124 | Embracing Motherhood - Derikka Vaughans

Starting her first day of nursing school, Derikka Vaughans was surprised to find out that she had also started her journey through motherhood. She would take medical leave from school during her first trimester as navigating being sick and family stress would leave her a bit overwhelmed. Derikka expresses that, in full transparency, "I didn't get a chance to fully embrace pregnancy in the first trimester." and that with limited resources for women of color in her community, "I didn't really know what to expect from the experience." The most prep she had done was planning her baby shower.

So when Derikka started having mild contractions, she just attributed them to having gas. Her mom suggested to her that they could be contractions, and they should begin timing then. Throughout her labor, Derikka had to make shifts to her birth plan but reflected that an integral part of her story was when she was trying to decide about pain management. She had hoped to have an unmedicated birth, and it would be her dad who would allow her to find her voice and do what felt best for her at the moment. Speaking with him over the phone, Derikka explains that he spoke life into her, affirming her and her decisions. For her, she feels that if she had had more support like her dad's on her birth team, many things would have gone differently and that it wasn't until after the birth of her son that she felt educated about birth. She is now using her experience and knowledge to support other families in her community of Montgomery, Alabama, as a birth and postpartum doula.