Pregnancy and Birth Stories Series Part 6c

Yá’át’ééh! Happy New Year’s Eve! We are happy to announce the final part of the sixth release of our birthing series featuring our special guest, Karla Peaches. Ms. Peaches is a Diné woman, mother, doula, and peer lactation counselor. Her story is released in 3 parts: preconception, pregnancy, and postpartum. In this last episode, she will be sharing her postpartum journey after giving birth at home, reflecting on all the resources and people who supported her during her beautiful journey, and much more!

We want to thank Karla for sharing her story and experiences. We hope you enjoy listening to part three, and don’t forget to tune in parts one and two if you have not already.  

Disclaimer: We’d like to let our audience know that these birthing stories include real people with real stories and may include topics on traumatic pregnancy and birthing experiences leading to loss of life, miscarriage, depression, suicide, and grief. If you are listening, please take breaks as needed. 

Check out our social media pages!

Facebook: @Navajo Maternal and Child Health Project at Diné College

Instagram: @navajomch

Please email us if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions: navajomchproject@dinecollege.edu

This podcast was sponsored by the Arizona Department of Health Services through federal funding from the Health Resources & Services Administration, with support from the Navajo Native American Research Centers for Health (NARCH) Partnership between Diné College and Northern Arizona University through federal funding from the National Institute of Health’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences, award number S06GM142121. The views expressed are the sole responsibility of the program staff and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Arizona Department of Health Services or the United States Government.

Transcript

Intro [00:00:05] Yeah. Welcome to the Maternal and Child Health podcast, where we discuss maternal and child health topics and provide strategies for improving the health of Navajo families.   Amá dóó áłchíní ats’íís baa áháyá baa yadelti. 

[00:00:23] Welcome back, listeners. Thank you for tuning in to the Healthy Navajo K'é podcast. I am your co-host, DeeDee James. This is part three of our Birth Story series with our special guest, Karla Peaches. She will be taking us along her postpartum journey after giving birth at home. If you missed parts one and two, please listen to them first. Miss Peaches reflects back on all the resources and people she met throughout her pregnancy journey. Before I let her start- just a reminder that this episode is the continuation of a new series about pregnancy and birthing experiences. The purpose of these episodes are to provide a space for birthing families to share their stories, in the hopes that it will help other birthing families to be informed about ways that pregnancy and birthing occurs. Before we begin, we'd like to let our audience know that these birthing stories include real people with real stories and may include topics on traumatic pregnancy and birthing experiences leading to the loss of life, miscarriage, depression, suicide, and grief. So please take breaks as needed if these topics are too much for you to handle. Please join us again for our next episode, and take care of yourself in the meantime. So, without further ado, please welcome back Karla Peaches. 

Karla Peaches [00:01:38] Ya'at'eeh. Shi ei Karla Peaches yinishyé. Ma'ii Deeshgiizhnii nishłí. Tó'ahaní bashichiin. Táchii'nii dashicheii. Tł'ízí łání dashinali. Tó Dínéeshzhee'dęę nashá.  Hello everyone. My name is Karla Peaches. I am Diné and my hometown is located in Kayenta, Arizona. So today I'm really grateful for Navajo Healthly K'é to be opening this space for me to tell my story. So if you have for listening to part six of Healthy Navajo K'é  pregnancy and birthing stories. And today I will share my story and experiences of my pregnancies. We'll start off by. Oh man, it just felt so great to be able to have a home birth and not to have like nurses or any of like the doctors, midwives, pediatrician, lactation consultant if they were available. But like having them constantly come into the room and checking up on baby and me. And so and I remember like the whole birth team, they were there until like 3 or 4 in the morning because my baby was born like around 10:21 at night. And so they were really cleaning up and making sure baby and I are doing good, making sure I like, peed okay, I went poop, walking good. I'm like the bed to the bathroom and I drinking and holding down my liquids and my food and baby's okay. And like even then, being able to support my family like my mom and my sister. And one thing that really stood out to me was how there was a point where in labor, where you got intense, that Caetano walked out of the room and she went into her own room. And then my sister was like, after us. I went into the room to check on Kitana and see how she was doing, and I'm like, whoa. Like I didn't even recognize. I didn't even notice. And so like, that really brought a lot of, like, comfort to me to know, like Teresa being like one of the birth workers there, like she was, just was not only supporting me, but she was there to support Kitana as well. And then I remember like when everyone was like, okay, like, we are leaving now, you're doing good. And I was like, I'll be back tomorrow. I'm going to come check on you and baby, see how you're all doing. Make sure you're resting, stay hydrated. If anything happens, if anything occurs, like call me, don't text me, call me. Like, yeah, in the game 24 hours a day, three days again, and then within one week. And these are all like at home visits. And so we were able to talk about how I was feeling, how I was doing and how baby's doing. And she started developing jaundice like a little bit of jaundice. And she was like, okay, make sure she gets sun, make sure she is drinking plenty of breast milk. Make sure like on demand and. I was just like, okay. I just felt really good to be able to have like my mom, my sister there as well. Like one week after her birth and Teresa would stop by she would drop off some meals for us and oh my gosh, like, her food she dropped off was so good. It was so delicious. And one week came and my mom and my sister were like, okay, we have to go home. We have to go check on things back at home, but we need to do my mom's like, I'll be back out next week. And and so after that, Teresa would stop by and then O.C. would stop by. I was like, my postpartum dolua And so funny because when O.C. would stop by, I would already straighten up things. So when she would come, she's like, why is it clean? Why is your place clean? I was supposed to do the dishes. I was supposed to, like, go and do your laundry. I was supposed to clean for you. Like you go take a shower. You do this and like Karla, like, let me do that, and it's okay. And, like, you don't have to host me. I'm supposed to be here. I'm supposed to take care of you. So that way you can take care, baby. And I was just like, okay, so we would just talk sometime. There are times I'm like, can you do this? Or, like, can you give me groceries? And can you watch baby while I go take a shower? And she's like, yeah. And I said, it was so nice to be able to have like O.C. come over and like Teresa would come and Teresa like asked , is it okay if I bring my daughter, Spirit in. And I was like, yeah, oh yes, of course you can bring her. And so whenever she would have her visits was when Kitana would come back from school. And so they Kitana and Spirit, they would play together and and like, it was just so amazing to be able to have them both come for Kitana, to have that support, to play with someone her own age. And because I know Kitana was like, it's always about my baby sister and like, what about me? And so for Spirit to come and she was like a little doula as well. And so I really enjoyed having Teresa and Spirit come and visit, to stop by, to drop off food for us and for me to do what I needed to do and to rest. And it was just really good. And I remember like my next two postpartum visits, they were all at home. And I remember for my six week checkup, it was supposed to be at the office, but then that time I was like, no, like things came up, I'm able to come to you. And so we ended up having another appointment  after only six weeks, and that one was at the office. And so it was really nice to be able to to have all those postpartum visits and to have doulas, to have my family be there. The amount of support that I had, especially for Katana as well, to let her know like that, she is supported and letting her know that she is important as well. It was just like everything just happened the way I wanted to from like the home birth to like the postpartum and it was just amazing now, like thinking back on it. And I'm so glad and so grateful that I was able to to have all of that. And I remember when it came time for me to start leaving the house to do my own grocery shopping. And when I'm picking up Katana, we're going back to doing our daily walks. And I started utilizing the robo. So from from Maria, from her company, I remember Sympathy Collective shared a post about like a baby wearing 101, and it was with the Denise. They have their Instagram known as not your average Ohana. And so I applied and I got the scholarship to attend the virtual workshop for free. I remember like going in detail about like the different baby wearing, like the ring sling or like buckle carriers or boso. And she was just naming different kind of brands of how to use them, like the proper way to have a baby. Everything like it was just amazing. She was like, you know, we were able to receive donations for some baby wearing items. Which one would you like? And so she was showing me and I was like, oh, like, I've always wanted a buckle carry. And it was a Tula baby carrier. And so she was like, I can meet up with you and I can drop off these, like where we can. And so we ended up meeting and her husband was with her and. So to be able to meet Denise and Phil and for them to show me everything that they ended up giving me more baby wearing items because I was just like, yeah, like I'm a birth worker. Like I've always wanted to learn more about different baby wearing items. Like, I wasn't really able to do that with my first daughter. And so they were just like, oh yeah, this is what we talked about. They gave me like a ring sling, they gave me the buckle carrier, they gave me extra rings to do utilize, like with the roboso. So, I know they gave me like, another carrier and I was just like, oh my gosh. Like a lot like, what ? You are going to give me this. And she's like, I know you're going to be utilizing it like in your birth work. And she's like, I want to give these to you. Moving forward. Like now as a full spectrum doula, as a lactation counselor, I do utilize these, like when we have like lactation support circles with like the Navajo Breastfeeding Coalition or even doing visits with my clients. And we talk about different carriers and to be able to utilize these gifts with baby wearing items that Denise and Phil gifted to me, I just like, oh my gosh, it's all coming full circle. Because if it weren't for Maria and Denise showing me how to use a roboso, so I don't know how I would have been able to to get through doing my homework, doing my studying, my exams,  my quizzes late at night because my daughter knew that I wasn't there. She didn't want to be in her cradleboard and even though, like I would have her in a cradle and she'd be sitting on my lap while I'm doing whatever I needed to do on my laptop. So she wanted me to be holding her. She wanted to be next to me. And so I would put the roboso on and I would have her just like up against my chest, and she would just be asleep. Oh man, it felt so good because no one could touch her like no one could even let me see you baby. Or oh, I need you babies hand, let me touch babies feet. So like just to be able to have her in  the roboso, it really brought me comfort. And I feel like it really helped with preventing me developing postpartum anxiety and postpartum depression. I'm just so grateful. So, so, so grateful for Denise. And like she still reaches out as well. And so I was able to teach my family had to baby  wear as well. So they were able to do it and we still do baby wearing. And she is now over two years old and she loves it. And I remember like because I was part of like a home visiting program as well through health start at Native Health. And I enrolled while I was still pregnant. And so I participated in like this safe sleep class, car seat education. And they have like mental health workshops. And it was a really good refresher to have all of that, knowing that, like cradle boards are known as a safe sleep device if they're used correctly. And so I remember after having baby my home visit her, Mikayla, it just felt so great to have visits with her, even though they were virtually. It just felt so good to talk to an adult. And she would just listen. Like during our visits, she would ask me questions and I would just be talking and we would have really good conversation, and then we would go into or visit for the baby. And it was just amazing. And then she left her position and my new home visitor was Kristy. She was amazing. She was so positive and like, you're doing an amazing job. And so like, I'm really thankful for the both of them because I know if it weren't for them, if it weren't for our virtual visits, I feel like those symptoms were like postpartum anxiety, postpartum depression with a pick, because I remember I did get a bit of baby blues and like just talking about it. Like, it felt good, it felt great to talk about. And I'm just so, so grateful for all of the support that I've had, like from preconception to now, because even when I was pregnant, I still receive chiropractic care and Doctor Lena utilize the Webster technique and oh, that's so amazing. And acupuncture like for my stress and like for my grief. And I remember I had my last appointment before going into labor and I was like 30, 34, 35 weeks. So it was really great. And I remember I utilized like the lotion bars from Morning Miss Sokol, or like, my pregnant belly and, oh, we're just smelt so good. And it just made my belly so soft. And so I was like, and was like, this really helped me throughout my pregnancy. Like your lotion bar, your massage oil. And she goes, oh my gosh. She's like, I can't believe they use my items during your home birth. Like during your labor and delivery. And it was just like really great. And I'm so thankful for like the whole my whole birth team and freedom and to see and like Wendy, Wendy , Muhammad, Morgan like she at the time she was a student midwife and now she is a CPN and she's a licensed midwife. She has her own business called Tree of Life Midwifery. And for Teressa to be there now, like we still see Teresa at birth worker trainings, lactation trainings in the valley and like Sympathy collective events. And so to be able to see her and for her to see like baby growing and Katana growing and it's just always great to be able to see all of them and to still go to like the midwife office because I know, like in the midwife office, the whole postpartum circles and those postpartum circles of like I went to, I don't know how many I went to and baby and I we would just go and just be at the postpartum circles talking to different moms and all the different babies. And, it was so amazing just to be around different moms. And we're going through the same thing, or talking about how we're feeling, like what we're going through. And Wendy being able to create that space for us. And support circles are. Sometimes like, no, I'm fine, I'm okay. And so it would be really nice to have that, especially here back at home on the reservation. I don't know how it would go, but that would be really great to have. Like, I'm so glad that I have the accessibility to the care that I have. And from prenatal appointments, being able to switch providers,and each provider during my prenatal visits, asking about my mental health, me being able to have accessibility to a counselor and for it to be covered through my insurance and to have like a home birth and for a  collective to have created this birth one to fund my home birth in items that I needed postpartum, and for the Navajo Breastfeeding Coalition to have funding for electric breast pumps because they were able to give me one through their electric breast pump funding. And for the many birth workers and everyone that I meant, like being able to be there to like give me support. And just like, even if it was just like seeing them in person for that moment and it was just amazing. And my family and I, we still talk about it and like, oh, how's this person doing or ? because my family, they come with me to like Birth Worker events and they're like, oh my gosh, we saw so and so and they want to know how you're doing. It's really great. So like how we came up with our baby's name. So her name is Leilani Nancy like Peaches throughout my pregnancy. Like it was always a roller coaster. There was always different things happening easily emotional roller coaster. And I always had oceans of emotions. Like every time, whenever I felt sad or I felt down, baby was always there to a kick or be like Hey  mom, I'm here like, you're going to do fine, you're okay. And like, every time we would go for a walk or we would be outside, like to the park near our home, or even when I'm on campus or just out and about, I would always smell flowers. I don't know what it was, but like, I could smell flowers. Even if it was like half a mile away. I'd be like, what is that smell like? That smells so good? And and just the smell of the flowers from where we lived in, like in Tempe and Phoenix. It just made me so happy. And just like, feeling the oxytocin, like, now that I'm thinking like, oh, do I smell? And I remember every time that I would walk to the park next to our home, I could hear the birds in the trees. And so I would listen to them, or I'm like, stretching on the grass at the park and doing my deep breathing. Did my diaphragmatic breathing or journaling and smelling the various flowers, the citrus trees and palo verde and the aroma during like this springtime going into the summer. And that all of it smells so good. Walking past certain gardens that had hibiscus flowers. And I was like, oh, like every time I smell flowers. It just reminded me of Chanel because she would always get flowers and she received flowers as gifts. Like, I don't know how, but she would make them last like they would live for quite a few weeks. And there were certain lotions that she had that had fragrances like the smell of flowers. And so whenever I did smell like the flowers, it reminded me of them. And baby would just start kicking like and kicking so much. And like, I know it can smell like, can you feel mommy being happy? And so that's why I named her Leilani. So means like in Hawaiian, like heavenly flowers and not eland and Navajo means rainbow. And so Leilani is the rainbow after the storm. So that's how I picked out her name and her pregnancy, her birth and everything about her. It just has been so healing, not only for me, but for my family as well. Like to see my dad holding her when she was a newborn because I know with Katana he was so scared hold to Katana because she was small and I mean, they weighed about the same. They were about the same length, but she was just like he would hold Leilani. He sings to her and he still does. He holds her, he sings to her, he shows her, he talks to her. Just to be able to see that side of my dad. Like I never saw growing up. And just him being so affectionate and so loving and so patient with her. And now they're like best buds. And she's always like, changing. We do something she tells on us. And to see my mom like the bond that she has with Leilani and my mom is there for both of my births, and she has a special bond with my girls and like my sisters as well. And for Keesha to be there during my prenatal visit to labor and delivery to postpartum, I tell her, like, girl like you're a doula, like your doula, but you did it all like you're full spectrum. And she just like laughing like, what no,  I need to take training. I'm like, no, you're doula, like you're lactation peer counselor. And like with my sister Audrey as well, she was there and she is the one who advocated for me for Katanas birth and the hospital like, no, she is going to eat my sisters hungry. She's going to eat like she's thirsty. She's going to drink some water, like she's going to be pushing out a baby. She needs all the energies that she needs and like, she needs to go to the restroom. She's going to go to the restroom. Like you're not going to make her, like, stay on the bed. Just her being like my lactation counselor. Like, even though I had the lactation consultant come in and my sister's like, nope, nope, nope. Okay, this is how we're going to do it. We need pillows. These are the different positions. Make sure you do this. And like, okay, after you have baby you're going to eat. You're going to eat this food. Like you're not going to have ice after you have baby. You're going to have something warm like your body just had a baby. Why do you want your body to have to go and warm up your food after you've eaten anything while you're digesting, like you want to give your body your rest, you're going to drink some warm liquids. You're going to have this. And so I always tell my family you guys are doulas and tbirth workers. You don't need training. You don't need a certificate. Yeah. So, like, I would just like to be able to see my family heal. Like, after the passing ocean. My son and I listen. Its just like every time we hear the kids laugh and, just brings, like, so much warmth to our heart. And I know, like, one of the questions that you did ask was what message or what advice would you give to individuals who are pregnant? Or couples who are expecting a baby? And for me, advice for new parents is ask questions. Ask questions about prenatal appointments, ask about your lab work, or ask their provider to talk about each item of your lab work and like your ultrasounds or different testing that you have to do. Even if you have questions between prenatal appointments like write them down like have a a certain notebook and just start writing things down like you and your partner, or even the questions that your family or your friends ask. And you're like, you know what? I don't know, like, I want to ask that question and so have a notebook or even have a certain note in your phone, like with an app where you can write notes down. Seek resources within your area, within your county, within your state, within your city or town where like birth workers, doulas, lactation counselors, lactation consultants, different home visiting programs where you can find like car seat education classes because sometimes you can get a free car seat after you participate. Safe sleep classes. Sometimes you can get a brand new pack and play, or even just like a meal train like where people go and sign up for food to drop off or to send money. So that way you can order food and different food distributions as well. And like creating your postpartum plan, because I know we always talk about our birth plan, but we don't really talk about our postpartum. Like what kind of meals do you want? Like what kind of drinks do you want to be drinking? Who do you want in your labor and delivery to? Do you want postpartum? How do you want your postpartum to be? And even seeking out like maternal child health programs as well. Which public health programs? Communication is key. Like communicate to where both you and your partner are able to understand one another. And because sometimes you need to explain something differently for your partner to understand or just talking about how you're feeling. And sometimes if someone doesn't want to talk and it's like, okay, like what? Can I give you a hug? Like, what other way? How can I support you? What can I do? So I'm not pushing your buttons. Like move like move your body together. Like go for a walk or like, do something like active together as a family or just like creating new routines. And it's always great to be able to do those things together and seek help. But like if you feel that way, your mental health or your emotional health isn't where you feel that it should be. Or if you feel like you're not yourself, like seek help. Reach out to a trusted individual. Talk to your provider, see if you can get counseling and create like support peer support, circle your support network and even afterwards even find a support circle. If there is one offered in your community. It's always can be like for parents, for dads, partners, or like mom. Like they have sibling support system support circles. And don't be afraid to switch provider if it's available and accessible to you. Like if you're able to switch your provider, like do it if you don't feel like you're being heard, if you feel like you're not being seen. If. Like if you have the accessibility within your community to switch providers, or if you have the accessibility to transportation and to see a different provider in a different community, find a provider where you feel like you can address questions and they answer them for you. Even find out your insurance coverage like your insurance plan does like cover prenatal. Are you able to have childbirth classes covered? Are you able to have a doula? Does it cover home births? Births center births. Does it cover breast pumps? If it does, what kind of breast pumps? Like? What do you need to have your breast pump covered by insurance? Does your insurance cover lactation consultants? How many visits can you see if they if your insurance does cover lactation consultants? Like what is the fee? Like who are the approved providers? Says your insurance cover chiropractic care during pregnancy during postpartum. Does your insurance cover acupuncture and do are you able to receive free incentives for going to your prenatal visit for completing certain test? Because I know there is some insurance that be like, oh, you completed your first set of prenatal appointments for your first trimester. We are sending you a $50 visa card. Or you have these options like what would you like and even like? Does it cover home birth kits or it is a cover birth kits? Does it  cover postpartum kits? So like really get to know your insurance. Like even I think other resources would be like because I know for me, resources on the Navajo Nation and in the Valley are drastically different because when I was living down in the Phoenix Valley, because I met Fatima at the four trimester conference, and she has her own organization, called mom, dads, babies. And like Wendy and I met at the fourth trimester conference as well. At the time, she had her business Freedom and the Sea and now her and her whole partner. They opened a birth centers called Tempe Birth Center. And it's like the first birth center in Tempe. So like she had like the postpartum support circle, she provided books for free to rent out.  I was able to get my herbal teas from her for pregnancy and postpartum, the amazing birth workers that I had, accessibility to Teresa, O.C ,  Teresa's daughter Spirit and just baby wearing classes, workshops, teachings. And I'm really glad that Maria was able to show me, to show us how to use a wearable, as well as baby wearing and me being able to purchase order of robosos through her company called Indigena. And for like the collective. Everything that they do provide for families in the Phoenix Valley with their events, their gatherings, workshops, funding the Food Forest Co-op. That is like being in the garden and the indigenous food bags that they give out as well. And Denise, from not your average ohana, the baby wearing expert. I don't know, I don't know. How I would have done a lot of things with that if I didn't know the different baby wearing items and teaching my family about how to utilize them. And so Phil and Denise, thank you so much. And for Navajo Breastfeeding Coalition and Kim and Cami for teaching me about first latch proper latch first for different breastfeeding positions, and home visitors from native health. And like my family, my mentors, my friends who became family and like the different birth workers. So I can hear back on the reservation now as a full spectrum birth worker and a lactation counselor. Like seeing the different organizations that are here, like the home visiting programs, the maternal child health programs, and even like with, with and with the different hospitals and clinics provide. And so being able to provide like my birth work services from pre-conception, prenatal labor and delivery, postpartum and even like during pregnancy relieves miscarriage. And so being able to provide those services to families and birthing individual and pregnant individuals here on the reservation, it's like, wow. Like there's so much that needs to be done here on the reservation. Like, where can we find the resources? Where can we find that support for like our families and birthing individuals. And so it's been an amazing journey to be working alongside, like Amanda, Dalley and Mariah with the Navajo Breastfeeding Coalition and all the amazing birth workers through the Dine Collective and just being able to provide the different resources, to our families. And even we started hosting some lactation support circles here on the reservation in Monument Valley in Canton, soon in Fort Defiance and then in Albuquerque, Phoenix. And and so we're working on it. So if there are any individuals who would like to learn more about doula support, birth worker support, lactation peer counselor supporting you here on the reservation, don't be afraid to reach out. And and the different organizations that I mentioned. And even if you live in a different state or in a different county, researching like what is provided for you and yeah, for listening to listening to me talk about my birth story, my experience throughout my birth with like Leilani, Kitana and the difference between them. And just like the healing journey that we're on. Thank you all. I greatly appreciate the Navajo Maternal and Child Health Program for creating this safe space for us families, as birthing individuals to tell our pregnancy and our birthing stories. So that way other people can listen. Hopefully they learn something new, or they can take something home and they learn new resources. Or just being like, okay, I'm not the only one. Like, I'm not the only one who feels that way. Or like, you know what? I'm so glad that I listened to this story. So thank you. Thank you so much for listening.

DeeDee James [00:36:27] Thank you for tuning in. In this month's episode, we have officially ended the 2023 year with Karla's full pregnancy story will be back in January 2024 with a new episode. Take care, everyone; enjoy your holidays, and may you have a grand and safe entrance into the new year. And until next time. Ahe'hee'.  

Outro [00:36:48] Thanks for listening to the Mix podcast. For more information about the Navajo MCH Project, please visit us on Facebook at the Navajo Maternal and Child Health Project at Dine College.