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CHOICES IN CHILDBIRTH

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ESSENTIAL CONVERSATIONS
FOR PREGNANCY, BIRTH, AND BEYOND

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UNPACKING THE POSTPARTUM EXPERIENCE:
WHAT DO NEW PARENTS NEED?

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DEBRA: Good postpartum care
looks like having a village of support.

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And not everybody has that,
especially in these times,

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so you have to create it.

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Because the more you are nurtured
as the birthing family,

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then, if people care for you,
you can care for your baby.

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KIYOE: Many postpartum parents
are so much focused on babies

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that they don't notice
what is happening on their body.

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So, if someone can ask,

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like, how do you feel?
Or, how are you doing?

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I think that's so important.

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LASHANDA: With our society,
sometimes things are so segmented

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into, like, you're pregnant
and then you're at birth

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and then you're postpartum

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and then there's breastfeeding
and then there's this, the baby.

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But it really is a connection,
everything does connect.

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AFTER GIVING BIRTH,

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PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR BODY
AND GET THE CARE YOU NEED.

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MIMI: I think the other important thing
in the postpartum period,

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which is such a critical time
for so many people

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and it's a place where a lot of people
drop out of the system,

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and so, again, that need
for that community support,

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that you build your network,
because what we're learning

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is a lot of the morbidities
that can arise in pregnancy,

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like gestational diabetes, preeclampsia,

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and gestational hypertension,
those are things that can...

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although they're relieved
after you have the baby,

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they can lead to more risk

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for developing
long-term chronic conditions

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like high blood pressure,
like type 2 diabetes.

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And so the follow-up that you get

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after you have that condition
during pregnancy is so key.

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I had a client
where the initial reason that I came in

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was for a painful latch, right?
So, we go in

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and we're looking at that latch
and things look pretty good to me,

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but we always just...
Looks can be deceiving.

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And I could see that the parent

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was having some issues
with the way she was sitting.

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So, we tried different positions,
but it still wasn't comfortable.

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So talking a little bit more,
she talked about her stitches,

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how they weren't healing well.

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And I was just like, you know,

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maybe you should really call
and advocate for yourself

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and get that appointment.

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Sure enough, it turns out
that her stitches

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were kind of on their way to an abscess.

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So, it was important
that she got in there at that time

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because, as we know,

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and imagine it could have...
even within 12 hours or 24 hours,

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it could have spiraled
into something else.

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NO MATTER HOW YOU GIVE BIRTH,
YOU NEED TIME TO RECOVER.

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KIYOE: How is your recovery?
How do you feel?

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JULIA: Having your support to recover

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made a world of difference for us.

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I think sleep is so important
in the recovery,

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and having the calm aura
that you brought to our house

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as well as kind of figuring out
the routine from the get-go

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really helped her and us.

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MIMI: So I really encourage people
to educate themselves

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as much as they can,
trust their intuition,

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and build a community
around them, right,

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so you're going through your pregnancy
with other people who are pregnant.

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Find out where the lactation groups
are happening,

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where the Mommy and Me classes
are happening.

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And now on the virtual platform,
there's more access.

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I really encourage it.

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Because I think the isolation
can also be...

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It can be a cause
of so many other health problems.

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You know, mental health, anguish,

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and isolation and anxiety and depression

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and everything else that we know

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that new parents are experiencing
that we almost ignore

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because once they're out of the system,
they're out.

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IT CAN BE NORMAL TO FEEL STRESSED
OR LONELY AFTER GIVING BIRTH.

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BUT IF YOU FEEL DEPRESSED OR WORRIED
ALL THE TIME, YOU MAY NEED MORE SUPPORT.

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CAROLINA: Oftentimes
in the postpartum period,

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your day is filled
with a lot of different things.

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So, I try to get an idea of, like,

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what proportion of their day is in,
you know, despair or sorrow.

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Then I talk to them about
how it can be really normal

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for some part of your day, each day,
to be like that.

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And if it's a feeling that's persistent,

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that is also something
that we can help her with.

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First and foremost
is just building trust

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and trying to figure out
where in the community

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the resources are going
to serve her the most.

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For many moms,

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resources such as home visiting
and postpartum doulas

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is really just enough.

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For other moms,

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they might need to be connected
with a counselor

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or other mama wellness services.

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So I try to reassure them
that that is okay,

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that whatever they need
is going to be okay for them

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and they shouldn't feel ashamed
or worried about their baby.

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BECOMING A PARENT IS FULL OF SURPRISES.

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ASKING FOR HELP WHEN YOU NEED IT
SHOWS YOUR STRENGTH.

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Breastfeeding, I thought, would come
naturally. I was like, "Oh, okay.

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When I have a baby, they'll put it
on my chest and I'll breastfeed."

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That was an obstacle and hurdle
I didn't foresee that I would encounter.

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Not just the pain, it wasn't as easy.

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I thought I'd innately... I'm a mom.
I would innately get it, didn't happen.

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Even after you saw me, like, what was

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the mental load that was going on there?

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Yeah, I would say before I met you,
it was, like,

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I'd say my first encounter
with mom guilt

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because you're like,
this is supposed to be natural.

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Everyone breastfeeds, it's easy.

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So, the emotional load at first,

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I felt like I was already failing
48 hours into motherhood

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because I'd brought her home.

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That's why I called,
I need hands-on help right now,

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like ASAP, and got in touch with you.

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In the lactation and doula worlds,

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we say it's not perfection,
it's progress.

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Right. I mean, you have this human being
that you've given birth to

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and you're in charge
of their well-being.

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A lot of pressure in isolation
at the beginning,

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but, like anything,
creating a rhythm, creating a routine.

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We haven't got it down to a science,
every day there's a new obstacle.

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When older women in your family
say it gets easier,

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I don't think it gets easier,
you get stronger.

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So, I think I'm in this place where
it hasn't been easier like they said,

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but I've gotten a rhythm,
she's gotten a rhythm,

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and I'm getting stronger as a mom
and understanding,

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so I think we're in a good place.

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FOR MORE RESOURCES ON PLANNING AND
NAVIGATING YOUR POSTPARTUM JOURNEY,

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VISIT WWW.EVERYMOTHERCOUNTS.ORG/
CHOICES IN CHILDBIRTH

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BROUGHT TO YOU BY
EVERY MOTHER COUNTS

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WITH SUPPORT BY
CVS HEALTH