The wonderful Katherine Schuknecht with her daughters Milena (5) and Clara (19 months). Katherine's first pregnancy was very healthy, she hired a doula and planned a natural hospital birth. She went into labor at 41 weeks and labored for about 34 hours. She pushed for 6 hours but Milena was not coming out. Halfway through the labor, Katherine was so exhausted she stopped remembering things. At one point the doctor suggested a cesarean but she was so tired she couldn't vocalize she wanted one so she kept pushing. They ultimately needed to deliver via cesarean but Katherine was so tired that when they showed Milena to her that she didn't really care and in the recovery room she didn't even think to hold her, the nurse held her. It wasn't until they got to the hospital room and told the nurse they wanted Milena to go to the nursery so they could get some rest, that she realized she needed to hold and feed her if she intended to breastfeed after the nurse asked if she should give her formula. Thankfully everything went well from there and Milena nursed until she was 3.5. With her second pregnancy Katherine was hoping for a vaginal birth but knew she would be happy with an attempted VBAC. She labored for 9 hours, pushed for 3 before her OB said he could give her another hour to push or deliver then via cesarean. Katherine jumped at the chance to have her daughter surgically delivered then as she was feeling very overwhelmed and wanted to make the decision before she was exhausted. She was able to see Clara and initiate breastfeeding while in recovery with the help of her doula. While Katherine was happy with having met her goal initially, she now wishes that her doula or nurses had pushed her to keep trying even though they were following her lead. Her recovery with both of her deliveries was unremarkable but she was surprised at how hands off her care was after having such major surgery. This experience has pushed her to become a postpartum doula herself as well as a breastfeeding counselor.
