Courtney Roybal

The radiant Courtney Roybal with her daughters Jaelynn (5) and Elbry (4 months) and son Canon (3). Courtney's first pregnancy was a bit of a surprise just 6 months after she and her now husband had moved in together. Her pregnancy was healthy and she chose to have a hospital birth with open ended expectations. Her labor was about 6.5 hours from start to finish but things at the end moved very quickly and when they went to hand her daughter to her it was just too much and she said no. It had taken some time to get used to having a baby and now that she was earth side it took just a bit of time to adjust. She was soon ready to hold her and that bond that she'd expected to be immediate was instead strongly forged over time. Courtney and Jaelynn shared a breastfeeding expereince for 3.5 years. She was able to nurse through her pregnancy with Canon and tandem fed them for her sons first year when Jaelynn weaned. Her second pregnancy went well and this time Courtney chose to deliver at home with the support of midwifes. She started laboring but eventually stalled out in part because Canon was asynclitic. They decided for her team to go home as she attempted to get some rest and wait for labor to resume, in hopes that his position would also improve. Two days later labor ramped up again and within just a few hours her son was born at home in the water and into his dads arms. Courtney says that she was able to feel much more in tune with this birth and wanted to make a point to connect with Canon right away. While his delivery was pretty seamless Courtney hemorrhaged after birth and spent several days in bed trying to recover. It came to the point that the last option was to see if consuming part of her placenta would stave things off or head to the hospital for a blood transfusion. She eagerly tried the placenta in within minutes her bleeding slowed and then stopped.

When they decided to have a third baby Courtney was surprised that it didn't happen right away. With Jaelynn's pregnancy a surprise and Canon's conception happening just after she had her IUD removed it was difficult that months passed before she conceived. When she had a positive test she started interviewing midwives right away but started bleeding and lost her pregnancy just a week later which was very difficult. She wanted to take some time off to deal with her emotions related to her loss and consider why that had happened within her body. She and her husband were actively preventing pregnancy so she was shocked to miss a period and find she was pregnant with Elbry. It took some time to accept this pregnancy as well and though she isn't one to take medication decided to take progesterone to help with her levels and hopefully prevent another miscarriage. She planned another home water birth for her second daughter and this time wanted to be the one to bring her baby up to her chest. This was her longest labor and biggest baby. As she labored a student midwife joined her as she was ready and by time they let the midwives know it was time, things had progressed so quickly they arrived just 9 minutes prior to Elbry's entrance. She was so exhausted from this labor that she says her uterus did all of the work. Her older children arrived just as she was pushing and they jumped in the tub with her while they waited for her placenta to arrive. Courtney was able to nurse Canon for 2.5 years and says that Elbry is her best nurser so far.

Courtney is a doula and childbirth educator and says that she has always been trying to share women's options and choices with them. She has been in awe with how woman's stories are so similar and so different and even more so the power of women embracing themselves rather than competing and shaming. Motherhood is so beautiful she says and embracing her new body with her babies is exciting. She wanted to share this moment with them and say thank you, for giving her this time as their mother.

Brooks Anderson

The amazing Brooks Anderson with her son Asher (6) and daughter Eleanor (3).

Brooks is the eldest of 8 and and was present for most of her mother's births. She was able to view birth as a beautiful and wonderful thing and assumed that it was just how it would be for her. Brooks learned when she was in her early 20's that she had a condition known as uterus didelphys (double uterus) and that she has two uteruses, cervices and had a vaginal septum as well, which she had removed. She and her husband waited for about two years before trying to conceive and she she was able to get pregnant just before her husband deployed to Iraq. Her early pregnancy progressed well but her cervix was measuring short. They decided not to have a cerclage placed and instead chose to pray about it. After having all of their family and friends pray, at her next appointment her cervical length was longer. She says her faith is very important to her but the doctor laughed at her and said she must have just been contracting previously. Her pregnancy proceeded stably for a bit but she began to develop signs of preeclampsia through elevated blood pressure and swelling. Through it all though, Brooks says that her doctors were so focused on her cervix and ultrasounds that they lost sight of her as a person and didn't pay attention to her other symptoms. At 28 weeks, a homebirth midwife she'd consulted with put her on the Brewer's diet and gave her a lot of recommendations for care, while her MFM had simply told her to go to antepartum for observation, then go home. By 32 weeks, her mom found her on the floor in pain so they went in. Her son was diagnosed with Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR) and they gave her 48 hours of steroids shots before she had to deliver via emergency cesarean. Thankfully, the Red Cross was able to get her husband home the day before Asher was born. She developed HELLP syndrome and had to be in ICU for 24 hours after birth. They didn't warn them that they would allow Asher to try breathing on his own so her husband had to watch him struggle to breathe and thought he was dying for they rushed him to the NICU for intubation. Asher was born at 3lbs 12 oz and spent 54 days in NICU and came home oxygen for several months. Brooks was able to encapsulate her placenta and start pumping right away. Both of which she thinks helped her emotionally heal from the trauma of her pregnancy and birth. She was able to breastfeed until he was 3 years and 9 months.

Brooks was nervous about trying again but ultimately decided she needed to let go of her fear. She went to UCLA to see MFM's even though they were living about 90 minutes away at the time and saw a homebirth midwife simultaneously. She took great care of her body and Eleanor did well. Brooks gained a lot of weight but was otherwise healthy and Eleanor arrived only one day early. She attempted a VBAC at home, her water broke naturally, and she labored there for 37 hours. She says she never felt closer to her husband and everything was but she felt like she needed pain relief, was throwing up a lot and her contracts were irregular so they traveled 92 miles to the hospital. Brooks dilated to 10cms and could feel Eleanor's head come down but she tried to come out with her feet beside her head. She felt like she was treated poorly at the hospital initially because she'd attempted a home birth and was taken immediately for a cesarean. However, the cesarean itself was peaceful and family centered. Her husband got to tell her Eleanor was a girl, and they wheeled them out of the OR together, baby never leaving her side. She was able to nurse immediately and is still going strong today. They were told about 36 hours after birth that Eleanor had an unknown illness and needed to go to the NICU for IV medication. They decided to let them admit her, but after 6 attempts, they still couldn't place an IV and they told them to stop. Eleanor had become lethargic and Brooks felt like something was wrong. She told them to try again tomorrow and fell asleep nursing her in the NICU. In the middle of the night, Brooks woke up and asked why they hadn't gotten them up to give the medicine they were supposed to. The nurse told her that her last heal stick showed she'd been given a drug overdose and couldn't receive any more medication. They were supposed to stay for several more days, but they were sent home with no further discussion the following day. She healed well physically but had a more difficult time emotionally and thinks she may have had some postpartum depression. She hopes to have more children but is uncertain as to whether she should choose a cesarean or try to VBAC again.

Brooks has had a hard time feeling confident with her body postpartum. She has diastasis recti and while she is traditionally thin, has had people ask if she is pregnant when she isn't. While she has struggled with her body she has also celebrated with the fact that she has been able to breastfeed for the past 6 years. She hopes to be able to look back on these moments with joy and join together with women around the world reminding one another that every journey is special and sometimes difficult but always worthy.

Barbara Machina

The marvelous Barbara Machina with her daughter Zoe (8.5 months). Barbara has Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and had a difficult time conceiving. She went through 6 months of fertilityr treatment and learned just before considering IVF that she was pregnant. From there, things went very well, she was healthy and ended up losing 20 lbs throughout. Barbara and her husband took Bradley classes and read everything they could to prepare for pregnancy and birth. She felt so ready when it was time for Zoe to arrive and she delivered her at a birth center after 15 hours of labor including 3 hours of pushing.  Barbara has Premenstural Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) so she was worried about Postpartum Depression. She encapsulated her placenta and hasn't had any issues.

Barbara was born in Peru and spent the first 5 months of her life sustained on tea and then switched to formula once she was adopted by her Canadian family. Having not been breastfed herself it was exciting to have the opportunity to do so for her daughter. Zoe is the first blood relative she's ever known or had a connection with and breastfeeding her has brought an amazing connection. It was challenging at first, Zoe had a lip and tongue tie, reflux and a food allergy but Barbara has been able to treat what she can and eliminate other triggers and things are now going just fine. Barbara says that she has never felt more comfortable in her skin than she is now and she wants to show how at ease she has become in hopes of inspiring others.

Cara Berlin

The beautiful Cara Berlin with her daughters Adelaide (5) and Willa (almost 5 weeks). Cara has had healthy pregnancies with both of her girls. Her pregnancy with Adelaide was a surprise but he sister had just had a baby using the Bradley method and had a natural childbirth so she decided to follow suit. Breastfeeding was difficult for the first few weeks and it wasn't until she saw a latch video on Dr. Jack Newman's site that she realized things that wasn't quite what Adelaide was doing. They were able to work and get the hang of it soon after. Cara struggled with postpartum depression after her first baby and though she felt isolated, also felt that she needed to do things herself. Her second daughter was born at home and Cara is doing great. She encapsulated her placenta this time and says she doesn't know if it's effective or placebo but so far so good. Cara has realized that particularly as the mother of daughters she needed to deal with some of her own issues so that she doesn't pass them along. She's been a seeing a therapist for the past year and a half to address image concerns and disordered eating and things are going very well. Cara feels that heavier women are often stereotyped as having more difficult births, and often they do but she very much feels this has to do with the way they are treated and the care they are provided rather than true representations of their health or ability. She is healthy and has had wonderful birth experiences and wants people to see that as attainable.

Cara Berlin

The beautiful Cara Berlin with her daughters Adelaide (5) and Willa (almost 5 weeks). Cara has had healthy pregnancies with both of her girls. Her pregnancy with Adelaide was a surprise but her sister had just had a baby using the Bradley method and had a natural childbirth so she decided to follow suit. Breastfeeding was difficult for the first few weeks and it wasn't until she saw a latch video on Dr. Jack Newman's site that she realized things that wasn't quite what Adelaide was doing. They were able to work and get the hang of it soon after. Cara struggle with postpartum depression after her first book and though she felt isolated also felt that she needed to do things herself. Her second daughter was born at home and Cara is doing great. She encapsulated her placenta this time and says she doesn't know if it's effective or placebo but so far so good. Cara has realized that particularly as the mother of daughters she needed to deal with some of her own issues so that she doesn't pass them along. She's been a seeing a therapist for the past year and a half to address image concerns and disordered eating and things are going very well. Cara feels that heavier women are often stereotyped as having more difficult births, and often they do but she very much feels this has to do with the way they are treated and the care they are provided rather than true representations of their health or ability. She is healthy and has had wonderful birth experiences and wants people to see that as attainable.

Kathryn Winston

The gorgeous Kathryn Winston and her daughter Eponine Ryan (8 months).

Kathryn never thought she could get pregnant so when she did it was quite a surprise. While her pregnancy was healthy, it was difficult for her due to her history of issues with her body. Kathryn was abused growing up and was constantly told by her adoptive parents that she needed to be thinner to be successful and that she wasn't good enough. About a year after Kathryn's wedding she went on the HCG diet and dropped about 55 lbs in three months. She felt great but it's then that she found out she was pregnant. After working so hard to get her weight down, seeing her body change was incredibly painful to her. She wasn't able to see her growing belly as something positive, she just saw it as fat and watching the numbers on the scale climb back up was difficult. She enjoyed feeling her daughter move and kick but she had a very hard time accepting the changes.

Kathryn was planning a home birth and her midwife didn't weigh her when she came in and told her to not look at the scale at home because it was causing her distress. She ended up carrying to about 42 weeks but Kathryn still wasn't going into labor. She tried all of the old wives tales she could think of before trying castor oil. Her labor finally started and while contractions were intense they would stop in the afternoon, pick up during the night, only to stop the next day. On day four she went to the midwife for a check to find that she was 7cms dilated and had been in true labor the whole time. She labored at home but contractions stopped when she got in the water. Eponine's position had shifted and she was stuck. Kathryn laid in new positions to try to get her to shift over several hours but her baby still wasn't moving and she wasn't progressing any further. They ultimately transferred to hospital where she labored for 12+ more hours. They started pitcoin, gave her an epidural which wore off in 30 minutes and she found the entire hospital experience to be horrible. Kathryn was left to labor alone, her heart rate was dropping, she was screaming and her husband was terrified and no one was helping them. They'd tried everything to try to get her baby out when the doctor finally came in and said they needed to try a vacuum or cesarean. She asked what he would do and she was told that if she were his daughter, he'd recommend a cesarean due to the baby's size and position. Kathryn agreed and her daughter was born happy and healthy very soon after.

Kathryn was okay while in hospital but realized very soon after coming home that she wasn't okay and she wasn't prepared. Within days she'd slipped into a postpartum depression that was so dark she had thoughts of harming her daughter. She started taking her encapsulated placenta as soon as she got it back and found it to be life saving. Soon everything changed and she started to feel a lot better about herself and her daughter. Kathryn continues to struggle with her weight which has affected her breastfeeding relationship. She says that every day she wakes up is a struggle, she wonders if she should skip meals or try a new diet and hopes that her daughter never, ever has to deal with the same concerns that she has. Kathryn says that Eponine is absolutely everything to her and that she wouldn't change anything except possibly going back and enjoying her pregnancy more. "In a world where nothing is certain, and women are judged constantly for not being perfect I need my daughter to understand that she is perfect, and I need to realize and see that I am perfect to the ones that matter."

Las Vegas scholarship shoot, generously sponsored by PlacentaBenefits.info