Trish: [00:00:00] Welcome back, Mamas, to another episode of The Birth Experience with Labor Nurse Mama. If you don't know who I am, I'm Trish, Labor Nurse Mama, longtime Labor and Delivery Nurse and mom to seven. Today we're going to be talking about a really important topic. And this is something that I don't normally tell you guys, like warning signs and here you need to talk to your doctor unless it's really important.

And so we're going to pull five of those red flags into this conversation. And these are things that I want you to have in the back of your mind, that these are things to have conversation with your provider. So by the end of this episode, you'll know exactly what to look out for and when to raise your voice to get some help.

I am so. So happy to be here with you guys, even though we're going to be talking about a heavy topic, we're going to be talking about [00:01:00] five red flags during labor. So this is kind of unusual for me to do, but we're going to talk about it anyway. But I also want to personally invite you guys. I am doing a mystery offer.

It's totally secret ish and it starts Monday, two weeks of the most incredible birth education, postpartum education. We're gonna be going crazy over the next two weeks. It's 22. You guys can join. You only have to comment the word queen and you can join. Okay, you guys, so we're going to be talking about five red flags during labor.

Hi Aishu, how are you? Okay, so I've got my notes because y'all know I will completely botch it if I don't use my notes and I've got my microphone right here. Let [00:02:00] me scoot you guys back just a little bit so I get closer to the microphone. Okay, so one of the most important things that I tell my students during their pregnancy, and this goes on to postpartum, you guys, is that you have to learn how to listen to your body and to trust yourself.

And I want you guys to start doing that now while you're pregnant. Listen to your body. Don't ignore. warning signs. Don't ignore what your body is telling you. And that's really important during labor as well. And one of the things that I learned from 16 years as a high risk labor nurse is that you guys are the warning sign that something's not right.

And it's usually something that's happening that's inside your gut, that your gut tells you. And I know I've got some of my doulas on here. Hello, I love y'all. Make sure you're following me on my coaching account. I am Trish Ware, where I [00:03:00] coach birth workers and doulas and nurses. Okay, so during labor, during labor, I want you guys to trust your instincts.

I want you to learn to listen to your body. And this is really important too for my VBAC mommas, because you need to know like what's normal and what's not and what is a warning sign. And I know firsthand how intense labor can be. I've given birth several times. six times unmedicated. And I know that you are going to be like paying attention to what's happening inside your body.

And that if you need to raise a red flag, you need to be confident in yourself to speak up. And part of that is practicing that at your doctor's appointments, practicing that with family, practicing boundaries and learning to speak up for yourself. But you are the advocate for you and your baby [00:04:00] during labor.

And so this is another thing we're going to be diving into during the watch me birth challenge So I named this challenge that we're doing next week again You can comment the word queen and come hang out with me, but it's a watch me Watch me speak up for myself. Watch me, do the things that I want to do.

Watch me get out of the labor bed if I want to. Watch me push how I want. Watch me vaccinate my baby. Watch me not vaccinate my baby. Watch me choose to have antibiotics. Watch me choose not to have antibiotics. Because ultimately, it's your. birth, and that's why I'm doing two weeks of the Watch Me Birth Challenge.

Because I want to empower you so that when you step into the labor room, you are the birth queen. You're the queen of the room. You guys are the most important aspect of that room. If you're not there, the birth doesn't happen. So that [00:05:00] makes you the center of the universe, okay? So I want you guys to learn to have a voice.

So one of the things that I want you guys to know during your labor, your labor is a marathon. It is not a race. It is not a sprint. Now, for some of us, like baby number two might be a sprint more so than a marathon, but labor goes through different stages. And part of what I teach inside the birth classes is how to understand those different stages that you know how to work with your body instead of against your body.

So you know how to lean into how your pelvis moves to know what to do to ease the pain, to use the coping tools. We teach over 50 coping tools inside of our birth classes, but. When you start your labor from those early contractions to when things are really amping up all the way to the pushing stage of when you meet the baby, there are times throughout your labor where you might ask yourself, Is this [00:06:00] normal?

And the only way that you're going to know what is abnormal is by being taught what is normal, which is what we do inside the classes. So you guys can join our classes, comment the word class and join the birth classes. They are going to teach you what is normal, what to expect, what the stages of labor typically look like.

But one of the most important reasons why when you join my classes, I meet with you on zoom three times a month. Is because we have to walk through those things and I have to teach you how to learn how to listen to yourself how to ask the right questions and how to navigate your birth because Just because trish said it's going to be like this doesn't necessarily mean that's how it's going to be So I want you to learn how to understand But there are a few red flags during labor that we're going to talk about right now And I want you guys to trust yourself to speak up and get your team's [00:07:00] attention.

So if you feel in your soul, whether it's on my list or not, that something's not right, that something feels wrong, instinctively, you're like, this is not right. Get help. Ask for help. Tell your team something is wrong. I want you to investigate. So that's the first thing I want you guys to write down. If you feel like something is not right during your birth, I just kicked my, my camera.

If you feel like something is off, if you feel unsure, if you need to feel empowered by your team, just say that that's not the time to be quiet. Like if your gut is saying something's not right, And I tell my mamas this all the time when it comes to your baby moving. If you are like, something is not right, investigate it.

Speak up. Get seen. Get attention. Because we would rather you be wrong than right. Then for something to actually be wrong, and it's the [00:08:00] same during labor, and I'm gonna tell you guys again Throughout my 16 years as a labor delivery nurse It's usually her the patient the mama who knows before we know that something is going wrong And so I want you guys to learn to be confident and saying hey check this out a little more I need you to look at this.

I need you to check this out. Don't just be quiet, because a lot of us struggle as women to be like the perfect patient, not to cause trouble, but I want you to cause trouble. I want you to speak up. So, here's the first red flag we're going to talk about. If you feel in between your contractions or maybe sometimes during a contraction, if you feel extreme sudden pain.

So typically with contractions you're only going to feel the pain during the contraction, not in between. You're actually going to have a break and you're not going to be in pain. It's only during the contractions. [00:09:00] So if you feel a sudden sharp pain or really sharp contractions, let your provider No, that can be a sign of different problems that could be going on, especially if you're feeling it in your upper abdomen, you want to let your provider know.

So it could be a sign of something like a placental abruption, or you could be having something that should not be happening. This is not your normal tightening of contractions. It's a sudden and severe. So contractions gradually build up to the peak of the pain. I'm talking about something like lightning crotch that comes out of nowhere and it's super severe.

I want you to let your doctor know. That is not normal. You need to speak up immediately. If you start having severe suddenly red, bright red bleeding, vaginal bleeding, that's more than what you've seen. That could be a couple things. It might be that everything's going exactly how it should go. That might mean you're dilating really [00:10:00] fast.

But I always want you guys to let your providers know. So if you see sudden red bleeding coming out of your vagina and you're like, Oh my God, this is like the heaviest day of my period, let your provider know. Again, it might be that you just all of a sudden dilated really fast, or it could be a problem, but we want to investigate that.

Again, another myth that people say is that the closer you get to term the baby will slow down and not move as much. That is not true. They are little humans and they're going to move. So if you ever, ever, ever question baby's movements, have it investigated. Don't ever, ever wait on that. Always err on the side of caution.

The next thing that could be a sign that needs to be investigated during labor is a sudden severe headache or a, like you feel really dizzy, your spot, like you're seeing spots or your [00:11:00] vision is blurred. That can be a problem with your blood pressure. Or preeclampsia. So you're always going to have that investigated, especially if you're not getting your vital signs checked and they might not know.

That's one of the first signs is that mom is going to feel off. So if you get a headache that doesn't go away, you're feeling dizzy, you're seeing spots, you suddenly start swelling. Like sudden swelling out of nowhere, have your doctor check that out. Another thing that might be an issue during your labor, and , this is kind of a weird one, but I'm gonna go ahead and tell you.

If you've gotten epidural, And you just lay down from your epidural and you suddenly just start, like you start feeling weird and like woozy and like lightheaded. That is a sign that your blood pressure is dropping. So what I tell my students and my patients is after you get your epidural, usually the first sign of a drop in your blood pressure is you just don't feel it.

feel [00:12:00] right. So let your provider know that you're not feeling right. And then the fifth or the sixth thing, this is a bonus, is that if you start feeling chills or you're, you feel like you have a fever, you guys know the signs of fevers, let your provider know. They should be checking your temperature every hour.

But some nurses forget to do that. That's one of the things they might forget. But if you're starting to get an infection during labor, we want to treat it. We want to treat the symptoms because it could cause some problems for the baby. So hopefully, this is a short little teaching topic, but I want you to know this truth.

You have every right To speak up, you have to be your best advocate. No one else is going to advocate for you like you, except for maybe your partner. But sometimes, especially if you're a first time mom, you might feel intimidated by your labor nurse or by your doctors. And the thing [00:13:00] is, I want you guys to remember, and this is why I'm doing my Watch Me Challenge, is that you are not a passenger on this train.

You are like, what's it called? Oh my God. I just, you're the one driving it. What is it called? I get, I just blank the person who drives the train, whatever they're called. That's you. You are the driver of this train. You're not a passenger in this process. My first birth, the reason I'm so. so passionate about educating you is that my first birth, I felt like everything happened to me.

I didn't feel like I had a voice and I don't want that for any of you guys. I want you all to be confident in voicing your concerns, voicing your desires, and being able to speak up and have like a dialogue with your providers because you are driving the train. Don't forget that. Remember, if you guys want to join our birth classes, comment the word class, come hang out with me.

I do not take it lightly when you guys choose to come in our birth classes. It's such an [00:14:00] honor because I know you have so many choices and I am so honored to be a part of your birth journey. When you join my birth classes, you get access to me and my team of doulas and my mamas. We hang out with you guys.

It's not just an online class that you take and you're self led. You get access to all of us. So make sure you comment class or go to labor nurse mama. com forward slash calm C A L M. And I will see you guys on the inside. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a DM and ask the questions or send us an email.

Okay, friend. Now you're armed with the knowledge to recognize some red flags during your pregnancy and labor, but most importantly, how to advocate for yourself when it matters. You need to be confident in speaking up, even if it turns out that you're wrong, who cares? Now make sure you hit subscribe, follow [00:15:00] along, and please write a review and tell me how much you love this podcast.

It really means so much to us. So thank you so much for spending time with me. As always, see you again next Friday. Bye for now.