Have you ever felt the profound release that comes from sharing a story that's been weighing on your heart? In this special episode of the Golden Hour Birth Podcast, Liz and Natalie delve into the transformative power of communicating and sharing your birth story. Drawing from their upcoming course, "Reclaim Your Birth Story: Finding Peace and Healing," they focus on the crucial role of Module 4 in the healing process.
Liz and Natalie explore the benefits of opening up about your birth experience, providing strategies for effective communication with loved ones and emphasizing the importance of finding validation and support within a community of individuals who have gone through similar experiences. They discuss the significance of releasing pent-up emotions, gaining new perspectives, and finding a safe space where you can be heard and understood.
Throughout the episode, Liz and Natalie offer practical advice on how to approach conversations with loved ones, express your feelings and needs assertively, and actively listen to others. They also highlight the value of connecting with support groups, online communities, and counseling services that align with your specific needs and values.
To illustrate the power of sharing and processing your birth story, Liz and Natalie share an interview with an anonymous guest who bravely recounts her challenging birth and postpartum experience. The guest's story serves as a testament to the healing that can come from talking through your experiences, letting go of guilt, and finding empowerment in your journey.
Join Liz and Natalie as they guide you through the process of reclaiming your birth story and discovering the strength within you to heal and thrive. Don't miss this opportunity to embark on a transformative journey of self-discovery and empowerment.
Thank you for being a part of the Golden Hour Birth Podcast community. Your support means the world to us. Stay golden!
And for those eager to continue the path of personal growth, we reveal how to access our anxiety breakthrough journal, 'Reclaim your Calm,' at no cost. Download your copy here!
Have you ever felt the profound release that comes from sharing a story that's been weighing on your heart? In this special episode of the Golden Hour Birth Podcast, Liz and Natalie delve into the transformative power of communicating and sharing your birth story. Drawing from their upcoming course, "Reclaim Your Birth Story: Finding Peace and Healing," they focus on the crucial role of Module 4 in the healing process.
Liz and Natalie explore the benefits of opening up about your birth experience, providing strategies for effective communication with loved ones and emphasizing the importance of finding validation and support within a community of individuals who have gone through similar experiences. They discuss the significance of releasing pent-up emotions, gaining new perspectives, and finding a safe space where you can be heard and understood.
Throughout the episode, Liz and Natalie offer practical advice on how to approach conversations with loved ones, express your feelings and needs assertively, and actively listen to others. They also highlight the value of connecting with support groups, online communities, and counseling services that align with your specific needs and values.
To illustrate the power of sharing and processing your birth story, Liz and Natalie share an interview with an anonymous guest who bravely recounts her challenging birth and postpartum experience. The guest's story serves as a testament to the healing that can come from talking through your experiences, letting go of guilt, and finding empowerment in your journey.
Join Liz and Natalie as they guide you through the process of reclaiming your birth story and discovering the strength within you to heal and thrive. Don't miss this opportunity to embark on a transformative journey of self-discovery and empowerment.
Thank you for being a part of the Golden Hour Birth Podcast community. Your support means the world to us. Stay golden!
And for those eager to continue the path of personal growth, we reveal how to access our anxiety breakthrough journal, 'Reclaim your Calm,' at no cost. Download your copy here!
Have you ever felt silenced, ashamed or alone in your birth experience? Do you long to reclaim your story and find healing in a supportive community?
Speaker 2:
In this special episode of the Golden Hour Birth Podcast, we're diving into the transformative power of communicating and sharing your birth story. Join us as we explore the benefits of opening up strategies of effective communication and the importance of finding validation and support.
Speaker 1:
Get ready to take the first step in reclaiming your birth story and discovering the strength within you to heal and thrive. And stay tuned until the end, where we'll share a real-life story of a mom who found empowerment and peace by sharing her birth experience the Golden Hour Birth Podcast a podcast about real birth stories and creating connections through our shared experiences.
Speaker 2:
Childbirth isn't just about the child. It's about the person who gave birth, their lives, their wisdom and their empowerment.
Speaker 1:
We're Liz and Natalie the Golden Hour Birth Podcast, and we're here to laugh with you, cry with you and hold space for you. We're here to laugh with you, cry with you and hold space for you. Welcome to a special episode of the Golden Hour Birth Podcast.
Speaker 2:
I'm your co-host, Liz, and I'm Natalie. In this series, we're going to give you an exclusive look into our upcoming course Reclaim your Birth Story Finding Peace and Healing. Today, we're going to focus on Module 4, Communicating and Sharing your Birth Story.
Speaker 1:
Today, we're going to focus on module four communicating and sharing your birth story. Sharing your birth story can be a powerful tool for healing and finding support. In module four, we explore the benefits of sharing strategies for effective communication with loved ones and finding validation through connecting with others who are trying to make sense of their births too.
Speaker 2:
Let's start by discussing the transformative effects of sharing your story With a supportive community. Opening up with your experience allows us to release pent-up emotions and fears, also anxieties associated with your birth. It provides an opportunity to give voice to your feelings and have them witnessed and validated by others who have gone through similar experiences Sharing your story can also help you gain new perspectives.
Speaker 1:
Hearing other stories and insights can help you view your own experience from different angles, which we've seen from our own podcast, and it allows people to find meaning and understanding. It's a powerful reminder that you're not alone in your journey and understanding it's a powerful reminder that you're not alone in your journey.
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That is so true. In a supportive community like ours. You can find the comfort and validation that you've been searching for. Others who experience some trauma can relate to your feelings and struggles and triumphs and provide you a safe space where you can be heard and understood. Their empathy and support is instrumental in your healing process, and understood.
Speaker 1:
Their empathy and support is instrumental in your healing process. So in module four we also do some practical strategies for communicating about your birth experience with your loved ones. It's essential to approach these conversations with clarity, assertiveness and empathy, which can be pretty difficult. One key strategy is to choose the right time and place for the conversation and make sure you have a quiet and comfortable setting for a discussion that won't be interrupted by kids or husbands or crying babies.
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Another important aspect is to really clearly express your feelings and needs and then your expectations as well. Make sure you use your clear and assertive language to communicate your emotions and maybe even like try it out on a friend or in the mirror, or kind of just like maybe even make an outline of what you're hoping to say Just finding that support from your loved ones is very helpful. And then make sure you use I statements to share your perspectives without sounding too confrontational or accusatory or blaming. Just keep it to I statements.
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Definitely you don't want to make your loved one feel like you're blaming them, like you weren't there for me or something like that, saying things like I felt this or I remember feeling like this, things like that. So also, you don't want to forget the importance of active listening, so giving them, your loved ones, an opportunity to express their thoughts and emotions, practicing being fully present, validating their experience and showing empathy. If the conversation becomes too challenging or emotional, we definitely recommend seeking professional help from a therapist or mediator. If you already have a therapist, you can always ask them if you can bring your husband or your parent or whoever you want to have that conversation with great advice.
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In module four, we're also going to emphasize the importance of finding validation and support from others who have experienced maybe similar kind of birth experiences or even trying to make sense of their birth experience. So connecting with individuals who truly understand your emotions and your fears and your challenges can, of course, validate those experiences and create just more of a safe space to express your thoughts and feelings.
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There are a lot of different ways to find a group. There are support groups, online communities and even counseling services that are specifically focused on birthing experiences. They don't always, aren't always focused on a traumatic birth birth. I know that there are some groups that we even know who, the people who you know have them and they're for, let's say, moms you know who are postpartum six to nine months or something like that. So there's definitely lots of groups to find connection and understanding with and, you know, hopefully these spaces can offer a nonjudgmental environment. That's what we strive for here at our podcast is just letting our guests and friends share their experiences, and then these support groups where you know you can listen to other stories and receive empathy and support.
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When seeking support, just make sure that the community or the counseling services just align with your needs and values, because some needs may be different from like four months to nine months, so just kind of what you're needing in that moment. Look for the spaces that really prioritize empathy and respect and confidentiality Obviously those are important aspects and just making sure that you feel heard and supported and then engage in regular interactions or however you feel comfortable in the engagement part, the engagement part, and then that way that more validation and more support and a renewed sense of strength and resilience can just continue to build when you're communicating and just working through these feelings.
Speaker 1:
That's a good point about aligning your needs and values, because I've seen lots of groups not lots of groups, but various groups like for LGBTQIA plus communities, persons of color, religious groups, so there's definitely communities for everyone. So, yeah, so to put this into practice, we encourage you to take the initiative, research local online support groups to find groups that you might want to join and take the first step by joining a group or reaching out to individuals who have shared similar experiences. I also know that there's groups for specific birth traumas too birth traumas to an AFE group, specifically C-section groups, things like that.
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So uterus eruption.
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So, yeah, building connections within these communities can provide a sense of belonging and create lasting relationships that support your healing journey. You know, we found some friendships that will be very lasting just from hearing their you know stories here on the podcast, all the ins and outs.
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So remember you just have the power to take control of your narrative and really finding the support that you need. By actively seeking out and engaging in a supportive community, you can find that validation, the empathy and the strength that you've been searching for and as you just continue to process and heal from your birth experience, and to give you a real-life example of the power of sharing and processing your birth story.
Speaker 1:
We asked a couple of our guests to share their stories, and so we're going to share an interview that we did conduct with one of our guests to share their stories. And so we're going to share an interview that we did conduct with one of our guests. She opened up about her challenging birth and postpartum experience and the steps that she took to heal. So this guest wished to remain anonymous, so we're going to be reading her interview ourselves as like a reenactment, I guess. All right, can you describe your difficult birth or postpartum experience and what made it particularly challenging for you?
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From our guest. She said at 33 weeks pregnant with my first baby, I started having pain all along the bottom of my ribs. I called labor and delivery at my hospital and they told me it was growing pains and to use heat, ice and Tylenol. I really felt like something was wrong because I was almost doubled over in this constant pain. But I did as they said. After a few days it went away. I had the same pain again, only this time it went all the way around to my back and was radiating up into my chest. I called labor and delivery again and they asked me to come in and get checked out just in case. I got there at about 8 pm and they took my blood pressure 202 over 105. Wow, and I'm admitted for preeclampsia. I'm then told by the OB that I'm not leaving there without my baby. At this point I'm in complete shock.
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Side note my husband was across the country in New Jersey for work when this happened. My mom had thankfully come to stay with me while he was away in case I needed help, so I was very thankful that I wasn't alone. Back to it, I was immediately put on magnesium, given Pitocin to induce labor and given a catheter balloon to help me dilate faster. I also had a urinary catheter placed because I was now bedbound. One of the contractions started and I asked for the epidural, which came fairly quick and worked well for me. While all this is happening, my husband is frantically trying to get back to Missouri for the birth of our first child. I did my best to stay calm because of my blood pressure. Thankfully, my husband arrived at 9 am and I was able, oh sorry. Thankfully, my husband arrived at 3 am and I was thankfully able to deliver our baby girl vaginally at 12 pm the next day. She was a whopping five pounds and actually got discharged before me. I had to stay in the hospital for four nights because my blood pressure was too high to send me home.
Speaker 2:
Besides feeling unprepared for her early arrival, I also felt completely out of control. You think about how the birth of your first child will go. In your birth plan. Nothing prepares you for all this to be thrown out the window. As for postpartum, my plan was to exclusively pump. After about a week and a half I felt so emotionally and physically drained from the birth and still coming off medications, plus my hormones being out of control, I made the extremely hard decision to stop pumping altogether. My mental health took such a dive that I didn't even want to hold my daughter. I felt so disconnected from her and borderline resentment. After I was able to let go of breastfeeding and pumping and give her a full formula, I could finally give 100% of my energy to her and give her a full formula. I could finally give 100% of my energy to her and build that connection with her that I was longing for.
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What was your initial emotional reaction or mindset after this traumatic experience? Did you feel angry, guilty, ashamed or any other strong emotions?
Speaker 2:
I think I felt every emotion possible. I was angry at my body for not being able to carry her to full term. I felt like it was my fault somehow that she was premature. It was overwhelming and frustrating to have everything decided for me, even though I knew that the safest choice medically. I feel guilty for stopping breastfeeding, even though it was the best thing for me and my daughter.
Speaker 1:
At what point did you realize you needed to take steps to process and reclaim this experience? What was the catalyst?
Speaker 2:
There were a lot of gaps in my memory during the 24 hours I was given magnesium and gave birth. This probably continued a lot out of my emotional surroundings and experiences. I think the more I talked through the events with my family, the more I realized that there was. I realized that it was more helpful in reclaiming the experience.
Speaker 1:
And what specific actions did you take to start healing from this trauma?
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I received a lot of support from my family and friends. Although I never did pursue therapy, I believe talking through the experience, often early on, mostly with my husband and my mom, allowed me to slowly heal mentally.
Speaker 1:
What mindset shifts or changes in perspective were most crucial in your journey to reclaiming your story?
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I frequently had to remind myself that being induced and delivering early was out of my control and although I could not control or change how the events happened, I advocated for myself whenever I could and always did the best for myself and my daughter. At the time Also, I was really hard on myself to stop breastfeeding. I felt like I wasn't making the best decision for my baby and I was just being selfish. But I was exclusively pumping. I felt like I could never connect or hold my baby. I never even wanted to hold her because I knew I had to give her back to someone else so I can go pump again. The minute I decided to start to feel a hint of resentment towards my baby, I knew that I had to change something. No more guilt Fed is best. So baby girl switched to formula and we've never looked back. She's a beautiful, healthy baby who is thriving.
Speaker 1:
How did you work through any negative self-talk, guilt or self-blame related to what happened?
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to you. My mom and my husband were my rocks. I thank God I had such wonderful people to lean on. After the birth of our daughter it felt like almost every day we were talking through something that had happened. Anytime I would talk about feeling guilty or speak negatively about myself, they were always there to validate my feelings and then provide support. I am so very blessed.
Speaker 1:
What was the hardest part of this reclamation process for you and how did you overcome that?
Speaker 2:
The hardest part was letting go of the guilt. I had to allow myself to let go of the feeling of guilt in order to be a mother for my daughter. Talking was the best therapy for me. The more I talked about it, the more I was able to let go.
Speaker 1:
How do you feel now when you recall your birth or postpartum experience, compared to how you felt initially?
Speaker 2:
I feel so much more empowered, especially while writing this now. I'm hopeful that my experience might help another mama feel validated if they had something similar happen.
Speaker 1:
What advice would you give to others struggling with difficult birth trauma?
Speaker 2:
based on your own journey, don't keep your thoughts and your feelings related to birth or postpartum to yourself. Talk to a family member, a friend, a therapist, a pet, a pastor, whoever Just getting it out was so freeing for me and allowed me to feel the empowerment and validation. Also, I feel like some guilt about saying my birth experience was traumatic. I don't know why that word to me feels like you have to meet a certain standard in order to call it traumatic, almost like if it wasn't a true near-death experience, when I can't call it that. So I often find myself revalidating the fact that this was a traumatic experience for me. It doesn't matter if someone else thinks it was. My feelings are justified and the same goes for every other person out there questioning whether or not they had a true traumatic experience. If it caused you to feel out of control or stress or scared, depressed, etc. I believe you had a traumatic experience.
Speaker 1:
Amen pressed, etc. I believe you had a traumatic experience, amen. How has reclaiming this experience changed you or?
Speaker 2:
your outlook on life and birth. I don't really care what anyone else thinks about my birth postpartum experience anymore. I was so embarrassed about how the birth happened and my choices postpartum. But I look at my daughter and I know that she is strong and healthy and has a mama who is 110% there to support her physically and emotionally.
Speaker 1:
That was very powerful, great story of resilience and healing. So thank you to our guest for sharing her journey with us.
Speaker 2:
So, listeners, this is just a glimpse of the transformative work we'll be doing in module four and throughout the entire course of Reclaiming your Birth Story. We hope that you'll join us on the path of finding peace and empowerment.
Speaker 1:
And throughout our course, we'll dive deeper into these topics and provide you with the tools and support that you need to find peace and healing.
Speaker 2:
If you're interested, in learning more about our course or signing up, visit our website at wwwgoldenhourbirthpodcastcom. We can't wait to embark on this journey with you and just witness the incredible growth and empowerment that will come from all of you and reclaiming your birth story.
Speaker 1:
And we also have our free anxiety journal. If you want to jumpstart your process, that'll be linked in the episode notes. And thank you so much for tuning into this special episode of the Golden Hour Birth Podcast and remember your story matters and you have the strength within you to heal and thrive. See you next episode. Thank you for joining us on this episode of the Golden Hour Birth Podcast. We hope you've enjoyed our discussion and found it insightful and beneficial.
Speaker 1:
Remember, the Golden Hour Birth Podcast is made possible by the support of listeners like you. If you appreciate the content we bring you each week, consider leaving us a review on your favorite podcast platform or sharing the show with your friends and family. Your support helps us reach more people and continue creating valuable episodes. If you have any questions, suggestions or topics you'd like us to cover in future episodes, we'd love to hear from you. You can reach us on our website, wwwgoldenhourbirthpodcast, or connect with us on social media. We value your feedback and want to make sure that we're delivering the content you want to hear. Before we sign off, we'd like to express our gratitude to our incredible guests who joined us today. We are honored that they trust us enough to be so open and vulnerable. We're grateful for their time and willingness to share their stories with us.
Speaker 1:
If you're interested in taking the conversation further with us, join us on our Facebook group, the Golden Hour Birth Circle. We'll be back next week with another exciting episode, so be sure to tune in. Until then, stay golden and remember to take care of yourself. We'll catch you on the next episode of the Golden Hour Birth Podcast. Bye.