Maternal Wealth Podcast - Own Your Birth

From Cesarean to Breech: One Mother's Journey to Build Communities for New Mothers

• Stephanie Theriault

Share episode

Karen Chipman never planned to become a maternal health advocate. With a background in veterinary science, fate redirected her path after the birth of her first son, leading her to discover an unexpected passion for supporting women through labor and delivery. Her journey through three dramatically different births—a cesarean, a hard-won VBAC, and a vaginal breech delivery—became the foundation for what would eventually become Stork Ready Classes and Community for Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond.

What makes Karen's story particularly powerful is her unwavering determination to advocate for herself during a time when maternal autonomy was even more limited than today. When her doctor refused to support her desire for a VBAC with her second pregnancy, telling her she'd need to find another provider, she did exactly that—despite a male colleague telling her, "If you were my wife, I would never let you do this." Her memorable response: "I guess I'm happy I'm not your wife."

This same conviction led her to establish Stork Ready in 2014, creating not just childbirth education but a genuine community for new families. Beyond preparing expectant parents for birth, Karen recognized the critical need for postpartum support in a society that often leaves new mothers isolated and overwhelmed. Through weekly gatherings like Mommy Cafe, women find safe spaces to voice their deepest fears and struggles—from the brave mother who asked, "Do you ever wake up and not want to be a mom?" to the lighthearted but honest discussion about postpartum intimacy where one woman joked she told her husband, "My knee. You can touch my knee."

Karen's insight that "labor hasn't changed, but its management has dramatically" drives her educational approach, empowering families with information beyond what hospital-based classes typically offer. By collaborating with other birth professionals and creating specialized resources for high-risk pregnancies and postpartum preparation, Stork Ready fills crucial gaps in maternal support.

The friendships formed through these communities often last years beyond the newborn phase, with families continuing to gather and support one another through the ongoing journey of parenthood. In Karen's words, "That's why I started Stork Ready—for that community, getting families together to get through that postpartum period that can be so difficult for so many people."

Visit Stork Readyhttps://www.storkready.com/ to discover classes, support groups, and resources for your own pregnancy and parenting journey.

Would you like to be a guest on our show? Send us a message here!

Support the show


Become a Maternal Wealth Provider Today. Search and Find Maternal Wealth Providers Near You. Visit www.maternalwealth.com


Don’t forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review!


Follow Us

Maternal Wealth Instagram
Maternal Wealth Facebook


Stephanie Theriault:

Welcome to the Maternal Wealth Podcast, a space for all things related to maternal health, pregnancy and beyond. I'm your host, Stephanie Terrio. I'm a labor and delivery nurse and a mother to three beautiful boys. Each week, week, we dive into inspiring stories and expert insights to remind us of the power that you hold in childbirth and motherhood. We're here to explore the joys, the challenges and the complexities of maternal health. Every mother's journey is unique and every story deserves to be told. Please note that this podcast is for entertainment purposes only. It is not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always consult with your healthcare provider for medical guidance that is tailored to your specific needs.

Stephanie Theriault:

This week's episode features Karen Chipman, a dear colleague of mine at a hospital here in Boston, Massachusetts, and the proud owner of Stork Ready Classes and Community for Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond. I'm genuinely excited for you to hear her three inspiring birth stories and learn how Stork Ready is truly making a difference for new mothers and families in the Boston area. Karen's birth stories are heartfelt reminders that, even if things don't go exactly as planned, we can choose to welcome birth providers and support people in subsequent births who genuinely value and respect our autonomy. Are you ready, let's get into it. Hi Karen, Welcome to the podcast. I'm so glad you're here.

Karen Chipman:

Hi, Stephanie. Thank you for inviting me. I'm excited to join.

Stephanie Theriault:

I'm excited to hear more about you and your story and I'm ready to get into it if you are, I'm ready. I like to start the episodes learning about you before you became a mom.

Karen Chipman:

Okay, All right. So a little bit about me before I became a mom. So my background and my true passion was animals and I really wanted to be a veterinarian. And many years ago almost 40 years ago now women didn't really dominate that field. It was a male dominated field and it was really really difficult to get into. I have my bachelor's degree in science and I tried and it just it just. For whatever reason I always believe in fate it didn't bring me down that path. So instead I started working in business and I became pregnant with my first. And when I became pregnant with my first, I realized that I really wanted to be home during the day with him. And how was I going to do that? Because I still needed to work.

Karen Chipman:

My husband was self-employed, we needed insurance and we lived just two blocks away from the community hospital. And I said, wow, you know what? I think I can get a job in a community hospital because while I was going to school for veterinary, I was working in animal hospitals. I was doing IVs, I was administering anesthesia, I was doing small procedures and I thought I can work at a hospital At least. That way I can get insurance, I can work evenings, I can work weekends and I certainly have the skill, but I can't work with humans the way I did with animals because I don't have that licensure, if you will. So I went and I did an interview and they had an opening in labor and delivery for surgical tech and I was like, okay, I can certainly hand instruments to a surgeon. That sounds like a fun job. So I interviewed at the job.

Stephanie Theriault:

Tell us about how being a mom and going through the labor and delivery and having your son like integrated into your experience as working in surgical tech.

Karen Chipman:

Yeah. So I actually had my son before working at the hospital and, you know, preparing for that, I prepared just like you know most most families do. I took a childbirth class, preparing for that. I prepared just like you know, most families do. I took a childbirth class, a breastfeeding class and been preparing for that.

Karen Chipman:

The one thing that I did do my doctor at the time did hypnosis for smoking, for pregnancy, for weight loss, and I thought, you know, that sounds interesting, I think I'll try that. So I did hypnosis for labor and delivery and basically what it was was a nightly tape that I would listen to. It was a cassette, that's how long ago it was, and I would listen to that. After dinner my husband would say go do your relaxation, I'll do the dishes. Who wouldn't do that? He really made me do it and I didn't know what the impact would be until I was in labor and I integrated, I included music and it was Pachelbel Pianody with Ocean Sound. So every time I did relaxation I would listen to that music. So when we went into labor and delivery, which was so, so different back then the rooms were really small. We had to share a bathroom with other laboring women. It was very different. I would listen to that music throughout the labor and I was really surprised to find that labor wasn't that bad. Sure, I had contractions, but it wasn't like how some women would describe it or what other women are afraid of. It was really not a bad experience until it came to pushing. And then I had to push for four hours because he had this stubborn posterior head which ended up in a cesarean. So that was actually my first experience with labor and delivery. But then, after I had him, that's when I said I don't want to work full time, I want to be home with him. So that's the job in labor and delivery.

Karen Chipman:

So, besides being in the operating room because I had had the experience, you know they were letting me do more things. I was helping patients in labor and I hate calling a woman having labor in a hospital a patient, so apologies for that. I was helping women in labor. I would be out in the maternity helping women postpartum, helping in the nursery. I could pretty much go where I wanted to go, which I loved. But I truly loved helping women in labor. And 37 years ago, which is when I started, there were no epidurals. Women really labored.

Karen Chipman:

So if I wasn't in the operating room and there were women in labor, that's where you would find me. So people would say to me why don't you just go back to school, why don't you become a doula? And I was like I know I'm a doula every time I go to work, so I'm doing it all the time. The time I thought that would be great, but then that would again take me away from my babies. I would be going out in the middle of the night. It would be sort of when's it going to happen? This way I'm doing really what I loved. I found my new passion and I'm getting paid for it through the hospital. So that's sort of my background, with integrating the labor, my experience and working in the hospital as a tech?

Stephanie Theriault:

Did you find, when you are using the music to help with the labor pains and the experience, that the hospital staff was receptive to that kind of therapy?

Karen Chipman:

They really were. They were very receptive to it because the doctor that actually did it for me was my OB and he worked at the hospital, so they were used to seeing women using that and having their headphones on or listening to it, and where I integrated the music to it, it was a little bit different. And truly, what I feel is, when you do that any pregnant woman while she's preparing for pregnancy and I always say the first thing that you need to prepare is your mind doing this type of relaxation with the same music, relaxation, same music what happens is is you condition yourself to relax when you hear that music. So there would be times when labor was, you know, tough and I'd be like, oh, I'm not, I'm not handling it, this that well. And it was really, you know, my husband's job where he would see that and be like, oh, she's got to listen to our music. So we would, you know, start listening again.

Karen Chipman:

I would do the relaxation, do the breathing that I incorporated with it, and it would bring me back to center. It would bring me back to where I needed to be being in a time where there was not even nitrous, no nitrous, no epidurals. The only thing that we really had were narcotics, and it never even came a time that I thought I needed something more than that and before I knew it it was time to push. So I made it. I made it through and I tell people that in the childbirth class, for those women that want natural childbirth, even once you reach transition, which is the shortest, hardest part of your labor, I like to say congratulations because you've made it. You just need to get through that. You need your support through that part of your labor. But yeah, I got to fully dilated and pushing. I was like, okay, I guess that relaxation really did help me and I thank my husband because he was the one that said go do your relaxation, I'll do the dishes.

Stephanie Theriault:

I think it's so important to recognize the work on both parties part on the pregnant person who is preparing. You're doing the hypnosis, you're getting prepared for the labor and then having that support person telling you and giving you the space to really practice it and prepare and then, in the moment, recognizing when you need that.

Karen Chipman:

So I give a lot of props to your husband because that's so essential to have that support person ready and able to help you, it really is and that, with you saying that, it reminds me because after I had to have the cesarean, my next pregnancy, I knew right away that I wanted to be back vaginal birth after cesarean. And 35 years ago it was once a C-section, always a C-section. So I was a little hard pressed to find a doctor that would support that. Because when I went to see my doctor when I was pregnant he said so isn't this exciting? You get to have a C-section this time. And I looked at him and I was a little nervous and I said I don't want a C-section, I want a VBAC. And he said you realize that I won't do that. And I said yeah, I do realize that. He said you realize you'll find another doctor. And I said, yes, I do realize that. And at this point now I was working at the hospital, I was working in labor and delivery when I was pregnant second child and I really didn't get much support from many people around me wanting a VBAC, wants a C-section, always a C-section.

Karen Chipman:

I can remember even a time I was on an elevator and one of the doctors joined me and it was just him and I and I knew what he was talking about because he looked at me and he said if you were my wife I would never let you do this. And I thought, okay, while Karen on him. So I waited a second and I thought and I looked at him and I said, well, I guess I'm happy that I'm not your wife. And that's where we kind of left yeah Right. So I knew that chances they put you. They put you into these categories with VBAC, you know who will be a successful, who won't.

Karen Chipman:

And my numbers were not that great because I pushed for four hours. But I knew I pushed for four hours because I had this posterior head. If his head wasn't in that position, would I have been able to deliver him Probably. So I looked, I interviewed many doctors and then one of the doctors who I actually worked with at the hospital. I asked him, I had an interview with him and he was like absolutely, you can do this. And he was so, so, very supportive and I thought, all right, now I'm working with the doctor who won't do my VBAC and I'm working with the doctor who's doing it. That could be a little awkward, but it wasn't.

Karen Chipman:

Everyone was very professional and it came time for my labor, which brings me back to my husband's story and now I'm a little anxious, I'm a little nervous because I might have to have a C-section. I'm with people that might not be supporting it, but my labor nurse was amazing, my doctor was amazing and my husband was amazing and I can remember at one point at three in the morning, the labor sort of hit a hard point and he looked at me like, oh boy, we're having a tough time. And he walked around the room Don't laugh and I always say don't laugh at me and he turned on my cassette and my pocket bell. Kennedy with Ocean Sounds came on and it brought me back to center once again and it came time for pushing and I think we pushed 20 minutes and out came Alexandra.

Stephanie Theriault:

We paused this episode for a quick message from our sponsor At Maternal Wealth. We aim to ensure that you have access to the best and the most appropriate care. That's why we created a Maternal Healthcare Provider Database. Maternal health providers can easily create profiles to promote their services and business, helping to increase access for those seeking their care. This is a one-of-a-kind database that offers a new and exciting way for women to search for and find maternal health providers near them and tailored to their specific needs. Profiles feature badges that highlight various services, such as TODAC-friendly practices, all-female practices, lgbtqai plus inclusivity, language options, access to vaginal breach services and more.

Karen Chipman:

That's a story that I love to share, especially with women who are, you know, are hoping to VBAC, want to VBAC. That yes, you can do it. And even for me I was doing it at a time when there wasn't too much support around it, but I did it because I did my homework and I knew what the percentages were Like. What's the percentage for a rupture Less than 1%? Well, that's pretty good. And what is my percentages for other things to happen if I had a second abdominal surgery?

Karen Chipman:

So I weighed those pros and cons and I thought this is what I want to do. And I also did it for my baby because I was noticing working in labor and delivery and this was nothing drastic, but I was noticing scheduled cesarean babies didn't transition as well as vaginal babies or even babies that were experiencing labor, and I was like, wow, like why, why is that happening? So what was happening was that they didn't get that adrenaline that they get from their mom during labor and pushing especially. They didn't get that squeezing from contractions. They didn't get that, you know, moving of the fluid from their lungs.

Karen Chipman:

And I was noticing that, you know, a good number of babies would have to be transferred to the nursery after delivery because of this transitional period and having a little hard time nothing life-threatening, but enough that they would have to be taken away. And I thought I don't want that. I want to keep my baby with me. So the pros were not only for me, for not having to have surgery again, but also for my baby. So that's my VBAC, that's my sort of beginnings for that.

Stephanie Theriault:

I also want to recognize the fact that you advocated for yourself, right, you had a doctor who said, no, I'm not going to do that, and I'm sure he had his reasons why in his practice, why he chose not to provide that service. I know you worked in the field. But even having that self-knowledge and that belief in yourself, this is what I want for my body, this is what I want for my birth process, this is what I want for my child at birth. And having that self-awareness and the ability or the willingness to advocate for yourself and do the interviews and find somebody who supported you, that's also important to recognize and I think that's great that you were able to do that, especially in a time where VBAC wasn't as popular. Yeah, all right. I'm curious to hear about baby number three. How did that go?

Karen Chipman:

So baby number three. I, of course, was going to VBAC once again. We're now they're calling it TOLAC, vbac trial of labor. Vbac is vaginal birth after you've had a trial of labor successful. So, sarah, she was breech and I thought you've got to be kidding me. What are we going to do in this situation? So typically in a breech situation, we try the different things to have our babies to turn head down and if they're not successful, we schedule a cesarean. And I wasn't going to do that. I said you know what I'm not going to schedule a cesarean, I'm going to wait till the very last moment. I'm going to give this baby every last chance she has to turn. Because we see women that come in for scheduled cesarean for having a breech baby. We do an ultrasound and what do we find? Baby's head down. So the poor person who's been preparing with this, you know, mentally, we send them home and say not today and now. You'd have to put your wrap your brain around. You know having a vaginal delivery, but for me, I knew that I didn't want to have another C-section, I wanted to have a vaginal birth and I was going to wait until she decided for me. And even then I thought you know what? This is a time where the doctor who I had that you know helped deliver me with a VBAC. He also delivered breech babies. So I said you know what? I'm going to wait, we're going to see. And I never really make those final decisions until I'm in the moment.

Karen Chipman:

And it was Mother's Day and I called the girls at work because I thought I was in labor. I wasn't quite sure and I thought how is this possible? This is my third baby, this is my third labor. So I called them and I said hey guys, you know I'm going to come in, I just want you to check me. I'm not going to call the doctor quite yet because I don't know what's happening.

Karen Chipman:

So I arrived there Mother's Day, change of shift 2.30. And because the shifts then were eight-hour shifts, we had to call him. He's coming. I was like, oh God, all right. So they put me in the room next to the operating room, because now they're really nervous. She's in labor, she's breached, what are we going to do? And I wasn't nervous at all. And he comes in and he checks, and I was seven centimeters and they had me on the monitor and I was contracting, which is strange Was it because she was breached that I didn't fail them as much? I don't know why, but it is. That's the story that it is. So he broke my bag of water and we delivered vaginally. I wasn't even there for an hour and a half full time before she was in my arms and at that time we were doing well starting to do which is crazy to me skin to skin. So the staff was really upset with me.

Karen Chipman:

When I even talk about that birth story, those that were there were like we'll never forget that day. We're like we can't believe you're going to deliver this baby breech VBAC. And I was two weeks early, so I knew she was smaller. I was seven centimeters already in labor. I have a doctor who I witnessed deliver baby's breech. Why wouldn't I do it? Right For me, and I always respect every woman's feeling. I know she's like no, that's a great story, but for me it's just not. For me. I respect that and I support every woman in her decision that she makes, because she has to make that for herself. But for me that was my decision and that's what we decided and I lifted my gown to do skin to skin. Then they were they're all kind of looking at me still like what on earth is happening here? That's my my third birth story, but yeah, I thought that was a pretty cool story.

Stephanie Theriault:

Yeah, no, that is a cool story. I always love hearing about vaginal breach deliveries because in the maternal health world in the US right now they're not as popular. So it's nice to hear the stories, hear women share their experiences. If there are women, like you said, we respect everyone's story, but if there are women who are curious about it that they can hear a positive story coming from a vaginal breach delivery, yeah, I wish saying positive stories.

Karen Chipman:

I wish more women that are pregnant heard more positive stories, because we know when people hear that they're pregnant they tend to share the not positive stories with them. And I will even say that in the childbirth class I'll say how many of you have told negative stories and partners included raised their hand and they said could you imagine if all you heard were positive stories? How would you enter into labor and delivery? And even now I have a woman who's taking class, who she's having a home birth. I said how would you enter into it? And they all look at me and they're like positive, like yeah, exactly. So if someone wants to tell you their story, I said put your hand up and say wait a minute, is this negative or positive? And then ask them, ask people, because even when people have negative things that happen in their labors and birth, there's got to be something positive that's happened. So if they share that positive thing, that moment, that would just I think it would. It would change our mindset for labor and birth.

Stephanie Theriault:

I agree with you a hundred percent and I'm glad you're doing that and you say that in your birth classes, because we see positive births all the time. We see everything, but there are so many positive stories out there and there's redeeming stories out there. So I'm really glad that you do that in your birth class because I do think that will make a huge difference. And when women go into labor, I tell my patients it's mind, body and spirit. It's all connected. You have to believe that you can do this. You have to believe in your body and the process and that's so important. So I'm really happy to hear that you say that. Yeah, thank you, you have Stork Ready. Tell us about Stork Ready and why you decided to open Stork Ready and why is it so important to you to have this place, why the community needs this for women and families.

Karen Chipman:

Yeah. So I started teaching in the hospital setting man 30 plus years ago and I taught in the community hospital and we were teaching to women that was no epidurals, because we didn't have epidurals at the time and then we started teaching to epidural and what that was and how, what you could expect for that. So then I started teaching for two of the city hospitals as well, and when I would teach for the hospital setting I always thought, wow, wouldn't it be nice to have my own setting, because they were big classes, lots of couples, no birth falls to sit on, no snacks even sometimes, and I thought this is insane. So I would bring my own snacks and water to the classes. But I always thought, wow, wouldn't it be nice to have not only a place where I could teach classes in a small group setting, in a home-like setting, and then it could be a place where they could come afterwards, a place where they could find their community, a place where they would have support groups, classes after babies, and anyone who knew me knew that that was always my desire. So there was a company at the time named Isis, of all names, and they really monopolized the childbirth industry. As far as class, they were in the city, they were in the community, they taught in the hospital setting and I thought how will I ever compete against that until one day they abruptly shut their doors. This is my moment, this is my golden moment. I'm going to do it. So that was January 14, 2014. Wow, that's a long time ago, and by March I think it was March 8th. I should know these dates right.

Karen Chipman:

I had my very first class, so I bought it, I dreamt it and I did it, and I didn't waste any time and we started Stork Ready very small, offering just childbirth, newborn essentials, breastfeeding, cpr and then we've expanded it. We're teaching so many classes today, but I always realized then in the very beginning, that I needed to collaborate with other like businesses. I couldn't do this alone. Right, it's not a one job. So I needed to bring in lactation consultants, ibclcs, to do the breastfeeding support, the breastfeeding classes. I needed to bring in other like businesses to help with, you know, additional classes if they wanted to teach at Stork Ready. So, for instance, now I mean you go, you go to the Stork Ready website and there's just so many classes, so many support groups that we've added.

Karen Chipman:

We're going to be adding a class. I'm really excited about it. It because there's a true need for it, for interventions, for inductions, because so many women now are being faced with. You know the word induction and what does that mean, and when their care provider explains it to them, it's like a 15 minute explanation where you and I both know that's a two hour class. Right, there's a lot of information and many women feel that if I'm going to have an induction, I've lost now all the ability to make decisions. And absolutely not. You need to have the information. You need to know what inductions look like and what your options are during an induction, and I feel that's very, very important for both her and her partner. So that class is coming on the schedule.

Karen Chipman:

The newest class that we've just added is through a company named Birth Savvy. They're two labor and delivery nurses in the city and they are going to be offering classes for high-risk pregnancies. So that's exciting, yeah. So what you can expect for the high-risk pregnancy, because with those pregnancies and labors you see more management, if you will. When I teach the class, because I've been working in labor and delivery for so many years, I call it the evolution of the management of labor. Labor hasn't changed. It hasn't changed at all, but what has changed dramatically is the management, if you will, of labor. So that class I'm really excited about. I hope that people find out about it, learn about it, know that we're offering it here, because what they're offering is what you can expect and how you can make decisions in that labor and in that setting. So those are just some of the classes that we offer at Stork Ready.

Stephanie Theriault:

I think it's important to know for people who are listening to this episode and you're pregnant, it's important for you to take classes outside of the hospital in which you plan to deliver, because the information that you're getting at the hospital is the information that they want you to know. So going to a place like with Stork Ready and listening to Karen in her birth classes and all the classes that she's just explained now will give you even more information for you to self-advocate, to have all the knowledge that you need to know of the different ways in which the hospitals, like you said, manage labor. So these classes are so important to learn about options and what's best for you and the baby and your delivery, outside of what the hospital is teaching you Exactly.

Karen Chipman:

Exactly. I'm in a great spot where, first, the location is really good because we're in North Reading, which is right near 93, 128, 95, 495. We get women coming from New Hampshire, central New Hampshire. I've had women come from Maine, but for many of where that deliver babies from community hospitals to city hospitals, and because I've been in what I call the industry for so many years, I know nursing staff that works at many of these different hospitals, so I periodically will pick their brains.

Karen Chipman:

So what are the policies at your hospital for membranes rupturing? Do they have to come to the hospital or can they stay home? And even when I make that statement, I just I want to kind of hit myself over the head and say do they have to? Which you really don't have to do anything, and that's what I really teach in the class. Like, these are hospital policies, and because it's a policy doesn't mean that you can't say well, I understand it's a policy, this is what I, what the hospital needs to do, but this is what I would like to do. Is there any way around that policy that will make me feel better and you feel better as my care provider, that we can kind of tweak that if you will and you can, and you need to know that you can do that. So, knowing all the different hospitals and the staff in those hospitals, that helps me to teach to my clients because they're coming from so many different hospitals, so many different policies, if you will, ways of doing inductions. So, yeah, I'm happy that I'm able to do that as well and bring that into my classes.

Stephanie Theriault:

For those in the community the new moms, the families who have taken advantage of the services offered at Stork Ready. Tell us about the feedback that you have received from them.

Karen Chipman:

It's amazing. Let me just start by saying that, and that's really, really why I started the business. So the business is to give that information. What I like to say in my classes is to empower the laboring woman and her partner so that they know what they want, advocate for what they want. Write those things down and you know, when we talk about birth plans, we talk about making it a preference, blah, blah, whatever, but don't write it in paragraph form. Hand it to your nurse, go over it line by line, and I find that talking about it is better than writing it for her to read. She becomes a better advocate. But besides that, I wanted to start the business for, after babies were born, a place where families could come and see each other after, because we all know those of us that have had babies how difficult that postpartum period is, those first few weeks, and you don't know how difficult it is until you're in it. And now you're in it, right. So we offer so many things after and so many parents and I'm looking, as you say ask that question.

Karen Chipman:

I'm looking at this portrait that was made for me. It's not a portrait, it's actually a collage and it was during COVID. So we have this thing that we had, mommy Cafe, and we still have it and it meets for all new moms to come with their babies. We could have five moms here. We've got 15 moms here and when COVID started we couldn't have it anymore and we're like, oh my goodness, what are we going to do? So one of my moms said, karen, can I do it virtual? I said, of course you can. Every week she was so dedicated, she did it every week. She knew the baby, she knew everything and she was amazing. And then when the weather broke, we're like, let's take it to the park, to the park. And we met every week at the same time at the park, social, distancing, with our blankets and our masks on. But they still met and they, they made this collage for me moments and memories of doing that and how appreciative they were.

Karen Chipman:

And Stork Ready Now is what? 11 years old, we still and I'll get pictures sent to me of families that are still have friendships that started from Stork Ready and they say that those friendships sometimes are even closer and better than family. And that's why I started Stork Ready. For you know that community getting families together to get through, if you will. For you know that community, getting families together to get through, if you will, that you know the postpartum period that can be so, so difficult for so many people. You know, when we talk about the different layers of postpartum depression one in four women, one in 10 men we know that we need that support and to help them. And how do we do that? And that was really my desire to start Stork Ready to get that community.

Stephanie Theriault:

I love that you are talking about the postpartum depression and the postpartum period and how hard it is because we don't live in a society that supports women and mothers. So, being a woman, being a mother and taking the initiative to create the space and create this community that we can go to and find the support and find that help that we need, like you said, before you get into it, we have no idea because we don't talk about it. We don't talk about the postpartum experience and the transition into what everyone is saying now matrescence, the transition and becoming a mother, the loss and the gain, and how our new lives are intertangled into a society that doesn't support us. So having Stork Ready and having you who created this to support us is amazing and, honestly, it probably saves lives.

Karen Chipman:

Yeah, so many women. This is interesting to me. I've met, I could say now thousands of women postpartum through Stork Ready. And some will come to me and this is what surprises me the most and they'll say, karen, I don't know what I would have done without Mummy Cafe. I was suffering the worst postpartum depression. And I look at them and I'm like how did I not know that? How did I not recognize it? And some women I recognize it, it's quite easy to recognize, but so many women hide it so, so well. And I think that's what we need to also recognize is like here you're coming to it, so it helped. I'm so happy that it helped, but could we have helped you more? Or was that enough? I don't know right, because you always want to help more, you always want to do more, but at least knowing that Stork Radius has helped them through that, made their friendships, makes me feel amazing, first of all, but it also makes me want to do more. And how can I do more? So we have done more. I think we've added classes for partners, moms, grandparents and babies. We've added more groups. So, come the fall, I'm really excited about this.

Karen Chipman:

We have the Mummy Cafe and that's for the moms. That's the mom space, right. Whether it's the partner mom, the mom that delivered the baby. That's the mom space. And that's Mondays. And then Tuesdays we're going to start daddies and donuts, and that's the dad space, right. That's a space where we can talk and have their experiences, because we don't recognize the dad really at all. Wednesday we have the baby cafe, which is breastfeeding support, chest feeding support. However, you're feeding your baby on Wednesdays. And then Thursdays, debbie that Debbie who has been with me forever and ever and was doing the COVID groups she is going to start hosting what we're calling the parents cafe. So that's a time where moms, dads, couples can come and it's another day of support and what we do in those groups. That is so, so, very important. We just don't meet and talk. We meet, and you can come early, you can leave, you can come late, you can leave late, early, whichever, but just come and once we feel that everyone is here, we go around the room and everyone introduced themselves their baby, the town that they live in, which is really important, so that maybe they can make those friendships outside of cafe and they then talk about their highs and lows of the week and that's where it really gets to the nitty gritty, right, because one woman might be feeling one way, but she's embarrassed to say it, and then another woman across the room says it, and I can remember the highs and lows.

Karen Chipman:

For so many women, this is my first time getting out of the house with my baby. And when you're pregnant you think, oh for crying out loud, that's crazy. And then, after you have your baby, you're like, oh my God, I don't want to leave the house and you don't want to leave the house. I'll even say to partners put her in the car, drive her here, drop her off and then go do something for an hour and a half and come back and get her. But now we're doing the parents cafe so they can both come together, which is great. But their big thing is I finally got out of the house. And then a lot of them, their low of the week is they start crying. They get very emotional, like this and my partner's going back to work next week and I don't know what I'm going to do. And that's real right. Yeah, it is, it really is. And everyone's like, oh, I can't believe she just said that, because why am I crying over that this is crazy so much. Deeper things come out. Funny things come out.

Karen Chipman:

One girl I'll never forget. She said I don't want to talk about my highs and lows this week. She said I just want to talk about that six-week checkup. She was so funny, she should have been a comedian. She said I know my husband because they tell you at six weeks you don't have to do everything and that includes sex. She's like I just don't want to have sex. She says my poor husband. He says to me so what can we do? Like can we do anything? And she sat there and I can see where she was sitting, where I'm sitting now, and she touches her knee. And she says I said to him my knee, you can touch my knee. And it was just, it was funny, but it was real at the same time. Right, yeah, yeah. So I'll never. I will never forget her. I will never forget her saying that and we all laughed.

Karen Chipman:

And then there was another time where a woman didn't want to share her highs and lows of the week and she was so brave and I can see where she was sitting and she said I don't want to share my highs and lows of the week. She said I just want to ask everyone a question. How brave she was to ask this question. She said do you ever wake up in the morning and not want to be a mom? Do you ever just want to wake up in the morning and be the person who you were before you became a mom? And the room went silent for two seconds and every single woman in the room shook their head.

Karen Chipman:

And then we talked about that and then I offered her a card from a woman who that's what she specializes in is postpartum depression, and every single woman in the room said can I have one? Can I have one? Can I have one? Can I have one? It was like passing out a deck of cards and I was like, absolutely, and those are the things that we talk about. So, like I said, we have laughter, we have crying, but we have so many friendships that have started at Stork Ready and continue from Stork Ready. They send me pictures. I just got a picture the other day that it was 12 families and there were like two groups of children. They had like a three-year-old and newborns and they were all friends that met here at Stork Ready and that's where I get most of my, I get kind of even teary about it. It's like that's why I started the business.

Stephanie Theriault:

Yeah, the stories that you're sharing with me. I'm a mom. It resonates with me too. So this is it's just, it's so needed. Places like Stork Ready, where women can just come together. And now you're helping the fathers too, because, you're right, the fathers they don't get recognized and they also need a space.

Karen Chipman:

So I love that you're having a space for them too, yeah, yeah. And that reminds me too that those young girls that work at the city hospital that are starting classes here. The second class that they're starting and you can find it on the Stokerty's website. When you go to just classes they're there Birth Savvy. It's basically preparing you for that postpartum period, which I'm really excited about. And I recognize that from the very beginning starting my business, I can't teach all the classes, I can't do all the classes, but I want all these classes by collaborating and bringing other businesses in that can do that for me is just amazing. So that class is starting and I really want more people to know that.

Stephanie Theriault:

Those two classes, high-risk pregnancies getting ready for that postpartum period is just so, so very important. So, for those who are listening to the episode and if they want to learn more about yourself in Stork Ready, where can they find you?

Karen Chipman:

So they can find me. Google just storkreadycom. And I say this all the time, I'm not trying to push the baby expo that we host. It'll be our fourth one, coming up in September. I really share it. More so for the resources that are on the website. We have a partner's page on Stork Ready's website that gives you different businesses pelvic floor specialists, breastfeeding, counseling, all different businesses. But if you go to our obabyexpocom website, you will find even more resources there. You go to the vendors page and we're adding vendors still every day because we're building up for our September Expo. But there you will find so many resources and talking about that postpartum period and not knowing what you need or how it will be until you're in it, you don't even realize what resources are out there. Like there's a resource for that. There's somebody who can help me with that? Yes, there is. So checking those opportunities, checking those different businesses, is really great.

Stephanie Theriault:

Well, karen, thank you so much. This has been such a lovely chat, yeah, thank you so much for having me. I've enjoyed it. Thank you for being open and vulnerable and sharing your birth story so that other women can hear the positive stories and self-advocacy and learning more about Stork Ready, and I really hope that women and families who are listening to the episode reach out to you and they can get the support and help that they need.

Karen Chipman:

Yeah, me too. Thank you so much for having me. I really enjoyed it.

Stephanie Theriault:

Hey there, amazing listeners. If you love what we do and want to see our podcast grow, we need your help. By making a donation, you'll be supporting us and bringing you even more great content. I truly believe creating this space for women all across the globe to share their story will allow us to collectively heal, grow and become more empowered in the space that we deserve to be Motherhood, womanhood and however that looks and feels for each and every one of us. If you can head over to support us today, there's a link in the bio to support the podcast. Every contribution, big or small, will make a huge difference. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for being a part of this journey. Be sure to check out our social media. All links are provided in the episode description. We're excited to have you here. Please give us a follow. If you or someone you know would like to be a guest on the show, reach out to us via email at info at maternalwealthcom. And remember embrace your power and you got this Bye.