was just like, oh my gosh, I can do this. Right. This is eight centimeters. I can do this. Right, right. Um, you know, don't get me wrong. It was no, you know, picnic or vacation, but it was so rewarding to hear that I was already at eight centimeters. I should have mentioned when I was getting ready at home. I did throw up, um, I was trying to eat something. Cause I knew we were gonna the hospital and I had three raspberries and I was like, I, I can't eat. I, I right. I cannot eat. Um, and looking back, I was probably in transition at that period, even though I knew that was common, it just didn't register in my brain. Like I didn't even think I was in labor. So

Dr. Nicole (19:11): Yeah. When and when folks get into active labor, most people actually are not very hungry.

Lauren (19:16): So yeah, I definitely, definitely was not um, so they kind of hurried up and got me into the room. The midwife wasn't quite there yet. She was almost there. Um, and the nurse we just had, she was just so amazing. Um, just everyone at the hospital was just so great. Like I always hear these birth stories and you know, these moms say, oh, we just had the best nurses. And um, these are these nurses that, you know, work in this in labor and delivery, man. They are just, you know, angels on earth, are just fabulous. So we had a great nurse and uh, she was, uh, wheeling me down to the room and she said, oh, would you like to get in the tub? I have it all ready for you. And I was that just made me so happy.

Dr. Nicole (19:55): Right, right, right.

Lauren (19:56): So I got right into the water when we got into the tub, uh, got right into the water, uh, labored there for a while. I was pretty quiet the whole time I labored. Um, I just wanted to squeeze my husband's hand and he sat next to me and, um, it was perfect. We were just quiet and, and did our thing. And then around 8:30, I think, so about five hours. Um, I told her, I thought I had to push. Um, so she checked me and she said, yep, you're ready. Um, so they had me get out of the tub. They don't let you deliver in the tub. So they had me get out of the tub. We got on the bed and I should have mentioned this, my doula, um, because of COVID. Um, I had to have a negative COVID test in order for her to come into the room.

Dr. Nicole (20:38): Gotcha.

Lauren (20:40): So everything happened so quickly that she didn't get into the room until I was pushing.

Dr. Nicole (20:46): Ah, okay. Okay. Okay. So you didn't for, so then it must have been at least a couple hours then before she could come in.

Lauren (20:53): Yeah. I think we got to the hospital at seven and I think she got in the room around 8:45. Okay. So I was at the hospital for a little while and then I think the test took about 45 minutes or so. Okay. Um, but, oh man, when she walked into the room, she just got right up on the bed and started giving me some counter pressure on my back and she had essential oils and I was like, this is why people have doulas

Lauren (21:19): I was like, never stop whatever you're doing.

Dr. Nicole (21:22): Right. Right, right.

Lauren (21:23): Um, so we tried a couple positions. Um, I did push for, I mean, I had no idea. I looked at my records after I pushed for about 45 minutes, I think.

Dr. Nicole (21:32): Okay. Oh. And when did your water break, do you remember when your water broke?

Lauren (21:35): Oh yeah. That was interesting. So they, they asked me when I got on the bed. Um, oh, when did your water break? And I said it didn't, I, I don't think it did. And she said, well, you really don't have any, um, so I don't know if it like broke the shower and I missed it. I have no idea. Okay. Um, but she said there was a little bit of water still there and she asked if she could rupture it. And we said, you know, well, what are the risks? What are the benefits? And she said, oh no, no risks. She said, but, but it's gonna squirt me in the face. And my husband who was silent the entire time said, we both said at the same time. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Put water

Dr. Nicole (22:09): Oh goodness. Uh, so you, they got you out of the tub. You were situated, your doula got there and you said you pushed for 45 minutes?

Lauren (22:19): Yeah. About 45 minutes. Um, tried a couple positions. I ended up liking, um, kind of laying on my side with a peanut ball, the best, um, that felt the most comfortable to me. And he, when he, uh, came out, he did have a, a compound arm. So his arm was, you know, over his head. Um, is that the same as a neutral arm? Yeah, okay. Okay. Yeah. Um, yeah, so he had his arm over his head, which honestly didn't surprise me because of every ultrasound he had his hands over his face. Gotcha. Um, so that was probably why I, uh, I actually 45 minutes I know, was not that long, but, um, that probably made pushing harder. I, I didn't find the contractions to be that horrible. Um, they felt the same intensity the whole time I had them. I mean, they were definitely hard. I needed to, you know, work through them for sure. Um, and so many women I hear, oh, when I got to the pushing phase, um, it just felt so productive and, and I just love the pushing phase. I hated it.

Dr. Nicole (23:17): Oh, why is that?

Lauren (23:20): I, it was so awful to me. I would've traded several more hours of contractions for pushing for, for me in particular. It was just absolutely horrible.

Dr. Nicole (23:31): Interesting. Was it just, was it just, it was just intense or what, what was it that you just hated?

Lauren (23:38): I don't know. Um, I mean, it was, it was definitely intense and it just, I don't know. I just hated every minute of pushing. Okay. I could not wait till it was over. Okay. Um,

Dr. Nicole (23:47): I mean, every birth is different, so

Lauren (23:49): Yeah. I feel like most women, you know, feel like it's it's, they, they enjoy that part and I just absolutely did not.

Dr. Nicole (23:56): Well, good thing you didn't have to do it too terribly long then. And then you push, you pushed on your side the whole time.

Lauren (24:06): Mostly, I think so. Yeah. Okay. I don't, I don't remember being in a different position. Um, I think I actually started pushing a little bit on all fours. Um, and I, at the very beginning, maybe a contraction or two, and I guess that didn't, I'm not really sure why, but I ended up moving over to my side and that felt better. Um, yeah. So I I'm, um, I didn't have to push for too long. Um, but yeah, I just found pushing to be absolutely horrible and I didn't wanna tear, so we were going really slow. Sure. Um, and, and I knew that I probably could have, you know, put forth more effort and got it done quicker, but I didn't wanna risk tearing. And so, you know, we, we went really slow.

Dr. Nicole (24:41): Gotcha. Gotcha.

Lauren (24:42): Spoiler alert. I, I tore anyway. Oh. Um, I had a ended up with a second degree tear, um, probably because of the, the compound arm, but

Dr. Nicole (24:50): Probably, and that, and it's really common first and second degree tears are very, very common, especially for first time mom. So you did all the things that you, you could, but, um, okay. But still, but still still had a tear. So when baby came out, like, what was it like?

Lauren (25:07): Oh, it was just that the relief, the, the, the flooding of emotions and just like being able to see, uh, Michael, we didn't know his gender. Um, so, you know, they brought him right up to my chest and it was just, it was just so amazing. My husband and I were both crying and, um, it was just like the best feeling in the world. Like I wouldn't have traded that for anything. Um, and like I said, we didn't know the gender, but, uh, someone had to remind us, Hey, do you, dad, do you wanna check the gender? We both completely forgot

Lauren (25:38): We were just so overwhelmed and so happy and just staring at his face and, you know, he was looking at us and we were just so happy that that didn't matter. We, we totally forgot about that, so.

Dr. Nicole (25:48): Oh, that's wonderful. And did you, do you remember feeling the ring of fire?

Lauren (25:52): Oh yeah.

Dr. Nicole (25:52): Okay.

Lauren (25:53): Oh yeah. Yeah. That was, that was not fun.

Dr. Nicole (25:57): Okay, so just to, to add a little bit more to the pushing. Yes. You remember that? Yes, it was there.

Lauren (26:03): Oh yeah. Yep. It was definitely there. And, uh, yeah, push pushing was, was horrible. Okay. Okay. Um, so yeah, he was, he was born and he was healthy. He had a Apgar score of a nine. Um, the first minute he was born, so he was happy and healthy and, um, we snuggled and just kind of hung out for a little bit.

Dr. Nicole (26:19): Awesome. So did they give you anesthesia to, I presuming obviously, uh, local anesthesia to sew up the tear. How was that?

Lauren (26:28): I honestly don't remember. Um, they did ask me shortly after he was born, if I wanted Pitocin and I thought, well, he's already born. Why would I want that? Um, and they said it was just to help, um, if there was a postpartum bleed um, so we, we decided to take that. Um, and then, yeah, I honestly don't remember anything about them stitching me up or taking care of that, but

Dr. Nicole (26:51): Okay. I mean, that's actually good. Like, that's the ideal circumstance that you're, you are like snuggling with the baby. That's some of the best anesthesia there is.

Lauren (26:59): Okay. Then good.

Dr. Nicole (27:00): Having your brand new baby. So that's glad cuz sometimes people have an unmedicated birth and then they found like, whoa, this repair and the anesthesia for that is, is difficult, but it sounds like that wasn't an issue for you. They must have given you enough lidocaine and things so that you weren't feeling uncomfortable.

Lauren (27:17): Yeah, they must have, because I honestly never thought about it until right now.

Dr. Nicole (27:22): Okay. Okay. Awesome. Awesome. So then things kind of took a turn. So let's talk about what happened happened next.

Lauren (27:31): Yeah. So they said, Hey, it's been about 30 minutes and that the placenta hasn't come, come out yet. Um, so they were trying to do some like light traction to help it, to help it move. Um, they were kind of massaging my belly to try and get it to come out. Um, and the, the wonderful nurse that I was telling you about, she looked at me and she said, all right, we're gonna need you to, to help us with get the placenta out. We need you to push like, you know, you're having another contraction. And I looked at her and I said, no. And she was like, what, what do you mean no, it's got to come out.

Lauren (28:05): And I was like, no, I'm not gonna do that. No, that I, I don't want to like, I, it hurts. And I, I guess the only way to describe it was I felt like there was a door that was closed that only opened, you know, one way. And I was trying to, you know, open it the other way. Well, if you have to pull on the door and you're trying to push on it, you're not gonna get anywhere. So I was just, you know, pushing on this door that wanted to be pulled and nothing was happening and it was just so incredibly painful. So we did that for a little bit and I started to hyperventilate. I was shaking. Um, I started, you know, my voice got really high and you know, I, I, I know that, you know, and when you're having an unmedicated birth, you know, they, they tell you to, you know, keep your body really relaxed and, you know, keep your sounds low and deep.

Lauren (28:50): And I was the exact opposite of all of that. So, um, the, that wonderful nurse, she gave me a little bit of tough love and she kinda got, you know, right up right near my face. And she said, you have to do this and you're gonna do this and I'm gonna help you. And we're gonna get this done and you're gonna push as hard as you can. And I was like, okay. So I gave it everything I had and it was just unbelievable pain. So nothing was happening. I was, I finally said, everyone lied to me. Everyone said that, uh, the pushing was gonna be the hardest part. This is way harder than pushing. Nobody talks about this. Why, why did no one warn me about this? And I just said, this is way harder than pushing. Right. And at that point, um, the, I did see the midwife leave. It never occurred to me that that maybe something is wrong. I was like, oh, she left.

Lauren (29:43): I don't know.

Dr. Nicole (29:44): Right. Um, I mean, in the moment, you're just like, uh. Gosh. Okay. Okay.

Lauren (29:51): So then, um, she comes back in and one of the OBs from our practice, um, she came in as well. And the nurse said to me, I was just screaming in pain. I mean, I was just, I was screaming. And then I was thinking, oh my gosh, whoever else is giving birth. Like, they're, they're like, look, listen to this lady next door, like, what's wrong with her? You know, right. I felt so bad. I'm like, I'm probably traumatizing whoever's next door. But I just, I got to the point where I was screaming, I was in so much pain where no sound was coming out. So the, the, um, OB gets on the bed and I could tell the look in her face was, and the room filled up with people and the nurse said, I'm, I'm so glad she said this to me. She, she held my hand and she said, there's the room's gonna fill up with a bunch of people. Just stay with me and just look at me, keep your eyes on me.

Dr. Nicole (30:35): Hmm.

Lauren (30:36): Um, so OB came in, she got right on the bed. I could tell she was all business. Um, but she just had such command of that room and like, oh, I'm gonna get emotional because she just was amazing. But, um, she just completely commanded that room. And, um, I could tell something was not good at that point, but I couldn't let myself kind of go there. Um, my husband had the baby, um, he was, he handed the baby to the, to the doula cuz I could tell he wasn't doing well, but I, so I, I knew the doula had the baby, um, off to the side. So the baby was totally fine. But um, what had happened was my, when I was pushing out the placenta, there was, um, a piece of the re of the placenta that had too deeply attached to my uterus. And so when I was pushing, um, my uterus was actually coming detached.

Dr. Nicole (31:25): Mm.

Lauren (31:27): So, um, I, I, you know what this was called? I, I think they call it an inverted uterus.

Dr. Nicole (31:31): Mm-hmm and it is a true emergency.

Lauren (31:35): Yeah. So my, uh, uterus came out with a placenta. Um, and in the room, um, I think I lost about a thousand milliliters of blood, so that's what, yeah. 30, 37 ounces. 36 ounces. Ish.

Dr. Nicole (31:51): Yeah. It's a, it's about like a two liter bottle of soda, like half of that,

Lauren (31:56): So, okay. So I lost about a, they said I lost about a thousand ounces of blood. Um, in the room I had obviously had a postpartum hemorrhage and then, um, you know, the placenta and the uterus had come out. So, um, they manu the, the OB had manually put the uterus back in and manually put the placenta in um, and oh my God, after non-medicated birth, like I thought pushing was bad, but. Whoa.

Dr. Nicole (32:21): Yeah. There's no way to like, I mean, it just it's, it's gonna hurt. I mean, literally to describe, I mean, we're literally like taking our fist and like shoving the uterus back to the right orientation. Um, yeah. It's and it's that, that is going to hurt.

Lauren (32:42): It hurt.

Dr. Nicole (32:43): Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. So then what happened after, after that?

Lauren (32:50): So they got me onto a stretcher. They were moving me into a different, they were moving me, they told me they were gonna take me, um, into surgery. And I, I don't remember clearly, but I know they took me to an operating room, not in labor and delivery. I think they said maybe something with anesthesia

Dr. Nicole (33:08): Yeah. I mean, usually we can do well, it depends on the hospital. Usually we do it on labor and delivery, but, um, depending on the hospital, they may do, what's considered a postpartum procedure in the main or area, but yes, obviously you need an, we need an anesthesiologist, um, to do the procedure for sure.

Lauren (33:27): Yeah. So they took me into a different area, into a different operating room. It was outside labor and delivery. And I remember when they were pushing me in the stretcher, they were like kind of, you know, tapping my cheek to keep me awake. And I was like, do they not know? I just had a baby I'm I'm I'm really tired. Like, can they just leave me alone?

Dr. Nicole (33:44): I can tell you we were doing that because people lose a lot of blood. So we would just wanna make sure, like, you're still with us.

Lauren (33:54): Um, yeah, looking back. I, I know why they were doing it, but in the moment

Dr. Nicole (33:57): In the moment, like leave me alone. Yes.

Lauren (33:59): I'd really like a nap now.

Dr. Nicole (34:00): Right, right, right.

Lauren (34:02): Um, so they were, you know, rushing, you know, down the hall in the stretcher and there was somebody running ahead of the stretcher kind of pushing things out of the way. And I remember thinking like, are we in an episode of Grey's Anatomy, this seems kind of dramatic. So I think my, my body and my mind was just in denial, that there was a, a true emergency going on and I think I just had to do that. I mean, my husband and I though, um, we did say goodbyes in the room while they were taking me out. And my doulas, like, I have never cried like that at a birth she said, you guys were screaming across the room, you know, that you love each other. And she goes, then the, the whole room was just empty. It went from, you know, 20, 25 people in the room to, to just us. Right. And she said it was just so empty. And she said, I I've never seen anything like that. I think my midwife said that was the first time she's had this happen and she's been a midwife for 23 years. So yeah.

Dr. Nicole (34:53): It's not common. I've had it happen twice, so it's not, it is not common at all. So do you remember anything about the OR?

Lauren (35:02): Not really? Um, I remember them, like, I think they were like putting my limbs on like plastic boards or something. To just kind of keep them stable. Um, and I do remember someone holding an oxygen mask and then that's the last thing that I remember. Um, so all in all, I think, I think I lost, uh, 2000 milliliters of blood. Mm. Um, and they ended up in, in the operating room. They did, um, you know, do the repair. They did a DNC um, and then after the procedure, they said there was still remnants of the placenta left. Um, so they did that manually, but this time I didn't care cause I was under, uh, general anesthesia. Sure. So I don't didn't feel any of that. Right. And, uh, I woke up in,

Lauren (35:44): Uh, a, a recovery room, a couple of hours la or a couple hours later. So I think that was about, so he was born at nine fifty three um, so my whole labor was about five and a half hours. Right. Um, and then I got to see him again around three or four o'clock and we got into a room, I think about like five and got settled. So, um, it was quite the day. Um, but they did a full repair and they told me that, you know, my, I would have, you know, no issues going forward. They said everything went well. I mean, I just can't thank these doctors and hospital staff enough. I mean, they, they really, they saved my life, like not to be dramatic, but, um, the nurse said to me, you know, you have no idea how close we were to losing you. She said, you know, the hospital requires you to have like a heplock when you go in. And she said, when we got into the, or there just wasn't time to get you, you know, set up with a, with a, um, a Heplock she goes, so having that already in, she goes that that might have just saved your life.

Dr. Nicole (36:42): Yeah. That's one of the things, you know, when people say, I, I was literally just about to ask, I knew that you wanted an unmedicated birth. Did you have a, a saline lock or a Heplock just in case, and it sounds like you did,

Lauren (36:53): I did, it was required. And honestly, I was fine with that because it, it wasn't really an intervention that I felt would interfere with my birth. Um, so just having that didn't bother me at all.

Dr. Nicole (37:04): Yeah cuz it doesn't have to be hooked up to anything.

Lauren (37:07): Yeah. It was, it wasn't hooked up the whole time. I mean, it didn't get hooked up until I needed it.

Dr. Nicole (37:11): It until get hooked up. Yes. Right, right.

Lauren (37:14): Um, so I was totally fine with that. Um, you know, obviously very glad I had it, but they said there were really no, um, there were really no warning signs, so they couldn't have detected it, you know, in a, in an ultrasound or there was nothing we could have really done to prepare for it or prevent it. It was just kind of a freak accident. Um, they did do testing on the placenta and it came back inconclusive, which is good and bad. It means there was nothing wrong, but it also means that, you know, there's nothing wrong. So we don't know how to, you know, maybe prevent it next time, but it's probably unlikely that it would happen again.

Dr. Nicole (37:46): Yeah. It is unlikely that it, it happens again and I should back up and say that, um, I didn't like fully describe what, um, a uterine inversion is literally. Um, y'all, it's the uterus turns inside out for lack of a better way to put it. It turns inside out, and you're seeing the inside of the uterus on the outside. And, um, it is odd because you're, it's you see it and you're like, what is that? And then it hits you and it's like, oh my God. Like, and then all of the things start to start to happen and it can be the blood loss can be very, very significant. So, um, you know, it's great that you were in a place that could, that could handle it. Did you have to get a blood transfusion or anything at all after?

Lauren (38:32): I did. Yeah. I did get a blood transfusion. I, I think they told me I lost approximately a half to a third of my body's blood. So I mean, it, it was, it was a lot um, I had a very hard time, you know, walking for several days. Um,

Dr. Nicole (38:46): You're probably exhausted. I mean, when you lose that much blood, you're gonna feel terrible for a bit.

Lauren (38:52): Yeah. I was really dizzy, you know, I, I could, I just, my husband had to, he did everything for us. I mean, he had to change all the diapers. Um, you know, he had to carry the baby everywhere. We went, like he, you know, we had the baby next to us in the, in the recovery room, um, you know, in the little bassinet, but like, I couldn't even like get up to pick up the baby and bring him to myself. So like my husband had to like walk around the bed and pick up the baby and hand me the baby to nurse. And then when I was done, he had to take the baby and put the baby in the bassinet and I just, you know, felt so helpless. And he was just so wonderful and he told me after I'm gonna get emotional again.

Lauren (39:25): But, um, he just said, I, I went from not having any kids to thinking I was a single dad in eight minutes. I was just, I just can't imagine having to, you know, watch all of that happen and just be helpless and right. We're just, you know, so, so grateful and so thankful for every doctor and, you know, every person we came across because they, they just, they, they saved my life. And it's because of them that I'm here, you know? Um, we're, we're just so grateful. I mean, obviously, you know, it was a lot of trauma, um, but there's just, there's just, we just have so much gratitude and, and we're just so thankful for everything they did for us.

Dr. Nicole (40:02): That's awesome. That is awesome. So what then, so you were able to breastfeed, that will just sounds like it went okay. Is that fair to say?

Lauren (40:12): Yeah, we, my doula had said, God's giving you a free pass on this one, cause you are not doing this right. Um, I, I had really no issues breastfeeding. Like I didn't have any, you know, cracked or dry or, or bleeding nipples. Like it just, I had no pain and my doula said, well, your latch is not good. And, and your God is giving you a pass on this one. So, um, you know, she helped me out and, um, I had a great supply. It took a couple of days, but, um, I had an, I had an oversupply, there was just milk everywhere for so long, but, um, I donated about 2000 ounces.

Dr. Nicole (40:46): Oh, wow.

Lauren (40:48): Yeah. So I got really lucky there and, uh, had so much that, uh, I was able to donate it and, you know, gave it to some, some great, you know, women and babies in need. So that was, that was felt good.

Dr. Nicole (40:57): Oh, that is nice. That is nice. And then how did you sort of recover from that crazy event?

Lauren (41:05): Just really slowly. I mean, I just couldn't do much. Um, it, I feel like it was probably, you know, like recovering from a C-section. I mean, you know, you just, you can't lift a lot. You can't, you know, you just can't do a lot. You're not up and moving around. Um, which is one of the reasons I wanted an unmedicated birth is because I wanted to have an easier postpartum recovery. And I just did not have that. I mean, I had to sit down with not, they're not like donuts, but they gave me this like thing at the, the hospital that, you know, you can like sit on in the car because, oh my gosh, the car ride home was awful too. Right. Um, so whenever I had to, I, I really couldn't sit for a couple of weeks. It was just so painful. Um, but recovery was just very long and very slow and had to take things slow, but it was fine. Um, you know, my, I just can't thank my husband enough for everything he did, you know, bring me food, bring me the baby, bring me water, he just did it all.

Dr. Nicole (41:56): Well, that is great. That is great. And did you have to stay in the hospital longer than anticipated or were you able to go home a couple days later?

Lauren (42:07): Yeah, we were in the hospital for three days, I think. Um, not, not too, not too long. Um, you know, I mean, I definitely plan to just come home 24 hours later. Um, but yeah, not, not too long.

Dr. Nicole (42:18): Okay. Okay. So looking back on the experience, like, how do you feel, like, what is your like biggest takeaway from it?

Lauren (42:27): I mean, if I had to think of like the, the top, like three words for my birth, I would think like perfect and traumatic. I don't know how those two words work together and just thankful. Right, right, right. You know, it's, it's, it's, I feel like it's hard for me to kind of just think about the whole situation, because I can't really just describe it in, in one word. Right. Um, I mean, I worked, I worked really hard to take care of my body when I was pregnant. I mean, it was COVID so I was at home and I could work out and I was, you know, cooking healthy. And, um, you know, I worked really hard to, to get to that birth that I wanted to have an unmedicated birth. And I put a lot of, you know, effort and time into, you know, planning for that birth and, you know, doing the affirmations and the hypno birthing and taking care of my body.

Lauren (43:14): Um, and so that all really paid off. I mean, we got exactly the birth I wanted. I had got to have, um, I, I went into labor after a full night's sleep, you know, I, I didn't have to go into labor when I was already really tired and, you know, we just got everything we wanted. Um, so I'm really grateful for that. I just think like the biggest thing, the biggest takeaway for me was just, just educating yourself. You know, if you're a first time mom and I was just so overwhelmed by fear, but knowledge really is power. And I know that's lame, but

Dr. Nicole (43:46): No, it's true.

Lauren (43:47): It just gave me the confidence to be able to advocate for myself and have realistic expectations for birth and just, you know, give yourself grace, physically and emotionally. I mean, you just deserve the amazing birth you want. And even if it doesn't go according to the plan in your head, I mean, you can still feel empowered and you can still love your birth story no matter, you know, what way it ended

Dr. Nicole (44:06): 100%, 100%. So then what is, what is that sounds like that would be your favorite that like the advice that you would give folks, educate yourself.

Lauren (44:16): Yeah. Educate yourself and, and give yourself grace. And every time I hear you ask this question on your podcast, I'm like, how can people just pick one thing?

Lauren (44:24): You have people that are just so like, passionate about what they do. And they, you know, always have so many good things that I, I learn on your podcast. I'm like, how can people just pick one?

Dr. Nicole (44:35): It is hard. Sometimes it is hard sometimes. Oh, so where can women connect with you? And you can say nowhere if you, if you want to.

Lauren (44:43): Yeah. I mean, I'm not very active on social media. I do have an Instagram account. Um, it's Lauren Ann photos. Um, and I can share my email address if anyone wants to reach out, um, my Instagram's private, but if you send me a message, I'm clearly a birth nerd and love everything about birth. So feel free to reach out.

Dr. Nicole (44:58): All right. Well, thank you so much, Lauren, for agreeing to come onto the podcast, I'm glad everything turned out well, and I'm glad you're here to present a story of like, you know, birth truly is unpredictable, but things can still go well, even if in the midst of the craziness.

Lauren (45:16): For sure. And I, I know that from listening to your podcast that, you know, birth is unpredictable, and I just kept that in mind, you know, the whole, the whole time I was pregnant and something else that you said that always stuck with me was, um, I think we were, I think my husband and I were thinking about, um, genetic testing and we knew that no matter what, the results of those tests, we would, we would keep the baby. So we were skip considering skipping all of those tests. But, um, I just love the episode you did about genetic testing, where you just laid everything out on the table. Um, everything was just so practical and easy to understand. And you said like, what would you do with that information? So if you found out there was a problem, like, what would you do with it?

Lauren (45:53): And we decided to do the test, because if there was a problem, we felt like we could better prepare for the future in our birth. You know, maybe that meant delivering in a different hospital or having the right, you know, neonatal specialist present for our birth. Um, towards the end of my pregnancy, I declined a cervical check. It was the, the couple of days before Michael was born, she said, oh, do you want me to do a cervical check? She goes, it's optional. And I said, no, like, unless you think there's a reason to, and you know, part of that was just because, you know, you said like, what would you do with that information? Exactly. I just didn't feel like I would be able to do anything with the cervical check. So, um, I declined that, but I just appreciate all of the advice that you give and I just, how clear and easy it is to follow your podcast and you just give such good information.

Dr. Nicole (46:36): Um, well you just made my whole day, so so thank you.

Lauren (46:42): No, I, I share your podcast with so many people. I just think it's, you know, you're just so passionate about what you do. And I just love that you're supportive of, you know, so many kinds of birth, whether it's unmedicated or a planned cesarean, you know, you're supportive of, you know, midwives and doulas. And I just, you're just so honest about things like, you know, obstacles to care and, you know, patient overload. I know so many people say, oh, I only spend five minutes with my OB. And it's, that's just the medical system, you know, that we're in. And not that it's an excuse, but I mean, that's just a shortcoming of the medical system we have here. And I just know that you really advocate advocate for, you know, not seeing new moms at the six week until the six week postpartum visits. Just not enough um, I have to say they did take really good care of me.

Lauren (47:25): They had me come in at one week and two weeks. Um, and I have to say I had so much anxiety before, before those appointments. I, I, I couldn't sleep the night before because I was so afraid of someone touching me. And I was just still in so much pain that I couldn't, I, I just couldn't sleep. So when I got into the appointment, I was like, please don't touch me. And she's like, no, no, we're not gonna touch you. And I'm like, oh, thank God. Right, right, right, right. She goes, we don't have to do that until, you know, six weeks or something. And I'm like, oh, thank God. Like I just, I just couldn't, couldn't be touched at that point.

Dr. Nicole (48:00): Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I'm glad they did like check in cuz it's, it's hard afterwards. It's hard afterwards. Well, thank you so much again. And thank you for all of those kind words. I so appreciate your time. And um, like I said, you have made my day

Lauren (48:15): Oh, well, thank you so much.

Dr. Nicole (48:22): Wasn't that a great episode. I really enjoyed chatting with Lauren and having her share her story. There was just so many great pieces of information and things to get from that story. So thank you Lauren. Now, after every episode where I have a guest on, I do something called Dr. Nicole's Notes, where I talk about my top three or four takeaways from the episode, here are my Dr. Nicole's Notes for my conversation with Lauren. But before I do that, let me tell you a bit more about this week's podcast sponsor Bamboobies. Bamboobies puts moms first. It was created by a real life mom who was frustrated at the lack of reusable and uncomfortable nursing pads. However, nursing pads are not the only thing Bamboobies has. They also have a great yoga nursing bra and their best selling yoga bra has a stylish racerback design that offers all day comfort.

Dr. Nicole (49:13): It is a wardrobe essential for a breastfeeding mom or a mom to be it's created with ultra soft rayon made from renewable bamboo fabric. You can easily nurse your baby using the nursing clasp and drop down cups with removable pads. The seamless design stretches to fit moms changing body while still holding its shape. Very easy to care for. You can just wash it with warm water and dry it with low heat or air dry. And it comes in all the sizes from extra small to double XL. So use the code all about A L L A B O U T all about and get 40% off of full price items at bamboobies.com. That's B A M B O O B I E S.com. That code is valid through October 23rd. All right, let's get into Dr. Nicole's Notes. So number one, don't let your low pain tolerance stop you from trying for and a medicated birth.

Dr. Nicole (50:12): In Lauren's case, she said herself, she has no pain tolerance yet. She was able to have a successful unmedicated birth. Oftentimes people equate like not having an epidural with like you have no pain management techniques at all, and that's not true. There are options for managing pain. Other than medications, you can use movement, you can use hydrotherapy or water. You can use hypnobirthing, you can use massage. So it is possible for sure, for you to have in a medicated birth, even if you have a low pain tolerance as Lauren demonstrates. And it's not that you have to try for an unmedicated birth, there's also nothing wrong if you want an epidural right out the gate, I'm just saying that don't let that stop you, if that's something that you want to do. All right, number two, control what you can and prepare for your birth.

Dr. Nicole (51:03): I say this on the podcast all the time, birth is an unpredictable process. However, being prepared is going to help you. It's going to help you have those good parts of your birth experience. Lauren was very prepared. She listened to the podcast. She read, you know, she took the hypno birthing class. Her husband was prepared. She had a doula and all of those things contributed to her having a great experience with her birth and also being prepared and knowing about some things that could potential could potentially be twist or turns again, although you can't necessarily change them or do anything about them, it may help things feel not as scary and outta left field and overwhelming in the moment. So control what you can and prepare. Of course, one of the important parts of preparing for birth is great childbirth education. I have a fantastic online option called the Birth Preparation Course.

Dr. Nicole (52:03): The Birth Preparation Course is my online childbirth education class that will get you calm, confident, and empowered to have the most beautiful hospital birth. I've had close to 2000 mamas go through the course. And it's a really great really, really, really great course that is very comprehensive in all of the things that you need to know for birth. You can check out all the details of the Birth Preparation Course at drnicolerankins.com/enroll. And one of the great things about the course is you buy once and you have it forever. You stay a member and get access to all of the updates and anything I do along the way also comes with great community and a private, um, Facebook group. So's just lots of great stuff in the course. So check it out, drnicolerankins.com/enroll. All right. And number three Lauren's story is exactly why I am so passionate about making hospital birth a better place to give birth because home birth, birth center birth, those are fine for low risk candidates, but the reality is they don't have the same technology to deal with issues that come up with either for mom or baby.

Dr. Nicole (53:15): So I really want hospital birth to be a place where people can feel supported, where people can feel listened to women can feel respected, like their wishes are really being taken into consideration for their birth. So they have that great birth experience where things feel good. Um, things go well from the perspective of being listened to, respected, all of those great things, but in the event that things take that unpredictable twist or turn. Then you have access to all of the technology and resources for both mom and baby in the event that those things are needed. So, um, in addition to this podcast and providing information, that's kind of the flip side of what I do in my quote unquote day job as an obstetrician is really advocating for making hospital birth from our side and the things that we do to help people come into the hospital and feel good about their experience.

Dr. Nicole (54:14): It's so, so important that things are worked on from both perspectives. All right. So there you have it. Please share this podcast with a friend sharing is caring and it helps me to reach and serve more pregnant pol folks, which is the heart, soul, and passion of what I do. Also be sure to subscribe to the podcast wherever you're listening to me right now and leave me a review, in Apple Podcast. I read those reviews. I love to hear what you think about the show. And I do shoutouts from those reviews from time to time. Also be sure to check out the Birth Preparation Course, my online childbirth education class that will get you calm, confident, and empowered to have a beautiful hospital birth, check out the Birth Preparation Course at drnicolerankins.com/enroll. So that is it for this episode, do come on back next week. And remember you deserve a beautiful pregnancy and birth.