“Oh yes, I said that I was going to put the RCP to the real test when I became pregnant with my fourth child. It was my first time being pregnant/ giving birth and being on the RCP.
My first two criteria for dubbing the RCP as making a difference were these:
1. a faster/ more efficient birth
2. Less vulvar varicose vein pain while pregnant ( yes- it’s what you think it is. Yes. It is as bad as you think it is. )
Short answer, I have officially claimed being on the RCP as making a significant difference.
Long answer, read below 😁
My first pregnancy I was 24 and it was an exceptionally easy pregnancy. I was not on the RCP, but eating relatively healthy. (ie real butter, raw milk, 3 homemade meals) However the labor was horrible. Which included after my water broke, contractions 3-5 min apart, laboring at home 18hrs then ‘lack of progression’, pitocin for 14 hrs at hospital , pushed for 2 1/2. No pain meds and to say the least I was utterly exhausted afterwards. It felt like my body tried to do what it was supposed to do but really it felt inept. ‘First time mama’ was played up but then I had heard other first time moms with much shorter/ easier births and recoveries. So that didn’t sit right with me. I knew I had adrenal fatigue after her birth but Dr just said, sleep more and take adrenal glandulars. After nursing a year I became pregnant and had more severe pregnancy symptoms. Enter vulvar varicosities. Unbearable pain that kept me from standing/ walking without support. And I had a 1 yr old. Also sciatica pain, extended nausea, total exhaustion requiring a nap at least 1x a day. And again, extended labor over 30 hours. Recovery was brutal from these labors. Third pregnancy was spaced further apart and symptoms lessened by a few degrees but not as much as I had hoped. I was thankful when it was only a 24hr labor. Then I found RCP. And became pregnant with my ‘RCP Baby’ I was on all the RCP ( Not taurine , DE or rice bran) for about 1 1/2 yrs when I became pregnant with number 4. And. The.Vericose veins. Never. Came. My doctor said they would get worse and worse and I would need surgery eventually. Here I was 8 years older and years of breastfeeding in my history and they were non existent. No nerve pain, nausea similar to first pregnancy, barely needed to nap AND my labor was 9 hours long!!!!!!!!( so shockingly short I told my husband not to call the midwife because it has only been 8 hours and I didn’t want her to wait around 🤦‍♀️ 😬😅) yeah good thing he didn’t listen to me because she barely made it.
Some may say, it was your 4th , that happens but then the improved pregnancy wouldn’t make sense. So yes, I say this is a testimony to the RCP. And when I say the RCP I do really mean the true essence of the RCP. I really nourished myself through that time. I was very diligent on the protocol, and focused heavily on high nutrition food. I prepared myself mentally and emotionally with my church, with praying; I removed myself from stressful people and situations as possible. And Birthing from Within helped me get my mind ready for the actual birth. I think all of these pieces of the Protocol, what the protocol supports, were a part of my body really being able to do well at what it was made to do. 💖“

– Kristan