Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:00:00:
Hi everyone, on today’s podcast, we’re going to talk with Camden Crane Wachowiak about her high-risk pregnancy and birth story that includes an induction for water breaking and laboring with non-pharmacological comfort measures.
Welcome to the Evidence Based Birth® Podcast. My name is Rebecca Dekker, and I’m a nurse with my PhD and the founder of Evidence Based Birth®. Join me each week as we work together to get evidence-based information into the hands of families and professionals around the world. As a reminder, this information is not medical advice. See ebbirth.com/disclaimer for more details. Hi everyone, and welcome to today’s episode of the Evidence Based Birth® Podcast. I’m so excited that we have a graduate of the EBB Childbirth Class on today to share her experience giving birth with a labor induction after her waters broke at term. Camden Crane Wachowiak has been a health coach specializing in fitness and nutrition for 10 years. She recently took her business online after returning to work postpartum and provides personal training through her platform and we’ll link to her Instagram profile in the show notes. Camden is a graduate of the EBB Childbirth Class with instructor Sharon Curtin-Bottomley, and she lives in Southern California with her husband and her beautiful baby girl. And she’s joining us today from her studio, which you can see if you’re watching the YouTube channel, to talk all about her birth experience with us.
So welcome Camden to the Evidence Based Birth® Podcast.
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:02:34:
Thank you so much. I’m so excited to be here. It feels like an honor. So yeah, I’m excited.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:02:39:
I’m just like. Excited to dig into your story because it’s a good one.
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:02:43:
Thank you.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:02:43:
So can you give us a little background first and like how you got into being involved with Evidence Based Birth®?
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:02:50:
Yeah, one of my good friends was kind of just shooting over all of the stuff that helped her through her pregnancy and birth story. And one of the things was an Evidence Based Birth® Podcast. So I immediately jumped in, started listening and just fell in love. There was just so much good information there. And so as soon as I saw that a course was advertised, because I was looking to get my partner and I in one, I jumped online, looked up if there were any in our timeframe and sure enough, there were. So I enrolled us, it was virtual and then we got going with it.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:03:23:
That’s awesome. Yeah, we have a strong cohort of EBB instructors who live in California, very familiar with different hospital systems there. So, and of course, any instructor can teach anyone, anyone in the world, but sometimes it’s nice to find someone who’s a match with your geographic area if you can. So what was your experience like taking the class with Sharon and the others?
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:03:43:
Yeah, Sharon was great. She had a lot of wonderful experience in the past that really did help. And like you said, being someone in California, knowing a little bit more about that system was helpful. I will be honest, at first I was a little bit hesitant. We chose a class that was in the evening and my husband and I both have pretty taxing physically like and mentally jobs that I was like, oh, are we really gonna be able to engage? You know, it’s virtual, will we even get to know the other people. And thankfully, we showed up and we realized, no, this is going to be awesome. There was actually only one other couple in the class, which led to a lot of discussions because we had more time to share our thoughts and feelings, which I loved. I also think what was really special about the class was, you know, it’s presented in a way where you’re given the data, the research, the science.
And so many times during pregnancy and postpartum, you just find yourself on Google and then just getting overwhelmed. And this was… presented in a way where you’re given the facts. And then not just like told, hey, you got to go make this decision. It really gave us an opening to have those important conversations that I think my husband and I wouldn’t have had if we hadn’t taken the class. So it was like, we were getting to read the material on our own, come together, hear the research, and then discuss our own opinions and have these conversations that were really important and vital to us. So I think it was really helpful in that way. You know, everybody’s different. And I knew my husband, he’s in the medical world. He’s a veterinary neurosurgeon, neurologist. And he, if I’m like, oh, hey, my friend did this, or I Googled this, he’s like, well, what does the research say? And so I knew that this class would give us that ability to feel solid in our decision-making and empowered to feel good about going into birth and postpartum.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:05:37:
And what were some of those decisions that you made? Like, what were your plans for your birth? And what steps did you kind of take to get ready for that?
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:05:45:
Well, our pregnancy was a surprise. And so we hadn’t prepared a lot of things. I, with some of my medical history past, even wondered, like, am I going to be able to have a healthy pregnancy? All right. How do we feel about, you know, the fact that I’m going to be high risk? We knew that we wouldn’t get to have a home birth. Like, that decision was kind of taken off the table. I really did want one. But we knew a hospital, like, okay, what type of hospital, should we get a doula? That was a big discussion for us, getting a doula or not. My husband was like, I really want to be that main person for you, that anchor. And I, with some of my medical trauma and history, I was like, I really would love to find a doula, especially with medical knowledge and maybe a background with that. That would help us feel just a little bit more solid about going into this arena fully equipped with the right types of information so that I wouldn’t just get pushed into a category of, well, we’re going to be super conservative with you. Getting to see some of the research around doulas was the way that my husband and I were able to come to that decision, both feeling good about it, where we found a doula that said, no, I’m here to aid your guys’ connection. I’m not here to step in and take over like, you guys have that chemistry. I want to help make him feel like he is, you know, your anchor and person. That was really good to see that I could feel supported by having that extra person in that situation. And then that my husband felt good about it in the end, making that decision together. That was one of the big decisions.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:07:20:
Okay. Yeah. Hiring a doula. And you did end up finding someone that you liked.
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:07:24:
Yeah. Her name’s Julia Underwood and she was fabulous. And what was helpful is she had worked with hundreds of people that had also gone to the hospital that I ended up at and even with the doctor that I used, the OBGYN. So that was great too, because she had experience with them and she had been doing it for, I think, 11 years at that time. She has now since become a midwife. I had known that she had had, you know, that kind of training. She wasn’t allowed to use it on me during that time because she had just taken her boards.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:07:50:
But she was already in midwifery school.
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:07:52:
Yes.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:07:52:
Okay. So you mentioned being high risk. Could you share just a little bit about your situation?
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:07:58:
Yeah, I’m happy to. Mine is definitely a little bit more complicated in a way, but I think going through the journey of having that label, no matter what the label is, you learn a lot by just going through it. So first of all, I will say anyone over the age of 35, I feel like some places will make you feel like, you know, they give you that geriatric label and kind of like almost treat you a little differently. Thankfully, I had supportive staff that didn’t make me feel like that was my high risk issue. I was 37 going on 38 while pregnant. And for me, it was more, one, I had a syndrome called antiphospholipid syndrome that I was diagnosed with in my 20s. It’s a blood protein disorder that makes you at higher risk for blood clots. Now, if you go online and Google that, the top things that come up are all your risks in pregnancy, including miscarriage, issues with your placenta, preeclampsia, the list goes on. And so, you know, it can make anyone fearful in that stage. And then the second thing that was on my charts was that I have a pacemaker, which is very abnormal for someone at my age. You know, people look at me, they’re like, you’re this energetic, like active woman. Like, how do you have a pacemaker? And the thing is, I have a healthy heart. So it’s not that I, you know, need to be treated like a little delicate flower because my heart may burst. I had a passing out syndrome since I was, I think about 10 years old. Yeah. And no one was able to figure it out until about six years ago, a doctor finally realized it was flatlining while I was passing out. And so a pacemaker was put in to just help regulate me. And since then I haven’t had many issues, which was great, but it still means that some doctors or medical professionals just look at that and automatically kind of like, Oh, this is a special case. We need to be careful.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:09:49:
Do you have like an internal defibrillator as well?
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:09:52:
No, I don’t. Just the pacemaker, which has been, yeah, it’s been great to get in. It hasn’t caused any issues and has helped me with my syndrome, which is fabulous. Since I had those labels, I knew, okay, it’s going to be important for me to work with the right doctor a year before I was pregnant. When I started to talk about, you know, like, hey, do you think I should be considering, you know, freezing my eggs or looking at my hormones? The OB-GYN I had at that point, without hesitation, just said, well, do you really think you should consider getting pregnant? You know, do you think your heart can handle that? And she didn’t mean anything by it, but I automatically quickly knew that this wasn’t going to be the doctor for me to walk me through this journey. I just knew, like, I needed someone that would know, like, my medical history and past has actually made me a stronger person, has made me more aware of my body, has made me just more resilient to certain things in the medical world.
So I made sure that when I did get pregnant, I found someone that would look at me in my case and understand who I really was and what these symptoms and labels really equaled. I found a great OB that was, she actually had a private practice, but she was still associated to the hospital I wanted to go at. Working with her, I just automatically knew. She was like, oh, no, I can tell, like, you’re strong. We’ll get you a specialist to just monitor and make sure you’re good. But let’s see how you do. This is where getting the right specialist is really crucial, too. For me, the first appointment, I just knew, like, oh, wow, I struck gold. Because she took the time to really look at my case. And she realized, like, she’s like, you haven’t had any of the symptoms, right? Like blood clots or, you know, these type of issues with your antiphospholipid syndrome, right? And I was like, yeah, no. She’s like, okay. We’re not going to really worry about this label. We’re going to monitor you. But I am not going to stick this at the top of your charts for, like, when you get to the hospital and everybody’s kind of worried about you. No, like, we’ll still make sure you’re good. I was taking baby aspirin at that point to kind of just control any, you know, symptoms.
And she was like, we’ll still do that until right up at the end, probably 36 weeks. We’ll stop that. And besides that, like, you’re good. And we’ll make sure you see your cardiologist beforehand just to set everything right for your… your labor journey. And so I really was fortunate because what was really important to me was to feel strong and empowered in that journey that I wasn’t going to be walking into that room to give birth and everybody was kind of walking on eggshells worrying like, oh, you know, what are we going to do with this special patient? Instead, it felt like, oh, like, okay, we have these things to look out for, but we’re not going to treat her differently until we see issues arise.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:12:35:
Yeah, that’s — thank you for sharing that and being open about that. We had my sister-in-law came on the podcast episode 305 and talked about her experience with antiphospholipid syndrome.
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:12:45:
Really.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:12:45:
Yeah, and I think yeah. One of the differences with her is that they didn’t know she had it and it created all these problems because she was not treated. And it wasn’t until postpartum that they figured out what was causing all of the blood clots. And so I think, you know, you’re, you know, having great care set up, you were already like, you had these chronic conditions, but they were managed, right? So you were in good health otherwise. So. Take us, you know, fast forward a little bit to your birth story. So how did it begin?
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:13:17:
Can I say something real quick to what you just shared? Because that was like so interesting to me because you struck a really important point. The reason they found out I had antiphospholipid syndrome, and that was, like you just said, really important that they found out years ago, was because I was being tracked by a rheumatologist since I was a young girl because I had an autoimmune system disease. They were doing blood work all the time. And so while I did not like the fact that they had said this about me, which I was able to clear that label in my 20s, I used nutrition and fitness to kind of get that label taken away. But that was the only one that was left the antiphospholipid. So it’s interesting to hear that because, yeah, had I not known, I always wondered, like, would this have been an issue? So I’m really glad that you said your sister-in-law, yeah, that she was able to figure that out later. But that’s also just so hard when you don’t know, so.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:14:10:
Yeah. And I feel like it’s really common, too, to see it in people who’ve had other autoimmune conditions. So it’s not always diagnosed before, you know, you have a baby and then there are higher risks associated with it. But like you were saying, you know, the treatment is fairly simple with baby aspirin, possibly injections for blood thinners if you’re at even higher risk so they can, but it can be managed is the thing to know.
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:14:37:
Yeah.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:14:37:
If you know that you have.
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:14:38:
Definitely. Yeah, definitely.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:14:39:
Yeah. So share your birth story with us. How did it begin?
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:14:43:
So I actually like to say that it began with a bee sting, which sounds ridiculous. That’s not evidence-based, but I was on a walk with my husband and dog. We were coming back from the park. This is about a week and five days before my due date. I wasn’t really thinking much about, you know, like, oh, I, you know, it could happen anytime because a lot of times, especially with the first pregnancy, which this was of mine, they, a lot of people say, oh, on the later side. And so I kind of thought, okay, I got it. I have a couple of weeks. Well, I get this bee sting. It’s right on like the tragus of my ear, like almost inside my ear. And later that day, later that day, my neck was swollen. Like I looked like a linebacker. Like it was crazy. And I had been stung before during pregnancy. Bees loved me. And, um, so I knew not to worry. Like we were all good later that night I was walking to bed and I suddenly just got this huge sensation. It felt like a massive kick and she was a kicker, but this was something more like it stopped me dead in my tracks. And I was like, whoa, what was that? Maybe it was Braxton Hicks. Like I wasn’t sure, but it definitely started spinning my wheels in my head. I’m like, wait, what’s happening here? Like that whole night I was already having issues sleeping at the end of my pregnancy, but that night I was definitely up with my thoughts. Next morning comes and this was finally my week of like self-care. I was like, okay, all the to-dos are done. House is ready to go. Nursery. I just have a couple more errands. My birthday was later that week. So I had a spa day planned even.
Anyways, I am doing the last couple of errands to get some food stocked in the house. And I’m walking out of Trader Joe’s and I just feel this rush of fluids. And I’m like, wait a second. I just went to the restroom. I don’t have to go pee anymore. That didn’t really feel like discharge. What was that? But I had been warned. It’s not like the movies when your water breaks, you don’t have this huge gushing sensation, but it still felt very small. So I can’t see anything because your stomach is very far out. And so I get in the car and I look and I’m like, oh no, there’s a ring down there. It’s not that large, a couple inches, but I’m going to go home and change and check this out. And I’m like, you know what? Probably a smart idea to start texting my doula. And one of my closest friends is actually a labor and delivery nurse. So she’s like, text me anytime. So I’m texting both of them, explaining all the details and they’re like, okay, it kind of does seem like your water broke, but let’s monitor you today. You’re not feeling anything else? I’m like, nope. They’re like, okay, just go with your day. Okay. No other fluid comes. It was just that small amount. And so my friend even thought, maybe you just have a high tear. Let’s just keep seeing, if you feel comfortable to still stay home, you’re having… I didn’t feel any contractions. I felt nothing else besides that little bit. So I chose to stay home that night, which of course meant I didn’t sleep again because you’re up and you’re just going crazy with your thoughts. I had warned my husband that you may need to take tomorrow off work because tomorrow is going to be the let’s try to get things going day.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:17:42:
Okay. So this is Sunday when your water’s…
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:17:45:
So Monday. So Sunday… is bee sting, Monday –
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:17:47:
Monday. Okay. Sunday is bee sting.
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:17:50:
Okay. So that’s Monday evening. And I kind of done my meditation that night, got myself in a good place. Next day, it’s really like, all right, I’m eating my extra dates. My doula is sending me the castor oil smoothie to drink. And we’re just trying to get contractions going, trying to… I’m like, I really didn’t want to be induced. But I’m like, well, this, It may happen and that’s going to. It just needs to be okay with it. But I was trying everything, walking up and down the stairs sideways, went for my lawn walks. My partner did the acupressure points that we learned in class, which was really great. But nothing was really motivating much more. And so around, I think it was like 4:30 that day. So it’s Tuesday. I see just a little bit of blood in the discharge and I’m like, okay, I am ready to go. And like, I think it’s time. We had a bit of a commute because we had moved when we were eight months pregnant to the hospital. And so I just knew like, I don’t want to get stuck in traffic if something all of a sudden ramps up. Like, I really want to make sure that I feel good. And so at that point, we’re like, let’s go to the hospital and get ourselves checked in. Because I just knew at that point in my mind, I wasn’t going to be able to rest easy, not having my baby girl monitored.
It was really funny to walk into the hospital in such a different way. Like I imagined, laboring at home for a long time and then coming in, barely able to stand up. And I’m walking in. I’m chatting. I’m making some of the staff members laugh. And they’re even like, oh, so why are you here? And I’m like, I think the water broke. No. Oh, okay. Go back and get examined. And they did confirm that yes, it is indeed broken. But they did the cervical exam and I was only one centimeter dilated. And so that was like, oh boy, we are at the very beginnings of this. And this might be a long journey. So they admitted us. We didn’t get a room till about midnight. One of the reasons I chose this hospital is they had the wireless monitoring. That was important to me. I really liked to move around. I knew that I wanted to be able to take a shower and do certain poses and stretches. And so that was put on, which was great. They didn’t have any issues with the wireless monitoring until later. I’ll get to that. But the doctors there were all great. They did tell me if I wanted to, I could go back home at that point. They couldn’t hold me against my will because I was only one centimeter. But they said, you know, we recommend you stay. So we did make that decision to stay.
All along, you know, my doula and friend are still texting me, which I will say that support was super helpful. I did end up telling them, like, even though it had happened Monday, I knew that if I got there on Tuesday and mentioned it was Monday, they would start me on Pitocin probably immediately. So I decided to kind of say like, it happened that day, which you know, to each their own. I just wanted a little extra time to see if we could get things going. We kind of marked the time as that Tuesday as to when my water broke. It was monitored that night. Everything was well. I did have issues at that point. I threw up a lot and they were like, whoa, what’s happening? It’s not supposed to happen till later, right? But I think it was just the castor oil smoothie there. Sometimes that can just upset your stomach. So again, didn’t sleep much that night, Tuesday night. And the next day we’re looking at like, all right, we know that if in the next part of the day, things don’t kick into gear, it’s going to be what that’s in. My friend suggested that I asked for a drug called Metoprolol. I wrote it down.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:21:23:
Misoprostol.
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:21:24:
There we go. Yes. Thank you. This is where I’ll say like, sometimes when there’s changes in the shifts with nurses or they have to call your doctor and then they get back to you, it just was taking a while. And so that part kind of bummed me out because I was like, I want every chance to try to get there on my own. So I wasn’t able to get that. So by noon that day, they’re like, all right, it’s time to start you on Pitocin. Also at this time, this is when we figure out, so the wireless monitoring for me was not working. They were bringing in specialists. They’re like, why is the tech not working on her? Finally, my new nurse had Googled pacemakers and wireless monitoring. Sure enough, you can’t do that when you have a pacemaker. It interferes. And so all of a sudden, they’re like, we’re sorry, you’re going to have to be on the wire.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:22:14:
Does the pacemaker interfere with the wireless monitor or does the wireless monitor interfere with the pacemaker?
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:22:19:
Great question. You just actually corrected that because that’s what they said. They were like, you know what? The wireless monitoring can interrupt the pacemaker and shut it off but the pacemaker was causing the wireless thing to just not work well.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:22:35:
That’s why they couldn’t get readings that were accurate.
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:22:38:
They wanted to take it off because they were like, oh, we’re worried that if it interrupts it.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:22:42:
That would have been good to know in advance.
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:22:46:
That was kind of my one like, oh, that’s where the pacemaker, as much as I did great during pregnancy and during my labor with it, that was the one true bummer because all of a sudden, all of the plans I had for like positions and roaming around the room were like, oh, okay, can’t do that. Can’t take a shower. You know, certain things were just suddenly like, all right, we’re going to have to switch modes. So yeah, that would have been great to know ahead of time. But like my cardiologist, you know, there’s not much experience with women with pacemakers who are pregnant, which is part of my like, I would love to start like a blog for like women that do because there’s not a lot of information.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:23:22:
So. Well, hopefully if anybody’s Googling pacemaker and pregnant, they’ll find your episode and they’re probably listening right now being, “Yep, that’s me. I was Googling that.”
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:23:32:
Yeah, because it is amazing. I will say over Instagram, I have young adults reaching out and being like, hey, after you got your pacemaker, I’m just seeing questions because there’s just not a lot of information out there. So I will say that’s where you start to get information. So hopefully they do and you can always reach out. So that was great that that nurse figured that out. So now I’m being wired, the Pitocin’s starting up. And thankfully through the podcasting course, I really kind of, I knew like, all right, this is going to ramp things up. This is where the cascade of interventions can happen. And where I am really going to try to hold strong is I really did not want to get an epidural. I just wanted to be able to go through the rest unmedicated, but I knew how hard and difficult that was going to be with the contractions ramping up. And I think I’ve heard many women try to explain what a contraction feels like. You just really can’t. You know, I heard certain things like.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:24:30:
Yeah, even after you’ve had one for the first time, it’s hard to explain.
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:24:34:
You truly can’t. Like when you’re in the moment, oh my gosh, you feel it all. Like I was truly in my body that day. And then afterwards, you try to explain it. You’re just like, there’s just no way besides going through it.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:24:45:
And different factors can change the intensity and experience of a contraction too. So it’s different for everybody. Yep. And so did you have, did you feel like the contractions ramped up with the Pitocin?
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:24:58:
Oh yeah. I asked for the slower, you know, dosage and like, I didn’t want to just go straight and started alone. Exactly. Yeah. However, it was, it was quick and like immediate, like, okay, here they really come. And this is where I think really the meditation training that I did ahead of time, my breath work, and having my affirmation cards up because the exhaustion really started to set in. You know, here’s a couple of days out, not a lot of sleep, contractions are starting. The affirmation card, I think that meant the most to me is I had written down, this is how you meet Cora. That’s our daughter’s name, Cora. And I just kept repeating that, you know, in, in my head and then really just working on my breath with sinking, you know, the contractions and then having my husband as my anchor. And he really was a trooper during that time. I felt fortunate for that because I was just like, okay, I know that I’m at, you know, higher risk right now to get that epidural, but I was doing everything I could not to. I will say I was really surprised. The point, like it was probably coming at the middle of the night when exhaustion was at a peak. I had never really heard much about like how you can fall asleep in between contractions.
And that like happened, like just like, you know, really quick little stints, but that was like shocking to me because I’m like, how can I feel this much and be in that much pain, but then also all of a sudden fall asleep. And I’m like, that’s just, you know, you just are sensing all these things that your body just does and you can’t fight it. You’re just accepting it. And my water did finally like fully break. And that I will say, because I was in the midst of like really heavy contractions, it was more like the movies. I was like, wow, that was a little bit different than I thought too. So now we’re getting to, let’s see, this is Wednesday overnight. So now we’re getting into Thursday. My doula had showed up at that time because we didn’t know like, how long is it going to take with Pitocin when is it really going to ramp up? She’s like, you know, I’m going to come. And if I, if it’s taking longer, I can always leave and come back. But that was really great because she was able to give my husband some relief. They were able to really start to, okay, here, I’m going to be the one doing the acupressure. You’d be the one to hold her here. You know, it was that team effort that I think really at that time, you know, husband’s getting exhausted.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:27:10:
Because by then I’m sure your husband was exhausted.
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:27:13:
Exactly. You know, and they have the little.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:27:15:
This is where you’re like, see, this is why we needed a doula, right?
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:27:18:
Exactly. It’s like, I’m not going to say it now, but and he, he later did say he was very, very glad he had her. Cause he, even just knowing how much it made me feel like at peace with knowing that she was going to be our champion in that way and giving him some breaks, they were just a great tag team. And that’s like, you know, seeing that at choosing the right doula, that was a good fit for that. I think in honoring…
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:27:40:
And people don’t understand how much work there is to do.
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:27:44:
Yes. You know? Oh my goodness. Yes. And especially you don’t know how long it’s going to take and how many nights you don’t get sleep cause even if you’re at the hospital, you’re going to be interrupted over and over. So like hospital sleep is never good. So yeah, I think he was relieved to have a little bit of that break and their tag team was great. And so we’re getting into like, you know, midnight, this is actually my birthday. So Thursday,
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:28:08:
So Thursday is your birthday and you’re getting close to the end of the day.
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:28:12:
So I’m like this little rascal wanted to come early so she could come on my birthday. Didn’t she? Cause she wasn’t due for another week. She was due in October. And this is now September. And so we’re getting to about 6am and wow. Like I, at that point, wasn’t even opening my eyes. I mean, in different positions, but my eyes were shut and I am just fully in my body. My husband always talks about things like I’ve never seen you that focused and in your body. So this is where I feel like my strength and my mental training really paid off and just came together in a beautiful way. And this is 6am. They’re like, all right, it’s time to do another cervical exam. And I was actually almost, afraid because I knew if this comes back at even eight or nine. I looked at my husband. I said, I don’t know if I can keep going. And he knew what that meant. He knew that if it doesn’t come back at a 10, she may need that epidural. I was getting to that point of like, this is, my body is fully exhausted. Thankfully, it was 10 centimeters. So I was so relieved. And then they’re like, all right, we’re going to call your doctor, let her know. And they’re like, about another hour and a half till you push. And I’m like, mm-mm. I’m ready to push now.
They were like, well, you need to have that bowling ball sensation. And I will say that the doctors that were around me, I do have a bit of a higher tolerance of pain because of some of the past medical stuff I’ve been through. And I don’t think I realized what that sensation was truly like. Doing a lot of strength training and other things, I’m like, I’m used to pressure. And so I don’t think I was communicating with them. And so once they left the room, I looked at my doula and husband and said, tell them to bring the doctor now. I’m ready to push. And she did. She came. She was wonderful. She’s like, oh, you are. I’m ready to jump in here. I will say I got to the breathing part and I was not prepared for that. I did not know how to sync the breath and hold your breath. So that part, I even made a couple staff members laugh because at one point she asked me to cough and I’m like, cough. And they’re like, no, really, let out a cough. So that part was like, oh, I probably didn’t prepare a good amount for the breath work. I know some women do go to breath classes and stuff and that is a good idea.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:30:25:
Well, and that’s the kind of thing that is really hard. Oh, I’ve heard from a lot of first time parents that it’s the first time you push a baby out, you don’t really know what it’s going to be like until you’re in it.
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:30:35:
Exactly.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:30:35:
You’re kind of learning as you go. It’s like learning to drive. Exactly. As you’re driving.
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:30:41:
You’re like, oh, okay. And it’s funny too, because I had planned on birthing on my side or with a birth bar. My doctor showed up. I was flat on my back and she was like, didn’t you want to be in a different position? That was my level of exhaustion my eyes were closed. I said, no, I’m ready to push and I am ready to go right here. And she even at one point asked if I wanted to use a mirror and I was just so in my body. And I was like, no, I don’t even want that. Which I think later you hear somebody else’s story where they’re like, oh, I used a mirror. It’s beautiful to see. And I’m like, oh, should I have done that? And it’s like, no, my story was exactly, I was in it in that moment. And that was the best thing for me in that time. I think it would have taken me out of that zone I had acquired.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:31:24:
And that might be why they thought you weren’t ready to push because you were so deep in the zone.
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:31:30:
Exactly. And so I will say a lot of support. Any person that came in, I think as soon as they saw like Pitocin, no epidural, they were just like all right, let’s do this. You’re strong. You’ve got this. I think that was a really beautiful part. I will say the amount of times I heard, hey, you’re almost there. You’re almost there. The trainer, when you say to a client, you’re almost there, it means like two more reps. So I kept thinking like, okay, I’m almost there. And then like, they’re like, all right, more series, more series. And I’m like, okay, when you say almost there, you mean like the next series she’s coming? What I didn’t know was towards the end, her heart rate was starting to drop. She ended up being double cord wrapped. And so the doctor told me the next day she was about to use a vacuum, but she instead was like, okay, Camden is like pushing. Like, let me see if I can just get her to that peak push. And I think we can, we can do this without a vacuum. So I’m very thankful she gave me that chance because I was a couple more pushes and sure enough. Baby girl’s coming out and it was, I mean, this is another part where nobody can describe to you when you get to meet your child for the first time. And I only got to have her briefly because they did need to put her into the NICU warmer. They rushed in and, you know, were able to get her breathing well again. I didn’t know what was going on at that time. They didn’t tell me like what was really happening. And I’m almost glad for that because I wasn’t freaking out. I was like, okay, for some reason, they’re putting her over there. I could see it on my husband’s face that something was a little bit off, but she was okay in a couple of minutes. Then they really put her on my chest and I lost it. I mean, it was just the most beautiful moment to hold her and be like, we did this. We got here, you know, husbands wrapped around me, babies in my chest. It just was. Like no feeling that I could ever imagine. It was a beautiful, beautiful moment, the best gift of love I could have ever had.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:33:27:
Oh, and, and how was your baby doing? Was she better at like moving around?
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:33:32:
When they first put her on my chest, I will say I could tell like she was limp and she wasn’t like crying. She was kind of coughing because you know, they get stuck when they can’t get all the fluids out with the cord wrap. And so I knew something a little bit off, but once they were able to, you know, do everything they needed to and they put her on, she was golden. She was good to go and she was, you know, kind of crawling all up and snuggling up. So at that point she was good. But I think, I think that part did put a little bit of trauma with my husband because he was aware of what was happening. He did, I didn’t mention this, he did get to catch her, which was beautiful for him. He actually was about to pull out of that because he saw the double cord wrap and the doctor was like, no, you’ve got this, which I think was great that she encouraged him to. And he was, that was a really great moment for him. The Doula later was like, you know, I probably should have gone over to him. She stayed with, by my side and he went over to the warmer and she’s like, she, she, I apologize, which was amazing. Like to take that accountability and say, you know, like I should have let him know that like, it wasn’t as serious as maybe he thought. Cause he’s looking at her like, oh my gosh, she’s, you know, kind of going blue and not looking great. So I think that was a little scary for him, but I think overall knowing like, okay, but she’s healthy. She’s good. We’re okay. So it’s, you know, those moments are, can be terrifying, but thankfully she was healthy and well after that.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:34:50:
And you all were surrounded by people who knew what they were doing.
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:34:53:
Yes.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:34:53:
And yeah.
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:34:54:
That was part of the reason we chose, it was Huntington hospital in Pasadena and they have a really good reputation for either special care or, you know, just a lot of the emergency situations. One of my girlfriends had a really hard birth and, and they treated that really well. So I knew like, okay, if anything were to happen, we’re in good hands.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:35:11:
Yeah. It definitely makes me think we should do an episode on newborn resuscitation because I don’t think most parents realize that one in 10 babies does need help after birth.
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:35:22:
That would be great. Yeah, I think knowing that helps the couple.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:35:24:
Because I think that’s fairly common when you think about it, one in 10. And some people really panic if they don’t hear the cry right away. And that’s why both home birth and hospital providers have to have training and stay up to date on their certification and newborn resuscitation. So I think it’s an important topic.
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:35:44:
Yeah.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:35:45:
I’m glad everything turned out okay.
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:35:47:
Yes, me too.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:35:48:
You must have been completely exhausted and now you had a little baby to take care of. So how did that go?
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:35:55:
Greatest birthday ever, for sure. Best gift, but also insanely exhausted. I think, thankfully, as a woman that gave birth, you do get that rush. I think especially being medicated, I just felt all those really good hormones and was energized to be able to endure that next night of not a lot of sleep the next day. My husband made sure to go get me a great meal that day, especially being my birthday. So that was great. But in the following months were where yeah, the postpartum journey really took effect. But I will say those first few days, I think you’re just – you did okay. Yeah, I did. I was thankful I didn’t have any major tearing. I had a little bit of internal, so I did have a few stitches there that just dissolved with time. So I was fortunate in that aspect. My doctor came the next day. I was able to be released that Friday afternoon, which was a great feeling to just be able to go home, walk out of the hospital like I knew I felt very grateful for that because that’s not what everybody gets to do. And so that next day, it was just so great to be able to hold her, take her home, and then go situate ourselves there. So there were things in the hospital, I will say, just things like, how do you truly birth then? You can learn things, but then doing it. We had great postpartum nurses, and they were really great at coming in and just answering questions because I’m like, oh gosh, here we go. Let’s start the Google searches now. But yeah, it was a good experience.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:37:23:
So anything else from your postpartum experience you want to share?
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:37:27:
Yeah, I will say the first few months, our baby girl had a lot of, I’ll say just like complications, not like severe, but we got a false scare from the pediatrician that we ended up using another pediatrician later that added a lot of stress. And so friends keep telling me like, just survive the first couple of months. And it’s this weird duality where it’s like this beautiful chaos. Like you have this amazing child that you just gave birth to. And I’m just in awe every day of. Like how? Like, this is incredible. And then also it was, you know, I turned 38 when I gave birth to her. Well, I had 38 years of no children, 37, single, not married. I was more of a type A planner, disciplined, routine person. Well, kind of the exact opposite of that, especially when you’re in that newborn phase. And I’m also a generally like, I’d say like, you know, joyful person and seeing that shift in hormones and then how every single thing is kind of opposite of what I was wired like. I think that was really the part of my postpartum journey. That was really difficult, feeling like everything is kind of, you have to be able to go with the flow and not have routines and structure and discipline.
And then all your concentration goes towards the child. So. I think while I was really glad that I had like prepared a lot for birth and that side of the journey, I feel like, oh, wow, there’s a lot of parts of postpartum that I did not really truly prepare for or know more. And you never can know everything that you’re going to experience. Of course, you don’t know what kind of kids you’re going to have. You don’t know how you’re going to respond to things. But I think there was a lot of aspects where I was like, wow, I wish like even my partner and I, like we were newlyweds, had just moved. And. Changed jobs. So we had gone through all this severe change. And so I think some of the harder conversations we did not have. And so then try to have those while having this newborn, you’re trying to figure everything out. It did. It did lead to a pretty like tough first period of time with postpartum, because I think you’re just trying to figure out so much change. And while the birth story, like I was so glad that I had prepared for it. I think you realize like that’s such a short part of the journey. And then here’s postpartum, which is years to come. So it it was a it was a big shift and a big change. The beautiful chaos of it all.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:39:59:
And so being a year out, you know, reflecting on how has parenthood changed you because you mentioned, you know, who you were, which I think a lot of not all, but a lot of EBB listeners do tend to fall into that more you know, wanting to control things, wanting to get all the education and, and then parenting, like you said. Forces you to kind of shift everything. So a year out, what are your thoughts or advice?
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:40:29:
Yeah, I think a big part. Of understanding, you know, how to, I try not to say like, oh, I want to go back to the old me or like, like even if someone says like, oh, you seem like you’re like your old self again. I’m like, no, that’s not what’s it. I think it’s embracing part of that old self and then realizing like this is a whole new self that is emerging and how can I honor both of these things so for me it was starting to okay like certain self-care practices that I had just you know they had just were down by the wayside I was like all right how do I get a little movement in you know even if it’s a 10-minute workout or it’s you know while she’s you know next to me and I’m just doing little things to help revive myself. I think that was really important to start honoring parts of me that I was just forgetting about and realizing that like, I’m not going to have control over these things.
I think it’s a daily practice of surrender, which is not easy. Like it can sound so, you know, airy-fairy in the sky, but when you just start to take steps to honor your own motherhood and putting yourself, not like, oh, I’m going to just put myself first and my child, you know, it’s honoring yourself and understanding that when you are able to do that more, you’re going to be able to show up for your child more. And so I think having some of those conversations, if you can, or getting into certain, you know, I know there’s great books and probably great classes. The classes I took for postpartum were just too basic. They were too simple. It was like, here’s a guide for breastfeeding, here’s a guide for parenthood. And it wasn’t enough with the like the real struggles that you go through. And so I think having people around you that will allow you to really share how you’re really doing, like, Hey, I’m struggling with these intrusive thoughts, or I am struggling with the fact that like, I don’t know how to lose this baby weight. And I’m trying to honor the fact of what my body did, but now I don’t feel comfortable in my own body. Like there’s just so many topics that we don’t discuss.
And so finally having the ability to, like, I am so fortunate that I have a handful of friends who I can go to and really share, like what is truly going on. And they’re not going to sit there and be like, wow, Camden, you sound like you’re in the throws of it. Do you even love your child? But like being able to be real and authentic and finding yourself. And that’s, for me, it was what led me into this new surge with my business. I thought I was going to leave my business. I thought I was just going to stop coaching. And this whole experience, especially postpartum, has given me that desire to truly help other women in this place of finding themselves in this new state and honoring all the different sides of them. So yeah, I am hopeful that other women can start to have more real and raw conversations, both with themselves, with other women and their partners that are going through this with them.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:43:27:
Yeah, I think it speaks to the power of community because you can’t really learn from a class all of what you just talked about. Like you said, it’s from discussions with your friends and community members. And I think it was an episode 288 with Melissa Dekker talking about how she had two very postpartum, different postpartum experiences, one during all of the lockdowns of COVID, you know, and then one after, but how meeting with other parents at the park was so helpful for her and having, and other people have talked about having that group text thread or just any way that you can stay in touch with other people who have gone through what you’ve gone through or are going through it makes such a big difference.
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:44:10:
Yes. I think that’s a huge and vital point. That’s where, you know, moving, especially if you move or you’re in a new community, that’s where it can feel even more isolating. So I think, like you said, even having that text thread, I use a voice memo app to like chat with friends back and forth. And that community, like you said, they always say it takes a village and you don’t realize it until you get in there, what that village is for.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:44:34:
It’s not just for the physical. Yeah, exactly.
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:44:38:
It’s for the mental load and just everything you’re going through and to give each other like, hey, you’re going through that. So am I like, you know, you start to feel like, okay, this is a, this is just a human thing and it’s okay that I’m going through this. So yeah.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:44:54:
Well, Camden, thank you so much for being so honest and open about your experiences. I really am sure that this will help other people who are listening. And how can people follow you if they want to, you know, see some of your exercise tips or just like hear more from you and the lessons you’ve learned?
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:45:12:
Yeah, thank you. You think I would love, like, I think when I was listening to Evidence Based Birth®, Yeah, I was pregnant. And then you get into your postpartum and you almost forget what network you have. Like, okay, I know my key friends, or maybe I can’t talk to them right now. And I’m like, hey, save this for a rainy day and come back to it. Because I would absolutely love to be a part of anyone’s team who is especially struggling during postpartum. Instagram is probably the easiest way to find me. It’s @Camden_C3fit. And I have some stuff there by I coach online with nutrition, with strength training, and also just kind of performance based habit optimization. And so if yeah, if anyone wants to reach out, I would absolutely love to help empower you through that path.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:46:00:
Awesome. Thank you so much, Camden, for sharing your story with us.
Camden Crane Wachowiak – 00:46:03:
Thank you so much for having me here. It’s an honor. It’s great to, I know we’re not in person, but see you virtually after learning so much from you. So thank you so much for this opportunity.
Dr. Rebecca Dekker – 00:46:14:
This podcast episode was brought to you by the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class. This is Rebecca speaking. When I walked into the hospital to have my first baby, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Since then, I’ve met countless parents who felt that they too were unprepared for the birth process in navigating the healthcare system. The next time I had a baby, I learned that in order to have the most empowering birth possible, I needed to learn the evidence on childbirth practices. We are now offering the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class totally online. In your class, you will work with an instructor who will skillfully mentor you and your partner in evidence-based care, comfort measures, and advocacy so that you can both embrace your birth and parenting experiences with courage and confidence. Get empowered with an interactive online childbirth class you and your partner will love. Visit evidencebasedbirth.com/childbirth class to find your class now.
