Birth Story: Unmedicated Birth for First Time Mama, Amanda Warnsholz
Show Notes
[1:11] - Our Reviewer of the Week is Amelia R.P. and she says, "I am pregnant and thriving! First time Mama! I know I wanted a natural birth, a birth center or a home birth but that was just because that’s how I was raised. My sister had done it too, I figured I should probably look into it and see what I wanted for myself and this was able to remind me why they did it and why I was considering it as well! Thanks for all the different views and ways of having babies had no clue there was such a variety of ways to do everything!!!!! Six weeks away from the due date, and my husband and I have such joy and praise God for every bit of the journey so far!" 💜
2:00 - Our guest is Amanda Warnsholz, a first time mama and nurse, from Michigan. Her husband is a PA, and her daughter, Willow, is just over a year old.
3:08 - Amanda's medical background played a role in how she chose to birth. One of her coworkers helped her find her OB, but she knew she wanted to approach her birth and pregnancy from a holistic standpoint. Her knowledge did help with the decision though.
3:43 - Before pregnancy, Amanda had an irregular pap, which led her down the road of a couple procedures. She was referred to an oncologist, and they discussed her options since she wanted to start a family. Her doctor took a "wait and see" approach since any procedure they would move forward with would take a piece of her cervix. She also saw a naturopathic doctor who put her on a regimen of vitamins supplements, did acupuncture, and IV infusion therapy. After a few months, she was given the all clear to finally start her journey to starting a family!
7:25 - Amanda got COVID at 10 weeks pregnant which knocked her out for a while and she lost her sense of taste and smell. The absolute worst thing for a mama with cravings! Thankfully it did not cause any lasting complications.
9:08 - During her pregnancy, she had one provider, but there were four providers who she met with who would potentially deliver her baby depending on who was on call. She had to travel almost an hour to see her OB. She wanted a birth center birth, but the nearest one was an hour and a half away. She wanted an unmedicated birth with the least amount of interventions. Her OB was on board with all of her choices.
11:39 - Amanda's husband, Alex, was a huge help and very hands-on during pregnancy. He was supportive of what she wanted to do and cheered her on! They also hired a doula who gave Alex and Amanda tips on how to support each other during prep for labor, delivery expectations, etc.
12:48 - Amanda listened to podcasts right away and started researching her options for birth. She also listened to birth stories and stayed active. They also did relaxation practices, which she learned from the birth course. They did the ice pack practice and hip squeezes as well. She also drank red raspberry leaf tea and ate six dates a day.
17:10 - She lost a part of her mucus plug around 36 weeks pregnant, and had a cervix check. She was 2 cm dilated and 70% effaced. She was checked again around 38 weeks with no change.
18:16 - We talk about tracking her cycle and knowing when she ovulated and how that plays into her due date.
19:13 - Amanda walks us through her birth story starting from the first contraction. At 39+3 weeks, she went to the bathroom, but couldn't figure out if her water broke or if she peed. She put a pad on and after a few hours, she reached out to her doulas who thought it was amniotic fluid. She did not have any contractions during this time. She went to bed that evening and started getting period cramps. They started in her lower stomach but eventually started coming in waves. She got up and put a Christian hypnobirthing app, got her essential oils, and bouncing on her birth ball. After a while, she got into the shower, where her contractions started coming 3-5 minutes apart. She and her husband had a 50 minute drive to the hospital. Looking back, she knew she was in transition during the car ride. By the time she was checked in triage, she was 9 cm. She had a saline lock and wireless contraction monitors. She ended up needing to push and found that the bed was most comfortable with the birth bar. She ended up with a second degree tear but was able to do skin-to-skin and delayed cord clamping. Her husband announced that it was a girl.
33:10 - She had her placenta encapsulated so she was glad she didn't have the Pitocin in her body while her placenta was attached to her. The person who encapsulated her placenta took a few pictures of it and sent it to Amanda.
34:06 - Her doula transferred her placenta to the lady who did the encapsulation. It took three days for her to complete the process. Her husband met the lady at a central meeting spot and joked that it was like a drug deal to get her placenta. She took three pills throughout the day, and finished about six weeks postpartum.
37:24 - Do you remember how your contractions were like and how they changed? Amanda's contractions were in the front and like period cramps. Her contractions typically lasted about a minute. When she was in the pushing stage, the contractions lengthened.
39:55 - What were you doing that helped your body with your contractions? She had to moan through her contractions. But she felt like there was a switch that went off in her brain when it was time to push. During her contractions, she felt like she could get some rest. Early on, she was on her hands and knees, which would help her. Rocking her hips also helped as well. She also did open mouth moaning.
42:02 - What were you telling yourself on the way to the hospital? It became more of a mental game for Amanda. She had limited mobility . She just kept telling herself to take it one contraction at a time. She would talk out loud to her husband and he would cheer her on and time her contractions. She also had her meditation app blaring in the car.
45:09 - Between the time her water broke and the baby was born, it was almost 24 hours. She just went about her day because she wasn't having contractions. Left alone, her contractions eventually came. She allowed herself the space to just let things progress as they were supposed to and listened to her body.
47:33 - I always ask our mamas what advice they have for other mamas and birth partners. Amanda said "I definitely would say to do the preparation. I really enjoyed listening to the podcasts. I liked listening to other birth stories, whether they were unmedicated or ended up being medicated. I just liked listening to all of them just to hear how different scenarios could play out. I'd say do the exercises. I definitely did the three exercises during my pregnancy. Try to stay active and do the relaxation practice cuz that was huge for us especially if you do have a partner that's gonna be hands-on and active during your labor and delivery, I would definitely get them involved.
48:41 - Advice for birth partners from Amanda: "Definitely just being supportive, listening to your partner, listening to what they need. Everyone's gonna be different, so whether it's physical needs, emotional needs, etc. Just remember that pregnancy hormones, postpartum hormones, they're a crazy thing and that it will pass. Just be kind and patient. We're going through a lot."
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