Finding Closure from a Traumatic Birth, with Danielle Ford

Danielle Ford’s first birth happened when she was very young, not very educated in the process, and it included a long induction and an epidural. It wasn’t until getting pregnant 10 years later that she realized she carried a lot of trauma from birth number one. So what did she do differently the second time around to help her heal and have a much better experience? Check it out!

What we talked about:

• High blood pressure leading to induction
• The problem with not self-advocating is you end up on your back for 29 hrs.
• Realizing the trauma your didn’t know you had
• Preparing for an intentional birth experience
• Facing another induction, even though blood pressure was fine
• Gathering herself and advocating to determine if induction was really needed
• Getting through a devastating prenatal appointment
• The joy of going into labor on her own
• Finding so much relief in water
• Connecting through gratitude with baby in the belly
• “Now I won’t be able to eat tacos!”
• Doing dishes and dancing (aka. ignore it until you can’t ignore it anymore)
• The power of a birth preferences worksheet
• And then there wasn’t a tub!
• Setting the stage
• To check or not to check…
• The sacred space of the “quietude”
• To break or not to break (the waters)…
• The unbearable urge that comes early!
• Letting her body decide the position
• What my body did vs. what was done to me
• Having the tools to navigate her postpartum mental state

Danielle Ford and husband connect over wedding song

Related resources*:

• Evidence Based Birth
• Spinning Babies
• Pregnancy and Birth Affirmations, from Desert Birth and Wellness
• What You Need to Know About Postpartum Depression, from Kindred Bravely
• Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth
• Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR); Small for Gestational Age (SGA), from American Pregnancy
• Peanut Balls for Labor – A Valuable Tool for Promoting Progress?, from Science & Sensibility
• Wildflower Birth Support – Bridget Strub (my back-up doula partner! Yay!)
• Fuel for Fire protein squeeze pouches
• Huma PLUS hydrating Chia Energy Gel

Podcasts she listened to:

• Birthful (Duh! ;P)
• The Birth Hour
• Voices of Your Village

Danielle meets her new baby

Related Birthful episodes:

• Preeclampsia, Eleni Tsigas
• Bed Rest 101, with Darline Turner
• Healing Your Birth Story and Birth Trauma, with Pam England
• The Induction Process, with Toni Golen
• Inductions, with Dr. Gene Declercq
• Birth Principles: Better than a Birth Plan, with Jessie Harrold
• Childbirth PTSD, with Cheryl Tatano Beck
• Postpartum Depression, with Kathleen Kendall-Tackett
  

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).