Sometimes, life throws us a traffic jam. Sometimes, hospitals are FULL and there are supposedly no beds available. And, drug free labors can be extremely unpredictable & frankly babies care less if mom is even at a hospital. Sometimes, a detour is warranted. That is exactly what Paramedic Lindsay Robertson realized but this time she wasn't in her uniform, nor @ work. It is not every day, I have the pleasure to assist a couple who has overcome so many challenges together to bring life into the world. Lindsay & Brooke chose artificial insemination with the help of an anonymous sperm donor as their choice for beginning their Family. Brooke even was able to assist the nurse and push the syringe that contained the donor sperm during the IUI procedure. They chose to train for twelve plus weeks in The Bradley Method of natural birth. Why? Lindsay is a Paramedic & Brooke a Social Worker, both understand the importance of a great start into Life. Especially, when low intervention natural birth is still considered the safest route of passage into the world. Brooke helped coach her wife through eating right & exercising, in addition, daily practicing their relaxation to be ready to rock difficult labor contractions & that is exactly what they did! Lindsay had allowed her membranes to be stripped that morning to avoid an induction since she was both overdue & the amniotic fluid was low. She had experienced some early labor contractions Tuesday evening but she had experienced those multiple times before. No doubt the moon phases & primrose oil didn't hurt either. When we are "overdue" we try many things to progress on our own, free of chemical induction, if all possible. The plan was she & Brooke would labor at home as long as possible & then head over to their uptown hospital closer to late labor/ transition. However, things seemed to be progressing very quickly. I had speculated this might be to case since she had experienced multiple bouts of pre-labor in weeks / months before. Before, leaving for her birthplace, Lindsay seemed to have the look of serious late labor. She was experiencing a lot of unusual pressure for an earlier stage of labor & on top of that her contractions were growing in intensity at a faster than normal rate with some lasting in excess of 120 seconds & as close as 2-3 minutes apart. Such intense contractions that Lindsay wanted me to stay on phone her while I was packing my car for my Ga trip, in which I was supposed to leave around noon, to head down for my own daughter's family covered dinner / baby shower. Earlier through the nite & day, I had been @ Novant Matthews with their classmates, holding a leg literally as Lindsay & Brooke were calling. As soon as that precious baby was out & into moms arms, I left one hospital & had just enough to time to grab lunch/ pack the car again before heading out to CMC MAIN. The funny part was, although, I have assisted many births over the years, this was my first time assisting a client through hard labor contractions via facetime. It's amazing technology! While I was coaching Lindsay up & over her contractions, Brooke was quickly packing their car for departure. It was evident from both Lindsay's breathing & facial expressions things were moving along quicker than average. Upon heading uptown, Lindsay was growing concerned her dr office had asked her to come there first that there were no beds at the hospital. Obviously, this did not set well literally as the pressure was growing & so was the intensity of the contractions. The couple made a quick decision to detour to the closest hospital. I sent a fb message to Tina Hayes & the midwife team at Piedmont OBGYN & to alert the crew @ CMC Pineville. I arrived to find 4 smiling nurses and a wheel chair right inside the front door! l helped Brooke maneuver around to the maternity center behind the main hospital by phone since she had not been there and talk about curb service... They arrived at CMC around 4:20p and the nurses quickly got Lindsay situated from the car to triage while I parked their car. Lindsay learned she was only 4cm dilated but because of late labor signs & intense contractions she could stay or make her way over to Main. Of course, another car ride was not either of their idea of fun. On another note, I often remind my students, I don't care what your dilation is bc in an unmedicated scenario things can change very quickly! While in triage with no way to find a good position in that horribly uncomfortable bed, Lindsay looked at me and asked, "Pamela Sauls is this going to get even worse be honest?" To which I replied, "Yes, but do I think you can get through it unmedicated YES! You are brave, strong & you have an amazing supportive team to help you!" With both mom & baby doing great, we opted to get Lindsay comfy in the tub (after her 30 minute strip of EFM was complete) and things began to rock & roll again. Wasn't long before the water broke in tub shortly after 6p and we continued to work while she labored in the darkness & quiet of the bathroom. When it was time to monitor baby again, we placed mom on the toilet to relax her bum while we dried her off. Once out of the water, gravity was back and so was the growing pressure. I had a feeling push phase was right around the corner and had previously called Kalle Thompson Sousana to join us. She has been teaching a provisional series of Bradley Method ® classes under my mentoring and is a doula in training, as well. She will no doubt be an asset to our #CharlotteBirthFamily. It was inevitable push phase was right around the corner. The two we're in sync as Brooke coached her through her labor marathon. I slipped out to head to Ga shortly after 8pm and not shortly behind me arriving at his own destination aka momma & mommy' s arms was Baby Holden Barrick @ 8:56pm on June 15th weighing in 7lbs 5oz 20 in long!! Special thanks to the fabulous nurses who are so dedicated to the natural process @ CMC Pineville & Nancy, CNM of Piedmont OBGYN for welcoming a very special couple who decided to take a detour @ 4 and boy did it pay off, 4 hrs later two amazing women became Parents! Congrats Lindsay & Brooke your lives are forever changed get ready for a lifetime of new signs including the ever popular, "Baby on Board"... Until he grows up, of course 😉 YourBirthHelper's favorite line... "Do You Trust Me!" Ah good times!! YourBirthHelper.com & The Bradley Method ® serves all expectant clients: married/ single, husband coached, sister/ friend coached (even if you come alone ~remember, you will endure labor regardless) and as in this amazing birth story... mommie & mommie couples!! Dr. Robert A. Bradley was a very smart man! His method WORKS!!!!!! Birth hasn't changed, the definition of Coach has. Don't let the words "Husband Coached" keep you from acquiring the skills necessary to birth naturally. ALL MOMS should have quality education regardless of marital status or sexual preference. #NaturalBirth #BradleyMethod #YourBirthHelpercom #TwomomsBirth #TwoMomsBetterThanOne #MommieMommie

It's not every day I have the pleasure of empowering a woman to VBAC but when I do, it looks like this: Everyone who knows me knows I believe in "a picture says a thousand words"... Here is my journal of their second labor marathon. Together, believing in the natural process and having to heal from the trauma of their first labor of which they felt so terribly bullied, as if they did not have a say in what happened to them. Then being led into every medical procedure often routinely performed, including a failed epidural, ended in her first birth via Caesarean section. Now, fast forward to my first meeting with them @ Nothing but Noodles several weeks back. Dialogue went something like this, "you mean I can say No to routine procedures?" .... Me, "yes if you do not consent it doesn't happen"... Rachel, "but they made us feel as if we didn't have a choice we had to do what they said"... Me, "you write the check & pay the bill, they work for you. If mom & baby ok YOU have the FINAL say." In the weeks that followed, I had the pleasure to witness a woman renewed by both her strength in the Lord, her faith leading her to believe in John 16:21 that God designed her body for this amazing work. Something changed in her, she found her voice again no longer a victim or her past now a woman fueled by knowledge and power coupled by the strength and full support of her amazing husband coach! Day by day Rachel Griffin Barker grew stronger careful to acquire solid nutrition, train her body physically & mentally prepare to continue to overcome fears, one by one until her amazing body would do this work for her as she stood simply present as the willing vessel. She increased her odds of VBAC by choosing a supportive practice the midwives of Piedmont OBGYN & a birthplace supportive of natural birth CMC Pineville. She refused internal exams before she was in labor & was comfortable knowing the information obtained in an internal exam matters not if we are not having signs of labor. They made a great decision to trust her body to not only carry full term but 10 days over her due date all while trying all the natural methods to bring about labor & boy was Larry a team player!! In addition, she listened to suggestions such as good Chiro care loosening that pelvis & hip muscles with Dr. Kelley Helmendach. She used acupuncture, she even played along and allowed me to walk her in the park by flashlight at night while we were wrapped up like snow bunnies. We were able to get Rachel into labor several times but unfortunately there were outside stressors which created adrenaline and sadly labor went away. We do have to be careful to surround ourselves with support and those who will not add to mental or emotional stress bc it matters too. We can be physically relaxed but the psychology of birthing requires moms to feel protected & safe for labor to progress. Days later, we had a relaxation session with pressure point work & Rachel allowed me to walk her up the hills again, fed her Lebanese foods @ Kabob-J , olive oil shots & it was game on time again. I surrounded her with birth family support and Allison TerMeer met us at the greenway & we walked baby down that pelvis & up Allison's steep driveway Then labor began once again and dad kept mom protected utilizing warm bath, music, etc. when I met them @ the hospital she was wearing her game face. She came prepared to work. I fed her homemade chicken salad bc she was starving. She fueled her body and continued working harder & harder as the contractions grew stronger. She assumed every position I ever suggested and then some. She was surrounded by supportive nurses Alexis & Nancy and her midwife, Jennifer Crumpler also cheered her on even when labor was really tough and she was ready to give up. Her husband lifted her even literally not just her spirits but her body when needed. Her daddy sat in waiting room patiently praying for her. I finally convinced him to go home & sleep as the cervix can take a long time to finish the job. Her mom tirelessly had been watching their 4 yr old daughter through it all. Rachel & Larry together overcame many challenges to have their Amazing VBAC and something tells me that just maybe she would do it all over again, even days of it.... Kudos to Larry & Rachel and I'm guessing but I think their photographer, Jamie Lu, who stood quietly through it all experienced some healing of her own. Even though it wasn't her own vaginal birth, God allows us to experience what I like to call "divine appointments" and Jamie was called that day, as well. It was my utmost pleasure to serve as their doula. I welcome the Barker Family into the best darn ‪#‎BirthFamily‬ in Charlotte. YourBirthHelper.com salutes your dedication to the natural process! To view The Barker family VBAC journey as captured by Jamie Lu copy & paste the link below: https://jamielucidophotographydotcom.wordpress.com/ #VBAC

We call it #BirthFamily and one can not understand how amazing it is until they have experienced the love & support found within this group. My couples are by far the most adorable new parents ever! I call it the best darn #BirthFamily in Charlotte. #NaturalBirth

Stamina, Marathon Endurance, Super Natural Inner Strength, The PEACE of an awesome Creator, The work of an amazing Birth Team & The Prayers of a fabulous birth family heart emoticon Thats what words come to mind ~ well, that & Semper Fi... Always Faithful. This little cutie, Lillie Annalehs Keller entered the world with a super short cord (less than 12 inches) on Oct.17, weighing 7 lbs. 12 oz. and Mom overcame a very challenging push phase for the best way to put it- kind of like trying to push a baby out connected to a bungie cord thats where the amazing Birth Team & Prayers Lifted came in very handy. I stand amazed at the dedication of two very special individuals who trained with me for over 12 weeks & applied what they learned. Mom rocked her labor with relaxation techniques, great positioning & dad was an amazing coach. Congrat's to Lori & Heath Keller for a job well done. She believed she was designed to give birth naturally, she trained to endure her labor marathon & she ran it exceedingly well with the help of her dedicated coach! ‪ #‎CrossFit‬ would be proud. Baby Lillie is perfect in every way. Still think natural birth without medication throughout labor or birth is not possible, better think again! Kudos to Melissa Kempter Nau for all her support as LDR Nurse and the amazing Jennifer Crumpler, Midwife with CMC Pineville for all their hard work. Props to Dr. Fox for her spinning baby skills, as well. No Posterior babies on Dr. Fox's watch! The Bradley Method® thanks you all for your support of natural birth and, of course, so does yourbirthhelper@gmail.com. ‪ #‎OneProudDoula‬ ‪#‎OneProudChildbirthTeacher‬ #NaturalBirth

Here is a sampling of my wonderful Charlotte Birth Family. Curiosity might have you asking, what are the odds a person can actually get through labor & birth without the use of pain management? Well, you might be surprised to know with a traditional 12 week training prep of how to best handle labor & birth utilizing proven relaxation techniques, that success rate would be around 87% are successful in accomplishing a low intervention, narcotic / epidural free labor & birth. If you are a poker player, you will be happy to know you can increase your odds even higher with the use of a midwife and switching to a natural birth friendly hospital or out of hospital birth center. Want to increase your odds even more, hire an experienced doula such as myself to hands on assist you with relaxation techniques, proper positioning, ways to speed labor, maintain a relaxing environment at your birth place, etc. Don't cheat yourself out of at least trying if you are truly willing to learn the best ways to handle labor you may just find its not as difficult as you might think to achieve. Dr. Bradley used to say, "A trained husband coach can do way more for his laboring wife than any amount of medication." I have the pleasure of witnessing this all the time. They do not call it a birth marathon for nothing, it takes proper education, training, application and believing in your body. Women were designed for such amazing work and when empowered and properly supported low intervention/ natural birth is very much a doable thing. Take this photo for example: there are 11 drug free natural births represented, 1 medically necessary c-section due to entanglement in cord after 40+hrs of drug free labor, 1 epidural for pain relief due to previous back injury. I'd say the odds are pretty good if you know what you are doing. For more information on upcoming training classes or doula assistance email: yourbirthhelper@yahoo.com or view www.bradleybirth.com/pamelasauls for more class details. Photo compliments of Maggie of My Little Dragonfly (of whom I had the pleasure to teach). #NaturalBirth #DoulaAssistance

Yes, these are my super fun adorable children and my new son-in-law. I think that officially makes me old. As I ponder my labor & birth of this beautiful bride, my youngest biological child, Jocelyn Victoria, I am immediately taken back to Stone Mountain, GA. It is no wonder she wanted to get married in the mountains. When I was in early labor with her, I literally climbed Stone Mountain. A six hour trek up a very steep mountainside carrying 42 lbs of baby weight. It was time passing and quite fair as my late husband, Tim carried our 40lb two year old, the one shown here in a back bend. She is every bit as active now as she was on that day. There was only one problem with our labor hike, when we got to the top a worker took one look at me and said, when is your baby due? I replied, any time now. She insisted we get off the mountain top and gave us a free ride down the side of the mountain on the sky buckets. We thought, how very kind and then once on the ground again realized... oh no, the car is on the other side of the mountain where we parked to walk up. I was completely walked out and contractions were close enough I needed to sit and focus on relaxing. Did I share my amazing husband coach ran halfway around the mountain to fetch the car. I arrived at the hospital about 2 hours before giving birth and left two hours after. I utilized the relaxation techniques taught in class, never mentioned pain medication, stayed in my zone. With my daughter in the room, attempting to verbally coach me through push phase saying, "Push Momma push that baby out", as everyone yelled, Its a Boy. I said, It's a cord and my two year old never strayed from repetitively saying, "Thats my little baby sister." As the doctor freed the cord and her legs were fell open, everyone yelled, It's a girl, as Kristian continued to say, "Thats my little baby sister!" I am a big fan of children at birth! Highly recommend it. However, there is a time and place for everything and difficult labot/ transition is NOT the time for visitors or extra family members. It is a time for the couple to work together making each contraction count and maintaining a relaxing environment. Bring the children or other family in when the head begins crowning or stay behind the curtain until you hear the baby crying They do not have to have a birds eye view of the action. It is a special bond to be present as another life enters the world. With that being said, one might ask, what did the two year old actually remember from her sister's birth? It went like this recorded a few days later Kristian telling Jocelyn what happened when she was born..."Jocelyn, when you were born Mom pushed and you came out mom's booty. Then the doctor took that green thing and sucked those boogies right out of your nose." I still laugh about this and use it in my classes as a perfect example of what we as adults might think is scary or exciting, well.... a two year old might disagree. Dr. Tate even took time to show her the placenta, lifted the membranes up and said, "Kristian this was the baby's sleeping bag." My two year old was not impressed. What remained the most exciting to her... a green bulb syringe. When you educate the kids, keep it very basic, especially at that age and always add something to the effect, If mom cries it is just because she is so excited the baby is coming out. If the child gets upset remind them of the same. You can always take them right back out if needed. Remember, birth is a one day event which can not be repeated. The family bonding time is so very important. Include your kids in relaxation practice too. They just might surprise you. Even at two my daughter would rub my leg and say, "Relax momma, Relax".... precious moments in time that I will never forget nor regret. I am so glad my daughter's first thoughts were, "Thats my little baby sister!" Not, take her back. #DoulaAssistance #ChildrenatBirth #BirthFamily