Amber Thornton worked hard for a healthy pregnancy and unmedicated vaginal birth, but she didn’t expect her water to released before 39 weeks. Despite an early hospital admission, labor progressed right along, until it didn’t. Check it out.
Listen directly through our website player, or however you usually listen to podcasts.
What we talked about:
- Going into a new pregnancy after a pregnancy loss
- Working through all the fears and gathering information
- Water trickles at nearly 39 weeks
- A surprising 4 cms
- Feeling shocked and calm all at the same time
- “I’m not getting a break”
- Processing getting an epidural
- Getting to 10 cms and directed pushing
- Advocating for more time, trying more positions
- When the nurses say one thing, and the doctor says another
- Feeling all the feelings and her husband’s reassurance
- When fear outshines the birth
- Reassurance and lots of skin-to-skin
- Feeling on cloud nine
- Breastfeeding difficulties and advocating for syringe feeding
- The beauty of hand expressing!
- Getting through the obstacles, one success at a time
- So. much. pumping.
Amber and her baby in the OR
Resources and links to info mentioned on the show*:
- Find Your Birth Joy: How to release fear, prepare your mind, and find support for a natural childbirth, Sarah Showalter-Feuillette
- The Fourth Trimester: A Postpartum Guide to Healing Your Body, Balancing Your Emotions, and Restoring Your Vitality, by Kimberly Ann Johnson
- Silicone Breastfeeding Manual Breast Pump Milk Saver, by NatureBond (the Haakaa is another good brand)
- Resources including a great handout on hand expression, from UR Medicine Breastfeeding (handouts are downloadable .pdfs)
- Hand Expression of Breastmilk, video from the Stanford School of Medicine
- Friedman’s Curve and Failure to Progress: A Leading Cause of Unplanned Cesareans, from Evidence Based Birth®
- Nothing Protects Black Women From Dying in Pregnancy and Childbirth, from ProPublica with NPR
- Black Women’s Maternal Health: A Multifaceted Approach to Addressing Persistent and Dire Health Disparities, from the National Partnership for Women & Families
- America is Failing its Black Mothers, form Harvard Public Health
- Racial Disparities in Childbirth, from Evidence Based Birth
Lots of skin-to-skin in while recovering
Related Birthful episodes:
- Family-Centered Cesareans, with Dr. Pamela Berens
- Bringing Equity to Birth, with Denise Bolds
- Your Anxious Mind During Pregnancy, with Parijat Deshpande
- Bringing Equity to Birth, with Denise Bolds
- All About Pumping!, with Nancy Mohrbacher
- Restoring Your Vitality After Birth, with Kimberly Johnson
Even more skin-to-skin
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BIRTHFUL POSTPARTUM PLAN WORKSHEET
Courtesy of Amber Thornton
About Dr. Amber Thornton
Amber Thornton is a licensed clinical psychologist and new mom, living in the DC area. As a psychologist, her clinical interests include children and adolescents, college counseling, family systems, the psychological impacts of complex trauma, and diversity and multiculturalism. She is most passionate about providing services to marginalized and underserved communities. She believes that clinical psychology and mental health service are beneficial to everyone, but only when it is tailored to fit the specific needs and unique identity of the individual. Because of that, culture and identity are fundamental to her clinical and psychological approach. One size does not fit all.
Amber is also the host of the podcast “A Different Perspective”.
Find out more at dramberthornton.com
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).
![[Birth Stories] How She Proactively Avoided Having Another Traumatic Birth](https://birthful.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Toni-headshot.jpg)
