Episode 42 - A Shot In the Dark - My 3rd Birth Story
Been a long time! Life has been busy.
Socials:
@GishgallopGirl on Twitter, YouTube, BlueSky, and Mastodon
Show transcripts can be found at
fight.fudgie.org
https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/committee-opinion/articles/2020/04/physical-activity-and-exercise-during-pregnancy-and-the-postpartum-period
Webpage from ACoG about working out during pregnancy
https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/exercise-during-pregnancy
Second Webpage from ACoG about the same topic.
https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/committee-opinion/articles/2018/08/air-travel-during-pregnancy
ACoG on Air Travel During Pregnancy
https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna39288811
NBC News Story from 2010 on pregnant air passengers
https://eyewiki.org/Ectasia_After_LASIK
EyeWiki on Pregnancy and Lasik
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8395880/
NIH Study on Pregnancy and moderate walking as exercise
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/21606-mucus-plug
Cleveland Clinic on the Mucus Plug
https://www.manateekidsdentist.com/does-teeth-whitening-hurt
Why Does Teeth Whitening Hurt
https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-836403
Jerusalem Post on Candace’s Feud With Babylon Bee
https://www.webmd.com/baby/what-to-know-eating-and-drinking-during-labor
WebMD on Eating and Drinking During Labor
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK562140
National Institutues Of Health on Poly-hy-dram-nios in Pregnancy and Labor
https://tampabayparenting.com/causes-darkened-areolas-dark-nipples-1478
Tampa Bay Parenting on Nipple Darkening
https://laleche.org.uk/caesarean-birth-and-breastfeeding
LaLeche on C-Section Birth and Breastfeeding
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4847344
NIH Study on Canadian Breastfeeding Stats
And this was supposed to be our first episode of January 2026, but life happens and we're now in February 2026.
As we record this, it is February the 6th of 2026.
If you want to really put a date on it, I am, as always, the only person running this kind of show, especially this kind of show with my youngest adult son, especially in fair Minneapolis, especially in this ever-burdensome fascist world, hunted as our fair citizens are by the minions of ice, despised as our fair citizens are by the redneck morons in other states that can't even spell Minneapolis without asking Google Bing or ChatGPT for help, angered as people such as the subject of this podcast focus, Candace Owens,
is by everything about Minneapolis, a city that is the home of Target, Prince, the Mighty Ducks, the first one, not the straight-to-video sequels, Mall Rats, Drop Dead Gorgeous, Purple Rain, Jingle All the Way.
A terrible episode of Kitchen Impossible, but that's an expansive list as Robert Irvine is a scum shell of a human being.
And I mean that in the old Victorian spent condom sense of the word, but specifically the episode he did at the Wonderful Mall of America.
Fuck that dude into fucking space and this city has more awesome entertainment than can be fit into an opening monologue.
I am Thomas Anderson and I'm here with What the fuck?
God, what's your name?
Matthew Anderson.
See, how hard was that to do?
I did all the heavy lifting.
Just the speed of flight that you spat all of that out at.
I could have gone faster.
The barrage of information.
I could have gone faster.
But today we're talking about episode 16 of A Shot in the Dark titled My Third Birth Story.
And it is oddly appropriate that I am discussing this with the third child I helped raise.
And I am glad we decided he would be the last one because raising kids is fucking pricey.
Listen, folks, if you think taking care of a pet is expensive, then get yourself spayed or neutered too, because raising people ain't cheap.
We stopped at just the right time.
Anyway, on with the show.
Oh, it would help if I had the volume on the actual thing here.
All right.
Here we go.
First clip.
Hey guys, happy new year and welcome to another episode of A Shot in the Dark.
And today we are going to get into my third birth story.
I feel like that is definitely the way to start the new year.
I will just say, just in the background, we're not going to get into it today, but very tough postpartum period because I had to go in for a surgery two weeks postpartum.
We're going to talk about that in the next episode.
We're going to get into postpartum depression and things of that nature.
But it has been a very, it had been, I guess, now we're in January, a very rough December.
Definitely the most challenging month, I think, that I probably had in my life in terms of physical capabilities.
But again, now we're here to discuss today.
We're doing a birth story episode because every woman in the entire world loves a birth story.
It is something that I never get tired of hearing.
I am so plugged in, especially, I mean, probably not before you start having kids, but once you start having kids and especially as you're expecting, it seems like you are constantly online trying to get as much information as you can so that you know what the signs of labor are and just hearing just the miracle of bringing in a child into the world.
It never gets old.
And my husband had shared with me this clip that I thought would be fun to just toss over to you guys, the family guy clip, where they're basically mocking women and their love for birth stories while they're on a road trip.
So we're going to run that for you guys right now.
Take a listen.
Before she plays a family guy clip, I don't think all women or pregnant persons are of a hive mind and just instantly go looking for bad advice from the likes of people like Candace or whatever weirdos she follows.
In my personal experience, pregnant people usually know other people that were pregnant and value their information above online weirdos.
But because we follow this one in particular, I want to say that if this episode is taken off of YouTube, it will likely be for the lack of permission I will be seeking in order to play the following clip that includes a family guy bet.
Say, ladies, I was wondering if you could tell me what was childbirth like?
Oh, Glenn, you have no idea.
It's something no man could understand.
Think of the most intense pain you've ever felt and imagine feeling that for hours.
And then by the eighth month, I had hemorrhoids that hung like bunches of grapes.
And then they said, I was four centimeters dilated.
They didn't think I was far enough, but I was like, I can tell you I'm far enough.
And that's when Chris was born.
Gosh, that's all so fascinating.
Let me ask you something else.
Have you girls ever worked in an office with other women who you have negative things to say about?
Oh, shut up.
We're here.
It is so great if we're able to laugh at ourselves.
And I definitely am.
It's brilliant.
It's amazing.
If you want to get girls chatting, this is one topic you can throw at them.
Birth stories.
And as I said, the reason for it, no shame.
You know what, fellas?
You carry a child for 10 months and almost 10 months, nine and a half months, and deliver that child and go through all the emotions.
We are allowed this.
We are allowed to talk about every single second of our birth stories.
So I agree with her on this.
I actually can't agree with her on this.
You know, birth and the whole process is natural and none of us gets to exist without it.
People that have been through the process, like with anything else, should be able to discuss it without stigma.
Fortunately, in my experience, pregnant people usually tend to know others that they trust and can get good advice or stories from or recommendations for doctors and hospitals.
Normal life shit, circle of friends, right?
That said, Candace is about to reveal a version of her own thinking that I can't quite grasp.
But I don't think she has what one would call friends that she can trust.
Oh, wow.
I mean, when her friends are, you know, Romanian criminals that are known for sex trafficking.
Oh, my God.
So many.
Yeah, before we play the next clip, so much rape apologism has gone on with her.
It was fun, though, in the between episodes, watching one of her friends get beaten by a random punch thrown by a fighter that he fucking picked.
Andrew Tate got knocked the fuck out by the most weak sauce punch.
Yep.
By a man wearing Hello Kitty gloves of all things.
He wasn't even wearing fucking like the black and red normal looking.
No, he was wearing custom Hello Kitty fucking boxing gloves.
Managed to uppercut them.
Not even an uppercut.
No?
No, it was like, it was like a backhand, and he just swung up.
And he was like leaning away when he did it.
It looked like a weak as fuck punch.
But Andrew Tate doesn't have much of a chin.
So, you know, for all of this alpha male shit, It was so pleasing to watch him and Jake Paul in like the same week have to take a knee.
Yeah.
Have to take a struggle hug.
Fuck both them guys.
God.
There was a thing I'd seen and I never looked into it because it just seemed like a funny idea to believe in.
But every time that Jake Paul had like stuck his tongue out at Andrew in their fight.
Yeah.
People were speculating that that was supposed to be like Andrew's cue of like, hey man, you're not holding back.
You're supposed to be holding back.
And then when Andrew finally decided, you know what?
Fuck this.
I'm done.
And started really wailing on him.
Yeah.
He did the tongue waggle thing back at him before he threw the punch that has now been turned into the meme of him cowering in the corner like the fucking hamster.
Yeah.
And the look on his face was like, I have, I have fucked up.
I have really fucked up.
I'm glad there were rules because I would be dead.
Yeah.
So here's the next clip.
I wanted to first, before I even get into what happened on the day of birth, is to just back it up because you realize, of course, as you are getting closer and closer to birth, you're spending more and more time on the forums, right?
You're on Reddit, you're on MumsNet, you're asking questions like, what is a sign of labor?
No Real Friendstrusted00:02:43
Even after you've had one child, you still kind of forget you go through this amnesia and you're wondering whether or not there's going to be certain signs that you can look out for.
Okay, that was a short clip, but does this lady have any friends?
I mean, I only found out about Mumsnet from when she mentioned it just now, but apparently it's a big deal website in the UK.
It is a parenting site, and in general, it seems all right.
But anyway, back around to my question, does she not have any other women to speak with that she knows personally?
Or are they all as whacked out as Candace Owens?
Or worse, are they frenemies?
Considering she was a mean girl.
I mean, you know, we may never know, but from what we know of Candace's past as a mean girl, she might only have people around her that she doesn't entirely trust.
And that is also a feature of narcissism.
It's hard to take advice from anyone when you fervently believe with no proof or plenty of proof otherwise that you are the smartest person in the room.
We had an experience like this with a relative recently.
This person repeatedly would tell us about how much smarter and harder working they were than everyone else that they worked with regardless of job.
They would bloviate for hours on this bullshit and more so when drunk, which was often.
They had no real friends, never hung out with anyone, just so convinced of their own brilliance and standing in their work that they couldn't be bothered to make friends or at the very least allies.
We cut them off from our side of the family months ago and I haven't missed them for a single day.
Candace has said before how her sisters don't pay attention to her shows or her work in any way.
And I have been told other things from people that were close to Candace via email and DM about her, plus her personal image and work.
Right now, it seems publicly anyway that she has been hard at work burning every possible bridge over the killing of Charlie Kirk and has blamed everyone but the shooter and Charlie Kirk's own work for the killing.
She has pretty much blamed and sowed anger publicly amongst almost everyone that she ever worked with.
And I can tell you that my Twitter feed is almost nothing but famous shitbag former friends of Canvas.
Candace got Canvas.
Okay.
Candace, dragging her over this shit on a daily.
I spend maybe five to 15 minutes a day on Twitter to see how things are going.
And it's been a lot of Candace versus Everybody on Charlie Kirk for a hot minute.
So to answer the question I posed with this clip, I do not think she has any real friends that she trusts.
Pregnancy Fitness Challenges00:05:50
It would be sad if it weren't also likely by her own doing.
So even back when this was recorded in early 2024, Candace is using the parasocial relationship she has built with the audience to tell her story to them.
So here we go for real.
So I was super, super cognizant as this is obviously my third labor and delivery.
I thought I'm going to pay special attention to my body because I want to be able to thoroughly answer women's questions and also maybe just be aware of things that I hadn't been aware of before that may have signified labor.
So the first thing that I will say is during your first labor, you are always, of course, going to be so much more cautious because you don't really know your body.
And so with my first son, Georgie, I worked out, I would probably say up until seven months, I was running.
I was living in Washington, D.C. at the time, and I was going for runs, obviously super slow pregnant runs, but doing four miles a day.
And then once I got about seven months pregnant and I was really kind of starting to show, I just wanted to slow down the activity and I took it down to some walks.
But I wasn't nearly as active as I was when it came time for my second pregnancy with my daughter Louise.
A little bit more activity, keeping up all of the anaerobic activity and, you know, the push-ups as long as I could and lifting weights as long as I could.
And I probably felt good to do that until the last eight weeks of birth where anybody who's been pregnant, let me tell you this, you will fly through the first half of pregnancy around 30 weeks, I promise you.
Every day just kind of starts to feel like a year, maybe 32 weeks.
And the closer you get to pregnancy, the longer the years get.
I mean, to birth pardon, the longer the years get.
It is like time slows down miraculously.
And of course, you're becoming increasingly more uncomfortable because you can't sleep in the way that you'd like to sleep.
Really want to recommend to women who want to be able to sleep on their sides without having that horrible hip pain that you purchase a boppy hip pillow.
Life-changing third time around.
Wish I had it the first two times better than any other pillow.
I know you had the long ones, you know, the maternity pillows.
I am telling you that little pillow that just picked up my hip so that I wasn't holding all that extra weight onto it was absolutely amazing because I just love to sleep on my side and it was becoming increasingly painful the bigger I got.
But pulling away from that, yes.
So one of the things that I would say is I was just so much more confident.
You get increasingly more confident with every labor, every delivery, every pregnancy.
And I just knew that I could push my body.
And I also knew that I wanted to avoid that eight to 10 week final mental trap where you're just like, oh, I'm doing less.
I'm more tired.
And so I stayed as active as I've ever been.
And I'm in general a very active person.
I work out a lot.
If you guys follow me on Instagram, you know that.
And I cannot encourage women more to keep up physical activity.
I mean, if there's one piece of advice I can give you, of course, not a doctor.
You should speak with your doctor.
Yeah.
So it must be said for this clip, she isn't saying crazy shit.
I looked up if the whole running up to seven months was a healthy practice.
And yes, it can be, provided an informed doctor is involved in helping a patient with those choices.
From the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and also the first link in the stack, we get the following from the abstract at the top.
Exercise, defined as physical activity consisting of planned, structured, and repetitive bodily movements done to improve one or more components of physical fitness, is an essential element of a healthy lifestyle, and obstetrician, gynecologists, and other obstetric care providers should encourage their patients to continue or to commence exercise as an important component of optimal health.
Women who habitually engaged in vigorous, intensity, aerobic activity or who were physically active before pregnancy can continue these activities during pregnancy and the postpartum period.
Observational studies of women who exercise during pregnancy have shown benefits such as decreased gestational diabetes mellitus, cesarean birth and operative vaginal delivery, and postpartum recovery time.
Physical activity also can be an essential factor in the prevention of depressive disorders of women in the postpartum period.
Physical activity and exercise in pregnancy are associated with minimal risks and have been shown to benefit most women, although some modification to exercise routines may be necessary because of normal anatomic and physiologic changes in fetal requirements.
In the absence of obstetric or medical complications or contraindictions, physical activity in pregnancy is safe and desirable, and pregnant women should be encouraged to continue or to initiate safe physical activities.
This document has been revised to incorporate recent evidence regarding the benefits and risks of physical activity and exercise during pregnancy and the postpartum period.
The rest of the article goes into much more detail and is worth reading for anyone that may be pregnant or know someone that is that could use the information.
So as I said, Candace in this clip is not speaking out of her ass.
This clip alone would merit her the rare good job Candace, except that we have to follow it with this clip.
The number one thing that I say is listen to your own body.
Like, how long can I do sit-ups for?
Until one day you're going to realize your body just tells you no.
It starts to feel a little funny.
How long can I jump for?
I was doing, you know, jumps and burpees, and then one day my body said, that doesn't feel good anymore.
American Health Care Bind00:04:37
Your body can tell you, I think, more than a doctor can.
I'm not allowed to say that, but if you come in tune with your body, you'll know how far you can push these things.
Yeah, so another short clip, but I wanted to cut it there because she comes right out with it, that she isn't a doctor and really isn't qualified to dispense such advice.
Look, anyone that has had any physical ailment strike them, such as cancer, heart disease, and other organ problems in my experience, they often didn't feel or notice any changes going on with themselves until shit got real in a real bad way.
Yeah.
Your body will not always give you obvious warning signs of issues.
Much of the time, you will get hit hard with nasty shit that might have been building up for a long time.
That said, people that do catch issues early often have access to regular medical appointments.
Candace, I want to point out, is wealthy.
Most Americans are not wealthy.
And even for those of us with decent health care, making a doctor appointment is usually a chore that gets scheduled weeks or even months in advance for a checkup, let alone anything else.
And that is only done typically if we can afford the visit in the first place, which is handled by a variety of factors and costs that often are not known and cannot be sorted out with any degree of accuracy ahead of time.
Let's talk about American healthcare for a moment.
Now, I have done some update episodes in between the last episode and this one.
Yeah.
And anyone that didn't listen to those for whatever your reasons were, those are your reasons.
Anyway, One of the reasons why we weren't able to record was I have had to work more in order to cover our newer higher health care bill.
Now, I have the same plan as we had for the last two years.
Over the last two years, that plan was $100 a month and covered me, Matthew, and his mom.
It's a decent plan all around, you know, decent cost on her doctor's visits, and she does need some specialist visits here and there, but also decent costs on her lab testing and on medications.
Now, all that being said, we, of course, want to keep this plan because her doctors are on the fucking plan.
That plan went from $100 a month to $500 a month.
And we're lucky.
That happened because if you've heard about this, international listeners, and we have several actually, many of whom live in countries where they have a social health care system.
So for those of you across the seas and just north of us and south, you may have heard that the American health care system was in a bit of a bind recently.
That did not change.
It's not going to get better.
They attempted to force a vote on it in the House and Senate recently, and that shit failed.
So everyone is stuck with what they got.
The thing is, the Obamacare plans that you may have heard about and other similar state-level plans, like we live in Minnesota, which has its own version of that, the federal funding for most of those plans got cut off.
So a lot of people were stuck paying for non-subsidized plans.
They were already paying some amount out of pocket, but now they're paying more.
We got lucky in that ours went from $100 to $500.
A lot of people, their plans went up to $1,200, $1,500.
Christ.
Yeah.
And most people can't afford that.
That is your rent.
Yeah.
You know, so yeah, most people have chosen not to pay.
Well, what that does is in the next year, if they don't figure it out, it could increase our health care costs.
Depending on how much that goes up in the next year, he can at least get health care through his employer.
But employer-sponsored health care plans are expected to go up as well.
Pregnant Air Travelers00:15:45
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, you know, that all remains to be seen.
But the American health care system sucks.
Don't move here.
If you live elsewhere and you can stay there, consider American health care as part of your cost, don't move here.
Because even if you have to go to the hospital, even if it's a fucking emergency, you could be paying that debt for the rest of your life.
Because medical debt wasn't supposed to be a thing that mattered, and now it's back again.
Yeah.
So.
Quite unfortunately.
Yeah.
I mean, shit.
That's a reason why you get injured at a job and it's like, oh, I can actually go to the doctor finally.
Because you got injured at the job and you have proof that you got injured at the job.
Workers' comp.
Yeah.
That's that.
And unfortunately, you know, you get lucky if they find something in routine testing on you during workers' comp, but then that's just, okay, we'll come back for this.
Well, it's like, okay, well, how much is that going to be to come back for?
Oh, I can't afford that, but it's good to know that I have a diagnosis.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So what I'm saying is that you cannot just rely on your body cues to know when something is wrong.
The best any of us can do. is to try to take care of ourselves and ride this healthcare crisis out.
Next, Candace will continue the Parasocial Love Fest with more advice.
She is not qualified to dole out.
For me, it felt like around 32 weeks I kind of needed to adjust my workouts.
And so I created a challenge and it was amazing.
It made the end of pregnancy so much better and so much quicker.
I started a step challenge at the end of pregnancy where if I had been taking 10,000 steps per day, I then pushed it to 15,000 steps per day.
I did this incrementally.
I want to be clear.
So do not just, if you are watching this and you're like 32 weeks pregnant and you're doing 5,000 steps, please do not jump up and just suddenly do 15,000.
If I was at 8,000, by the next week I was doing 9,000, 10,000, 11,000.
And by 40 weeks pregnant, I was doing 15,000 steps every single day.
It was a great personal challenge.
I felt amazing.
It gave me mental clarity.
It removed that, I can describe it as a blob feeling.
You guys know what I'm talking about?
End of pregnancy.
You just sort of feel like a mental blob.
And I don't know, you just feel swollen.
I had absolutely no swelling at all because of this aerobic activity.
I was walking three and a half miles in the morning.
In my past pregnancies, I've had to remove.
If you go back and find my podcast, you'll notice that I removed my rings.
Everyone was like, she's getting divorced.
I was like, no, I'm just fat and pregnant, leaving alone.
I did not have to remove my rings this pregnancy at all.
So that is something that I fully attribute to having increased my step count by the end.
And like I said, it was just really good for mental clarity and also gave me this time to speak to my sisters.
Like if you're, you know, we get busy.
You have kids.
I've got three under three now.
At the time, I had two under two.
I was just talking to my sisters a lot more, feeling like my relationships were deeper than they've ever been.
It was just, it was really nice.
So I want to recommend walking for people that can.
I know some people have other things going on during their pregnancy.
You know, take the advice that you can, leave the advice that you can't.
So according to a source again from the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, which is the second source on the show notes, 10,000 steps is the maximum recommended for a pregnant woman in good health to take in a day.
If anyone is particularly interested in a pretty good breakdown of how and why this works, and also warning signs that a person should stop or not go from almost nothing to 10,000, read the linked source.
It's the second source.
It's all written in plain and concise language, but basically 10,000 steps is a maximum recommendation.
If Candace actually did 15,000, well, while that fits with her narcissism, she really shouldn't be putting that out there for her audience.
And now for some international travel.
A second thing that I did, which I did for all of my pregnancies, but I do want to talk about it because I know that on forums women ask this question all the time pertaining to flying.
There is some really weird fear about flying on airplanes while you're pregnant.
I don't know how backed in science it is.
I've spoken to my doctor about it.
He doesn't feel that women need to be so fearful about flying during pregnancy.
He says that, you know, the science is just not there.
I, when I say, traveled non-stop in my first pregnancy, traveled non-stop in my second pregnancy, I traveled non-stop in this pregnancy.
This pregnancy was the latest I had ever traveled.
At 38 weeks pregnant, I flew to London for some business meetings and to give a speech, and I also then flew to Madrid for a wedding.
So I wasn't just flying like popping up to Cincinnati.
I was flying for nine hours in the air.
And okay, about that London and Madrid trip.
I went on a rabbit hole over this stuff.
I went to Candace's tweets around this time.
I found nothing about her taking a trip abroad for either meetings or speeches in London.
And there were no known alt-reich shitbags that were getting married in Madrid around that time.
Candace was, at the time, dealing with fallout at the Daily Wire over her stance on the Gaza genocide, and that's about it.
If she went overseas for business and pleasure, she kept it quiet, which is very against her character.
I checked her episode release schedule, and while there were moments that would have afforded her that kind of time, such as a three-day break between certain episodes, that isn't out of the norm for her.
As much as I would like to call bullshit on this, I have no proof, so I'm moving on.
As for flying while pregnant, carriers often have rules regarding it, but there is no specific ban for pregnant women in America to fly as passengers.
Once again, from the American College of Gynecologists, we get this information on this topic.
And I quote: In the absence of obstetric or medical complications, occasional air travel is safe for pregnant women.
Pregnant women can fly safely, observing the same precautions for air travel as the general population.
Because severe air turbulence cannot be predicted and the subsequent risk for trauma is significant should this occur, pregnant women should be instructed to use their seatbelts continuously while seated.
Despite a lack of evidence associating lower extremity edema and venous thrombotic events with air travel during pregnancy, certain preventative measures can be used to minimize these risks, including use of support stockings and periodic movement of the lower extremities, avoidance of restrictive clothing, occasional ambulation, and maintenance of adequate hydration.
For most air travelers, the risks to the fetus from exposure to cosmic radiation are negligible.
However, air crew or frequent flyers may exceed these limits.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the International Commission on Radiological Protection consider air crew to be occupationally exposed to ionizing radiation and recommend that they be informed about radiation exposure and health risks.
Occasional air travel during pregnancy is generally safe.
Recent cohort studies suggest no increase in adverse pregnancy outcomes for occasional air travelers.
Most commercial airlines allow pregnant women to fly up to 36 weeks of gestation.
Some restrict pregnant women from international flights earlier in gestation and some require documentation of gestational age.
For specific airline requirements, women should check with the individual carrier.
Civilian and military air crew members who become pregnant should check with their specific agencies for regulations or restrictions to their flying duties.
Air travel is not recommended at any time during pregnancy for women who have medical or obstetric conditions that may be exacerbated by flight or that could require emergency care.
The duration of the flight also should be considered when planning travel.
Pregnant women should be informed that the most common obstetric emergencies occur in the first and third trimesters.
In-craft environmental conditions, such as changes in cabin pressure and low humidity, coupled with the physiologic changes of pregnancy, do result in adaptations, including increased heart rate and blood pressure, and a significant decrease in aerobic capacity.
The risks associated with long hours of air travel, immobilization, and low cabin humidity, such as lower extremity edema and venous thrombotic events, recently have been the focus of attention for all air travelers.
Despite a lack of evidence associating these events with air travel during pregnancy, certain preventive measures can be used to minimize these risks, including use of support stockings and periodic movement of the lower extremities, avoidance of restrictive clothing, occasional ambulation, and maintenance of adequate hydration.
Because severe air turbulence cannot be predicted and the subsequent risk for trauma is significant should this occur, pregnant women should be instructed to use their seatbelts continuously while seated.
The seatbelt should be belted low on the hip bones between the protuberant abdomen and pelvis.
Several precautions may ease discomfort for pregnant air travelers.
For example, gas-producing foods or drinks should be avoided before scheduled flights because entrapped gases expand at altitude.
Preventive anti-emetic medication should be considered for women with increased nausea, such as, I guess, dramamine.
Yeah.
Or whatever is safe for a pregnant woman to take.
I think dramamine's got a warning on it that you need to talk to a doctor before you take it.
Most things do.
Yeah, most things do, particularly when they're pregnant.
Like the list of medications just drops to almost nothing.
Yeah.
Available information suggests that noise, vibration, and cosmic radiation present a negligible risk for the occasional pregnant air traveler.
Both the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements and the International Commission on Radiological Protection recommend a maximum annual radiation exposure limit of one millisievert for members of the general public and one millisievert over the course of a 40-week pregnancy.
For most air travelers, the risks to the fetus from exposure to cosmic radiation are negligible.
Even the longest available intercontinental flights will expose passengers to no more than 15% of this limit.
Therefore, it is unlikely that the occasional traveler will exceed current exposure limits during pregnancy.
However, air crew or frequent flyers may exceed these limits.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the International Commission on Radiological Protection consider air crew to be occupationally exposed to ionizing radiation and recommend that they be informed about radiation exposure and health risks.
The reader is referred to what air crews should know about their occupational exposure to ionizing radiation and in-flight radiation exposure for additional details.
That's an actual booklet.
That's the actual booklet.
Yeah.
At least there's a booklet for it on top of it all.
Right.
I think that's there for the airlines to print out and be like, here, see, we told you.
Yeah.
In the absence of obstetric or medical complications, occasional air travel is safe for pregnant women.
Pregnant women can fly safely, observing the same precautions for air travel as the general population.
Women should check with specific carriers for airline requirements.
Now, anyone that wants to read more from this source can do so at the third link in the stack.
Now, what I want to point out here is that Candace said she was past that 36-week mark.
So, if she traveled overseas at 37 weeks or so, it likely was on a private flight.
I want to refer y'all back to her money life for that one.
I would not doubt that she flies privately everywhere anyway, at least as much as possible.
Clearly, however, there are risks, and I shudder to think that anyone used her example to board flights in an unsafe manner or lied about their pregnancy to a carrier just to get a seat on a flight.
That all said, I looked up whether or not there was any kind of pattern of pregnant persons lying about gestational age to get a flight, like if there had been complications mid-flight and the truth had come out later.
And I came up with a few isolated incidents, but nothing I would call a pattern of deception.
So at least that is good.
As always, though, I am happy this shitty broadcast of hers was behind a paywall.
And while not impossible to find today, because I obviously found it, it is at least out of easy range for most people.
But having said all of that, Candace has more related bad advice to give.
When I spoke to my doctor, obviously he's now, he's known me for years, and he just knows that I'm probably going to do it anyway.
So he probably must give his best advice.
He's like, look, we're supposed to say, don't fly after X amount of weeks, but I know you and you're going to go.
And every airline, by the way, has different policies.
So for the most part, you can fly when you're pregnant.
Not at 38 weeks, but I mean, what are they going to do?
Look at you and be like, you're fat.
I think you are definitely 38 weeks.
They didn't ask me any questions.
I kind of just wore a baggy coat.
And my husband was like, what's going to happen if we, if you give birth on the plane?
I'm like, I'm going to get birth in the plane.
That's what's going to happen.
The baby's going to come no matter what.
But I also know my body and I know that I'm not a person by third pregnancy that gives birth early.
I could feel that my baby wasn't low enough.
So again, this is also my willingness to even take that risk of saying like I'm going to get on a plane comes from being comfortable with my body and knowing that the baby hadn't started heading southbound enough that I needed to be worried at 38 weeks.
So the thing that my doctor did recommend when I traveled and I forgot on the way over, I bought them the compression socks.
They were in my backpack and then I lost my mind and did not put them on.
And when I got and landed in London, my feet were swollen, which was annoying because then I couldn't fit my sneaker and it was just painful.
It went down in 24 hours.
But then on the way back, I did not forget and I had absolutely no swelling.
So you will get some swelling in the air.
If you are someone that wants to travel, I would fully recommend buying compression socks.
They work that they work amazingly.
It was a total difference, total difference in traveling back than it was in traveling forward.
Other than that, I would definitely say that for whatever reason, when you're in the air and you travel, you will get more contractions.
I'm talking about Braxton Hicks contractions.
Not anything to be concerned about.
I just noticed that if, you know, I just noticed that there were like a few more than usual every time I got on the plane.
And again, I was traveling like every other week.
So that could have been a big contributor to it.
I'm going to wrap that and button it by saying, but consult your doctor and listen to your doctor and your body always.
Okay, more bad advice, like I said.
While I do not believe that Candace or her fancy man wealthy husband would ever fly commercial, because what is the point of having fuck you money if you have to travel with the common rabble?
Pregnant Passengers and Hidden Labor00:08:39
Yeah.
Even in first class.
Anyway, I found an article from 2010 about this very subject from NBC News.
It is in the link stack, of course, but it says, pregnant flyers can easily hide condition from airline.
While the vast majority of women heed airline rules against flying when late in their pregnancy, some manage to conceal their condition or lie about how far along they are so they can get to their destination.
And this name is awesome.
This was written by Alan Clendenning.
That's an awesome name.
Clendenning.
Clendenning.
If a woman really wants to get around the rules barring her from flying in late pregnancy, there's little an airline can do to stop her.
Investigators believe that a Filipino maid who gave birth in an airplane toilet two weeks ago deliberately wore baggy clothes and some sort of girdle around her stomach to conceal her pregnancy, Gulf Air spokeswoman Catherine Kaksinska said Tuesday.
That's quite the name.
It is.
I love foolish people.
It's not clear how far along the Filipino woman was in her pregnancy when she boarded the 10-hour Gulf air flight from Bahrain to Manila.
The airline has procedures to identify pregnant women checking in for flights, but if someone conceals the pregnancy, quote, it's difficult and nigh-on-impossible for us to tell, Kaksinska said.
While the vast majority of women heed airline rules against flying during the last four or five weeks of pregnancy or comply with requirements about providing a medical certificate from a doctor, some manage to conceal their condition or lie about how far along they are so they can get where they want to go.
United Airlines flight attendant Sarah Nelson says she raised eyebrows last year when she flew while eight months pregnant.
She was legal but looked ready to give birth at any moment.
Quote, I got reactions everywhere because I really think it is quite rare that you see people flying so advanced in their pregnancy, end quote, said Nelson, who is also the spokeswoman for the United Airlines branch of the Association of Flight Attendants, CWA.
Quote, I probably scared people a little bit, she said.
In-flight births are so infrequent they aren't tracked by airline associations.
Much more common are passenger medical emergencies like heart attacks and anxiety attacks, or travelers who pass out after taking tranquilizers or drinking alcohol.
Yeah.
The Filipino woman says she had been raped and impregnated by her employer in Qatar, then forced by her employer's wife to return home.
She managed to hide the pregnancy to board the plane, then went into labor, giving birth in the packed jet's toilet without any other passengers or the flight crew noticing.
Christ.
Yeah.
She abandoned her six-pound, nine-ounce baby boy in the trash, saying she feared what her family would say.
The child is doing fine under the care of authorities, and the woman could face child abandonment charges.
A Samoan woman on a flight to New Zealand gave birth the same way last year, again without anyone noticing.
That child was also saved from the trash and survived, and the woman was convicted of abandonment and deported.
Since 2007, babies have also been bored aboard planes flying from Chicago to Salt Lake City, on a domestic flight in Malaysia, and on long-haul flights from the Netherlands to Boston, from Hong Kong to Australia, and from Germany to Atlanta, Georgia.
But even when gate attendants question how pregnant a passenger is, they usually have no choice but to let the woman fly if she says she has not reached the airline's cutoff date and is showing no sign of physical distress.
said Dr. Financy Anzalone, president-elect of the Aerospace Medical Association in Alexandria, Virginia.
I know these are serious last names, but that last one was...
The first name is Financy.
Financi.
I looked that up.
I was like, there's no fucking way.
Totally.
Financi.
Quote, the rules now are based on honesty and the idea that a pregnant mom is going to protect her unborn, Anzalone said.
If gate attendants believe a pregnant woman is farther along than allowed or showing possible signs of labor or distress, they can call medical personnel to determine whether she has the necessary medical documentation and is fit to fly, Anzalone said.
Honor system.
Randy Peterson, the editor for the U.S.-based Inside Flyer magazine, said busy gate attendants face a diplomatic nightmare when asking about pregnancies because all women show the condition differently and heavy women can look pregnant when they are not.
Quote, the person could be overweight.
That is a faux pas that could happen that could lead to uncomfortable situations, Peterson said.
Quote, it is an honor system and if a lady is willing to take a risk and a lot of things can go wrong, that's their liability, not an airline liability, he said.
Putting new airline rules in place would be difficult, experts say.
Quote, ultimately, you are legislating the unlegislatable.
If a passenger doesn't tell you their condition, you have no way of knowing, said David Henderson, spokesman for the European Association of Airlines.
Medical experts say the main reason very pregnant women should not fly is because there is no guarantee of adequate medical care on a plane.
Doctor, nurses, or other healthcare professionals are frequently aboard as passengers, and flight attendants with onboard medical kits can use satellite phones to call for help.
But international flights can be hours from an airport, and no flights have the sophisticated medical equipment needed for labor emergencies.
Quote, an airplane is not a very clean environment, and it's just not the place to deliver a child, said Jeffrey Sventek, the Aerospace Medical Association's executive director.
Everyone has an awesome name in this story.
God.
Flight crews always note where pregnant women are sitting and tell the rest of the crew, said Captain Tom Walsh, a pilot who flies international.
That's the most normal name aside from Denning out of all of them.
Of course, he's the pilot.
They will keep an eye on them.
They will let us know, and usually it's not a problem, he said.
But it is so easy to hide the fact that you are pregnant.
It's also a mystery how no one noticed anything amiss when the Filipino woman was giving birth in the bathroom.
Flight attendants and passengers who were questioned all said they saw nothing amiss, said Kaczynska of Gulf Air.
And that is the end of the article.
So this has been an issue for a long time, and I checked to see if anything more had ever been done to tighten this up, and of course nothing has been done.
But since cases are rare, it is unlikely to change anytime soon, I think.
Counting back from her delivery date, we can assume that the air travel Candace is speaking about here with herself, though, occurred around late October to very early November.
Because, as she will explain, her third crotch fruit was born on November 20th, 2023.
Do you call it crotch fruit?
I did.
Fuck them kids.
Isn't crotch fruit?
Look, I was quoting Jesus by saying crotch fruit and fuck them kids.
Fair enough.
You can't prove I didn't.
So jumping into, I just broke down some notes because obviously it's been a while since I've given birth and I didn't want to forget anything, but jumping into signs of labor, because I feel like that is one of the number one most asked questions on Mom'sNet for expecting moms is, were there any weird signs of labor?
I've asked that question.
I'm a lurker.
I've never posted in Mom'sNet, so this is the closest I'm getting to posting any of these mom forums.
But I paid extra special attention to one particular thing that happened.
So I gave birth, just to be clear, on Monday, November 20th.
On Sunday, November 19th, I knew that I was getting very close to labor for two reasons.
First off, I was having contractions every 20 minutes.
And so just in case you're a first-time mother-to-be, the way that you know you're going into labor is because suddenly your Braxton Hicks contractions, which are kind of irregular, start becoming regular contractions.
And I was timing them and they were like every 15 to 20 minutes on that Sunday.
And I again gave birth the following day.
Not enough to go to the hospital.
I figured it's going to start speeding up.
We probably have one more day.
But there was this one weird symptom.
Eye Changes in Pregnancy00:16:00
My eyesight.
I was basically blind.
I felt like a kid that just can't see.
It was all blurry.
Like when you see a cartoon and they describe people that just do not have good eyesight.
I could not see.
And I remember particularly, because on Sundays my husband and I kind of have the same routine.
We go out and we get breakfast and we go get coffee.
And I remember sitting in the parking lot and looking up at a sign that was five feet away from me and it said 15 minute parking.
And I was like, a squinting.
Just I can't read that.
How weird is that?
And I said to my husband, everything is so blurry.
I think that I might be going into labor very, very soon.
So that was something that I remember that I wanted to share with you guys.
Pregnancy is already known to impact your eyesight.
I have a very bad right eye and I desperately would like to get LASIC, but I can't because they say don't until you're done having children.
I'm not done having children because it will impact your eyesight.
But okay, LASIC.
So I'm pausing it there because I wanted to see if this was true about the LASIC.
It is, mostly.
So from an article on the American Academy of Ophthalmology from their iWiki sourcing, we get the following article, which is of course in the link stack.
Before I read from it though, there is going to be a condition discussed in the article that is worth knowing about.
Latrogenic keratectasia.
And it is a complication where the cornea becomes abnormally thin and bulges forward after refractive surgery such as LASIC, leading to progressive corneal ectasia, an outward protrusion, and worsening vision.
It refers specifically to corneal thinning and protrusion that are caused by a medical procedure, most often laser refractive surgery like LASIC or PRK.
As the cornea weakens and bulges, patients can develop increasing myopia, irregular astigmatism, distorted vision, glare, and reduced best corrected visual acuity.
Major risk factors include removing too much stromal tissue, too much stromal tissue, leaving a very thin residual stromal bed, creating a thick flap, or operating on eyes with undiagnosed early keratocconis or other biomechanical weakness.
The surgery reduces the cornea's mechanical strength so that normal eye pressure can gradually deform it, producing the ectactic shape over weeks to years after the procedure.
Having established that, the article says, During pregnancy, many physiological changes occur.
The ocular system is also affected by the fluctuating hormones.
For instance, sex steroid and thyroid hormone receptors are found on the cornea, although the effects of such hormones have not been fully elucidated.
Nevertheless, previous studies have noted changes in corneal curvature correlating with the onset and progression of keratocconis and iatrogenic ectasia during pregnancy.
There have been few case reports of corneal melting during pregnancy in women with a history of prior corneal surgeries.
Considering the organic effects of pregnancy on the cornea, what are the visual changes in women who become pregnant status post-laser-assisted in situ keratidomeliosis, which is LASIC?
That's the legal name of LASIK.
Laser assisted in situ keratomiliosis.
Yes.
The United States FDA, thank God they found that acronym, right?
Yeah.
The United States FDA lists pregnancy and breastfeeding as a contraindication to LASIC because of temporary and unpredictable changes in your cornea and because a LASIK treatment may improperly change the shape of your eye.
Here, we review some literature regarding these changes, as well as discuss observational and case studies involving LASIC and PRK in pregnant patients and explore the potential consequences of LASIC in the pregnant woman through a literature search.
Corneal thickness has been shown to increase during pregnancy.
Weinreb found that there was an increase in corneal thickness during pregnancy in 89 women varying from 1 to 16 microns compared to non-gravid and postpartum controls.
While this study found that gestational age did not affect changes in corneal thickness, others have noted ocular changes occurred during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy.
EFI found that central corneal thickness was significantly higher in the second and third trimester compared to the first trimester and three months postpartum.
There was a 3.1% increase in central corneal thickness in the third trimester, and this was associated with a 9.5% decrease in intraocular pressure.
In 54 pregnant women, lost my place, Addis found that between the third trimester and three months postpartum, there was a significant difference in central corneal thickness as well as in intraocular pressure.
Other studies have failed to find a significant increase in corneal thickness during pregnancy.
In 27 patients, Manchester found only a 0.001 difference in corneal thickness from pregnancy to postpartum.
In a prospective study, Sen found no statistically significant difference in central corneal thickness in 32 pregnant women with matched controls.
A proposed explanation for increased corneal thickness was increased body fluid retention during pregnancy.
More recently, it is thought that receptors have been identified in the corneal stroma and endothelium.
Studies examining ocular changes with the menstrual cycle have also demonstrated an association with estrogen and corneal thickness.
Fluctuations in estrogen levels in the blood with the menstrual cycle led to changes in corneal thickness with increased thickness at ovulation and at the end of the menstrual cycle.
Corneal curvature has been found to increase in pregnancy.
In a prospective trial, PARC found that there was an increase in keratometry during each trimester in pregnancy, and that this continued for those who breastfed.
The corneal curvature returned to first trimester values after cessation of breastfeeding.
In a separate prospective study, Goldrich studied 60 pregnant and non-pregnant women and found a steeper corneal curvature as well as a lower IOP in pregnant patients.
These studies are contradictory, however, to a study done by Manchester who found a mean difference of only 0.01 D in 25 patients.
Changes in corneal curvature are thought to be secondary to increased levels of progesterone and estrogen that increase collagenolytic activity, which may lead to corneal steepening.
A decrease in intraocular pressure during pregnancy has been described in several studies.
There is no evidence that the decrease in IOP is due to changes on an anatomic level.
Instead, it is thought that hormones such as progesterone, relaxin, and HCG lead to reduced episerial venous pressure and increased aqueous outflow.
There are conflicting opinions on whether or not refractive changes occur in pregnancy.
Despite changes in corneal curvature, PARC found no change in refractive error.
Similarly, Manges found no significant difference in spherical refractive correction or cylinder axis.
There was less than 0.03D mean change in refractive error between pregnant and non-pregnant patients.
However, in a large survey by Pizzarello, God, that's an awesome name.
12 out of 83 pregnant patients complained of visual changes.
Sorry, but Pizzarello.
Pizzarello.
It sounds like a fucking pizza place that a researcher decided to go to and he was just like, you know what, I need to put a name down for this study.
Fuck it, the pizza place down the corner.
Let's do it.
Pizzarello.
These women that complained of visual changes were found to have a myopic shift from pre-pregnancy levels of 0.87d plus or minus 0.3 in the right and 0.98d plus or minus 0.3 in the left eye.
The myopia returned to pre-pregnancy levels by three months of postpartum.
Corneal sensitivity tends to decrease in pregnancy.
Using a Cochet bonnet anesthesiometer to stimulate the cornea, Millidot found that corneal touch threshold increased with advancing pregnancy, and this was significant compared to controls in the third trimester.
Within six to eight weeks, postpartum corneal sensitivity returned to normal.
They also noted the greatest losses in corneal sensitivity occurred in women reporting swelling of ankles and fingers.
Using a Drager's electromagnetic anesthesiometer, RIS also found a decrease in corneal sensitivity.
Corneal sensitivity also decreased during the pre-ovulatory estrogen peak during the menstrual cycle, suggesting an association with hormonal changes.
Dry eye.
There appears to be an association with hormones and dry eye symptoms.
Studies have shown that women have dry eye signs and report dry eye symptoms more frequently than men.
Pregnant women have a decrease in tear production during the third trimester, shown in 80% of women using the Shermer test.
Shermer.
Shermer.
The mechanism for dry eye associated with pregnancy is still unclear, but possible explanations are alteration in tear production and inflammatory changes.
A decrease in goblet cell population and secretion of mucin has been associated with increased levels of estrogen and progesterone.
Changes in lacrimal gland function may also play a role in dry eye.
Substantial changes in Na-K at ATPASE expression on lacrimal gland tissue in pregnant rabbits likely contributes to alterations in lacrimal gland secretion.
The presence of 17-beta-estradiol has been shown to increase the expression of inflammatory genes in corneal epithelial cells.
This may contribute to symptoms of dry eyes as well.
Contact lens intolerance.
It is common for women to develop contact lens intolerance during pregnancy.
Park reported that 25% of pregnant patients developed contact lens intolerance, mostly in the second trimester.
Similarly, 30% of soft or rigid contact wearers reported difficulty with their contacts in normal pregnancy, including discomfort, surface mucus deposition, increased awareness, and reduced wearing time.
It is speculated that contact lens intolerance is secondary to corneal thickening, corneal steepening, and alteration in tear production.
The influence of pregnancy on the stability of the cornea after refractive surgery is an area of ongoing research.
PRK in pregnant patients.
In pregnant patients, rearrangement of corneal fibrils after PRK may lead to higher sensitivity to hormonal changes in the cornea.
A study by Sharif looked at refractive changes in nine women who became pregnant within 12 months following PRK.
Of the nine patients, six had myopic regression, though the degree was not specified.
Correlation was noted between regression of myopia and corneal haze, and 50% of eyes showed improved myopia and corneal haze one month after labor.
On the other hand, Hefetz found that pregnancy did not influence the refractive results of PRK.
They looked at eight women who became pregnant during follow-up for PRK and found that six out of eight pregnant patients showed stable refraction.
A case report by STAR showed overcorrection in a patient that became pregnant after myopic PRK and then resolution after spontaneous abortion.
These studies were limited in sample size and further study is needed in order to clarify PRK in pregnancy.
Current recommendation is to wait at least six months following PRK before pregnancy.
LASIC in pregnant patients.
There is limited literature on the effects of LASIK on the eye in pregnancy.
Cannelopolis.
God, that's an awesome name.
Cannelopolis.
Canelopolis, yeah, with a K. Cannelopolis.
Showed that pregnancy did not induce significant changes in refractive error, corneal stability, and total corneal and epithelial thickness in women after LASIC up to one year post-op.
An observational prospective study was done comparing refractive changes in nine pregnant women who previously underwent LASIC to nine pregnant women with refractive alterations who had no history of surgical correction.
Alterations in spherical equivalent and cylinder values were statistically significant during the first half of pregnancy compared to pre-pregnancy in both the LASIC and non-LASIC group.
In regards to spherical equivalent, it was found that those with smaller previous refractive defects exhibited a greater statistically significant change in spherical equivalent compared to those with larger previous refractive defects.
The authors hypothesize that with less modification required by LASIC, larger amounts of stroma and estrogen receptors would be available to participate in edematization, and a larger number of residual fibrils could restructure in a disorganized manner.
They did not find any decrease in visual acuity, spherical refractive value, corneal curvature, or axial length, but noted a tendency towards worsening visual acuity and refractive value throughout pregnancy that was more significant in patients with previous LASIC.
Post-LASIC ectasia has been attributed in some cases to hormonal influences that occur during pregnancy.
Late-onset iatrogenetic, iatrogenic, excuse me, keractasia was found to occur four to nine years after LASIC in five pregnant patients.
The authors suggest that pregnancy may increase the risk of keraketasia in predisposed individuals.
In one case report, a woman developed iatrogenic cheractasia during her first pregnancy 36 months after LASIC.
Three years after LASIC, she experienced this.
Why Castor Oil Myths Persist00:09:43
Corneal collagen cross-linking, known as CXL, with riboflavin and ultraviolet energy stopped the progression and regression of keratometric steepness.
However, during a segment pregnancy, keraketasia was exacerbated despite CXL treatment.
The authors postulate that estrogen reduces the biomechanical stability of the cornea, leading to iatrogenic keractasia after LASIC.
That was a lot.
So the last second, the last thing in there you had said second.
You said you slurred it a little bit at the D area.
I just, my mouth stopped.
Oh my God.
That was a lot, though.
Much respect to doctors always.
So there is an exhaustive set of material for all the where and why of how pregnancy and LASIC are a bad combo.
Yeah.
I bothered looking it up and learning about it, so I decided to share, as is the way of this program.
I want to be fair here and remind everyone that Candace said she wants it, but we'll have to wait until after she is done having kids, which honestly seems pretty fucking sensible given everything I just read.
Yeah.
But of course, this is Candace Owens Farmer we are talking about.
And any good vibes generated by giving her a pat on the back, we're about to be fucking tanked like a clown at the fair.
That is something that I definitely noticed, and I even noticed it the following morning, the day of birth.
As I said, I had was doing the step count.
So at 6.30 in the morning on the day that I gave birth, I got up and went for a walk, put my earpods on, my AirPods on, was talking to my sister on the phone, and I completed a three and a half mile walk.
And as I was walking with her, I was saying to her, I can't see five feet in front of me, just signs.
Everything was blurry.
I thought it was a dog in front of me, and it was just a stack of sticks and rocks.
It was really weird.
It was like not safe for me to be walking and forget.
If it was even slightly dark, I was as blind as a bat.
So yes, she just said that she went walking at 6.30 a.m. with regular contractions and having her vision so messy that she couldn't see five feet in front of her.
This is not a person that should be doling out advice to anyone, let alone people that are scared and live in the information bubble that these audiences typically reside in.
I want y'all to know she is not telling anyone not to follow her example.
She isn't self-deprecating.
On the video for this, she was smiling about all of it.
She continues doling out advice, of course.
I want to share that with you.
But yes, on the morning of I went for a three and a half mile walk, again, feeling great, taking the walks much slower because if you move too quickly, you start to realize like it will kind of force Braxton Hicks.
The more activity that you have is something that you realize is that you have more Braxton Hicks.
It's nothing to be worried about.
It's just that you're being active, your body's responding to it.
This is why there is this idea that you can walk yourself into labor.
I am proof that you cannot walk yourself into labor.
Not going to go into labor quicker if you walk, because nobody took more steps in the history of mankind than I did leading up to labor and it did not make it any faster.
So, to be clear, this was one day overdue.
I gave birth one day overdue, which for me is amazing, my past two kids.
I was 41 weeks and so I was absolutely thrilled that I was showing any signs for labor, that I was even having these consistent contractions.
The day before I was like yay, this is going to be the first time that I'm just going to kind of go into labor, naturally not take castor oil because I'm too hot, like I did for my daughter, because it was July and hotter than hell in Tennessee, and I have zero regrets.
Okay first, about walking in activity in very late stage pregnancy.
Candace of course talks about how she walked a lot, many miles a day and that is whatever.
I'm not concerned about that claim.
But as far as walking helping with labor, it absolutely can.
According to an NIH study, it absolutely can help with labor conditions.
The link is in the stack, but basically, they conducted a study from August 2018 to February 2019.
The study was conducted on 102 women in a province in India and they studied the effects of walking 40 minutes at a time four times per week in the active intervention group.
The control group had no requirement like that.
They simply received normal prenatal care.
The outcomes were better overall for the group that exercised and Candace herself said that this labor was more on time than her last two and went easier.
So she did what she do and fucked up her own story.
That's mentioned that.
She said that you know, doing all of the exercise and shit really helped her a lot, you know, in the pregnancy and the, the mental end of it and you know yeah, it made her thinner and so, you know, she wasn't as fat and she could do more things.
And um, you know, I don't think she quite realized like any of that at the end there.
No, so the link to the NIH study is in the link stack, of course.
Anyway, what caught me at the end there was, she said that she took castor oil because it was hotter than hell in July, the year the kid was born, the year that the second kid, her daughter Louise, was born.
I looked up what that could mean because I have never heard of anyone taking castor oil for anything other than maybe as a laxative.
Now, I am willing to concede that there may be an issue of language here.
Candace said she took castor oil while pregnant to cool down.
She didn't say in what form or how.
Excuse me, castor oil is only known to be an anti-inflammatory when applied to the skin as a topical.
It is used internally as a laxative.
When she said she took it, I initially assumed it was as an internal thing, but nothing supports the idea of taking it internally to cool down.
So please do not do that.
Yeah, do not drink any castor oil.
Yeah, unless you were like locked up and you need to take a shit, I guess.
Well, I mean, I guess I guess, but I don't even want to tell people that one.
No, consult with a fucking doctor.
Yeah, do not listen to two just numb brains on the internet.
Do not do that.
Go to a doctor.
Having said that, that's the only thing you should be listening to is, go to a fucking doctor.
Yeah, that's kind of the point of this one, isn't it?
Yeah, just go to a fucking doctor.
Yeah, midwives are known to give laboring pregnant women castor oil to supposedly help the pregnancy, but there is no evidence to support that it works Finally, I looked up what the average daily temperature in the Nashville area was in the first two weeks of July of 2022 when the daughter was born.
I gotta think here.
Okay.
The daily average temperature I pulled down was 85 Fahrenheit.
Okay.
Or 29.4 Celsius for the internationals.
The humidity was about 60 to 80 percent.
So.
That could have made it feel hotter for sure, but it was not hotter than hell.
Or maybe it was since hell is a made-up concept.
Yeah.
It's a fucking myth.
And, I mean, you know, if we're talking about the frozen hell that is, you know, the Nordic hell, you know, it's...
Yeah, I mean, there's...
Well, that's one of the Nordics.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
That's one of the Nordic hells.
Anyway, I think if it was that hot outside, maybe she could have used the treadmill in the mansion gym.
Which seems like a safer deal than overheating while pregnant.
Yeah.
Just my opinion, though.
Moving on.
This next part.
I was feeling very excited.
So what I did next, some people think it's totally insane.
I think it's perfectly practical given everything I've said to you about that end of pregnancy lull.
I got ready for work.
I worked while up until 40 weeks.
That's another question women ask.
When should I go on maternity leave?
Well, one way to think about it, if you have six weeks of maternity leave, is that if you decide to, you feel fine, but you're like, I'm just going to, you know, get ready for the baby and clean the house and keep working on the nursery for the next two weeks.
You're giving away two weeks of time that you could have with your baby.
Now, again, we can get into the specs of how horrible it is in general because obviously, you know, it's a tremendous compromise as a mother to be a working mother to think that you have six weeks before you have to be back into an office environment or back at work, whatever it is that you do.
But it's a calculation that I think a lot of women want to take.
Also, depending on what your work structure is, maybe you're contracted.
Maybe you don't get paid maternity leave.
Losing the Mucus Plug00:12:49
For me, genuinely, it was about my sanity.
I would prefer to work.
It makes the days go faster.
Was I slowing down?
Absolutely.
I can normally be like, let's sit down and film five episodes of something.
I have so much energy like I have right now.
But end of pregnancy, I was like, we can do this, we can do that.
And I was just kind of slowly trying to get to work.
So I said, let's film episodes of A Shot in the Dark because you guys know that we had gotten behind last year for a short period as I was working on another docuseries.
And so I said, let's film two episodes.
And I came in to film the HEP A episode on the day that I gave birth.
And I was timing my contractions at about every 15 minutes.
The general advice is that when your contractions get under 10 minutes consistently, it's time to go to the hospital.
But not at 15 minutes.
I woke up and I was like, and these contractions were definitely starting to take my breath away a little bit.
Now, you're probably wondering if you're a woman, like, what about any other signs?
None.
But this is different for every single person.
I happen to have been pregnant at the same exact time as my little sister.
I talk about her often on this series.
She was having her second child driving me crazy because she didn't want to find out the gender.
So we were waiting for her to give birth.
She gave birth exactly one week ahead of me.
And she did pregnancy a lot different.
She deeply regretted not staying active.
She was completely miserable.
But she had a lot of those pre-signs for both of her births.
You know, the loss of the mucus plug.
I have never had that happen ever to me.
I don't even know what it means.
Okay.
I'm going to stop her right there for this one.
So I'm curious what the fuck a mucus plug is.
Oh, you're about to learn.
All right.
I had never heard the term mucus plug in my life, but that's why I like doing this show.
Anyway, I then had to wonder, after looking it up, why I hadn't heard that term before.
The link is in the stack, but according to the Cleveland Clinic, a mucus plug is a collection of mucus that forms on the cervical canal in early pregnancy.
It prevents bacteria or infection from entering your uterus and reaching the fetus.
As your cervix prepares for labor, you will lose the mucus plug.
This is a normal and common symptom in late pregnancy.
Your mucus plug is a thick piece of mucus that blocks the opening of your cervix during pregnancy.
It forms a seal to prevent bacteria and infection from getting into your uterus and reaching the fetus.
You can think of it as a protective barrier between your vagina and your uterus.
An increase in pregnancy hormones like progesterone form the mucus plug.
You can only form this plug when you're pregnant.
You'll lose your mucus plug as soon as your cervix begins to dilate, open, and a face, soften and thin, in preparation for labor and delivery.
So why do you lose the mucus plug?
Well as your body prepares for labor, your cervix begins to soften, thin, and open.
This causes the mucus plug to dislodge from your cervix.
The mucus is pushed out into your vagina.
You may see it in your underwear or on toilet paper.
This is considered losing your mucus plug.
What does it look like?
The look, size, and texture will vary.
The mucus plug is usually clear, off-white, or slightly bloody, red, brown, or pink in color.
Stringy, sticky, and jelly-like in texture.
1 to 2 inches in length, 1 to 2 tablespoons in volume.
Relatively odorless.
You may lose your mucus plug in one glob, or you may lose it gradually over time and never notice it.
A small amount of blood is common, but severe bleeding may be a sign of placental abruption, placentoprevia, or other pregnancy complications.
Contact your healthcare provider anytime that you notice heavy bleeding during pregnancy.
So when do you lose your mucus plug?
Most women don't lose their mucus plug until after 37 weeks of pregnancy.
It can happen a few days or even a few weeks before your due date.
Some women don't lose it until they're in active labor.
If you lose your mucus plug sooner than 37 weeks of pregnancy, contact your healthcare provider as a precaution.
Can you lose your mucus plug slowly?
Yes, you can lose it slowly or all at once.
How can you tell the difference between mucus plug and discharge?
An increase in vaginal discharge is normal in pregnancy.
Vaginal discharge is usually thin and light yellow or white.
Discharge from the mucus plug is thicker, more jelly-like, and there's more of it.
It can also be tinged with red, brown, or pink blood.
What does it mean when you lose the mucus plug?
Losing your mucus plug generally means your cervix has started to dilate, a face, or both.
It means labor is around the corner, but no one can predict the exact time that labor will begin.
How long after losing your mucus plug do you go into labor?
The length of time between losing your mucus plug and going into labor can vary.
In some cases, you may go into labor within hours or days, while other times you may not go into labor for a few weeks.
How will I know if it's my mucus plug?
The most noticeable sign is seeing mucus in your underwear or on toilet paper.
It looks like the mucus that comes out of your throat when you have a cold, as opposed to blood you may see during your menstrual period.
Not all people know when they lose their mucus plug.
This is because it can come out slowly over time instead of all at once.
Possible causes.
What causes the mucus plug to fall out?
There are a few things that cause you to lose your mucus plug, such as cervix softening and opening.
As your cervix begins to efface, soften and thin, and dilate, open, in preparation for delivery, this can cause your mucus plug to come out.
This happens so your baby can pass through during birth.
Or with sex.
It's usually not harmful to have sex during pregnancy.
In the last weeks of pregnancy, sexual intercourse can loosen the mucus plug.
Cervical exam?
During a prenatal appointment, your health care provider may check your cervix.
The exam can stretch or irritate your cervix and this can make the mucus plug fall out.
If you suspect you've lost your mucus plug and are less than 37 weeks pregnant, you should contact your health care provider.
They could be concerned and want to examine your cervix.
Is losing your mucus plug a sign of labor?
Losing the mucus plug can be one sign that labor is near.
There are several other signs labor is coming.
You should monitor yourself for these other signs, such as cramping, period-like cramps that come and go for a few days.
You may feel these in your abdomen and lower back.
Pelvic pressure.
As the fetus drops lower into your pelvis, you may feel increased pressure.
This is a term called lightening.
Contractions.
This is a regular tightening of your uterus that gets stronger and more frequent.
Membranes rupture.
Your water breaks.
This is often one of the last signs of labor.
You should contact your health care provider right away.
So what are some side effects of losing your mucus plug?
There are no side effects from losing your mucus plug.
It's a normal part of pre-labor.
Losing your mucus plug can be accompanied by other symptoms of labor like contractions and pelvic pressure.
What happens if you lose your mucus plug in early pregnancy?
If you suspect you lost your mucus plug before 37 weeks of pregnancy, it's best to contact your health care provider.
This could be a sign of early labor or other pregnancy complications.
Care and treatment.
What happens after I lose my mucus plug?
Take note of what your mucus plug looks like.
Color, size, and texture.
This can help your health care provider determine if it was your mucus plug.
If you're 37 weeks into pregnancy and feel no labor symptoms, your health care provider may have no concerns.
If you're less than 37 weeks pregnant or having contractions, your healthcare provider may want to evaluate you.
So what is a mucus plug?
Your mucus plug is a thick piece of mucus that blocks the opening of your cervix during pregnancy.
It forms a seal to prevent bacteria and infection from getting into your uterus and reaching the fetus.
You can think of it as a protective barrier between your vagina and your uterus.
I think you already read this part.
I think I did.
An increase in pregnancy hormones like progesterone form the mucus plug and you can only form this plug when you're pregnant.
Yep.
Oh no, it's because they repeated it in the page that I got.
Oh.
Yeah.
Let me scroll down past all the repeated stuff...duh-duh-duh... Ah, here we go.
Can you go into labor without losing your mucus plug?
Yes, you can go into labor without losing your mucus plug.
The timing between labor and mucus plug discharge can vary.
Some women lose their mucus plug after other labor symptoms begin.
In some cases, losing the mucus plug is the first symptom.
Is it possible to dilate and not lose your mucus plug?
You can dilate a few centimeters and not lose the mucus plug, but it'll come out eventually.
All pregnant women will have mucus plugs protecting their uteruses from bacteria.
They'll always fall out before the baby is delivered.
Can my mucus plug regenerate?
Yes, the mucus plug can regenerate in your cervix.
It's possible to lose parts of your mucus plug and then lose more later.
This is because your body is constantly creating vaginal discharge and mucus during pregnancy.
Should I call my healthcare provider when I lose my mucus plug?
If you're unsure if your discharge is the mucus plug, you can contact your healthcare provider.
Be prepared to describe the discharge.
Losing the mucus plug is a normal progression of labor and usually not harmful.
If any of the following occur, you should contact your healthcare provider right away.
Loss of your mucus plug before 37 weeks of pregnancy.
Heavy bleeding accompanied by pain or contractions.
Feeling a sudden gush of fluid from your vagina, such as your water breaking.
Additional common questions are, what is the difference between a mucus plug and a bloody show?
They're closely related, but slightly different.
Both occur late in pregnancy as your cervix dilates in preparation for labor.
Mucus plug discharge is stringy and gel-like.
It's a collection of mucus.
A bloody show is a bloody discharge that can contain small traces of mucus.
The bloody show is a result of blood vessels rupturing in your cervix as it expands.
How many centimeters dilated are you when you lose the mucus plug?
Your mucus plug typically comes out during early labor.
This is the part of labor that consists of your cervix softening and opening as well as mild contractions.
Early labor lasts until you're about six centimeters dilated.
Your mucus plug can come out at any point in the dilation process.
Final note from Cleveland Clinic.
Discussing the signs of labor with your healthcare provider can be helpful and comforting during the last weeks of pregnancy.
Losing your mucus plug is a normal part of pregnancy, but it can feel weird when it happens.
It's usually not a reason to worry unless it happens four or more weeks before your due date.
It's important to talk to your healthcare team if you have questions about any pregnancy symptoms.
So there you have it.
That is a mucus plug.
I just answered a question in full that could have been explained to Candace Owens by her doctors at any point in her last two pregnancies prior to this one.
Yeah.
She could have researched this on any of the mommy forums that she says she lurks in.
But here on her own medical show, where she controls the content and gets her toes sucked by the adoration of her paying viewers, she can't be bothered to explain to scared parents what a very basic and natural occurrence of the birthing process is with pregnancy to that point.
She can't be bothered to explain what a fucking mucus plug is.
I ran this bit by Matthew's mom the night I was working on it and she asked me with a straight face at first which pregnancy this would have been for Candace.
Why Teeth Whitening Hurts00:12:48
When I told her it was the third one, she was dumbstruck.
Her first response was that Candace not knowing what it was after having had two kids at that point was that she must be bullshitting.
But then I reminded her of my theory that has proven more often over time to be correct, mainly that Candace Owens was likely a piss-poor student in grade school and never learned how to learn as an adult.
This extends to her personal life and her content output.
With a normal person with zero social media reach, this wouldn't matter.
But she has an audience of millions, which is what makes her stupidity dangerous.
Next up, Candace's stated thoughts on pain.
So do not weigh yourself, like do not compare yourself rather to other women in their experiences because everybody's bodies are different.
For me, it is like the second I give birth, everything happens at once.
There is no lead up in terms of physical things other than my contractions getting closer together.
And how people experience contractions are different.
I think a lot of women are think contractions are the worst pain.
A lot of people disagree with that.
I am a person that very much disagrees with that.
It's not the worst pain I've ever felt.
I think a part of that is because I have always been anti-taking pills, taking medicine, like even ibuprofen.
I'm weirdly against ibuprofen because I think it makes it worse.
So in the short term, yes, it will remove pain.
But then when the pain comes back, it seems more severe.
So like when I had braces last year, my bottom row, and they would tighten them, these like tixamiprofen.
And I wouldn't take it because then if I took an ibuprofen, once it wore off, the braces, tightening pain felt worse than if I had just kind of like grid and bared it.
So that's my perspective.
And I think that what's happened is that throughout our entire lives, when women get cramps, menstrual cramps, we are told to take like a leave, you know, take ibuprofen, take all of these things.
What if that's preparing you for, you know, how you're going to feel when you get contractions?
And for me, contractions are just not that painful because I've always kind of said no, unless I really did, I'm not like staunchly against it.
It's not like, you know, religious, but I try to basically avoid taking ibuprofen and pain pills when I can because I think it's probably good to have a better understanding of what pain is and not just to instantly try to wipe it away.
So I'm not exactly a shrinking violet when it comes to pain.
And I just do not think never in a million years would I put the pain of child labor on even my top five list for the worst pains I've ever felt.
I think the worst pain I've ever felt, just to give you a comparison, and you're going to think this sounds crazy, getting my teeth whitened.
I think it's the worst pain I ever felt.
I literally had to take an opioid when I got my teeth whitened two years ago because it was that painful.
And the dentist explained to me it's because we all have different nerve sizes and I literally have bigger nerves in my mouth than most people have, which kind of is on brand, I think for me.
I've got a little more nerve when it comes to my mouth.
But that, to me, is the worst pain ever, followed by tattoo removal, which I can explain to you feels like if you were just, like, making bacon, frying up some bacon on a Sunday morning for your family, and that's...
Okay, we have...
I know what the pain of teeth whitening is You know It's Oh we have such sights to show you Candace Oh So this clip sent me down another rabbit hole, of course.
Now, I have never known anyone complaining about pain during a teeth whitening procedure beyond some mild discomfort.
I went to several sources, but the one that I felt described it best comes from ManateeKidsDentist.com.
Link in the show notes from an article titled, Why Does Teeth Whitening Hurt for Some People?
And it says from the article, which was posted November 21st, 2024.
Why does teeth whitening hurt?
Here are the common sources.
Many patients experience temporary discomfort during or after treatment.
And the following are the possible reasons.
Whitening agent concentration.
The concentration of active ingredients directly affects both results and sensitivity.
Many patients ask, does professional teeth whitening hurt?
The answer largely depends on the concentration of whitening agents used.
For professional in-office treatments, you can get 15 to 35% hydrogen peroxide.
For take-home professional kits, sometimes 10-20% carbamide peroxide.
Dentists take several precautions to minimize discomfort during professional whitening.
During treatment, they examine your teeth for existing sensitivity, cavities, or gum issues that could cause pain.
They also apply protective barriers to your gums and may use desensitizing agents.
During the procedure, they carefully monitor the process and can adjust treatment time or concentration if you experience discomfort.
While higher concentrations can deliver faster results, professional teeth whitening typically causes less discomfort than expected.
This is because dentists use protective gels, custom-fitted trays, and precise application techniques to minimize sensitivity.
They can also adjust concentrations based on your sensitivity level and monitor the process carefully.
In fact, many patients report less pain with professional treatments compared to at-home methods despite the stronger formulations.
Tooth sensitivity.
During whitening, active agents like hydrogen peroxide and carbamide peroxide penetrate your tooth enamel to break down deep set stains.
While effective, this process temporarily exposes microscopic channels in your teeth that lead to the sensitive dentin layer underneath.
This exposure can trigger sharp temporary pain when you consume hot or cold beverages, sweet foods, acidic items like citrus or wine, cold air while breathing.
Most patients report sensitivity lasting 24 to 48 hours after treatment, though some may experience effects for up to a week.
Gum irritation.
Whitening solutions are designed for tooth enamel, not soft tissue.
When these powerful oxidizing agents contact your gums, they can cause temporary inflammation, redness or burning sensation, mild tissue irritation, increased sensitivity.
Professional treatments minimize this risk through custom-fitted trays and protective barriers.
If you're using an at-home kit, careful application and properly fitted trays are essential to keep the whitening gel solely on your teeth.
Factors that contribute to pain perception.
Pre-existing dental conditions.
Individuals with underlying dental issues, such as tooth decay or gum disease, may experience heightened discomfort during whitening procedures.
These conditions can expose nerve endings or inflame soft tissues, making them more susceptible to irritation from the whitening agents.
Addressing these conditions before any dental treatment is essential to avoid exacerbating pain and make sure the whitening process proceeds smoothly.
Individual sensitivity levels.
Natural variations in tooth and gum sensitivity can affect one's experience with whitening products.
People with thinner enamel or inherently sensitive teeth may notice more significant discomfort as the whitening agents penetrate the enamel.
Knowing your unique dental structure, including any areas of heightened sensitivity, can guide you in selecting the most suitable whitening method, minimizing potential discomfort.
Previous whitening experiences.
Repeated whitening treatments can potentially thin the enamel, making teeth more susceptible to sensitivity.
Individuals who have undergone multiple whitening sessions may find that subsequent treatments lead to increased discomfort.
Learning from previous experiences and adjusting the frequency and type of whitening product used can help in managing pain perception during future treatments.
This insight might also address the concern, such as does laser teeth whitening hurt, as similar factors can influence discomfort.
The best tips to minimize discomfort during whitening.
Pre-treatment preparations.
Prior to beginning a whitening regimen, consult with a dental professional to assess your oral health.
Use sensitive or sensitive toothpaste several days before your whitening appointment to help buffer potential discomfort.
Choosing the right products.
Select reputable counterproducts known for their efficacy and safety.
Consider professional office treatments that offer options like custom fitted trays tailored to your dental impressions.
Ensuring the whitening solution targets the teeth without affecting surrounding tissues.
Discuss options with your dentist to investigate whether laser teeth whitening hurts.
Post-treatment care.
After the teeth whitening process, avoid consuming hot or cold substances to prevent aggravating sensitive areas.
Rinse with lukewarm water and continue practicing good dental hygiene.
A soft bristled toothbrush can further help minimize irritation to the gums and teeth.
When to seek professional help As mentioned, while teeth whitening is generally safe, knowing when to consult a dental professional is crucial for protecting your oral health.
Understanding warning signs and risk factors can help you avoid complications and achieve the best results.
Warning signs during whitening.
Stop treatment and contact your dentist if you experience persistent pain such as tooth sensitivity lasting over 24 to 48 hours.
Sharp pain such as shooting pains that disrupt eating or drinking.
Gum problems such as bleeding, severe irritation or white spots on the gums.
Uneven color white spots or patchy appearance on your teeth.
Extreme sensitivity.
Severe reactions to temperature that don't improve.
Enamel changes.
The transparent edges or visible changes in tooth texture.
When to avoid whitening, also known as contraindications.
Professional evaluation is essential if you have untreated cavities or exposed tooth roots, worn enamel or existing tooth sensitivity, recent dental work or unhealed oral surgery, pregnancy or nursing status, crowns, veneers, or large fillings in visible teeth, gum disease or receding gums, age under 16 due to enlarged tooth pulp.
Professional solutions and alternatives are your dentist can offer several approaches to address whitening concerns, such as pre-treatment solutions, professional cleaning to remove surface stains, desensitizing treatments before whitening, treatment of existing dental issues, custom fitted trays for optimal protection, alternative whitening options such as lower concentration treatments over longer periods, specific products for sensitive teeth,
alternative brightening methods such as microabrasion, non-peroxide whitening agents.
Ongoing care consists of regular monitoring during treatment, professional adjustment of treatment intensity, immediate intervention if problems arise, and long-term maintenance plans include Remember, consulting a dental professional isn't just about safety, it's about achieving the best possible results while protecting your oral health.
Your long-term maintenance plan should include your dentist providing personalized solutions based on your specific dental condition and sensitivity level.
So My takeaway on this, and based on other sources I consulted that went deeper into this issue, leave me with the ongoing impression that not only do Candace's doctors suck ass, her dental professionals likely aren't great either.
Pissed About Contractions00:10:05
If her teeth hurt as much as she says they did, then there are definitely reasons.
The first one is that the numbing agent might have been refused or not used by her.
The second is that she had other issues with her teeth and they did not assess it ahead of time, which would just be bad practice.
The third is that her stated recent removal of her lower braces might not have had enough time to heal prior to the whitening.
I looked up further whether or not enlarged nerves were a possible reason for this.
And it gets a lot more technical than that, of course, but it is also not a real diagnosis to tell somebody.
Yeah.
Doesn't even really sound like a real diagnosis to you.
No.
It's not enlarged nerves.
It has to do with how fluid moves in the teeth in microscopic tubules that can be enlarged due to inflammation, such as recent dental work.
It's also a huge red flag that she had other problems.
Yeah.
As for her, I don't like to take iproprofen, whatever.
You know, that's whatever.
I barely myself take pain meds.
I have an aspirin regimen nightly to help me get to sleep, and that's about it.
Two pills at bedtime.
I keep it on hand otherwise in my car, but that's because the stuff works for me.
You do you.
I'm glad I can take it because it is cheap.
I can get it anywhere if I need it, and it works well for me.
It is definitely not for everyone.
Consult your doctor.
I use the generic shit.
It works.
As for tattoo removal, she goes on to explain her version of it is like frying bacon and getting splattered with the bacon grease, which fits with what I heard from others and what my basic research turned up.
Anyway, she will go on to explain it that way and will also explain her insane mindset of working during the early stages of going into labor.
Because for some reason, finishing the hepatitis A vaccine episode was more important than vaginally releasing a human being into the world.
That seems like an excuse you'd use, honestly.
Well, we're going to give it a listen.
There will be extended silences during the next clip.
That bacon grease was frying.
You just went, I'm just going to pour it on my body.
That's tattoo removal.
Flavor pains, nowhere near.
So I disagree with the family guy clip in that capacity.
So I went to work.
I was having contractions.
These were labor contractions.
And I was just kind of taking a breath every time a contraction would come around.
And because we were filming the HEP-A episode, which already premiered, I can actually show you the outtake of me having a contraction.
So take a look.
Huh?
Hold on.
Whew, big contraction.
What did you say?
Yeah.
Sign-up details.
Oh, that's a really bad one.
Okay.
Oh, it's fun.
Just waiting for the contraction class.
So there you have it.
That is me having a contraction right there.
So if you're so fearful, that again, everybody's experience is different, but it basically just feels like, you know, something is expanding inside of your uterus and it's getting really, really big.
And the funny part is, is that your natural response is to tighten, right?
With something like, oh, I'm going to protect it, but you shouldn't.
You should actually widen so that it can just, the balloon can expand.
So you give it more space, not less, which again goes against your natural instinct.
And yeah, so it's like, it's very uncomfortable.
It's, it's getting tight and bigger at the same time.
And so I just kind of breathe, like trying to make my stomach fatter, if that makes sense, to give it more space.
That was Candace Owens in labor contractions while working.
I know it is useless to ever point out that these people, these fucking Nazis are hypocrites, but we have to keep it in mind.
Pretty much anyone else, she would be the first to tell them not to be working during fucking labor.
Of course, she is also among the working conservative women that actively tell other women that they should all be stay-at-home mothers while also not ever pushing for wage laws that would increase the income in their husbands' lives to bring in, to make that a remote possibility in any sense.
Just more fucking absurd shit from this one.
Working during contractions.
Like, stop the fucking work, get comfortable, go to the hospital when it's time.
Jesus fucking Christ.
But she isn't done.
She didn't just get comfy and go to the hospital.
Nope.
And that is me in labor.
So I think we kind of, because of cultural conditioning, because of family guy, you just, I've always pictured women like, punching their husbands and, you know, knocking them in the face and yo, do this to me.
And I've heard women tell me those stories.
It just, it just has never been my experience.
So I wanted to give you that because I think that a lot of times only the worst interpretations of labor hit the internet.
Get me up a door right away before I punch somebody.
It's not that.
And the more control that you say in from the beginning, you're going to maintain that control throughout.
So we finished that episode.
We have A episode.
And then we were going in for a lunch break, getting ready to film the next episode.
And my EP, my executive producer, sort of looked at me as I was having these a bit more frequently.
We started timing them.
They were a minute long, which is about, again, if they're a minute long and they're about 10 minutes apart, you're ready to go to the hospital.
And I think we were probably, we were timing them.
She was like writing down all the times.
We were probably at every 11 minutes.
And they were definitely a minute long.
And she's like, are you sure you want to film the second episode?
And I'm like, yes, let's just get it done.
And she was questioning whether or not I was sane.
And the answer is no, obviously not.
Why was I at work on the day that I was giving birth?
The answer is I was not sane at all.
But I was just like, I just want to get all this off of my to-do list.
I think this, by the way, is my nesting.
I hear about the women who like get down and like scrub the tiles in the bathroom with a toothbrush when they're expecting a child because you go through this period of nesting, which is very real.
I think for me, I turned into a workaholic and I just wanted to like get everything done in a place and shot and filmed so I wouldn't have to think about work.
And eventually, and we've got this male producer too, and he's probably just like, wow, like I have to jump in and like deliver Cancer's baby.
Like it was probably just really weird for everyone as I was just in labor, sitting in this control room.
And finally, she's like, I really think you should go home.
And I got a really big contraction.
And I was like, yeah, I'm going to go home.
So we killed the second episode and I went home.
Yeah.
You have something to say?
At least she admits she's not sane.
Yeah.
And also the fact that she keeps making the statement of when they're a minute apart, you got to go to the hospital because it's, you know, ready to go.
So she goes home.
Yeah.
Well, she finally went home.
This was being filmed at the time in a studio lot in Nashville.
Owned or rented by the Daily Wire.
The reason why Candace isn't the type of person to clean stuff in a nesting period is because she's rich and has she have fucking maids.
Yeah.
But I am not above thinking that she may have been feeling pressure at the time to produce content since she herself had admitted that her content had fallen off over the course of this series.
Yeah.
And people were pissed.
She had talked about it on previous episodes that we did.
People were pissed that she wasn't cranking out content.
And she addressed it with like, you know, I'm pregnant and I've got all these other things going on.
And it's like, yeah, they went there.
Like they had their memberships to Daily Wire for her content.
Yeah.
You know, so I still find it hard to listen to her go on about having to work during late-stage pregnancy.
It doesn't matter if I'm right about it or not.
And it doesn't matter that it is Candace Owens.
I find it abhorrent regardless.
The next set of clips will all be relatively shorter because Candace is running down everything that happened after she decided to go home.
And it is a lot.
But it was pretty much business as usual.
I basically said to my husband, the baby's definitely coming today.
Let's still not go too early to the hospital because what else are we going to do?
Let's wait for the contractions to come down even more.
Like I wanted to see it in like the seven to the eight minute range because then I knew that everything would happen very quickly.
And also because they're expecting you when you get to the hospital to have a bigger sign of like you're definitely in labor.
How do you know is going to be the question that they ask you?
And usually they're waiting for, oh, my water broke or something before they check you.
And I just didn't feel that we were close enough.
I wanted to get it down again to like six to seven minutes.
Candace And The Babylon Bee00:05:45
So I went home and I remember specifically there is a satire site that's called the Babylon Beef.
For those of you that are apolitical, totally fine.
And a buddy of mine runs it and I had called him.
And because it's a satire site, I imagine that his life is very impacted and he thinks everything's a joke.
And we were having a conversation.
And he's like, aren't you due to have a baby soon?
I was like, yeah, I'm literally in labor right now.
And I don't think he took me seriously.
He sort of laughed it off.
And I was thinking, no, I'm actually in labor right now.
And this was, so I had left the office, left the control room probably around 12.30.
And this was probably around 3.30 that I was talking to Seth Dylan on the phone.
And then after I had a phone with him, I said to my husband, we should kind of start, you know, getting everything together, get the car loaded up.
So let's take a moment to talk about the Babylon Bee.
Okay.
Oh, it's Babylon B.
I thought you said Babylon Beef.
Yeah, no.
It basically fancies itself as a Christian satire site like The Onion, but much dumber.
Seth Dylan was the CEO of the site at the time.
And it wouldn't be much longer past this that she would wind up on the wrong end of the Babylon B articles from the Jerusalem Post in an article originally written on January 7th, 2025.
Candace Owens goes off on the quote, Babylonian Talmudic Bee by Danielle Grayman Kennard.
January 7th, 2025.
Updated January 9th, 2025.
I'm quoting from the article here.
Controversial internet personality Candace Owens aimed the satirical outlet the Babylon Bee on her podcast Monday, labeling the site as the Zionist bee and the Babylonian Talmudic bee.
Owens, after announcing her pregnancy, claimed that the bee made jokes favorable to Elon Musk, but complained the site made a satirical article referencing her and the repeated accusations of anti-Semitism made against her in an article headlined, Candace Owens, horrified to learn Christmas was started by the birth of a Jew.
Damn.
It's just very obvious they are worshiping Israel, Owens said of the site, that they base their jokes on people who don't worship Israel and Bibi, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Owens was named the 2024 Anti-Semite of the Year by the nonprofit Stop Anti-Semitism.
She claimed that the Bee's stance on her changed once she left the Daily Wire, listing previous headlines like, The Daily Wire quietly cancels their upcoming Little Mermaid remake starring Candace Owens, as examples in the shifting coverage.
The jokes are just blatantly obvious that they don't like me, Owens complained, noting newer B headlines which poked fun at her anti-Semitic content.
Sharing a screenshot of B CEO Seth Dylan confirming, yes, the joke is Candace is obsessed with Jews.
Owens questioned why the jokes only began in July when Dylan claimed Owens' obsession has been true for a long time.
Owens said she used to have a strong relationship with Dylan.
Her husband did business with him and they supported him through a difficult time.
Explaining that last year had been a difficult time for her and her family, Owens complained, I looked onto my Twitter feed and Seth Dylan, this guy I went out on a limb for, is just instantly jumping in over the Christ as King thing, spinning it as anti-Semitism.
She claimed that Dylan made posts because he was mad at white people and saw himself as racially Jewish.
She added that he was angry because she was not serving the state of Israel.
Owens added that Dylan's silence would have been appreciated.
Referencing her ongoing battles against Rabbi Shmuly Bodiak, Owens complained Dylan never wrote jokes about how the Jews were obsessed with her.
Owens disputed the claims that she was obsessed with Jews, noting that the Bee didn't accuse her of obsession when she focused her energies on criticizing the Black Lives Matter movement.
Revealing a text she claims to have sent to Dylan, Owens wrote that Dylan's reaction to her Israel criticism was Jewish supremacy.
It's almost as if you are a massive hypocrite who thinks Israel can't be critiqued because the Jews live there, Owens alleges she wrote.
While Owens claimed much of the criticism leveraged against her was because of her criticism of Israel, on a number of occasions she has directed her attention to well-regarded Jewish figures, including the Chaba-Lubavitch Rebbe.
In September, Owens claimed Rebbe Schneerson, who died in 1994, preached Jewish supremacism, the hatred of all non-Jews.
Her accusations were disputed by Chabad's official X account, which stressed the Rebbe saw the importance of each individual no matter how ordinary they might seem.
The Rebbe dedicated hours daily to personally responding to letters from people worldwide.
After an interview with Kanye West, YouTube suspended her account in September.
Owen said that her interview with West was removed as hate speech following it being mass reported by Zionists.
Risks of Eating During Labor00:13:54
Damn.
Owen shared a screenshotted message from YouTube revealing YouTube made the decision to remove the video as it claims that Jewish people control the media.
In July, she was also accused of minimizing the Holocaust.
After referring to the medical experiments on Jewish twins performed by Nazi Dr. Josef Mengele during the Holocaust as bizarre propaganda, Owens questioned the authenticity of some accounts of Nazi experiments, describing them as absurd and a tremendous waste of time and supplies.
So that is what happened with that friendship.
It's quite the downhill spiral real fast.
Now, imagine that, but like a hundred times worse because she has lost so many people that would have been right or die for her because she's being such a bitch about Charlie Kirk getting popped.
God damn.
And about Charlie Kirk, unrelated, but funny.
I saw a meme the other day.
Well, not a meme, but screenshot from Twitter or whatever the fuck.
Anyway, someone had said that they had a clean shot on somebody in like a game like Call of Duty or something.
And over their headset, they heard the kid on the other end be like, oh man, I got kirked.
And the guy was like, I had to quit the game because I couldn't, I was laughing too hard.
I was useless for the rest of the match.
He's like, kids are now.
He's like, you know, I'm playing with, like, the kids sounded like it was 12 or 13.
It's like, kids are using a clean shot and labeling it a kirk.
Like, wow.
We've really, we've really turned a corner in society.
But here's another short one.
We're getting there, but we had this legal thing that we were dealing with.
I was talking to my lawyer, and so I was like, well, let's just talk to my lawyer on the phone before we head to the hospital.
Spoke to my lawyer on the phone, and then spoke to him as we were heading to the hospital.
So it's a very, very Candace Owens birth business, as usual.
But before, obviously, we went to the hospital, we got the whole family together.
Last time, family of four.
Very exciting picture.
So before we let her go on with that into something else on the ramble, what legal thing would have been so important in late 2023 into early 2024 that would have required her attention so much as to be on the phone with her lawyer while hurriedly filming a series like this on someone else's diamond studio time?
The Gaza genocide is what?
Yeah.
Candace was in the weeds at this time with her statements on Twitter about how much the state of Israel was fucking over the Palestinians.
And her bosses at the Daily Wire that were, and to my knowledge still are Israel stands, took issue with her not towing the line in support of what they were doing after the October 7, 2023 attack from Hamas at the music festival.
To be fair to Candace, it is one of the things that she is correct in speaking out against, but to be real about Candace, it has been the position of this podcast for a long time that her stance on the Gaza genocide is antagonistic against Israel precisely because it is Israel doing it.
She hasn't spoken out much at all about how the neighboring countries in the zone also haven't have also refused to help the Palestinians much, if at all, and how she hasn't pushed for a solution beyond saying Israel bad.
So yeah, she was talking a lot of shit publicly at Ben Shapiro, the boss at Daily Wire on Twitter.
And it says a lot about what people think about these people in general, that at the time, a lot of folks I followed on Twitter and elsewhere were discussing that this was all probably a publicity stunt and would blow over.
As listeners to this podcast are probably aware, it did end in the firing of Candace Owens from the Daily Wire.
But now it is time for Candace to dispense some really bad advice.
And then we got into the car and I was on the phone with a lawyer.
I said to my husband, let's get something to eat.
Now, this is a very important part, ladies.
You, in case you were just having your first child and nobody told you, once you check into the hospital, that you are not allowed to eat.
So if you are a person who's about to have a 50-hour labor, they're not going to let you eat.
And the reason for that is because in the event of an emergency, if they have to cut you open for a C-section, I could have said that a bit more eloquently, but I mean, they do cut you open for a C-section.
If it's an emergency C-section, there can't be any food in your stomach, and so they don't let you eat.
So if you're going to the hospital, eat.
Eat something that is going to fill you up.
I went to Shake Shack and I had a cheeseburger with French fries on the way to the hospital.
I made a conscious decision to go to a hospital that was a little deeper into the country here in Tennessee before I had gone to a big hospital, you know, St. Thomas.
If you guys saw my last experience, I just wasn't happy with the fact that I felt that they were not treating me like a human being and like I was just a person that they just wanted to, you know, sell as many things to make as much money.
And I didn't want that experience.
And I had heard from a person that works here at the hospital, I mean, works here at Daily Wire.
She had given birth about, you know, two months before me that she had a wonderful experience at Williamson County Hospital.
And so I decided that when I was in labor, I was just going to walk into Williamson County Hospital.
Of course, this means that I was not going to have my OBGYN giving birth to the baby, but that was a trade-off that I was willing to make for the comfort of having nurses that supported what I wanted to do and didn't force vaccinations on me or make me feel like I was killing my child.
I just didn't want that experience.
So we were in the parking lot and I timed my last contraction at 5.32 p.m. as I was on the phone talking to my lawyer just finishing the burger.
Okay.
So there are a lot of problems with this advice to fill up on a burger and fries before labor that is highly unlikely to be as long as this drama queen is making it out to be.
From a WebMD article titled, What to Know About Eating and Drinking During Labor by Madison Darby and reviewed by Tracy C. Johnson MD from October 16th, 2024.
Bringing a baby into the world can be one of the most exciting times in a person's life, but there's no denying that giving birth is also a complex experience with a steep learning curve.
In the United States, 3,596,017 children were born in 2023.
For years, eating and drinking during labor were limited to ice chips and water due to medical concerns.
Doctors worried that those who ate and drank during labor were at high risk of aspiration, which is inhaling food or water into the lungs during general anesthesia.
During labor, aspiration can be caused by relaxed muscles in the stomach due to high levels of the hormone progesterone.
The uterus can also press against the stomach, raising the risk of aspiration.
Energy and stamina, you know, to eat or not to eat.
Yeah.
Being unable to take in nutrients during such a physically trying time has caused distress among people giving birth.
The physical demands and complication risks of labor make it one of the most taxing experiences the human body can endure.
Delivering a baby takes a lot of energy, similar to a person running a marathon.
On average, labor for a person's first child lasts around 12 to 24 hours.
For later births, it usually lasts between 8 and 10 hours.
The average person only goes 2 to 3 waking hours without eating to sustain their energy, even when they aren't involved in physical activity.
But labor generally lasts for much longer periods of time.
In the face of these concerns, you may be pleased to learn that rules on eating and drinking during labor have shifted.
Hospitals are relaxing their regulations on this topic.
Strict rules on eating and drinking during labor began in 1946 with Dr. Curtis Mendelssohn.
He wanted to avoid aspiration in pregnant people under general anesthesia by keeping them from eating or drinking during labor.
This was a helpful discovery that prevented many deaths.
So the rule became a medical precedent.
Doctors instructed their patients to avoid eating or drinking during labor to guard against the aspiration risks that accompany pregnancy and general anesthesia.
General anesthesia is the medication used when a patient needs to be completely unconscious during a medical procedure.
During the years Dr. Mendelssohn practiced, using general anesthesia was the norm for people in labor.
But now it is only used for emergencies like C-sections because it's best for people to be conscious and active while in labor.
In 2015, the American Society of Anesthesiologists released a study that redefined how we view eating and drinking during labor.
Citing advances in anesthesia, this study stated that there is now less risk of aspirating during labor because general anesthesia is no longer commonly used.
Healthcare professionals today usually rely on regional anesthesia during labor instead.
This includes procedures like epidurals and spinal blocks, which numb certain parts of the body and don't put you to sleep.
Researchers found only one case of aspiration during labor in the U.S. between 2005 and 2013, which shows that aspiration during labor is quite rare.
In this case, the woman also had preeclampsia, making her pregnancy high risk.
For healthy, low-risk pregnancies, the risk of aspiration is low.
If you're healthy with a low-risk pregnancy, a couple of food and drink options are available to choose from during labor.
Specifically, it's best to sick to clear liquids such as water, tea, carbonated beverages, clear broth.
Depending on your hospital's regulations, light meals like soup, toast, or fruit may also be okay during early labor.
Above all, doctors still recommend that you eat light and preferably during early labor rather than in the later stages.
Foods to avoid during labor include rich foods such as large pieces of meat and heavy meals.
You know.
Much he decided to garge on.
The burger and fucking fries, yeah.
Though rare, if aspiration does occur during labor, solid foods are more dangerous than liquids.
Dairy and acidic beverages like juice should also be avoided because they can upset your stomach during labor.
The benefits of eating and drinking during labor.
These new rules on eating and drinking during labor have pleased many pregnant people because of the potential health benefits of this practice.
Labor's strenuous nature means it requires a lot of energy and your energy can be boosted by taking in nutrients during delivery.
Some studies have even shown that eating or drinking can benefit the labor experience.
One study found that some people with low-risk pregnancies whose eating and drinking were less restricted experienced shorter labor times.
They also didn't have any resulting labor complications such as aspiration or vomiting.
Another study discovered that people who were only allowed to eat ice chips, the old precedent during labor, were more likely to have unplanned C-sections than patients with less strict eating and drinking policies during labor.
Eating and drinking also increased their comfort and satisfaction during labor, benefiting their overall experience.
One study analyzed whether drinking something rich in carbohydrates during labor would reduce C-section rates, but the results were inconclusive.
However, they did notice that the drink helped ease the subject's hunger, which impacted their energy and stamina.
People with high-risk pregnancies or those likely to need general anesthesia should not eat or drink during labor.
This includes anyone who is having a planned C-section, is at risk of having an emergency C-section, has had a C-section before, is delivering multiple babies, has health issues affecting the pregnancy.
These risks will potentially make eating and drinking during labor dangerous.
If you're pregnant, consult your doctor ahead of time about whether or not these risks apply to you.
In the face of these new views on eating and drinking during labor, hospital policies will vary.
Ask your hospital beforehand about their food and drink policy so you can be aware of their rules.
It's also important to talk with your OBGYN about what you should eat at every step of the way during labor.
Asking your doctor if you're at high risk of having a C-section, general anesthesia, or any other health issues can help you decide whether you can eat or drink during labor.
Your doctor should be the person who's most familiar with the details of your pregnancy, and they'll know what's best for your specific labor plan.
That is the kind of information that pregnant women should be getting, not this potentially damaging shit from Candace.
Remarkable Labor Moment00:06:18
And also, it is likely true that her OBGYN was not credentialed with the hospital since on its own website, it says that its team handles all births in the hospital.
It's very rare anyway for a hospital to allow a non-credentialed doctor to perform work on site.
The hospital's proper name is also Williamson Medical Center, and it is in Franklin, Tennessee.
Now, Candace mentioned that she just felt like any other person at St. Thomas Hospital.
I think that bothered her more than anything else.
Walk into the hospital.
It was remarkably peaceful and quiet.
So I maybe got lucky in that way.
Maybe it's because I was deeper into the country and it's not as crazy as the typical emergency room experience.
And we went into to be triaged.
And of course, they asked the question, how do you know you're in labor?
Did your water break?
No.
Did you lose your niggas bugged?
No.
I just looked at them and I said, this is my third child.
I am telling you that this baby is going to come very soon.
I can tell by the contractions and they were super lovely.
There was one guy behind the desk who was like, oh my God, are you, are you Candice Owens?
Is your last name Owens?
And he was super excited.
Always the weirdest time to meet somebody who recognizes you is in any medical circumstances.
He was totally sweet, totally kind, but he's like, they say things, obviously, because they're excited and they're not thinking through.
He's like, what are you doing here?
And I was like, having a baby.
What are you doing here?
Again, he was super sweet, got us all checked in, and then they moved us to a room, the first room.
Okay, now I can't say if something like this is why she chose to go to this hospital or not, but I think it helped impick.
I think it helped impact her entire labor, being recognized as her celebrity self, because she clearly got a high from the recognition because she is a narcissist.
And now, Candace will go on to make a case against insurance companies and for single-payer health medicine without realizing she is doing it.
So the way it works is that if you come in and you say that you're an over, they're not going to believe you until they are able to check you and see how far you're dilated.
It is completely up to them whether or not they are going to move you to the next room.
So the first room, they sit you down and they just check you.
It's just an examination room to see whether or not they are going to admit you to the second room, which is where you're actually going to give birth.
And then after you give birth, there is the third room where you can stay overnight for 48 hours according to your insurance.
And the doctor will try to make you meet those 48 hours so that they can get that insurance money.
Typically, hospitals will try to make you meet that 48 hours and problematize everything as we discussed in my last birth story.
Short clip, but there we have it.
She will scream and rail against socialized medicine systems at every opportunity.
But when it comes to her fucking care and length of stay and how she is handled, it really seems like she would like some of that socialism.
I know I wouldn't mind it.
Now she goes on to detail more of her journey in this hospital where they knew her name and treated her like it was flaming Moe's.
Also, she's going to describe in great detail, well, I had to hear it and fuck it.
The rest of you get to as well.
Don't hit that fucking skip button.
Marinate in this with us.
So I was transferred to the first room.
It was so cute.
It was like, it looked like a grandma's living room.
It was very sweet.
It had a rocking chair for my husband, obviously the bed for me.
I got up and she checked me and she said, you know, four centimeters.
Four centimeters is not what you want to hear because that means it's fully up to them if they want to keep you.
I think, and don't quote me on this, I think they like to see that you're at like five or six beyond, definitely more than five, before they will say we will definitely keep you.
Four is not it.
But they were the sweetest nurses.
And I said to them, I'm telling you, this baby is coming imminently.
And I think they kind of trusted me in a weird way.
I just sounded very confident and told them this would not be a good time to send me home because, and I explained to them, I'm not a person that has ever dilated like to seven.
So it all happens.
So if I'm at four, we're going to be at 10 momentarily.
And she said, okay, well, I'm going to go get the OBGYN to check you and then she'll make a decision of whether we're going to keep you.
She leaves the room, the nurse, and my husband and I went, okay, well, what do we do now?
And always the answer is to pray, you know, pray for the success of the delivery, pray just to have a better experience in the hospital, pray that they keep us.
And my dad, my dad, my husband starts doing the Lord's Prayer and I do not.
It was like, our Father who are in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
And I suddenly felt a contraction coming on.
And it just, yeah, balloon in the uterus, as I describe it, just getting bigger and bigger and bigger.
But this time, it wasn't stopping at the top.
And I was like, this kid has to stop.
It's just, this is, and I start going, whoa, because I'm like, I feel like I'm going to explode.
And then I did explode.
My water broke.
It was so glorious right as she left and was waiting for a sign, you know, a sign from God, a literal sign from God while doing the Lord's Prayer.
My water broke, which I thought was amazing and epic and wonderful.
It's such a great thing to reflect upon.
And so it was very quickly answered prayer is what I would say.
I said, I don't want to go to home.
I just want to have this baby.
And it just was, it was just like the movies, bizarrely.
That part was just like movies.
I had never appreciated how much water can come out.
There was just, it just wouldn't stop coming out.
It was, my husband went and got the nurses, you know, hit the button.
They came in.
They were like, whoa, it's a lot of water.
It was all on the floor.
I thought it was going to flood.
I was like, I don't know what is going on here.
This is crazy.
And I think it's because in my prior two births, I had had an epidural, so I did not feel how much water comes out.
So this was something that was just kind of remarkable to me.
It was like, how are we going to now get me into the next room?
Because I am just water is just coming out of me like a fire hydrant.
I call this clip Cursed Lake Candace.
Excessive Amniotic Fluid00:15:18
So yeah, I looked up what the typical amniotic fluid that would be the water break that is discussed.
The typical amniotic fluid release is about half a liter to a full liter.
curse like candace get you uh uh it's it's it's that and also i think she just got a little too excited the lord's prayer Oh, this is another heavy research section.
All right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, as I was saying, the typical amniotic fluid release is about half a liter to a full liter, entirely in a birth.
There are rare medical cases where up to eight liters have been drained from a patient over time.
And anything above the standard amount is from a condition known as polyhydrom neos.
I pulled down quite a bit of information on this condition, and it is as extensive as anything else we have covered on here.
And I find it fascinating.
So here we fucking go from the NIH and Stat Pearls.
Link in the fucking notes.
This is a continuing education activity.
Polyhydromneos is a pathological condition characterized by an excess of amniotic fluid associated with increased rates of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality.
This condition develops when the mechanisms regulating amniotic fluid volume are disrupted, most commonly due to excess fetal urine production, impaired swallowing, or gastrointestinal obstruction.
The diagnosis is made through ultrasonography when the single deepest vertical pocket of fluid is at least 8 centimeters or the amniotic fluid index is at least 24 centimeters.
Polyhydrom neose can be classified as mild, moderate, or severe based on these parameters.
Approximately 60% to 70% of patients with polyhydrom neos have mild disease, which is frequently idiopathic and has an excellent prognosis.
Patients with mild disease typically require only a basic evaluation that includes a detailed medical and prenatal history, targeted anatomy ultrasound, routine screening for aneuploidy and gestational diabetes, and consideration of a potential congenital infection.
Antenatal treatment for mild polyhydromneos is rarely required.
However, when polyhydrom neos is severe, beetle pathology is often present, warranting a more comprehensive evaluation and antipartum fetal surveillance.
Patients with severe polyhydrom neos may experience symptoms such as dyspnea and edema, for which amnio reduction can provide relief.
This activity reviews the pathophysiology evaluation and management of polyhydrom neos, including considerations for timing and mode of delivery in affected pregnancies.
Participants gain insight into diagnostic criteria, diagnostic criteria and associated risk factors for polyhydrom neos.
This activity also highlights the role of an interprofessional team in caring for these patients to optimize maternal and neonatal outcomes.
The objectives are to differentiate the common causes and pathophysiology of polyhydrom neose, implement an appropriate evaluation for patients with polyhydrome neos, select best management strategies for patients with mild, moderate and severe polyhydrom neos, and collaborate with members of an interprofessional healthcare team to improve health care for patients with polyhydrom neos and their neonates.
Polyhydromneose is a pathological condition characterized by an excess of amniotic fluid volume.
Under normal circumstances, an equilibrium is maintained between amniotic fluid production and absorption.
Polyhydromneos occurs when this equilibrium is disrupted, often due to increased fetal urine production, impaired swallowing or gastrointestinal obstruction.
The diagnosis is made by ultrasound when the single deepest vertical pocket of fluid is at least 8 centimeters or when the amniotic fluid index is at least 24 centimeters.
Polyhydrom neos can be classified as mild, moderate or severe based on the amniotic fluid index or deepest vertical pocket.
So in 50 to 60 percent of affected patients, polyhydrom neos is idiopathic.
However, the idiopathic classification is one of exclusion and can only be made after ruling out other potential causes.
Polyhydrom neos may result from any pathology that impairs fetal swallowing, reduces fluid reabsorption from the gastrointestinal tract or results in excessive urine production.
One of the most common pathological causes of polyhydrom neos is gestational diabetes, though chromosomal abnormalities are also relatively common.
Less often, intrapartum transplant sentillal infections lead to polyhydrom neos, impaired fetal swallowing and gastrointestinal absorption.
Causes of impaired fetal swallowing include central nervous system lesions, neuromuscular dysfunctions such as myotonic dystrophy or atherogyposis syndromes, craniofacial abnormalities such as cleft lipor, palate micrognathia and obstructive neck masses.
In addition, obstruction in the fetal gastrointestinal tract due to duodenal atresia, tracheoesophageal fistula, esophageal atresia, a thoracic mass or a diaphragmatic hernia can significantly limit amniotic fluid absorption and lead to polyhydrom neos excessive fetal urine production.
Excessive fetal urine production is most often associated with maternal diabetes.
In addition, macrosomic fetuses tend to produce more urine, even in non-diabetic pregnant individuals.
Less commonly, the fetus may have an abnormality that causes high output cardiac failure, which can also lead to excessive urine production.
These conditions include severe fetal anemia from maternal alloimmunization, parvovirus B19 infection, alpha-thalassemia, or other hemolytic disorders, such as fecal tachyarrhythmias, including supraventular tachycardia, and arthereovous shunting in conjunction with sacrocochial teratoma or chorioangioma.
Some renal and urologic conditions such as Bartler syndrome, Kemp-Barter syndrome, can also lead to the overproduction of fetal urine and polyhydromeose.
Twin-twin transfusion syndrome is a serious complication affecting 8-10% of monochrionic twin pregnancies.
In twin-twin transfusion syndrome, vascular connections within the monochorionic placenta shunt blood from one fetus, the donor, to the other, the recipient.
The result of this shunting can be severe volume depletion and oligiohydromneos in the donor, whereas fluid overload, hydroxifetalis, and high output cardiac failure in the recipient.
Polyhydromneose occurs in 1 to 2% of all pregnancies.
Of patients with polyhydrom neos, approximately 65 to 70% have mild disease, 20% have moderate disease, and less than 15% have severe disease.
The condition is often identified incidentally in asymptomatic patients during ultrasonographic evaluation for other conditions in the third trimester.
Chamberlain used ultrasonography to obtain qualitative amniotic fluid volumes to evaluate the perinatal mortality rate in 7,562 patients with high-risk pregnancies.
The perinatal mortality rate of patients with normal fluid volumes was 1.97 deaths per 1,000 patients, but it increased more than twofold to 4.12 deaths per 1,000 patients with polyhydrom neos amniotic fluid regulation depends on a delicate balance between fluid production and absorption, which supports fetal development and protects the fetus.
Polyhydromneose occurs when this balance is disrupted, leading to excessive amniotic fluid and potentially indicating underlying material or underlying maternal or fetal conditions.
Amniotic fluid is mainly produced from fetal urination and, to a lesser extent, from fetal lung fluid.
Fetal urine is produced at a relatively steady rate, which increases as pregnancy progresses and the fetus grows.
The estimated hourly fetal urine production rate for fetuses at 20, 30, and 40 weeks is 4.2, 22.7, and 52.2 milliliters an hour, respectively, which amounts to approximately 100, 545, and 1250 milliliters a day.
This rate is typically higher in larger fetuses and lower in growth-restricted fetuses.
Fluid absorption occurs mainly through fetal swallowing, though direct absorption through the fetal membranes also plays a role.
Similar to urine production, fetal swallowing increases throughout most of gestation as swallowing movements become progressively more coordinated.
The fetus swallows an estimated 500 to 1,000 milliliters of amniotic fluid daily near term.
Animal evidence suggests that swallowing increases as amniotic fluid volume increases, which appears to be an important component of amniotic fluid volume regulation.
In addition, the hypotonic nature of amniotic fluid compared to the isotonic fetal plasma creates an osmotic gradient, enabling direct absorption of amniotic fluid into fetal vessels on the placental surface, a process known as intramembranous absorption.
The pathophysiology of polyhydrom neos is not fully understood.
However, any imbalance in the complex regulatory mechanisms maintaining the amniotic fluid volume can result in polyhydrom neos such as increased urine production.
Given that glucose readily crosses the placenta, maternal hyperglycemia leads to fetal hyperglycemia and osmotic diuresis.
Fetal urine output also increases in high output fetal cardiac stage, such as severe anemia, arteriovenous shunts, and volume overload.
Barter syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive condition that affects fetal renal tubular function and results in sodium loss and polyuria, often leading to severe polyhydrom neos decreased amniotic fluid absorption is swallowing requires complex coordination between cerebral and brainstem pathways, oral and pharyngeal sensor motor function, and respiratory activity.
Many central nervous system and neuromuscular disorders and infections may prevent the fetus from swallowing effectively, decreasing amniotic fluid resorption and leading to polyhydrom neos.
In addition, the gastrointestinal tract must be patient and functional, must be patent and functional for the fluid to be reabsorbed by the fetal vasculature.
Therefore, polyhydrom neos can also develop due to conditions that prevent the swallowed fluid from reaching the intestines, such as esophageal or duodonal atresia or gastrointestinal compression due to a neck or thoracic mass.
Common aneuploidies such as trisomies 21, 18, and 13 can also be associated with polyhydromeos.
Typically, polyhydrom neos is detected either during an ultrasonographic evaluation performed for symphasis fundal height measurement greater than expected for the gestational age or is noted as an incentive as an incidental finding when ultrasonography is performed for another indication.
In these situations, the pregnant patient is often asymptomatic.
A focused medical and prenatal history should be obtained to assess the patient for risk factors, signs, and symptoms related to potential underlying etiologies.
The patient should be assessed for findings that may suggest impaired glucose tolerance, such as polyuria and polydipsia, congenital infections such as recent sick contacts, rash, and fever, and risk factors for alloimmunization, such as RH-negative blood type, history of bleeding in pregnancy, or blood transfusions.
In addition, patients should ask their perception of fetal movements as limited fetal movement may suggest a fetal neuromuscular disorder.
Polyhydromios increases the risk of complications such as preterm labor, preterm labor rupture of membranes, and placental abruption.
Therefore, these individuals should be asked about contractions, cramping, abdominal pain, loss of fluid, and vaginal bleeding.
Any concerning symptoms should be further investigated with a pelvic examination and assessment of fetal well-being.
Patients with moderate to severe polyhydrom neos may be symptomatic.
These patients may present with clinically significant dyspnea secondary to excessive amniotic fluid restricting diaphragmatic movement.
Lower extremity edema may also cause considerable discomfort.
A fundal height that is 3 centimeters above the gestational age in weeks or rapid uterine enlargement warrants a sonographic assessment of fetal growth and amniotic fluid volume to rule out macrosomia or polyhydromneos.
In patients with severe polyhydrom neos, the physical examination may also reveal a grossly distended abdomen, shallow breathing, and significant lower extremity edema.
Clinicians must also be aware that excessive amniotic fluid increases the risk of cord prolapse after membrane rupture, which may be appreciated as a pulsating purplish mass in the cervical canal or vagina.
SFMF Recommendations for Polyhydromnios00:15:03
A thorough clinical assessment is required to evaluate polyhydrom neos and identify its severity and potential underlying causes.
This assessment includes ultrasonographic measurements of amniotic fluid volume, screening for maternal conditions, and assessing for possible fetal anomalies.
Diagnosis Polyhydromneos should be diagnosed based on a quantitative sonographic assessment of amniotic fluid volume.
Amniotic fluid is best evaluated using one of two methods.
By measuring the single deepest vertical pocket of amniotic fluid, which is also referred to as the maximal vertical pocket or single deepest pocket, or by calculating the amniotic fluid index, which represents the quantitative sum of the deepest vertical pocket measurements obtained in each of the four abdominal quadrants.
These same values can also be used to determine the severity of polyhydrom neos.
Both amniotic fluid index and deepest vertical pocket correlate relatively poorly with the actual amniotic fluid volume as determined by dye dilution techniques.
However, similar to dye dilution tests, abnormal amniotic fluid indexes and deepest vertical pockets are associated with adverse outcomes and therefore the non-invasive assessments of amniotic fluid volume are preferred for diagnosing and monitoring polyhydrom neos.
The report goes on to describe how it should be diagnosed with special equipment and precise measurement ranges.
I am skipping this section.
Moving on further, we get to the next section, which is evaluation after diagnosis.
Once polyhydromneose is diagnosed, an evaluation should attempt to identify an underlying cause.
The process begins with reviewing the prenatal record and obtaining a detailed medical history and obstetric ultrasound.
Routine prenatal care includes screening for various potential underlying etiologies, including allimmunization, aneuploidy, congenital anomalies using a mid-trimester ultrasound, gestational diabetes, and syphilis.
Appropriate testing should be ordered if not yet completed.
Because gestational diabetes is a prevalent cause of polyhydrom neos, the SM-FM advises that re-screening for gestational diabetes may be considered if it has been at least one month since the initial screening was completed.
In monochorionic twin gestations, the SMFM recommends screening for twin-twin transfusion syndrome every two weeks, starting at 16 weeks of gestation and continuing through delivery.
A targeted obstetric ultrasound should be performed as part of the initial assessment of polyhydrom neos to evaluate the fetus for common structural causes of excess amniotic fluid.
Although congenital anomalies are relatively uncommon in patients with mild disease, the rate of anomalies is approximately 30% to 40% in patients with severe polyhydrom neos.
According to the SMFM, this targeted ultrasound should assess the fetus for the conditions associated with polyhydrom neos, including fetal growth abnormalities, including both macrosomia and growth restriction, fetal hydrops, sacrococtial teratoma by assessing the lower spine and pelvis, chorioangioma by assessing the placenta, twin-twin transfusion syndrome in monochorionic twins,
neurologic dysfunction by assessing fetal movement and major CNS structures.
Other areas that experts often assess include the thoracic cavity for a large compressive mass, the diaphragm for a diaphragmatomatic hernia, the abdomen for signs of intestinal atraisia, such as the double bubble sign, and markers of aneuaploidy.
Middle cerebral artery peak systolic velocity known as MCAPSV is indicated in all patients with fetal hydrops to screen for severe fetal anemia, and some experts determine the MCA-PSV in all patients undergoing a targeted ultrasound for polyhydrom neoser testing for congenital infections.
If risk factors such as recent sick contacts or a suspicious rash are present, serum testing for congenital infections may also be appropriate, such as screening or re-screening for syphilis rubella, paravirus B19, or parvovirus, B19 rather, HIV, hepatitis, cytomegalovirus, and toxoplasmosis.
Referral to a genetic counselor and relative and relevant genetic testing is indicated when the history or second trimester ultrasound suggests a possible genetic abnormality.
Amniocentesis and karyotyping can confirm aneuploidy, including trisomies 21, 18, and 13.
Although amniocentesis is generally not indicated specifically for idiopathic polyhydromneose, it should be offered to all pregnant individuals who may elect to undergo the procedure after appropriate counseling.
For patients with severe polyhydrom neos or when a congenital anomaly is identified, it is appropriate to offer chromosomal microarray analysis or whole genome sequencing as several conditions including barter, noonan, prater-wille, and beckwith-wida-manned syndromes may be associated with polyhydromneos.
A study found that approximately 5.5% of patients with moderate or severe polyhydrom neos had a fetus with a clinically significant genetic anomaly.
When no cause is identified, okay, that's a new one, the patient is diagnosed with idiopathic polyhydromeos when no cause is identified.
Occasionally, a cause for the increased amniotic fluid volume is discovered after birth.
The management of polyhydrom neos depends on its severity and underlying cause.
Mid-idiopathic polyhydromneos rarely require treatment, whereas those with severe disease are more likely to experience uterine irritability, abdominal pain, or dyspenea.
They could benefit from treatment.
Antipartum fetal surveillance.
Antipartum fetal surveillance is recommended for patients with moderate to severe polyhydrom neos starting between 32 and 34 weeks of gestation due to the increased risk of perinatal morbidity and mortality.
The SM FM suggests that antipartum fetal surveillance is not required to indicate mild idiopathic polyhydrom neos.
When performed, antipart and fetal surveillance typically consists of a complete or modified biophysical profile.
A repeat ultrasound is appropriate if the patient develops new signs or symptoms indicating their condition is worsening.
However, there is no consensus regarding the frequency and interval of follow-up ultrasonography in asymptomatic patients with idiopathic polyhydromeos.
These ultrasounds may be used to monitor patients for worsening polyhydromeose or to assess fetal growth as growth abnormalities are more common with polyhydromeos.
Specifically, macrosomia, typically defined as a birth weight greater than 4,000 grams, or for our fellow American bastards, 8 pounds 13 ounces, can be observed in 15% to 30% of patients with isolated mild polyhydromeos as larger fetuses have increased urine output.
On the other hand, fetal growth restriction in the setting of polyhydromneose is typically associated with underlying pathology and closer monitoring is warranted.
For symptomatic patients with severe polyhydroneos, amnio reduction can be considered.
Amnioreduction is an ultrasound guided procedure that removes amniotic fluid through a large transabdominal needle, typically a 15 centimeter 20 gauge needle.
Typically, 1.5 and 3 liters of fluid are removed during the procedure.
However, amnioreduction does not address the underlying cause of excess amniotic fluid, so fluid frequently reaccumulates, limiting the procedure's efficacy.
More than one procedure is required in 42% to 46% of individuals.
Amnio reduction is generally not appropriate for asymptomatic patients or those with non-severe disease.
In twin gestations complicated by twin-twin transfusion syndrome, amnioreduction was historically the mainstay of treatment.
However, most experts now believe that selective phetoscopic laser photocoagulation, SFLP, is a superior treatment for patients with more severe diseases.
SFLP treats the root cause of twin-twin transfusion syndrome and appears to be associated with superior outcomes in some studies.
The SMFM now recommends SFLP for patients with stages 2 through 4 twin-twin transfusion syndrome who are less than 26 weeks of gestation.
Significant adverse events within 48 hours of the procedure are uncommon.
If events occur, they may include preterm labor, preterm prelabor rupture of membranes, intrauterine infection, and placental abruption.
However, preterm birth in general is relatively common in patients requiring amnioreduction, with individuals delivering on average 3.7 weeks following the first amnio reduction and at an average gestational age of approximately 36 weeks.
Endomethicin is a prostaglandin synthetase inhibitor that decreases fetal urine output and amniotic fluid volume, in addition to reducing uterine inability or irritability in preterm patients.
However, endomethicin is associated with adverse fetal and neonatal outcomes such as paraventricular leucomelacea, severe intraventricular hemorrhage, and necrotizing and pterocolitis when administered after 32 weeks of gestation.
Furthermore, no evidence suggests that endomethicin improves maternal or neonatal outcomes when used specifically for polyhydromeos.
Therefore, the SMFM recommends against the use of endomethicin for the sole indication of decreasing amniotic fluid volume.
However, due to its ability to reduce uterine irritability, a 48-hour course of endomethicin can be a good choice for patients less than 32 weeks gestation with preterm labor contractions related to uterine overdistention from polyhydromneos.
For patients less than 32 weeks, a short course of endomethicin before or after amnio reduction is also appropriate for its tocolytic and therapeutic effects.
Endomethicin is contraindicated in patients greater than 32 weeks.
Nifededipine or terbutylene are preferred if a tocolytic agent is needed in the population.
The delivery timing depends on the severity of polyhydrom neos and the presence and severity of any underlying conditions or complications such as congenital anomalies, preterm pre-labor rupture or membranes, and placental abruption.
Patients with underlying pathology should be treated according to recommendations specific to pathology and those with severe polyhydrom neos should be delivered at a tertiary facility due to significant potential increases in maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality.
In patients with mild idiopathic polyhydromneose, labor should be allowed to occur spontaneously at term.
When induction of labor is planned, it should not occur before 39 weeks in the absence of other indications.
The mode of delivery is based on typical obstetric indications.
Even in the absence of diabetes, macrosomia is present in 15 to 30% of patients with idiopathic polyhydromnios, and these patients are significantly more likely to require cesarean delivery.
Upon admission for delivery, the fetal presentation should be sonographically confirmed due to increased risk of malpresentation, and an internal cephalic version may be performed for non-cephalic presentations if no contraindications are present.
Continuous electronic fetal monitoring is recommended during labor due to studies that show increased rates of non-reassuring fetal heart rate tracings, dysfunctional labor, and complications after membrane rupture, including cord prolapse and placental abruption in the setting of polyhydromneos.
At delivery, the healthcare team should be prepared for potential complications.
Shoulder dystocia is more common with fetal macrosomia and gestational diabetes.
Postpartum hemorrhage related to uterine atomy is more common following gestations complicated by chronic uterine over-distension and transient tachypnia of the newborn is encountered in neonates related and persistent fluid in the fetal lungs.
Due to increased risk of transient tachypnia of the newborn, neonatal support should be available for all patients with polyhydromnios.
In patients presenting with abdominal enlargement beyond what is expected for their gestational age, the differential diagnosis includes macrosomia, multiple gestations, maternal volume overload due to cirrhosis, astheites, heart failure, end-stage renal disease, or preeclampsia.
Tumors, including chorioangioma, hematomia, and placental abruption.
Patients with polyhydromnios may also present with dyspnea or other respiratory difficulties related to compression of the thoracic cavity by the over-distended uterus.
In these situations, the differential diagnosis includes preeclampsia spectrum disorders, venous thromboembolic events, reactive airway disease or exasperation of a chronic pulmonary condition, cardiac arrhythmia or pregnancy-induced cardiomyopathy, infection, normal discomforts of pregnancy.
The prognosis for mild idiopathic polyhydrom neos is excellent, though the maternal and fetal prognosis worsens as the severity of polyhydromios frequently have a self-limited disease that resolves without any intervention.
A 2016 study found that polyhydrom neos resolved in 37% of patients all with mild disease.
In patients with normal antenatal anatomy, ultrasound results, and mild to moderate polyhydromios, the chance of a significant congenital anomaly being first identified postnatally is 1 to 2 percent.
Polyhydrominos: A Team Approach00:07:58
This risk increases to 11 percent in patients with severe polyhydrom neos.
Idiopathic polyhydrom neos is also associated with a three-fold increase in five-minute APGAR scores less than seven.
For the fetus, the prognosis directly correlates with the underlying cause of polyhydrom neos.
Growth-restricted fetuses with polyhydrom neos frequently have significant underlying pathology and therefore tend to have the poorest prognosis.
In addition, multiple studies suggest that even isolated polyhydrom neos is associated with increased rates of intrauterine fetal demise or perinatal fetal morbidity, mortality, excuse me, fetal mortality.
Severe and rapidly progressing polyhydrom neos is an independent risk factor for prenatal mortality.
Perinatal and maternal morbidity and mortality increase as the severity of polyhydrom neos increases.
Polyhydromneose is associated with a higher incidence of fetal macrosomia, malpresentation, placental abruption, cord prolapse, cesarean birth, neonatal respiratory stress, distress, low five-minute APGAR scores, postpartum hemorrhage, and perinatal mortality.
Rates of preterm labor and preterm prelabor rupture of membranes are also both increased in patients with more severe polyhydrom neos compared to the general obstetric population.
Excess amniotic fluid increases the risk of a non-engaged fetal vertex.
Therefore, polyhydrom neosis is a risk factor for fetal malpresentation, umbilical cord prolapse after membrane rupture, labor dystocia, and as a result of these complications, cesarean birth.
In addition, uterine overdistension and the rapid uterine decompression that occurs following membrane rupture in patients with polyhydrom neos increase the risk of placental abruption.
Similarly, chronic uterine overdistension increases the risk of postpartum hemorrhage due to uterine adeny.
As mentioned previously, larger fetuses produce larger volumes of urine, and therefore rates of fetal macrosomia are higher in patients with polyhydrom neos even in the absence of gestational diabetes.
Notably, both isolated polyhydrom neos and fetal macrosomia appear to increase rates of shoulder dystocia.
The neonate is also at risk of numerous potential complications if underlying pathology is present.
A large cohort study found rates of major congenital anomalies to be 8%, 12%, and 31% in patients with mild, moderate, and severe polyhydrom neos respectively.
Respiratory morbidity in term neonates is also 4.8 times more likely when the pregnancy is complicated by idiopathic polyhydromios.
Polyhydromneose is often first identified by an obstetrician, family medicine clinician, or midwife.
A maternal fetal medicine MFM subspecialist should be consulted in patients with moderate to severe polyhydromneos.
An MFM subspecialist can help interpret the targeted ultrasound evaluation and provide recommendations regarding the need for antipartum fetal surveillance, repeat obstetric ultrasounds, monitoring of the MCAPSV, and genetic testing.
An MFM subspecialist should also manage twin-twin transfusion syndrome.
Complex cases may require consultation with fetal surgeons to discuss the need for laser surgery.
Consultation with a genetics counselor is recommended in patients with a history or ultrasound findings that suggest a possible genetic cause of polyhydrom neos.
A neonatologist should be consulted when significant abnormalities are identified on the antenatal evaluation to provide the patient with appropriate anticipatory guidance and allow the team to prepare for the neonate's arrival.
Effective counseling and education empower pregnant patients and their families to understand their condition and make informed decisions about their care.
Pregnant women with polyhydrom neos should be informed as follows.
Polyhydromeos is defined as an abnormal increase in amniotic fluid.
This condition is associated with an increased risk of certain maternal and fetal complications.
An ultrasound is necessary to identify potential abnormalities contributing to the excess fluid.
Gestational diabetes is a common cause of polyhydromeos and it is important to rule out this condition.
If gestational diabetes has already been diagnosed, patients need to know that keeping good glucose control can help prevent complications.
Key clinical pearls enhance the diagnosis and management of polyhydrom neos.
These insights aid in identifying underlying causes, implementing effective monitoring, and optimizing outcomes for both mother and fetus.
These pearls include Pregnant individuals with polyhydrom neos should be screened for gestational diabetes.
Rescreening individuals may be appropriate if more than one month has passed since their last screening tests.
Amnio reduction should be reserved for patients with severe symptoms of polyhydromeos, such as maternal respiratory distress or severe discomfort.
Endomethicin should not be used solely for the treatment of polyhydromneos.
Pregnant individuals affected by severe polyhydromneos should be delivered at a tertiary care center with neonatal support immediately available.
Polyhydromneos increases the risk of transient tachepnia of the newborn.
The interprofessional team should be prepared to manage the potential complication.
Polyhydromneos increases the risk of postpartum hemorrhage secondary to uterine atomy related to chronic uterine overdistension.
It is prudent to have resources for treating postpartum hemorrhage readily available in the delivery room.
Polyhydromneos is a condition that carries a higher risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes and requires more involved antipartum, intrapartum, and postpartum care.
Polyhydromeos can be first identified in various settings including obstetric or family practice clinics, obstetric triage, or radiology.
Most patients with polyhydromios has mild idiopathic disease that can be managed primarily by an obstetrician, midwife, or family medicine physician.
When polyhydrom neos is more severe, it is essential to consult with an intraprofessional team, which may include specialists in maternal fetal medicine, neonatology, genetics, and fetal surgery.
Nursing staff are critical multidisciplinary team members, as they are often responsible for monitoring patients while undergoing antipartum fetal surveillance with non-stress tests.
In addition, they are also essential educators who can educate the patient and their family about the condition and answer any questions the patient may have regarding their care plan.
Sonographers, sonographers, who specialize in obstetrics, bring valuable expertise to the team as they are often the clinicians performing the ultrasound.
As polyhydrom neosis is often identified incidentally, it is crucial for the obstetric sonographer to immediately recognize which additional images are needed as part of the evaluation with polyhydrom neos.
Laboratory staff performs the tests that are critical to the assessment of polyhydrom neos, including screening for maternal diabetes, congenital abnormalities, and trisomies.
Coordinated care and effective communication among the intra-professional team members are essential for successfully diagnosing and managing polyhydrom neos.
Any concerning findings or changes in patient status should be promptly communicated to relevant team members.
Pregnant individuals should be encouraged to discuss their concerns and preferences regarding their care.
The interprofessional team members should respect their preferences.
By fostering collaboration, respecting each other's expertise, and aligning on shared goals, the healthcare team can enhance team performance, patient safety, and the overall quality of care in individuals' polyhydrom neos.
Shock of the Epidural00:15:07
There you go, motherfuckers.
An entire crash course on polyhydrid nemos.
To be fair to me, I did a control F when I imported that.
Yeah.
I did a control F for the one word and I did replace with and I separated it.
It's a long fucking word.
Oh my god.
Holy fuck.
I can't believe I just read all that shit.
Y'all got to give me a second.
I need some fucking water.
Yeah.
Holy God.
I was about 25 minutes long.
I felt like it.
Oh my God.
I kept reading and I was like, where did I stop this?
Holy shit.
The only thing I really skipped over was the equipment.
Yeah, the equipment part because I was like, it's a long paragraph, but I was like, that's it's it's understood that they're going to use equipment.
Yeah.
You know, I mean, the most obvious one is them using a needle to determine the, well, to alleviate the symptom.
But as they said, it's going to happen again.
Yeah.
That's in multiple sessions thing.
And every time you do that, it increases the risk of preterm labor.
Yeah.
You know.
Or it either increases the risk of preterm labor or it can make labor longer because you're taking out the water.
Yeah.
Okay.
So that's not a sign of a particularly healthy pregnancy, Candace.
No, no, it is not.
Testing and all should have been done that would have detected this as an issue going in.
I would bet that is another reason she didn't want to go to whatever hospital her doctor was attached to, if they were attached to one at all.
My point in reading through all of this is to say that this should not have been a shock.
And had her medical records been available, the staff would have had a better idea of what they were about to deal with.
Which again, in a connected social medicine system, might not have been an issue or a shock for the provider if they had access to her medical history.
I looked up in the editing phase of this script whether or not Williamson Medical Center has or had a team of competent medical interprofessionals that could handle a pregnancy with possible polyhydrome neosis a factor.
And the answer is yes.
Well, that's good, at least.
Yeah, which may be another reason they went there if this was a known factor going in.
Anyway, post-water breakage.
So at this point, they obviously got the wheelchair ready to take me to the next room.
And this is where things went wrong, I would say.
Not wrong, but it just wasn't perfect.
It's because I got into my own head.
So obviously I was very excited because that meant that I was right on the money.
And I knew that if my water broke with me, water break, it means get ready to catch the baby.
Like we, this baby's gonna be here in like an hour and a half or two hours.
But one thing that my husband said was that I never, ever, ever get checked while I am pregnant.
There's no, it means nothing.
There's no reason to put yourself through that uncomfortable check.
Even if they say you're four centimeters dilated, like my sister was, she didn't have her baby and she ended up being adduced two weeks later.
It means nothing.
Women do it to mentally trick themselves.
It means the baby's coming faster.
You can stay dilated at four centimeters for weeks upon weeks upon weeks.
So that was the first time that I had ever had a dilation check.
And so we were thinking, okay, she just checked you and your water broke.
Did she accidentally puncture and cause this water to break, which means that it wasn't natural.
So my husband asked the question and I got in my head and I was going, oh goodness, like maybe she did.
Maybe I'm not about to give birth in two hours.
And if I was about to give birth, I was going to say no, epidural whatsoever.
But if we're going to be here for a very long time, once your water breaks, the contractions can become a lot more painful because you've basically removed the cushion, the cushioned barrier.
And I was just a little nervous and the nurse was so supportive.
She was like, you do not need to do an epidural.
And I was like, I do not want to do an epidural, but I am now fearful that like, what if this is going to be 20 hours, even though that's never happened to me ever and every birth has been really fast?
And I just lost a little bit of confidence because I was suspicious that maybe she had accidentally punctured and caused for this water breaking to happen, which does happen sometimes if people are too aggressive in there.
They can accidentally break your water.
Okay, water on Maine.
I looked into whether or not this is a common occurrence.
And it definitely isn't a common occurrence.
Going back to the polyhydrome neos we discussed already, if the nurse assessing dilation ruptured an overfilled amniotic fluid sac, it certainly would have been possible.
And the risk could have been managed better if she had proper medical care to begin with, which I am inclined to believe that she did not have proper medical care.
Because what kind of masochist would want to be her fucking doctor to begin with?
Anyway, it turns out that Candace needs drugs.
She's going to describe in detail the process of her getting an epidural from a doctor that had no opportunity to get to know her in any way.
I don't usually do trigger warnings on this program, but there you go.
The next clip is eight minutes long and I am not apologizing for it.
Strap the fuck in.
So I said, let's get the epidural.
And I will tell you guys, this is going to be the first and last time, I mean, the third and last time that I will ever get an epidural.
I never have a good experience with it.
And I know that this is a question that a lot of women ask, like, do I want to get the epidural?
And for me, the answer going forward is always going to be no after this particular experience.
So I do want to say, if you are queasy at all, this is probably not the next three minutes of the podcast to listen to.
I am not a queasy person.
Needles don't fear me.
And by the way, it's not that bad.
Like, obviously, I'm a liar.
It's totally, don't be totally creeped out.
But if you're nervous about your epidural and you don't want to hear a bad story, this is not a great story.
It's not an awful story, but it's definitely not a great story.
But also, I think challenge yourself to listen to it because you should hear this stuff, you know?
You should hear when things don't go perfectly.
It's really important.
So again, they transferred me to the room, the room that I was going to give birth in.
That is the room where they called in for the epidural.
And obviously, you know, this is a shot in your spine, which already makes many people very uncomfortable.
Just so you know, there's this concept out there that if they miss, like you're gonna be paralyzed, like that's not true.
My first pregnancy, they missed four, like three times.
It was awful.
And I had epidural sight pain, which is why I didn't like it.
And this time, he missed and missed pretty epically in terms of the pain.
Not the pain that it caused me, but the discomfort that it caused me.
So he went in and I instantly just felt in my soul that I should have been getting sidural.
It was weird.
I just felt like my baby was coming soon.
And I was too on the fence and didn't have this confidence.
And he told me to, he told me to bend my spine over like a cat.
And that made me feel weird because my previous two anesthesiologists never asked me to do that.
So I was wondering if that meant that he wasn't the most precise with epidurals.
I don't know.
I just didn't like even being told to do that like a cat.
And so he went in and, you know, first they numbed the area and then he was doing epidural.
I can't tell you what that looks like.
My husband is all into the gore, likes to watch everything.
He was right behind him watching.
He never, he hunts, so he doesn't get sensitive to any blood, anything that's happening.
But anyways, at this particular moment, you know, I was facing forward.
He was behind me and he had the needle in my back and started, honestly, the only described as cranking.
I guess there must be some mechanism, some crank once it's in that they're moving and they're doing this.
And I could feel it.
Not in a painful way, but I could feel someone inside of my spine doing this.
So just imagine how absolutely, and I said to him, stop, I can feel that.
And he didn't really, he was like, well, is it a pressure pain or is it a pain?
And I'm like, I can't answer that question, but I just know that I shouldn't be feeling this.
And he kept going.
And then suddenly I said, I'm losing consciousness.
Now, I want to be clear here.
I am not a person that passes out.
Like I said, I am not queasy.
I am not like when I see a needle.
My older sisters is the exact opposite.
My sister faints if you talk about fainting.
Like I'll be like, Ashley, I fainted.
And then she'd go, you know, she's like, she's a bit of a feather.
I am not that way.
I can blood, gore, needles, all of that.
So for me to be passing out and I was not, it wasn't from pain.
It was this shock of feeling, I guess, is the only way to describe it.
It was super not on brand for Candace Owens.
And also, what I want to be clear is I can count on five fingers how many times I've passed out in my life.
And this was not a regular passing out.
My body went into shock.
And the way that I can describe it to you is, and I'm going to maybe hopefully be able to find a clip that we can put into post.
But you know, when you watch a movie scene, I'm thinking of the movie Crash for some reason.
I feel like they maybe had a scene like this.
I was quite young when that movie came out with Sandra Bullock.
But when something insane happens, like if someone gets into a car accident, your body can literally go into shock.
And that is different.
You're not just passing out.
You start hearing sounds differently.
Like if someone was talking, it sounded like the nurse was talking in slow motion, like she was muffled.
If I tried to talk, it felt like I was talking in slow motion.
Like I said, where's my husband?
I was clammy.
I broke out into a sweat.
I started feeling nauseous.
I remember that.
I did not actually vomit, but I was suddenly very nauseous.
And it was like the world was in slow motion.
And like I said, picture that moment in movies where sirens are going and they're like making the colors were weird.
And that really freaked me out because he was not communicating.
No one was communicating what was happening to me.
And I remember having this thought, and this was the worst part of my entire birth experience because I didn't know what was happening.
I thought, am I dying?
I remember specifically and clearly thinking, am I dying?
Because at that moment, you needed someone to say, hey, honey, just so you know, you're going into shock.
You're going to be totally fine.
Like, no one was saying that.
No one was explaining what was happening to my body and it felt outerworldly.
So I literally thought, Am I dying?
Am I losing my baby?
And those are the worst thoughts you can possibly have while you were in the hospital.
And again, this would have been assuaged if someone had just communicated to me.
Interestingly enough, my executive producer has this.
There's a proper medical term for what was happening to me.
And she was telling me she gets all the time.
So she would know what was happening.
She would know she wasn't dying.
She prepares for it going in.
If you don't know what shock is like, it is absolutely terrifying if there's no one there to explain it to you.
And so I was like running cold, thinking I was dying, which then having the bad thoughts was making it sort of worse.
This probably only lasted four minutes.
It was the longest four minutes of my life.
And no matter what, when you come out of it and I came out of it, you're just exhausted.
So I normally had so much, I had so much energy going to the hospital.
I was like, you know, you're exhausted.
Your body just gave so much energy to passing out.
I don't even remember what he obviously backed out, went back in, did it again.
And sadly, my epidural did not even take.
So I felt full contractions the entire time, but I was like partially numb in one leg.
It was totally not worth it.
And I shouldn't have done it.
And you're not even going to believe this.
10 minutes later, I'm saying to her, I'm feeling full pain.
I've just passed out for this epidural.
I mean, I'm feeling fully the contractions, and now I don't have the energy that I had to sit up, to brace the contraction.
So it was not worth it.
You know, I expended all of this, I expensed all of this energy, you know, trying to get this epidural that's not working.
And now I feel like I don't have the energy to push or to deal with these contractions.
And of course, 10 minutes later, she's like, oh, let's give it 10 minutes.
Maybe the epidural will take some time.
This is my third child.
It does not take some time for the epidural to hit.
And so, of course, 10 minutes later, she comes in.
She's like, Are you still feeling everything?
And I said, I'm feeling absolutely everything.
And I can tell you that it's time to push.
Oh, I should not have gotten the epidural, ladies and gentlemen.
He was ready and I was ready.
And I just, oh, there's just my biggest regret in this is that I did not trust that when the water broke, that he was going to be there.
Just to give you guys the context here, 5:32.
I'm in the parking lot getting out to go into the hospital.
I gave birth at 8:02 p.m.
This is how quick all of this transpired.
I did not need the epidural.
I needed faith in myself in that moment.
And I will forever be kicking myself for not having done that.
So now it's suddenly time to push.
And I have no energy.
I'm exhausted.
You know, with Louise, she came out in two pushes.
This baby should have been up in two pushes, but mommy was tired.
So instead, this baby came out in 15 minutes, which is still obviously very fast.
And, but I just, this was, I was tired.
I really was tired.
And that is something that I will forever regret because it was completely unnecessary.
I let that one run along because it had to be.
So as I said before, this clip, Candace had not been to this hospital before.
They had no record for her, no reservation either.
I used to work next to a hospital that was a rural affair and it had a brand new birthing ward.
It is a St. Vincent's location in Middleburg, Florida.
Anyway, patients could set up in advance to have their babies there and many did, according to a person I worked with that pulled hours in that birthing center.
The people that worked there would, of course, take in a woman in labor without a file set up, but it was always smoother going when the patient was a known entity.
So rather than go to the hospital where she was known, and rather than take any initiative to get to know where she wanted to go, she showed up at a hospital in labor and basically expected them to figure it out.
Now, if her anesthesiologist was actually bad at the job or not, that is anyone's guess.
What she has described is what people experience going into shock, but she said her senses were messed up.
Darkened Nipples and Areolas00:06:55
So someone could have been talking her into a state of calm, and she wouldn't have known that at the time.
But I think it is a damning thing that she doesn't say that her husband was trying to talk her through it and gives him no credit for it after the fact.
You know, she just talks about how like he got behind her to film the fucking epidural.
Yeah.
But she doesn't, she mentions that her senses were fucked up.
He could have been actually saying something to her.
Yeah.
So I'm not going to, this is the rare occasion where I'm not going to throw shade on George fucking Farmer Rich Boy.
Yeah.
But still, you know, fuck that guy.
Anyway.
So at this point, it's an unknown thing, but considering that, you know, he was ready to dip out and go talk poke shit with the people at the company that fired her while she was giving, you know, while she was in late stage pregnancy and early labor on kid number four.
Yeah.
I doubt he was much help at all, but that is just supposition.
Next clip.
Anyways, obviously, I don't regret having given birth.
It was, it's every time your baby comes out, it is just an absolute miracle.
And you just instantly want to break into tears because you just wanted to meet this little creature that has been driving you crazy inside and keeping you up and making you not sleep.
And for me, every time I'm giving, I'm pregnant with a male, I'm more aggressive, which is, my husband notices it.
I just want to fight people.
And so you're wondering, there's this little male creature that has made me more aggressive for the last nine and a half months.
And suddenly you see them and they're so much smaller than you remember and they're so helpless.
And you will never feel more needed, never feel more love than in that moment.
And that precious time to be able to have skin to skin right after you give birth is, it just, I can't even explain it.
There's no, there are no words.
So I'm not going to try to give you any words.
Anybody that has been there knows it.
To me, for people that do not believe in God, I don't know how you can give birth and not come out of it believing in God.
Just everything, the incredible perfection and the detail of nature, the fact that they can't see but enough inches for them to see your nipple, right?
Which is how they need to feed themselves, which your nipple colorizes and gets darker because it allows the baby to perceive the contrast.
Okay, this is actually true somewhat.
I was just going to say that I got into nipple talk a lot faster than I was mentally prepared for.
The following comes from the website Tampa Bay Parenting.
Darkened areolas causes explained by Dr. Jill from Tampa Bay Parenting, August 22nd, 2022.
Last updated, September 4th, 2025.
Question is, what causes darkening of the areolas or darkened areolas, sometimes referred to as dark nipples?
Some of the most common physical changes, and not just darkened areolas or dark nipples, but often darker areolas, can be the most visible, to occur during pregnancy or seen in the breasts.
Soon after conception, expectant mothers begin to notice breast tenderness, swelling of the breast, stretch marks, and darkened areolas, which is the skin around the nipples, or dark nipples themselves.
Because of the increase in hormones during pregnancy, many women see their areolas darken or nipples darken and continue to darken as their pregnancies progress.
The color of your nipples and areolas may begin darkening or changing as early as the first or second week.
And some women also find that their darkened areolas and darkened nipples grow larger in diameter, especially as the breasts begin to swell.
The darkened nipples may also grow in size or stand out more prominently.
Darkening of the skin, known as hyperpigmentation, is also common in the external genitalia and around the anal region during pregnancy.
Montgomery's tubercles.
In addition to your darkened areolas and darkened nipples, as your pregnancy progresses, you may also experience Montgomery's tubercles, which are tiny bumps on the areolas.
These bumps are nothing to be concerned about.
They are caused by the swelling of oil glands called the glands of Montgomery, named after William Montgomery, the Irish doctor who first discovered them in 1837.
Monty Bill.
Bill Monty, I don't know.
Their purpose is to secrete a kind of oil that protects and lubricates the sensitive skin around your nipples while you're breastfeeding.
The constant pressure, abrasion, and drying of the skin that occurs during breastfeeding might otherwise become quite painful, and for some women it still is.
Some scientists believe that the oil secreted by Montgomery's glands may also have an odor that stimulates the appetite of a newborn infant, thereby encouraging healthy feeding.
The number of Montgomery's glands around the nipple varies greatly from one woman to the next.
Some women have as few as four of them, while others may have upwards of 20 or more.
They are normally invisible to the naked eye, which is why some women become alarmed at the sudden appearance of mysterious bumps around their nipples during pregnancy, although many women report that Montgomery's glands also become visible during states of sexual arousal.
The main cause of darkened areolas and dark nipples are hormones.
Progesterone and estrogen cause the body to produce more pigment.
This is why many women see splotches and patches of darkened skin all over their bodies.
These hormones also cause widening of the areolas, breast tenderness, breast swelling, leakage of colostrum, dark nipples, and all the other changes that happen to the breasts.
It is believed the darkening and widening of the darkened areolas and dark nipples during pregnancy and breastfeeding may be an evolutionary adaptation.
Newborn infants have blurry vision and a larger, darker areola and dark nipples are easier for them to see and distinguish from the rest of the breast.
Other possible causes of darkened areolas and dark nipples in women can also be caused by aging, menstruation, or certain medications.
In some cases, skin darkening can be a sign of a serious problem, although generally this is not the case.
If the color change is accompanied by pain, redness, or bleeding, then your health care provider should be notified.
If you are not pregnant, there is a possibility that your darkened nipples and darkened areolas are caused by a serious medical condition such as Paget's disease, a rare form of cancer.
Paget's disease is not likely to be the cause if you have darkened nipples on both breasts, but in any case, the symptom should prompt a visit to your doctor for an examination, especially if there is flaking or peeling of the skin around the nipple and areola.
Treatment for darkened areolas and nipples.
There isn't much you can do to prevent your skin from darkening while you're pregnant or nursing.
A change of color is not a life or death situation.
Time For Star Fuckery00:08:11
It's just a natural part of being pregnant and giving birth.
Darker areolas during pregnancy will in most cases return to their original color after childbirth, although they will most likely stay dark as long as you are breastfeeding.
For some women, the darkened skin is permanent.
Some medicated creams can be unsafe to use during pregnancy, so it's important that you consult your health care provider before applying any type of cream or ointment to your breasts, darkened areolas, or other parts of your body to treat skin problems or changes.
So, you know, she's not wrong.
Yeah.
For once.
Next up, titty time.
When you learn how instantly once you give birth to that placenta, which you don't even remember, I never went to remember given birth at a placenta.
Actually, it was the first time I saw the placenta.
It was pretty cool.
I kind of wanted to touch it, but I was holding the baby.
that as soon as that placenta exits, it sends a signal to your body to let down the milk ducts.
Like, come on.
It is just amazing, the miracle of birth and the divine nature of it all, you know, that obviously something greater had to have created this.
There is a mathematical precision and a beauty.
And I know that for women that end up having C-sections, that is what gets disrupted.
You know, your body doesn't know that you've given birth.
And that is something that we should talk about in a later episode because it is so much harder for mothers that are coming out of a C-section.
And I know so many mothers that deal with, you know, forms of depression, which is going to be next week's episode or the next episode rather.
We're doing this bi-weekly that we're going to talk about postpartum depression and things of that nature and things that contribute it.
But when you are able to experience that divine perfection of birth and things go as it should go, which obviously if you have a healthy baby, one as it should go, but what I mean is to give birth naturally.
I just don't understand how people can walk away from it and not believe in God.
Okay, so first, the exit of the placenta sends a signal to the body to start allowing milk production.
It is a known hormonal change.
There is a link between women that have to get planned or emergency C-sections having difficulty lactating for up to five days, but usually less time, provided they are following doctor's instructions.
I have included a link to a UK-based site, laleche.org.uk, literally about C-section and breastfeeding after one.
It is not impossible, and it doesn't have to be any more difficult than after a natural birth.
That said, I am also linking to an article by the NIH where a Canadian study is shared that mentions in the abstract that planned C-sections are more common in Canada than anywhere else in the world, happening at a rate of about 27.1% at the time of the study, which was around 2016, when the rate of other countries was around 5 to 15%.
So Canada, 27.
Everybody else, 5 to 15.
Beyond that, for C-section births, whether planned or emergency, less mothers planned on breastfeeding, opting instead to use formula for all or most of their child's early feeding.
The study is fascinating and anyone interested in the outcomes is welcome to check it out.
It is in the notes.
As for the other thing she said about birth seeming like a miracle, I mean, come on.
I would call it a miracle if she had given birth in any situation other than I walked into a hospital where they weren't expecting me and dropped a baby on them.
That miracle is called medical science and the social safety net of happening to have a rural hospital just close enough that driving out to it was feasible.
Now it is time for some star fuckery.
My postpartum experience in the hospital was wonderful.
Again, I had the most supportive nurses.
I was like, no vaccines.
They didn't even care.
They cared so little.
And then I was like, no, maybe I should get vaccines, me being a countryman.
I'm like, why don't you care?
They were so chill.
I was like, I really don't want to do the prick test until I see my pediatrician afterwards.
I just don't, I just, he's perfect.
He's happy.
He's sleeping.
I love him.
I'm tired.
My husband's tired.
I have to wake up every two hours to breastfeed.
They were like, no problem.
I was like, please don't knock on the door throughout the night.
They were like, no problem.
I mean, it was just wonderful.
The immediate postpartum experience in this particular hospital was wonderful.
We said, we don't want to stay here.
We don't want to be here for 48 hours so that the hospital can make its insurance money.
They were like, goodbye.
When would you like to leave?
And so we only stayed in the hospital for 12 hours.
We stayed that night and we left the, I gave birth again at 8.02 p.m.
And we left the hospital at about 8.30 a.m. the next morning.
We had a McDonald's after I ate, which I hadn't had in a long time.
And I'd like to tell you, it's still delicious.
I probably eat McDonald's once a year.
And every time I do, I am just shocked at how delicious it still is.
It is bad for you and so good in certain moments.
Okay, so she was there long enough to be known and recognized.
These people had time to pull up her social media information.
Enough time to see that she named and shamed the last hospital that she had given birth in.
And they probably didn't want any of that smoke.
I don't blame them.
I can just imagine them being like, oh, she wants to leave early?
Express file now, Becky.
Of course, they didn't give her any drama about vaccines or anything.
They likely just wanted to be rid of the internet celebrity/slash influencer, known for being medically ignorant and very loud.
Yeah.
Yes, absolutely.
Let that one go.
I get it.
As for McDonald's, it is the opinion of this podcast that all the worst people keep pushing them, either low-key like she is or over the top like Trump.
And ever since he pulled that whole drive-through sun in Philadelphia, I've not spent any money with them, nor will I.
This is just another reason I will be avoiding them.
I don't think this was a low-key advert from Mickey D's.
I just despise them entirely anyway.
So hearing her go through that shit was kind of cathartic.
Although at the hour she describes leaving the hospital, only breakfast would have been available.
Yeah.
Wendy's does it better, Candace.
So does White Castle.
I don't think I've ever had White Castle.
Breakfast?
Period.
Yeah, no, you haven't.
Yeah, no.
It's pretty good.
We'll drop in sometime.
Okay.
Yeah.
Their little burgers are delish.
Like, you don't need any cheese on them.
I mean, I just devour the fucking things.
I'd hope that they're good given that there's an entire movie about, you know.
An entire movie series.
An entire movie series about trying to get to a White Castle.
Yeah, no, they're pretty good.
Like, I saw them here and I was like, oh, man, is that White Castle?
And from what I knew about them, I was like, I was comparing them to like Crystal back in the South.
There's a comparison to be made.
But honestly, I've hit the White Castles here a couple of times and I really dig them.
They're really.
Yeah, like for the small cost of the food, it's pretty damn good.
Just a fair warning, too.
If ever you're going through and you see somewhere that says White Castle Vintage, that is a vintage store that is not a White Castle.
That is a vintage store that happens to reside in an old White Castle.
Oh, yeah, no, no, no.
You're talking about the record store.
Yeah.
That's over near 27th Street or whatever.
Yeah.
It is an old-ass White Castle that was a burger shop that is now a record and merch shop for like local bands and shit.
It's actually pretty cool.
I walked in there one day.
They're really nice people.
But it's catty cornered from a free skating park.
Yeah.
It's it's pretty neat shit.
Um, anyway, yeah, so like I said, I just despise McDonald's entirely.
Uh, yeah, when he says better, yep.
Advocating for Your Partner00:03:02
Anyway, it's time for the final clip.
Sorry to filter back through my script here.
Anyway, it is time for the final clip.
And Candace says, one thing I agree with that I think is actually positive and good advice.
So we left the next morning after they gave us breakfast and went home with our baby.
We're not chased out of the hospital.
We're not told that we were doing anything wrong.
Just healthy, happy mom, a sleepy dad, and a very healthy baby.
So other than this Experience that I had with the epidural this time, which again, I don't want you to walk away from this and be like so traumatized from it.
I've had an epidural go well once, and that was with Louise.
But again, even in that time, I just didn't need it.
And I wish that I had had more faith in my body.
I'm grateful whenever anything goes wrong in my life because I know there's a reason for it.
And because I'm not done having children, I know that the reason that that went wrong is because now, no matter what, I will have the confidence to say no to an epidural because I'll be like, No, I know my body after three births, each time everything happens, the show is on the road.
When that water breaks, that baby is coming out shortly.
And so, I just wanted to be able to share that with you guys, to share my birth story because I know the women out there want to hear it, and maybe some men too.
I think probably definitely for your first child, you have a lot of questions, and you should, because you are always going to have to be the person that is advocating for your wife when you are in the hospital.
There's a lot going on for a woman, and having a plan.
If you're in a hospital that is particularly aggressive when it comes to vaccines, you are the person that is going to stand up and advocate for your wife.
You are that your child, you know, saying absolutely not.
And there are so many men that understand that.
And my heart goes out to people that don't have a partner and are going through this-you know, moms that are single moms that are giving birth and don't have someone there for them.
I can't even imagine going through that process.
But what I will tell you is that when you hold your baby, every single thing that you have gone through, it just fades away in that moment.
It is beautiful, it is spiritual, it is divine.
So, guys, we are going to stop the episode there.
I hope you enjoyed that.
Give me all of your comments.
Tell me about your birth experiences because I never get sick of hearing stories.
As always, you guys, all of the links and the resources.
I don't think we got too much into any links and the resources needed today because it was my personal story.
But if you are looking for links and resources on past episodes and you are not yet following our Instagram, you are missing out.
It is a very funny Instagram panel.
I think I'm funny and I find this to be funny.
I think I have a good sense of humor.
It is at shot in the dark DW.
Thank you for joining me this time.
Looking forward to seeing you guys next time.
Okay, so first off, she couldn't be bothered to provide links, but we sure as fuck did, and they are in the show notes.
The one thing she said that I agree with, and one of the things I live by, is that bad things can happen.
Cub's Mini Donut Soda00:05:21
But as long as I am alive, I will try to learn from them and adapt, overcome, or accept what is happening and deal with it.
It does not mean to throw caution to the wind or to rely entirely on data or vibes, but to just learn from errors.
That is all we can really do.
In her case, she had a shitty epidural.
She found some strength, she says, in saying no to trying to make it work and learning from it.
That might not work for everyone.
You do what is best for you.
Epidurals have always looked and sounded absolutely frightening to me.
And I think any woman that agrees to one or just goes through labor is doing something I can't imagine doing.
So, respect to all of you that have ever been given, have ever even been pregnant for any length of time.
I'm sitting here across from my son, and that shit still blows my mind.
Okay, let's drink something odd.
I found I was in a local grocery chain the other day, one of the locations here called Cub.
Now, Cub is Cub stores, they are all pretty big.
I don't think I've been in one that I would consider small in any way at all.
Cub has, of course, their own sugar cookies.
Yeah.
Well, Cub has a partnership with a local brewery called Lift Bridge, which is over in Stillwater.
Yeah.
So we got, and we've, we've done a we've done a Lyft Bridge.
Um, I think we did their mini donut soda or one of their root beers or something before.
Yeah, mini donut soda and 1919 is one of theirs as well.
Okay.
Yeah.
Wait, no, no, no.
1919 is New Olm.
All right.
Yeah.
Sorry.
New Ulm does have that kick-ass orange soda.
Yeah, I think it's because they're next to each other and they're around about the same can size.
That's why I get them confused.
Now, all of this said, Matthew turned 21 recently and we went to Surley Brewing and, you know, got him some very good beer and a decent meal.
And also at New Bohemia, which is a bratwurst restaurant where they make their own bratwurst on site.
Excellent shit.
And their bratwurst is good enough that I had leftovers and I quite literally got hungry in the middle of the night.
Went into the refrigerator and just went, ha fuck it.
Pulled them out and ate them cold.
Yeah.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
They've got wild elk.
Yeah.
Bratwurst.
Yeah.
Like just unimaginably good shit.
Yeah, if you go to one of their locations, though, it is, you figure out your order, then you go tell the bartender, and they bring you the shit.
Anyway, so I said all of that to say that I found this 4% alcohol by volume Lift Bridge Brewing Company Cub Sugar Cookie Beer.
We have not had this.
I don't know what to expect, but they come in these pint-sized cans.
Yeah.
It says, a refreshing collaboration between two Stillwater success stories.
Inspired by the timeless taste of a Cub Sugar Cookie, this golden ale combines flavors of vanilla, sweet cookie, and a sprinkle of sugar.
All right, let's open these up.
I've got a four pack, so.
Okay.
All right.
A little.
Ooh.
It smells sugar cookery.
Oh, yeah.
i'm gonna pour mine out it looks like bale ale Yeah, it does.
Looks, I mean, that's what you get from the vision on the can anyway, too.
Bit of a pale ale or an orange, like a white orange soda kind of look.
Smells like a, god damn it, smells like a fucking sugar cookie.
Like a store-made sugar cookie.
I mean, that's what they were going for, so.
Yeah.
Mission accomplished, guys.
Still pouring mine up.
This has got a really thick head on it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Cub, C-U-B, stands for, in this case, Consumers United for Brewing.
I think it's Consumer United for Buying or some shit like that.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's some such corporate thing.
I don't think you're getting that entire can in that small ass glass.
I mean, I've got a 16-ounce Steinmug here, and it's not all going in there.
I've got about a third of the can left.
Not fitting it in the glass, but a man can dream.
Right.
I'm not going to do the finger trick with this where you put a finger in and make the heads go down.
While we're waiting, let's discuss the situation in Minneapolis.
Now, obviously, anybody that's in this kind of media sphere, you've heard about the federal surge going on in our fair city right now.
It sucks.
Tear Gas and Protests00:02:26
You know, Matthew here wasn't able to attend a concert he had planned on going to, a symphonic thing, because the concert got called on the day of.
They made notices on their website and stuff that they were not going to be able to do it because it was only really a few blocks away from where all of the ice action was happening.
And these fuckers were using, you know, tear gas munitions and shit on peaceful protesters.
On people filming them.
Which is, you know, all that had, which is all that was happening with Alex Preddy and Renee Good.
They made the mistake of filming these assholes.
So, you know, they start using tear gas, tear gas spreads.
It doesn't tend to stay localized.
And yeah, there was a real risk that, you know, you could wind up with a theater full of that shit.
So I, you know, we understand them disengaging.
They refunded people or rescheduled them, you know, but they were extremely polite about it, too.
They didn't fight back at all.
They did, of course, first offer reschedule with a discount.
Yeah.
I declined the reschedule, told them it's probably for the best that I just not go to a show for a little while.
And then they just refunded me and gave me a discount code to use anyway in the future.
Because it was a 140-something for two tickets.
Yeah, now anyone who says that, oh, well, you know, okay, one of the stupidest fucking things, one of the stupid most checked out fucking things that I heard Trump say about our protesters recently was, oh, they've got beautiful signs.
I've seen some of those signs.
They're really beautiful.
Like, yeah, this is a city of artists.
We have serious art schools here.
We have a serious maker community and shit.
Like, people do the things here.
We don't, you know, they're not getting paid for it.
This is labor of love signs that they've made.
You know, that's why there's no two alike generally when you see like the really nice ones in the crowd.
Artisan Beverages00:07:23
But let us try this now.
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
After.
If you let it, yeah, the aftertaste is like you just ate a fresh sugar cookie.
But the initial is kind of it.
It's a little like bready.
Yeah.
It's a little like bready.
Like, I want to say like I just shoved like a piece of white bread in my mouth and then it becomes the sugar cookie.
Like, it takes it a moment to really show up.
I can smell it on my breath.
You know?
It's really something else.
Yeah.
Yeah, I'm on the fence at like, I'm going to finish this pint.
Yeah.
I'm on the fence.
I don't know if I like it or not yet.
It's also got like a bitterness to it, too.
Yeah, I mean, you know, it's a beer.
It's going to have hops in it.
Yeah.
It's just.
Yeah, like it's.
See, it's so weird.
I don't know how I really like dark ales, but light ales, I'm just always so that big-ass bottle you bought was a dark ale.
Yeah, I know.
It was good.
Yeah, it was.
It was really good.
If ever you go to Surley Brewing, they have one called Nine.
It's really good.
Yeah, it's a batch that they made for their ninth anniversary slash birth slash birthday.
And yeah, the bottle prices on that are going to go up over time.
Oh, yeah.
The one I got for him was $40.
It was a pint and a half.
So it's a big-ass bottle.
And if you crack it on site, you have to drink it on site.
If you decide to leave, you have to leave with it.
Yeah, there's no opening it and taking it out.
There's, you know, Surley has a lot of, I mean, every brewery does this, where they'll have, you know, a menu of brews that you can only get there.
And certain ones you can only take away.
And certain ones you can't take away.
Like, you have to consume them on site.
Those are super high in alcohol.
Speaking of which, though, this is actually, I mean, we've got two more cans of this.
We're probably going to go through it eventually.
Good thing beer, you know, kind of holds forever.
Yeah.
But yeah, those are yours.
I don't drink nearly enough to like.
Yeah.
I don't usually have a beer that I like drinking.
I'm like, do I like this?
I don't know.
I don't know.
It's an anomaly.
It's weird because even as your tongue gets used to that hoppy sort of taste it's got it.
The cookie comes in real hard.
Yeah, the cookie comes in real hard, but every time you like take a new sip, it's like, like you said, washing your tongue with bread.
Yeah.
You wash your tongue with white bread and then you sit back and you're just waiting for that sugar cookie taste to come on.
Yeah, it's pretty wild.
I mean, I picked up the four pack for like five bucks.
Shit.
Okay, fair enough.
And they were selling it in the regular grocery section because it's just low enough in alcohol that they could get away with it.
Yeah.
But yeah.
Yeah, I mean, I don't hate it.
No, no.
I don't hate it at all.
It just, it's very weird.
Yeah.
It's, I used to brew beer.
I haven't brewed any since we moved here.
I don't really want to do it unless like we're, there's a lot of conditions to me brewing another batch of beer.
But.
And it helps when you're in a place that you can solidly go, okay, I need a solid temperature for this room specifically.
Yeah.
And you can install your own atmospheric shit that you need to.
Yeah.
Humidor of sorts, basically.
Yeah.
But, um, or a thermidor, they would call it.
A thermidor.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, that's a, that's a real, that's a real word.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's weird.
I don't know that I'd order this.
No.
I'd get it on a, I think I'd get it on a flight and be like, glad I tried it, but yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, it's, it's fine.
I've drank half mine at this point.
So the fact that I keep coming back to it says a lot.
Well, you also got to ask yourself, are you continuing to come back to it because you bought it?
No, no, no.
It's weird enough that I keep trying it like, what am I, why do I like this?
That's.
That's the real question.
Why do I like this?
But there's no question as to why I keep coming back to Candace's content and engaging with it, even if it does take quite a while these days to craft out an episode.
This is what we do.
So at any rate, everybody, we are safe.
Our city is managing.
And everyone knows that we will get through this.
So it is better than it.
It is, it's going to happen.
We're all going to be okay.
But I think that's all I got.
You got anything?
Nothing, no.
Okay, let's see.
This one went for three hours and 40-ish minutes.
Yeah, I'm about to cut it off.
All right, everyone.
Well, have a great time, and hopefully we will do this again soon.
The next episode will be on the HIB vaccine.
Oh, we're finally getting back into vaccines.
Yeah.
The whole point of this fucking goddamn shot in the dark.
Look, the whole point of shot in the dark was to go through her anti-medical shit.
And I solved a lot of problems with this one.
I explained a lot of things so people will come away from this more informed.
And at the very least, they have links to go back to and go, oh, that was a lot of information.
I need to absorb this myself.
Yeah.
That's the whole fucking point.
All right.
That's it.
We may do sodas.
We may do beers.
Who knows?
It's a wild-ass world.
I was totally planning on doing sodas until I saw this shit and I was like, oh, that's going on the show.
Yeah.
All right, everybody.
It's been great.
Look forward to doing another one, hopefully, in the next couple weeks, but don't quote me on that shit.