Birth Story: Marin Cole's Unmedicated, Back Labor Birth
Show Notes:
Educating yourself about birth and knowing your options opens you up to so many more choices when it comes to the birth experience you want! Marin's birth story shows the importance of not only educating yourself, but also on staying firm with your choices and decisions on what is best for you and your baby.
[1:11] Our reviewer of the week, Vandp13, says: “Best podcast AND host! I am just entering the 3rd trimester of my 3rd pregnancy, and I am a self proclaimed birth and breastfeeding nut. I found this podcast when I was about 10 weeks pregnant, and I have been binging ever since - some episodes I even listen to 5+ times! She is so good at giving pregnant mamas all their options and empowering them to advocate for themselves! I reached out to Stephanie on Instagram, and she replied so quickly and didn’t give me a ‘one size fits all’ answer. She asked me questions so she could answer me specifically, which I thought was amazing! I can’t wait to join the birth course and have my 3rd birth be one I’ll never forget! Because of Stephanie, I’ll be prepared, empowered, ready to advocate, and so will my husband!! Thank you! THANK YOU! π₯°"
For those of you who are listening, I really do love getting into my DM’s and answering your questions via Instagram @myessentialbirth! You can also email me at [email protected]. For my mamas in the birth course and in the private FB group, we will continue doing FB Lives so you can get that 1:1 time with me so I can answer any specific questions you may have. π
[2:55] We have another birth story, and I LOVE that we’re collecting more positive birth stories. π€©
[3:18] My guest, Marin Cole, introduces herself. She is a pelvic floor therapist and has been a guest on the podcast before. (You can listen to her interview HERE.) She is four weeks postpartum with her first baby girl, Ensleigh. π
[5:34] Marin shares about her pregnancy and the preparation she did for it. She works as a pelvic floor therapist, and she sees all the “bad things” that can happen with pregnancy. She was nervous that she would have the same symptoms. She felt like she had a “unicorn pregnancy” because her pregnancy was so good. π¦ She had random pains that would come and go. She didn’t just rest when something was wrong, she kept moving, kept going to work, did yoga and used her exercise ball, and stayed active.
[10:41] I ask Marin to tell me about her provider experience. She explains the journey to finding her provider. She started listening to the My Essential Birth podcast around 9-10 weeks pregnant and hired a doula. She started asking her provider questions about the birth experience she wanted. π©π»βοΈ
[19:09] I want to highlight that Marin went to a birth center and decided that it wasn’t for her, which solidified her decision for why she wanted to stay with her provider. Her doula had experience and wisdom to give regarding the birth center that Marin was interested in. π₯
[20:48] How did Dad help and support you along the way? Marin’s husband is a mechanical engineer, and he trusted her because she is in the medical field. She would send him so many podcast episodes to listen to, and oftentimes, he would listen to it before Marin could! He jumped into it all and had an incredible learning experience! π€
[25:28] I love that Marin and her husband listened to the podcast, and Marin did the three exercises consistently. She did her squats all the time, and a lot of inversions later in the pregnancy since her baby was breech at 28 weeks. π§π»βοΈ
[26:17] She also ate a lot of dates towards the end of her pregnancy. She also drank the red raspberry leaf tea. She did deep squats anytime she could. She did curb walking once she went past 40 weeks. πΆπ»βοΈ
[29:31] Marin walks us through her birth experience. At her 40 week appointment, she decided to have a membrane sweep done a few days afterward. She also pumped for 40 minutes on each side as well to try to get labor going. She went on a walk and out to dinner while feeling back pain pretty regularly by this point. She took a bath and felt some relief. π
[37:53] She went upstairs to use the restroom and saw a ton of blood. She called her doula, and she told her it was time to go to the hospital. Marin had not had a contraction in her stomach at all at this point, only back labor. π€°πΌ
[40:03] While in the car on the way to the hospital, which was 15 minutes away, she told her husband she did not want an epidural. She pulled out her birth plan, and she was 6 cm. She felt the urge to push, and the nurse kept telling her to stop pushing. Her husband was doing counter-pressure because all the pain was in her back. π«
[43:10] She kept trying not to push, and her provider broke her water. Her doctor kept telling her to hold her breath and stop making noise. She also wouldn’t let her push while on all fours. Marin used the mirror which gave her all the motivation she needed to get her baby out. πͺ Her baby’s cord was wrapped around her neck three times, but she was crying and healthy.
[45:43] Marin got a second degree tear from the baby coming out so fast. She got lidocaine right as she started to push because she couldn’t feel the sharp pain, but she could feel everything else. She got the golden hour with her sweet baby, husband, and doula. π Marin recommends for anyone having a doula to make sure she takes pictures because she’ll be able to capture the raw, beautiful moments of labor. πΈ
[49:08] For postpartum healing, Marin recommends using V2 support, which helped her after her vaginal delivery. π©²
[50:02] What advice do you have for other mamas? Educate yourself! Ask questions, read, and talk to people so you can know what your birth can look like. And also, if you’re having regular back pain that comes in waves, it’s probably labor! π
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ALL the best,
Links Mentioned:
Episode 163: Pelvic Floor Therapy with Amanda Fisher & Marin Cole
