[Birth Stories] Can You Even Prepare For Baby Hiccuping While Crowning?!

Danielle Fetty-Lovell has been through a lot in her births! But probably the most unexpected moment was when her first daughter had the hiccups while she was crowning for a really long time (making it both comical and excruciating). She shares with Adriana how being deeply focused on her labor meant that she didn’t care they got her dilation wrong (going from 8 cms back to 4!) and how trying to make sure her 34.5-week preemie gained weight, along with a stressful job and a neverending pumping regime contributed to her postpartum depression and mood disorders (PMADs).

Related resources*:

• The Birth Partner, by Penny Simkin
• Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way: Revised Edition, by Susan McCutcheon
• The Bradley Method website
• Evidence Based Birth website
• Natural Breastfeeding website
• Premature Rupture of Membranes, StatPearls
• Preterm labor and preterm birth: Are you at risk? March of Dimes
• Apgar Scores, American Academy of Pediatrics

Related Birthful episodes:

• Can Exercise During Pregnancy Make Labor Harder?
• The Induction Process
• Straight Talk About The Effects Of Electronic Fetal Monitoring On You And Your Baby
• Protecting Your Perineum
• Navigating The NICU
• [Breastfeeding] Figuring Out How To Suck, Swallow, And Breathe
• Let’s Tackle Postpartum Mood And Anxiety Disorders

Image description: Danielle Fetty-Lovell, a white-presenting person with short dark red hair, snuggles her newborn baby while reclined in a hospital bed, with her husband nearby

About Danielle Fetty-Lovell

Danielle Fetty-Lovell is a mom to two daughters, two dogs, two baby Pygmy goats, and three chickens. She grew up in East Tennessee, then lived in Illinois for five years, and Salt Lake City for eight before moving back to Tennessee. Danielle works as a psychologist with a focus on providing trauma therapy and working with veterans, first responders, and LGBTQAI+ individuals. When she’s not working or busy being a mom, Danielle likes to garden, crochet, and play piano to ground herself.