Today we have one of my favorite type of episodes, a community birth story. Truly one of my favorite things is hearing the experience of someone going over the threshold into parenthood. I got to know my guest for today’s episode of Yoga| Birth| Babies Sophie Stalton, through 2 pregnancies. Her first as she crossed that threshold into parenthood and then coming back, seeing how she’s a different person and how she’s now navigating her 2nd pregnancy. At PYC we’ve had that honor for so many people, second, third, fourth, sometimes even fifth and sixth pregnancies. It’s incredible watching how that person continues to evolve so it’s really wonderful having Sophie back.
One really special thing that we talk about, people often say to me “How far can I practice prenatal yoga in my pregnancy?” and I say as long as you want. Something that happened during Sophie’s first pregnancy, I got an email in the morning right before I was about to teach one of my 10am classes, and she said “My water broke, can I come to class?” and I said “Absolutely.” And she did. It’s something that I share all of the time, so Sophie is often in my brain as I talk about prenatal yoga.
In today’s episode, Sophie shares her first and second birth experiences. She had an unplanned cesarean for her first and was hoping to have a vbac for her second. We talk a lot about how she made the decisions about vbac and cesarean, but also a lot about how people view cesarean. Sometimes cesareans are pooh-poohed upon or it’s almost like a runner up, and some people are traumatized by the idea of a c section, but what I really love about Sophie’s conversation is that we removed the stigma and celebrated that a cesarean birth or as some people call them belly births, its another option, another way that babies are born and families are made. We can celebrate modern medicine instead of thinking there’s a problem with it or your body failed you in some way. I really appreciate Sophie’s exploration of that idea and I hope that you appreciate it too.
In this episode you will learn:
- Learn about Sophie.
- As a fellow board game enthusiast her favorite board game.
- Sophie’s first birth.
- How Sophie felt about having an unplanned cesarean when she was hoping for a vaginal birth.
- How Sophie mentally prepared for her second birth knowing it could be a VBAC or another cesarean.
- Once Sophie realized she was not going to have a VBAC, how she surrendered and prepared for her planned cesarean.
- How her planned cesarean felt compared to her unplanned cesarean.
- Sophie’s second birth experience.
- Looking at the way the birthing world and media portray C-sections as being scary and traumatic.
- Some Pro-Tips Sophie would like to offer based on her two cesarean births.
- One final tip/piece of advice Sophie would like to offer new and expectant parents.
About Sophie:
Sophie lives on an organic fruit farm in New Hampshire where she grew up. Her role on the farm is to manage their barn venue, Air BnB, and to start the fruit popsicle side of their business. She has a masters in Sustainability from Harvard and is an Emmy nomiated filmmaker. Sophie likes dark chocolate and is a board game enthusiast.
- Don’t forget to grab your FREE guide, 5 Simple Solutions to the Most Common Pregnancy Pains HERE
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To connect with Deb and the PYC Community:
Instagram & Facebook: @prenatalyogacenter
Youtube: Prenatal Yoga Center
