Page 101 - Demo

www.MOSTmag.com || FITNESS MAG A ZINE || 101By Nicole MoneerUpon graduating from college in 1994 I had a 7 year career at Nordstrom working in various capacities. Following that, I was a buyer for both Claire%u2019s & Conair, a former NBA cheerleader for The Chicago Bull%u2019s during the iconic Jordan years, an international fitness model and writer, a retired IFBB bikini pro & Olympian, traveled the world as a sponsored bodybuilding.com athlete, a former radio show host, a NASM CPT & Chek Holistic Lifestyle Coach, a soon-to-be published author, and now a new mom to a beautiful healthy baby boy. As exciting as my life has been, nothing on my resume compares to my title now as a mom and my selfless journey into motherhood. Pregnancy, labor, and delivery, along with postpartum seemed very overwhelming at first. I made a conscious decision to research all of the above and surround myself with other moms who had natural birth stories. In doing so, I felt empowered. Of course I was scared, but everything I read and everyone I spoke with helped in keeping a positive holistic perspective through it all. Being a holistic coach, I%u2019m pro natural everything. On becoming a parent initially there were things I thought I%u2019d do and things I thought I%u2019d never do, until I researched. In sharing with you, my goal is to keep moms and parents informed on the choices available to them. Birth is a business and more often than not medical intervention can be avoided if you%u2019re educated. Many moms and couples are doing what the masses here in the U.S. do, putting all their faith in their doctors%u2019 hands. Not all doctors have their patients%u2019 best interests at heart. Shop around! I had my first ultrasound done at 8 weeks, and my gynecologist said you%u2019re 41, you%u2019re small, you are going to be a C-section. Many women choose that option but many don%u2019t and are forced into a C-section by their doctors. After my gynecologist said this to me, I said, %u201cBuh-bye!%u201d I wanted a natural birth. I wanted a birth team that supported me on this, so I found a midwife group that does water births in the hospital. Plus, natural births are a lot less money than a C-section and better for both mom and baby. After watching a documentary called, %u201cThe Business of Being Born%u201d, reading books, and talking with other moms who had natural births I felt confident in my body%u2019s ability to birth a child naturally, the way God intended. I felt even better about my birth team. We had an in-home natural birthing class to prepare us for the big day. We learned different techniques that involve your partner to get you through early and active labor. We mapped out our birth plan. We also discussed what %u201ccould%u201d go wrong and what our options would be then. Any mom reading this knows planning is great but things don%u2019t always go as planned, so it%u2019s important to be physically and mentally prepared for any outcome. In August of 2014 I went into pre-term labor 6 weeks early. I had literally just met with my doula that same day to give her half payment for her services. A doula is a birth companion who assists the woman and her spouse/partner before during and after birth. Continuous support during labor is associated with several maternal and fetal health benefits, including lowering the risk of induction, medical intervention, and any pain relief. Little did I know I%u2019d be calling her that same night to be at the hospital with me. Once at the hospital, since I was pre-term, I was no longer in the hands of the midwife, and I was being turned over to the doctors. At that point, I wasn%u2019t expecting to have a baby. I figured I%u2019d get sent home on bed rest. On Saturday night, they gave me magnesium sulfate