Posts tagged Maternal Mental Health
135 | The Impact of Village: Rebirth of the Mother - Dr. Vernette Kountz
135 | The Impact of Village: Rebirth of the Mother - Dr. Vernette Kountz

With many stories to share, Dr. Vernette reflected with us on her most recent birth, her seven-month-old son Hudson. Understanding her birth experience with him began way before now. At sixteen, she got pregnant; however, her family was adamant that the choice to be made was termination. This decision would include a deep grieving process but set the stage for the subsequent important choices in her life. When she got pregnant again at 20, her mindset was clear; she was keeping this baby, the beginning process of finding her voice, especially in her womb.

Dr. Vernette had always known she had a calling to surrogacy, even before the birth of her first son - because she had "took life from her womb," she "wanted to give life." Working with a surrogacy agency, she was clear about the parameters of her surrogacy journey; staying clear about them allowed her to build an authentic relationship with the fathers of the twins. Upon meeting each other, they all immediately aligned, and in building a relationship that felt true for the three of them, she is still involved in the girl's life, with periodic calls and check-ins. Most notably, her surrogacy journey was the turning point for her about being intentional in setting intentions for the journey of carrying and birthing life. So in September 2020, when she became pregnant with her son Hudson she had a solid template to work from in building her birth team and navigating her pregnancy and birth.

Her birth team included her doula, birth photographer, three black midwives, and a friend serving as a maternal figure (filling the space of her mother and godmother who had passed). She shared the sentiment with all of them that she needed "to be mothered" for this journey. Throughout the birth, they did this, a moment that she recalls vividly is laboring in the birth pool, and whenever she reached out for support or comfort, there was always someone there. That support gave her the freedom to listen to her body - laboring on the toilet, utilizing movement, and when she felt the need to push, doing it without hesitation. Following the guidance of her midwife, she took a deep breath and pushed Hudson out. The final push to a birthing journey free of limitations!

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Abortion, Birth Center, Hospital Birth, COVID-19, Twins, Postpartum, AdoptionLaurel GourrierBlack Midwives, Black Motherhood, Black Doulas, Perinatal Mental Health, Maternal Mental Health, Maternal ChiropractorComment
133 | Birthing in the Body - Gianna Fay
133 | Birthing in the Body - Gianna Fay

Gianna Fay, a Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM), tapped into herself as a resource as she ventured into her pregnancies. She also called upon people she had connected with along her journey as a birthworker. She started her first pregnancy living and working in Alaska. Gianna had access to the military base for care and where she worked. Allowing her to try out "centering pregnancy" at the base and thought it was a good option for them to allow her to "be the person pregnant." "Centering Pregnancy" is the process of having private physical exams completed by CNM's and doing all the other care as a group with other pregnant people. Other preparation included working out and curating a birth team to support her preferences. At the end of her third trimester, introspection through journaling and reading lots of positive birth stories (as a CNM, this helped clear her mind of all the things she sees daily). Gianna knew that she wanted to be in labor land, wanted to be a midwife and experience birth in her body with no interventions if possible.

After carefully planning and preparing for her pregnancy and labor support, she went into labor at 39 weeks three days with a huge gush of fluid in bed that woke her up. Labor moved faster than expected, and she welcomed her healthy son after managing her own choices.

Gianna and Evan discovered they were expecting again at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. They would welcome their second child as an unexpected blessing after experiencing the joy of their first child's birth. They were no longer living in Alaska and transitioning into new roles and responsibilities. Gianna desired to birth in a natural birth center, especially as she met most of the criteria to qualify for a low intervention experience. But her fetal growth ultrasound indicated severe intrauterine growth restriction. A wave of emotions began to move through Gianna as her midwife brain and birthing person brain started to conflict. She sought a second opinion and started to utilize her resources again to manage her care. However, she had unintentionally pushed the first domino, leading to a cascade of interventions. She would have an induction that tested her patience and will. She did not experience labor land or even feel like she was in her body like her birth with Jacob. Gianna had to pause and reset before going further down the road of interventions. The reset worked, and baby Elijah was born healthy and was not small, which confirmed what she knew in her heart.

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COVID-19, Hospital Birth, PostpartumLaurel GourrierBlack Midwives, Certified Nurse Midwife, Induction, Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR), Tearing During Birth, Birth Preparation, Maternal Mental HealthComment
132 | Trusting the Surrender ~ Aureyl Pitts-Thomas
132 | Trusting the Surrender ~ Aureyl Pitts-Thomas

Having had a chemical pregnancy before, Aureyl held onto a lot of fear about her health and its correlation to how this pregnancy would continue. Not feeling supported by her care provider, she reached out to two of her dear friends who also happened to be doulas at the time with the local doula organization Restoring Our Own Through Transformation (ROOTT). This additional layer of support gave her the tools to switch to a new care provider that was perfect for her family. Her doula also guided her in managing her hyperemesis gravidarum diagnosis. In a conversation with her doula, she realized that she had to address the fear she had about her body. Her doula explained that she couldn't "operate in both." She had to be either affirming that she was truly capable or sit alongside the fear. Aureyl realized she had to do the work and shared from then that her pregnancy and birth would have a theme of continued surrender - surrendering to her body, words, and thoughts about what her experience should be.

On Sept. 13th, 2020, around midnight, Aureyl went to the bathroom and noticed some fluid with a pink tinge. Having done in-depth prep with her doula about what to expect when labor began, Aureyl was pretty confident her waters had broken. She informed her doula, her family, and care provider and went back to bed to try and rest. The following day with the support of her doula, they tried to help labor progress with movement, continued to monitor the amount of fluid she was losing (as she had a small leak), along with her temperature and baby's heartbeat. After 24 hours of this routine, they decided to head to the hospital. The hospital birth team informed Aureyl she would need to get a cervical check to confirm that her waters had broken and how her body was progressing. This check was extremely painful for her, and after hearing that she was only 1cm dilated, she expressed feeling a sense of deep discouragement, and the tinges of distrust of her body began rising again. Discussing options with her birth team, she decided to rest, and as she continued to move through her birth, the trust of surrendering she had put in her pregnancy would still ring true.

Aureyl had to ask herself to surrender to the shifts of her birth; this included the support of Pitocin to help her progress. The guidance from her doctor in getting an epidural to ease her distress with cervical checks and the later part of her labor was supportive. And ultimately, meeting her baby on Sept. 15th through a surgical birth was what was aligned for them. Reflecting on her experience, Aureyl indicates that she could be at peace with each of those decisions as they were all made on her terms. And she looks back on her experience in awe of how beautiful it was for her.

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COVID-19, Hospital Birth, Loss, Postpartum, Cesarean BirthLaurel GourrierROOTT Doulas, Doula of Color, Black Doulas, Doula Support, Black Birth Matters, Maternal Mental Health, Birth Plan Shifts, Trust Birth, Surgical BirthComment
115 | Intuitive Solitude - Lauren Collins
115 | Intuitive Solitude - Lauren Collins

Dr. Lauren Collins, a chiropractor, and birthworker tapped into the wisdom and experiences of the families she's supported over the years and empowered her during her homebirth. A birth that was peaceful, intense, and also faster than expected.

The day her labor started, she started to busy herself but again felt led to rest. She eventually became restless and began to move through her contractions. Lauren's doula and husband helped her with position changes and comfort measures. She utilized her home to her advantage to maintain a relaxed state of mind. Allowing is a state of mind that releases our minds from overworking so the body can work during labor according to its design. Her son would come much faster than expected for a first-time birthing parent. The birth team was not there yet as she was "pushy." Realizing her midwife would not make it in time to catch, Lauren tapped into her connection with her son. She said, "Ok, we just have to figure this out now." Her doula Facetimed the midwife to provide virtual support as Lauren successfully delivered her son into her arms in the shower. Lauren credits her preparation with her birthing team and some of the books she read during pregnancy for how she managed her labor despite not marking the typical milestones that she has seen in labors. Allowing space for solitude was vital in keeping her labor moving forward organically.

The difficulty in healing was more challenging for Lauren than the birth itself, partly due to her expectations. Learning to rely on other people as she healed proved to be an important opportunity to learn to give herself permission to seek support. Birth teams are critical to the success and overall positive experience of labor. Access to out-of-hospital birth has some obstacles, but whatever is in your power to control, build your team to meet those needs.

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Home Birth, PostpartumLaurel GourrierMaternal Mental Health, Maternal Chiropractor, Birthing With Intuition, Doula of ColorComment
114 | The Birth of Ingrid & Isabel - Ingrid Carney
114 | The Birth of Ingrid & Isabel - Ingrid Carney

Within her pregnancy, Ingrid Carney would lean into a flexible and go with the flow mindset. As she came closer to the birth of her daughter, she felt like things would be textbook. So at eight and a half months, when she found out her daughter was breech, it wasn't something she felt prepared to handle. She gathered the information from the doctors and decided to move forward with trying to flip her daughter. Soon after the procedure, her water broke, and she would navigate three days of labor before her daughter was born. On the third day, reaching a point of feeling like she was tapped out, Ingrid and her husband decided to move forward with a surgical birth.

During the early parts of her postpartum, she had an extensive support system, but she found that she and her support system focused a lot on her daughter and not much on Ingrid's healing. At some point finding herself in what she described as a "fog" - but now knowing she was dealing with postpartum depression. Navigating it on her own with her husband, she slowly found her rhythm, and tides would change drastically after joining a mom's group. This group provided her community with others who were also working through their parenthood journey at the same time.

Joining this group would also be the beginning for Ingrid & Isabel. In a conversation in her mom's group, there was a discussion around products they all were using and whether or not they worked. Ingrid shared that she had created something - the Bellaband®. Seeing it and how it worked, the group encouraged her to move forward and make more. Taking advantage of nap time, Ingrid would use that time to explore fabrics and designs and, in November 2003, would have her first sale. The Bellaband® would become a product that brought her family together and has grown into a national company offering a full range of maternity essentials.

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Hospital Birth, Postpartum, Community HighlightsLaurel GourrierMaternal Mental Health, Postpartum Support, Breech, Surgical Birth, Community Support, Belly Band, Maternity EssentialsComment
105 | Finding Balance - Hiwote Bekele
105 | Finding Balance - Hiwote Bekele

May is Maternal Mental Health Month. When we finished recording Hiwote's story and sitting in processing with her, we knew her story aligned with the awareness this month brings forth. Hiwote's story carries the heavy parts that we often hear of - the weight of being a Black birthing person, navigating a medical system that isn't designed to support us. There is birth trauma in this story.

Sharing on BSiC was the first time Hiwote would be reflecting on her experience aloud. Her story highlights the disparities of the Black and Immigrant community - how our experiences are not monolithic but often intertwined. The lack of research for treating mental health within the immigrant community. And how impactful our cultural practices and traditions can be to our healing and mental health.

Birth is sacred, and our birth stories live with us forever embedded in our very being. In finding the BSiC space, Hiwote was ready to release this part of her journey. What she received at the end of sharing was the beginning of healing—being able to start a new as she and her husband expand their family once again.

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Hospital Birth, PostpartumLaurel GourrierMaternal Mental Health, Black Maternal Mental Health, Healing, Cultural Birth TraditionsComment