Ep 114: Pivoting in Birth and Preparing for Postpartum with Pure Motherhood Co.

How do we prepare for the unknowns of birth and postpartum in a holistic, positive way, even when we know that we can’t control every aspect of our experience?   This week we’re speaking with Jenny and Wendy, sisters and owners of Pure Motherhood Co.  Jenny and Wendy have experienced their fair share of birth plan pivots, and they’re teamed up to provide resources for mothers from pregnancy through postpartum regarding the process.  I know you’ll enjoy this conversation.  Stick around until the end—so many amazing nuggets are shared!   Before we dive into this episode, let me take a quick moment to thank our reviewer of the week, Aloha Zo.  Thanks so much, Zoe, and if you’ll send me an e-mail at [email protected], I’ll be sure to send you a Happy Homebirth Podcast sticker!   Okay friends, let’s jump into our chat with the founders of Pure Motherhood Co, Wendy and Jenny!   Show Notes Jenny Gallard and Wendy Davis both live in Florida   Jenny has three children, and Wendy has one sone   These sisters own Pure Motherhood Co.:  They launched January 2020, and it came from a need that they felt was missing in the motherhood/birth industry. Both sisters were in business separately in the motherhood world, and they decided to join forces. Both sisters had somewhat traumatic childbirth events, and they wanted to help others prevent that experience, but also recover. Puremotherhood Co is a one-stop shop for products and services from pregnancy through toddler age They want to give a space for mothers “in the middle”.  They’re holistic, yet they want a place for mothers to be able to come and say “I’m struggling”   “Yes we use essential oils, but also sometimes our kids eat cheetos!”   Jenny’s first birth was a c-section.  In order to have a supportive VBAC, she realized she would have to have a homebirth.   She planned and prepared for her homebirth.  During the birth she ended up needing to transport to the hospital.  After 57 hours, she ended up needing another cesarean section.   She wants women to know that it’s incredibly important to plan for birth, but that you also have to be open to pivoting    Wendy knew that she was going to plan for a homebirth after seeing the experience Jenny had at home   Just like Jenny, at exactly 27 hours of laboring at home, Wendy’s midwife recommended her going to the hospital because her water had been broken for 24 hours.   After some time in the hospital, Wendy was labeled with “Failure to Progress” and ended up with a c section.   Even more traumatic for Wendy was her postpartum experience.  She dealt with postpartum anxiety and depression, and it was a terrible struggle.     It’s important to balance the idea that we can do so much to prepare for birth, but we also have to remember that birth is unexpected and untamable.     In regards to postpartum, it’s once again so important to prepare for postpartum.   Jenny and Wendy recommend a “code word” for postpartum to use when moms are ready to have visitors leave— such a great idea! It’s important to educate the partner on signs and symptoms of anxiety or depression   They also highly recommend having a plan already set in place:  Who will do the dishes and clean up the house?  Who will we call if we have breastfeeding issues or postpartum depression issues?   puremotherhood.co   instagram: puremotherhoodco   Pure Motherhood University     Episode Roundup:   Woooah, some good points were brought up in this week’s episode!  As we head into our episode roundup, let’s do a quick recap of a few:   It’s important to realize that we can do plenty to positively influence our birthing experience.  Preparation, mindfulness and education can highly impact our experience… HOWEVER… we’ve got to balance this with the understanding that birth is not something for us to control, it’s something for us to surrender to.  So sometimes our plans may change, and that’s okay.  When we’re coming from a place of empowerment and a place of authority