God selected me, Pamela Sauls for the job of educating & empowering Elizabeth Bearinger Davis and her husband Jay. How did I determine I was called ? Well, you see when Elizabeth first called me she was at her wits end. She had two previous pregnancies & labors that were not only riddled with intervention, she felt as if the epidural had in no way contributed to what she would define a happy "birth"day. She wanted a different experience and wanted to be educated as to know what is truly medically necessary. Simply put, she wanted to be an educated consumer to pay her money to a doctor or midwife that would best support her choices for her birth. I like to call it "Your Birth Your Way. Sometimes, people allow medical interventions to take place that truly are not necessary to birthing a baby because they just go through the motions of doing what they're told. She had felt that way powerless at times and wanted to be better prepared to avoid such a path. She began with a phone call to me where she poured out her heart and concerns/ disappointments from her other experiences. I explained the benefits of The Bradley Method twelve week training & how it would be invaluable in her efforts to avoid unnecessary interventions, regardless of her choice to medicate or not. I shared how Dr. Bradley called the men, Husband Coaches & that dad also deserves a basic knowledge of how to best support mom in her efforts. A totally different labor experience when dads are an active part of assisting mom, not just a spectator at the event. Dads deserve tools and tricks that can help mom avoid unnecessary pain and ways to help mom keep progressing. Otherwise, imagine how helpless these men feel just being asked to watch mom in pain without an understanding of how to help her- that's just cruel. Elizabeth said, OH THANK GOD I FOUND YOU! She shared her faith & I shared what I like to call the John 16:21 birth marathon and how training is essential to success. And, boy was she successful!
In addition to many good choices like: where to birth, differences between OBGYN / most midwives etc. she played an active role and made the choices best for them & their baby. Throughout her pregnancy she chose to take progesterone shots to avoid her past history of preterm labor. Every time she faced a crossroad she used her education to acquire informed consent and make the best choices for this baby. She weighed the risks & benefits when confronted with what I like to call the "hiccups or stumbling blocks" and a few days after New Year's Day she began to feel contractions, when the contractions were around 3 minutes apart, lasting 60 sec for over an hour they decided best to go to hospital to be checked. Yup valid contractions at 36 weeks and she made the decision to have labor stopped & went home on bedrest. One week later some action began yet again. She thought surely this is just from the exam she had earlier. Sometime Thursday, she felt as if she passed something. It was her show and when they arrived later back at the hospital, she was 5cm dilated. She was so concerned about bleeding that she forgot to even share she was having 3 min apart contractions 𤣠Now, that's the first good rule of labor, not paying attention too soon! She was blessed to have her mom/ sister stop in to check on her and they had a fun time in the labor room (as the photo depicts). Jay was a source of strength and comfort to her throughout her labor journey and coached her through her birth marathon. She wore her own gown this time bc she was a healthy woman, not sick and this time she would birth her baby in a hospital with her birth plan supported by amazing nurses & midwives, not a patient whose baby would be delivered from her by a medical professional. She played an active role changing positions often and sweet talked her sister into massaging her back during long transition strength contractions. Baby had decided to present "sunny side up" or what we call posterior which increases back pain due to weight of baby on mom's spine/ back instead of belly. Back labor is very challenging bc the back pain doesn't go away and only intensifies with each contraction as the baby descends. About 15m before push phase Elizabeth says she had no recollection but family shared, she slapped the bed and demanded an epidural. The midwife came in and checked her said she was almost 10cm but had a small lip of cervix but a very intense urge to push. She was literally sitting at the edge of the bed (bed was not even broken down) and with Elizabeth's next contraction the baby literally emerged! To further celebrate her low intervention, drug free birth, she was elated to know all those good positions paid off: Zero tears/Zero stitches!
In the words of Elizabeth, my recovery has been so much better than my epidural experiences. In fact too good bc I feel so good I am doing too much đ Dear World, Please help me welcome the newest additions to our GA #BirthFamily... couple #2 nailed it!!!! I enjoyed teaching their private classes in beautiful Dahlonega, Georgia. Big Brother & Sister are also in love â¤ď¸ and daddy in heaven too!
YourBirthHelper.com commends you both on your efforts to play an active role long before labor ever began! To put together your birth plans, to practice what you learned and stick to your guns bc the thought & hassle of training, changing doctors or hospitals, etc. should not steal YourBirth- YourWay #OneProudChildbirthEducator