Transcript: Childbirth Choices: Unassisted Childbirth
Preggie Pals
“Childbirth Choices: Preparing for Unassisted Childbirth”
Please be advised, this transcription was performed from a company independent of New Mommy Media, LLC. As such, translation was required which may alter the accuracy of the transcription.
[00:00:00]
[Theme Music]
Sunny Gault : For most women in the U.S. having a baby means having medical health nearby just in case of an emergency. However, more and more women are trying to have their babies as natural as possible including having an unassisted childbirth. But what exactly does that means to have an unassisted birth and is that right for you? We will talk to two women who have experienced it first hand. This is Preggie Pals, Episode 12.
[Theme Music/Intro]
Sunny Gault : Welcome to Preggie Pals, broadcasting from the Birth Education Center of San Diego. I am your host Sunny Gault. Preggie Pals is all about empowering women to pursue their own individual childbirth choices. If you have a pregnancy related question you can ask our experts. Call the Preggie Pals hotline at 619-866-4775 and leave a message and we will have one of our experts answer your question in an upcoming episode. And, there are many more ways to get involved with our show. Simply visit our website https://www.preggiepals.com for more information. Alright, lets introduce our panelists that are joining us here in this studio, Stephanie let’s start with you.
Stephanie Saalfeld : Okay, hi I am Stephanie Saalfeld. I am 29 years, I am a Gemologist. I am due January 9th with my first child and we don’t know the gender yet and we are having a hospital birth.
Christine Stewart: Alright, I am Christine Stewart Fitzgerald. I am 40 years and right now I am a stay-at-home mom. I am expecting a singleton in October. We don’t know the gender yet, fingers crossed. I have twin identical girls at home that will be 3 years in few months and I am hoping to do a home birth this time around.
Sunny Gault : I didn’t know that they were identical, your twins. That’s really rare. I have a friend who is an identical twin and she actually gave birth to identical twins which is very, very rare. But it is not hereditary or anything like that it’s random.
Christine Stewart: Yeah, completely random act of nature.
Sunny Gault : Oh! My gosh, but I love that. Do they really look alike?
Christine Stewart: They do, they do and actually I should say for the first 18 months we didn’t know that they were identical and my friends kept telling you know “They really look identical.”
Sunny Gault : Is there a test or how do you know?
Christine Stewart: There is a DNA, actually there is a quite a few DNA tests, you know, you can do through the male and so we send away swab your cheek, and you know, for 80 bucks.
Sunny Gault : You are kidding me.
Christine Stewart: It’s like wow! Okay.
Sunny Gault : So, why didn’t the doctors know, I have to know why didn’t the doctors know they were identical?
Christine Stewart: You know and it kind of surprises me as well. So, when I went for my, you know, 8th week exam and you know, the doctors were you know like “why didn’t we have the separation there? It’s like two sacks I am pretty sure that these are fraternal twins” So, I said “Okay” so we were in that assumption and then of course you know, way down after the fact that the girls were born I did research and I found out that it all depends on when that split happens. So if it’s between days 1 to 5 or 5 to 8 so, the earlier they split then all these other things occur separately. So…..
Sunny Gault : Oh! Gosh very interesting. We just got totally schooled on identical twins- I just love it. I am a very big fan of twins. Someday I am gonna have twins- I’m convinced, but I have no twins in my family, nothing like that, but the heavens are gonna open and I am gonna have twins someday. Okay, we will be right back.
[Theme Music]
[Featured Segment: Preparing to Breastfeed]
Sunny Gault : Before we start today’s show, here are some great tips as you prepare for breastfeeding.
Robin Kaplan : Hi, Preggie Pals listeners, I am Robin Kaplan, an international board certified lactation consultant, owner of the San Diego Breastfeeding center and the host and producer of Preggie Pals sister show, The Boob Group. I am here to offer some advice on what you can do during pregnancy to prepare for a positive breastfeeding experience such as finding that breastfeeding friendly Pediatrician. Finding a great Pediatrician is such an important part of preparing for your baby. Your Pediatrician will almost likely be the one doctor you see more than any other doctor. So, you wanna make sure that you have similar philosophies about how you wanna take care of your child. In many times you may be able to interview the Pediatrician before your baby is born which is definitely ideal. If you have this opportunity, here are few questions you can ask the Pediatrician during the interview to find out if he or she is supportive of breastfeeding. The first one is what percentage of your patience are breastfeeding exclusively at one month? If this Pediatrician is breastfeeding friendly, that number should actually be pretty high because what that means is that if someone is having a breastfeeding challenge they know the resource to send this mom to so that way they can continue to breastfeed exclusively past one month. Second question would be do you have a lactation consultant on staff or one whom you referred to if needed? Now, in San Diego I know that most of the Pediatricians here do not have a lactation consultant on staff and that might actually be pretty similar to the area as you live in as well. However, they should have a stack of cards of lactation consultant they have met and they would be happy to share your information with her.
Next question is under what circumstances should a baby be taken off breast and given formula? The answer for this should be almost never. There are a very few reasons why a baby should be taken off breast milk and given formula. For example, if a mom has to go on some pretty serious medication where breastfeeding is contra indicated then that mom if she has enough opportunity beforehand she could always pump before and save that breast milk. So, that way while she is on the medication she can actually provide that breast milk in a bottle. So, it’s definitely important for them to know this information so that way they are not suggesting formula if you have an opportunity to prepare beforehand. The next question is for how long should I breastfeed? This is actually kind of a tricky question for your Pediatrician and the reason is because we want them to know what their academy recommends. So, for example, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends 6 months of exclusive breastfeeding which means no juice, no milk, no water, just breast milk and then up to a year with complementary foods. And so, if they don’t know this information there is a good chance that they are probably not the most breastfeeding supportive Pediatrician out there and if it’s really important for you to breastfeed it might be worth it to look into see if there is someone else that would be more appropriate for you. And lastly another question would be do you know local breastfeeding resources and support groups to whom you can connect me? This again is just making sure that if you are having any challenges your Pediatrician will be able to hand you some information so you can go get the help and support that you need. A breastfeeding supportive Pediatrician can really make a break in your breastfeeding experience with your child. So, do your research and find who you know will guide you using evidence based information and guidance to help you meet your personal breastfeeding goal. For more information on what you can do during pregnancy to prepare for a positive breastfeeding experience check out my blog at https://www.sandiegobreastfeedingcenter.com/blog and be sure to listen to Preggie Pals and the Boob Group for more fantastic conversations about breastfeeding and breastfeeding support.
[00:07:16]
[Theme Music]
Sunny Gault : Today we are discussing what it means to have an unassisted childbirth. We have two special interviews today. The first is with Sarah Pursell who recently had an unassisted childbirth and after the break we are gonna speak with Laura Ramirez. She is a Doula and childbirth educator. She just had an unassisted birth last than a week ago and she has also witnessed unassisted births in her practice. So, first we are gonna start with Sarah. Sarah, welcome to the show and thanks so much for joining us.
Sarah Pursell : Thanks for having me.
Sunny Gault : So, let’s talk first a little bit about your background. Was this the first child that you had?
Sarah Pursell : No, he was my third.
Sunny Gualt : Okay.
Sarah Pursell : My first two I had was at a birthing center that was a very hospital setting birth center.
Sunny Gault : Okay.
Sarah Pursell : With my daughter, my first one I wanted to do it naturally and with you know, we were pretty set on that but then once I went into labor I had no idea what to expect and ended up getting an epidural.
Sunny Gault : Okay.
Sarah Pursell : Which of course, later I regretted after having one I felt badly that I could do it naturally. So, with my son I was, with my first son 3 year old I was really determined to do it naturally. I hired a Doula with the same birthing center but this first time I kind of knew a little bit better what to expect as far as you know the intensity level will be coming. So, I really think that having a Doula was a key for me having somebody there to support me, encourage me and she really knew what I wanted to do it naturally. So, I ended up natural birth and saw a little bit like my first birth I was unstable not that I had you know, how do we feel, when our expectations aren’t met you know.
Sunny Gault : Right.
Sarah Pursell : So, actually with my middle child, my 3 year old I really wanted to do a home birth but at that time we couldn’t afford it. So we just went back to the, to the birthing center with a certified nurse, mid wife and did it naturally. So, with my third again, I really wanted a home birth. Again, we just weren’t able to still afford it so I started kind of researching and we were gonna, we were gonna kind of make it happen you know, just scrounge up the money to do it but, the two midwives in our town, I didn’t really have a connection with. So, it was kind of that factor and the money factor and we just started looking into different things and came up on unassisted child birth and I hadn’t ever heard of it. I was kind of shocked that people did this in America today.
[00:10:15]
Sunny Gault : What is the definition of unassisted childbirth that you found in your research?
Sarah Pursell : Basically, having a birth without any medical professional in attendance.
Sunny Gault : Okay, now that obviously includes mid wives. Does that include Doulas as well?
Sarah Pursell : Well, I know that people that do unassisted with Doulas as long as the Doula’s not hands on. You know, like not delivering the baby.
Sunny Gault : Okay, okay.
Sarah Pursell : As we were researching this over the 9 months, we started feeling like you know, this is something that we started to discuss you know intimate active love between us and we just wanted to end as intimate active love between us it’s just between us and our being baby born. And we just really felt like we didn’t want anybody else present.
Christine Stewart : What a great concept!
Sunny Gault: It is, isn’t that really sweet? That’s really nice. So you started doing all of this research. I mean, was it kind of exhaustive is there a lot of research out there about this? I feel like, I feel like it’s gaining some traction but I feel like it’s still something that not a lot of people are pursuing.
Sarah Pursell : No, there is not. We read two books, one book called “Unassisted Childbirth” by Laura Shamley which she kind of like guru on the topic, and then there is another book called “Emergency Childbirth”, just forgot the author but, it’s a really short, it’s like what they give paramedics learn about delivering a baby you know and this thing like when things go wrong and what to do. It was so helpful for us. We thought like after reading it like “Wow! That’s good” We were all scared and worried about all these mysterious things that can go on but only the doctors know how to fix but it’s really not. There’s not that many things that could happen and most of them if you kind of know what to look for, you can fix them yourselves or know when you should be going to the hospital. And another thing I did was I watched a lot of YouTube videos on unassisted births. To watch unassisted childbirth on YouTube it’s pretty a fun thing to watch and I let my kids watch them so that they could kind of know what to expect because they were here. They actually helped the baby.
Sunny Gault : Wow! That’s amazing like, what kind of role did they have? How did they help?
Sarah Pursell : They stood on either side of daddy while he caught the baby when she came out. So they were watching everything and that was amazing, it was pretty awesome.
Sunny Gault : You know a lot of people listening may wonder what kind of a prenatal care that you had prior going into you know, your delivery? So, did you see an OB or midwife or anyone on regular basis or how did that work?
Sarah Pursell : I did, I saw a certified nurse, midwife just a whole regular I did everything by the book as far as prenatal care. I actually, another part of research I went on https://www.mothering.com to have an unassisted childbirth section where you can ask questions and it was really helpful, I had getting closer and I had a lot more questions which were from some other people who have already done that. And a lot of them did unassisted pregnancies which I am quite there yet. I cannot, I just wanted to know that everything was okay and once I knew everything was fine and normal I had nothing to fear and nothing to worry about. I was ready to see.
Sunny Gault : Yeah, what concerns if any I mean, you did a lot research to ease those concerns but when you, when you first heard you know, online about unassisted childbirth, what were your initial concerns with it?
Sarah Pursell : Well, first time it was a shock that people did this. I think I, I still thought like births normally happen with a medical professional there but then, when I researched more and more I was like this is something natural that people did for centuries without medical professional there. And I think if you are educated enough, you can do it just fine. If it is a normal pregnancy it doesn’t have to be something that’s feared. The one thing that I had really hard time is letting go off my fear out with hemorrhage and we might make our children motherless. And I, you know, we knew what to look for hemorrhaging and we had heard and told …… I was prepared to eat my raw foods and stuff just to stop the hemorrhaging and I mean I knew all those things to do but I still knew even its despite doing things I could still hemorrhage. So, that was a big fear of mine but I had to realize too that I could hemorrhage in a hospital so it’s not; it’s not been a fix age of going to the hospital. I had to kind of weigh, you know, the risk of being at the hospital which I have researched. I realized there are a lot of risks being at the hospital versus that risk of being home and possibly hemorrhaging and having that happen in a way to do and stuff like that it was safer for me to be at home unassisted.
[00:15:37]
Christine Stewart: Well, you know I have to ask that I am sure you had some friends and family that might have been little bit skeptical. How did you respond to them?
Sarah Pursell : Well, after enough times we just decided to keep our mouth shut. I am not wanting to keep my mouth shut. I love to tell people you know my exciting plans and in my mind it’s just exciting but, not in other peoples mind. And so, the number of treating my people that I could consider crunchy and alternative you know, I mentioned that I was planning I would just freak out I was crazy and I would give them statistics like this you know it’s actually safer to have birth a child at home than it is in a hospital and I had all my research you know, freshen my mind and we have you know people do this for centuries but they would say the people in previous days they used to die, the mothers used to die. There were reasons that it happened you know. No nourishment, lack food and water, lack of cleanliness and we don’t have the factors to consider so, I think eventually it just had to keep my mouth shut and after it all happened and everything was fine and it was completely you know, as far as things have just gone wrong. I wrote this really long story on my blog later all my research that has been doing and just my thought process and my whole process to bring me to why I decided to do what you see. And I think a lot of people after reading that can help them to understand like okay, may be this is a, may be she’s not that crazy.
Sunny Gault : I bet it was kind of therapeutic for you to do that and we will make sure by the way that we link to that on our website so our listeners can check out your blog post. Let’s go through this you know rather quickly but, let’s talk about what happened during your labor and delivery.
Sarah Pursell : We were traveling the country in our RV at that time. So, we had stopped at the town where my in-laws live because we wanted a little bit of help after the birth of the baby. So, we were in ou motor home and it was new years eve. My husband had stayed up late that night and I was on the bed and then about 1’o clock I woke up. My husband was still up and he didn’t get any sleep that night and I woke up you know, with little bit stronger contraction so this was it, I could tell, this was really it. So, I just labored around. We lit candles, I had bought really yummy cheese and grapes and some yummy crackers. We just got out some yummy snacks and just were enjoying that. It was raining outside and we had rain on the motor home and we got the bed ready and it had plastic underneath it and I had little puppy wee wee pads under that or on top of that. I just labored around for a few hours and then we called my mother in law over to come and hold our two kids about 7’o clock. I started getting more and more intense and I just got on the bed and I just got in any position that would feel comfortable usually on all fours or on my left side, for some reason, it felt better. And I was in transition nearly for 45 minutes. It was kind of a lot more intense but honestly, I was surprised that I was ready to give birth when he actually came. It wasn’t as intense or painful as I thought it would be or remembered and I worked a lot on letting go my fear because I knew that having more fear cause my body to tense up more and cause more pain and I really didn’t want that. So, somehow I was pretty relaxed and it got intense but it wasn’t horrible and then about 45 minutes later my body was overcome with the feeling of pushing and I pushed for the maybe 5 or 10 minutes, not many times and out he came. My husband was standing at the foot of the bed and two kids on either side and they grabbed him and put him on my chest. That was the most amazing experience in my life, yeah, it was amazing.
[00:20:25]
Sunny Gault : Wow! Oh! My goodness okay so, what did you have, I don’t think, okay the baby is coming out, it probably got pretty messy in there. You know what kind of utensils or what did you have to just be able to kind of contain the area or was it just you know, you guys were around blankets and you know, that’s how it happened?
Sarah Pursell : Yeah, we had like a plastic shower curtain that we put on the bed and then we put some sheet over it and some puppy pads on top to, you know, to catch most of the liquid. And we had some strings to cut the
umbilical cord off with. We had some scissors that we were boiling to sterilize them. So, we had two, little spots on the umbilical cord to cut between the two strings and we just had like herbs and homeopathy out and ready. We just had a bowl ready for the placenta and that’s it, it was pretty simple.
Sunny Gault : Wow!
Christine Stewart: I have to ask you know, it’s not that women experienced perineal tearing, did you experience any of that or did you have to go get any care soon afterwards?
Sarah Pursell : Oh! Yeah, no, I tore slightly but I went for my midwife a couple of days later that I wouldn’t even stitched it even if you know, you have been in the birthing center at that time.. It was very, very slight. It wasn’t in pain. I tore really badly with my first like third degree tear and had to get stitched up. And I was surprised that my baby 10 pounds 7 ounces.
Christine Stewart: Wow!
Sunny Gault : What?
Sarah Pursell : It was a very, very slight tear.
Sunny Gault : You are kidding me. Oh! My goodness, and then what was the length on the baby?
Sarah Pursell : 21 inches I think, if I remember correctly.
Sunny Gault : Well, if you can birth that big of a baby completely unassisted, there is nothing you can’t do, Sarah. I am convinced.
Sarah Pursell : I felt pretty empowered and not just because of how big he was, but taking that ownership of my birth, me and my husband. It was such an empowering feeling to know we could do this, this is normal and natural
and beautiful and it doesn’t have to be in somebody else’s hand. It’s okay to take that responsibility of our birth empowering.
Sunny Gault : I am empowered, you guys feel empowered?
Christine Stewart: Yeah.
Sunny Gault : Let’s go birth a baby! Well, Sarah thank you so much for sharing that beautiful story with us. We certainly appreciate it and congratulations on your baby and again we will link to your blog post on our site. I mean, I know there is lot of other resources out there. I did watch some videos and stuff like that before today’s interview. So I will link to all of that for all of you who wants some more information on unassisted child birth. When we come back Doula, Laura Ramirez is gonna talk about her experience witnessing an unassisted childbirth firsthand. And then, 7 days ago or less than a week, she had her own unassisted childbirth with her own baby. So, we are gonna get a scoop on that. We will be right back.
[Theme Music]
Sunny Gault : Welcome back, Laura Ramirez is joining us on the phone. Laura is a Doula and a childbirth educator. She recently had an unassisted birth of her own, recently, as in less than a week ago which is amazing that is she even talking to us on the phone right now. But she has also witnessed unassisted births in the past. So, Laura welcome to the show.
Laura Ramirez : Thank you.
Sunny Gault : I think one of the interesting things about your story, Laura and of course I wanna hear it from you is that you actually didn’t intend to have an unassisted childbirth. It was more of a necessity. So, let’s talk a little about your situation. What you had planned have happen and then what actually happened?
Laura Ramirez : Sure, my husband and I were having our second child. Our first child was born in a hospital birth center. And this pregnancy we felt like having a home birth with a home birth midwife which felt kind of fit our family the best and so I had prenatal visits with my midwife throughout the pregnancy. And we planned to have a water birth so we had it in a tub and over home birth surprise ready and set aside for this birth. And it just so happened that things progressed in a way that we called the midwife when I knew that our baby was coming out very quickly and they made it here just a few minutes after he was born.
[00:25:32]
Sunny Gault : You’re like, you’re few minutes late. So, now did you wait to call them or was it just the labor it just happens so quickly? I mean, what do you tribute you know your midwife is not you know, being able to make it there in time to?
Laura Ramirez : It was a number of things, I have had some labor, early labor the day before with nothing really happening and my midwife has come over to take me and put me in a peace of mind and say “You know just let it happen, your baby is still early and don’t worry about the things that are progressing on the time when I wanted.” And I wanted you know, if it was gonna happen I wanted to keep going and so you know, went to bed at night and I woke up about 2am in the morning and I was like “Okay, this is the real deal” and I called my midwife about 7.30am saying “Okay, I am on an intensity about 8 out of 10 so I think we definitely have to meet.” And then having to focus a lot on control and she said “Do you want me to come over?” and I said “I don’t really know” and I was kind of confused at that point. You know she came over with things packed and I was tend to say “Yes” and then about 10’o clock was when I felt the labor and then my baby was coming right then you know, right then, that’s when we called her and said “Okay, come right now.”
Sunny Gault : Oh! My goodness. Okay and so within minutes your baby was there or how long did it take?
Laura Ramirez : It took me about as long as it was to get from my bathroom to the tub and then about 4 push after that.
Sunny Gault : Oh! My god, you were holding that baby in to try and get into the bathroom. Oh! My goodness. Okay so, you are obviously having some sort of conversation with your husband during this time saying “I am not sure they are gonna make it here on time” I am curious just what the mood was like the moment you realized this baby is gonna be unassisted?
Laura Ramirez : Yes, I didn’t have a whole lot of thinking going on obviously. Once I recognized “this is it”-- your whole belly lifts up the whole sensation feels very different. And I recognized it from having been in labor before, giving birth before. My whole focus just at that point was just to get to the tub. I really wanted to have a water birth and I made it to the bathroom, to the edge of the bed and realized that I am not gonna sit down from the bed to half way around and I got my hands on my knees. And my husband at that time said you know “It’s really okay if you don’t make it to the tub” and I said “No, we’re making it to the tub”
Sunny Gault : A determined mom.
Laura Ramirez : And that point I crawled there to the next room to get into the tub and I don’t think it was even in my mind that they weren’t there and I think that telling the experience and the intensity of giving birth before knowing that there wasn’t much that going to hold up this baby. And I tuned into what was going on- the progress—by checking myself and I could very easily feel hoe close she was at that point and used my sense of touch to kind of ease her down gently, and let her come. And then my husband was behind me, underneath and he just caught her as she came out.
Sunny Gault : Now, how much do you think having the background and the information and the knowledge you have as a Doula, how did that help you in this? Because I really know that there is a lot going on. I have two kids of my own so I know there is a lot going on during the birthing process but, at the same time if you never had a kid before and you don’t have the Doula experience that you have, I am just wondering who would freak out? I think I might freak out a little but how much do you think having the knowledge you had as a Doula really helped you in this?
[00:30:22]
Laura Ramirez : I think at the moment of having unassisted birth, my knowledge in trusting birth and knowing that the majority of the time birth is very normal. And things you know, don’t go chaotically wrong very fast. That helped me go on and also having my husband there and knowing that I had his 100% support. And he was okay with that happening too, was a big help. And that’s been my experience as a Doula as well. other parents who have had unassisted birth is that if those parents are confident in themselves and trust the birth process then they don’t have a lot of fear.
Sunny Gault : And I guess that, that would be the main concern I think a lot of women or families are going into this and that is what if there is an emergency? Am I putting myself in danger? Am I putting my child in danger? And you know, I know that they say there is not too many things that can go wrong but, there are things that do go wrong you know, and that’s why we have things you know, like cesareans and stuff like that for women who really needs it. So, what type of you know, is there some sort of backup plan or you know plan B you know, if this happens would you recommend something like that to say “Hey, we tried this out we really wanted this to happen” but you know, it’s just not gonna happen with this baby?
Laura Ramirez : I think it’s always a good idea to have a backup plan. That way if things do change, you are not scrambling at the last minute. You are going into that change with confidence, okay well, “ do we have everything if we have to go to the hospital?Is the car seat already in the car? We have our bag packed. Let’s get in the car and go. I think you should always have to care as far as prenatal care and you know, we recommend at least registered at a hospital or having one decided to know where you would go if something happened. And then just the basic educations of these are two things that can go wrong, you know, and change the birth experience that you are planning. But some of you, if you’ve visited then you can go forward confidently knowing, “Okay, if something happens then we are prepared for that even if it is the worst I can be prepared and not to scramble.”
Sunny Gault : Thank you for sharing your experience. We really appreciate your time today.
Laura Ramirez : Thanks for having me.
[Theme Music]
[Featured Segment: Baby Registry Secrets]
Sunny Gault : Alright, before we wrap up today’s show, here are some baby registry secrets.
Havia : Hi, Preggie Pals my name is Havia, sales associate of Agana Baby, here to discuss some tips you want to consider when creating the perfect baby registry. Our first tip is to think about the future. As your baby grows the items you need change as well. This your opportunity to gather many of these items without too much cost to you. Down the road you would need to purchase certain items such as a booster seat for diner table, different sized bottle nipples, a carrier that can carry a toddler, a Sippy cup and so on. If you are able to effectively plan ahead you may get many of these items get purchased for you beforehand eliminating any cost to you in the future. Keep in my mind that however that some items change over times such as strollers by model year and car seat due to car seat rules that are implemented from time to time. So, it’s best to stick to items which likely will not change drastically. Be sure to try and leave clothes off of the registry if you can. Clothes have many variables such as colors, designs and even sizes at times. This makes it difficult for people to pick out and purchase these items. If you like to include both be as clear as you can about what you are looking for. It would also be good to think about looking toys when you are looking into the future. You will most likely start to use early infant toys such as ones with teethers within a few months. So, it may be good to start thinking about what items you would like to have at that point. For our tips of creating the perfect baby registry as well as what to include in the registry go to https://www.aganababy.com or follow us in the Facebook and twitter at Agana Baby. And be sure to listen to Preggie Pals for great registry tips in the future.
Sunny Gault : And that’s it for our show today. If you have any questions about unassisted childbirth, please send us an email or call our Preggie Pals hotline at 619-866-4775 and we’ll answer your question on an upcoming episode. If you have a pregnancy topic you would like to suggest, we would love to hear it. Visit our website at https://www.preggiepals.com and send us an email. Thanks for listening to Preggie Pals, “Your Pregnancy Your Way.”
[Disclaimer]
This has been a New Mommy Media production. Information and material contained in this episode are presented for educational purposes only. Suggestions and opinions expressed in this episode are not necessarily those of New Mommy Media and should not be considered facts. For such information in which areas are related to be accurate, it is not intended to replace or substitute for professional, Medical or advisor care and should not be used for diagnosing any house care problem or disease or prescribing any medications. If you have questions or concerns regarding your physical or mental health or the health of your baby, please receive assistance from a qualified health care provider.
[00:36:21] [End Of Audio]
Episode Transcript
Preggie Pals
“Childbirth Choices: Preparing for Unassisted Childbirth”
Please be advised, this transcription was performed from a company independent of New Mommy Media, LLC. As such, translation was required which may alter the accuracy of the transcription.
[00:00:00]
[Theme Music]
Sunny Gault : For most women in the U.S. having a baby means having medical health nearby just in case of an emergency. However, more and more women are trying to have their babies as natural as possible including having an unassisted childbirth. But what exactly does that means to have an unassisted birth and is that right for you? We will talk to two women who have experienced it first hand. This is Preggie Pals, Episode 12.
[Theme Music/Intro]
Sunny Gault : Welcome to Preggie Pals, broadcasting from the Birth Education Center of San Diego. I am your host Sunny Gault. Preggie Pals is all about empowering women to pursue their own individual childbirth choices. If you have a pregnancy related question you can ask our experts. Call the Preggie Pals hotline at 619-866-4775 and leave a message and we will have one of our experts answer your question in an upcoming episode. And, there are many more ways to get involved with our show. Simply visit our website https://www.preggiepals.com for more information. Alright, lets introduce our panelists that are joining us here in this studio, Stephanie let’s start with you.
Stephanie Saalfeld : Okay, hi I am Stephanie Saalfeld. I am 29 years, I am a Gemologist. I am due January 9th with my first child and we don’t know the gender yet and we are having a hospital birth.
Christine Stewart: Alright, I am Christine Stewart Fitzgerald. I am 40 years and right now I am a stay-at-home mom. I am expecting a singleton in October. We don’t know the gender yet, fingers crossed. I have twin identical girls at home that will be 3 years in few months and I am hoping to do a home birth this time around.
Sunny Gault : I didn’t know that they were identical, your twins. That’s really rare. I have a friend who is an identical twin and she actually gave birth to identical twins which is very, very rare. But it is not hereditary or anything like that it’s random.
Christine Stewart: Yeah, completely random act of nature.
Sunny Gault : Oh! My gosh, but I love that. Do they really look alike?
Christine Stewart: They do, they do and actually I should say for the first 18 months we didn’t know that they were identical and my friends kept telling you know “They really look identical.”
Sunny Gault : Is there a test or how do you know?
Christine Stewart: There is a DNA, actually there is a quite a few DNA tests, you know, you can do through the male and so we send away swab your cheek, and you know, for 80 bucks.
Sunny Gault : You are kidding me.
Christine Stewart: It’s like wow! Okay.
Sunny Gault : So, why didn’t the doctors know, I have to know why didn’t the doctors know they were identical?
Christine Stewart: You know and it kind of surprises me as well. So, when I went for my, you know, 8th week exam and you know, the doctors were you know like “why didn’t we have the separation there? It’s like two sacks I am pretty sure that these are fraternal twins” So, I said “Okay” so we were in that assumption and then of course you know, way down after the fact that the girls were born I did research and I found out that it all depends on when that split happens. So if it’s between days 1 to 5 or 5 to 8 so, the earlier they split then all these other things occur separately. So…..
Sunny Gault : Oh! Gosh very interesting. We just got totally schooled on identical twins- I just love it. I am a very big fan of twins. Someday I am gonna have twins- I’m convinced, but I have no twins in my family, nothing like that, but the heavens are gonna open and I am gonna have twins someday. Okay, we will be right back.
[Theme Music]
[Featured Segment: Preparing to Breastfeed]
Sunny Gault : Before we start today’s show, here are some great tips as you prepare for breastfeeding.
Robin Kaplan : Hi, Preggie Pals listeners, I am Robin Kaplan, an international board certified lactation consultant, owner of the San Diego Breastfeeding center and the host and producer of Preggie Pals sister show, The Boob Group. I am here to offer some advice on what you can do during pregnancy to prepare for a positive breastfeeding experience such as finding that breastfeeding friendly Pediatrician. Finding a great Pediatrician is such an important part of preparing for your baby. Your Pediatrician will almost likely be the one doctor you see more than any other doctor. So, you wanna make sure that you have similar philosophies about how you wanna take care of your child. In many times you may be able to interview the Pediatrician before your baby is born which is definitely ideal. If you have this opportunity, here are few questions you can ask the Pediatrician during the interview to find out if he or she is supportive of breastfeeding. The first one is what percentage of your patience are breastfeeding exclusively at one month? If this Pediatrician is breastfeeding friendly, that number should actually be pretty high because what that means is that if someone is having a breastfeeding challenge they know the resource to send this mom to so that way they can continue to breastfeed exclusively past one month. Second question would be do you have a lactation consultant on staff or one whom you referred to if needed? Now, in San Diego I know that most of the Pediatricians here do not have a lactation consultant on staff and that might actually be pretty similar to the area as you live in as well. However, they should have a stack of cards of lactation consultant they have met and they would be happy to share your information with her.
Next question is under what circumstances should a baby be taken off breast and given formula? The answer for this should be almost never. There are a very few reasons why a baby should be taken off breast milk and given formula. For example, if a mom has to go on some pretty serious medication where breastfeeding is contra indicated then that mom if she has enough opportunity beforehand she could always pump before and save that breast milk. So, that way while she is on the medication she can actually provide that breast milk in a bottle. So, it’s definitely important for them to know this information so that way they are not suggesting formula if you have an opportunity to prepare beforehand. The next question is for how long should I breastfeed? This is actually kind of a tricky question for your Pediatrician and the reason is because we want them to know what their academy recommends. So, for example, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends 6 months of exclusive breastfeeding which means no juice, no milk, no water, just breast milk and then up to a year with complementary foods. And so, if they don’t know this information there is a good chance that they are probably not the most breastfeeding supportive Pediatrician out there and if it’s really important for you to breastfeed it might be worth it to look into see if there is someone else that would be more appropriate for you. And lastly another question would be do you know local breastfeeding resources and support groups to whom you can connect me? This again is just making sure that if you are having any challenges your Pediatrician will be able to hand you some information so you can go get the help and support that you need. A breastfeeding supportive Pediatrician can really make a break in your breastfeeding experience with your child. So, do your research and find who you know will guide you using evidence based information and guidance to help you meet your personal breastfeeding goal. For more information on what you can do during pregnancy to prepare for a positive breastfeeding experience check out my blog at https://www.sandiegobreastfeedingcenter.com/blog and be sure to listen to Preggie Pals and the Boob Group for more fantastic conversations about breastfeeding and breastfeeding support.
[00:07:16]
[Theme Music]
Sunny Gault : Today we are discussing what it means to have an unassisted childbirth. We have two special interviews today. The first is with Sarah Pursell who recently had an unassisted childbirth and after the break we are gonna speak with Laura Ramirez. She is a Doula and childbirth educator. She just had an unassisted birth last than a week ago and she has also witnessed unassisted births in her practice. So, first we are gonna start with Sarah. Sarah, welcome to the show and thanks so much for joining us.
Sarah Pursell : Thanks for having me.
Sunny Gault : So, let’s talk first a little bit about your background. Was this the first child that you had?
Sarah Pursell : No, he was my third.
Sunny Gualt : Okay.
Sarah Pursell : My first two I had was at a birthing center that was a very hospital setting birth center.
Sunny Gault : Okay.
Sarah Pursell : With my daughter, my first one I wanted to do it naturally and with you know, we were pretty set on that but then once I went into labor I had no idea what to expect and ended up getting an epidural.
Sunny Gault : Okay.
Sarah Pursell : Which of course, later I regretted after having one I felt badly that I could do it naturally. So, with my son I was, with my first son 3 year old I was really determined to do it naturally. I hired a Doula with the same birthing center but this first time I kind of knew a little bit better what to expect as far as you know the intensity level will be coming. So, I really think that having a Doula was a key for me having somebody there to support me, encourage me and she really knew what I wanted to do it naturally. So, I ended up natural birth and saw a little bit like my first birth I was unstable not that I had you know, how do we feel, when our expectations aren’t met you know.
Sunny Gault : Right.
Sarah Pursell : So, actually with my middle child, my 3 year old I really wanted to do a home birth but at that time we couldn’t afford it. So we just went back to the, to the birthing center with a certified nurse, mid wife and did it naturally. So, with my third again, I really wanted a home birth. Again, we just weren’t able to still afford it so I started kind of researching and we were gonna, we were gonna kind of make it happen you know, just scrounge up the money to do it but, the two midwives in our town, I didn’t really have a connection with. So, it was kind of that factor and the money factor and we just started looking into different things and came up on unassisted child birth and I hadn’t ever heard of it. I was kind of shocked that people did this in America today.
[00:10:15]
Sunny Gault : What is the definition of unassisted childbirth that you found in your research?
Sarah Pursell : Basically, having a birth without any medical professional in attendance.
Sunny Gault : Okay, now that obviously includes mid wives. Does that include Doulas as well?
Sarah Pursell : Well, I know that people that do unassisted with Doulas as long as the Doula’s not hands on. You know, like not delivering the baby.
Sunny Gault : Okay, okay.
Sarah Pursell : As we were researching this over the 9 months, we started feeling like you know, this is something that we started to discuss you know intimate active love between us and we just wanted to end as intimate active love between us it’s just between us and our being baby born. And we just really felt like we didn’t want anybody else present.
Christine Stewart : What a great concept!
Sunny Gault: It is, isn’t that really sweet? That’s really nice. So you started doing all of this research. I mean, was it kind of exhaustive is there a lot of research out there about this? I feel like, I feel like it’s gaining some traction but I feel like it’s still something that not a lot of people are pursuing.
Sarah Pursell : No, there is not. We read two books, one book called “Unassisted Childbirth” by Laura Shamley which she kind of like guru on the topic, and then there is another book called “Emergency Childbirth”, just forgot the author but, it’s a really short, it’s like what they give paramedics learn about delivering a baby you know and this thing like when things go wrong and what to do. It was so helpful for us. We thought like after reading it like “Wow! That’s good” We were all scared and worried about all these mysterious things that can go on but only the doctors know how to fix but it’s really not. There’s not that many things that could happen and most of them if you kind of know what to look for, you can fix them yourselves or know when you should be going to the hospital. And another thing I did was I watched a lot of YouTube videos on unassisted births. To watch unassisted childbirth on YouTube it’s pretty a fun thing to watch and I let my kids watch them so that they could kind of know what to expect because they were here. They actually helped the baby.
Sunny Gault : Wow! That’s amazing like, what kind of role did they have? How did they help?
Sarah Pursell : They stood on either side of daddy while he caught the baby when she came out. So they were watching everything and that was amazing, it was pretty awesome.
Sunny Gault : You know a lot of people listening may wonder what kind of a prenatal care that you had prior going into you know, your delivery? So, did you see an OB or midwife or anyone on regular basis or how did that work?
Sarah Pursell : I did, I saw a certified nurse, midwife just a whole regular I did everything by the book as far as prenatal care. I actually, another part of research I went on https://www.mothering.com to have an unassisted childbirth section where you can ask questions and it was really helpful, I had getting closer and I had a lot more questions which were from some other people who have already done that. And a lot of them did unassisted pregnancies which I am quite there yet. I cannot, I just wanted to know that everything was okay and once I knew everything was fine and normal I had nothing to fear and nothing to worry about. I was ready to see.
Sunny Gault : Yeah, what concerns if any I mean, you did a lot research to ease those concerns but when you, when you first heard you know, online about unassisted childbirth, what were your initial concerns with it?
Sarah Pursell : Well, first time it was a shock that people did this. I think I, I still thought like births normally happen with a medical professional there but then, when I researched more and more I was like this is something natural that people did for centuries without medical professional there. And I think if you are educated enough, you can do it just fine. If it is a normal pregnancy it doesn’t have to be something that’s feared. The one thing that I had really hard time is letting go off my fear out with hemorrhage and we might make our children motherless. And I, you know, we knew what to look for hemorrhaging and we had heard and told …… I was prepared to eat my raw foods and stuff just to stop the hemorrhaging and I mean I knew all those things to do but I still knew even its despite doing things I could still hemorrhage. So, that was a big fear of mine but I had to realize too that I could hemorrhage in a hospital so it’s not; it’s not been a fix age of going to the hospital. I had to kind of weigh, you know, the risk of being at the hospital which I have researched. I realized there are a lot of risks being at the hospital versus that risk of being home and possibly hemorrhaging and having that happen in a way to do and stuff like that it was safer for me to be at home unassisted.
[00:15:37]
Christine Stewart: Well, you know I have to ask that I am sure you had some friends and family that might have been little bit skeptical. How did you respond to them?
Sarah Pursell : Well, after enough times we just decided to keep our mouth shut. I am not wanting to keep my mouth shut. I love to tell people you know my exciting plans and in my mind it’s just exciting but, not in other peoples mind. And so, the number of treating my people that I could consider crunchy and alternative you know, I mentioned that I was planning I would just freak out I was crazy and I would give them statistics like this you know it’s actually safer to have birth a child at home than it is in a hospital and I had all my research you know, freshen my mind and we have you know people do this for centuries but they would say the people in previous days they used to die, the mothers used to die. There were reasons that it happened you know. No nourishment, lack food and water, lack of cleanliness and we don’t have the factors to consider so, I think eventually it just had to keep my mouth shut and after it all happened and everything was fine and it was completely you know, as far as things have just gone wrong. I wrote this really long story on my blog later all my research that has been doing and just my thought process and my whole process to bring me to why I decided to do what you see. And I think a lot of people after reading that can help them to understand like okay, may be this is a, may be she’s not that crazy.
Sunny Gault : I bet it was kind of therapeutic for you to do that and we will make sure by the way that we link to that on our website so our listeners can check out your blog post. Let’s go through this you know rather quickly but, let’s talk about what happened during your labor and delivery.
Sarah Pursell : We were traveling the country in our RV at that time. So, we had stopped at the town where my in-laws live because we wanted a little bit of help after the birth of the baby. So, we were in ou motor home and it was new years eve. My husband had stayed up late that night and I was on the bed and then about 1’o clock I woke up. My husband was still up and he didn’t get any sleep that night and I woke up you know, with little bit stronger contraction so this was it, I could tell, this was really it. So, I just labored around. We lit candles, I had bought really yummy cheese and grapes and some yummy crackers. We just got out some yummy snacks and just were enjoying that. It was raining outside and we had rain on the motor home and we got the bed ready and it had plastic underneath it and I had little puppy wee wee pads under that or on top of that. I just labored around for a few hours and then we called my mother in law over to come and hold our two kids about 7’o clock. I started getting more and more intense and I just got on the bed and I just got in any position that would feel comfortable usually on all fours or on my left side, for some reason, it felt better. And I was in transition nearly for 45 minutes. It was kind of a lot more intense but honestly, I was surprised that I was ready to give birth when he actually came. It wasn’t as intense or painful as I thought it would be or remembered and I worked a lot on letting go my fear because I knew that having more fear cause my body to tense up more and cause more pain and I really didn’t want that. So, somehow I was pretty relaxed and it got intense but it wasn’t horrible and then about 45 minutes later my body was overcome with the feeling of pushing and I pushed for the maybe 5 or 10 minutes, not many times and out he came. My husband was standing at the foot of the bed and two kids on either side and they grabbed him and put him on my chest. That was the most amazing experience in my life, yeah, it was amazing.
[00:20:25]
Sunny Gault : Wow! Oh! My goodness okay so, what did you have, I don’t think, okay the baby is coming out, it probably got pretty messy in there. You know what kind of utensils or what did you have to just be able to kind of contain the area or was it just you know, you guys were around blankets and you know, that’s how it happened?
Sarah Pursell : Yeah, we had like a plastic shower curtain that we put on the bed and then we put some sheet over it and some puppy pads on top to, you know, to catch most of the liquid. And we had some strings to cut the
umbilical cord off with. We had some scissors that we were boiling to sterilize them. So, we had two, little spots on the umbilical cord to cut between the two strings and we just had like herbs and homeopathy out and ready. We just had a bowl ready for the placenta and that’s it, it was pretty simple.
Sunny Gault : Wow!
Christine Stewart: I have to ask you know, it’s not that women experienced perineal tearing, did you experience any of that or did you have to go get any care soon afterwards?
Sarah Pursell : Oh! Yeah, no, I tore slightly but I went for my midwife a couple of days later that I wouldn’t even stitched it even if you know, you have been in the birthing center at that time.. It was very, very slight. It wasn’t in pain. I tore really badly with my first like third degree tear and had to get stitched up. And I was surprised that my baby 10 pounds 7 ounces.
Christine Stewart: Wow!
Sunny Gault : What?
Sarah Pursell : It was a very, very slight tear.
Sunny Gault : You are kidding me. Oh! My goodness, and then what was the length on the baby?
Sarah Pursell : 21 inches I think, if I remember correctly.
Sunny Gault : Well, if you can birth that big of a baby completely unassisted, there is nothing you can’t do, Sarah. I am convinced.
Sarah Pursell : I felt pretty empowered and not just because of how big he was, but taking that ownership of my birth, me and my husband. It was such an empowering feeling to know we could do this, this is normal and natural
and beautiful and it doesn’t have to be in somebody else’s hand. It’s okay to take that responsibility of our birth empowering.
Sunny Gault : I am empowered, you guys feel empowered?
Christine Stewart: Yeah.
Sunny Gault : Let’s go birth a baby! Well, Sarah thank you so much for sharing that beautiful story with us. We certainly appreciate it and congratulations on your baby and again we will link to your blog post on our site. I mean, I know there is lot of other resources out there. I did watch some videos and stuff like that before today’s interview. So I will link to all of that for all of you who wants some more information on unassisted child birth. When we come back Doula, Laura Ramirez is gonna talk about her experience witnessing an unassisted childbirth firsthand. And then, 7 days ago or less than a week, she had her own unassisted childbirth with her own baby. So, we are gonna get a scoop on that. We will be right back.
[Theme Music]
Sunny Gault : Welcome back, Laura Ramirez is joining us on the phone. Laura is a Doula and a childbirth educator. She recently had an unassisted birth of her own, recently, as in less than a week ago which is amazing that is she even talking to us on the phone right now. But she has also witnessed unassisted births in the past. So, Laura welcome to the show.
Laura Ramirez : Thank you.
Sunny Gault : I think one of the interesting things about your story, Laura and of course I wanna hear it from you is that you actually didn’t intend to have an unassisted childbirth. It was more of a necessity. So, let’s talk a little about your situation. What you had planned have happen and then what actually happened?
Laura Ramirez : Sure, my husband and I were having our second child. Our first child was born in a hospital birth center. And this pregnancy we felt like having a home birth with a home birth midwife which felt kind of fit our family the best and so I had prenatal visits with my midwife throughout the pregnancy. And we planned to have a water birth so we had it in a tub and over home birth surprise ready and set aside for this birth. And it just so happened that things progressed in a way that we called the midwife when I knew that our baby was coming out very quickly and they made it here just a few minutes after he was born.
[00:25:32]
Sunny Gault : You’re like, you’re few minutes late. So, now did you wait to call them or was it just the labor it just happens so quickly? I mean, what do you tribute you know your midwife is not you know, being able to make it there in time to?
Laura Ramirez : It was a number of things, I have had some labor, early labor the day before with nothing really happening and my midwife has come over to take me and put me in a peace of mind and say “You know just let it happen, your baby is still early and don’t worry about the things that are progressing on the time when I wanted.” And I wanted you know, if it was gonna happen I wanted to keep going and so you know, went to bed at night and I woke up about 2am in the morning and I was like “Okay, this is the real deal” and I called my midwife about 7.30am saying “Okay, I am on an intensity about 8 out of 10 so I think we definitely have to meet.” And then having to focus a lot on control and she said “Do you want me to come over?” and I said “I don’t really know” and I was kind of confused at that point. You know she came over with things packed and I was tend to say “Yes” and then about 10’o clock was when I felt the labor and then my baby was coming right then you know, right then, that’s when we called her and said “Okay, come right now.”
Sunny Gault : Oh! My goodness. Okay and so within minutes your baby was there or how long did it take?
Laura Ramirez : It took me about as long as it was to get from my bathroom to the tub and then about 4 push after that.
Sunny Gault : Oh! My god, you were holding that baby in to try and get into the bathroom. Oh! My goodness. Okay so, you are obviously having some sort of conversation with your husband during this time saying “I am not sure they are gonna make it here on time” I am curious just what the mood was like the moment you realized this baby is gonna be unassisted?
Laura Ramirez : Yes, I didn’t have a whole lot of thinking going on obviously. Once I recognized “this is it”-- your whole belly lifts up the whole sensation feels very different. And I recognized it from having been in labor before, giving birth before. My whole focus just at that point was just to get to the tub. I really wanted to have a water birth and I made it to the bathroom, to the edge of the bed and realized that I am not gonna sit down from the bed to half way around and I got my hands on my knees. And my husband at that time said you know “It’s really okay if you don’t make it to the tub” and I said “No, we’re making it to the tub”
Sunny Gault : A determined mom.
Laura Ramirez : And that point I crawled there to the next room to get into the tub and I don’t think it was even in my mind that they weren’t there and I think that telling the experience and the intensity of giving birth before knowing that there wasn’t much that going to hold up this baby. And I tuned into what was going on- the progress—by checking myself and I could very easily feel hoe close she was at that point and used my sense of touch to kind of ease her down gently, and let her come. And then my husband was behind me, underneath and he just caught her as she came out.
Sunny Gault : Now, how much do you think having the background and the information and the knowledge you have as a Doula, how did that help you in this? Because I really know that there is a lot going on. I have two kids of my own so I know there is a lot going on during the birthing process but, at the same time if you never had a kid before and you don’t have the Doula experience that you have, I am just wondering who would freak out? I think I might freak out a little but how much do you think having the knowledge you had as a Doula really helped you in this?
[00:30:22]
Laura Ramirez : I think at the moment of having unassisted birth, my knowledge in trusting birth and knowing that the majority of the time birth is very normal. And things you know, don’t go chaotically wrong very fast. That helped me go on and also having my husband there and knowing that I had his 100% support. And he was okay with that happening too, was a big help. And that’s been my experience as a Doula as well. other parents who have had unassisted birth is that if those parents are confident in themselves and trust the birth process then they don’t have a lot of fear.
Sunny Gault : And I guess that, that would be the main concern I think a lot of women or families are going into this and that is what if there is an emergency? Am I putting myself in danger? Am I putting my child in danger? And you know, I know that they say there is not too many things that can go wrong but, there are things that do go wrong you know, and that’s why we have things you know, like cesareans and stuff like that for women who really needs it. So, what type of you know, is there some sort of backup plan or you know plan B you know, if this happens would you recommend something like that to say “Hey, we tried this out we really wanted this to happen” but you know, it’s just not gonna happen with this baby?
Laura Ramirez : I think it’s always a good idea to have a backup plan. That way if things do change, you are not scrambling at the last minute. You are going into that change with confidence, okay well, “ do we have everything if we have to go to the hospital?Is the car seat already in the car? We have our bag packed. Let’s get in the car and go. I think you should always have to care as far as prenatal care and you know, we recommend at least registered at a hospital or having one decided to know where you would go if something happened. And then just the basic educations of these are two things that can go wrong, you know, and change the birth experience that you are planning. But some of you, if you’ve visited then you can go forward confidently knowing, “Okay, if something happens then we are prepared for that even if it is the worst I can be prepared and not to scramble.”
Sunny Gault : Thank you for sharing your experience. We really appreciate your time today.
Laura Ramirez : Thanks for having me.
[Theme Music]
[Featured Segment: Baby Registry Secrets]
Sunny Gault : Alright, before we wrap up today’s show, here are some baby registry secrets.
Havia : Hi, Preggie Pals my name is Havia, sales associate of Agana Baby, here to discuss some tips you want to consider when creating the perfect baby registry. Our first tip is to think about the future. As your baby grows the items you need change as well. This your opportunity to gather many of these items without too much cost to you. Down the road you would need to purchase certain items such as a booster seat for diner table, different sized bottle nipples, a carrier that can carry a toddler, a Sippy cup and so on. If you are able to effectively plan ahead you may get many of these items get purchased for you beforehand eliminating any cost to you in the future. Keep in my mind that however that some items change over times such as strollers by model year and car seat due to car seat rules that are implemented from time to time. So, it’s best to stick to items which likely will not change drastically. Be sure to try and leave clothes off of the registry if you can. Clothes have many variables such as colors, designs and even sizes at times. This makes it difficult for people to pick out and purchase these items. If you like to include both be as clear as you can about what you are looking for. It would also be good to think about looking toys when you are looking into the future. You will most likely start to use early infant toys such as ones with teethers within a few months. So, it may be good to start thinking about what items you would like to have at that point. For our tips of creating the perfect baby registry as well as what to include in the registry go to https://www.aganababy.com or follow us in the Facebook and twitter at Agana Baby. And be sure to listen to Preggie Pals for great registry tips in the future.
Sunny Gault : And that’s it for our show today. If you have any questions about unassisted childbirth, please send us an email or call our Preggie Pals hotline at 619-866-4775 and we’ll answer your question on an upcoming episode. If you have a pregnancy topic you would like to suggest, we would love to hear it. Visit our website at https://www.preggiepals.com and send us an email. Thanks for listening to Preggie Pals, “Your Pregnancy Your Way.”
[Disclaimer]
This has been a New Mommy Media production. Information and material contained in this episode are presented for educational purposes only. Suggestions and opinions expressed in this episode are not necessarily those of New Mommy Media and should not be considered facts. For such information in which areas are related to be accurate, it is not intended to replace or substitute for professional, Medical or advisor care and should not be used for diagnosing any house care problem or disease or prescribing any medications. If you have questions or concerns regarding your physical or mental health or the health of your baby, please receive assistance from a qualified health care provider.
[00:36:21] [End Of Audio]
