Psychotic P***y Podcast

The Unedited Joy and Jumble of Becoming a Mother

Dr. Bridget Melton, MD and Licensed Therapist Marissa Volinsky, MS, LPC, NCC Season 1 Episode 7

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Ever found yourself chuckling over the old wives' tale that heartburn during pregnancy means a baby with luscious locks? Or that craving sweets hints at a girl's arrival? My medical student co-conspirator Bridget and I are here to sip the tea on these pregnancy myths and more. Get ready to nod along as we not only decode the mysteries of motherhood but also share the tale of my own son Jack's birth. Our stories blend the wisdom of science with the hilarity and humility of real-life family experiences, including a revelation for all you soon-to-be moms battling pregnancy acne.

Pregnancy not only brings a baby but a parade of unsolicited advice, and we're candidly opening up about it all. Remember Bridget, that time you danced with baby Jack at a Christmas party? We'll tell you about the uproar it caused, and we'll also dissect the strange sense of ownership others feel about commenting on pregnant bodies. We're taking down those boundary-crossing moments, one laugh at a time. Plus, you'll get an inside look at the delivery room where birth plans often fly out the window and you're left navigating the unpredictable whirlwind of labor.

As we wrap up this Mother's Day special, we send a giant hug to all the mothers, fathers, and caregivers out there. From the complexity of going from one child to two to the unexpected humor of considering childbirth a "break," every story shared is a step toward building our community of listeners. If you've ever wondered how a c-section mom handles a toddler or are curious about the truths behind labor inductions, we've got the stories that'll have you nodding in agreement or doubled over in laughter. Share your own journey with us, and let's keep this conversation as lively as a family gathering—diaper changes, and all!


Disclaimer: This podcast represents the opinions of Dr. Bridget Melton, MD and licensed therapist Marissa Volinsky, MS, LPC, NCC. The contents of our podcast and website should not be taken as medical advice. The contents of our podcast and website are for general informational purposes only, and are not intended to diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure any condition or disease or substitute for medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician, mental health professional, or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before starting or discontinuing treatment.

If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts or a crisis, please reach out immediately to the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741. These services are free and confidential.

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Speaker 1:

Hello, welcome to our Mother's Day edition of this podcast. Today we will be sharing personal experiences and talking about common pregnancy myths. We're also going to explain things like induction of labor and fetal monitoring. So that'll be all, bridget. We want to take the time to recognize everyone struggling with infertility Mamas who have experienced miscarriage, fetal loss, moms who have experienced neonatal and infant loss, those who are acting as mamas. All of you are seen and heard and your sacrifices are genuine and deserve to be acknowledged. On your own time, if anyone wants to talk about this, we encourage you to reach out to a friend, family member, a therapist or your primary care physician for help. Remember, you are not alone. Okay, so let's dive right in. We're going to go over a lot today, like pregnancy myths. I'll share my oldest son, jack's, birth story from my perspective Also, bridget was there, so she'll shed some light as she was a third year medical student who was there during labor and watching it all unfold more objectively, so that'll be good from her perspective. Okay, first let's go into some myths.

Speaker 2:

Yes. So hello everyone, welcome to episode seven and happy Mother's Day for anyone who celebrates. So we'll talk about some pregnancy myths, because people love this. So, first of all, in my line of work I hear a lot of kooky things, and I say kooky I don't mean to be offensive, but things are so silly, like quote you know, girls steal your beauty. So if you look a bit tired or you're struggling with acne which is common in pregnancy in general just because you're making more oil, honestly, that's why I'm not showing my face very often these days. My face looks like straight trash. Anyway, the myth is that you're having a girl. I would like to say that in our family, though, it's the total opposite, and Marissa and our mother can vouch like that's why I think I'm having a boy. I don't know the gender, but right, marissa, like our skin in our family is really bad if you're having a boy oh for sure.

Speaker 1:

So my acne while having Jack was so bad it was worse than any acne I experienced in high school. I honestly, without a sulfur bar right Bridget, the one I told you about I really would not go out in public and even that, like yes, it made it better, but I still was really self-conscious and sometimes some pimples would still make it through and they were really uncomfortable.

Speaker 2:

Yes, like straight up cystic acne and our mother. So we're the oldest and then we have a younger brother. Jerry had acne apparently we were too young to really remember when she was pregnant, with michael only. And jerry has amazing skin, literally has never had to wear face makeup, even on her wedding day. She was like I don't need face makeup, but my skin tone's even. I'm like girl. It was like she has such good skin so she even had acne when she carried Michael. So I'm like, oh, in my head that I'm having a boy now.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, no, pregnancy acne is no joke. So all out there suffering. We see you. Sorry about that. Try a sulfur bar. It does at least help, and help a little bit.

Speaker 2:

It does. Yeah, amazon sponsor us. Um, you, honestly, if you go on Amazon and you look up like sulfur bar for acne, it comes up immediately and it's all pregnant women, cause it's like clean ingredients you can use safely in pregnancy. Um, but, yeah, so you. Naturally it has nothing to do with if you're carrying a boy or a girl. Really, it's just because you're making more estrogen and progesterone. Progesterone makes you produce more oil, which is why you get hormonal acne leading up to your period, cause you get a huge estrogen burst which causes a progesterone spike, so your face is actually physically more oily, so you get that hormonal acne right along your jawline. You just need to wash your face like way more often. The sulfur bar is good because it actually physically dries you out, which normally is not good, but you need it right now.

Speaker 2:

Another myth is about heartburn. Yeah, yeah, you need it. I need it, guys, my face. But another myth is about heartburn. So people say your baby has a full head of hair.

Speaker 2:

If you suffer with a lot of heartburn, and you'd assume a lot of people would just take this for what it is it's an old wives tale and ignore it, but some women are so serious about it. I have been in the delivery room. They give birth to their baby and they go. That's why I had heartburn and I'm like, oh my God, face like palm face, like are you serious?

Speaker 2:

Come on, it's obviously just because of the progesterone, because of pregnancy. So your um, your stomach has delayed gastric emptying, meaning you are physically digesting slower, which is also why you get constipation in pregnancy, and your lower esophageal sphincter, which is normally very tightly closed so the acid does not come back up on you, gets a little lax because of the progesterone. So it's just a symptom of pregnancy. It has nothing to do with baby's hair. Obviously your baby is inside your uterus in amniotic fluid, like safely wrapped in a bag of water, like your baby does not even touch your stomach or your digestive system. There's no way hair could cause gastric acid to come back up and cause heartburn. But it's funny that some people really are convinced by that.

Speaker 1:

Obviously, I tell you you're obviously medically correct. Um, I tell you you're obviously medically correct, but it is interesting that with Jack, no um heartburn, and you know his hairline was atrocious and Evelyn had a full head of hair, never lost it, still to the day as luxurious locks, and I had really bad heartburn with her. Oh, there you go.

Speaker 2:

Maybe there is a little bit of truth to it. No, I'm sure there's that, I'm sure, sure, obviously you're right. But it's just funny because, yeah, I didn't experience heartburn with my bald kid. He was such a little old man when he was born, so, cute though I would like to say there is no such thing as a pregnancy glow, and I'm sorry, but fuck you people who say we're just like it's such a lie.

Speaker 2:

It's. Yeah, I'm very salty right now. Everyone says it because they want you to get pregnant. So I was recently speaking to a colleague she's another doctor and she has two children of her own and she was like, yeah, it's a myth we all say, because at any given time you know people who are trying for a baby. Like at the time she was like yo, my sister was like trying to have a child. So I just was like, yeah, the pregnancy glow, your hair is gonna be so shiny, you're gonna feel great. And she's like, if you've ever had a baby, you know that none of this is true. Like you just feel like a more tired version of yourself all the time and you just look in the mirror like when does that glow kick in? Like it is such a lie.

Speaker 1:

Okay, guys, stop perpetuating this well, I mean, I felt like that after like having the two kids and like having the newborn stage, no one tells you that. It's a kind of a shit show. I'm sorry, you're tired and if you're breastfeeding, your nips are bleeding. You're crying, crying. I had two C-sections. So healing from that on top of it, it was literally a nightmare.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, absolutely so. Anyone who knows you know if you've had a baby. You absolutely know postpartum is a really tough time to just like be alive, like you're trying to soak up all the blissful moments of new parenthood while trying to manage your own health and emotions. Your estrogen and your progesterone were just at their highest levels they'll ever be, and then they suddenly come crashing down and they continue to plummet for the next six weeks until they're finally back to their basal levels. So you're overcome with emotion. You're trying to sustain the life of a new baby and you're learning on the job. So you're overtired, you're stressed, you're overjoyed it's just complete overload. Not to mention, you are bleeding. You know low Kia. So you're bleeding like a period every day and you likely have some stitches somewhere, whether C-section, episiotomy, tear repair so you're physically healing from an injury and you're in physical pain. It's just mayhem.

Speaker 1:

Oh yeah, absolutely I forget. Somewhere on the internet there was something that said like giving birth and postpartum is as if you were in a bad car accident, but you were sent home anyway and said take care of this new life. It's like a train wreck.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you are very lucky if you have supportive family who live nearby, because, yeah, I think you need a bit of a coven to like come and help you.

Speaker 1:

It takes a village for real.

Speaker 2:

Yes, exactly, which is why I well, my plan, knock on wood, is to deliver back in the States so that I have my mom and my sister near me who can help my husband and I, because we're just going to be like blind leading the blind. It's our first baby. We don't know what the heck we're doing.

Speaker 1:

A true description of your first child during the newborn stage blind leading the blind for exactly.

Speaker 2:

No, you were so good though you were like prepared. I remember.

Speaker 1:

Good, okay, then I must've been projecting an image that I wanted to trick you into giving me nieces and nephews too. Congrats, you fell for it.

Speaker 2:

No, I remember you were just like so prepared, you Googled all these things. Remember, you had like pads in the freezer and like aloe ready to soothe. I just feel like Marissa, you were really prepared and I was really impressed, even though you ended up not requiring any of those things because you had a C-section, but you were really prepared and I was like, damn, she really knows what she's doing. But yeah, just to go back to it, the pregnancy glow, f, all y'all. I don't think it's real and I have fallen a victim. Listen, if you're out there and you're like, no, I was absolutely glowing and my hair was shiny and I was like a gorgeous goddess, please let us know. I want to know. I want to know who you are and what you did.

Speaker 1:

Could be, genetics could be lucky.

Speaker 2:

I want to know what you did to be so beautiful, Marissa. Do you have any other myths you would like to discuss?

Speaker 1:

Yes, so I have a few. So the one I'm sure a lot of people have heard about if they've been pregnant or trying to conceive, where if you crave salty food it's a boy, crave sweets it's a girl. For my case, this was actually accurate.

Speaker 2:

Obviously, I know it's a myth and it's not always the case, but for me it was accurate, really so you you crave sweets with Evelyn, oh yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1:

And remember, with Jack, I was like craving salt so much I just lived off a penne vodka, did you?

Speaker 2:

Wait, remember you wanted hot chocolate.

Speaker 1:

I mean chocolate, sorry, chocolate milk with jack yes, that's the only thing I ever craved, and it was in the morning. If I went past a certain time in the day, I no longer wanted it. But yeah, no, it was really like fries, chips, penne, vodka, any other italian dish that I could get my hands on interesting.

Speaker 2:

I've not had any cravings, not one oh well, you're lucky. Or maybe I was just using that as an excuse to just gorge myself like I've not wanted, like I, you know, because I always like ice cream, so that hasn't changed. Um, I'm eating a ton of fruit, that's not changed. I eat like fruit, like constantly, like a fruit bat, uh, vegetables all the times. That's not changed. Yeah, so I've not been like, oh, I really want this one random thing.

Speaker 1:

I've always eaten a lot of pickles, so don't come at me with that, people well, you know, maybe because you've already, your diet literally consists of pregnancy cravings, so there's not much more to add to it yeah, maybe I do love ice cream so much.

Speaker 2:

That has not changed at all I got a.

Speaker 1:

I got a few more uh myths I got. Uh, carrying high or low determines your gender. They're saying if you carry high it's a girl, if you carry low it's a boy. Obviously definitely a myth. A lot of its genetics and also a lot of it is where are you in in your pregnancy? Right, because obviously the baby's gonna drop and gonna be low when you're due, you know.

Speaker 2:

Exactly Around 37 weeks, all of a sudden you'll feel quite a significant drop. You'll feel it. You'll be like, oh my God, I have a lot of heaviness, really low all of a sudden. So that's because at 37 weeks your term baby's fully cooked, so they start to drop a bit into the pelvis, preparing themselves for delivery.

Speaker 1:

Another one is eating spicy food will induce labor. It might give you heartburn, but but not labor.

Speaker 2:

We tell people to do all that stuff though, like, listen, if you're, if you're a term, you're like 40 weeks, and you're like I want this baby out. We're like go eat the spicy food, go on walks, definitely Cause gravity will help you, gravity is your best friend and have sex's called the seduction induction. Do it. What do you have to lose?

Speaker 1:

especially if you're at the point where you're like get this baby out of me right now exactly we tell people do it all the time.

Speaker 2:

The only case you shouldn't do it is if you've already, if your waters have already gone. Please do not have sex once your waters go. It's an infection risk. But anyone else, if you're feeling up for it, try the seduction induction, because if you orgasm so female orgasm is basically your cervix having a little contraction moment, like a little dilation moment. So that's what it is. It's when it shrinks a bit and touches your uterus. So that's why we think it helps induce labor. So go for it, try it. Eat dates. People swear by eating a bunch of dates will help ripen your cervix. Raspberry leaf tea, which I've been told tastes like garbage. I'm surprised. Sounds so good.

Speaker 1:

I never tried that. I was told that, though, but I never tried it. Yeah, I'm going to try it, but yeah, everyone's like it tastes terrible.

Speaker 2:

Oh, dang, that's. That's a letdown, cause it sounds delicious. I know, I know it sounds so good. Raspberry leaf tea. I'm like this sounds like a raspberry iced tea. I can't wait to have it. Nope, not good.

Speaker 1:

Like something you'd have for, like tea time with a scone? Guess not, no apparently not so oh well, I'll share one more, which this one is I actually never heard of this until I Googled some of these myths, so please know that this is not true. If this has ever scared you, pregnant women shouldn't raise their arms above their heads, supposedly it can cause the umbilical cord to wrap around the baby's neck. This is untrue.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, definitely untrue. You could carry on with your normal activities. Just don't lift anything too heavy and don't start a new exercise that you like didn't do before pregnancy, but your arms can definitely go above your head.

Speaker 1:

This sounds like something like centuries ago that men created so that way you couldn't like pick it against any issues. They're like wait, let's just tell them that they can't raise their arms. Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Also, I would like to say that while your baby is in the uterus and they're safely floating around, they can have the umbilical cord around their neck as long as it's not too tight. They don't need their airway to breathe, yet they're getting all of their oxygenated blood from mom, so they just need the cord to function fine. So as long as it's not so tight that it's not functioning fine during labor, it can go around their neck. Don't worry, it doesn't really matter.

Speaker 1:

You heard it from the doctor herself.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so those are the myths. If anyone has any more myths that they have heard or judgy people have told them when they were pregnant, please let us know. I love hearing funny stories like that. I think it's really interesting to like hear where these things have evolved from. So please let us know if you've heard any more silly myths and things people have said to you when you were pregnant.

Speaker 1:

Well, you actually just reminded me, bridget. It's obviously not about pregnancy, it's about when a baby's around like five months old. But do you remember you had my son Jack out on a dance floor and an old woman came up to you and said that you weren't allowed to dance like that with my son?

Speaker 2:

Oh, my God, yes. So I was actually in my fourth year of med school. So he was yeah, he was really young and we went to a Christmas party. You weren't in there, we just took your baby. I need to sleep. We were like we'll take him and put him in a Santa outfit Cute. And I was on the dance floor doing like normal, you know little shakies, with the baby on my hip, and everyone was like, oh, he's so cute, oh he's so adorable. And this older woman came up to me and was like you know, you cannot dance with a baby. And I was like I think we can. I wasn't, you know, gyrating or throwing him. It was so weird. But I kept dancing, Don't worry, I kept boogieing.

Speaker 1:

Obviously. That's why they say, kind of, keep to your own, don't be judging people, because if that woman had known her audience, she was speaking to a medical student.

Speaker 2:

So that's not going to land very well Bridget's highly educated I know I was just like this is a bit weird, but people do stuff like that all the time. You know, I still do my normal gym routine. I've not changed anything yet because I don't have to yet, but eventually I will have to make accommodations because the belly will get bigger. But as of now I haven't really had to change much. But I have heard stories of people at the gym women at the gym hosting their own training sessions as well, like personal trainers who happen to be pregnant and people come up to them and they're like you know, you can't go to the gym when you're pregnant. It's like, yes, you can.

Speaker 2:

You should keep up the same level of activity you did before pregnancy. You definitely should not start running a marathon. If you never did that before Pregnancy, don't do that. But if you always, you know, ran a mile or two in the morning, lifted weights, you should do that. You just might have to lift less weights, less heavy weights, because you will be more tired and eventually you just won't be able to maintain it. But as long as you're doing safe activities, you should maintain your level of activity and fitness because ultimately, trying to give birth is a marathon. That's what we tell our women all the time You're burning calories and becoming dehydrated just by going through labor. Like you don't realize the physical intensity of labor. You need to be quite fit to do it. It's hard, it's really hard.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, but I feel like that's. There's a lot of, obviously, misconceptions out there which leads to this like fear mongering of information, like telling someone they shouldn't be working out, like what I know.

Speaker 2:

It's like that's the equivalent of saying you shouldn't go out for a walk, which of course, we totally encourage women, if you're pregnant, to go out for a walk so you prevent, you know, deep vein thrombosis, you don't get blood clots in your legs. We're like please walk as much as you can, as long as you're not dehydrating yourself or making yourself sick.

Speaker 1:

No, absolutely, I'm sure. Obviously, if we thought more on it, we'd have more.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's so funny, like when you become pregnant, it just feels like everyone has a right to let your body, like they have a right to be like oh you're like you look so big, or oh, you look so small. Or they want to like touch your belly, or they want to tell you what you should be doing when you're pregnant or what you shouldn't be doing. And it's just like when I wasn't pregnant, you wouldn't have said this to my face. And now that I am pregnant, all of a sudden you think you have some sort of like stake to claim. I don't know. It's very interesting and I'm sure a lot of pregnant people would agree. Maybe they've experienced something similar.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, no for sure, I think so too. I don't know if it's that. Uh, it's just, they feel like they're like the relationship they have with you. They feel like a part of the journey. Does that make sense?

Speaker 2:

That does yeah.

Speaker 1:

So also, you have to remember your relationship with someone is how you see it, but you never know how the other person sees it Right. So if they feel closer to you than you feel to them, they feel entitled to more information.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, but what about like strangers who come up to you and are like, oh, like, oh, you're like so big for this many weeks or something? You know, I don't know.

Speaker 1:

Yes, I guess I agree. But also I'm really I have like a resting bee face. You're definitely more like the sister that's like very smiley and and you were always social like a social butterfly, right. So people flock to you because like you're funny, you're social. I was quiet, shy and with a resting B face. You would just assume I'm a B right. So I didn't have to worry about that because no one was coming up to me.

Speaker 2:

I did not give off that vibe I mean not that anyone says anything offensive to me, because it is my first baby and I'm only 22 weeks, so I'm quite small still. It basically just looks like I've had a rough winter and I've stored a couple L couple LVs in the pouch, um, but it's not like obvious that I'm pregnant.

Speaker 1:

Right, right, yeah, no, no, unfortunately. Uh, bridget's very lucky. Uh, it was very obvious that I was pregnant. I swelled up like a hot balloon, like it was. It was bad.

Speaker 2:

Oh my God, you were so swollen. Oh, and Jack was born on the 4th of July, so it was just like the hottest summer of your life, pregnant.

Speaker 1:

Honestly, I was wondering when I was gonna pop like a little firework on his birthday, just like, let all the the water oh my god.

Speaker 2:

You had so much edema in your legs. I felt so bad. Remember? I massaged your legs for like an hour and you're like you would never touch me normally. I can't believe how generous you're being you were.

Speaker 1:

You heard it here first. Guys, bridget actually has empathy. Okay, she will rub your legs for an hour straight with no breaks, if you have edema.

Speaker 2:

I know I. I just felt so bad for you. I was like how is this girl walking? I?

Speaker 1:

really wasn't walking anymore. I was kind of I don't know if my body was just physically dragging me everywhere.

Speaker 2:

I'm not really sure I feel like if I squeezed you, it'd sound like a sponge, like possibly, honestly, quite possibly.

Speaker 1:

I think this is the perfect segue to go with jack's lovely birth story. If, if you're ready for it, everybody, yeah, tell everybody, tell us how was he born, okay. So let me just give you a warning, guys. Obviously I'm not going to be graphic or anything, but it is a birth story, right? So there's things that I cannot leave out if I'm going to be brutally honest with you guys. So, if this is not your thing, this is where you tune out, until Bridget's segment, okay, okay. So let's set the scene.

Speaker 1:

Jack is my first child, my son, and his original due date was actually my husband's birthday, june 29th. He was obviously a week and a half. I want to say, whatever July 4th is from June 29th late, because he was so late. They were concerned, right, like Bridget said, I had edema issues, I was really swollen and big, and they were measuring him, um, on the screen, and they were like this kid looks like he's already nine pounds. So if we don't induce you now, you're going to end up giving birth to a 10 pound baby, which they were correct, by the way. They were spot on, cause I gave birth and he was nine pounds one ounce, so they were not wrong, um, and he was nine pounds one ounce, so they were not wrong. And so, yeah, he was a huge giant potato. So they bring me in to induce me. So they give me Pitocin.

Speaker 2:

He was a giant watermelon. He was not a giant potato.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, a giant watermelon folks, Like the one that you went at back in the day at the state fair, the county fair or something. The big ones Okay so, ones, okay so they bring me in.

Speaker 2:

It is big, they give me Pitocin.

Speaker 1:

It obviously starts labor, it speeds things up. Funny story my water eventually breaks, but obviously I have no experience in what it feels like or anything. So I didn't say anything. And the nurse came in and goes your water broke. You didn't tell anybody and I'm like, honestly, I thought I had swamp ass. I, I had no idea. So I didn't say anything because I was so mortified that I was sweating so badly from my ass. So, ladies and gentlemen, if you feel that way, your water probably broke, okay. So I was like, oh, good to know. And then she was like all right, so you know it's going to. You know, kick up. Now it's going to kick up a notch. I'm like, great, awesome, let's get this show on the road.

Speaker 1:

So she did let me know. If you are at like a seven and higher in your pain. You need to let us know, because if you want the epidural, we need to get you on the schedule, because there was so many other people, surprisingly on a holiday, that were also giving birth at the same time as me. So I it's not like I could ask for it and they were going to come right in Like they. I actually had to wait because what I even did, ask for it, I had to wait in line to get it. So I was like crap. So I was like, okay, I'll definitely let you know. But I was so afraid that she made it sound like I was going to be waiting for so long in pain that my pain was probably at a four or a five nothing crazy, definitely not a seven Like she was asking me to wait till and I like tapped out, I was like, no, I don't want to feel anything, give me the epidural now. So I waited a little bit. I want to say I actually waited 20 to 25 minutes before I got my epidural. So good thing I did ask for it early.

Speaker 1:

And it's funny because, if anyone knows me, I hate needles. A little off story to this. I hate needles so badly that one time I had to get blood drawn when I was in high school I was 16 years old and I bit the nurse and it wasn't even a crazy needle, it was a butterfly needle. I bit the nurse and I was with my dad I remember this and they said do not bring her back, like we're not taking her blood. Like she bit the lady, get her out of here, so I cut, my mom brings me back. This time my mom goes. I know my daughter bit you. She was with her dad, though Let me see if she'll be better with me. And they're talking to me like as if I'm like a five-year-old, right, like you say that when you have a five-year-old that fights a nurse, nope, it's fully 16 year old girl so.

Speaker 1:

But of course, everything was smooth, blah, blah, blah. Okay, so that's how much I hate needles, right, but labor was so intensive especially with Pitocin, which obviously speeds it up and makes it worse, in my opinion it was so intense that when they were giving me that pedoral, I didn't feel a thing. I was like, yes, give me that big ass back needle, I want it all. And that's what they did. So if you hate needles, the chances are when you're in labor you're going to love needles, you'll be fine. So I don't know if this is something people want to hear, but you know it's the truth, right? We're going to stop hiding the truth from people who want to have babies and get the epidural. I did not know, because obviously I did not do research before giving birth, but the epidural stays in your back the whole time, just so you know it doesn't. It's not like they give it to you and take it out. No, it's not like they give it to you and take it out. No, no, it stays in your back the whole time, which I was like what the F? No, thank you, but I had no choice. So a little little scary, right. So if it's just something that you did not previously know, it's not ideal, if you're not a needle person, but you know, pregnancy and giving birth are just kind of so painful that it's like, eh, whatever, I'll take what I can get.

Speaker 1:

Then things started moving along. After the epidural I was feeling good. I got some sleep, this whole process, by the way, I was in labor for 22 hours and change almost 23 hours, so this was a very long stretch of time. So I got some sleep and the next morning early things were were picking up. They were like all right, let's, let's get the show on the road, cause I believe he was born when everything was said and done, basically after the C-section. It was like 10, 26 AM, I believe he was delivered, but early in the you know, the early hours of the morning before the C-section was the end result. I was pushing felt like an hour and a half. Would you agree, bridget? How long was I pushing? For? About an hour and a half. Yeah, you were pushing an hour and a half. So I was pushing for an hour and a half. Um, and they the doctor said we can see that there is a stool. So you know, poop stool in your um sack.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so it comes because your waters have already gone. It comes out with your water so we can see when baby passes meconium, which is their first poo, because it will come right out of your vagina and it's really obvious, like everyone knows what it looks like.

Speaker 1:

Right. Well, in my case you would know better, but I remember the doctor saying you can keep pushing, but we just need to monitor the stool, the loose stool, because if it goes missing, that means your baby has swallowed it, and then we have to do a C-section.

Speaker 2:

So that was when you went for your scan the day of your induction. We could see that he had passed meconium because it was physically floating around the amniotic fluid in the sack and that's why he said it's okay that it's floating around, but if he swallows it it can make him really sick. So we need to induce you today and I remember that day at 1 pm you went to the hospital and they induced you yes, well that that my little sweet angel child can't make anything easy.

Speaker 1:

Because while I was pushing for the hour and a half, that's what happened he lost it. He lost sight of it and he said I am 99.9 sure that your son swallowed it and that's why I can't see it floating around anymore. And I said, oh God, no. And he said, listen, we can chance it, but if I'm correct, you know we need to get them out and on antibiotics, so we honestly. He's like I'm recommending C-section right now and he goes, but I can't force you, you know it's your choice. Goes, but I can't force you, you know it's your choice. And at that time, after an hour and a half and being told like oh, you're making progress, oh, no, wait, his head went back up. Like I was so defeated hearing that that all my hard work was like nothing, because my son's head was very large, by the way, still very large, but it was so large that he would push him up and then it would go all the way back and I'd be like are you serious? Like I have to start all over again. And at that point I was like it's an hour and a half and you're telling me there's a chance that he swallowed something that could hurt him. I was like I'm tapping out C-section. So then I got a C-section but obviously, as true birth stories, nothing can be peachy, you know perfect, right, there had to be some issues with the C-section. So they get me all ready for C-section.

Speaker 1:

Now, at this point, nobody, including myself, had any idea that that epidural that I told you about earlier in my back had fallen out, Not out, like, obviously it was still taped to my back, but it wasn't like in where it was supposed to be situated. So when I went for the C-section, like normal C-sections, they want you awake, right, they just want you numb from a certain part down, but they want you awake. No, I did not get to be awake for my first child because since the epidural came out of my back, everything was, I could feel everything, right, and he kept trying to test because he was concerned. He was like you can feel this, you can feel this. He kept like the knife or scalpel, whatever you call it. He kept touching my belly. He was like you can feel this right now.

Speaker 1:

And when they went to go check and be like that's so weird, like we can add more, but you know it wasn't working, be barbaric. So for my first C-section I was completely knocked out and then I woke up groggy in like the recovery room and also they had taken my son to the NICU for antibiotics Cause he did that. He was the doctor ended up being right, he did swallow the stool and it was a an interesting feeling Cause I would feel bad visiting my son in the NICU because all those babies are really tiny and premature. And then you got to look at my son that's like over nine pounds and chunky as could be, just like yep, I'm big and large. Here I am, and I felt really guilty. I was like, should he be here? Shouldn't there be like another section for like chunky babies that swallowed their poop? Like I feel bad.

Speaker 2:

I know everyone kept being like who's that big boy Jack? And we'd be like he's ours.

Speaker 1:

He's, he's large and in charge. Here he is. Yeah, we're like, oh, yeah, that's, that's our kid. Oh, my goodness, like. And I would feel bad because I would be in there visiting and some moms couldn't even pick up their kid Right, like they were putting their fingers through those little holes in the thing. And then there's my son just like I'm able to like move them from arm to arm, let my husband and my mom, my mom, my sister, hold them, like they're probably like juggling him around. And then there's, like the other mom's, like, oh, must be nice.

Speaker 2:

I know it was was really awkward. Actually I agree with that because he was okay, like he just needed the antibiotics, which was the only reason he was admitted, and there were a lot of premature tiny babies who needed a lot of special care and they were in incubators and on oxygen, oh my God, and we were just in there with like the tubbiest little you know and we're just like feeding him and, oh God, it was really awkward. I was like I feel like we shouldn't be in here.

Speaker 1:

Honestly, that's how I felt. I was like I feel like this is just wrong, like because you don't know what the mothers are going through, or God forbid anyone loses a child. I was like what is my chunky child doing in here? That just seems like it's mean.

Speaker 2:

I know it was. It was really awkward, but we were only in there for like two days, I think he was right. I think on two days, and then day three you went home.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I went home day three, so that was obviously with me telling you it was practically almost 23 hours. There's, I'm sure, a lot of details now that I like to fuzz out and pretend did not happen, so I would. What I'd like to tell mothers is I hope I didn't scare you, right, cause not everything goes so left field like mine, but expect the unexpected, right, because they always tell you with your first baby oh, birth plan, birth plan. Have your birth plan, yes, 100%. Create a birth plan, conjure up whatever you dream. That's great, but you need to go in with an open mind because things happen and your birth plan might go out the window.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely so. The kiss of death is if you have a laminated birth plan. If you come in with a laminated birth plan girl, you are going to be an emergency C-section because those people are so rigid and they're like it just never goes their way. It's just for some reason. It's just bad luck. We see it all the time. Have a birth plan so that you have an idea of what you want to do, but you need to know that it could not happen that way at all.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely, but also think further. So what happens if C-section, or go down the different avenues? So in your mind you still have a plan because you're like, okay, I thought about this, you know, like I thought what if this happens? And I already know what decision I want to do.

Speaker 2:

Exactly. Yeah, don't be afraid to think about the what ifs. What if I need an instrumental delivery? What if I need a C-section? You need to think about that so that when they're like, well, what do you want to do, you kind of have an answer and you've educated yourself so you're not so frightened. You know, because at that moment you are the only person who's advocating for you and baby. You know baby's not out yet, so it's actually the role of obstetricians to look after mom, not baby. People don't really know that my goal is to keep the mother alive. A neonatologist keeps the baby alive. That's not up to me. So you are baby's only advocate while they're still inside you. You're the only one who can give us that insight. So you need to be like. You know what. I've actually done some research on forceps and I'm happy if we go ahead and do this. Thank you, let's go.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, absolutely 100% agree with Bridget Super important. But yeah, that was my birth story, Bridget, did you have anything to add? Because now, Bridget I forgot to mention Bridget was in the room. It was my husband, my mom and my sister, so so she saw everything. Like you know, 4K right, she was there for it, she experienced it.

Speaker 2:

Yes, okay, I have such a different story from Marissa's birth story, but I love that she's so casual about it. Okay. So she was 41 weeks, which is fine. So full term is 40 weeks, which is actually 10 months. People like to lie and say, you know, human gestation is nine months. Not true, it's 40 weeks, which is actually 10 months. People like to lie and say, you know, human gestation is nine months. Not true, it's 40 weeks, which is four times 10. So she was 41 weeks, which is completely fine, your first pregnancy.

Speaker 2:

We expect you to kind of hold on to them usually because your body's learning what to do. It's never labored before. So every second it's learning how to dilate, how to contract, so that's fine. So 41 weeks. You go for scans more often to make sure baby's still moving and growing appropriately and making sure everything's okay. Enough fluid around baby, because once you go post 40 weeks there's a chance that fluid won't be adequate anymore. The placenta starts to give up. Maybe baby's growth will tail. So everything was fine with Jack and, just like Marissa said, they were like oh, we can physically see the meconium on the ultrasound. That's fine, we expect that. So babies pass their first stool in the womb if they're post-states or if they're distressed. So in this case baby was absolutely not in distress, just pooed and we was like fine. So there was no concerns. We're like we're just going to induce you because your first baby is really big and that can be a risk for a lot of things which I'll discuss later when I talk about induction of labor. So Marissa was like yep, I'm fine with that, goes for an induction. Honestly, for a first time, mom, which we call a primate, a primate gravita, she did amazing for induction, like was so quick with it.

Speaker 2:

By the time it was ready for her to push I knew she had a non-working epidural because she was saying she was in pain. That's fine, it happens. It's actually fairly. It's not common, but like it's not uncommon, you know like at least one woman a shift might have like a non-working, it just depends. So obviously, like the catheter part, the cannula part of it, like the rubber tubing we keep in it just slipped a little bit from her epidural space. Fine, it wasn't working.

Speaker 2:

So after about an hour and a half of pushing I was looking at the CTG. So CTG is the band they put around you where you can listen to baby's heartbeat and we do this when you're in labor. For very low risk women you don't have to do continuous monitoring. That's absolutely fine. But for Marissa she was induced. So when you are induced you're on a lot of hormone drips like Pitocin, so we have to do continuous fetal monitoring. So she was on the CTG. I'm looking at it. I was only a third year medical student but I had already done my labor and delivery round. So I was like that's a bad CTG.

Speaker 2:

Baby was looking okay but the heart rate was super high. So then they did MRSA's temperature and they're like, oh, you know what? Mrsa has a bit of a fever. We think we're a bit worried. So she's pushing, she's pushing, she's pushing the heart rate. At this point his heart rate was about 180 to 200 with accelerations. So I'm like that's a sign that baby's sick. I know that it's obvious. Every medical student can tell you that.

Speaker 2:

Now the obstetrician was so calm and experienced that he kind of didn't let on how serious it could be. He was really calm and was just like you know, I think we need to go for a C-section, and I could see it in his eyes. He's like this is an emergency C-section, like we need to go now. So Marissa had a non-working epidural. So they like to do an epidural top up. Couldn't do it in Marissa and it was so urgent a true category one, like crash cesarean section that they had to put her to sleep there because normally they would go, oh, let's try a spinal. No, there was no time to try a spinal anesthetic, like they were like we need to get her asleep and down so we could get this baby out as soon as possible. And that's what they did because they were absolutely right.

Speaker 2:

The CTG was correct, the heart rate was going so high because baby was infected, um, and that's also why Marissa spiked a fever, so it was all ended up being fine. Obviously, marissa got a couple doses of antibiotics, baby got some antibiotics and it all ended up being really, really fortunate for both of them and we're so happy. But like when Marissa tells her birth story, she's like, oh yeah, I just ended up with a C-section. Like I have never seen a truer crash cesarean than my sisters. Like in honesty, like they were like we need to get this baby out now. And marissa does not understand, like the gravity of the situation. So I love when she tells the story because from my point of view, I was like, yeah, we're wheeling her to like the or.

Speaker 1:

Now, well, I mean, like I said, I was a little loopy, um, um and on it I was so tired too, because to go through the whole night, yes, like the epidural made it a little comfy, but not not much, and they gave me that like peanut shape thing they stick between your legs to open up the cervix more, because apparently, I was slowly opening.

Speaker 1:

you know, like they wanted to see it happen faster. So I'm sorry, but I could not get any sleep. Now I I've heard mothers say that it's the most comfortable thing. They. They slept great with it. No issues for me it just didn't. I don't know if it's just like the crevices of my thighs, I don't know. I did not get much sleep, so I was like loopy as hell.

Speaker 2:

Um no, of course, like especially if you're not a medical person, you don't know, you can only take what they're saying at face value. But, like from someone objectively watching, I was like, oh boy, this this is pretty serious, we're definitely going for an emergency C-section, but it ended up being fine. And then your second birth story was much more chill because you went for an elective section and you knew what to expect and there were no surprises.

Speaker 1:

So that one, though, went sideways the opposite way. So, because, obviously, I scheduled that C-section, I was like I'm never going through that again. I also I make very big babies. She was a chunky one. I was like I want this easy peasy in and out, and it was. It was great, even you know, waking up from surgery, staying in the hospital, fine, but she surprised me when it came, when it came time to coming home, because this is something I did not experience with Jack.

Speaker 1:

I had baby blues in the first two weeks. Baby blues. Obviously, I had it monitored so it didn't turn into full postpartum. Cause, let me clarify, baby blues is a little different than postpartum. It can lead to postpartum, which is why you need to monitor it, but with all the hormones and everything after giving birth, it is normal to experience a little bit of baby blues and should go away if it doesn't turn into postpartum, right. So monitor it by a professional. It is important, obviously, I. I am a professional in that field, so I was monitoring it myself, along with a woman that I used to work for, um, because I just, you know, to hold myself accountable and I needed an outside opinion that was also in the field and knew what she was doing. So thank you for that.

Speaker 1:

And the first two weeks I couldn't like stop crying, honestly, and but it was weird because it was like I don't feel sad or depressed per se, but some something was wrong is the best way I could say it, because I would break out in tears over something that wasn't making sense. And I remember my husband, john, turning to me and being like, are you okay? Like I don't. I don't know what's wrong. Did I do something? You want me to help you with something? Was I not being helpful enough which, by the way, he's an angel, he does too much, so never an issue with him. And I just kept being like I'm crying, but I don't know why I'm crying. And he was like well, are you hungry, are you tired? Do you want me to let you go lay down blues? Because I'm literally crying for no reason at random times, just like super emotional.

Speaker 2:

Yes, yeah, so baby blues up to 80% of women experience it actually and as long as it does, it should resolve by two weeks and if it doesn't, if it progresses to more of a chronic depression, then yeah, we're looking at postpartum depression, which can be more dangerous because obviously it can lead to like postpartum psychosis. But yeah, people don't talk about baby blues enough, especially considering 80% of women experience it. They just think it's like a normal reaction. But you shouldn't feel helpless and weepy all the time. That's not normal and it's good that you recognize that it was not normal.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely. I remember feeling so not in touch with my body. Does that make sense? Because I, because I couldn't figure out why I was crying, because I didn't have the feeling of sadness, which I do know is different Some women do but for me I was crying, but there was no reason, like there was no feeling attached to it. So I was like what is going on? Why, like I would be looking at my sweet baby, looking at her in such bliss, like, oh my God, a daughter, my first daughter, and then break out crying and I'm like like uncontrollably sobbing, not like little tears, cute tears, no, uncontrollably sobbing, and I couldn't get myself to stop until it, like, stopped on its own. I was like what is going on? It did, luckily, did. What is going on it, um, did, luckily, did not.

Speaker 2:

I wasn't there for that one. Yeah, no, you were were you already in England? You were already in England, right, yeah, yeah, I was. So I wasn't there to. Um, well, obviously, that's the, the difference, the, the touch of Bridget.

Speaker 1:

Oh, here, here. So you guys, it takes a village. You need your touch of Bridget, find your Bridget and keep her. Yeah, other than that, you know, hers was pretty great, even her pregnancy. I for me the girl pregnancy was way easier on my body. Um, you know, just had heartburn but whatever, you know, I got over it. But yeah, other than that, that was a lot better in my experience once I got past the baby blues.

Speaker 2:

Yeah Well, shoot Second one's easier, huh.

Speaker 1:

Well, I thought, okay, I cannot generalize, every woman is different, but I don't know if it's because I had the C-section already planned. It all went according to plan for once, and also because I'm now what they call a veteran mom. Right, like once, you're not on your first baby, you're a veteran mom, so you know what to expect, you know what could go wrong. You're like hey also when you have a toddler, cause my kids are close in age, they're two years apart. So when you have a toddler at home, you think of giving birth and going to the hospital as a vacation. And I know that's sad, I know, I know this, guys, but for me I get to go lie down Like I'm going to be, you know, numb from like here down, and then I'm going to go lie up in a bed because I can't get up, my stitches might break and my husband's going to bring food to my mouth Like this is amazing, this is a vacation. Thank you, insurance.

Speaker 2:

You know people say that all the time that they come in to give, to give birth, because obviously, like, your children aren't in there. When you're like, it's just you and your partner, whoever you want to be there with you, and they're like, oh no, I have three kids at home, like I don't want to go back.

Speaker 1:

I feel them so much and if I don't want one but if you know I ever do have a third I would still feel that way.

Speaker 2:

I'd be like, yes, a vacation. Yeah, it's a little bit, it's like, and it's, I get it Like, you love your kids and everything, but it is chaos. Once you have children, your life goes from just like normal adulthood behavior to complete chaos, and you can't predict it. So you're just like, oh, I just want to be surrounded by adults again.

Speaker 1:

Yes, and what I wasn't really prepared for was the fact that with Jack and my C-section, I was able to do things slowly to make sure I was not affecting or irritating my scar right From the C-section Well, it wasn't even a scar, it was a wound at that point right. And with Evelyn and you have a toddler who is a boy and he climbs he was in the climbing time and running around and doing things that he was getting hurt and all that I felt like I couldn't go slow because I had to chase a toddler around. Granted, I had my husband to help me and he was a great help, but I will say it is. So it's night and day from like being able to just like take your time with a newborn and even though the newborn stage is rough, like it's just you're doing it on your. You know you don't have to chase a toddler too, like I feel like the toddler adds a whole nother level.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, definitely, absolutely. You're not actually taking time to like recover Like when it's your first baby, and especially because mom and I were there with, like you know, we were over your house literally every day, like you're probably preferred. We didn't help as much, but you were able to just chill on the couch watch our shows. You know, it was more just like we were all helping with Jack, but with your second one, everyone's like yeah, you got this Right, and you're like, uh, do I?

Speaker 1:

No, we're. In fact, I feel like mothers need more help, because now there's more kids, you help your family, everybody. Just because they're veteran moms doesn't mean anything. If anything. They need more help.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, definitely. I completely agree with you, cause they're, you know, know you're looking after a newborn, a new newborn. Not all newborns are the same. You're learning new habits with this one and you're also trying to like angle a toddler oh gosh, I remember for john his learning curve.

Speaker 1:

so when we had the boy he could like if he was half asleep right changing jack. It didn't matter how sloppy he was when it came to wiping the poopy diaper, because obviously Jack is a boy so he has a male part. But with a girl you have to wipe from front to back or you could give the baby an infection in her female part, right? So John was like this is just so stressful because I'm so tired, it's so dark and I can't see and I have to make sure I wipe a certain way. He's like I'd have to worry about this with Jack.

Speaker 2:

Aw poor John.

Speaker 1:

He eventually got the hang of it. He's just been learning and he's very tired.

Speaker 2:

Yeah well, my husband's never even changed a diaper in his life, which I can't. I'm like how is that possible? So he's like I really need to learn. I'm like you better learn.

Speaker 1:

Uh, well, you know what? Well, you know what? We're still potty training Evelyn, but she's still in diapers sometimes. So when you guys come in August, you want to change Evelyn.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you should, you know. What's funny, though, is that he'll be trying on a very active mobile toddler, so he'll be like this is really hard. Yeah, I'm like you know, it's much easier on a newborn.

Speaker 1:

They just sit there. We're going to accidentally train him to first wrestle and pin down, and then your newborn is going to be like ow, what are you doing?

Speaker 2:

I know we're like, yeah, it's really that hard He'll be. Oh my God, that will absolutely traumatize him. But yeah, let's do it.

Speaker 1:

But though, if we train him with the harder age, right then having a newborn he's going to feel like so skilled, he's going to be so confident.

Speaker 2:

I know. No, I don't think this is a good idea. I think you're onto something. That's the second we land. That's what we're doing.

Speaker 1:

Ed, if you hear this, this is your only chance to run buddy, because as soon as you land, save a poopy one. Let's go, I shall God. Hers are like adult poops now. So God bless his heart.

Speaker 2:

Oh God, right, let's talk about induction of labor. Yes, yes, so induction of labor is performed for a lot of reasons and I just like to explain this because, uh, it's something I explain like all the time in my job. Um, people have heard the term induction of labor but they have no idea what it actually means and for some reason it's not explained really well. So it's performed for a lot of reasons, the most common being if you have hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, like pregnancy-induced hypertension or preeclampsia, if you have gestational diabetes, if you have a prolonged pregnancy, so like if you go beyond 40 weeks, or any concerns for maternal wellbeing. So a lot of people. It's maternal request in a term baby, so beyond 37 weeks, because you know mental health they're just not coping anymore and maternal age. So prolonged pregnancy we mean when your pregnancy goes beyond the. You know 40 weeks, so when you're in weeks 41 to 42. So 40 weeks is full term, but you are full term technically by 37 weeks as well, so just beyond nine months. So from 37 weeks, baby is fully cooked and you can go into labor whenever you want. So if you carry beyond 40 weeks, it can be perfectly safe for you and your baby. But there is an increased risk of the placenta kind of expiring and not feeding baby as well anymore. So we may need to induce you if baby shows signs of slowing growth. So baby's growth should never stop. You should get bigger and bigger and bigger or reduced fetal movement. So if baby's not moving as much, in the case of gestational diabetes we're more concerned about baby being huge. So if your sugars are well controlled and baby's growth is normal, you can carry until 40 weeks and then have an induction. However, if your sugars are poorly controlled and baby is already showing as large for gestational age, we call it LGA.

Speaker 2:

We worry about a lot of things. So one thing is anal sphincter injuries from tears those third and fourth degree tears in mom you can tear all the way to your anal sphincter and that can cause long-term complications. We're also worried about shoulder dystocia. So when baby's head is delivered but the shoulders don't come out, which is that's an emergency Fetal asphyxia which could be from shoulder dystocia and brachial plexus injuries. So your brachial plexus all humans have it it's a clump of nerves that are like basically right beyond your armpit, like lower down in your, in your arm kind of, where the biceps are a little bit. So it's a huge bundle of nerves that control motion and sensation from neck all the way to the fingertips. So they, those can become quite injured in a big baby who gets stuck and if the injury is permanent they might lose function, full function of that arm that was affected. So we try to prevent all that. So how do we induce?

Speaker 2:

People say that induction is more painful than natural labor. It's not necessarily true. It's just that the medications we give are slow acting and mimic natural labor. So the difference is the pace really. So for some women, rather than the glacial pace of contractions eventually ramping up to painful so they're getting used to it over time they become apparent due to the medications quite quickly instead. So there's not that natural progression of it. If we put you on the Pitocin, which is oxytocin, if we put you on that drip, you might feel the contractions go from zero to 60 and you don't have time to adapt, that's all. It's not more painful than they would have been, it's just that you haven't had that day to kind of cope with it.

Speaker 2:

We use tablets and gels called prostaglandins to ripen your cervix. That means to soften it and dilate it. So we give those one at a time and then approximately six hours later you have an internal exam to feel if you are softening and dilating, and we can repeat this process three or four times. We also have longer acting prostaglandins that stay in the vagina for 12 to 24 hours, depending on the name brand you're using. If you've had a C-section in the past and you're trying for a VBAC so a VBAC is a vaginal birth after cesarean, so you're trying for that we offer a cervical ripening balloon, so a CRB for short. It looks like a urinary catheter but it has a larger balloon attached. So this helps physically expand the cervix and we fill the balloon with water. We do an exam through the vagina and we feel for your cervix and we put the catheter all the way up into the cervix and fill it up with water and it stays there. So that can stay for 12 to 18 hours.

Speaker 2:

We prefer these in women with previous cesarean sections because in C-sections we worry about the prostaglandins inducing strong contractions that can cause scar tenderness. So scar tenderness is when you're having contractions or you're in early labor and you feel pain where your incision is from your previous C-section. We worry about wound dehiscence. That's when the wound starts to separate or complete scar rupture, which can lead to fetal death. So if your entire uterus opens up, baby can't survive that way. They need to be in a closed uterus. So that is again an emergency that can lead to fetal death and we're really concerned about that.

Speaker 2:

So after you're dilated enough, you may continue on your own into labor as you wish, or you might need amniotomy, so that is when we break your waters, which doesn't hurt, it's just a gush of fluid, and we can also give you that oxytocin drip. So pitocin is a manufactured version that is the exact same, basically, as the naturally derived oxytocin in your body and that is responsible for uterine contractions. So some people require all of these things in order to get into established labor. Some people don't. Some people have had babies before. You give them one prostaglandin and they're good to go. Their body knows what to do and it's quite simple.

Speaker 2:

So that is what we mean by induction of labor. We're basically just mimicking natural early labor, getting you to that point and then hopefully, you continue into established labor on your own. So that is it, and it can take days. It can be a really slow process. Like Merce explained, she was in the hospital for 22 hours at the end of it. So people don't think, oh, I'm getting induced today, I'm going to have my baby today. It's definitely not true, especially if it's your first baby. It's going to be as slow and long and painful as natural early labor. You're just in a hospital, so you're slightly more aware of it, whereas if you were awaiting events to happen on their own, you might be in early labor at home, so you're not really thinking about the time passing as much. That's the main difference. I would say Huge psychological impact. But that is induction of labor, and if anybody has any questions or concerns, please let us know. I would love to hear from you guys and share your own experiences about inductions.

Speaker 1:

Yes, that was great. I feel like if anybody needed to learn more about that, they got all that info.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, sorry, it's a bit of a chunky one at the end. There A lot of knowledge crammed in.

Speaker 1:

That's okay, but otherwise, we hope that you have a fabulous Mother's Day and obviously we honor mothers who are in the trenches, but also who are bereaved, who are even hoping for a baby and still, you know, haven't had one. All types of mothers, right, everyone is a mother and they're all going through their own experiences and we celebrate all of you, every single one of you, and we hope that you have a good Mother's Day and a nice relaxing weekend and we will see you again next week.

Speaker 2:

Yes, thank you so much for tuning in guys.

Speaker 1:

So please like, subscribe, follow um psychotic PY podcast Um, and, if you'd like, please subscribe to us on YouTube at psychotic PY podcast. Share with. Share this podcast with friends and family if you like it. And if you want to reach out and suggest any topics, we are all ears.

Speaker 2:

Exactly. We'd love to hear from you guys. Thank you so much for tuning in. Take care Bye.