Chinyere always wanted to be a mom. We’ve heard the saying “it takes a village”, and she immediately tapped into hers while embracing all things motherhood as a single woman. Outside of family and friends, she found community in support groups and knew early on the type of birth she wanted: unmedicated, low-intervention and at a birth center, if possible.
Chinyere had a pretty textbook pregnancy (outside of terrible insomnia) and as a bodybuilder, continued to strength train 3-4x/ week up until the week she gave birth. The day before Chinyere went into labor (38 + 6) was a pretty typical day. She had a visit with her doula and told her that she was going to go past 40 weeks, because everyone at her birth center said first time moms are usually late. Her doula laughed and insisted Chinyere was having the baby very soon. Outside of pelvic pressure, Chinyere didn’t feel like the baby was coming very soon. Little did she know… Later that evening around 11pm, Chinyere was at home unable to sleep and scrolling on social media. She came across a videographer’s page on Instagram and watched footage of a beautiful home birth. After the quick boost of positivity, She decided she’d finally try to sleep and as soon as she rolled over, there was a small trickle coming down her leg. Was this her water breaking? Are we having a baby soon?
Chinyere was excited yet nervous as she waddled to the bathroom and called the birth center’s on call midwife. She explained that she was pretty sure her water broke and there was a little color to it. She text a photo to the midwife and her midwife advised her to go ahead and head to the birth center. The color in the fluid raised Chinyere’s anxiety a bit, so with nothing but the clothes on her back, she left in a hurry and drove the 20 minutes to the birth center. Contractions had already started, but they were mild. She also called her doula and her best friend to update them.
Chinyere arrived at the birth center after midnight, and the midwife and nurse on call hooked her up to a machine to monitor the baby and fortunately everything was fine. Contractions were still manageable and Chinyere did not opt for a cervical check at this time. Shortly after that her best friend arrived. Chinyere tried different methods of laboring while in the birth center’s labor lounge as contractions picked up. Sometimes there was movement, sometimes stillness, and at at one point she even got in the shower. Her best friend was her support person through it all. At 39 weeks, after 8 hours of labor (including 45 min of pushing and only one cervical check) Chinyere welcomed her daughter into the world via water birth.
Chinyere Okoronkwo Bio
Chinyere lives in Kansas City with her daughter and cat and works full-time. In addition to being a mom, She’s a bodybuilder and aspiring author. She also enjoys traveling and hopes to share that with her daughter. You can connect with her on Instagram at @chinyere.ann_ipepro or email at Chinyere.ok992@gmail.com.
Resources
Anja Health
Today’s episode is sponsored by Anja Health, founded by Kathryn Cross in memory of her brother Andrew. After a near-drowning accident, Andrew was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and needed umbilical cord stem cells for treatment. Unfortunately, Kathryn’s parents couldn’t find a match. Kathryn founded Anja Health to help parents preserve umbilical cord and placenta stem cells at birth to potentially use for future disease treatment. Affordability was an important factor when establishing Anja Health and storage fees will range from $49-$99/mo depending on the plan you choose. You can get your collection kit for free today at AnjaHealth.com using the code BIRTHHOUR. Learn more about storage plans and cord blood banking at the end of this episode when I talk to Kathryn about her story and the founding of AnjaHealth.com
