Your doctor has about seven minutes with you at each appointment.

Girl, I have as long as you need, so let's talk about everything they don't.

Good morning and welcome to the birth experience.

You guys have been sending me the best questions lately over on Instagram, I asked over on Instagram to my 418,000 followers and.

We asked them, what are your pregnancy and postpartum questions for me?

So you guys have been sending me all the best questions and I could not wait to sit down and answer them.

So we took the top most common questions and we brought 'em over here to the podcast.

So I hope you enjoy this episode because some of these stop me in my tracks because I know the anxiety behind them.

Things like, is this pain normal?

When do I actually go to the hospital?

Why is nobody warning me about postpartum bleeding or postpartum sweating?

If you've ever Googled something at 2:00 AM while pregnant and scared, this video is for you.

We are covering everything today.

Round ligament pain in your second trimester, the 4 1 2 rule for labor, the 24 hour water breaking rule that hospitals don't.

Really explain well, postpartum night sweats, bleeding timelines, and one question about big babies and induction that I have a lot of stinking feelings about.

I've been a labor and delivery nurse for 16 years, and I've helped thousands of women through birth, and I answer these questions the way your bestie nurse would, who happens to know everything about the birth world, straight, honest, and without the,

fear and holding back that your doctor might.

So let's get into it.

The first question is, when I get constantly and the answer is probably not what your doctor will tell you.

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Okay.

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Question number one.

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Is bump pain normal at the start of second trimester and when should I be concerned?

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Yes, mild bump.

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Pain can be totally normal as your uterus is growing, your round ligaments stretch that can feel like really sharp pulling or even achy.

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I want you to be concerned or let your doctor know if the pain is severe or constant.

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You have a fever, you have any bleeding, or you feel pain when you're urinating.

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So always, always, always.

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When in doubt, call your provider.

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And if you want to understand what's normal in each trimester and what's not, that's exactly what we have inside of our birth classes.

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Okay.

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How long does postpartum bleeding last?

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Most women, most women.

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Hear me, they bleed from four to six weeks and it starts out bright red, then it gets lighter.

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Then it may stop, but it can even pick back up if you overdo it.

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However, heavy, soaking a pad in an hour, having large clots, dizziness, you need to call your doctor immediately.

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Next question.

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This is a good one you guys.

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When should you go to the hospital when you're in labor?

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Here's my general rule for a low risk first baby.

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My rule is different than what your doctor will tell you, okay?

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But this is what's gonna actually get you to hospital where you're not there for a very long time and you're not getting all the interventions.

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So my rule is 4 1 2, and that is when your contractions are less than four minutes apart, each one lasting for one minute.

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For two hours consecutively.

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Now, second babies often go quicker, so my rule is different for a second baby and I break this all down.

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I believe we have a podcast episode, but for sure I have some pen posts on Instagram and TikTok, but second babies often go quicker, and so we go to a 5 1 1.

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Rule.

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That means when the contractions are less than five minutes, each contraction lasting 60 seconds or longer for one hour.

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Because here's the deal, y'all, false contractions, false labor, Braxton Hicks can be consistent, but they're short and putsy.

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They're not gonna do anything to change your cervix, and that's the whole point of contractions.

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However, we have different rules.

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If your water break.

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And it's smelly or it's green, or it's brown or it's full of blood.

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If you have heavy bleeding, if you don't feel baby moving.

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If you guys haven't listened to Laney's birth story, we ended up going in while she was in early labor because Baby Ivy was not moving.

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We don't mess around with that.

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If you feel like you can't talk through your contractions, however you haven't met Labor Nurse Mama's contraction rules go in, and this is something I break down with my students.

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We hang out on Wednesdays for our pregnancy happy hour.

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Okay?

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Is the 24 hour rule after your water breaks important?

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So the 24 hour rule after your water breaking is all about infection.

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So it's not exactly that.

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Timeline, it's that evidence shows infection.

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Risk rises over time after your water breaks, but it's not an automatic emergency clock.

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You have options.

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There's monitoring, there's checking your temperature, there's informed decision making, , like saying no to cervical exams.

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every time we check you, whether we're wearing sterile gloves or not, that is a risk for infection.

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So this is a very.

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Misunderstood hospital policy, and this is why you have to walk into your birth educated.

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Okay, next question.

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How to not feel absolutely terrified about giving birth?

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Girl, I see you out there, but fear usually comes from something unknown, and that in birth would be not understanding what's happening inside your body.

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It could be healing trauma stories from your first birth.

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It could.

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Be feeling out of control.

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Knowledge is power, and education flips fear into power.

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When you understand what's happening inside your body, the stages of labor, what's happening around you at the hospital, your options, your nervous system settles down, and a calm birth is a confident birth.

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Hence the name of my birth class.

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There you have it.

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Okay.

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Whooping cough vaccine.

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So now I don't talk about what I recommend, but I'm gonna tell you what is recommended.

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Okay.

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The TDAP is recommended between 27 to 36 weeks in each pregnancy.

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It protects baby from pertussis, which is the whooping cough in those vulnerable early months.

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If you want evidence about vaccines and testing that can be found all over the internet, just.

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Look for evidence, not opinion.

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Okay.

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Any tips to flip a breach?

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Baby girl.

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Girl.

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This one is close to home because three of my babies went breach.

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My midwife said, the more babies you have, the more your uterus is like, like a, a rubber band that's been shot too many times and is not as effective.

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Now before 36 to 37 weeks, most babies will flip down on their own.

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They wanna be in that position too.

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It's easier on them.

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Things that might help are forward leaning, inversions, sideline release, having a pelvic floor specialist work with you, seeing a Webster certified chiropractor if your baby stays breached.

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There are still options, and this is something I'm really passionate about because I had an ECV, which is an external cephalic version when I was pregnant with Gavin and it was successful and it's not the most comfortable, but.

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Mine was successful and we're not gonna go into that, but that is where they manually turned the baby.

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Okay.

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Next question.

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Is pain in a previous C-section scar normal in the first trimester?

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Yes, it is.

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And that is any abdominal.

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Scar ' cause I had a tummy tuck before I get pregnant with Grayson, and you will feel mild pulling or stretching, which can be normal as your uterus grows.

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However, concerning signs would be severe pain, bleeding, and fever.

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You can also feel this pain during labor.

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Now if you're ever unsure.

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Call your stinking doctor.

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That's what they're there.

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If you're planning a vbac, you would probably want to do a little more scar, massage and therapy.

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But for the rest of you, yes, mild pulling and tugging is normal.

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When will postpartum sweat stock Girl?

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This one right now, my daughter's in the middle of it.

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Usually the worst is the first couple weeks, but it can last several weeks.

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It's due to hormonal shifts and your body releasing extra fluid, so stay hydrated.

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Wear breathable layers.

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It does calm down.

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Okay.

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How long does it take for breast milk to come in?

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Here's the thing, nobody realizes, but chorum is breast milk, so it's there.

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It's usually there before baby comes.

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Your mature milk, the milk that you're used to seeing, the white milk usually comes in around two to five days.

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Actually, it's not even white.

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It's all different colors, which is really disconcerting.

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Baby stomach is so tiny, like the size of a little cherry at birth.

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Chorum is concentrated.

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And enough baby doesn't need anything else.

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However, if you're worried about supply latch or feeding expectations, I highly recommend that you take a breastfeeding prep course.

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We go over a little bit on that inside my birth classes, but I am not a breastfeeding expert, even though I spent the majority of my adult life breastfeeding babies.

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Okay.

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How does a contraction feel?

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It.

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Feels in the beginning, like mild cramping, it feels like early period cramps and then it builds up, it peaks and it releases.

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That's why we call it a wave.

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So it starts out and you're like, Hmm, it's coming.

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Like your, your brain will know it's coming 'cause you feel a little bit of tightening in your belly that may wrap around to your back.

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It's stronger than Braxton Hicks and.

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Real labor contractions do not go away with position changes or hydration.

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Come hell or high water, you're gonna have that baby.

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When you understand the pattern, they feel less scary.

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This is my superpower to help you flip your fear of contractions into working with them and not fighting against them.

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Okay.

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Is Pitocin overused and what are the risks?

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Pitocin can be helpful when it's medically indicated, however it gets used all the stinking.

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Time and the risks include stronger contractions, fetal heart rate changes, cascade of interventions.

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It's all about informed consent, understanding.

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Is this necessary or is it not?

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I've had three induced beautiful unmedicated labors.

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Okay, big baby at 39 weeks, should I induce or have a c-section?

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Oh, this one, this one, this one.

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This one bugs me.

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Estimated fetal weight can be off by one or two pounds.

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So big baby alone is not always a medical reason for induction or C-section.

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So you actually have the choice to say no to either.

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So what I would start doing is asking questions, what is the actual estimated weight?

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And then I would ask for a trial of labor, like think about.

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Letting your body tell you whether or not it can deliver this baby.

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You know, this is a decision.

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We help with our students a lot because it can really get into your brain and you're like, I have to listen to my doctor.

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I need to do one of these two things.

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But that was, are not your only options.

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Okay.

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The next question is, I had a really fast birth, which is called a precipitous labor.

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Is it likely that I'm gonna have a precipitous labor?

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Again, if your first was very fast, yes ma'am.

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Your second can be even quicker, but not always, you know, like two hours quick or three hours quick.

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It really depends on what number baby.

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Depends on your previous labors.

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So baby number two was really, really fast.

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It doesn't mean that baby number three will be as fast.

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' cause remember I told you the rubber band that's been shot one too many times, the more babies you have, the more relaxed and like, not as effective your uterus is.

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So sometimes baby number three can throw a loop.

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Just always have a plan.

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Be aware of early labor signs, have your bags ready, have your support person on standby and just.

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Be confident that you know what to do.

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Okay, here's another one that not a lot of people talk about.

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If baby is small for gestational age, do I have to get induced or deliver early?

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No, not automatically.

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It really depends.

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On not so much as their size, but their growth trend.

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How are they doing?

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How are they functioning?

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Are they doing well?

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In there?

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You'll probably be asked to have tests like N MSTs non-stress tests or bpps biophysical profile to check on how baby is doing.

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If baby is doing fine, then I would push back if baby is not growing.

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And dropping off the gross scale, that's different.

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Sometimes monitoring is appropriate and sometimes early delivery is safer, and that again, is where knowledge is power.

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Those are all the questions for today, but honestly, this is just scratching the surface of questions that you guys have.

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If any of these answers had you nodding along thinking, why did nobody else tell me this?

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I also have a second trimester checklist episode that you can listen to.

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I think it's episode two 17 that you're going to love.

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Go watch it or listen to it, and I'll see you there.

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So many mamas are shocked by not being prepared.

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That's it.

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That's why I am so passionate about educating you and spending time with you guys.

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As always you guys.

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Thank you so much for listening.

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I am so.

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Thankful that you guys are here and that you are listening to our podcast.

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We are so passionate about educating you and empowering you.

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My goal with Labor Nurse Mama is that we change the birth culture, one birth at a time because I do not want women to continue to be coerced and bullied.

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I want women to walk into their birth room like the queens that they are.

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So as always, I'm gonna ask you to please hit subscribe.

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Leave a review because the reviews help us so much and tell the powers that be that you wanna hear more pregnancy, postpartum, and baby education.

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So leave a review, leave a comment wherever you're listening.

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YouTube, Spotify, or Apple, wherever you're listening or watching the videos, we are so grateful for you and we see and love each and every one of you.

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I will see you again next Friday.

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Bye for now.