In today’s special episode for International Women’s Day, I chat to Australian actress Claire Holt. Claire lives in LA with her husband, Andrew and their baby boy, James. After spending close to 15 years on birth control, it took Claire’s body six months to establish a regular period once she went off the pill. On her second cycle, much to her shock and delight, she conceived. At her 10week scan she discovered that she’d experience a missed miscarriage (a miscarriage with no symptoms) and she admits that the experience was incredibly traumatic. "I don’t know how to describe it; it was such an overwhelming sense of loss and it was so much more significant than I had ever realised. I knew that 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage but…It almost diminishes the weight of it because it’s so common…I just didn’t realise how quickly you become attached to the baby,” she says. Claire had a D+C and talks about the importance of grieving and healing. She wasn’t ready to fall pregnant straight away so she took a few months to get her body and mind back before she decided to try again. James was conceived 5 months later and whilst Claire was elated, she was also fraught with anxiety. “I took pregnancy tests everyday, I got a blood test and was desperate for an early ultrasound. Each time I had a scan I was so panicked that I’d see a baby without a heartbeat. I was anxious until the moment he was in my arms.” Claire experienced a relatively smooth pregnancy although she showed early and James measured big, hence she was overwhelmed by the comments from people remarking on her size. Never perturbed, she continued to see her OBGYB and doula, who both guided her through her anxieties and fears. She scheduled an induction at 39weeks to fit with her OBGYN’s schedule and to give herself the best opportunity to have a natural birth (considering James’ size). After experiencing a week of false labour, she had a stretch and sweep and lost her mucus plug mere hours later. Topics include: miscarriage, missed miscarriage, birth control, natural birth, OBGYN, foley balloon, induction, walking epidural, natural birth, shoulder dystocia, postpartum anxiety. If you'd like my FREE guide on perineal massage click If you'd like my FREE 5-minute breathing exercise click Follow us on Instagram to keep the conversation going. To learn more about The Birth Class my online childbirth education course head to the shop Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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