Debunking Common Myths about Hormones and Pregnancy

As a 39-year-old woman who is pregnant, I have heard so many myths about geriatric pregnancy, some of which scared me early in my pregnancy. I’m glad I have had people in my corner that are supporting me to have a journey that feels aligned with my value. And lucky I've had a healthy pregnancy so far and my baby boy is doing well.

We need to address the myths about pregnancy and hormones. Every woman's journey will be unique. In contrast to most people, I have not experienced emotional outbursts. Throughout my pregnancy, I have felt pretty good. 

The hormonal changes inside a woman's body are significant and can cause symptoms and emotions to run high. Most of the stereotypical types do not resonate with me. How has pregnancy affected my hormones? Today, I'd like to share my journey with you.  

In allowing God to use my body to shine His glory and build His kingdom, I have set myself apart from what is considered normal. As I am healthy and have no risks that would require delivery in a hospital, I have chosen to give birth naturally at a birthing center. Throughout my pregnancy, I have been blessed with no complications or risks and have maintained a healthy lifestyle. Leaving me with more options for delivery. 

My healthy pregnancy is a result of prioritizing my health, exercising, and eating well. It has been a pleasure having a midwife who has never made her feel incompetent or vulnerable. It will be so exciting to meet our baby's body and bring our son into a home filled with God's love. 

With the help of God, my husband, and my midwife, I pray for a smooth, natural delivery.

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Transcript

Pregnancy is a time of significant hormonal changes in a woman's body. And I'm pregnant, I'm about to have a baby. And I've heard all of these myths, all of these jokes that honestly I just haven't been able to relate to. I mean, like, here's one, due to the influence of pregnancy hormones, I could burst into.

Or kill you in the next five minutes. I just don't resonate with that. Now, maybe you're a mama and you do resonate with that. That's great. That's fine. I am just so curious about this conversation about pregnancy and hormones, and especially having what's classified as a geriatric pregnancy. So in today's episode, we are gonna go over some of the.

Some of the misconceptions talking about some of my pregnancy journey as a woman who is 39 years old and is having a really, really healthy pregnancy. I don't know about these quote unquote norms. So let's get into it. Let's chat about it. Here we go. Let's get into the episode.

Hey, hey, it's your girl, Emmy Cornwell, Instagram biz coach and social selling expert. Welcome to the Hey, hey, Emmy show. This is a podcast where we talk about all things that will be helpful for you and your. Everything from Instagram tips and tricks to health hacks to relationships, and definitely some Jesus.

Basically everything in between Proverbs 31 and Tupac. I am so excited to party with you. In each and every episode because ain't no party like a Hey, hey Emmy party. Can I get Amen. All right, let's get into it, sister.

Hey. Hey. What's going on? How are you, sister? Girl. Welcome back to the Hey, hey, Emmy Show podcast. So glad you're here. Welcome, welcome, welcome. I am potentially still pregnant when this episode or potentially I have had my son. I am not sure , because as I'm recording this right now, I'm doing a couple episodes ahead of time to make sure that you are still supported and I love podcasting.

I couldn't imagine not podcasting, but I definitely am gonna have to take a step back, right? Once my son is born, I don't know when this is gonna air. , but I wanted to talk about pregnancy and hormones and just kind of like the myth of pregnancy, things like that I hear that I don't resonate with, and I want, I wanna to talk about it because I think a lot of times just overall in our world, things seem normal.

Here's another, he speaking of. And this is one I just can't get behind, but like the mommy wine culture, right? Like why do your kids have to, like, why do your kids drive you to drink? They actually don't drive you to drink. You're the one making that choice. And how dare you blame it on your kids? , right?

Like that's a whole nother subject for a whole nother day. I actually want to get my friend Lexi. On here to share her story with alcohol. She's a really powerful story and I've been telling her for over a year because that's how long this podcast is going, that I one also wanna share my story with alcohol, but two, want her to come on because this is something that she talks about.

So things like that in our culture seem normal and alcohol is one of them, right? Scott is actually not drinking right now. He is chosen to not drink. Until the baby comes, or maybe further notice, I'm not sure. I don't drink all that much anymore. I do drink occasionally, but I've had issues in the past.

I've had disordered drinking. I've gotten in trouble with the law, and as I think about bringing my son into the world, I don't care if it's quote unquote normal to do things like this. You're actually as a Christian, as someone who. In God and is born again and is walking in victory and in your true identity like you are set apart, it says in scripture that you are supposed to be set apart.

So if you are just going with the flow, you're just going with the norm and doing it because well, everyone else is doing it, so it must be okay then You're really not allowing God to use you and your body. Right. Your mental, your physical, all of the things, you're emotional as a vessel to shine his glory and to build his kingdom.

And at the end of the day, that's what I wanna do. I don't want to cause anyone who comes in contact with me to not see Jesus. To not see God, right? So what I listen to, what I eat, what I read, who I hang out with, what I wear. Like if it's gonna cause someone to like block seeing. Then I'm at least thinking about not doing it

Right. And so pregnancy has been an interesting journey for me because I think there's a lot of things, and I'm in a lot of pregnancy chats. I'm in Facebook groups and I'm just seeing a lot of things that are normal. Okay. C-sections. I don't have the stats, but I bet you could Google a stat of like how many C-sections are done these days.

It's a lot. Or inductions, right. No, I am in no rush to have this baby. He is gonna be a healthy baby when he comes out, whenever he wants to come out. Now, are there some things that I'm doing naturally to maybe help the process? Yeah, I Meeting dates, raspberry leaf tea. I'm gonna start evening primrose walking, working out, bouncing on the ball, having sex.

Can I get Na n Okay. Yes, please. Right, I'm doing some of those things. I'm not getting cervical checks. I don't want my membranes sweeped. I am having a natural birth. I don't want epidural. You know, like, call it gr crunchy, call it granola, call it whatever you want. But I know that because I have discernment in what God in the Holy Spirit is leading me to do, that it's okay to be different.

I mean, I know there are some people think that I'm crazy for some of the things I just mentioned that I haven't. Or that I'm having a birth at a birth center. God forbid you're not at a hospital. I mean, what? What if something goes wrong? Well, we're right by a hospital. We're 20 minutes away if we needed to transfer, if there was complications.

But we're praying for a smooth delivery experience. But also a birthing center isn't just like out of someone's trunk. Okay? Like they have the things necessary medically to help with a triage. So you know, some of. That I've been reading to about being pregnant and over 35, or just have heard, which honestly caused a little bit of anxiety at first, and I'm so thankful that my midwife has never felt, made me feel well any, no one can make you feel anything, but has never made me feel just for a lack of a better phrase.

Like I'm too old or that I'm fragile or that I'm incapable. No, I am 39 and do not look like it. Thank you. Hashtag liquid collagen and really good supplementation. Also. I don't feel like it one of the myths is it's too late to have a healthy pregnancy. Well, that's also becoming less and less true.

Many women over 35 have healthy pregnancies and deliver very healthy babies. Right? Could there potentially be increased risk? Yes. Well, praise the Lord. I have not been high risk at all, and that's one of the reasons why I can go to the birth center. I have not had digest or gestational diabetes. What else did I not have?

All these things that people like have, I'm like scoring like a plus on, right? And oh, high blood pressure. Don't have that preeclampsia, don't have that. They're all coming to my mind now. Like some of these things that would require even higher monitoring by a healthcare provider. With for the baby's development I don't have those things and it's because health first and foremost is a core value of my life.

I'm still working out. I tr I don't eat perfect, but I definitely am not pounding quarter pounders every day and DQ blizzards. Okay. Like I just ate some dates that were chocolate covered, peanut butter stuffed with some sea salt. I. That's a little bit of a high sugar cuz it's date and it has the peanut butter and the chocolate.

But that's better than ice cream of pint of Tom and Jerry's. Tom and Jerry's, oh my gosh.  bed. And Jerry's, by the way, Scott loves mom and Jerry, the TV show. And he is, and I don't know why he likes to watch it sometimes. I mean, there could be, there's worse things he could watch, but he's like, babe, you gotta get used to it.

This is what baby, this is what we're gonna be watching with baby. I mean, I agree. There's a lot worse things. Anyways, here's another myth that I'm very curious, and I know it's not gonna be true, but older mothers will have a harder time bonding with their babies.  Age does not determine that.

Again, I'm 39. I do not feel 39. I do not act 39. I do not look 39.  God willing, I'm gonna be pregnant for the next four or five years because Scott and I wanna have more kids, right? And. That is a, another myth is that it is harder to get pregnant the older you are. Well, yes. Does your does your fertility decrease your eggs?

Right? The egg count. You're only born with a certain amount of eggs. Well, you know what, that's true, but Sarah in the Bible was like a hundred and something when she got pregnant, so God can do anything. Okay? He's a miracle worker. Like I said, God willing, I'm gonna be pregnant for the next four or five years, but age should not matter.

Older mothers will have more difficult time with labor and delivery. Again, I don't think that's true. I am so well prepared. This is like a Super Bowl for me, right? Like I taken birthing classes, 12 weeks of Bradley method birthing classes, which I would highly recommend. I have practiced prayer, meditation, relaxation.

I've done the physical work, I've done the mental work like I have prepared. To have the best experience. And you know what? At the end of the day, the best person to help me through this is the Holy Spirit, right? Like I was gonna get a doula, but honestly, the reason why I was gonna get a doula at the beginning was because it was out of fear.

Now, it didn't take, it took me a couple months to figure that out and God was so kind with me and revealed to me later, like that's why I was making that decision. Cause I actually couldn't make a decision on a doula. I interviewed a couple. I have friends that have done it both ways, and I was fearful that Scott wasn't gonna be able to show up for him in the way that I needed him.

And that's a fear-based decision. I don't ever wanna make a decision out of fear base, and so I do believe that the Holy Spirit worked in Scott and had him make that decision to not to stop drinking because he has something very beautiful. For Scott and I in that delivery room as a sweet, sweet reward.

And so he shared with me, he's like, I'm your doula Emmy the Holy Spirit. Me. I am your doula paired with your coach, Scott. It's going to be a beautiful experience. Is there gonna be pain? Yes. I mean, hello. You're pushing, you're pushing some Moty River for jj. That is, I mean, we're built to do it. We are, but it's still not an everyday occurrence.

Oh man, I'm praying that I do not tear, but with all this preparation, right, that should be a possibility. So let's get to the age thing, cuz that's what really baffled me is that after age 35, it's called a geriatric pregnancy. Really? This is outdated and controversial. Okay. This is historically used to describe women who are over the age of 40.

But geriatric, I don't. About you. But when I think about that, I think of elderly people, right? Like grandmas and grandpas , not to describe a pregnancy. Okay? So honestly I'm offended actually. I don't really live in an offended life. But that term is definitely much a BS and it's outdated.

So you wanna know what they call it now, which is not even that much better. It's just more like sterile and clinical. Advanced maternal age is now what is used to describe pregnancies. Thank. Again, my midwife has not made me feel advanced maternal. That makes me feel like my mother, who's in her seventies, right?

Who is a grandma. I don't know. These are just some of the crazy things that I feel like I've experienced, that I've had people talk to that I feel like are the norm when it comes to pregnancy. Miss pregnancy decision. Also like let's talk hormones with pregnancy because the new women's health product has come out that I am a part of a wellness company that I partner with, right?

That has launched this menstrual and menopausal formula to help reinvent women's hormone stories because hormones affect everything, right? So after I had my miscarriage in 2020, my hormones went whack. I was 180 pounds when I got pregnant, I was two 20 when I got pregnant. This time, So really I've only gained 35 pounds.

I've been doing so good. Very healthy. Like, I mean, if I would've gained more, that's fine. I, that's not a factor, but I'm just saying like, I started this pregnancy ever, but after that miscarriage, my hormones were out of whack. Like I've, I was getting blood work constantly. I was going to get IVs. I was seeing a naturopath.

I got on thyroid medicine, which is your regulator of all your hormones. I also got covid, which affects your hormones. It's, that is from the devil. Needs to go back to hell. But all of that's why I lost three fourths of my hair. Like my hormones were nuts. So I started this pregnancy at two 20 and hormones play a crucial role in pregnancy.

They play a crucial role in even getting pregnant. So I was tra I started to track my cycle, which I have never done before. I had taken birth control. If you listen to the episode that I did with Jesse, I had taken birth control when I actually got pregnant in high school and I didn't know that I was pregnant.

I got on birth control. I took it for a long, long time and one of the best decisions was, was getting off hormones off of the pill. One time I didn't wanna take the pill, even though I've been taking pills my whole life. My parents have always given us supplements, like probiotics and we've always taken vitamins.

 I was like, I don't wanna take a pill. So I got the depo shot one time. Oh my gosh. That wrecked my skin. Right? My mom has had breast cancer. My grandma has had breast cancer. They got, my mom got tested for the gene. She didn't have it, but like I was trying also to have a low estrogen birth control. And the depo shot was that, well, that did not work for me.

Anyways. Hormones are affected in all areas of our women's life and these two products while are changing women's lives. And I cannot wait till try. I can try it. I can't yet. Cause I'm. , but hormones are chemical messengers pain. They regulate all the various body functions during pregnancy supporting the growth of the development of the fetus.

That estrogen and I talked about in progesterone are two of the ones that are just like upped right in the H C G. They can cause things emotionally. Again, I just haven't identified with like this whole rage thing, even like PMs rage, like I never get that. I'm not like super moody. I'm pretty even keeled and I know that I'm not the only one, but I know that's not the only experience.

So hormone, you just don't have to accept. What people say is normal in society as normal, you have to advocate for yourself. That's why in these last two years before we did get pregnant, when I was tracking, I was going naturopath and I was getting blood work. I was advocating for myself because a lot of times through my life, I've always had a thyroid test done and I've quote unquote, been on the normal range.

Listen, I don't wanna take medication. I, that's the only prescription medication I'm on. Uh, and. I, I'm on a dose. I'm like on a super low dose, like 50 cgs or something. That's only during pregnancy and I can go back to 25. But like that was even another myth. I thought if I got on thyroid medicine, I was gonna have to be on it the rest of my life.

 You don't have to take the norm for the norm for you, okay? So whether it's your mood, whether, whatever it. , your hormones play a critical role in your life. They're playing a critical role in my pregnancy, and it is important for you to be aware of those and to do something about it. And so I'm excited to try out this new product when it comes.

If that's something that you are like, oh, wow, I do have rage, I do have moodiness, I do have low lobile.  I have no sex drive. Vaginal dryness, right? Whether it's menstrual, menopausal, and you wanna try this product, what do you have to. . Okay. Honestly, swipe up. The link is there to order. You have a $10 off coupon code that I'm attaching just for you as listeners of the Hey, hey Em Show podcast.

The price point is way cheaper than medication. I'll tell you that. Can I get a hallelujah? What's cool about it is it's hormones too, without hormones, and there's no soy iso flans or whatever, which I remember learning about like when my mom had breast cancer in high. She, they told her like she couldn't have Ed, mommy, all this other soy, like soy is not good for you.

Okay. Right. Like just drink the milk from the cow . Oh man. There's so many more things that I could talk about. I'm just so excited to be a mom. I'm just ready to meet my baby. I know it's not gonna be easy, but it's gonna be so worth it. So if you have any mom ta, mom tips, I need all of the best mom advice.

Here's what I want you to do. I want you to take a screenshot of this episode. Tag me the, Hey, hey, Emmy, and gimme your number one mom tip. Or if maybe you're not like the advice type giver. Share with me what your favorite thing is about being your mom. Being a mom. I asked this on Facebook and I loved reading the responses, like it was just such a good, heartfelt social media.

Exchange, right? Sometimes we see all this crap on social media. It was just beautiful. So either share with me your number one mom tip or what your favorite thing is about being a mom. I cannot wait to introduce you to our son. Hopefully he'll be here sooner than later. Okay? I love you so much. I will see you on the next episode.