Thank you! Thank you! As a black woman who is college educated, I have an experience to share with you Chatty Broads. When I was pregnant with my first child, I made it to 6 months, had an excellent doctor and health insurance through my job. One Sunday, I thought I had to use the bathroom and I sat down on the toilet and all of a sudden, an explosion of water and blood kept pouring out of my vagina. Long story short, my uterus ruptured. My husband calls the ambulance and when I got to the hospital, the ER doctor said “Oh she’s with the clinic, so just put her in the room over there”. Luckily I hadn’t lost consciousness at that point and I said No!! my doctor is, and I said his name. Ironically he was the head of OBGYN at that hospital and the director of obstetrics. He was already at the hospital and just finished delivering a baby, which was a blessing for me. They immediately rushed me, once hearing he was my doctor, to the labor and delivery floor. Not to be graphic, they told me I was lucky to have survived. I lost over 2/3 of my blood. My doctor put me to sleep and rushed me to OR. When I woke up, I was informed I lost a baby girl. That was my dream to have a baby girl. I was then told I had to get a blood transfusion or I would not live to see tomorrow, and that I probably wouldn’t be able to have children because of my uterus rupturing. God had another plan. A year and a half later, I had a healthy baby boy, then a year after that, I had another baby boy and then 2 years after that I had another baby boy. I was considered high risk but they never let me carry to term and delivered my first at 36 weeks, the second at 37 weeks and then my third baby came at 32 weeks and weighed in at 6 pounds 4 ounces. They told me he would have been 11 pounds if I had gone to term. All Csections, and all miracles. My doctor told me after I lost my baby girl, that every morning I wake up to thank God because I am only here by a miracle. I know if I didn’t have insurance or a good doctor, I would have died because that ER doctor was going to let me bleed to death in a room in ER. Sorry to share a sad story, but I was the lucky one. How many woman with no insurance or with a clinic weren’t so lucky? The statistics answer that question. I will be donating to your cause. God Bless you both!

I got a little teary when Bekah was talking about her mom and Nana boiling water in the kitchen to keep her birthing tub warm. How special to have generations of family there to support and welcome this new life! ❤️

Thank you for further highlighting the inequality that women of color have to endure in our country. ❤️

The friendship between you two ladies is just beautiful to watch! Love you both!!! 💜💜💜

Taking your time will help that swelling and tearing so much! When birth and pushing is rushed and forced it causes more tissue trauma and swelling. The fact that you were in water and also were allowed all the space and time you needed 100% helped. It’s mental too. Stress increases inflammation via cytokines (inflammatory molecules in the body) and this increases swelling. Also that love hormone you were talking about is oxytocin! As a midwife and doula, it warms my heart to hear you experienced a birth that is my life’s goal to help birthing people have-one that is on their own terms and empowering in its own way!

i’ve been waiting for this all morning i’m so excited 😊 and thank you Bekah for acknowledging the privilege you have to have a home birth. as a black woman it is haunting to think about the statistics surrounding women like me giving birth, and more awareness is needed!

Thank you so much for everything in this episode! I cried when you talked about pushing out his head in 1 contraction...there he was entering the world! I have to tell you I’ve been listening to your podcast a long time and after hearing Ruthie’s birth story YOU inspired me to go natural and do a birth center birth for my first baby 9 weeks ago. It didn’t end up happening for me though because I got (and am still sorta) stranded in China at 6 months pregnant and had to restart my plan from scratch. So interesting that Franklin’s birth story was so different than Ruth’s-the level of pain and time in labor especially-which again inspires me to try again for my natural plan next time. Best wishes to you and your family, glad you’re recovering so well and getting sufficient sleep, and keep an eye out on that Ruthie!!

I swear I actually listen to the sponsored content wanting to buy everything Jessi recommends-and I don’t even need braces. (I am going to get tMagic Spoon). Thank you for highlighting the issues addressed at the start of your podcast. You don’t have to but it means so much that you did. Congratulations Bekah on your amazing journey and beautiful baby boy. Many blessings to you and your family.

Absolutely loved this. Congratulations Bekah!

“I’m going to you cook you in the oven when mother’s not looking” 😂

Bekah you are glowing you look soooo beautiful and happy and healthy!! ☀️✨💖

Thank you for recognizing your privileges. Bekah, I was truly triggered by you IG comments today (being a mixed woman) & it made me realize how important it is for white influencers to be the MAIN activists for the BLM movement. What you’re doing is extremely important. Please don’t stop and don’t lose this momentum. ❤️

Our births were so similar! With my first home birth I pushed for over 2 hours UGH. For my 2nd I refused to get in the birth tub until I knew I was close and I pushed less than 15 minutes which was amazing. My recovery with my 2nd was also SO much easier and I wasn't swollen at all either! It's crazy how much faster your body does everything the 2nd time around!

Thank you guys. Thank you so much ❤️

Congratulations Bekah!! 💗

Bekah is a superhero look up to her so much also i think jess is a badass too. Congrats on baby Franklin so cute. Love that both of Bekahs babies have "older generation" names for lack of better words fits her family well too❤

I loved this ep, broads

I love their friendship.

Right on Bekah about the privilege we white women have experienced compared to our sisters of color! You are helping change that today!! Congratulations to you and your family on the birth of Franklin!! Rock on!!

11 months later but I would definitely say the lack of swelling must be from how quickly you delivered. If you think about it 3 hrs of pushing is very traumatic for your vagina. Staying expanded and having a baby’s head sit in there for so long would definitely cause all the swelling that happens. I feel so enlightened after this!

Thank u for speaking about medical racism , because as a half black woman I have deffinetley experienced it.😔 2 of my doctors even went as far as told me I was lying about my back pain that I experienced after getting run over by a truck.

Bekah looks amazing and congratulations. Jess is so good at this podcast thing.

bekah looks amazing!!!

Congratulations Bekah!!!

Yay I was so excited to hear this story! The intuitive pushing seems like a much better way for the body. Is there a reason doctors/nurses want to rush the baby out asap?

I would love to know what other names they were considering for him!!

Ruth hitting Franklin is the funniest part🤣🤣 poor thing

Interesting discussion about feeling empowered. I have had 6 vaginal deliveries, one nearly precipitous and therefore unmedicated and most painful and traumatic. It was more painful at an earlier stage in labor than other births where I got the epidural much later, so it was just a fast and fiercely painful labor. I also always did well with the epidural, in that I still always had full control and feeling and still pain and discomfort, enough to still feel in control of my body. So I actually feel the least empowered about my 1 unmedicated delivery... though in hindsight I'm proud I got through it of course!

Congrats Bekah

Oxytocin! I'm sure you remembered afterwars lol. Congrats Bekah!

Congratulations to you and your beautiful family and thank you for sharing your wonderful story. It was awesome to be hearing it with Jess too so that we got her live reactions. Awesome video Broads!

I had a hospital birth, and threw up multiple times at the beginning of active labor! Thought for sure I was in transition, but the nurses were refusing to check my dilation until I "felt the urge to push" because my water had already broken and they didn't want to risk introducing any germs into my cervix. (Which I don't understand. Just wear clean gloves???) I made them check me after my contractions were coming so hard, so fast and I couldn't stop vomiting. I was only 3cm!!

Congratulations Bekah!!! Frankie J is BEAUTIFUL!!! :-)

It’s oxytocin! They told me oxytocin made me unable to bond with new significant others if I had too many sex partners. Lol

❤️

Oxytocin!! ❤️

Be grateful for the powerful supporting women in your life. I can't say I had that. My mom thought breastfeeding was stupid and a waste a time. I hid the fact that I breastfed my 1 year old from mom mother.

If you look close at Franklins head there’s a little face towards the left

Not to be annoying but I can't find Bekah's 1st birth story, just the vlog

Franklin.... if there's somethin' to a name.......... boston stories remain unknown

Oh geez, 30 seconds in and I got to go. Congratulations on your little bundle of joy though. Try to enjoy life! ❤

Bekah do not let any one make you feel bad that you have a great life.

I can't believe you have another baby when Ruthie is still under 2 (< 1.5 I think), and thus a baby herself. :O Are you nursing both babies now since WHO recommends bfing babies up to the age of 2 (2.5 for girls was the recommendation when I was a baby)? Just curious.

Are you white though? Your last name is Martinez. That name automatically puts you in a certain category or box when it comes to race.

No need to say “black guys”. You can just say “guys”.