97: Signing an AMA to Labor at Home Despite Anxiety

Birth Matters

Cally’s hopes were high for an unmedicated birth. She gets thrown a curve ball when her membranes rupture as the first sign of labor. Knowing that an important strategy for a healthy birth is to labor at home for as long as possible, she doesn’t rush to the hospital. When she does go many hours later, she bravely signs an AMA (“against medical advice”) form in order to go back home after learning she’s barely dilated or effaced and baby is still high. When she later goes to the hospital and agrees to be induced, she’s ultimately very happy to have a vaginal birth with shorter-than-average length of induction, epidural for just a couple of hours, and an efficient pushing stage. She also shares some about her experiences with clinical anxiety and strategies to manage it, challenges with breastfeeding, and experiencing tendonitis due to repetitive stress in holding baby.

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