Latest / MyMaine Birth / 129. MyMaine Birth: Brittany's Home Birth on Her Own Terms

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129. MyMaine Birth: Brittany's Home Birth on Her Own Terms · MyMaine Birth

• 0:00
  Brittany: I did do OB ultrasound and I worked at maternal fetal medicine for a while.
• 0:05
  Brittany: So I worked pretty close with just like the birth world in the medical field and just from my experience with that I found I started to question a lot of things and just from my personal experience, I really felt like birth had become extremely medicalized experience.
• 0:27
  Brittany: I really felt like birth had become extremely medicalized and I just felt like we were really taking power away from women and it was kind of like a one size fits all package.
• 0:33
  Brittany: I just noticed that a big thing that like kind of threw a trigger off in me was with ultrasound and like datings.
• 0:40
  Brittany: We would give people, you know, due dates, which I'm not a big fan of due dates because baby's going to come and baby wants to come, and I would see a lot of inductions because, oh well, you're over 40 weeks now, and then it would end up in like failure to progress or the baby was in distress and I'd hear these stories all the time.
• 1:02
  Brittany: And then I looked at like the fact that we have such high cesarean rates and I really started to question things then.
• 1:09
  Brittany: So then I just like I said, before I even got pregnant, I started just like diving into, like the natural world of birth and stuff like that.
• 1:17
  Brittany: So we knew when we got pregnant we were going to go a different route and neither of us really see a doctor I haven't seen a doctor in probably seven years and I didn't feel like pregnancy is a medical issue.
• 1:32
  Brittany: I think obviously the medical system is really great at a lot of things and thank God it's there, but I really just have believed that God designed us to birth and I trusted that my body knew what needed to be done.
• 1:46
  Brittany: And yeah, there's cases where, like I said, thank God for the medical field, but I think in most cases, if we just let birth be and just happen and pregnancy, that things can go good.
• 1:59
  Brittany: So in the beginning I kind of I went back and forth.
• 2:04
  Brittany: I debated about a midwife and I had reached out to you, I had been listening to your podcast and I had interviewed a few midwives.
• 2:11
  Brittany: I had a hard time even finding one that would come to Greenville for a birth and then I did find one.
• 2:18
  Brittany: But after I interviewed I was like I just don't think we're on the same page.
• 2:23
  Brittany: I really just kind of wanted to be left alone through birth.
• 2:26
  Brittany: I didn't want all kinds of testing done.
• 2:28
  Brittany: I didn't want to be monitored, so I just don't think we're really on the same page.
• 2:32
  Brittany: So I just kind of let that go.
• 2:33
  Brittany: And you were like one of the first people that I had talked to and I knew after just like a couple of conversations I was like, oh yeah, I want this girl.
• 2:41
  Brittany: I want this girl at my birth.
• 2:45
  Angela: I'm Angela and I'm a certified birth photographer, experienced doula, childbirth educator and your host here on the my Maine Birth podcast.
• 2:53
  Angela: This is a space where we share the real life stories of families and their unique birth experiences in the beautiful state of Maine, from our state's biggest hospitals to birth center births and home births.
• 3:06
  Angela: Every birth story deserves to be heard and celebrated.
• 3:10
  Angela: Whether you're a soon-to-be mom, a seasoned mother or simply interested in the world of birth, these episodes are for you.
• 3:18
  Angela: Welcome to episode 129 of my Main Birth.
• 3:25
  Angela: As a reminder, this space is not censored.
• 3:28
  Angela: I share hospital birth stories, birth center stories, all different kinds of home births, positive stories, negative stories and everything in between.
• 3:37
  Angela: The only requirement for sharing a birth story on the podcast is that at least one of your birth stories is a main birth story.
• 3:48
  Angela: Other than that, I share them all.
• 3:52
  Angela: As an added bonus, all of my podcast guests receive a gift certificate for a family adventure photo session on the session day of your choice.
• 3:56
  Angela: I host session days for my podcast guests at iconic locations across Maine throughout the spring, summer and fall.
• 4:02
  Angela: So if you're interested in joining the community of Maine moms sharing birth stories on the spring, summer and fall, so if you're interested in joining the community of Maine moms sharing birth stories on the podcast, you can fill out the form over on my website, mymainbirthcom, or you can always send me a message over on Instagram at mymainbirth.
• 4:17
  Angela: Today's birth story guest is Brittany, and she is here to share her undisturbed home birth story with us that I had the incredible honor of attending as her doula and birth photographer.
• 4:30
  Angela: Hi Brittany, welcome to my Maine Birth, hi.
• 4:35
  Angela: So to get started, would you share a little bit about you and your family?
• 4:42
  Brittany: Yeah, so my husband and I, we were both born and raised in Maine.
• 4:45
  Brittany: I'm actually from Greenville, maine, which we are currently building here so this will be our home.
• 4:53
  Brittany: It's me, my husband.
• 4:55
  Brittany: We have a dog, layla, and then we have our new little babe, and she is Cammie.
• 5:00
  Brittany: She's now just over three months old.
• 5:02
  Brittany: Yeah, so we have actually been living on the road for the last four years, when the whole pandemic had started.
• 5:12
  Brittany: My husband and I both work in healthcare, so we're actually both radiographers and I'm also a sonographer, so we do like x-ray cat scan and I do ultrasound as well.
• 5:23
  Brittany: So when that whole situation took place and they started to mandate the shots, we were a big no on that.
• 5:33
  Brittany: So we both got done our jobs.
• 5:35
  Brittany: We were kind of prepared for that, or were preparing for that, because we kind of had a feeling that was coming, and so we bought a motor home.
• 5:46
  Brittany: Kind of had a feeling that was coming, and so we bought a motor home, we sold our house and we took 10 months off from work and just traveled all around the country for a while, and then we decided that we would go back to work.
• 5:56
  Brittany: But we were going to do travel work.
• 5:58
  Brittany: So we go to hospitals different hospitals in different states and we do three, typically three-month contracts, and so that's what we did.
• 6:07
  Brittany: We just started applying to places that weren't mandating anything and we did that for a while, and we've done that for the past four years and, yeah, now we are getting ourselves settled down in Greensville.
• 6:20
  Brittany: So it's just kind of a little bit about us.
• 6:23
  Angela: So one more thing that I thought was really cool when we first met was like so when did you guys decide to hike the AT?
• 6:32
  Brittany: So back when, like I said, when the whole pandemic had started, we had kind of like a five-year plan and we knew within that you know, during travel work in between contracts, we wanted to take six months off and hike the AT.
• 6:47
  Brittany: We've been together for 10 years and it was kind of always a bucket list thing for him.
• 6:53
  Brittany: We both loved to hike, but it was a bucket list thing for him and we were actually hiking the Big Los one day, probably six, seven years ago, and we just happened to say, hey, well, let's, we didn't get married until eight years in.
• 7:08
  Brittany: So we were like, let's hike the AT and get married at the end.
• 7:11
  Brittany: So it just kind of happened that it was good timing for us.
• 7:15
  Brittany: While doing contract work we were able to take six months off and, yeah, we walked from Georgia to Maine and then we summited Katahdin and came down to Chimney Pond and met our family and one of our friends there and they married us there.
• 7:33
  Angela: I love it.
• 7:34
  Angela: That's so beautiful it was so special, yeah, so special, oh my goodness.
• 7:40
  Angela: Yeah, when I heard that story I was like, okay, like I think we're probably be best friends.
• 7:43
  Angela: So now, jumping into your birth story, tell me about when you found out you were pregnant and what your thoughts were in choosing your care.
• 7:54
  Brittany: Yeah, so.
• 7:55
  Brittany: So actually we had been kind of talking about starting a family and after we knew, after we got done hiking, I wanted to take some time for us to just like let our bodies recover from that, because obviously walking for five and a half months took a toll on both of our bodies.
• 8:13
  Brittany: So we took a year to just, you know, replenish everything.
• 8:16
  Brittany: And then we just I used to just have a track my cycle and I just kind of stopped and it happened relatively quick.
• 8:27
  Brittany: Um, I was kind of surprised that it happened so quick and we were actually getting ready to go for a hike one morning and I was like, huh, I kind of feel weird, I felt different and I was like, but I kind of felt like, oh, my period's probably going to start tomorrow and I just happened to have these old tests up in the cabinet with some ovulation strips.
• 8:48
  Brittany: I pulled one out and I took one and found out that I was pregnant.
• 8:53
  Brittany: So, choosing our care, so, coming from our background of working in health care, even before we decided to start trying or start a family, I was really into just learning a lot about birth, because I did do OB ultrasound and I worked at maternal fetal medicine for a while.
• 9:16
  Brittany: So I worked pretty close with just like the birth world in the medical field and just from my experience with that, I found I started to question a lot of things and just from my personal experience, I really felt like birth had become extremely medicalized and I just felt like we were really taking power away from women and it was kind of like a one size fits all package.
• 9:45
  Brittany: And I just noticed that a big thing that like kind of threw a trigger off in me was with ultrasound and like datings.
• 9:53
  Brittany: We would give people, you know, due dates, which I'm not a big fan of due dates Cause baby's going to come and baby wants to come, and I would see a lot of inductions because oh well, you're over 40 weeks now, and then it would end up in like failure to progress or the baby was in distress, and I'd hear these stories all the time.
• 10:14
  Brittany: And then I looked at like the fact that we have such high cesarean rates and I really started to question things then.
• 10:21
  Brittany: So then I, just, like I said, before I even got pregnant, I started just like diving into like the natural world of birth and stuff like that.
• 10:29
  Brittany: So we knew when we got pregnant, we were going to go a different route and neither of us really see a doctor.
• 10:36
  Brittany: I haven't seen a doctor in probably seven years and I didn't feel like pregnancy is a medical issue.
• 10:45
  Brittany: I think obviously the medical system is really great at a lot of things and thank God it's there, but I really just have believed that God designed us to birth and I trusted that my body knew what needed to be done.
• 10:58
  Brittany: And yeah, there's cases where, like I said, thank God for the medical field.
• 11:01
  Brittany: But I think in most cases, if we just let birth be and just happen and pregnancy, that things can go good.
• 11:11
  Brittany: So in the beginning I went back and forth.
• 11:16
  Brittany: I debated about a midwife and I had reached out to you.
• 11:18
  Brittany: I had been listening to your podcast and I had interviewed a few midwives.
• 11:23
  Brittany: I had a hard time even finding one that would come to Greenville for a birth.
• 11:27
  Brittany: And then I did find one but we, just after I interviewed, I was like I just don't think we're on the same page.
• 11:35
  Brittany: I really just kind of wanted to be left alone through birth.
• 11:38
  Brittany: I didn't want all kinds of testing done, I didn't want to be monitored.
• 11:42
  Brittany: So I just don't think we're really on the same page.
• 11:44
  Brittany: So I just kind of let that go.
• 11:45
  Brittany: And you were like one of the first people that I had talked to and I knew after just like a couple of conversations I was like, oh yeah, I want this girl, I want this girl at my birth.
• 11:55
  Brittany: So I knew from the beginning I was going to have you there and so I just kind of rolled with it.
• 12:00
  Brittany: Like, again, from being in the medical field, I kind of knew all the testing and all the procedures that most women go through if you do walk through, you know, birth in Western medicine.
• 12:15
  Brittany: So I knew I didn't want to.
• 12:15
  Brittany: We didn't want to do any testing in the beginning.
• 12:16
  Brittany: No genetic testing, nothing like that.
• 12:17
  Brittany: It wasn't going to change anything for us, so we opted out of that.
• 12:20
  Brittany: And then, yeah, I felt really good in the first trimester.
• 12:24
  Brittany: You know I was like kind of tired, I had some nausea and some food aversions, but other than that I felt really good.
• 12:31
  Brittany: I just focused on nutrition and, you know, taking care of myself and staying active and exercising, and so I just continued on without any type of being, you know, any type of professional care.
• 12:45
  Brittany: At 20 weeks we did decide to do a 20 week ultrasound and I actually found I think you had pointed it out to me but Indigo Diagnostics.
• 12:55
  Brittany: So we did a 20 week ultrasound through them, which I could just like.
• 13:00
  Brittany: I just scheduled it myself and they sent the results to me and that worked out really great.
• 13:05
  Brittany: So we did do a 20 week ultrasound, did you end?
• 13:08
  Angela: up going to the birth center for that, or did you go to their office in Ellsworth?
• 13:11
  Angela: I did.
• 13:12
  Brittany: No, I went to the birth center and honestly it was a really good experience.
• 13:15
  Brittany: I really liked the sonographer who did it and her and I had, you know, good conversation before and during the scan.
• 13:22
  Brittany: I do kind of have my gripes with ultrasound.
• 13:24
  Brittany: That's a whole nother.
• 13:25
  Brittany: That's a whole nother topic of discussion.
• 13:27
  Brittany: I think it can be beneficial for some things, but I do think it is overused.
• 13:32
  Brittany: I don't think we are really told, like when I went to school, we weren't taught the harmful effects of it.
• 13:39
  Brittany: And there are some.
• 13:39
  Brittany: There are studies out there that show that there can be harm from it.
• 13:42
  Brittany: There's and I just feel like we really overuse it and it's just sold to people as being completely safe.
• 13:48
  Brittany: So I knew I really only wanted that one scan.
• 13:52
  Brittany: So we did that and again, I just continued about my pregnancy, kind of just tending to myself.
• 13:59
  Brittany: I would take my blood pressure every now and again.
• 14:02
  Brittany: I would take my blood pressure every now and again.
• 14:05
  Brittany: I would check my blood sugars, which I used to do anyway because I had some insulin resistance years ago and so I kind of already knew how to do that and I was always curious how certain foods affected my body anyway.
• 14:17
  Brittany: So yeah, I did that and just went about being pregnant.
• 14:23
  Brittany: I really enjoyed it.
• 14:24
  Brittany: Things were good and I just gained the confidence in knowing that I was happy with how everything was and I just wanted to birth at home with my husband and my dog in my own home and you, and that's what we went with.
• 14:45
  Angela: What were, what were your husband's thoughts like leading up to birth?
• 14:49
  Angela: Did he have any sort of reservations about the path that you were choosing?
• 14:54
  Brittany: So we definitely had a lot of conversations around it.
• 14:57
  Brittany: He really he knows that, like I'm someone who does my research and just very thorough with things, so he really trusts my decisions.
• 15:06
  Brittany: We knew all along that we wanted a home birth.
• 15:08
  Brittany: There was really no doubt about that.
• 15:10
  Brittany: We're very kind of like natural people.
• 15:13
  Brittany: We really just wanted to let things flow and he was really confident in that.
• 15:18
  Brittany: Now, when I brought up the fact of not having a medical professional there, we definitely had some conversations around that.
• 15:25
  Brittany: But then after those conversations he was really on board with it and he was fine with that.
• 15:31
  Brittany: You know, for us it was kind of like we knew that the hospital was going to be there if we ever needed it.
• 15:37
  Brittany: We knew that there's medical professionals there if we ever needed it, but that would be, you know, in a case of emergency, yeah, so no, he was really on board from day one, which was really awesome.
• 15:48
  Brittany: I really appreciated that and I think he you know, coming from again the same background of working in the medical field.
• 15:55
  Brittany: We are very good at some things, but there's a lot of things that I think that could that could be better, and birth.
• 16:01
  Brittany: I really feel like he noticed the same thing with Western medicine how you're kind of put into we look at different body parts or different bodily functions, but we don't look at them as a whole, which is a big problem.
• 16:15
  Brittany: So like you'll see a gastroenterologist or you'll see a neurologist or see cardiologist and or an OB no one really or an OB, yeah, yeah.
• 16:24
  Brittany: And like no one really looks at the whole picture.
• 16:26
  Brittany: And we both had these conversations around the same thing with birth when we do certain things in birth or in pregnancy, it's going to affect another part and then another part, and then you get sent to different people again and it just it wasn't looked at as a whole.
• 16:42
  Brittany: So no, from day one we were really on the same page, which was really nice.
• 16:48
  Angela: Yeah, because that's was really like one of my biggest things is like I am happy to be there and support you.
• 16:55
  Angela: We were really like aligning on a lot of the things, but like I'm not a medical professional and if you ever feel like you want to go and seek you know, actual medical support, like you should definitely do that and not feel, you know, like bad or like you're failing or like anything you know.
• 17:09
  Angela: So that was really important leading up to the birth that you know we were on the same page with that.
• 17:14
  Brittany: Yes, absolutely.
• 17:15
  Brittany: And I had listened to, you know, like the Free Birth Society, and I had seen really medical, you know, heard stories of really medicalized births and then complete free births where they have no care, no, nothing, just themselves their birthing.
• 17:28
  Brittany: So I kind of listened to the whole realm of things but then took what I felt was going to be the best for us out of it and I kept in the back of my mind the whole time.
• 17:38
  Brittany: You know, I had the possibility that I can find a midwife, I'm sure, if I want them to come.
• 17:43
  Brittany: But I just listened to my body and I felt confident that it just wasn't going to be the case for us and we were both fine with that.
• 17:52
  Brittany: But definitely something I didn't hold shame around it, knowing that if that was something that I wanted, that's something that I would do.
• 17:57
  Brittany: But yeah, I, just like I said the one interview that I did do that was willing to come here.
• 18:05
  Brittany: Monitoring was a big thing and I just didn't want to be monitored, I didn't want to be checked, I just kind of wanted to let things flow and that was really big for me, my personality, I know how I am and that's why I knew like you were going to be fantastic because I really honestly, like with you, it was like I was pretty much going to have like a best friend there, and I felt that from like day one when, when you and I chatted, I just wanted someone who believed in birth like I did and, you know, trusted my body as much as I did and was just going to be there for support.
• 18:33
  Brittany: And that's exactly what you were and it was fantastic.
• 18:37
  Brittany: But that's just.
• 18:38
  Brittany: You know, that's what worked for us and that's where I think everyone, you know, I hope I wish for every woman to know all the options out there and be able to choose what's best for them, because there's not just one path, and I think that's a really big thing.
• 18:51
  Angela: Yeah, it really is so important, like there's no right or wrong.
• 18:55
  Angela: There's only right or wrong for you, absolutely.
• 18:59
  Brittany: Absolutely.
• 19:00
  Angela: Yeah, leading up to sort of right before your birth, there was a lot of things that were starting to come out and like a lot of discussion, like about free birth.
• 19:09
  Angela: Was that messing with you at all or how did that affect you?
• 19:14
  Brittany: Yeah.
• 19:14
  Brittany: So I mean it didn't.
• 19:16
  Brittany: It didn't because, again, like I would listen to the Free Birth Society and I appreciate the stories and things that are shared there, but for me sometimes I would just kind of have to turn them off because I felt from day one of listening sometimes I would feel a lot of like judgment there and things and I just think it's not fair to judge.
• 19:35
  Brittany: You know, everybody's story is going to be different and everyone deserves to birth exactly how they feel comfortable and want to.
• 19:41
  Brittany: So some of the things I would just kind of take and let go, and some of them, you know, I would take and run with.
• 19:48
  Brittany: But it definitely did make me think a little bit more because they kind of sometimes you would listen to some of the podcasts and you would almost feel shameful for the fact of, like I remember the 20 week scan, I kind of went back and forth in my head and I'm like, am I doing the wrong thing?
• 20:04
  Brittany: Should I not?
• 20:05
  Brittany: But then I, you know, I just kind of stopped listening and I just, you know, went with what I felt and so, yeah, I did kind of notice like kind of makes you feel a little shameful about things and I didn't really love that feeling.
• 20:19
  Brittany: So towards the end of birth even positive birth stories I just stopped listening to everything.
• 20:24
  Brittany: Probably like the last month, I just stopped listening to any outside source and just kind of went within and listened to what I felt was going to be best for us.
• 20:35
  Angela: Yeah, that unplugging right before you give birth is huge.
• 20:40
  Brittany: Oh, absolutely.
• 20:41
  Brittany: You know it's nice to consume and hear these things and stories because it can make you feel better and give you some insight.
• 20:47
  Brittany: But I just knew towards the end I was like I don't want to, I just want to block everything else out.
• 20:52
  Brittany: And yeah, just kind of go within and and I just prayed over my birth and what I hope that it would look like, and yeah, yeah, amazing.
• 21:09
  Angela: So it was springtime.
• 21:10
  Angela: What were like those last final weeks and then days leading up to when your labor?
• 21:13
  Brittany: started like for you, yeah.
• 21:14
  Brittany: So I worked up until I think it was like 34 weeks.
• 21:17
  Brittany: I worked till and again I felt good.
• 21:20
  Brittany: So I worked up until then.
• 21:22
  Brittany: And then I took those last weeks oh, that's right, it was the day of the women's circle that you have.
• 21:25
  Brittany: I felt good.
• 21:25
  Angela: So I worked up until then, and then I took those last weeks.
• 21:27
  Brittany: Well, that's right, it was the day of the women's circle that you have.
• 21:30
  Brittany: Oh, yes, yes, that was my last day, yes, so, yeah, that felt great to just you know, hang out, I slept.
• 21:34
  Brittany: My biggest thing was I always just wanted to be rested before I went into labor, so I really just rested when I felt like I needed it.
• 21:41
  Brittany: I needed a nap during the day, I would nap.
• 21:42
  Brittany: I stayed active, just rested when I felt like I needed it.
• 21:43
  Brittany: If I needed a nap during the day, I would nap.
• 21:44
  Brittany: I stayed active.
• 21:45
  Brittany: I lifted weights up until, I think, about 35 or 36 weeks and then after that I just stayed active, walking.
• 21:55
  Brittany: I just uh.
• 21:56
  Brittany: Well, actually the week before you and I had gone for a hike, so I was like 38 weeks we went out for a hike and, yeah, that's just kind of what I did.
• 22:00
  Brittany: I just kind of hung out, prepared things.
• 22:03
  Brittany: We were getting ready to start our house build, so I just kind of dealt with things there and we were currently working in New Hampshire then.
• 22:10
  Brittany: So we got moved back to Maine, here to Greenville, and just kind of got ourselves situated and just waited until it all was about to happen.
• 22:20
  Angela: Yeah, so how did things start to unfold for you as your labor started?
• 22:25
  Brittany: So it was on a Saturday, it was May 17th.
• 22:28
  Brittany: Of course, this is my first pregnancy, so everything new to me.
• 22:33
  Brittany: So I think it was between like 10 and 11.
• 22:35
  Brittany: I was folding laundry.
• 22:36
  Brittany: I kind of felt like I had peed myself, but I wasn't sure, because through pregnancy like pretty common, you can pee yourself.
• 22:43
  Brittany: So I was like huh, but then it kind of kept coming.
• 22:46
  Brittany: So I was like okay, I just think this is my water breaking and it was just kind of a slow leak.
• 22:50
  Brittany: So I had texted you and just kind of gave you a heads up and my husband was down the road from where we live my parents live just down the road from us and he was down helping my dad do some stuff.
• 23:04
  Brittany: So I went down there and I just kind of mentioned to him and I was like, hey, I'm pretty sure my water just broke.
• 23:10
  Brittany: And he's like well, do you want me to come back up to the house with you?
• 23:12
  Brittany: And I was like no, no, I'm fine, I'm just going to go about my day.
• 23:16
  Brittany: So went about my day.
• 23:17
  Brittany: I remember just like kind of tending to our little garden.
• 23:21
  Brittany: I made some bread, just kind of prep some things around the house, and then he came up to the house around I think like four and that was when I started having like I had sensations all day, but then I started having like contractions where I really kind of had to focus through.
• 23:38
  Brittany: So I remember just kind of like squatting down, breathing through them, and that started around like four.
• 23:45
  Brittany: And then I remember around six o'clock I had texted you he had just made me a big juicy ribeye, so I ate that and I had texted you and I said, you know, if you want to head up, I think that was around like six and then I think you showed up close to eight and I was pretty much in it at that point.
• 24:07
  Brittany: I really just kind of remember you, you know, coming in and that was kind of it.
• 24:12
  Brittany: I was already in it.
• 24:14
  Brittany: I was in the bedroom just kind of hanging out at the foot of the bed, and then I don't know what time do you think they probably picked up closer.
• 24:24
  Brittany: They kept getting closer and closer together and then they were coming on pretty strong close to midnight and I could feel my body.
• 24:32
  Brittany: I just wanted to wait until my body was, you know, can start to push on its own and I felt that and that went on for a little while and I remember you saying you know, can you feel her?
• 24:42
  Brittany: So I had reached up and I could feel the top of her head, and then every so often I would just see if I could feel her again, and I felt like she wasn't moving and so that was kind of discouraging and so I was like you know, is there something you suggest?
• 24:55
  Brittany: So you know, I tried to change positions.
• 24:57
  Brittany: I was, it was pretty intense, so it was kind of hard for me to like grasp the idea of like getting up and walking or moving.
• 25:04
  Brittany: But I did a little bit.
• 25:09
  Brittany: You know, I'd move from the foot of the bed.
• 25:10
  Brittany: I got in the shower a couple times.
• 25:11
  Brittany: I was using the birth sling I get on the ball.
• 25:13
  Brittany: So then, yeah, they kind of petered out until I don't know, maybe like four o'clock or so, and then they started to ramp back up o'clock or so, and then they started to ramp back up and then that's when I started to feel I could feel her head starting to, you know, her body starting to move down some, and then at that point we had moved into the bathroom.
• 25:36
  Brittany: I did a lot of it, from what I remember.
• 25:39
  Brittany: It's so hard to like remember a lot of times you're so in it, but I spent a lot of time standing up and like leaning over the sink and that is actually how she came out.
• 25:50
  Brittany: But what to me?
• 25:51
  Brittany: It felt like her head would kind of start to come out and go back in and go out, and back in, and go out and back in and then finally I just could tell my body was pushing on its own.
• 26:03
  Brittany: But I could tell that like I needed to push with it.
• 26:06
  Brittany: So, yeah, I had that.
• 26:10
  Brittany: After so many, I had that one big push.
• 26:12
  Brittany: I felt that ring of fire, felt her head come out, and then I had a little bit of a break and then I had one more contraction and the rest of her was out it was incredible.
• 26:28
  Brittany: I remember it was.
• 26:29
  Brittany: I just remember feeling on top of the world.
• 26:33
  Brittany: I just couldn't stop looking at her.
• 26:34
  Brittany: She cried right away.
• 26:36
  Brittany: You guys helped me get her up on my chest.
• 26:40
  Brittany: It was just amazing.
• 26:41
  Brittany: You guys got me sat down with some pillows behind me and I was just able to snuggle and look at her.
• 26:47
  Brittany: And yeah, it was just amazing.
• 26:50
  Brittany: I was on definitely on top of the world at that moment.
• 26:54
  Angela: Oh my gosh, it really is the best moment like in the world, like if you could go back to the one moment.
• 26:59
  Angela: I feel like the moment right after, like we have our kids, is like the best.
• 27:03
  Brittany: Yes, yes, I was just writing about that in her baby book.
• 27:06
  Brittany: It was like what's your first?
• 27:06
  Brittany: You know some of your first thoughts, and I was just writing about that in her baby book.
• 27:08
  Brittany: It was like what's your first, you know some of your first thoughts.
• 27:09
  Brittany: And I was like, oh, those first few moments right after you get birth, I just like, I was like I just did that.
• 27:14
  Brittany: I think I swore in the video, but I was like I just did that, you know, and you feel it was just really cool, yeah.
• 27:21
  Brittany: And then we kind of figured out that, you know, her arm, or her arm, was up by her head.
• 27:26
  Brittany: So I think that was kind of slow in the progression there around midnight, but I think it just the way she emerged, kind of coming out, going back in, gave my body time to, you know, stretch and allow her to come out in the position that she was in, because you know, she did come, you know, with that head and coming out by her head, definitely feel like I probably had to stretch more.
• 27:49
  Brittany: And, yeah, the next day I was able to go to the bathroom, just fine.
• 27:54
  Brittany: I really didn't have any burning, I felt good.
• 27:56
  Brittany: So I think you know what happened was exactly what was supposed to happen in order for, like I said, her to come out in the position that she was in.
• 28:04
  Brittany: She was in and I, you know I had I had read so many books leading up to birth and just knowing you know what to look for after you know, feeling so that I would know that if I needed some type of medical attention then I would go and find that.
• 28:19
  Brittany: But I felt really good.
• 28:21
  Angela: Yeah, so how was your like immediate postpartum?
• 28:24
  Angela: How did your placenta come out?
• 28:25
  Brittany: So, yeah, I remember I was sitting in the bathroom and it kind of felt heavy.
• 28:31
  Brittany: So I felt like it had already detached.
• 28:34
  Brittany: So I remember just like Kyle taking Cammie and holding her right there in front of me she had a pretty long umbilical cord, so he just kind of held her in front of me and I got up on my knees and I barely pulled just to give like a little tug and I was like, okay, maybe not quite yet.
• 28:49
  Brittany: So we hung out there for a few minutes and then you guys are going to help me get into bed and just see, you know, wait for it to come out.
• 28:57
  Brittany: And I remember you guys walking me over to the bed.
• 29:01
  Brittany: I got like one leg up on the bed and ready to lay down.
• 29:03
  Brittany: I started having a contraction.
• 29:04
  Brittany: I was like absolutely not.
• 29:06
  Brittany: So then I just kind of kneeled down beside the bed and, yeah, birth of placenta came out pretty easily.
• 29:15
  Brittany: I think I did have like a little bit of traction on it but, like I said, at that point I think it had pretty much already detached anyway.
• 29:22
  Brittany: So I birthed that, kept the cord attached until it was kind of white and cold and sticky.
• 29:29
  Brittany: So, yeah, I got in bed with the placenta and her and we just tried to get her to latch and rest.
• 29:37
  Angela: Amazing.
• 29:38
  Angela: How have your last three months been of being a new mama?
• 29:44
  Brittany: So, honestly, it has really been amazing.
• 29:46
  Brittany: I feel really blessed with just the support that I've had.
• 29:50
  Brittany: I think it has given me a really amazing postpartum.
• 29:55
  Brittany: I felt rested.
• 29:56
  Brittany: Like I said, my parents live just down the road, which is really helpful.
• 29:59
  Brittany: My husband was actually able to take over a month off before he went back to work, so that was so nice to have.
• 30:06
  Brittany: If you can ever do that, I highly highly recommend it.
• 30:09
  Brittany: But yeah, I just felt like I was really supported by you and just everyone around me.
• 30:14
  Brittany: That it was so good.
• 30:16
  Brittany: I will say in the beginning I was a little not like.
• 30:19
  Brittany: I guess I was a little worried or it was tough.
• 30:21
  Brittany: Breastfeeding in the beginning, not breastfeeding, beginning her to latch was definitely tough and I had it in my head.
• 30:28
  Brittany: That was like throughout my whole pregnancy.
• 30:30
  Brittany: My biggest thing was I really wanted to be able to breastfeed and for me, I had implants years ago and then I had them removed and it was quite a surgery to have them removed.
• 30:42
  Brittany: You know, pec muscle comes off the chest wall.
• 30:43
  Brittany: They have to take all that tissue out, the capsule that is around the implants, and so I've never really felt the same since I've had that and I kind of had it in the back of my head that I was just going to be really upset with myself if I couldn't breastfeed, because I did that to myself and it's like why did I ever do that?
• 31:02
  Brittany: So, yeah, I think I kind of got down on myself that it wasn't going to work and she did kind of have a hard time latching in the beginning.
• 31:13
  Brittany: But then, I would say, after like a week we really kind of got the hang of it.
• 31:17
  Brittany: Yeah, but it was definitely a little tough in the beginning.
• 31:19
  Brittany: Other than that, I would say that postpartum has just been really good.
• 31:21
  Brittany: Like I said, I was able to just rest.
• 31:24
  Brittany: I didn't do a lot for weeks and then, when I did, I just kind of started walking, do little walks around the house, but I really just rested.
• 31:34
  Brittany: I know myself and I'm really one that's like, oh, if I feel good, I'm going to jump right back into it, and I was like I do not want to do that.
• 31:39
  Brittany: I really want to take the time you know it's like nine months that we go through of our bodies changing that.
• 31:46
  Brittany: One week of doing nothing is not enough, you know.
• 31:48
  Brittany: So I really wanted to rest and take that time and so, yeah, that's just what I did and I felt like I healed up really well and, yeah, I mean I've had some.
• 32:00
  Brittany: I've definitely felt like the hormones kind of starting to bottom out after birth and whatnot.
• 32:06
  Brittany: So you know, you kind of have like your ups and downs some days, but overall it has, yeah, it's just been really good.
• 32:12
  Brittany: And I contribute that to her natural birth and just allowing things to unfold, because then all those hormones get triggered how they should and, yeah, just everything unfolding naturally, I really think leads to a really good postpartum, naturally, I really think, leads to a really good postpartum.
• 32:31
  Brittany: I don't have anything else to compare it to, but just my experience and just being home in my own space it was just so nice.
• 32:36
  Brittany: I just felt comfortable at all times and, yeah, it was, it was really great.
• 32:42
  Angela: Awesome.
• 32:42
  Angela: And your dog was there with you too, right For your birth and for postpartum, right.
• 32:47
  Angela: She's so attached to you, right.
• 32:51
  Brittany: Oh, yeah, she is definitely.
• 32:52
  Brittany: She's always been attached to me.
• 32:53
  Brittany: But, yeah, we rescued her when we were working in North Carolina.
• 32:57
  Brittany: So we've had her for like a year and a half now and she's always kind of been attached to me.
• 33:00
  Brittany: But then when I came pregnant, she really she's actually right here next to me, walking outside.
• 33:07
  Brittany: She has just never left my side, and that was the case even through birth.
• 33:12
  Brittany: She was right there at the foot of the bed watching me.
• 33:14
  Brittany: Any of the pictures that you took after, during and after, she was right there just watching it all.
• 33:22
  Angela: So yeah, speaking of the pictures, what were your thoughts when you got your gallery back of the photos of your birth?
• 33:35
  Brittany: So at first, really, when I hired, when I wanted you to be at my birth, it was just because I wanted.
• 33:38
  Brittany: I wanted another woman there that had been through birth before, like I said, felt the same way about birth as I did, and so that's really why I chose you.
• 33:44
  Brittany: And then, with the whole picture thing, at first I'm not going to lie I was kind of like I don't know that I really want to be photographed.
• 33:51
  Brittany: I'm not really that type of person and I was like I don't want to feel like someone is taking pictures of me.
• 33:56
  Brittany: But after the whole situation, I never even I would have never even known that you were there.
• 34:03
  Brittany: I don't even know like the pictures that you got.
• 34:05
  Brittany: I was like I don't, it was like a ghost on the wall.
• 34:08
  Brittany: You know, it's like a ghost there that took these pictures.
• 34:16
  Brittany: And when I saw that album, like I just cried and it is so amazing.
• 34:18
  Brittany: I'm so glad that I did it now, because to have that album to look back on, oh, it just like melts my heart, definitely one of the best decisions.
• 34:27
  Brittany: And you actually even caught her coming out.
• 34:29
  Brittany: So like the last five minutes of the birth you got on video and I didn't know that either, and you sent that to me and I was just a mess, I was just crying and I was like, just like, I have that memory forever and, like we said earlier, that is like one core memory in my life I will never forget.
• 34:46
  Brittany: It's probably like the best moment of my life and I have that on video to go back and watch and it's just yeah, it's just amazing.
• 34:53
  Angela: It is.
• 34:54
  Angela: It's so, so special, and I love being able to give those memories to people and capture them.
• 35:01
  Brittany: Yes, I again.
• 35:02
  Brittany: I highly recommend that to anybody because it is just, yeah, it's amazing to have to look back on because it is just yeah, it's amazing to have to look back on Aw, so okay.
• 35:15
  Angela: Now, as a final question, if you were to give advice to someone who's expecting, or even new parents, what's one of the biggest things that you'd want to share after, like, you're where you're at right now in your journey?
• 35:23
  Brittany: Yeah, I've thought about this and I really think.
• 35:27
  Brittany: I really think it's just trust in your body, trusting that God designed us to birth.
• 35:33
  Brittany: And listening, you know, going in and listening to what is going to work best for you.
• 35:39
  Brittany: Don't have shame around the decisions that you make.
• 35:41
  Brittany: Do what feels right and good to you.
• 35:45
  Brittany: I think that's just like such a big thing, especially right now, with just.
• 35:50
  Brittany: I just feel like it's always it's either one extreme or the other, and it doesn't have to be that way you can make the decisions that are best for you.
• 35:57
  Brittany: You don't have to follow what somebody else says.
• 35:59
  Brittany: Yeah, you know, take what you want and leave what you don't need.
• 36:02
  Brittany: And and, yeah, make those decisions based on what's best for you and and and trust that your body knows what you need.
• 36:14
  Angela: Yeah, it's not black and white.
• 36:15
  Angela: It's never black and white.
• 36:16
  Angela: There's a lot of gray and nuance in all of these decisions, Every decision that you make throughout pregnancy and birth and even like early mothering.
• 36:21
  Angela: You know, as you have your, raise your children.
• 36:23
  Brittany: Oh, absolutely, there's so many things out there, especially.
• 36:26
  Brittany: Oh yeah, I think Absolutely there's so many things out there especially.
• 36:47
  Brittany: Oh yeah, I think I think now, as a new mom, like all the, I think there's more there than it is than with birth, like making decisions on, you know, feeding and sleeping and all these things, and there's so, there's so many recommendations and opinions out there that it's like you really just need to do what's best for you.
• 36:54
  Angela: Yeah, couldn not agree more.
• 36:55
  Angela: It can be actually overwhelming.
• 36:56
  Angela: Just do what's best for you, do what feels right.
• 36:57
  Angela: Yeah, learn as much as you can and then just center yourself and be like, yeah, what's right for you?
• 37:00
  Angela: Absolutely.
• 37:00
  Brittany: Yes, absolutely, and that's how I've always been with anything really in life is I like hearing all sides, all opinions, all options, and then I want to go in and I want to just take what's going to be best and resonates with me and I think everybody yeah, I think that's good advice for everybody.
• 37:19
  Angela: Yeah, that's the true autonomy.
• 37:21
  Angela: Just having an autonomous birth doesn't necessarily mean, like you, birth alone in the woods.
• 37:25
  Angela: It means you make your own decisions, absolutely.
• 37:30
  Brittany: Absolutely.
• 37:31
  Angela: Awesome.
• 37:31
  Angela: Well, thank you so much, Brittany, for taking the time to chat with me and share your story today.
• 37:37
  Brittany: Thank you so much for having me on and just creating the space for women to share, because it really helped me a lot.
• 37:43
  Brittany: You are one of the podcasts that I listened to even before I got pregnant and, yeah, I really just appreciate what you do.
• 37:51
  Angela: Before you go, I just want to remind you I have a ton of resources for pregnancy and birth.
• 37:57
  Angela: If you're pregnant, whether you're a first time mom or if this is your fifth baby, I want you to check out the show notes, because I have some free trainings and free downloads that you can sign up for, as well as the link to access my labor of love, a comprehensive, self-paced online childbirth education course.
• 38:15
  Angela: I created this course specifically for moms who don't want to be told what to do, regardless of where you're birthing or who you're birthing with, and I'd honestly love to teach you everything that I know so that you can prepare for an autonomous birth experience and prepare to step into your role as the leader of your birth journey.
• 38:34
  Angela: So click to the show notes, check out all of those links and, if you ever have any questions, feel free to DM me at my main birth over on Instagram.