Research shows that the type of birth does influence the chances of a mother developing postpartum depression. Read "Unplanned Cesarean and Trauma" by Thais Derich.

Second Chance is a beautiful and gripping memoir, but it also has a broader purpose and message to share about the current state of maternity care in the United States. 

Derich does a phenomenal job of portraying tension. Moments with her husband, her OB, and the nurses had me clenching my stomach and holding my breath.  

This book could have been just another birth story book (of which there are many), but the way in which it's told -- the interwoven unfolding of two birth stories, side by side, the style of narration, and the author's ability to describe and recount a scene with such detail, makes Second Chance a memorable and engaging book that I found hard to put down. 

Author and speaker Thais Nye Derich discusses her journey through unexpected cesarean with her first baby and her quest for a natural birth after cesarean with her second.

Topics Discussed:

• Background Thais Nye Derich

• Diet and exercise during pregnancy

• Birth class

• Thais' first birth story

• Hospital policies

• Birth triggering previous emotional trauma

• Psychological damage

• “Recovery Closet”

• Physical recovery and 'Phantom Pain'

• 2nd Birth- The battle of finding a VBAC supportive doctor

• Home birth after cesarean

Derich’s memoir is also  an important contribution to the current international debate about human rights in childbirth and  the critical role of respectful maternity care. In today’s world it is no longer acceptable to move ahead with or simply recommend a procedure or a course of care. It is women themselves who get to decide what they are willing to consent to and what to refuse.

Without respect for autonomy and women’s ability to make their own informed decisions about how they want to give birth it will be difficult for caregivers to gain the trust of the women they serve.

Suzanne M. Lang talks with Thais Nye Derich about her path of self-examination and learning to discover that she, like many other women, was a victim of the medical establishment that denied her the human right of birthing her own child. Second Chance, A Mother's Quest for a Natural Birth after Cesarean is not just a book about childbirth, but about control over our own lives and simply, about being human. 

Literary Mama’s ABIGAIL LALONDE featured Thais Nye Derich’s memoir, Second Chance: A Mother’s Quest for a Natural Birth after a Cesarean in her “Essential Reading: Mother’s Day” article, where she praised Derich for crushing “the stigma of home birth by juxtaposing her first birth experience, a hospital birth that culminated in an unplanned caesarean, with her second birth experience, a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) home birth…With brutal honesty Derich takes her reader on a journey of more than just her birth experiences.”

I'm excited to share a thoughtful and glowing reviews of Second Chance! Here's the link to the review on Enjoy Birth Blog.

I believe in pausing. In fact, I structure my day so that spending time with my kids in the afternoon is a break from the other things I do. I’m on the Mama Advantage podcast talking about the power of pausing:

#motherhood #mamaCEO #mompreneur #MamaAdvantage

 http://meganflatt.com/2017/06/05/mamaadvantageepisode006/

And you can access it on itunes here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mama-advantage-podcast/id1231611309?mt=2