Swiss Birth Stories
Our mission is to share diverse birth stories from across Switzerland in a way that empowers the storyteller. We aim to create a supportive space where each person is in control of their own narrative. By recording and sharing birth stories in Switzerland, we hope to inspire those planning their own birth, offer insights for birth workers, or allow listeners to reflect on their own birth experiences. Tune in to hear real, personal, raw birth stories. Available on all major podcast platforms. This podcast is in seasons; during an active season, episodes will be released weekly.
Swiss Birth Stories
S03E02 Ana: A Heart-Shaped Uterus, Walking Epidural and Finding Her Power
Ana's resources are under this description.
A clear plan helps, but the real story begins when birth asks you to adapt. Anna joins us from Zurich to share how she chose motherhood on her own terms, navigated a heart-shaped uterus without panic, and prepared through hypnobirthing, swimming, yoga, and an English antenatal class at Triemli Stadtspital in Zurich city.
What follows is a vivid, vulnerable account of labour: nausea between contractions, a walking epidural that brought crucial rest, and the moment where language clarity changed care.
As pushing stretched on, meconium and decelerations raised the stakes. The team considered a surgical birth before using a kiwi vacuum to help her daughter arrive safely.
Those first minutes were fleeting; NICU monitoring separated mother and baby, while Anna faced a retained placenta and an operation under general anesthesia. She wakes to the ache of a ventilated throat and a surge of doubt, then rebuilds confidence with compassionate midwives, pumping support, and steady skin-to-skin. Milk starts slow, then arrives in force at home, just as day-three hormones crash and cluster feeding rewrites the night.
We talk practical truths and tender ones: why clear communication matters in a second language, how boundaries around visitors protect recovery, and what pelvic floor rehab can do for strength, continence, and a gradual return to running. Anna’s reflections land with weight—becoming a mother as a chance to redefine identity and model courage for her daughter. If you’re expecting, supporting a birth, or processing your own story, this conversation offers grounded guidance, emotional honesty, and a reminder that resilience grows in the grey areas.
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Hi, and welcome to Swiss Birth Stories. I'm Julia Neal, mother, doula, hypnobirthing specialist, and perinatal educator.
Christine:And I'm Christina Bliven. I'm a doula, baby wearing consultant, childbirth educator, and mother of three. Today we're talking to Anna. Originally from Mexico, she built a life here with her Swiss husband and eventually welcomed their daughter after what she describes as a short and very intentional pregnancy journey. Anna opens up about navigating pregnancy with a heart-shaped uterist, the physical challenges she faced, and the ways she prepared herself emotionally and mentally by listening to birth stories and attending an antenatal class with other English-speaking couples. In this episode, Anna takes us through her labor at 3DME, including the unexpected twists, language barriers, a walking epidural, concerns about meconium, and ultimately a vaginal birth assisted with a vacuum. She also shares candidly about the difficult moments immediately after birth, from her baby's stay in neonatology to her own unexpected surgery under general anesthesia. Anna's story is honest, vulnerable, and full of resilience. She reflects on those early postpartum weeks, what helped her heal, and how becoming a mother has been an opportunity to redefine herself and model strength for her daughter. It's a beautiful conversation about navigating uncertainty, advocating for yourself, and embracing the transformation that comes with birth. Hello, Anna. Thank you so much for joining us. We're really excited to have you and hear your story. We would love to have you start just by introducing yourself and your family.
SPEAKER_02:Hello. Thank you for having me. This is really nice. My name is Anna. I come originally from Mexico. I've been living in Switzerland for almost 10 years now. I met my husband while I was living in the US, and he is Swiss, so at some point I ended up moving here. We were together for a while before we got married, and then we had our baby this year. So it's been alright, it's been very nice.
SPEAKER_03:The the choice to start having children, how did that go for you guys? And how did that road to pregnancy go?
SPEAKER_02:I think for me personally, it was a bit of a journey because I wanted to make sure that it was something that I wanted to do, and it was not something I was doing because it was kind of the natural next step in our relationship or what is expected of me, or you know, coming from a Mexican family or background, it is just kind of what everyone in a long-term relationship being married does. So yeah, I wanted to make sure it was something that I really wanted, especially after having conversations with a lot of other women and them questioning their own maternity, right? And whether it was something they really wanted or whether it was just something they did kind of going with the motion of things. So it took a while, I guess. Um but once we decided that we really wanted to have a family, I was already 35 years old, and we started trying, and we were very lucky. Uh it took maybe like three months before we found out that we were pregnant. Wow, yeah, that's quick.
Christine:Um, what was the pregnancy like for you?
SPEAKER_02:It was really good, actually. Um, I was very lucky again for that. At the beginning, I was a bit scared because my gynecologist told me that I had a kind of a heart-shaped uterus, so it was uh slightly riskier pregnancy, at least at the beginning. So there were all these kind of doubts and fear. Um, but once we passed the first trimester and we saw everything was going well, it kind of eased up a little bit. And yeah, I didn't get a lot of nausea except for a couple of times. I did get a lot of cravings, especially for Mexican snacks and candy that you don't find very easily in Switzerland. So I had to do a couple trips to the Mexican store and buy all this like spicy candy that I was craving, a lot of sour things. But overall, it was really, really good. I enjoyed it a lot, and I feel like it was a nice period to connect with my own body and my baby in a way.
SPEAKER_03:I think in in pregnancy, it could be such a reckoning of your own power, like you can really feel so feminine, such like such a like that life giver energy. I wish everyone could feel that in pregnancy. Not everyone does, but I'm so happy that you did. It's really nice to hear that. Um, with the heart-shaped uterus, sometimes it can be hard for baby to nestle into sort of a head-down position. Did anyone talk to you about that? Was your baby finding it hard to find that position? Where were they resting?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so that's one of the things that my gynecologist and I also talked about.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:And she mentioned that, well, she was also super supportive and super nice. So she was very transparent in what the risks were at the beginning. But then once the uterus kept on expanding, you we couldn't see that shape anymore. So she mentioned that the risk was not so high anymore, and I relaxed a lot, but the position was kind of uh an issue, right? Or like a potential um outcome. So she mentioned that if at a certain point uh later in the pregnancy we saw that the baby was not getting into the right position, then we could talk about our options or whether we needed to have a C-section, uh, but that we were not going to worry about that until the time came. And so we did that, and that was great. Um, and in the end, she did get in the position, and everything went smoothly, so that was good.
Christine:What were you doing in pregnancy to prepare for the birth? And and how did you decide where you would give birth?
SPEAKER_02:So, one of the things that I did was precisely listening to a lot of birth stories, which is one of the reasons why I wanted to kind of join in and share my own because they helped me.
SPEAKER_03:Hey, we love to hear that. We love to hear that. That's fantastic.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, um it was really good. I think overall I listened to a lot of different stories, but regardless of what the process was like, whether there were complications or unexpected things, these stories were always told with the positive light of, you know, you're healthy, your baby's healthy, so everything else doesn't matter, kind of. And that helped a lot. Um, so yeah, I tried to come to terms with the fact that I didn't really have a lot of control over certain things, that all I can do is my best and prepare myself for birth and having my baby, and then the rest was maybe not really up to me, you know, and it can be hard. It is hard, I don't think I managed to do it a hundred percent. I don't know if anybody is really, but you know, you try, and like I said, listening to these stories was very helpful. I tried to, you know, learn about hypnobirthing and just do some yoga and relax and try not to stress. Yeah, I tried to keep on moving as much as I could um for as long as I could, so that was also good, at least for me. Yeah, swimming was great too.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, I was gonna ask what kind of movement you found that you were gravitating towards in pregnancy. I think um swimming, there's there's loads of studies about why it's great, but I don't think we really need studies to show us that, like actually moving a body that is changing so much and is like gaining weight in in one place in particular, putting that body in a semi-weightless environment, which is also really um good for the heart and keeping one active and sort of making space in the body. Don't think we need very much research to show how good that is. Like it's just good.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I mean, now that you were just mentioning with the changing weight and shape and everything, I I think I I guess I blocked it out, and I was just remembering how I'm as like in my normal self and being, I'm quite a clumsy person, I think. And pregnancy did not help, like I was tumbling on all kinds of things. I tripped once and I hurt my ankle, so I had to do physiotherapy, and it was it was kind of frustrating at the beginning, to be honest, and then you're just kind of like trying to accept things as they come, and you know it's not always as easy, but yeah, that was a bit frustrating, I guess.
SPEAKER_03:And like the bump bumping into random things and being like, Oh, yeah, I should know that you're there, but I forgot them.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, oh, and the boobs, like oh yeah, when they're start growing and they're super sensitive, and like you barely touch them and it hurts so much, but you know, everything's temporary and gets better, yeah. And in terms of movement, I guess because of that clumsiness and me hurting myself in all kinds of ways, to me, it was great, like to not have that weight and just you know move so freely, and it was really relaxing and it helped a lot. Also, yoga, I guess. Um, it can get tricky as you progress, but you know, you have to also be understanding and kind of listen to your body and adapt.
SPEAKER_03:Hi, Julia here. If you're pregnant, preparing for birth, or navigating those intense early weeks with the newborn, I want you to know you can plan for this time with confidence and support. I'm a Zurich-based doula and I support families through pregnancy, birth preparation, and postpartum with services like birth preparation workshops, hypnobirthing plus courses, postpartum massage, and personalized postpartum meal planning, designed to help you feel calmer, more confident, and truly cared for during this time. Supporting families in this way isn't just my work, it is truly my passion. I believe this kind of care is part of a quiet revolution, one where parents are supported, listened to, and valued. You can learn more or book with me at juliathedoula.ch, and you'll find me on Instagram at juliathedoula.ch. And now let's get back to this week's Swiss birth story. Where did you choose to have your daughter? And yeah, did you explore other options? Um, how did you come to that decision? Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:So I gave birth at Timliespital, which was a great experience. I cannot recommend it enough. I decided to go there because at the time we were living very close by, and I basically walked there. So it was like a 10-minute walk without contractions. With contractions, it took a bit longer, but it was uh a good experience overall. The place is really nice. The midwives were amazing and super supportive and helpful. So it was really nice. I got in the tub at some point to get in the warm water, they helped with the contractions because I was throwing up all over the place. So that helped for a while.
Christine:Yeah, it was very nice. So, what if we can if we can kind of go to the like how did it start when you when labor was starting, how did you know that it that it was time?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Um, oh, before I go there, sorry, can I go back to the previous question? So um I also did like the um birth preparation course at Tremlichpital. That was also very nice because I got to meet other parents that were going through the same thing and also giving birth there. And I also asked them why they chose this hospital in particular. A lot of them were expats, so we also decided to do the course in English. Just, you know, we are okay with some German, but this was such an important thing that we didn't really want there to be as many barriers, or we wanted to decrease the amount of barriers as possible in terms of understanding or know what's going on. So that was another factor in this in making the decision.
Christine:And the words was the words surrounding birth are not exactly German 101.
SPEAKER_02:It's exactly, and so and that was also a factor for a lot of these other couples that we met. Uh, a lot of the hospitals didn't really even offer information in English, yeah, in general. So a lot of people came from over different places, and for some of them, also they had complications. So, because of caseloads and knowing that maybe this hospital had more experience with certain kinds of cases, they also chose this one. And then we also had friends that had given birth there and spoke very highly of the whole experience and the the staff. So we did it, didn't even think too much about it, especially because it was so close to us. So, yeah. And going back to your question about how it all started. Um, I remember before it all started, I kept on asking my mom friends, like, how will I know? Like, you know, like like, will I even notice? Oh yeah, I don't want to miss it. Yeah. Oh my god, I was so naive. Yeah, I know. You notice um the contraction started coming and they kept on getting stronger. Um, my water didn't break right away, but it did later. And at that point, we went to to the hospital before going for good. We ended up going before because I was having contractions, and I thought it seemed to me internally at least that they were close enough. Of course, they were not, but but it seemed like it time takes on a whole new meaning when you're having contractions. And so went to the hospital, they told me that I was only one centimeter dilated, and so I decided to go back home. So walked back home. Uh, got in the tub, they kept on getting stronger, and then at some point we were timing them already, and we decided to go to the hospital.
Christine:Do you remember how many weeks you were at this point?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I was five days overdue.
Christine:Okay.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Yeah. And when we went to the hospital, before we went, I actually called because they tell you to call the hospital before you head there. And my water broke, and there was it was kind of colored, but I didn't know whether it was this yellow-greenish color that they describe for meconium, or if it wasn't like I mean, I have absolute I had absolutely no experience with any of this, right? So I don't really know. I didn't really know what the precise color should look like. And so they just told us, okay, come over and that's it. So walk back again to the hospital.
SPEAKER_03:And how was the difference between the first walk and the second walk? Could you tell that you were farther along? Could you could you tell a difference?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, the first time walking there, I mean it was, of course, longer than usual because of the contractions, and they were strong, but they did not compare to the contractions I was having on the second time I was heading to the hospital. They were much stronger. I had to make longer pauses, and I was trying to apply what I learned during pregnancy on hypnobirthing and like breathing. I tried my best, but it was really hard to do. And when he gets nervous, he starts asking me all kinds of questions. And so every time I stopped because I was having a contraction and I didn't breathe, he would start interrogating me, and I was so annoyed. Um, yeah, that was different too.
SPEAKER_03:That's such a funny realization about your partner. Like, like you're in for a long time. If every time I stop, you're asking a hundred questions because this is gonna keep happening for at least a few more hours. It's so funny. So then you arrive um in the hospital, uh, your water broken home, unsure about if there's meconium in it. Um, were you taken to triage or did you go straight into your room? Do you remember that? Um at some point it all becomes a blur.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so they took me to a little room where they attached the monitor to my belly just to see what the heartbeat of the baby was like. And they were there. We were there for a little bit, but my contractions were getting stronger. And when I was at home, I started throwing up a little with the contractions until I got in the tub and they kind of eased up a little bit and I stopped. But then as soon as I got to the hospital, I started getting nauseous again. And so at some point, the midwife had to come running with um bags for me to throw up in. And after a couple of times, she was like, okay, let's go to the delivery room. Like, I think we're ready. And so she just guided us to the room. And once we were there, I was getting nauseous again. And I guess the midwife didn't know where the bags were in that particular room. So I'm just trying to hold myself together. And I just see the midwife and my husband running around the whole room looking for these bags. It was um for me very funny as I tell it now, but my husband was panicking. And I probably the midwife too.
SPEAKER_03:And I'm sure for her, she was super frustrated because usually they're like lightning fast with those bags. Like usually they they have this, they have like a stack of these tiny little bags with like a little opening. Anyone who's vomited um in the hospital or in a maternity situation knows exactly what those bags look like. They kind of look like like um like uh reusable cups stacked on top of each other. Yes, but there's like a little like bag, and she must have been so frustrated not knowing where they were because usually there's there were like two or three stacks of them around the room. Yeah. No man, hey, that happened. There's a reason that the floors are that horrible color in these hospitals, and they're very wipe clean. Birth is messy, that's just the reality. Yeah. Not that every not everyone vomits, but it is very common. Yeah. Yeah. Now it's funny.
SPEAKER_02:Now it is funny. You know, I mean, you try to picture a lot, or I don't know if people try, but I try to imagine as many scenarios as possible because I know that I knew that I couldn't control what was gonna happen and anything could happen, right? So I tried to kind of mentally place myself in different situations, but I never saw this amount of throwing up in any scenario in my head.
SPEAKER_03:Could you get in the tub? Because I know you're in Trimley, so they have the new ward that this year did opener last year, I think. And did you get did you get in the tub? I did. Nice. I tried it feel then everything.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, it helped a lot. It helped a lot. As soon as I got in the water, the nausea went away a bit for a while, so it did help. I also tried the laughing gas, which was interesting, not sure it's my thing, but it helped for another little while. Yeah, and at some point I ended up asking for the epidural. There was a bit of a confusion there. I hope it was confusion, um, because I asked for the epidural, but again, I was speaking English, and my the midwives there were not um, I mean, they they were native German speakers, right? So at some point, my German is kind of okay, but it's not great. So I guess I was not being assertive enough at the beginning. And I said something like, I think I want the epidural, and then I heard one of the midwives telling the other one, like, ah yeah, she wants to first try the laughing gas, and then maybe later the epidural. And at that point, I was like, okay, no, I guess I need to be more clear.
Christine:I want it now. Go get it. Yes. Yeah. So then you were out of the tub and they got the anesthesiologist?
SPEAKER_02:Yes, they did. They told me, okay, if you want it, you have to get it now because right now it's where the anesthesiologist is available, right? So if you want it, you have to tell us now and they will come and be there, be here like in just a few minutes. And I was like, Yes, okay. And they're like, okay, then let's get out of the tub. I was like, all right, let's do this. And they just gave me this paper design, and yeah, they brought the epidural.
SPEAKER_03:How did it go? How did it go?
SPEAKER_02:It went well at the beginning. They tried, well, they did this uh walking epidural, which is actually quite nice, I guess. I don't know how new this is. Maybe you know more than I do, but uh is this epidural with which you can still move a little bit around. And in my case, at least, I still felt my baby come out, so it kind of doesn't numb you fully, like or all the way. At the beginning, there was a bit of a window that did not get numb, I guess. In your abdomen, yes, um like a quadrant of like a like a quarter of my abdomen, like a lower right side, but then I pulled them and they kind of adjusted it, and then it was perfectly fine, and that was great because I had been up for a while and I was able to kind of snooze for a little bit. Yeah, how many hours had gone past at this point? I mean, I got so I started with contractions at 8 p.m. And the second time I got to the hospital, it was 5 a.m. And no sleep in between that time, no sleep in between at all, unlike my husband, of course. Um, yeah, no sleep in between. So the epidural was awesome because I could get a little bit of rest, and then I really needed that later on for the pushing because that was really long, and I couldn't eat because I was throwing up. Uh, so everything I tried to ingest, I would throw up. So the epidurals also helped to kind of hold at least some liquid down and not be completely drained of everything.
Christine:Hi, I'm Christina, a doula, baby wearing consultant, childbirth educator, and mother of three. I'm the owner of Lily Bee, a family hub in Zurich where you can find resources, community, and support in English as you begin your journey into parenthood. It takes a village. Find yours here. So once you had the epidural, you did feel some relief after they fixed it. Oh yeah, yeah. Okay.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. I think I could have done the whole thing without them fixing it because it was not too bad. But it was nice to not feel pain during that part.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, I do think like when you ask when you want an epidural, it's often because like things have gone on for a long time. You need to rest, you maybe need something to eat or to sleep, and to have a quadrant that is still completely normal defeats, it does defeat the purpose a little bit. So I'm really happy they could fix you. Sometimes they can't, like sometimes it's just uh like a yeah, a spot that they can't that they can't fix. Yeah. And you mentioned about the walking epidural, like the concept of a walking epidural is not very old, but the expertise with with which anesthesiologists can can administer a walking epidural seems to be getting better and better and better. So then what continues to happen in the rest of your labor once your epidural is placed?
SPEAKER_02:Well, the pushing part was quite long, and then there were a few complications. So she was coming out, but she was kind of retracting with after every contraction, so it took very long, and then they realized that there really was meconium, right? So they after a certain point, like the doctor, like the chief doctor, I guess, came over a few times, and they were, I guess, considering the option of going to the UR and having a C section because it was taking long. So in the end, we didn't need that, which was good, but she did they did have to use the QE section, and yeah, um, she was stuck for a while, so and also her heart rate was dropping every now and then, so with the mequanium, and then knowing that she was getting stressed, they were considering okay, if we if things don't progress so much by a certain point, we need to start discussing what we can do, right? But in the end, they were able to take her out with the kiwi suction, and I guess the hardest part for me personally was that because of the meconium and that she was stressed, they took her out, and I had her just a few minutes that to me felt like nothing, and then they had to take her to neonatology, and she was there the first night. So I saw her that night, and I was with her for a bit doing skin-to-skin contact, but then I had to go back to my room, and then we could take her to the room with me the next day.
Christine:That must have been really tough to be separated right away. It was, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:And I think being there, I mean, there's so many hormones and so many emotions, and all I could think of was, did I do something wrong, or what could I have done better, right? Knowing now, of course, that I I've did everything I could have, and you know it's hard not to, but I guess it's normal. And in the end, she's fine, and I was fine, so it was okay, but in the moment it's just a lot of emotions running wild, I guess.
SPEAKER_03:Absolutely, those few hours, those first few hours are so critical in for so many reasons, hormonally from mom and the bond, and also for feeding and comforting the baby as well. I can imagine that you going down to see her was must have been so so wonderful in so many ways, but then leaving that's just heartbreaking. It's like it's that that that bond is um it's almost like a physical part of yourself, yeah. And then you're leaving, and it's yeah, really hard. But how um so she came out and you had her for a few minutes? Yes. And then um, how how were you feeling? How did how did um how did your birth of the placenta go? And then were you able were you able to walk? Were you able to go to the bathroom? How how did it that sort of early postpartum go for you?
SPEAKER_02:So after they, well, I had her with me, right? Uh for a few minutes. Again, I don't know exactly how much it was, it felt super short, but then I saw my husband cut the cord, and I saw her him also hold her, and that was also such a touching kind of moment because he was, you know, like he was crying a little bit and getting all emotional and like couldn't stop smiling, like looking at this little baby, right? And it was just so heartwarming to see him with her. And again, they had to take her, and now it was time for the placenta, so that was a whole different thing. Um it wouldn't come out, and I pushed uh and pushed, and it wouldn't still come out, and so the doctors told me that we could try, they tried different things. So, first they used like um a sonda, you know, like I don't know how it's called. They tried different methods to get it out, they didn't work, and at some point they told me, okay, we can try one last push. So I kind of kneeled down and they told me to push with everything I had, and a lot of stuff came out, a lot of blood, but not the placenta. So because it had been a while, they told me it was better to take me to the OR and do like um procedure to take it out.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:So they took me there, uh, they put me under general anesthesia, which I guess was the most nerve-wracking part out of the whole process. And then after an hour and a half, maybe two hours, I woke up and I was alone in the room. And I was like, all right, yeah. I I don't maybe there was someone there, I just don't remember.
Christine:Do you remember if it was a choice presented to you, whether it was general anesthesia or something lighter?
SPEAKER_02:It was something we discussed because I had the epidural, they told me, like, okay, maybe we can do the procedure with just the epidural, but it was wearing off already because it had been so long and I had been pushing for so long. Um it was a team effort, really. Like I was pushing for hours, and then at some point we were different, we were trying different positions, and the midwives were like holding my feet in the air and my hands, and I was like pushing and pulling. And my poor husband, who initially thought he was gonna be standing by my shoulder, like on my side the whole time, and hopefully not see a lot of stuff that was probably gonna be a bit scary for him, ended up helping and holding my leg up during delivery, you know. So, yes, because it I guess it had been so long, it was wearing off, and they were like, Okay, we can try to do it like this, but it's probably easier and faster to just get them into general anesthesia, and I was okay with it. It did make me a bit nervous, but I mean it was fine, and we decided to do that, but yeah, it was something we discussed.
SPEAKER_03:Um, so these um procedures usually are are short a little bit shorter than yeah, one and a half to two hours. Did they explain to you why it took so long? Um, did you get any kind of clarity in that moment?
SPEAKER_02:It was maybe a bit less. I mean, they told me that it was gonna be like by in an hour, I was gonna be in the room, and maybe it was an hour. Um I just remember it is a bit of a blur to be honest. Um, I just know that my baby was born at 3:48 p.m. And I woke up maybe 5:30. Yeah, but I mean, I guess maybe it was an hour because between the delivery and then waiting to see whether we went to the room or not, and then yeah.
SPEAKER_03:Um, eventually does someone come to you? Like, I just imagine you waking up, like that's so so sad.
SPEAKER_02:Again, this part is a bit kind of blurry. I don't know if it was the anesthesia, or like also my throat hurt because of the ventilator. Um, so that was a bit frustrating, but I don't remember what I think happened was I woke up and my husband was in the bathroom, and then he came out, and I was like, okay, there's someone around, I guess. Or also because our baby was in the ontology, he was quite a while with her there, right? So I don't remember who I saw first, whether one of the midwives probably, and then him, or I don't know.
Christine:Yeah, was he able to hold her in the NICU or yeah?
SPEAKER_02:I mean, he was with her most of the time. Um so yeah, he was just holding her, or just the finger, you know, her little hand, or yeah. And he did get to do some um skin on skin contact there too.
Christine:And how was the rest of your stay in the hospital? It was really good.
SPEAKER_02:Uh we were there for about five days, so like four nights, I think, or five counting the delivery. It was really good. I remember at the beginning my milk was not coming down, I guess because during delivery they tried different things because of the stress of the baby to either slow down or start contractions.
SPEAKER_03:And so the milk was a bit of an issue at the beginning. And also being separated from your baby can also cause issues with milk coming in and having to have an operation so soon afterwards. And these are all factors in making sort of large volumes of mature milk much harder. I mean, an already difficult task making it makes it even harder.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. I was I remember I was a bit frustrated. Because even before delivery, there was a bit of uh colostrum coming out. Yeah. Colostrum. Colostrum. Yeah. Um, so I was like, oh, this is gonna be easy, you know, it's already here. But then all of these things, and it was a bit frustrating to be honest. Yeah. And again, this feelings of what did I do wrong? You know, yeah. But the midwives and the nurses were super nice, and you can get this like consultations in the hospital, so they did come and they helped, and they brought um breast pump or like um a pump for me to use in the hospital to try to simulate and get as much colostrum as we could to start with the milk production, and so by the end of my stay, um, my milk production was slowly increasing, and then the night I got home, it all came out at once, it was crazy, but yeah, the rest of the stay was really nice. It was a bit difficult leaving, I guess, because you know it can be comfortable in the hospital, like you have this little button, and if you need help, or if there's anything, you can just press it, and someone will come help you, especially as a first-time mom. You have absolutely no idea of what you're doing, what your baby needs, or you know, sometimes they're babies and they just cry, and you try everything you can, and they will just keep on crying, and you know, so there's a lot of support, and it was a bit scary, I guess, to leave and know that you're on your own with this little baby.
Christine:Yeah, the next chapter, yeah, it's it's on you. Not to mention that they're cooking for you.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, that's uh really big part of it, too.
Christine:So when you got home, did you have like did family come or was it just uh the three of you?
SPEAKER_02:It was just the three of us for for about a week or two, and part of it was at this uh birth preparation course, one of the midwives mentioned that they highly recommended to hold on the visits, and we discussed it, and I'm glad that this was brought up and they really touched up on it because I think it really makes a difference. You're just finding yourself with this in this new environment with dynamics and navigating so many things, so it was good to have that time for ourselves, and yeah, with my background again, it was really hard for me personally to tell my mom that I wanted her to come until after a couple of weeks. I was worried that she was gonna get mad or sad or that maybe think that I didn't want her there. And so I was very worried and scared about telling her. And once I did, which took up a lot of effort and courage, um, she understood 100% and was so sweet and told me, like, yeah, of course, this is the best thing you can do for you and your family, and I'll be there whenever you want me to be there, you know. And I'm just happy to get to see you and your baby, and that was great.
Christine:So what a good yeah, because that's really the last thing you need is guilt on top of everything else for the decisions you're making. Yeah. So she came about a week later, two weeks, two weeks, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:It was a bit tricky to, I think it was two weeks again. I don't remember right now, but it was a bit tricky to plan because coming from Mexico, we had to buy the tickets in advance, and I couldn't give her a detailed schedule of when the baby was gonna come, right? So we kind of eyeballed it. And I don't remember very well, but uh maybe it was a week and a half or two weeks after the baby was born that she got here.
SPEAKER_03:That's really nice. Um, both that she came and that she also totally respected your wishes. I wonder if there was something in her experience where she was like, hmm, well done, Anna. This is what you should do. Because maybe she had a different experience herself, eh? Um, so uh when you were at home and establishing things, how did how did feeding go? How did uh your healing go? And the transition. Um yeah, how is that a postpartum experience for you? Your baby's nine months, you're still very much postpartum in my eyes. Um, maybe we all are actually in this conversation, depending on how long postpartum is in your view. But anyway, how how did that go?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I think the hardest part of postpartum, at least in terms of hormones only, I guess. For me, was the third day after delivery. I don't know, I was just I just felt drained, like it was hard to even feel sad or happy. It was kind of just this numbness and trying to get to the next day, and then it was fine, but that day was really hard.
SPEAKER_03:Um, yeah, day three. I usually have this graph when um I'm teaching a group or individuals about pregnancy, and day three is when you just see this this graph of hormones, they are they all crash, all of them, so that prolactin can take off, so it's like this crazy um crossover today, and it can be experienced so differently by so many people, so many women, and um yeah, what you're describing is is is completely normal but incredibly intense.
SPEAKER_02:It did feel very intense, it was really weird, and weird, yeah. And I don't know, again, I I think I have been extremely lucky in a lot of ways. I cannot even imagine what it would feel like to continue feeling that for a longer period of time. Yes, it was really hard, so I mean, yeah, kudos to all my all moms, you know, going through all kinds of things and oceans of hormones and feelings or lack thereof. I don't know, it's it can be really tough.
SPEAKER_03:Becoming a mother is this window into this whole world that you never knew existed, yeah, completely, totally.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so and then after that, it kept on getting better and better. Um, for me, I guess after that third day, the hardest thing was just the lack of sleep, like my body getting used to waking up at the beginning because she was also cluster feeding, she would wake up and eat every hour, hour and a half. And I guess I was also very naive with this too, but I did not realize that when you're breastfeeding, you know, they tell you, like, oh yeah, babies feed like every two to three hours, but I didn't know that you start counting the two to three hours once the baby starts feeding, not when the baby's done feeding, and so yeah, I didn't appreciate not knowing that before. And then cluster feeding was difficult, of course. But then again, the body's amazing, you get used to it, and it just keeps getting slightly easier by the day, except for when you know, every now and then it accumulates, and you need to have someone to support you and get a nap here and there.
Christine:Yeah. Did you say, is your partner Swiss? Yeah, so is his family around to help out?
SPEAKER_02:They are not very close, they are a couple hours away.
Christine:Okay, closer than Mexico, but not definitely.
SPEAKER_02:So they are super nice, and they the moment we call them, like they will get here somehow. So that is incredible, and they're being very helpful. I'm also lucky in that way. Like I know that even though they're not super close by, they are close enough to be part of our support system here.
Christine:Anything that doesn't require flights, you can really work around and definitely. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:And sorry, I forgot what other kind of things you asked me with postpartum.
SPEAKER_03:Uh, feeding. I was just wondering how feeding was going, but you were saying the back gets that that was getting better, and that um, I mean, the cluster feeding, it's a means to an end. Yeah, it's this intense feeding of constant feeling, like of just like constant, constant, constant feeding. And you're like, have I stopped producing milk? Like, what has happened? And then the next day or a few days later, they are completely satisfied, and it is just them, their way of teaching your body, hey, time to make more. I'm getting bigger, I need more calories, or maybe I'm getting sick, or maybe I'm learning a new skill. Um, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, no, breastfeeding has been another journey.
SPEAKER_03:It is, it's like learning a new dance or a new language, yeah, with a partner who also doesn't really know. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:I have to say, uh, my baby was born uh with she was three kilos, six hundred and eighty grams when she was born.
SPEAKER_03:Very satisfactory and healthy weight.
SPEAKER_02:Yes, and she's been growing consistently. Um, at the beginning, the milk production was a bit of an issue, but as soon as it started, like when the day we got home, it did not stop. So that has also been a blessing in a way, and it can be tiring, and yeah, it's a lot of work, it might not be easy always, but I did think I do think personally it helped me a lot with the recovery too. I was amazed at how the first couple of weeks when I was breastfeeding, like I could literally feel my uterus contract, and I was just amazed by it, and yeah, I think it helped me recover quite fast. I did have a tear, but it was a small one, so of course there was a bit of healing there, and my pelvic floor is still a little bit weak, but I did some um course, which helped a lot. That was really, really good. Like one of the Hebame praxis and another like month course afterwards, so it's been getting better. I can now start running slowly, which is great.
SPEAKER_01:I don't have a lot of time to do it, but I could in theory, exactly, yeah.
SPEAKER_03:But isn't that isn't that amazing to see the resilience of the body and how much you know no one wants to think about tearing and no one wants to think about pelvic floor weakness. But here you are nine months later, saying, like, yeah, it happened, but actually everything's okay. I'm getting better, I'm getting stronger. Uh, from a minor tear, I can heal quite well. Um, but it sounds really scary, doesn't it? Beforehand. I think it's really quite amazing seeing your perspective, your relaxed perspective, but also just that, yeah, that understanding of how resilient the female body is. I think it's beautiful. Definitely. Oh, I hear her in the background.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, I don't know. She no, she shouldn't be hungry now, but again, she's had this um nights where she just needs to feel someone close to her and then she's fine.
SPEAKER_03:But yeah, I'm telling you that nine months, she's between that eight to ten months really tricky time in the first year. Yeah, it's tricky. I think oh, that gets better too. Um, so if it's okay with you, I think we can ask our final question. Did you have anything else that you wanted to add?
SPEAKER_02:Uh not really. I mean, just now that you mentioned with the terrace and the pelvic floor, I also did try to prepare for that. Uh like I thought the animal, and you know, I tried some exercises. And maybe they helped, maybe they didn't, I don't know. But I also kept on doing them after with this root buildings course, and I think that has also been very valuable just in itself, like to start paying more attention to that and all of my body, I guess, and to know whatever it's better, yeah, yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_03:There's like a self-knowledge, and like, oh, that's what that's for in a lot of this experience. Yeah, that's really cool. I'm really happy that you found the roof buildings gymnastique is so amazing. It's such a shame that it's not fully covered under insurance. Um that's uh maybe a whole other podcast we could do. Um, so then before we head off and let you get to your to your little girl, we have one question for you. And that's in this whole experience of becoming a mother, what would you say or what comes up in your mind as being your most brilliant moment?
SPEAKER_02:I don't know if there's I'm assuming a lot of ways of interpreting that question. But the first thing that comes to my head when you ask me that is that for me, this has been an opportunity to redefine myself and do it not just for me, but also for my daughter. Like right now, she's my motivation to be kind of the best version I can be, and which in itself is great, but it's so nice to have this kind of extra motivation of I will try to model the woman that I want her to be through me, and in the meantime also improve myself, I guess.
Christine:So yeah, that that's really powerful. I like that.
SPEAKER_03:That's amazing. I'm gonna remember that.
Christine:Yeah, it's often right, we have, especially when you have daughters, I think, that we that we treat ourselves better, or you know, yeah, because we want to model what they what we want them to see and feel for themselves. Thank you so much, Ana, for sharing your story with us.
SPEAKER_02:And thank you for giving me the space to share.
SPEAKER_03:Thank you so much for tuning in to another episode of Swiss Birth Stories. If you enjoyed today's episode, we'd love for you to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an inspiring birth story or expert insight. Your support means the world to us and helps this community grow. So please also take a moment to rate and review wherever you get your podcast. Your feedback helps us reach even more parents to be. Don't forget to share this episode with a friend or loved one who could benefit from it. And be sure to follow us on social media at SwissBirth Stories for even more tips, resources, and updates on upcoming podcast guests, courses, and events. We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions, and birth stories too. So feel free to DM us, fill out the form on our website, SwissBirthstories.com, or tag us in your posts. Until next time, keep sharing, keep learning, and keep connecting with each other.
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