My Maine Birth - Laura’s Pen Bay Medical Center Birth in Rockport, Maine Followed By A Maine Home Birth

Welcome to MyMaine Birth, a space where I share the real life stories of families and their unique birth experiences in the beautiful state of Maine. From our states biggest hospitals, to birth centers, and home births, every birth story deserves to be heard and celebrated. From the first feeling of pregnancy to the first cry of your newborn, we explore the journey of child birth in all of its beauty, intensity, and emotion. Whether you are a soon to be mom, seasoned mother, or simply interested in the world of birth, these episodes are for you!

If you or someone you know is expecting and would like to document the precious moments of meeting your baby for the first time, I highly recommend considering my central Maine Birth Photography services. I am a professional central Maine Birth photographer specializing in capturing the beauty and emotion of birth. I also provide every family with a treasured keepsake to cherish for years to come. I create a personalized and intimate photo album with every birth photography session!

It was a pleasure to talk with Laura, a Maine Doula, as she shared her two Maine Birth stories on the Podcast today. She share her two Maine Birth stories with us, the first is with the care of the midwives at PenBay Medical Center in Rockport, Maine, and the second is a home-birth story, including a certified professional midwife. Laura and her husband, Steve, live in Fairfield, Maine, with their two incredible children, now aged 15 and 13.

I also offer Coastal Maine Maternity Portraits and Fresh 48 newborn sessions. I would love to chat more with you! Click here to find more information on my services https://www.mymainephoto.com/birthphotography and schedule a complimentary zoom consultation with me.

Keep scrolling for a transcription of this week’s podcast right here!

Angela: So to get started will you share a little bit about you and your family

Laura: Sure, I would love to. My name is Laura Duffy, my husband Steve and I have two beautiful, amazing young ladies - they are now 15 and 13. It has been a very interesting, wonderful amazing experience.

Angela: And your in Fairfield, Maine?

Laura: Yes, so we are in very central Maine right next to Waterville.

Angela: Alright, will you share when you found out you were pregnant with your oldest daughter?

Laura: Yeah, so we were very lucky in all aspects. We found out that we were pregnant, we were very excited. I had already been working with some midwives for my other women things. We were actually living in Rockport, Maine at the time so we were working with the midwives at PenBay Hospital. It was just incredible. I was just like - hey I’m pregnant. And they are like - That’s awesome. And so we went from there.

Angela: So what types of tests did you do, and what did your prenatal care look like over there?

Laura: That is a really good question. When we were pregnant with our first child, I definitely was not in the birth world - and now I am over 10 years into the birth world. It was having our first birth experience that got me there. So we did the usual, we went and did the ultrasound - I always find it funny now talking about the glucose test that they do. We were the couple that were going to the hospital that people couldn’t understand why we were going to the hospital because we seemed like the “hippy people”, but I really didn’t know anything outside of the hospital - I didn’t know anyone who had home births or even birth center births. So I was just really lucky to find Maine midwives who appreciated that we were more natural folk, and they just really worked with us on that - which was good. So yeah, we did the usual testing, really just the glucose and the ultrasounds. But the midwives were really great.

Angela: Did you find out the gender?

Laura: We did! Which I think is always such a great question. I think it is amazing if people are able to wait, I think that’s incredible. I had a friend tell me years ago, before having a baby, because you know - you want to wait for the big surprise - and they were like, it’s a big surprise regardless of when you find out. So we were find, finding out. So we found out we were having a little girl, and we chose her name, and so it just was really nice. It is beautiful both ways, of course, but it was really nice just to be able to talk to her as Autumn. So that was really cool.

Angela: So when did your labor start and how did your birth experience with Autumn go?

Laura: Again, prior to having a baby, I really didn’t know much about having a baby. So thankfully, we were just in this excellent care of Maine midwives. They recommended the hypno-birthing class - they were offering the class at the hospital - so we took the hypno-birthing class - and we learned so much from it. Because I didn’t know much about birth, but I knew I wanted it to be “natural” whatever that means - because that means something different to everybody. But basically, I didn’t want any drugs, and I didn’t want any interventions really, and then I wanted to breastfeed. So we took the class, and it was incredible. It just made sense. It just worked with what we already felt about birth - which wasn’t much - but it just worked. I had a really great pregnancy. I didn’t have a lot of discomfort with pregnancy, so that was awesome. It was kind of funny, because when I realized it was going to be the day ish, we were both working full time still, so I knew things were happening - I could feel it in my cervix - which I hadn’t felt in 9 months, I was like wow I feel something. But I still went to work, and even when my water broke at work, I didn’t go right to the hospital - I was like, I learned in my class as long as there is no odor and no color I don’t have to go right in - so I learned a lot from the class. We labored at home for quite a while. My first birth was a rather long birth, all together from beginning to end it was about 50 hours. So not the longest on record, but pretty long for a first time mom. But 12 hours was just going to work, going home, hanging out there and then going to the hospital. And we waited for the 4-1-1 where you have one wave every four minutes for about a minute. So that was kind of our goal.

Angela: So how long after your water broke did you go to the hospital?

Laura: It was probably about 4 hours after the water broke. I knew that things were happening, 6am I felt something in my cervix - I went to work. Around 1-2pm my water broke and it wasn’t like the big gush, it was more like the drizzle - so I went home. Then we went to the hospital around 6pm. Then we were in active labor for the next 38 hours.

Angela: Oh-boy, so how did that all go once you got to the hospital.

Laura: So it was very interesting, we learned a lot. We basically got to the hospital and we knew my water had already broken. We were waiting for the waves to be more regular. They did the cervical check, and we were new parents and we didn’t know much about birthing. But they were like I was maybe 1cm, which is not what you want. So the short story is we ended up having scar tissue that nobody knew about. Because if you have had any type of surgery or anything going on down around your cervix then you may not be aware you may have scar tissue. So on a positive note, it’s nice to let people know sometimes this may happen and you might have scar tissue from some procedures.

So basically, I labored for 24 hours with no dilation and nobody knew what was going on. The hospital didn’t know what was going on, we didn’t know what was going on. But from what we had learned in the class, with the breathing techniques with the breathing techniques and the confidence in the body, it was like basically if baby is good and I am good then we don’t have a reason to do anything. If it becomes to a point where I am not in control, then yes, if I’m not able to handle it anymore. So basically we went 24 hours, and at one point they said - we were wrong, at one point we thought you were 1cm but you actually don’t have any dilation at all. And so that was really quite disheartening, but when I tell my story in the classes that I teach, because again, I teach birthing classes - this is a story to empower - it’s going to sound scary but it has a great ending. So we labored, and labored and labored, and I breathed through every wave and my husband was beside me. The hospital staff was insanely amazing, and I didn’t have any fear of the hospital - so I wasn’t in that fear zone. So they were totally relaxed with me and I was totally relaxed with them. And then finally a nurse was like, you must have scar tissue because clearly you are in labor - your body is doing what it is supposed to do - your not dilating. So she actually manually with her hand - after asking permission - she manipulated the scar tissue and we were able to progress from there. And as soon as she did that I was instantly at 2cm.

Angela: So because of the scar tissue you weren’t dilating?

Laura: So I wasn’t opening at all, there was 0 dilation. And so when she was able to manipulate the scar tissue, I was instantly 2cm. And I have learned so much, and you can learn so much from everyone’s birth story which is why I love that you are doing this. You can learn so much. A lot of people have had procedures like that, so just to make them aware if you have had this procedure you might have scar tissue, everything is fine, these are some things you can do. So she manually manipulated the scar tissue and then I was 2cm. And I talk a lot in my classes about breathing baby out, rather than pushing baby out.

We still had a really good experience, we did the good ol’ fashion “push”. Which took longer than if we had breathed, but then again, you basically do the best you can with the information you have. She came out, 8pounds 7 oz. I didn’t have any tears, or any stitches. It was just amazing. And the Maine midwives were great. Everyone was so understanding. They were like we’re here for you - if you need us, we are here for you - and if you don’t need us, we aren’t going to force anything on you. So when she was finally born on 7:57 on a Friday morning, I just felt like everyone needs to know they can have such a calm birth experience. I had such a calm birth experience, like it was long, but we were so relaxed the whole time, we were breathing, we were just hanging out - a lot of birth is just hanging out and just passing the time - so that’s really just what made me decide to get into the birth world.

Angela: So how did your postpartum time with Autumn go?

Laura: Again, super lucky! They offered a breastfeeding course at the hospital but we didn’t take it. My friend just said “It’s breastfeeding, it’s natural, you just do it”. Which I get, and there can be some tricks to it, for sure. We had this awesome nurse after Autumn was born - and she was the nurse, she wasn’t a lactation consultant that I knew of - she was just my nurse on duty, and she just showed me a couple of things. And I guess my biggest issue with breastfeeding, was that I didn’t have an issue with breastfeeding so I didn’t go to the breastfeeding group. I was actually just talking to a mom before I came to this podcast tonight, and I’m like - even if you aren’t having issues breastfeeding - you go to the group, so that you can meet other parents. So that was the thing. I didn’t have any physical or emotional issues with breastfeeding. It was more just the change of life, like your entire world changes. And you know it, but you can’t possibly know it. And so that’s why I think there definitely needs to be more there for the postpartum piece. I love birth, I love talking birth I love teaching birth, and there is so much more that needs to be done with the postpartum.

It was very funny - both of my sisters were pregnant with me - when I was pregnant with my first they were pregnant with their fourth. So I did have a good support group, it was amazing.

Angela: So can you tell me about when you found out you were pregnant the second time?

Laura: So that was funny in an opposite way - So I got pregnant and then we moved to Florida and then back again. So we were like, we already had a baby, it already went amazingly, so we kind of planned on birthing at PenBay again, but we had moved so we were in Fairfield now. We did go to a couple of appointments, but again we had already had a baby, so we were like - we know what we’re doing. And then I actually got trained to teach birthing classes when I was 8 months pregnant. So I went to this week long training in Massachusetts when I was 8 months pregnant and I came back ready for a home birth at that point. So I came back, with my toddler with my baby in my belly, 8 months pregnant - and my husband was already one hundred percent on board for a Maine home birth, so we found a Maine home birth midwife so it was great.

It was funny, because we went to Belfast, and we didn’t know, now I know that there are home birth midwives 10 minutes down the road - but I didn’t know at that point. My husband had passed by this office, because he worked on the coast and was like - I think I saw a sign. And I am so thankful, because they were amazing. So I just kind of called them and gave them my story, and said we would like to do a home birth and kind of went from there. They were absolutely incredible, they took us on. I love it, because the sugar/glucose thing, they were just like - just go have a nice big breakfast and come see us. You don’t have to drink that sugar thing, just like eat what you normally eat and come see us and we will test your sugar kind of a thing. So that was really cool.

Angela: So how did your labor start this time?

Laura: So it was a cute story! With your second baby they generally expect it to go a little more quickly. My husband was traveling with work so he was actually supposed to be going on a 4 night overnight trip to an island off the coast of Maine. I called my midwives, it was like 7am, and I’m on the phone with them telling them that he is all packed and I have had spotting, my mucous plug had come out - which was totally normal everything was fine. And so I had them on the phone, and they said - ok, this is your second baby, your close to your expectant date, you’ve had spotting, your mucous plug has come out - I wasn’t having any waves at that point, but they’re like - Yeah, we don’t think he should go anywhere. That was at 7am and she was born at 4:16 that afternoon. And it was also just incredible. Every piece was just perfect. My neighbor came over to keep me company. Because you do whatever you are normally going to do, before you have a baby - take care of loose ends or whatever. So my husband was out taking care of loose ends, and my neighbor was keeping me company. When my husband got back he was like so how close are the waves? I was doing my best to not pay attention, because I didn’t want to stress out - focusing on the clock. So I was like, ahh they come they go. But my neighbor was like - they’re close Steve, they’re very close, you need to call the midwifes right now!

I went upstairs at about noon or shortly after, the midwives got there around that same time. Your mind does that thing, because your busy birthing a human being so you aren’t a hundred percent, looking at the clock. It was a funny experience because at this point I had taken a class, I had a baby and then I got trained to teach people how to have babies - so I felt like quite the professional - and I was not in the right birthing position at all. I was basically sitting on her head, waiting for her to be born. And I finally agreed to go to the bathroom, which is extremely important when one is laboring. And when I got up to go to the bathroom her head was ready to come out. So we waddled back to the bedroom and I love the birthing stool! I can’t say enough good things about the birthing stool - you get to sit and have your baby and she just came out so quickly - it was just so amazing. Pretty incredible. And it was funny, because I knew I wasn’t going to have this scar tissue situation again, but I was in my head - because that’s what laboring moms do - you’ll be talkative and then you’ll be less talkative and then you’ll just be in your head, because labor gets really intense. But I finally got up to go to the bathroom, and she was like, nope I’m ready to com right now, so pretty perfect.

Angela: So how did postpartum go this time around?

Laura: It was amazing! I gave myself a lot of more leeway with having the second child - having already had a first child who was now a toddler. My midwives basically said if we come to your house for a follow-up and all of your dishes are clean, that means you aren’t doing your job. You job is to take care of yourself. Not that my house was messy, but they were like - it’s a big deal having a baby and you need to take care of yourself. So everybody asked me, what are you going to do when you have a second child, and I was like - I’m going to nap. They always tell you when the baby naps, you nap. And I know every mom is different. When I was a first time mom, when the baby napped I was like oh I should do the dishes, I should do the laundry, I’m going to do all these things. And with my second I was just like, nope, she’s asleep - I’m going to lay on the couch for a little while. So I was really a lot more gentle with myself. And her big sister was just such a great helper. It was just really awesome. And I was very blessed to have a really great support group. Breastfeeding went really well. Then you just find your way as a mom and you find your library and other moms who all have kids around the same age, and you just search them out so you can all stay sane together - raising children!

Angela: So you are also a birth and postpartum doula, and you focus on teaching birth education classes. And you recently created an online version of your course, can you tell me more about all that?

Laura: So I was teaching birthing classes, when I was pregnant for the second time that’s when I was trained for that so it was great. I did teach birthing classes at that point. I really love the teaching because I love to talk about birth, I love to just listen and hear and talk and share and all of the things. So I was a stay at home mom and I wanted to do something, because I had always worked - but I wanted to do something I loved and I still wanted to be home so I could be with the girls. And they told me at the hospital I could learn how to teach because I was so excited about my birth. So I went and I got trained to teach birthing classes. And once you start down that path you just meet so many people who do so many things. I had heard about what a doula was, but I didn’t appreciate it as much as I should have - but again, I wasn’t afraid of the hospital, I had a partner by my side, I had an amazing hospital birth - which I did not know was unheard of. So when I heard about the doula side of things, then I thought well that would be a great way to get more education for myself. Then as soon as I did that, then people that I worked with teaching classes, wanted me to be their doula. So it worked well that way. That was when I became a labor and birth doula. And then I was watching a video - a documentary with Ina May Gaskin in it - and she was talking about the postpartum piece and how so much focus is on the birth - which is incredible - but then you have a baby, and women are just left by themselves with this baby. And historically, you would have a village and a grandma and a mom and an auntie. But we live all over the place now, and we don’t have that support system. So that’s when I decided to become a postpartum doula, and I hosted a training in the area - I had someone come in from Massachusetts - so we got a few postpartum doulas, which was great. But the more I met with people the more I realized that as far as the online class that I have - the first class that I was teaching was a five week class, but it was hard to schedule - it’s important - but it’s hard to schedule and it’s hard to get a bunch of people to sign up for the same class. So I had a friend say to me, I have a friend and she’s pregnant and she would like to talk to you. And she said, can you just come over and we will cook you dinner and we will talk birth. And I said yes, that sounds fabulous. And that’s when I created a nuts and bolts, like the most important things I can possibly teach you in a short amount of time class, and then I follow up with lots of more information in person. But that’s how that started, I was like - that’s exactly what I want to do, I just want to talk birth with people and just do my own thing. And that worked great. Then luckily, I have a pretty tech savvy husband who encouraged me to do an online course. Because I can do in person classes or I can do online classes, but to be able to download the videos and then do a follow up chat with questions. You want to be going though this with your partner, so doing the online versions you can both be going through it at your own pace with whoever is going to be supporting you at the birth. You want your partner or support person to help you as well. That being said, people do still love the in person classes, because it is birth, it is so intimate. So being able to have that one on one is pretty special. But I just want people to know that their birth can be amazing, and they don’t need to be afraid and they just need to educate themselves and find their support system, and they can do it!

Angela: Great, so what is the best way to get ahold of you?

Laura: You can go to https://www.mainelybirthing.com My gmail is mainelybirthing@gmail.com. I am also on Facebook and Instagram, but I don’t always get the messages on there, so emailing is definitely the best way to go.

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mainelybirthing/?hl=en

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MainelyBirthing/

Angela: Thank you so much Laura for sharing your birth stories today!

Laura: of course, thank you so much for reaching out and for having me. I listened to all of your podcasts and just love them, I love what you are doing and it is really important work, so thank you!

And thats the end of another MyMaine Birth Podcast! Thank you for joining me. I hope the stories shared here have been inspiring and informative for all of my listeners.

If you are looking to document your own birth story I highly recommend considering my central Maine Birth Photography services. I am a skilled professional central Maine Birth Photographer and am very passionate about capturing the raw and emotional moments of the birthing process. I also design a personalized and intimate photo album, creating a beautiful and lasting memory of one of the most special moments of your life. For more information on Birth Photographer in Central Maine head over to https://www.mymainephoto.com/birthphotography and schedule a complimentary zoom consultation with me.

If you are interested in sharing your birth story on the MyMaine Birth Podcast click here to fill out the contact form and submit your request to be a guest. https://www.mymainephoto.com/mymainebirth. To show my appreciation to all of my podcast guests, each family will receive a gift certificate good for one Family Adventure Photo Session with Maine Photo. I was able to catch up with Laura and her family for sunrise at the Beach in Camden for her daughter Autumn’s senior portraits during the late summer this year! If you are interested in being a guest on the podcast, you can also message me on Instagram @mymainebirth

Thank you for tuning in and I look forward to bringing you more amazing birth stories. Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! And I will see you back here again, next week!