Episode 23: What 10 Kids Taught This Doula About Birth - Part 1

Tracee’s Journey from Obstetric Birth to Free Birth PART 1

In this episode of the Birth Like a Mammal™ podcast, host Lindsay Askins sits down with Tracee Schaeffer, a former doula client, now a BLAM team member, a Mother of 10, a doula, and one of Lindsay's dearest friends. They discuss in detail Tracee's extensive and varied birthing experiences: Tracee has birthed ten babies every way possible from unmedicated hospital births, inductions, home births, and Cesareans. She shares with us her insights on how different care scenarios impacted her postpartum and Mothering experiences. 

They recount stories from Tracee's pregnancies, from a traumatic hospital induction with her third child to a planned home birth that ended in an emergency Cesarean of twins. This episode highlights the importance of care providers, the mental shifts required for each new birth experience, and how Tracee navigated her journey from conventional medical practices to trusting her instincts in home births without midwives. They also touch on Tracee's inspiration to become a doula and the impact of her and LIndsay's advocacy work. This episode is a deep dive into maternal health, birthing choices, and the powerful journey of Motherhood, doula work and friendship.

This recording is divided into two episodes, 23 and 24. We try to keep our episodes an hour or less in consideration of all that Mothers juggle on a daily basis! Join us next week for Part 2! 

Key Takeaways:

1. Young Mothers have the hardest time making decisions for themselves and their babies during pregnancy and labor. 
2. A Mother's postpartum experience is directly related to the care she receives during labor and birth. 
3. Birth trauma is rooted in coercion, manipulation, threats, and loss of control and autonomy. 
4. Mothers and families must take back birth into their own power and decision making - nobody is going to hand it to us. 

Notable Quotes from Tracee:

• " I've had quite the progression from going from hospital birth to having unassisted home births....having hospital medicated birth, I've had two different types of Cesareans." 
• “The nurse told me to stop laughing because she was coming out......I literally laughed my first one out.” 
• “Being induced will make it really easy to find someone to watch your other kids.” - male OB to Tracee
• “That induction was awful, was horrible....They gave me zero information [regarding cytotec].” 
• "And that's when I told them, 'I only want to see a midwife'." 
• "Because of the relationship we had, because she built this trust with me, and she never broke it.....when she tell me, 'abandon ship', I believe her, and I'm fine with that."