3 Epidurals & a 6th-week Surprise, with Kate Turza

The Birthful Podcast: Summer Birth Stories 2016 #5

We continue on our “Birth Stories” for the summer series! This week, Kate Turza tells us about her three epidural births, and highlights how what happens during the third stage of labor can impact breastfeeding and your recovery, even for many weeks after the birth. Go listen!

Some of what we talked about:

• Sometimes you need to let the fingers do the guiding
• It’s time to go to the hospital! No wait… NOW it’s time to go… no wait. NOW it’s time… no wait…
• A pedicure may be just the thing you need to jump-start a prodromal labor
• Sometimes you tear, sometimes you don’t
• Feeling safe, relaxed, and supported by a loving birth team makes a world of difference
• Having a good postpartum support network can change everything
• Are you getting Pitocin for the right reasons?
• Trust your gut: if something doesn’t seem right, don’t dismiss it
• One of the many reasons why this protocol of not having a postpartum checkup until 6 weeks is totally ridiculous!
• When the placenta is out, the milk can come in
• You’ve heard it before: find your tribe!

Related Birthful episodes:

• Postpartum Depression, with Kathleen Kendall-Tackett
• Postpartum Doulas, with Jackie Kelleher
• Loving Your Postpartum Body, with Ashlee Wells Jackson

Kate participated in the 4th Trimester Bodies Project! Check out more here.

4th Trimester Bodies Project | ©Ashlee Dean Wells – Used with permission.

The following photos are courtesy and © of Kate Turza.

Title music: “Vibe Ace” by Kevin MacLeod, from the Free Music Archive / CC BY (edited for length).

Sponsorship music: “Air Hockey Saloon” by Chris Zabriskie, from the Free Music Archive / CC BY (edited for length).