Episode 08: What a Cesarean Birth is Like: Interview with Amanda Avery
This week I had the privilege of interviewing one of my best friends, Amanda Avery! We discussed the surprise C-section delivery of her sweet 9 month old little girl, Caroline.
My goal for this episode is to continue our conversation about the different ways you can give birth, we are discussing a cesarean section today and my friend Amanda is going to talk about her experience so that you can hear what it is really like to have a belly birth.
In the episode, we talk about:
Having a healthy pregnancy
Preparing for labor and breastfeeding by taking classes
Having a suspected big baby and considerations to think about in this situation
The importance of hiring a Doula
Being GBS positive and taking that into account with your birth plan
Bring several towels for the car ride to the hospital if your water breaks at home!! (and put a puppy pad on the seat too!)
The importance of advocating for yourself and asking questions when things start to go “off plan”
What you can expect when recovering from a c-section
The importance of processing your birth after your baby is born
One thing we meant to discuss, but didn’t get to is the importance of optimizing your baby’s gut microbiome. You can do this by breastfeeding, if this is possible for you, and by giving your baby daily probiotics. This is especially important if you were given antibiotics during labor if you were GBS positive and also extra important if you had a c-section!
Here are the three probiotics that Amanda and I have given our babies:
Thanks again to Amanda for sharing your story today. My hope is that another mom hears this story and it calms her fears of having a c-section.
Thank you all very much for listening today. Have a great week and stay safe!