The MINT Prjct

Journey Through Pregnancy with Type 1 Diabetes: Insights into Chiropractic Care and Postnatal Recovery with Dr. Kati Smith

• The MINT Prjct • Season 1 • Episode 23

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Have you ever wondered how a Type 1 diabetic handles pregnancy and postnatal care? Well, get ready to learn from our special guest, Dr. Kati Smith. She will be sharing intimate details of her journey through pregnancy, and how she managed to achieve the birth she desired. Dr. Smith's story is truly an inspiration, and her insights into the numerous benefits of chiropractic care during pregnancy and postnatal, including maintaining good pelvic alignment and reducing pelvic pain, are eye-opening. We also touch on her collaboration with trainers to provide holistic care to moms - it's all about moving in the right way.

When it comes to managing Type 1 diabetes during pregnancy, things can get complicated. Dr. Smith opens up about the risks of uncontrolled blood sugar levels and how she worked tirelessly to keep her A1C levels low. She emphasizes the importance of choosing a healthcare provider who makes you feel comfortable and supports you during pregnancy. Her story is a testament that finding a provider who aligns with your needs and preferences is not just possible but crucial.

Our conversation continues with Dr. Smith's postpartum recovery, where she shares the importance of a balanced approach to movement and mindset. She highlights the need for postnatal care for women, including resetting the body, working up mobility and strength, and continuously maintaining an active lifestyle. To wrap up, we are joined by Katie, an experienced doula and postpartum educator, who enlightens us about available resources and support for women in Southern Utah. You won't want to miss this enlightening conversation on pre and postnatal chiropractic care. So, tune in for a wealth of information and advice on navigating pregnancy and postnatal care, especially for those dealing with Type 1 diabetes.

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@the.mom.chiro
https://www.cruxss.com/

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To learn more about The MINT Prjct and check out our programs and courses, head to TheMINTPrjct.com and follow us on Instagram, as well as your hosts, @bets.inthewild, @_coach.cara_ and @jesscarr.fit

Speaker 3:

Alright, welcome back to the Mint Project podcast. We are super excited today. We have a really awesome guest on our podcast today, dr Kenny Smith. She is a pre and postnatal chiropractor. Her and her husband own a clinic called Crick Sport in Spine, actually here in St George, southern Utah area, where I live, and she is recently became a first time mom, which we are so excited for her for, yeah, her baby boy, her little baby boy, is seven weeks old. So it's very new and new time of life and it's exciting. She has navigated her pregnancy as a type one diabetic and she also had a really beautiful experience with her birth. She got the birth that she wanted, that she planned and that she prepared for. So I'm really excited today to go over what she does in her profession as well as how she prepared for her birth, her birth story and how her recovery is going now. So welcome, katie.

Speaker 2:

Thank you guys for having me on here An honor. I'm so excited.

Speaker 4:

It's so nice to meet you. Yeah, welcome.

Speaker 3:

We are so excited to have you. So let's jump into a little bit of the chiropractor stuff. Really quick. Can you tell us pretty much what do you do? What is a pre and post-nail chiropractor? What does the care involve?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so I'm going to start off with some background of like how it got me here.

Speaker 2:

So when I was- in school I wanted to be a sports chiro. Like I wanted to work sidelines. It was so exciting for me. But when I went in for our placement I was actually placed with a chiro that focused on women and children. And I'm the youngest of three so I never was open to like seeing women pregnant. Like I was a little less kid so I never really saw women pregnant so it really didn't like cross my mind at all.

Speaker 2:

But having my internship with this chiro that focused on women's care, I was like, oh my goodness, I am 20 something and I have nothing like I have no idea about my menstrual cycle. I don't know anything about nutrition or how to help me with that. So she sparked my interest of women's care. So it kind of brought me down this line of prenatal and postpartum, because I saw that when women go see their provider when they're pregnant and they're like, hey, I'm having low back pain or pelvic pain, they're just kind of dismissed like oh well, you're pregnant, I'm so sorry, but there is stuff that they could do about it. So that's really what I wanted to focus myself on and especially, you guys know, for postpartum it's just like here's your six week checkup. You're not dying, it looks good.

Speaker 1:

Continue on with your life.

Speaker 4:

It's sad but true, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2:

So bringing everything together to help moms like enjoy their pregnancy, also enjoy their postpartum, but get back to things that they enjoy, was kind of where I wanted to go and kind of where I ended up.

Speaker 2:

So me and my husband opened up this chiropractic office, like Kara said, in southern Utah because we wanted to make a difference.

Speaker 2:

We're more movement based, so we take you through a movement screen, see how your body's moving, see what's not working, and then we kind of help you use those muscles correctly so that way you feel better. So getting adjusted during pregnancy is so important because your body is changing so much every day and it may not feel like it, but all of a sudden you're like eight months pregnant and you're like, oh, my goodness, my body has changed so much. So if you take care of it every single day, then that huge transition won't feel like a lot. So benefits include like, of course, making sure that your pelvis is in good alignment, which puts your uterus in a good position, which puts the baby in a good position. That way, when your contractions start, they're more effective on getting baby out instead of putting them in a good position and then getting them out. So and it makes you feel good, so who wouldn't want to risk the care Cause? Moms are important and you deserve to take care of yourself.

Speaker 4:

I love that and I don't. I feel like that's not. A lot of people maybe know that that's an option or they're confused. Can I go to the chiropractor when I'm pregnant? Um, and I love that you said you focus on movement as well, because it is so true I think so often women are like dismissed oh, you're just going to be uncomfortable when you're pregnant. When there are things we can do, movement definitely helps. Um. So, with that said, with you focusing on movement, do you um work with like trainers in kind of a collaborative way, ever as far as like bridging that gap of Like referring each other or working with trainers on getting people to the chiropractor to kind of what's the word I'm looking for? Just get them more of a holistic form of care.

Speaker 4:

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Speaker 2:

Yeah, so we have some great alliances with gyms around the southern Utah area. That way, as you guys know, like motherhood people don't know what to do with pregnant moms that are like, um, whatever feels good, do you know? But just because it feels good doesn't mean you should be doing it. Yeah, so we have some great resources here in southern Utah that are very thankful for. But, yeah, that holistic approach is what we need.

Speaker 2:

We need providers to be on board with movement and not be afraid for their clients to move. We need trainers to know how to properly coach. And then, of course, we need, like, self care. They need to go see a chiropractor, massage therapist, physical therapist, whatever they want or want to use in their journey. I feel like it's great, um, when it comes to chiropractic um, for anybody across the nation. They can go to the ICPA website and look up a Webster certified doc and they will, for sure, know how to take care of a prenatal woman. Um, you can go see anybody If you have a favorite chiropractor, but seeing a Webster certified chiropractor will just make your experience even better, that's awesome.

Speaker 3:

That's a really good resource and just way for women to find a chiropractor because, kind of like Jess said, a lot of women don't know that this is an option and then, even if they do, they think like well, who, who do I see you know what's the best? Um, I guess certification or what's the best licensure that I should look into as far as looking for providers.

Speaker 3:

So, um, yeah, that's really cool and I love too. I mean, I haven't yet seen the inside of your office, which I really want to come see, but you told me about it and I've seen videos and pictures. But you guys do have like a mini kind of gym set up inside of your office, which is is just really cool. It reinforces that whole movement as care um philosophy that you guys do.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, we have pretty much. It's like a mini gym. We have a squat rack, we have kettle bells, um, like bams, you name it, we have it. So that's awesome Nice to make people feel comfortable in the gym environment when they get to practice here and then get to go do it out in their own setting.

Speaker 3:

As far as, let's say, someone finds you or they find you know, a kind of factor that they want to go see. I mean, what should they expect a pregnant woman or a postpartum woman when they come in for an appointment? And then, um, why, you know what? What are the biggest benefits? I know you already went over some, but what would you say is like the top benefits of seeking pre and postnatal chiropractic care.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, um, wow, that's so hard to say. So benefit wise is pretty much, like I already said, that you're taking care of yourself. You have to take care of your cup first before you take care of your baby's cup. So making sure that your body's well taken care of um will allow you to get the birth that you deserve and want, because your body's already optimally primed for birth. Your nervous system is working properly, which is going to enhance your contractions.

Speaker 2:

Um, your pelvis is in great alignment, which is going to make make it easier for your baby to come out of your birth canal. But it also helps with recovery. Um, if we have a vaginal birth or a cesarean birth, no matter what journey your life takes, getting chiropractic care is going to help. It's going to make your recovery a lot faster and a lot easier in your body. Um, as well as like postpartum care, like if, no matter which way you deliver, taking care of your body, postpartum will help with the recovery as well. So, um, just because you had a vaginal delivery or just because you had a C section, doesn't mean that you can't go see a chiropractor afterwards. Um, I tell my momma's I like two weeks after delivery. That way we can go over birth If you're having trauma that you want to talk about or if you just had a great experience and you don't want to talk about it. That too, Um, but also making sure that we kind of put you back together like Humpty Dumpty after delivery, because your pelvis goes through a lot, um, and then you're nursing and you're up all night and we want to make sure that we take care of yourself.

Speaker 2:

For your initial visit, I take you on back, we talk through your intake form and then we set up goals for you and I that we were both striving for something. Most of the time then, when, when they come in um, they're coming in for wellness care, they're coming in because they want to have a great birth. After we set up those goals, we take them through a movement screen, like I said, see how their body's moving, see what's not moving. We do adjustments, soft tissue work. I really love cupping Um. I'll do that on a lot of prenatal women's back Um and then homework for them to do at home. So, like I said, if I see a movement deficiency, we're going to go through it in the office and make sure that their hip flexors are working properly or their glutes are working properly and they feel good when they leave and they have something to work on. If they aren't having any discomfort, um, then we work more into getting baby into a better position. So birth prep movements is what I like to call it.

Speaker 1:

For those who don't know, explain cupping, because you're not going to explain cupping, because I get questions about it all the time when I have had it done. Of course. It's like you're walking around with a billboard on that says I got a hickey on my back, so my neck or wherever.

Speaker 4:

Can you?

Speaker 1:

explain not only the benefits of cupping, but especially for this population, yeah, so the way that a woman's body changes.

Speaker 2:

We have a shift forward right. We have this human growing inside of us that are center of gravity changes. So that puts a lot of strain on your low back and your back muscles can get very tight. So cupping is you put these cups on their back and what it's doing? It's separating skin from fascia, from muscle. It's promoting blood flow to the area. So it's more of a chronic issue than an acute issue. So we want to promote blood flow. That way we get all the nasty blood out, putting good nutrients and good blood into the area. That way those muscles don't feel as tight and it feels really good. I really enjoy it. So that's why I do it on everybody.

Speaker 3:

I love it. Do you feel the benefits of it right away? I've never had cupping before Like can you feel them right away? Yeah, yeah, and how long did they?

Speaker 2:

last, I feel like it's very patient-dependent and also depends on your movement pattern. If we're fixing your movement pattern, then plus the cupping are going to feel so much better. But I mean, if you get cupping and you're not fixing your movement, that strain is going to come back.

Speaker 3:

It's kind of a band-aid, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 4:

Can you expand a little bit about what changes in your body during pregnancy as it relates to chiropractic care?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, when you're pregnant, everybody knows that your pelvis is starting to expand and with that expansion we have so many hormones pumping through our body, especially the hormone relaxin, so that's going to relax your joints, your ligaments. It's pumping through your whole body. So it's not specific to your pelvis, but that's what it's made for, but it's going to affect all joints and ligaments. Sometimes we'll get women coming in with a cripple tunnel or with neck pain, upper back pain. But your body is changing so much during pregnancy because it's getting ready to have that pelvis expand. That way a human can descend into the pelvis to come out. So, like I said, it happens slowly after every day and it's not like a big shift. So if we stay on top of it, you'll feel so good throughout your pregnancy instead of like oh my goodness, I woke up this morning. I feel like I got hit by a train.

Speaker 2:

So, getting chiropractic care during your pregnancy will increase your comfort level throughout your pregnancy.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, that's great. Now, when I love that you say like also work on the movement patterns as well, not just coming to the chiropractor, boom, I'm fixed, and now I'm not doing anything else like working on that stuff after the fact as well is so important.

Speaker 2:

Yes, I agree.

Speaker 3:

So let's get into a little bit of your more personal story and your personal experience. You are a type one diabetic. When were you diagnosed with diabetes?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so five years ago I was diagnosed.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, so you're just barely figuring out, probably, how to kind of navigate this. And then you got pregnant and then you had to navigate also pregnancy with type one diabetes. Can you kind of talk to us a little bit about that?

Speaker 2:

Before getting pregnant I almost practiced like I was pregnant, making sure that my levels stayed in a range that I knew would be good. During pregnancy and then when I got pregnant, it wasn't so overwhelming, but I wanted to make sure that I got the birth that I wanted and the birth that I deserve. So I didn't really make it an option that somebody would be able to use like oh well, you have type one diabetes, you need to be automatically induced at 38 weeks, like. I didn't want that to be an option. I wanted to have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy delivery, so I worked really hard on keeping my levels low. So my A1C was 4.7. Your A1C is your cumulative blood sugar for three months Under. I think it's 5.7 is normal range. Anything above that is prediabetic and diabetic range.

Speaker 3:

Oh, so you did a great job managing those levels then.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it was a lot of hard work.

Speaker 3:

I'm not going to lie.

Speaker 2:

But it was totally worth it.

Speaker 3:

So what are some of the risks, then? Of you know for you? You mentioned one being automatically induced at 38 weeks. Why would they do that?

Speaker 4:

And what are some?

Speaker 3:

of the other risks as far as not controlling your A1C or your blood levels.

Speaker 2:

So a couple of risk factors are having large babies. Just because of that blood sugar control they automatically induce at 38 weeks. There's like potential risk of dropping super low after delivery or running super high or baby having blood sugar issues when they come out. So if your blood sugar is high during delivery, baby comes out because they're running off of your system that their blood sugar might drop because their pancreas works and yours doesn't. So there's just different risks, like that.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, there's just so much extra to think about. It's not just you, it's with the baby and then especially with the delivery. And I know that you really worked so hard for an unmedicated birth and it wasn't a hospital. But did you want to do a home birth or like a birth care center place instead of the hospital? But you kind of had to be in the hospital.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I would have loved to have a home birth, just in fact that deliver your baby and then go into your bed you don't have to leave. I would have loved that and I could have had that option here in southern Utah. Something in my gut just told me I needed to be at the hospital For my first one. It's a new experience. You don't know what you're going through and I just felt me and my husband felt a lot safer, more comfortable at the hospital. So we decided for our first that we would deliver at the hospital and see how it would go. Luckily, the provider that I had she was amazing and listened to every want and concern that I had. So I feel like if I didn't have that support for my provider, it would have been a different experience for sure.

Speaker 3:

How did you find her? How did you find this provider that you loved so much?

Speaker 2:

So I actually interviewed quite a bit of providers even before I was pregnant. So I would go in for my yearly women's exam and I would pretty much just go to different OB offices and start interviewing OBs and be like, hey, me and my husband are trying to get pregnant the next couple of months. I'm just interviewing providers to see if they're best suited for me and if I'm suited for you. I just have a couple of questions. Are you OK if I ask them? And they were completely open to those questions because there was no pressure Like I wasn't already trying to be their patient.

Speaker 2:

They weren't trying to be my provider, they were just asking these questions honestly and it was no big deal if we didn't vibe, then it was over and done with. I wasn't already pregnant. That was the way that I found her.

Speaker 4:

That's so helpful. Like I think that's so helpful for women to know that you can choose, you know you can interview different providers. I think so often it's like, well, I've been going to this doctor for five years, I might as well just stick with them. Or, like this experience is huge and if you don't love the person that you're working with, it can make a difference. So, yeah, knowing that you can, if you don't love someone like I'm sure they're not going to have their feelings heard, if it's just not, you know, it's like find someone else or chat with someone else it will be totally fine and it will make a huge difference in your experience and the journey in that birth, like I just know, I remember when my doctor came in just feeling so much more comfortable and calm because I knew her and I had this amazing relationship with her.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and you can even change your provider during your pregnancy. If you're 20 plus weeks and you're not vibing with your provider anymore, it's totally okay to switch, don't? I feel like if you stay with the provider that you feel okay about, it's going to show up during labor and delivery. You're not going to want to be able to relax because birth is sacred and you should have people in there that you want in there.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, so, speaking of the birth, do you want? To tell us about your amazing birth story.

Speaker 4:

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Speaker 2:

So it first started off not the way I pictured. I pictured that I would. I meditated and I pictured that I would go into spontaneous labor. I would labor at home for a little bit and then I'd go to the hospital. But that's not how our journey started. I went in for my. I was 39 and six. We went in for our weekly checkups. Since, having diabetes, we were doing non-stress tests weekly and my fluid levels had dropped quite a bit. But the actual non-stress test was perfect. But my fluid levels dropped. They were a 12 a week before and the week that we went in it was a five. I don't know it was a pretty significant drop.

Speaker 2:

But my provider walked in and was like hey, you ready to have a baby today? And I just instantly started crying. I was like no, I'm not mentally prepared, I don't have my bag. Like this is not how I pictured it. And she's like, okay, well, I'm sorry, but I need you to go to the hospital. I was like, okay, well, can I, can I go home first? Grab my stuff? And she was like, deal, since it's not an emergent, but I need you to be there before five.

Speaker 2:

So we drove home, wow, and I called my doula and she kind of talked me off that she was like you know what? This is going to be perfect. We knew that this was a possibility in your birth, that you would have to be induced. So we already know that this might happen. It's okay, like, I will be there for you. I was like Okay.

Speaker 2:

So we got to the hospital and, first of all, the nurses that I had when I was at the hospital were amazing and they were pretty much lifesavers. They started me on three rounds of servidil and after that my body just picked into active labor, which I'm super thankful for. So servidil is a pill that they put up next year's cervix and yeah. So I went into active labor around four AM and then I had my son at noon that day. So, yeah, it was a great experience.

Speaker 2:

It's everything that I wanted it just it didn't start off the way that I wanted. But that's totally okay, because birth is something that you can't plan Like. Your journey is made for you. But I know, going into the hospital, that I did everything in my power to give me the birth that I wanted. Like I didn't have any regrets. I wasn't thinking about, oh well, I should have exercised more or should have done chiropractic care or should have done this. Like I went in and I took care of myself during my pregnancy, that I knew that this was my journey and it was going to be okay, no matter how it ended. And it did it and it is the way that I wanted it to, with an unmedicated batch delivery.

Speaker 3:

Awesome. What are some other things like the thing you said, the things that you wanted, what were, and the things that you deserved. What were some of those things specifically that you were like? I guess you could say training for while you're pregnant.

Speaker 2:

So I A couple things that I wanted. I wanted a saline lock in my. I didn't want to be hooked up to an IV. I wanted to be able to move. I wanted to be able to labor in the water, which I was able to do with that. I had Accord, this monitor. Instead of being hooked up to the machine, I pretty much just want to be able to move and feel my son, so that way we could do like the labor dance. I wanted to be able to birth him in whatever position that I wanted. I wanted to be in charge of the room and not feel helpless and Not be able to help myself. So that was like my biggest thing that I wanted. I wanted to feel in control of the room.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, so what positions did you feel the best and did you feel like all the mobility work, the chiropractor work, all that prep work Helped you? Helped you get into those positions, stay into them? Did you realize? Well, none of the ones that I practiced or the ones for me. I'm sure there's a bunch of different things that you could have done, but how was that?

Speaker 2:

It was good. So, yeah, I love the tub. But when I was in the tub I like was recline back for a little bit. I was squatting. For a bit of it I was in like a tripod position for a bit of it. I just kept moving and I felt like my mobility Just because I was in the water. I still had to fold myself up.

Speaker 4:

So especially in a deep squat.

Speaker 2:

That felt really great and at our hospital here they don't deliver in the water. So for pushing I had to get out and I Kept telling myself I was like I'm not pushing on my back, that was like putting my foot down. This is not what I want, which is really funny because that's where I ended up. So I started on all fours and I was like this is just way too intense, I can't handle it like too much pressure. So we went to. I went to like laying on my side. That felt really uncomfortable and I was like you know what, let's just try like a recline squat on my back kind of position. And that's the position that I pushed him in and then ended up being okay because that's what I felt comfortable in and sometimes you just have to roll with the punches and and ended up being great. I didn't have any tearing or anything like that. So that was the position that my body wanted to be in. So being able to feel that allowed me to have a better recovery.

Speaker 1:

Sounds like that was a really good lesson for you that anyone can take from it of. We talk on here a lot about birth plans and expectations and birth trauma, and I think you can go on either end of the spectrum right of Everything planned and it not go your way, nothing planned and it go beautiful and everything in between, and it's cool that you are able to like mentally Trust your body Instead of just being stubborn in your mind in a sense of okay, well, this is what I've heard and believe and know, so this is what's happening. But you found that that nice middle ground. Was that a challenge for you at any point, or were you really just kind of accepting of how that felt?

Speaker 2:

No, it was definitely a challenge, but that was something that I really worked on during my pregnancy because I was active before my pregnancy, so that movement and being active wasn't something I had to add in, but mindset was. So I Actively worked on my mindset by seeing an energy worker. I read lots of books Off-schools. The way is one of my favorite books that I read and I think it's a great book that anybody should read, but especially if you're pregnant because, like we just said, that birth isn't planned, like things are gonna come up and you have To be able to get over that obstacle to keep going.

Speaker 2:

So when I first tried pushing on all fours and it was so intense, I was like, okay, this is my body like I'm not in control anymore and I'm such a type A person that I was like, okay, I just need to let go house but it's so hard.

Speaker 2:

So I really had to focus in that moment of letting go and Trusting my body and trusting my baby. Even though I know we're both safe, it's still a hard experience to go through, especially for a first-time mom. That was my first time ever experiencing contractions, feeling that pressure and pushing a baby out. That's hard work and you have to learn as you go. There's no way of practicing that. So it was definitely hard, but I'm glad that I worked on my mindset during my pregnancy and I feel like that's one thing that people Sometimes forget it. I feel like it's one or the other people are really motivated to move and they forget about their mindset, or they work on their mindset and then they're so fatigued at the end because they didn't work on their movement or strength or their pregnancy. So I feel like there's a balance of both, of movement and mindset to practice.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, that's funny because mindset is one of our. We have three guiding principles movement, mindset and nutrition and we always say that mindset is the most important one. That you need to modify in pregnancy In relation to what you just spoke of, like going into your birth with a plan and as well as movement, like so many women Come into the gym when they're pregnant, and we do have to like switch that mindset a little bit on. What am I training for right now, like it's gonna be a little bit different than what I was training for before pregnancy and it's gonna be a little bit different than what I'm gonna be training for maybe when I recover postpartum. So, yeah, it's, it's a huge Thing that we need we teach women to work on, as well as like trainers, working with those women, because you can be a huge help and, as I'm sure you are with your patients of like here's what we need to shift in this chapter and it's a chapter, that's all it is. It's temporary and it will pass, so I love that and I agree.

Speaker 2:

Like Going to the CrossFit gym when I was pregnant, it wasn't about the time anymore, yeah, feeding my competitors. It was about like, okay, let's get full range of motion, let's feel good about this workout and promote blood flow to my baby and Get prepared for labor and delivery.

Speaker 3:

So I love that you guys do that.

Speaker 2:

That's awesome.

Speaker 4:

Well, speaking about recovery, your seven weeks postpartum. So how has it gone up to this point and how's it going right now?

Speaker 2:

It's going really well, so recovery has been Awesome. I, like I said, I didn't have any tearing, so I didn't have to worry about stitches at all. I was an active person before my pregnancy so I kind of stayed active in a modified way. So I would go for walks with my baby, making sure that he was close enough to kiss, so he wasn't too far away for me. So we went for some nice walks when it was cool in the morning, started out with breath work and then we slowly started moving into just body movements and being able to move my body without added weight. And then Last week I started adding weight in and it felt good again but I didn't have any discomfort.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and it's exciting that you get to almost. Women's bodies are awesome in general. But after delivery is like your first time that you get to reset your body, like, okay, I get to start from scratch all over again. I get to work on my mobility, I get to work on my strength. I'm gonna come back even better than I was before. So you might not get there right in those six first weeks, but eventually you will and it'll be great. And then if you get pregnant again, then you're set up for success for that pregnancy.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I like how you said, like maybe not within the first six weeks, maybe not within the first six months.

Speaker 3:

Sometimes, if you just continue to work on stuff, like you already showed, like you worked so hard on your mindset, so hard on your movement during your pregnancy, you had the birth that you wanted and deserved and then you're gonna continue to work on those things postpartum so that you have the recovery, you have the fitness a year or two years down the road. You know the strength, the stamina, all those things that you want to continue your active lifestyle. Because you just continually work on it and you know that's really how you get anything, is you just keep working on it I. But I know it can be kind of frustrating sometimes. I mean I'm almost one year postpartum and still I think like, oh, I wish you know I was back to this or this or that, but. But then I look at how far I've come and I'm, you know it's like, okay, I just keep on being consistent, keep working on things and it will come. Maybe not in the timeline that we always want, but it will, it will happen.

Speaker 2:

I agree, though it can definitely be frustrating when rowing has been a great thing in my postpartum care and like rowing and being like wow, I'm so tired after that row workout where it's like I totally could have done that before and Do a full other Metcon after that. But just honoring your body, that like okay. Yeah, I actually moved my body and I did a great row workout on like four hours of sleep. You know like you have to meet your body.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, there's a lot of other things now to take into consideration. There's this other tiny human that's taking up some time and sleep, and so yeah that's so well said.

Speaker 4:

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Speaker 3:

He's so good, he's so cute, he's cute. I've seen him on social media. What's his name?

Speaker 2:

Just name the same.

Speaker 3:

Oh, so cute. Huh. Do you have any advice for, like, first-time moms? Pretty much your top advice to first-time moms to get the birth that they want and I love that you use the want and deserve, because it's really what you personally want. But also everyone deserves like like a great experience or even just you know Like what they worked for and stuff like that. So what, what's your advice to first-time moms as far as that goes?

Speaker 2:

I would definitely educate yourself like know your options, especially in your hospital, your options, even if you decide to have a home birth, like that's an option, or a birth center. Just know, in your area, your options and having education. I believe that doulas are so important in your birth plan because they know your area, they'll know which provider is gonna be a better fit for you, they'll know what you can and can't do, they'll help you with education, things that you can say yes or no to, and they know how to set your body up for success for delivery and also mindset. So education is such a big thing because I feel like I see a lot of moms that are like oh well, I actually had a patient today.

Speaker 2:

She's going in for a V-back with her second pregnancy and she's like I didn't educate myself the first time and when I got my epidural Nobody was moving me and then eventually I stalled and then ended up in a cesarean. So this time I know when I get my epidural that people need to put me on my side and when you move in this direction and this, and I Feel like that's such a big thing, like if we know, then we can have a say in our health. But if you're scared and you don't know, then you're just gonna not say anything and then it's gonna be come super scary, where birth is natural and it's been done for years and it shouldn't be scary.

Speaker 4:

So my daughter's nine, and I feel like I feel like now, like, looking back, there's so many more I mean I'm sure they all existed back when I was pregnant but you didn't hear as much about like the doula, the pelvic floor physical therapist, the chiropractor who specializes in prenatal care, like there are so many options now to like surround yourself with People that can just provide this experience and give you so much Education so that you can make it like you said. You can not always control how the birth goes, but you can get all the information so that you can make informed decisions and do your best to get the birth that you you hope for. So that you're not looking back being like I wish I would have Gone to the chiropractor, I wish I would have done xyz. So Look up people in your area or what would you suggest? As far as I think you gave us a website earlier as far as finding, like, prenatal Chiropractic.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so the website is ICPA for kids, I believe, and you're looking for a Webster certified chiropractor.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, we'll have to put that in the show notes.

Speaker 1:

So yeah, I will put that in there.

Speaker 3:

Go find those? Yeah, that'd be awesome, all right, well, thank you so much, katie, for coming on and sharing your knowledge and your experience. I know you've done so much. Thank you just even to the women of southern Utah, and just Hopefully more people can hear your message and then go and seek out education for themselves so that they can, you know, get the births that they want and deserve as well, and how. If people want to find out more about you and what you do, how can we find you?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so you guys, they can find me on Instagram. I'm the mom Cairo on Instagram and, yeah, I practice at Crocsport and Spine in southern Utah. So we are here and and are back to working and helping mom awesome. Awesome Thank you guys for having me.